Gung Ho (TV series)
Gung Ho | |
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Genre | Comedy |
Developed by | Edwin Blum |
Directed by | Jeff Chambers Dick Martin George Sunga Art Dielhenn John Bowab Randy Carter (first assistant director) |
Composer | David Michael Frank |
Country of origin | United states |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 9 |
Production | |
Executive producer | John Rappaport |
Running time | 30 minutes (including commercials) |
Production companies | Imagine Television Four Way Productions Paramount Television |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | December 5, 1986 – February 9, 1987 |
Gung Ho is an American sitcom based on the 1986 film of the same name. The series aired on ABC from December 5, 1986 until February 9, 1987.[1] during the 1986-87 season.
Synopsis
Just like in the movie, the TV series follows the exploits of Hunt Stevenson (here, played by Scott Bakula as opposed to Michael Keaton in the movie), a laid-back American employee liaison of a Japanese car company in Hadleyville, Pennsylvania. Much of the humor arose from the abounding clashes between Hunt and the new Japanese plant manager, Kaz Kazuhiro (Gedde Watanabe, who was reprising his role from the movie) while looking for ways to bridge the culture gap between one another.
Cast
Besides Watanabe, many of the Japanese actors from the movie reprised their roles for the series. Clint Howard (brother of Gung Ho movie director Ron Howard) was the only Caucasian actor from the film to also appear in the TV series.
- Scott Atari as Kenji
- Scott Bakula as Hunt Stevenson
- Heidi Banks as Randi
- Clint Howard as Googie
- Rodney Kageyama as Ito
- Stephen Lee as Buster
- Gedde Watanabe as Kaz Kazuhiro
- Patti Yasutake as Umeki Kazuhiro
- Sab Shimono as Saito
- Mary-Margaret Humes as Melissa
- Wendy Schaal As Kelly
- Kenneth Kimmins as Wacky Wally
- Emily Kuroda as Yukiko
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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1 | "Pilot" | Unknown | Unknown | December 5, 1986 | |
Hunt, acting as labor's liaison to management, tries to restore the job of a fellow who brashly expressed his opinion of a new employee rule book.[2] | |||||
2 | "Line of Credit" | Unknown | Unknown | December 12, 1986 | |
Hunt uses a new company credit card to entertain a date, an action that lands him back on the assembly line. | |||||
3 | "Talk of the Town" | Unknown | Unknown | December 26, 1986 | |
Hunt invites Kaz to a civic meeting, where Kaz's straight talk is a hit with the crowd after Hunt's ramblings strike out.[3] | |||||
4 | "Sick and Tired" | Unknown | Unknown | January 2, 1987 | |
The flu puts Kaz in bed, leaving Saito in charge, just as a reporter (Earl Boen) arrives to do a story on cooperation between the Americans and the Japanese. | |||||
5 | "Love Me Tender" | Unknown | Unknown | January 9, 1987 | |
Hunt proclaims himself a one-woman man, but Kaz and Umeki have evidence that his girl friend isn't similarly inclined. | |||||
6 | "Help Wanted" | Unknown | Unknown | January 16, 1987 | |
Hunt encourages Umeki to get a job selling TVs and stereos, but Kaz is outraged by the idea of his wife working. | |||||
7 | "Kaz Over Easy" | Unknown | Unknown | January 23, 1987 | |
When Kaz's workaholic friend from Japan dies of a heart attack, Kaz drastically alters his own work habits. | |||||
8 | "Where the Boys Are" | Unknown | Unknown | January 30, 1987 | |
Umeki can't contact Kaz to tell him that the prototype he plans to introduce at the auto show was totaled in transit. | |||||
9 | "Brother, Can You Spare a Dollar?" | Unknown | Unknown | February 6, 1987 | |
A visit from Hunt's brother Eddie (Marc Poppel), a Chicago commodities broker, sparks sibling rivalry. |