Gung Ho
GenreComedy
Developed byEdwin Blum
StarringGedde Watanabe
Scott Bakula
Patti Yasutake
Stephen Lee
Clint Howard
Rodney Kageyama
Scott Atari
Heidi Banks
Sab Shimono
ComposerDavid Michael Frank
Country of originUnited states
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9
Production
Executive producerJohn Rappaport
Running time30 minutes (including commercials)
Production companiesImagine Television
Four Way Productions
Paramount Television
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseDecember 5, 1986 (1986-12-05) –
February 9, 1987 (1987-02-09)
Related
Gung Ho (film)

Gung Ho is an American sitcom based on the 1986 film of the same name. The series aired for one season on ABC from December 5, 1986, to February 9, 1987.[1]

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 (Assan Motors) in the fictional city of Hadleyville, Pennsylvania. Much of the humor arises from the abounding clashes between Hunt and the new Japanese plant manager, Kaz Kazuhiro (Gedde Watanabe, reprising his role from the movie) while looking for ways to bridge the culture gap between one another.

Cast

Besides Watanabe, many of the other Japanese actors from the movie also 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.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Pilot"Jeff ChambersLowell Ganz & Babaloo MandelDecember 5, 1986 (1986-12-05)
Hunt, acting as labor's liaison to management, tries to restore the job of a fellow worker who brashly expressed his opinion of a new employee rule book.[2]
2"Line of Credit"John BowabBruce Ferber & David LernerDecember 12, 1986 (1986-12-12)
Hunt uses a new company credit card to entertain a date (Mary-Margaret Humes), an action that lands him back on the assembly line. The factory floor workers find themselves taken for a ride when they sneak spare parts out to help a supposedly struggling mobile snack vendor with engine trouble.
3"Talk of the Town"Dick MartinUnknownDecember 26, 1986 (1986-12-26)
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] When his wife's car keeps breaking down, Kaz becomes convinced she's having an affair with the tow-truck mechanic who comes to her aid each time.
4"Sick and Tired"Dick MartinUnknownJanuary 2, 1987 (1987-01-02)
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. On the factory floor, the guys enter Randi, who lacks confidence in her looks, into a beauty contest without her knowledge.
5"Love Me Tender"Art DielhennUnknownJanuary 9, 1987 (1987-01-09)
Hunt proclaims himself a one-woman man, but Kaz and Umeki have evidence that his girl friend isn't similarly inclined. Meanwhile, a friendly bet leads to Googie running a book on the factory floor - which soon gets out of hand, and attracts unwanted attentions.
6"Help Wanted"John BowabJames Berg & Stan ZimmermanJanuary 16, 1987 (1987-01-16)
Hunt encourages Umeki to get a job selling TVs and stereos, but Kaz is outraged by the idea of his wife working. After boasting about the company's high-tech new computerized system, an embarrassed Kaz secretly starts taking computer night-courses when he struggles to use it himself - and is discovered by Yukiko, who is moonlighting as a cleaner at the college.
7"Kaz Over Easy (a.k.a. All Work And No Play...)"Dick MartinBruce FerberJanuary 23, 1987 (1987-01-23)
When Kaz's workaholic friend from Japan dies of a heart attack, Kaz drastically alters his own work habits. Buster calls in a favour to get a down-on-his-luck friend a job on the factory floor... but his friend repeatedly shows him up with poor conduct.
8"Where the Boys Are"Dick Martin & George SungaJames Berg & Stan ZimmermanJanuary 30, 1987 (1987-01-30)
Umeki can't contact Kaz to tell him that the prototype he plans to introduce at the auto show was totaled in transit. Ito and Googie organize a social evening to try and bond the guys on the factor floor - and end up regretting it, when by chance Kenji and some senior executives visit the same bar amid tense business deal talks.
9"Brother, Can You Spare a Dollar?"Thomas LofaroUnknownFebruary 6, 1987 (1987-02-06)
A visit from Hunt's brother Eddie (Marc Poppel), a Chicago commodities broker, sparks sibling rivalry; while Googie is too embarrassed to admit he's locked himself out of his car, and comes up with increasingly far-fetched cover stories to get his co-workers to help him.

See also

References

  1. ^ Gung Ho on ABC - 1986, TV Show
  2. ^ Gung Ho, Ep 1: Pilot
  3. ^ Gung Ho, Ep 3: Talk of the Town

External links

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