Enter The Kung Fu Fighter.

He was no Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan, or Caine, but Hong Kong Phooey was a big hit with young audiences. I thought he was way cool, and the show's theme song was so catchy that my kid sister actually wrote down the lyrics! Though I admit that after 40 years, I still don't know the meaning of the song's last word, "Fanrific!"

But seeing Penrod "Penry" Pooch slip away to become the title hero by leaping into a file cabinet was truly original. I thought, "Oh, wow!" Good thing Spot was there, or he'd have suffocated inside it. Poor Spot, by the way. It was always he who nabbed the bad guys, but ego-tripping Phooey always thought he did it with his Kung Fu "skills." I doubt if Carl Douglas had him in mind when he sang about Kung Fu fighting.

I had several favorite episodes. Among them:"Professor Crosshatch," who created the Superbird, who was part parrot, owl, pelican, and a few other avian species, "Kong And The Counterfeiters," in which Penry has to become Hong Kong Phooey without letting Rosemary see him(they and Spot were captured and imprisoned by the crooks), and "Comedy Cowboys," the show's only full-length episode. In this one, when Tin Nose frames our hero for a robbery, his name is cleared by Honcho, Puny, AKA The Mystery Maverick, Burly, Curly, and Sheriff Tumbleweed and his three deputies. This led to the series "Posse Impossible," but I'll share my thoughts on that later.

For the most part, I noticed that the two weekly episodes were held together by some framing story, like Sergeant Flint building a toothpick sculpture that Penry accidentally destroyed, or the PD initiating a fitness program. Sarge hated Penry, and Rosemary adored Hong Kong Phooey.

Oops. Can't forget the Phooeymobile, which I considered one of the neatest vehicles HB ever created. Like the Chan Van, it could become any vehicle at all when Phooey struck a portable gong.

So, as Rosemary often said, "Hong Kong Phooey! I love you-ey!"

Trivia Question 51: What was Hong Kong Phooey called when he was spotted at a five-star hotel?

Answer: The hero of all red-blooded American bellboys.

I think it is just a combination of 'fantastic' and 'terrific'.

Thanks, Pete. That thought never crossed my mind.

Or perhaps, since the character's civilian name is Penrod, the closing word of the title song is "Penr-ific." As mentioned, Hong Kong Phooey is a glory-hound, so ... a word to highlight his dual identity and pat his own back. Of course, much of my ugly head doesn't work too well, so I'm likely not hearing the song rightly.