YouTube Red’s new “Cobra Kai” series finds the stars of the 1984 movie “The Karate Kid” back in action — ready to bring the underdog tale of martial arts and pop philosophy into the 21st century.
The show is less a reboot and more a sequel to the original movie.
The story pics up three decades after the movie. Underdog hero Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) is a successful entrepreneur with thriving automobile dealerships, a beautiful home, and a loving family.
Arch nemesis Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) is a down-on-his-luck divorced dad who shuffles around Los Angeles doing handyman jobs — driving a faded red Firebird, drinking Coors beer, and emotionally stuck in the 1980s.
One fateful evening, Lawrence is getting a slice of pizza from a decrepit convenience store. As he sits on the curb eating the slice, a group of rowdy teens arrive and pick on a boy, Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña), exiting the store. The bullying turns violent — Miguel is shoved onto the hood of Johnny’s car — and Lawrence steps into action and employs karate moves to take the bullies down.
Miguel is impressed with the martial artistry, and seeks out Lawrence (who lives in the same Reseda apartment complex) to teach him the way of the fist.
Reluctant at first, Lawrence agrees to be Miguel’s sensei (to the pounding beat of “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project) — the sequence of events prompted by a chance run-in with LaRusso.
The Cobra Kai dojo is reborn — this time with a decidedly geeky clientele — and Lawrence is on the path of redemption.
The setup provides a terrific launching pad for the first season of “Cobra Kai.”
Bridget and I shot through all 10 episodes in a couple of days (each episode runs about 30 minutes).
“Cobra Kai” was created by the minds behind movies like the “Harold & Kumar” franchise, “American Reunion,” and “Hot Tub Time Machine.”
Don’t let that fact dissuade you. The show is able to strike a balance between comedy and drama. You find yourself invested in the characters.
The humor can be a bit low-brow at times, but it doesn’t detract from the fun.
We learn that Johnny Lawrence isn’t a one dimensional bully who grew up in the lap of privilege. We meet his cantankerous stepdad (Ed Asner) and learn Johnny's childhood wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Training Miguel becomes a guiding force in Johnny’s life. As Lawrence tells the boy’s mother, “that kid is the only person in the world who hasn’t given up on me, and I don’t want to give up on him.”
We also see Daniel LaRusso in a new light. The trappings of success have caused him to become distracted from what is important. In his zeal to continue "righting the wrongs" of his youth, he finds himself the bully as it regards Johnny Lawrence.
“Cobra Kai” becomes the story of redemption for both men, and exposes a younger generation to the lessons both have learned.
As Miguel’s mom says to Johnny, “You can’t let the mistakes of the past determine your future.”
In addition to the philosophical underpinnings of the show, there are also nods to the 1980s.
A clever example of this is when Johnny consults the 1986 movie “Iron Eagle” looking for wisdom — listening with rapt attention as Col. Chappy Sinclair doles out sage advice to Doug Masters.
Because Johnny is an analog man stuck in a digital world, he is the perfect vessel to point out all the idiosyncrasies of today's culture.
As you would expect, there are also a number of 1980s musical cues throughout the 10-episode season.
“Cobra Kai” is able to make 1980s nostalgia feel fresh and fun — wrapping it all up in a dramedy format that rings true to today’s narrative style.
The story weaves the lives of the various cast members together — meaning LaRusso and Lawrence have ample opportunities to reignite an old rivalry.
While YouTube is the king of crowd-sourced video content, the outlet is behind streaming services like Netflix and Amazon in terms of scripted programming.
If “Cobra Kai” exemplifies the content Google can put forth, they are headed in the right direction.
If you’d like to check out “Cobra Kai,” the first two episodes are available for free on YouTube. Here is the first episode:
I don’t know what producers have planned for future seasons of “Cobra Kai,” but the first season was a lot of fun.
In “Cobra Kai,” “The Karate Kid” finally got the sequel it deserved.
Highly recommended.
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