No Surrender Cinema: The Last Electric Knight / Sidekicks (1986)
Over the years here at Bulletproof Action, myself and the other action fanatics that make up the Bulletproof staff have enjoyed reflecting on just what a wild decade the 80’s was for action media. In recent years here in this column alone, I’ve discussed how the character of John Rambo jumped from being a PTSD stricken Vietnam vet in a series of R-rated films to a G.I. Joe-esque children’s hero with a cartoon and toy line, not to mention martial arts megastar Chuck Norris also shifting from R-ratings to animation with the short-lived yet beloved Karate Kommandos series and accompanying action figures. Now, for this No Surrender Cinema, we’re going to look at a surprising entry into the wonderful world of 80’s action, the odd couple of a grizzled cop and a karate kid teaming up to take down bad guys in a show produced by…Disney!? Let’s look back on the 1986 TV series Sidekicks!
Fresh off of his small role in the cult classic The Last Dragon (a film that just recently celebrated its 40th Anniversary, and one recently discussed on the Bulletproof Podcast!), Ernie Reyes, Jr. was cast in The Last Electric Knight, a Disney Sunday Movie about a boy named Ernie Lee who recently moved to America from Patusan with his grandfather Sabasan (Keye Luke, a prolific Asian actor who many may remember as Master Po from the original Kung Fu). Astute film fans may also recognize the fictional country of Patusan as the homeland of the main characters (one of whom was also played by Ernie Reyes, Jr.) in 1993’s Surf Ninjas. Ernie’s introduction to the mean streets of America come right at the start of The Last Electric Knight in a scene that’s gone viral in recent years, as it features Ernie kicking ass on a gang led by a young Don Cheadle in one of his first on-screen roles. Ernie easily disposes of the gang and saves their elderly victim, but a different challenge awaits Ernie when he returns home. It seems that Sabasan is ill, and knows that he does not have much time left, so he is seeking a guardian for Ernie to ensure his grandson’s safety. That guardian turns out to be a tough cop named Jake Rizzo (played by Buck Rogers himself, Gil Gerard). Rizzo is aghast at the fact that this young kid, whom he has had no prior interactions with, just starts turning up at his apartment and stating that Rizzo has been chosen to care for him. This sets up an Odd Couple situation with the grumpy bachelor cop who is set in his ways, and the young kid with a much more spiritual outlook on life.
The Last Electric Knight reaches a climax where both Ernie and Rizzo are in trouble after being trapped by the mob, but a timely vision of the recently deceased Sabasan (who retains a mystical connection with his grandson, guiding him from the afterlife) allows Ernie to achieve his destiny of becoming The Last Electric Knight. Much like Bruce Leroy’s realization that he was The Master and had “The Glow” within him all along, Ernie’s headband, given to him by Sabasan, starts glowing blue to signal his ascension to Electric Knight status. By the end of the film, Rizzo has opened up his heart and home to Ernie, much to the delight of young master, opening the door to further adventures, as we’d see once Sidekicks became a weekly series.
Starting in September of 1986, just seven months after The Last Electric Knight premiered, ABC put the duo of Ernie and Rizzo back on TV as part of their primetime lineup. The series kept the main players from the film; Nancy Stafford reprised her role as Patricia Blake, a case worker and Rizzo’s love interest, while Luke would continue to appear as Sabasan in flashbacks and in Ernie’s visions. Rizzo would also be given a partner, first played by Three’s Company veteran Richard Kline before WKRP in Cincinnati’s Frank Bonner (also a future director of City Guys, USA High, and Saved By The Bell: The New Class) joined the main cast as Detective Mooney. Sidekicks also featured plenty of notable guest stars during its short run; Brion James played a corrupt cop who gets his comeuppance in the episode “My Dad The Crook”, a young Giovanni Ribisi played Ernie’s friend Travis in several episodes, and “The Thrill of the Chase” features another link to The Last Dragon courtesy of an El DeBarge appearance, not to mention Michael Richards in a pre-Seinfeld superstardom role.
Looking back on Sidekicks and comparing it to the Disney product of modern times is night and day. Sure, Disney may be able to claim ownership to characters known for their brutal, graphic nature thanks to their Marvel acquisition (looking at you, Punisher!), but differs from that as this was a show that Disney produced in-house. Comparing it to someone like the comic world’s most well known vigilante is a stretch, but for a company that has gone as far as dumbing down the Muppet Babies of all things, it’s admittedly refreshing to know that there was a point in time where the House of Mouse wasn’t walking on eggshells when it came to what they were giving their viewers. This is probably most evident in the episode “An Eye For An Ear”, which not only starts off with Ernie defeating two would-be muggers, but also features a joke about hookers and the attempted murder of Rizzo by a con he once put away. All this on a show that Mickey Mouse put his stamp of approval on? The 80’s really were a wild time.
Unfortunately for those like myself who were absorbing anything and everything karate related in our youth, the success of The Last Electric Knight did not carry over to Sidekicks. Originally put in a Friday night slot, the show was soon moved to Saturdays to replace the quickly canceled Lucille Ball sitcom Life With Lucy. This put Sidekicks in immediate danger, as it was up against the highly rated The Facts of Life. Although Sidekicks did enjoy a full season run (with the final two episodes getting burned off during the summer of ’86), its one and only season would be all we would get. In fact, I don’t recall the show ever being rerun at any point in the US (there is a slight possibility episodes did air in reruns on The Disney Channel, but I can’t confirm; select episodes on YouTube are international broadcasts which I assume aired later than 1986). There were some international video releases of The Last Electric Knight that have since popped up on the interwebs, but for years all I had to go on was my fondness and remaining memories of a show that I remember watching with my cousin before he headed out on whatever weekend mischief he had planned.
Since the Wonderful World of Disney has sadly kept Sidekicks buried for nearly 40 years, it was a pleasant surprise to recently discover that not only does The Last Electric Knight take up real estate in several areas of the internet (you can find the original broadcast and a rip of the UK VHS release rather easily), but every episode of Sidekicks was uploaded to YouTube over the past few months. While the quality varies from episode to episode, it was an enjoyable trip down memory lane. My son seems to be following in my footsteps as far as being a martial arts movie fan, and it’s been fun to kick back and introduce him to a show that made a big impression on me as a little kid. Most people my age tend to have gained their appreciation for Ernie Reyes, Jr. from his appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, but to me, he’ll always be Ernie Lee.
