1 9 9 4 – 1 9 9 5 (USA)
13 x 60 minute episodes
Jian-Wa Chang (Russell Wong) was a muscular but thoughtful student and musician, skilled in the martial arts, who had come to America from Beijing with his hot-headed younger brother, Wago (Chi Muoi Lo), in search of freedom.
Wago fell in with a gang, and when Jian-Wa tried to get him out, Wago and two federal agents were murdered.
The real culprit was “The General” (Haing S. Ngor), a Vietnamese expatriate who was making millions in the US while serving as an informant for the government.
Dan Sandler (Jason Leland Adams), the immediate superior of the murdered federal agents, was sure Jian-Wa was the culprit and was chasing him to bring him to justice.
Agent Judith Phillips (Stephanie Niznik), the newest member of Sandler’s team, had doubts about Jian-Wa’s guilt and was more willing to look for possible proof of his innocence than her aggressive boss.
In an amalgam of The Fugitive and the Kung Fu series, Jian-Wa travelled from place to place, helping people in trouble and trying to find proof of his innocence while avoiding capture by the Feds.
The spirit of his dead brother, Wago, showed up when he needed his help.
Each episode opened and closed with Jian-Wa as the narrator providing philosophical observations about life and people as they related to the episode’s storyline.
Several Vanishing Son TV movies had aired in 1994 with this weekly series airing early the following year.
Jian-Wa Chang
Russell Wong
Agent Dan Sandler
Jason Leland Adams
Agent Judith Phillips
Stephanie Niznik
Wago Chang
Chi Muoi Lo
The General
Haing S. Ngor