@manfromatlantis said:

I remember seeing this in the 80s ten years after it aired,

I remember seeing this during my youth and being so disappointed that Bruce Lee wasn't cast. I enjoyed the series but still felt it was a huge error not to have Lee as the star.

I think lee turned down the role.

@manfromatlantis said:

I think lee turned down the role.

The idea of the series was floated around and there was some conversations between Lee that may have been about his ideas about the show and his own ideas about what that type of show would be about. Lee never turned down or passed on paying the lead.

David Carradine's gentle demeanor was much more fitting for the type of character that the writers seemed to be going for when they created Caine.

Bruce Lee was a much better martial artist, of course, but I don't think his acting chops were sufficient to carry the show as a star.