I'm fed up. I've had it with all the liberal do-gooders and professional bleeding hearts slamming poor Charlie. You've heard the usual gargonzola: it's disrespectful of Asians, he was always played by a Caucasian actor, he was a bundle of stereotypes and racist phoobah. Real Orientals don't act and talk like that, wag, wag, wag.

Well, I'm not buying it. So he was never played by a Chinese dude. Duuuuhhh! That's why they call it ACTING! And as for lack of respect for Asiatics, think about that for awhile. Charlie ALWAYS got his man, in spite of the bumbling Anglo detectives who couldn't seem to stop tripping over their own flat feet. Besides, they always came to him for advice and for help in solving the hard cases; the man had respect, gravitas. And remember, the heavies were always white guys.

Not only did Charlie always solve the mystery, he did it with style and class. He didn't miss a thing, and his logic was impeccable. But above and beyond his sleuthing, he was always ready with a bit of profound philosophy or a Chinese proverb or other perceptive observation. Neither was he devoid of humor, his self-deprecating wit was always evident, and he was as gentle and kind to others as he was tough on criminals. He was also a loving family man. If anyone was the fool, it was Number One Son, who's exaggerated aping of western customs, slang and dress only pointed out how it was his abandonment of his own traditions, not his Chinese heritage, that made him a comic, ridiculous figure. And as far as realism is concerned, Charlie was no further off base than Carradine's kung fu boy on TV many years later.

So let's here it for Charlie, and the actors who played him. May they live on in syndication forever.