By: Mordicai

 

Certain foggy childhood television memories reach back and beckon even the cluttered adult mind. I vaguely remember a show about an island pilot and a one-eyed dog with “monkey” in the title – a faded postcard from a bygone era. Finally, while voyaging into certain dark corners of the internet, found it, dusted it off and now I am happily able to review a woefully forgotten series. “Tales of the Gold Monkey” engrossed my young imagination, a show ripe with adventure and daring exploits. As usual with such things, I was nervous that it wouldn’t hold up to my youthful zeal, but gee-willikers was I wrong.

Season One opener.

 

The 80’s was decade of innocence compared to our modern, complicated times. But every decade thinks the same, and for that era, the 1930’s was pure escapism - a naive age of square-jawed, “and-how” adventure. TOTGM (the first TV program we’ve reviewed here on Rad Rev) chronicles the exploits of Jake Cutter, former Flying Tiger and pilot-for-hire who, with his monocular dog Jack, shuttle their Grumman seaplane “Cutter’s Goose” each week from escapade to thrilling escapade. The setting is1938, in what is presumably French Polynesia, and home base, an island named Boragora. The Japanese are slowly encroaching on French and American territories and every rowdy bar and tiny island are teeming with spies of all nationalities. Every dank, tropical setting in TOTGM is a crossroad for near-do-wells and various nefarious types seeking their fortunes on the pot-boiling eve of World War II… a perfect setting for intrigue. The title derives from the series pilot and the quest for, of course… a legendary golden monkey.

 

Episode List:

The relationships are well drawn, and the quirky characters grow throughout the series, as we gradually learn more about their tragic pasts and the disparate reasons why they have all wound up together on an obscure island chain at the far end of the world. Although not strictly a comedy, consistently above-par TV writing bolsters the sometimes frivolous plots with a rich, wry humor that makes the characters so gosh-darn endearing. Buckets of kudos go to the worthy casting and the strong performers who always fly straight, never losing the tongue-in-cheek mood no matter how zany the goings on become.

 

Pharaoh Jack

 

Here are the major players that you will get to know:

 

Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins) - former Flying Tiger, all-Ameican baseball fan, and ace pilot.
Jack (Leo the dog) – one eyed canine copilot and career pessimist.
Corky (Jeff MacKay) – Jake’s mechanic, his best (human) friend, and resident recovering alcoholic.
Sarah Stickney-White (Caitlin O’Heaney) – singer at the Monkey Bar, love interest, and American spy – she can land on my island any day.
Bon Chance Louie (Roddy McDowall) – local French magistrate and owner of the Monkey Bar who once escaped a date with the guillotine.
Reverend Willie Tenboom (John Calvin) – lecherous priest and German spy.
Princess Koji (Marta DuBois) – Super-hot half-Japanese princess with her own private island and fighting force – full-time sadist and part-time ally.
Todo (John Fujioka) – samurai throwback and hard-core head of Princess Koji’s security battalion.

 

Stephen Collins (the dad from 7th Heaven) is great as our do-right hero and full-time AA sponsor to Corky, both deftly and dumbly portrayed by Jeff MacKay. The two share an effortless chemistry that lends realism to their friendship. The gorgeous Caitlin O’Heaney is fine as the good-girl singer at the bar, though she cannot carry a tune to save her life. Roddy McDowell delivers a reserved performance as Louie. Perfectly odd and wicked, the exotic Marta DuBois seems to enjoy her roll as the unpredictable princess. However, the biggest scene-stealer of the show is Leo the Dog. As Jack, he is far from your typical TV pooch; though oft irascible and irritable, he’s usually the voice of reason, as important a character as any. Once you learn that two barks translate to “yes” and one means “no,” then you realize his dialogue is quite crucial and hilarious. Screw Lassie, they should have given Leo an Emmy. Overall, the supporting cast and guest stars are all top-notch TV regulars. Even the background extras are moving set elements, adding to the rich, grainy atmosphere.

 

A typical day at the Monkey Bar.

 

TOTGM has many things working for it: an innocent, romantic tension between Jake and Sarah holds well throughout the series. Great running jokes include the eternal quest to get Jack’s glass eye back, constant bar brawls (and Jake’s subsequent bills for the damages,) and the “Goose” entering Japanese airspace each week and acquiring a few more bullet holes, much to Corky’s chagrin. Louie’s grandiose past is often alluded to with typical French nonchalance. Someone almost always dies, usually a sympathetic character, providing heavy shifts from lightheartedness to sadness. The Goose is always breaking down, always at the worst possible moment. And remember, everyone’s a spy - or at the very least, an assassin.

 

L'historie de Bon Chance Louie.

 

Now, any who might accuse the series of plagiarizing Raiders of the Lost Ark, must note that the differences outweigh the similarities (Raiders wasn’t exactly an original idea either.) It is well documented that Bellisario (the man who brought us Magnum P.I. and Quantum Leap) had unsuccessfully shopped the idea around in the late 70’s, but not until the Indiana Jones box office receipts came in did ABC find the fiscal confidence to produce such a risky concept. TOTGM derives more from old-timey serial adventures like “Terry and the Pirates”, period films such as Casablanca, and, specifically, the Cary Grant/ Jean Arthur classic, Only Angels Have Wings. Prematurely, the series was cancelled, not due to poor ratings, per se, but the high production costs of an island-hopping adventure. No, America desperately needed another season of “The Love Boat” and “Hart to Hart” instead of giving a truly original show one more season to prove itself.

 

Not always fun and games on Boragora.

 

Now it’s difficult to rate an entire series - some episodes really work, a perfect alloy of comedy, daring do, and drama; others are not as good, veering off course into high-camp and silliness. The series starts strong, but begins to wane after a few episodes, picking up again during the second season with tauter drama and fewer ludicrous shenanigans. Small touches that inject a needed sense of atmosphere to the later episodes are the inclusion of period music and the opening and closing shots of each show which fade from and into sepia-toned stills, reminiscent of old photographs. The basic rule for TOTGM is to suspend all logic, ignore obvious anachronisms, and simply enjoy the ride. I not only highly recommend this high-flying series, but deem it essential for any fan of the action and/or adventure genre.

 

Sadly, we may never find out exactly what that fabled auric simian was pointing toward, but hopefully it’s an eventual DVD release. Rumors abound that Universal will distribute the show to coincide with the Spring 2008 release of the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series. But internet rumors are as far-flung and mysterious as the islands of the Marivellas… I am happy to report that “Tales of the Gold Monkey” more than surpassed my expectations. Not everything that glitters is gold, but without a doubt, this monkey shines.

 

 

Rating: 4.5/5 Doggie eyepatches

 

 

 

 

 

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