# Tales of the Gold Monkey

Tales of the Gold Monkey was an American adventure drama television series broadcast in prime time on Wednesday nights by ABC from September 22, 1982, until June 1, 1983. Debuting the year following the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the series featured early aviation, indigenous locals, and cliff-hanging action. Creator Don Bellisario said it was based on the 1939 Howard Hawks film Only Angels Have Wings.

## Premise and major characters

Set in 1938 in the South Pacific, the series is about an ex-Flying Tigers fighter pilot named Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins). Now the operator of an air cargo delivery service based on the fictional South Seas island Bora Gora, he flies a red and white Grumman Goose called Cutter's Goose. Jake's best friend is his mechanic Corky (Jeff MacKay), a good-hearted alcoholic with a hazy memory from heavy drinking. However, a one-eyed Jack Russell terrier named Jack, which barks once for "no" and twice for "yes" (or the opposite if it suits him) would dispute just who Jake's best friend really is. Jack wears an eye patch, but used to have a false eye made of opal with a star sapphire centre that Jake lost in a poker game—and refuses to let Jake forget it.
Jake's love interest and U.S. government spy contact is Sarah Stickney White (Caitlin O'Heaney). She sings in the Monkey Bar as a cover for her espionage activities. The Reverend Willie Tenboom (John Calvin), a phony man of the cloth who likes to "bless" the female natives in private "prayer", is in reality a Nazi spy named Willy, with interests in both sides.
"Bon Chance" Louie (played by Ron Moody in the pilot, Roddy McDowall in the series) is the owner of the Monkey Bar and the French magistrate for Bora Gora. Jake's nemesis is the Japanese princess Koji (Marta DuBois), a Dragon Lady type of character who has eyes for Jake. Koji's devoted bodyguard is Todo (John Fujioka), a fierce practitioner of Bushido and loyal to the princess. (Although Calvin, DuBois, and Fujioka were billed on the opening credits of each episode, they actually only appeared on a semi-regular basis in a handful of episodes.)
The title is derived from a gigantic mythical golden statue that is the focal point of the pilot episode, seen only by the viewer at the end of the show. The characters end their search for the statue after finding a substitute brass monkey that is kept at the Monkey Bar for the rest of the series.

## History and context

Originally, the series was to be called Tales of the Brass Monkey, but the Heublein company had run a series of magazine ads with exactly that name about a bar in the Far East, with hints of Casablanca intrigue and references to the Kenpeitai; so, to avoid legal difficulties, the name was changed to Gold Monkey. At the end of the pilot episode, it is revealed that the statue at the bar was actually brass and not gold. However, unknown to the characters (and revealed to viewers only just before the end credits), the island where the statue was found does contain a massive structure apparently made of solid gold that does resemble a monkey. However, a thousand years of neglect had left it covered in vegetation and debris, and it is only exposed by the same volcanic eruption that forces the characters off the island.
As with most of creator Donald P. Bellisario's projects, links exist to his other shows. The most notable is of the character Gandy Dancer (played by William Lucking), an ace pilot treasure hunter who appears in the episodes "Legends Are Forever" and – in flashback form – in "Honor Thy Brother". Although Gandy dies in "Legends Are Forever", Bellisario liked the character enough to adapt him to the present day. The third-season episode "Two Birds of a Feather" of Bellisario's hit Magnum, P.I., has Lucking playing the very similar character of Sam Houston Hunter, also an ace pilot. The episode, which noticeably has little appearance of Magnum or any other regular characters, acted as a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off series starring Lucking. However, the series was never picked up, although Bellisario stripped down the "adventures of an ace pilot" concept and worked it into Airwolf (1984–1986). Jeff MacKay had recurring roles in Magnum, P.I., and later JAG (1995–2005), and Marta DuBois played the role of Magnum's estranged wife Michelle, long-presumed dead, in a story arc that spanned most of that show's run. MacKay and Calvin both went on to play several guest roles in Airwolf; and McDowall, MacKay, Calvin (and stock footage of the Goose) all went on to have guest appearances on the Bellisario series Quantum Leap (1989–1993). Stock footage of the Goose was also used in The A-Team episode "The Island" (season three, episode eight) and in Quantum Leap Episode "Ghost Ship" (season four, episode 16). Additionally, Jake's surname, Cutter, was previously an early working title and character name for that of Magnum, and Bellisario later reused the name "Gushie", who in Gold Monkey was a waiter at the Monkey Bar who used a wheelchair, for a member of the Quantum Leap project team.
Although generally well-received in both the United States and overseas (such as the United Kingdom, where it was broadcast on BBC One on Monday evenings), the show was not renewed for another season, mostly due to the ratings not justifying the high cost of production.
This show was an inspiration for the Disney animated series TaleSpin, according to series creators Jymn Magon and Mark Zaslove. It also heavily inspired the ninth season of the animated series Archer, "Danger Island".
A fictional recursion occurs in "The Sultan of Swat" in which – while waiting for the Boeing 314 Pan Am Clipper – Jake is reading a book with a dustcover titled Murder on the Footbridge, which is apparently a key plot reference from the 1941 Alfred Hitchcock movie Suspicion.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Tales of the Gold Monkey: Episode 1" | Ray Austin | Donald P. Bellisario | September 22, 1982 (1982-09-22) |
| Part one of the series pilot: American pilot Jake Cutter contends with German spies, vicious monkeys and a sassy government agent. |||||
| 2 | "Tales of the Gold Monkey: Episode 2" | Ray Austin | Donald P. Bellisario | September 22, 1982 (1982-09-22) |
| Part two of the pilot. American pilot Jake Cutter contends with German spies, vicious monkeys and a sassy government agent. |||||
| 3 | "Shanghaied" | Alan J. Levi | Donald P. Bellisario | September 29, 1982 (1982-09-29) |
| Jake struggles to rescue Corky from the clutches of a one-armed captain of a slave ship. |||||
| 4 | "Black Pearl" | Victor Lobl | Dennis Capps and George Geiger & Bob Foster & Paul Savage & Donald P. Bellisario | October 13, 1982 (1982-10-13) |
| Jake poses as a defecting American scientist to investigate a top-secret German military experiment. |||||
| 5 | "Legends Are Forever" | Virgil Vogel | Story by : Milt Rosen Teleplay by : Milt Rosen and Reuben Leder and Donald P. Bellisario | October 20, 1982 (1982-10-20) |
| An old friend with dubious motives talks Jake into transporting supplies to a malaria-stricken African tribe. |||||
| 6 | "Escape from Death Island" | James Frawley | Peter Elliot & Stephen Katz | October 27, 1982 (1982-10-27) |
| Jake and Corky fly an Englishman to an island prison colony, where the man's son is being mistreated for leading an escape attempt. |||||
| 7 | "Trunk from the Past" | Christian I. Nyby II | John Pashdag & Brady Westwater | November 3, 1982 (1982-11-03) |
| Jake believes that a blood-stained trunk holds the key to Sarah's murdered father's search for a pharaoh's tomb. |||||
| 8 | "Once a Tiger..." | Winrich Kolbe | L. Ford Neal & John Huff | November 17, 1982 (1982-11-17) |
| Jake helps search for a downed aircraft transporting military weapons the Japanese also want. |||||
| 9 | "Honor Thy Brother" | Mike Vejar | Story by : Jeff Ray & Danny Lee Cole Teleplay by : Jeff Ray & Danny Lee Cole and Bill Driskill and George Geiger | November 24, 1982 (1982-11-24) |
| Jake embarks on a mission to help Corky out of an arranged marriage. Jack gets his glass eye back, briefly. |||||
| 10 | "The Lady and the Tiger" | Virgil Vogel | Donald P. Bellisario | December 8, 1982 (1982-12-08) |
| Jake crash-lands on an island, where he's aided by a widow and her young son, who's bent on killing a tiger. |||||
| 11 | "The Late Sarah White" | Harvey Laidman | Maryanne Kasica & Michael Scheff and Donald P. Bellisario & George Geiger | December 22, 1982 (1982-12-22) |
| Jake heads for the Philippines after Sarah is reported to have died on a secret mission there. |||||
| 12 | "The Sultan of Swat" | Virgil Vogel | David Brown | January 5, 1983 (1983-01-05) |
| Jake's friend lands in Boragora and is soon accused of having raped and murdered an island girl. |||||
| 13 | "Ape Boy" | Winrich Kolbe | Story by : Eric Lerner and Bill Driskill Teleplay by : Andrew Schneider and Bill Driskill | January 12, 1983 (1983-01-12) |
| Jake, Sarah and Corky find an ape boy who's sought by an Englishman and two hunters for a circus freak show. |||||
| 14 | "God Save the Queen" | Virgil Vogel | George Geiger | January 19, 1983 (1983-01-19) |
| A British lord threatens to blow up a stranded luxury liner carrying the Duke of Windsor, unless the duke hands over the royal jewels. |||||
| 15 | "High Stakes Lady" | James Frawley | Story by : Lance Madrid III and Bill Driskill Teleplay by : Bill Driskill | January 26, 1983 (1983-01-26) |
| Jake becomes involved in espionage when he accompanies a card shark to a high-stakes poker game. |||||
| 16 | "Force of Habit" | Harvey S. Laidman | Story by : Tom Greene and William Schmidt Teleplay by : Tom Greene | February 2, 1983 (1983-02-02) |
| On Boragora, Jake recognises a woman---now donning a nun's habit---who claims she's delivering cholera vaccine to China. |||||
| 17 | "Cooked Goose" | Donald A. Baer | Jay Huguely | March 4, 1983 (1983-03-04) |
| While honeymooning on an island, a clipper pilot is beaten and his bride abducted by mercenaries. |||||
| 18 | "Last Chance Louie" | James Fargo | Story by : Bob Shayne Teleplay by : Tom Greene & George Geiger | March 11, 1983 (1983-03-11) |
| Louie is sentenced to the guillotine for the murder of a French army deserter, and Jake's only hope of saving him is a story that Louie wants to remain a secret. |||||
| 19 | "Naka Jima Kill" | Jack Whitman | Story by : Thom Thomas and Andrew Schneider Teleplay by : Andrew Schneider and Tom Greene | March 18, 1983 (1983-03-18) |
| A newshound covering an assassination attempt against the Japanese defence minister tricks Jake into flying her to Princess Koji's island. |||||
| 20 | "Boragora or Bust" | Ivan Dixon | George Geiger & Tom Greene | March 25, 1983 (1983-03-25) |
| Jake's prospector friend could lose his platinum mine to a claim-jumper from the States. |||||
| 21 | "A Distant Shout of Thunder" | James Fargo | Tom Greene & George Geiger | April 8, 1983 (1983-04-08) |
| Sarah is used as a scapegoat by a revolutionary, who accuses her of removing a statue from sacred ground in the Marivellas. |||||
| 22 | "Mourning Becomes Matuka" | David Jones | Story by : Jay Huguely Teleplay by : Jay Huguely and Tom Greene & George Geiger | June 1, 1983 (1983-06-01) |
| After learning of a plot to assassinate her, Princess Koji asks Jake to determine which guest at her birthday party is vying for her empire. |||||

## Home media

Fabulous Films obtained the DVD rights for the complete series for the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. Release dates are listed below. Shout! Factory released Tales of the Gold Monkey: The Complete Series on Region 1 DVD on June 8, 2010.
| Region 2/4 (UK) | November 16, 2009 |
| Region 2/4 (Australia) | November 27, 2009 |
| Region 1 (US) | June 8, 2010 |
All three DVD sets include the same bonus features: original double-length pilot episode; the complete 20-episode series; new 36-minute 'making of' documentary with Stephen Collins (Jake Cutter), Caitlin O'Heaney (Sarah Stickney White), writer/producer Tom Greene, director Harvey Laidman; audio commentaries on five episodes; series synopsis; stills gallery; Caitlin's Original Costume gallery; artifacts gallery; 24-page collector's booklet with episode synopses. The Region 1 and 2 versions have a dedication to "the memory of the late, great Jeff MacKay" printed on the back cover.

## Reception
### Ratings

U.S. television ratings for Tales of the Gold Monkey :
| Season | Episodes | Start Date | End Date | Nielsen Rank | Nielsen Rating | Tied With |
| 1982–83 | 21 | September 22, 1982 | June 1, 1983 | 69 | N/A | N/A |

### Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Tales of the Gold Monkey :
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| 1983 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Art Direction for a Series | John W. Corso (production designer), Frank Grieco, Jr. (art director), Robert George Freer (set decorator) | Won |
| 1983 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Costume Design for a Series | Jean-Pierre Dorleac | Nominated |
| 1983 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Film Sound Editing for a Series | Sam Shaw (supervising editor), Bernard P. Cabral, John Detra, Sam Gemette, Donlee Jorgensen, Mark Roberts (sound editor)|Mark Roberts, Erik Schrader, John Stacy, Bob Weatherford, Paul Wittenberg, William Shenberg | Nominated |
| 1983 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Film Sound Mixing for a Series | John Kean (production mixer), Michael Casper, Stanley H. Polinsky, B. Tennyson Sebastian II (rerecording mixers) | Nominated |

## Other media

A television annual was published in the UK by Grandreams Ltd in 1982. It included text and comic stories based on the show. Comic stories based on the show also ran in TV Comic from issue #1656, Sept 1983 to #1697 Jun. 29, 1984, as well as the 1984 holiday special and 1985 annual.
G. P. Putnam's Sons published a children's storybook in 1983.