Dark Days in Monkey City

***Dark Days in Monkey City*** is a documentary television series produced by NHNZ and narrated by John Rhys-Davies from Archaeology. In the tradition of *Meerkat Manor*, it follows the lives of macaques in Sri Lanka, but differed from earlier shows by adding special effects and transitional animation in the style of comic book panels. The series is based on the Smithsonian Primate Project, the longest-running study of primates in the world conducted by Wolfgang Dittus, Ph.D., and was devised as a part of Animal Planet's strategy to rebrand itself as an "entertainment" network. Originally planned to air in successive weeks from February to March 2009, only two weeks and four episodes made it to the original airdate plan, with the majority airing later in the year.

## Premise

Deep within the jungles on the magical isle of Sri Lanka is the deserted city of Polonnaruwa... also known as "Monkey City". There, amidst the crumbling temples, large populations of toque macaques have turned the ruins of this once great and powerful civilization into a savage battlefield. Once ruled by Buddhist and Hindu kings, this ancient temple city is now home to myriad monkey gangs that fight for supremacy. The weak are banished from Monkey City and sent into the Badlands, or worse, the human hell that lies across the river, where human civilization continues to expand into the wild.

The mightiest tribe in Monkey City is the Temple Troop, led by Lear and his queen Gemini. They are the staunch defenders of the best territory in the area - Fig Tree Vale. Their ancient foes are the neighboring Black Claws, who will stop at nothing to conquer that territory so they no longer have to feed on a diet of human rubbish. A bloody conflict is brewing in Monkey City; now, more than ever, the ever-increasing tension between these two groups is teetering on the precipice of all-out-war.

## The macaques

The Smithsonian Primate Project names all 4,000 individuals in its study, but the show substituted the names of iconic characters from Tragedy. Below are the names and main narrative arcs selected by the writers:

### Lear

Lear was the dominant male of the Temple Troop until his leadership was threatened by Hector, a recent ambitious recruit who forced his authority over the other monkeys, watching until he confronted him with a stare. Hector backed down, but later gathered male allies from within the troop and confronted the king. Lear fought Hector in a tree, and was knocked to the ground; he survived, but was dethroned.

When the Black Claws first attacked Fig Tree Vale, Lear played an active role in its defense and confronted a feral dog to save Portia's baby. Lear was killed by the Black Claws when they invaded in full strength.

### Gemini

Gemini and her sisterhood are the core of the troop, and she ruled the Fig Tree Vale. Gemini showed advances to Hector behind Lear's back, and when Hector became brutal and attacked an infant, she expected Lear to act; when he didn't, she turned her full attention to the pretender Hector.

While in exile, the Temple Troop met Che, whose foraging skills impressed her more than Hector's selfish consumption. Che led Gemini to and the Temple Troop to the land of the humans and the troop found food, but while the troop was crossing a road one of the infants was hit by a car. The merger with Che's band of wandering males gave Gemini the confidence to lead the Temple Troop back to Monkey City.

### Hector

Hector used brutality to establish himself as chief rival for Lear's throne, finally provoking the king by attacking his queen, Gemini. Lear confronted Hector but allowed him to back down and grow in confidence. After building alliances with other males and gaining Gemini's attention, Hector challenged Lear to battle, triumphantly claiming the throne by dislodging Lear from the tree they fought in and winning the advances of Gemini and authority over all members, including Lear.

After the second Black Claw incursion on Temple Troop territory war broke out between the two tribes, with Hector's group being defeated. While water was scarce in exile, Hector found a tap which he drank and bathed from but never shared with the other troop members. He tried to lead the troop back to their home range from the bad lands, but Gemini overruled him and lead them into the city. Hector was uneasy at the sight of people, having seen his brother captured during his time as a wandering male. He allowed Che's band to join his troop, despite Che's growing threats, so that they might be strong enough to regain Fig Tree Vale.

### Portia

Portia was the lowest ranking female in the troop and the central focus of the series. She hoped for Lear not to lose his position to Hector, who often attacked low ranking monkeys like her. The program emphasized her fear that if Hector rose to power he would kill the king's previous offspring, though this fortunately did not happen.

Portia was often displaced by Gemini and the other high-ranking females when she found food. When Hector found a tap to drink from while the troop was in exile, Portia had to wait behind high-ranking infants for her turn to drink, and the tap dried out before she had the chance to use it. Portia's fortunes improved with the arrival of Che, a wandering male who managed to join the Temple Troop after a romantic meeting with Portia. She was the first to discover a rice field and the troop briefly had abundant food, but were put by people to took flight, and one of the infants was killed when they tried to cross a road. When the Temple Troop marched back to Monkey City, Portia tried to rise up in the hierarchy to give her son a better life. Portia was bullied by Cassandra, her cousin and a high-ranking female, who also bullied Ophelia, another low-ranking female in the troop. Portia allied with Ophelia to drive Cassandra down the pecking order and increase her own status.

### Che

Che was a wandering male who had encountered the Temple Troop many times before. He got together with Portia in the forest, and when she rejoined the troop Che joined the Temple Troop with confidence.

While in the forest, one of Gemini's adolescent daughters was playing in the leaf litter when Che saw a python and sounded an alarm. This ensured the troop's safety and impressed Gemini, but king Hector saw Che as a rival. Che was experienced in the bad lands and led the Temple Troop into the land of the humans. Hector was reluctant to follow but refused to leave his queen alone with Che. Che suddenly left the Temple Troop and joined the resident city troop, who were said to be former members of his wandering band. In their second visit, the Temple Troop came into conflict with the city troop and among the fighters at the front line was Che, who switched and joined the Temple Troop, who were then forced to retreat. As Che settled into the Temple Troop, his roving band of bachelor males appeared. Knowing that their presence would give Hector an excuse to banish him, Che chased them off, impressing Hector who was watching. When the wandering males returned, Che persuaded them to join the Temple Troop, strengthening their numbers enough to fight for Fig Tree Vale.

## Reception

*Dark Days in Monkey City* received moderate recommendations from critics, who preferred *Meerkat Manor* in the "docu-soap hybrid" genre and felt that the series was over-produced and less credible. Many felt its "intense" visual style, indebted to *300* and *Sin City,* didn't match the available live action footage, and that the narration was overblown.