Tales of the Gold Monkey: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''It had the romance of the 1930s, the bigger-than-life hero with the leather jacket, and the elements of intrigue of that time period. It was a lot of fun. That plane [the Goose] was a magic carpet and it could take you anywhere.''|Donald A. Baer, director, on ''[[Tales of the Gold Monkey]]'' }}

Tropical islands, [[Two-Fisted Tales|high-flying adventure]], political intrigue, "talking" dogs and [[All Myths Are True|legends come alive]]! This is the world of [[Tales of the Gold Monkey]], a one-season adventure series that aired on ABC in 1982. Set in the mythical South Pacific island of Bora Gora (in the equally mythical Marivellas archipelago) in [[The Thirties]], it follows the adventures of Jake Cutter, pilot of a Grumman Goose flying boat named ''Cutter's Goose'', his one-eyed [[Non-Human Sidekick|canine sidekick]] Jack, and [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits|his various allies and associates]] as they battle the villainous schemes of [[Dragon Lady|Princess Koji]] and other ne'er-do-wells. Jake, a former Pan Am pilot and former member of the Flying Tigers American Volunteer Group, just wants to settle in to a quiet life as a legitimate pilot-for-hire. Needless to say, adventure tends to find him.

An early [[Donald P. Bellisario|Belisarius Production]], it shares many of the traits common with his works, such as action/adventure, [[Camp]], [[Rule of Cool]], and a former military protagonist (Jake Cutter, former Flying Tigers AVG pilot) who narrates his own life through an inner voice. It ran for but a single season (Sept. 1982-July 1983) for a total of 21 episodes, counting the 2 hour pilot, but built up a large cult following that [[Keep Circulating the Tapes|kept circulating the tapes]] for decades before it finally made its way to DVD in 2009 (UK/Australia) and 2010 (US/Canada). While many assume the show was a Spiritual Successor of ''[[Indiana Jones]]'', Bellisario originally pitched the idea in the late 1970s and always claimed the inspiration to be the 1939 film ''Only Angels Have Wings''.

While short-lived, ''Tales of the Gold Monkey'' was critically acclaimed (winning several Emmys) and had a notable influence on future shows, including the animated [[Spiritual Successor]] Disney's ''[[Tale Spin]]''.

* Stephen Collins as ''Jake Cutter'', our [[Ace Pilot]] and main protagonist, pilot of Cutter's Goose

* Caitlin O'Heaney as ''Sarah Stickney White'', an American spy undercover as a bar singer and Jake's quasi-[[Love Interest]]

* Roddy McDowall (Ron Moody in the Pilot) as ''Bon Chance Louie'', French magistrate and owner of the [[Local Hangout|Monkey Bar]]

* Marta DuBois as ''Princess Koji'', half-Japanese [[Dragon Lady]] and main antagonist

* Les Jankey as ''Gushie'', Louie's wheelchair-bound partner and [[The Bartender]]

* [[Ace Pilot]]: Jake, of the ''Plugger'' variety (rather necessary in an unarmed flying boat). He was also a literal Ace, having scored five confirmed kills against the Japanese while with the Flying Tigers.

* [[All Myths Are True]]

* [[Animal Athlete Loophole]]: Jake is told he can't fly without a co-pilot, and attempts to claim that Jack is his co-pilot, using [[Animal Athlete Loophole|Ain't No Rule]]. While there ''isn't'' a rule saying a dog can't be a co-pilot, there ''is'' a rule saying that your co-pilot has to have two working eyes, regardless of species.

** [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Dog]] [[God Was My Co-Pilot|Was My Copilot?]]

* [[Back-to-Back Badasses]]: Jake and Corky go into this routine during a brawl in a Philippine bar.

* [[Badass Preacher]]: The one time Reverend Tenboom involves himself in a brawl, he shows himself to be very good at it.

* [[Bar Brawl]]: a staple of the show, naturally, along with a [[Running Gag]] of Louie doing up the bill for damages as the fight takes place.

* [[The Bartender]]: Gushie and to a lesser degree Louie

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]

* [[Bottle Episode]]: ''Force of Habit''. Half the episode takes place in the Goose's cockpit, and it was written to be an episode that could be filmed in half the time of the normal episodes, because they were behind schedule.

* [[Chased by Angry Natives]]: African ones...in the South Pacific!

* [[Chivalrous Pervert]]: Rev. Willy Tenboom will sleep with any and all of the attractive female population on the island, but when one of those girls is coerced into prostitution, he responds by tearing down the pimp's tent and brawling with his enforcers.

* [[Cool Plane]]: Subverted by Cutter's Goose, a vintage Grumman Goose flying boat. She's temperamental, requires regular maintenance, and certainly isn't sleek and futuristic, even for the [[The Thirties|time portrayed in the show]]. [[What a Piece of Junk!|But she'll surprise you]]. '''Note''': while totally a cool plane in the subjective sense, the [[Cool Plane|Trope itself]] doesn't really apply to the Goose. See the main entry.

* [[Creator Cameo]]: [[Donald P. Bellisario]] appears, along with his son, as a man and child being evacuated from Boragora when its volcano is erupting in the episode ''A Distant Shout of Thunder.''

* [[Crew of One]]: Averted; Jake relies on Corky and others for repairs, co-piloting, emergency damage control, etc.

* [[The Dragon]]: Todo

* [[Dragon Lady]]: Princess Koji

* [[Dream Sequence]]

* [[Donald P. Bellisario]]

* [[Double Meaning Title]] and [[Pun-Based Title]]: Evoked in some episodes, ex: "Force of Habit", "Last Chance Louie", and "Cooked Goose"

* [[Edited for Syndication]]: In the late 80s two episodes were edited together to form a "movie" retitled "Curse of the Gold Monkey"

* [[Everything's Better with Samurai]]: Todo

* [[Everything's Better with Princesses]]: Koji

* [[Executive Meddling]]: the studio kept trying to make the series [[Lighter and Softer]] and more kid-oriented, not to mention [[Viewers are Morons|ease up on the intrigue and plot turns]].

* [[Expanded Universe]]: a short-lived series of comics, among others.

* [[Expansion Pack Past]]: Bon Chance Louie; for a single season show it's amazing how fast his Mysterious Past grew!

* [[Eyepatch of Power]]: on Jack (the dog)!

* [[Femme Fatale]]: Koji, obviously!

* [[The Gambler]]: in "High Stakes Lady". She's also a [[Femme Fatal]].

* [[Good Guy Bar]]: The Monkey Bar

* [[Heroic Dog]]: Jack, of course!

* [[If It Swims, It Flies]]: Justified with Cutter's Goose...it ''is'' a flying boat, after all!

** Possibly also a case of [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]. To quote Jeff MacKay in a ''Cinescape'' interview, "That dog had more brains than any of us."

* [[Jungle Opera]]

* [[Keep Circulating the Tapes]]: the only way to see it until very recently

* [[Kick the Dog]]: [[Those Wacky Nazis]], naturally

* [[Let Them Die Happy]]: In "Legends Are Forever", more or less the same way as with Harry Luck in ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]''.

* [[Local Hangout]]: the Monkey Bar; also at various times the [[Good Guy Bar]], [[Bad Guy Bar]], and/or [[Wretched Hive]]

* [[Loveable Rogue]]: Jake

* [[Moral Guardians]]: the reason the name was changed from "Tales of the Brass Monkey", since a Brass Monkey was an alcoholic cocktail.

* [[Mr. Fixit]]: Corky

* [[Mysterious Past]]: Bon Chance Louie

* [[Non-Indicative Name]]: The gold monkey at the bar is actually a brass monkey. {{spoiler|The ''real'' gold monkey is still out there, though.}}

* [[Nubile Savage]]: One takes a liking to Corky in "Shanghaied."

* [[Pass the Popcorn]]: Louie and his patrons tend to take bets on the outcome of bar brawls.

* [[Penal Colony]]: In "Escape from Death Island". Subverted in that {{spoiler|the inmates run the colony. The gang that seized control is pretending to be the commandant and guards to any visitors, while still treating the other inmates like crap, until the supply boat comes so that they can steal it, and get away.}}

* [[Plot-Driven Breakdown]]: of Cutter's Goose, as required

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]: Rev. Tenboom

* [[Quicksand Sucks]]

* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]

* [[Rare Vehicles]]: A6M Zero fighters are pretty common [[Anachronism Stew|for a fighter not even in prototype phase yet]]

* [[Shoot the Dog]]: "narrowly averted" literal example in "Escape from Death Island". Admittedly more of a [[Kick the Dog]] case, but yeah...

* [[Sinister Minister]]: Reverend Tenboom, sinner, womanizer, and German spy!

* [[Spiritual Successor]]: ''Only Angels Have Wings'' (1939) and other depression-era adventure and noir films (despite assumptions to the contrary, it was not a Spiritual Successor of ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', having been originally pitched and rejected in 1979...though the idea was finally accepted following the success of Raiders.

** Influenced its own Spiritual Successor in Disney's ''[[Tale Spin]]''.

* [[Stock Footage]]:

* [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler]]: in "Black Pearl" [[Those Wacky Nazis]] make an atomic bomb, in 1938!

* [[Thememobile]]: Cutter's Goose

* [[The Thirties]]: 1938, to be specific.

* [[Those Wacky Nazis]]: "monocle guy" Fritz in the pilot and the scientists building an atomic bomb in "Black Pearl."

* [[Two-Fisted Tales]] and/or [[Dieselpunk]]

* [[Unresolved Sexual Tension]]: Jake and Sarah, Jake and Koji...well, Jake and about any unrelated female

[[Category:Short Runners]]

[[Category:Action Adventure Series]]

[[Category:American Series]]

[[Category:The Great Depression]]

[[Category:Tales of the Gold Monkey]]

[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1980s]]

[[Category:Western Animation]]