Tales of the Gold Monkey was a 1982 television show broadcast by ABC. Most critics saw it as the network's attempt to capitalize on the fame of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark the previous year, as similar shows like Bring 'Em Back Alive on CBS. In actuality, the premise of the show bears a much stronger resemblance to the 1939 film Only Angels Have Wings. Creator Donald P. Bellisario had tried to get the series commissioned since the late 1970s, but executives felt that audiences wouldn't be interested in an adventure series set in the 1930s. It was the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark that changed their minds. The series featured the romance of early aviation, exotic locales and cliff-hanging action.

Set in the south Pacific in 1938, it features an ex-Flying Tigers operator of an air cargo delivery service named Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins) who 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 whose memory is hazy as a result of the quantity of booze he consumes. However, a one-eyed Jack Russell terrier named Jack, who 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 that Jake lost in a poker game -- and refuses to let Jake forget it!

Jake's love interest/U.S. Government spy contact is Sara Stickney White (Caitlin O'Heaney). She sings in the Monkey Bar as a cover for her espionage activities. The Reverend Tenboom (John Calvin), a phony man of the cloth who likes to "bless" the natives, is in actuality a Nazi spy named Willy, with interests in both sides.

Roddy McDowall played "Bon Chance" Louie (Ron Moody in the pilot). He is the owner of the Monkey Bar and the French magistrate for the setting of the series, Bora Gora island. 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 the bar where the characters gather, which features a golden monkey statue. Originally, the series was to be called "Tales of the Brass Monkey".GoldMonkey.html" target="_blank">http://www.johnkennethmuir.com/JohnKennethMuirsRetroTVFile_GoldMonkey.html There was a cocktail mix at the time called "Brass Monkey." They requested that the show change the title to prevent a confusing association. However, in several episodes it is revealed that the statue at the bar was indeed brass and not really gold. Unknown to the characters, the island where the statue was found does contain a massive structure apparently made of solid gold that does resemble a monkey, but they never learn the truth.

As with most of creator Donald P. Bellisario's projects, there are links 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. sees 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).

Although generally well-received, in both America and overseas (such as the United Kingdom, where it was broadcast on Monday evenings), the show was not renewed for another season, mostly due to the ratings not justifying the high cost of producing the series.

This show is considered to be a strong inspiration for the Disney animated series Talespin.blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TaleSpin There are also a number of parallels and character similarities with the 1994 point-and-click adventure game _Flight of the Amazon Queen, which may or may not have been influenced by the series.

There is an amusing fictional recursion in "The Sultan of Swat" where - 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".

Jake Cutter is a pilot and adventurer in Boragora, the port in the Marivella Islands in 1938. He flies his Grumman Goose amphibian on inter-island flights and finds adventure every week. Written by J.E. McKillop

This TV movie is an introduction to the characters that starred in the TV series with the same name. We meet Jake Cutter, a freelance pilot who lives at the Marivellas islands a few years before the beginning of World War II. Jake and his best friend Corky meet Sarah, a woman working on a mission against the Nazis and decide to help her. Written by Chris Makrozahopoulos