It's 1938 in the South Pacific. Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins) is a former Flying Tigers pilot flying his seaplane Cutter's Goose with his one-eyed dog Jack. With drunken mechanic Corky (Jeff MacKay), he operates out of the French island Bora Gora run by the supportive Bon Chance Louie (Roddy McDowall) who owns the Monkey Bar and Hotel. One day, he comes to the defense of performer Sarah Stickney White (Caitlin O'Heaney) who turns out to be an American secret agent. The Nazis are chasing the legendary Gold Monkey which is made of a heat-resistant alloy, guarded by deadly apes, and located on a volcanic island. They recruit Japanese Princess Koji (Marta DuBois) who is half Irish. Todo (John Fujioka) is her samurai henchman. The second episode ends with Jake finding a small brass monkey which becomes the icon of the show. The actual giant golden monkey is never found and believed to be a myth. There is also Reverend Willie Tenboom (John Calvin) who is not actually a man of God and in reality a Nazi operative with murky motives.
Following the success of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', ABC brings this 30s style action adventure to TV. The pilot is solid with some odd camp and plenty of action adventure. It's a lower-level sillier version of those old serials. It's more like 'Temple of Doom'. The Gold Monkey serves as a great McGuffin. The rest of the season suffers without that McGuffin. It becomes a story of the week. Some of it works but plenty do not. The show needs an objective to drive it. It's not actually a procedural and there is nothing connecting the stories from week to week. Stephen Collins is great back in the day. Caitlin O'Heaney looks like a younger Lesley Ann Warren. The most fun is Jack who always has the best bit like losing his glass eye in a card game. This show is basically a fun old style action adventure movie and then the show tries to milk stories out for the rest of the season.
Following the success of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', ABC brings this 30s style action adventure to TV. The pilot is solid with some odd camp and plenty of action adventure. It's a lower-level sillier version of those old serials. It's more like 'Temple of Doom'. The Gold Monkey serves as a great McGuffin. The rest of the season suffers without that McGuffin. It becomes a story of the week. Some of it works but plenty do not. The show needs an objective to drive it. It's not actually a procedural and there is nothing connecting the stories from week to week. Stephen Collins is great back in the day. Caitlin O'Heaney looks like a younger Lesley Ann Warren. The most fun is Jack who always has the best bit like losing his glass eye in a card game. This show is basically a fun old style action adventure movie and then the show tries to milk stories out for the rest of the season.