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Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ? (1 Viewer)

Aryn Leroux

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Well i waited a couple days to see if someone would bump up a thread with the recent news on tvsodvd. Now i just looked and could not find a single thread devoted to this classic. This is the best release news i have heard in awhile. This is something to be excited about if it pans out for next spring. This is a series for Indiana Jones fans more so than the young indy chronicles in my book.

Thanks to TVShowsOnDVD.com for the news this really made may day when i read it the other day. Bring it on Baby!! Universal now make this more than a rumor would you please! then get to Street Hawk.

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Tal...ey-Rumors/8315
 

Tory

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I'm all for both. I had read that ShoutFactory was trying to license this though.
 

DeWilson

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It's about time this comes out - Donald P. Belliario who gave us MAGNUM PI, QUANTUM LEAP,JAG, and NCIS produced this show, which was alot of fun!
Jeff McKay who co-stars had re-occuring roles on both MAGNUM and JAG!

Some people acccused it of being an "Indiana Jones" rip-off show, but the dynamics actually is closer to post-war TERRY AND THE PIRATES comic strips and the 1950's tv series!
 

Hank Dearborn

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That may be but I guarantee you the only reason they are releasing this is to try to tie in to the new Indiana Jones film. And you can bet that it will say something about IJ on the box. Universal doesn't do anything without trying to tie it in to something current.
 

Jim Beaver

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I hope this is true also as this is one of the many short lived tv series that I have heard about that I really wanted to check out. This show sounds so cool. I'm crossing my fingers this is true.
 

RickER

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I would buy it. I remember it, and Bring 'em Back Alive, well. Both had their charms, but neither was what i would call great TV. Good, fun TV, nothing more. If you are to young to have seen this show, keep your expectations real. I remember some episodes being a little dull. The acting was top notch, (Roddy McDowell and Steven Collins) but the characters were more one dimensional than a Saturday morning serial. It had the same look as any other Universal show from the early or mid eighties, but of course it was a period show.
 

Jim Beaver

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Is anyone else hoping to here more news on this soon? I'm pretty psyched for it's release and I hope it's released for summer/fall.
 

Aryn Leroux

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It is on my must own list. So i am certainly hoping a release comes to fruition in the near future. If it does not happen to either tie in with the theatrical release of Indy 4 or the eventual dvd release of Indy 4, then it never will.
 

DVDiva

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Universal has put this set on hold. It was in pre-production and they had several cast and crew members lined up to tape commentaries and interviews, but nothing was yet recorded before Universal made their decision. The project hasn't been cancelled, but there's no release date set.

I don't know why they've put this set on hold, but it's not an isolated incident. The major studios (Universal, Warner Bros., CBS/Paramount, Disney) have really cut back on their plans for TV on DVD recently. About the only shows they've greenlighted are current or recent programs. At the same time, they've been ramping up their online streaming enterprises, mainly with older series. Since it's cheaper to stream than it is to produce DVD sets, they may be more inclined to stream a show first to judge if there is sufficient interest before committing resources for a DVD release. I wouldn't be surprised if Universal begins streaming some Tales of the Gold Monkey episodes, probably in their retro section at NBC.COM, around the time of the Indy IV release.
 

Greg_S_H

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Is that a sarcastic comment? If not, they actually do have an outlet in Universal HD. I don't think it's in all that many homes, though. They played Quantum Leap for a while, with music intact, but it didn't last long. I'd love to see Gold Monkey on there.
 

RickER

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Universal has Sci-Fi, and USA, both would be good to show Tales again. I saw it less than 10 years ago, but i dont remember what channel it was on.
 

Aryn Leroux

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Well if that is true it certainly does not bode well. Not to doubt you but maybe Gord and Dave can look into this abit further and see what they can dig up.
 

Hank Dearborn

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I actually transfered my ABC masters last year right before they announced this and I was saying why did I waste my time. But I guess not now that they have backed out.
 

Jim Beaver

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That really sucks that it's been put on hold. I was really looking forward to this. Hopefully it gets worked out and fastracked on DVD.

Has anyone else heard more on this? Dave or Gord perhaps?
 

DVDiva

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Hi, I'm the owner of Goldmonkey.com the semi-official Tales of the Gold Monkey website. USHE's foot-dragging and the recent death of Jeff MacKay ("Corky") have made me mad as hell, so I'm going to let you all in on some of the behind the scenes info.

I was contacted right after Christmas by a producer who was working on a TOTGM DVD set for Universal. He was helping out with extras, but had never seen the show, so he asked me for help. They knew how to contact Stephen Collins, but nobody else. The first person I got him in contact with was Jeff MacKay. The producer later called me back really excited. He had talked to Jeff for 20 minutes and, even though they had a $0 budget, they were now planning on doing commentary for several episodes and interviews with whomever they could get. He stated that everybody had to be in the studio by the end of January (I assumed that Universal was planning on releasing the set in May to coincide with the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull release.). I later got an e-mail from him where he mentioned that Universal had given them more time. I last heard from him 6 months ago when he told me that the DVD had been pushed back and no release date was available. He also let me know that none of the interviews and commentaries had been recorded yet.

I don't know the reason for the delay, but I have noticed that Universal Studios Home Entertainment's TV on DVD slate for 2008 is, with very few exceptions, recent/current series or long running, older shows that they were already releasing in season sets. I've heard rumors that GE, which owns NBC/Universal, has slashed USHE's budget, resulting in fewer releases, but I can't confirm that.

Anyway, I'm not holding my breath for Universal to put out a set, and even if they did, without Jeff, it wouldn't be nearly as good as it was originally planned to be. :frowning:
 

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