Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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!

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

I LOVED this show. I'll be grabbing it if the rumors are true.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

As a kid who loved Raiders and this show, I really hope this is true.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

It's sad that criteria includes lining up such things. Just release the show. I know some care about such things, but the #1 priority is being able to watch the actual program. If people do commentaries fine, if not, oh well. The gap between the first priority and everything else is huge.


...if only Universal had a cable outlet that they could use to regain interest.....

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

Anything?

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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?

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

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.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

Aw Jeff MacKay died? That sucks! I loved that guy. He was great on Magnum too.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

Wow, I didn't even know Jeff MacKay died until I read it here. That's a shame. I just really hope Universal or someone released TOTGM. Whoever does it needs to include a tribute to him & Roddy McDowall.
I want this show on DVD so badly (it's my 2nd most wanted) I'd buy it barebones. I want this to see an official release! I'm still holding out hope that someday it will be released. Universal has a good track record with one and two season shows-Earth 2, Jack Of All Trades, Voyagers, Battlestar Galaactica (original), Buck Rogers, Cleopatra 2525, etc.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

I didnt know he died either. He seemed like a fun everyman kind of guy. He was in a ton of Glen Larson, and later Bellasaius stuff.

IMDB doesnt have anything on his death.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

DVDiva,

While not as good as fresh new commentary. Did you happen to get any interviews with Jeff? Maybe, they could use that in an eventual release. And count me in as someone who didn't hear that he passed. I enjoyed him on Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Also, IMDB.com does have his passing listed as last Friday Aug.22nd.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

Well, since I'm the one who started the rumors, I figured I ought to follow up and find out why. I've actually had this info for a while now, but I wasn't sure if I should post it for reasons explained at the end of the story I just put up. This thread convinced me to move forward with it, but only with the unanimous agreement of all of my anonymous informants.

Pat/DVDiva, I also working in a mention of your site, too. Sorry to hear about Jeff MacKay.

Tales of the Gold Monkey DVD news: DVD Release on Hold | TVShowsOnDVD.com

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

Dave: thanks for the update, i will keep my fingers crossed that something will develop in the future to get this show out there. They really let a golden chance slip through there fingers here.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

Dave,

Thanks for the "Gold Monkey" update. This one's been on my list for a long time. Interesting info about "Shogun". That's one of my all-time miniseries from that "super-mini-series" era. I'm glad that the exec was wrong (ain't never gonna happen")

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

Very unfortunate news (both about Jeff MacKay AND the stalled DVD release), as I love this show.

Once again, the real winners here as far as the DVDs are concerned: the bootleggers.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

I really want this set badly and it's a shame the masters are in such apprently bad shape. I wonder why? I guess Voyagers from the same era was in better shape since they released that.

I really think one day they will release TOTGM (hoping at least). Maybe it's a good sign that they won't license it out. I have a feeling though that if/when they do release it there will be no extras. They'll probably think the cost to restore it will be too high to also include extras.

RIP Jeff MacKay

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

Hmm, why would the episodes be in worse shape than something like Buck Rogers, which is older and from the same studio? I hope they work it out, if they have to split it into 2 volumes, so be it.

Re: Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ?

I had the same thoughts that you guys had when I read Dave's article (Thanks for the mention). How could Tales of the Gold Monkey be in far worse shape than other Uni shows of the era like Voyagers and Buck Rogers? Plus, the show has aired in the US as recently as 2000 and still pops up in foreign syndication. I wonder if this has something to do with the rumors I've heard about GE slashing USHE's budget. Perhaps they had the money back then to remaster Voyagers and Buck Rogers, but they don't have the money now. This could explain why Universal still hasn't released the first two seasons of Earth: Final Conflict. I know they were working on that project at the same time as the aborted Gold Monkey set, and Earth: Final Conflict must be in better shape since it's only about 10 years old. Hey, Dave, had you heard anything more on the Earth: Final Conflict saga?