Die Himmelhunde von Boragora

. . . was an absolutely fantastic show. I was only twelve when it aired, and given my age it holds the same place in my heart that movies like "Indiana Jones" hold (and yes, I know the former did not derive from the latter). It was fantastic in the true sense of the word. At the same time, it was light-hearted and fun and adventurous. I have ever since wanted to visit Boragora, and was disappointed to find that the place didn't exist.

I searched for hours on-line looking for the name of this show. For whatever reason, the image of it popped into my head a few months back, and I could not for the life of me remember it. Hours on-line cured that.

For all you Gold Monkey fans out there, you can now purchase the season on DVD.

"Tales of the Gold Monkey" was a fun romp of a show. Rather than being a rip-off of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," it was a show inspired by classic movies, such as "Only Angels Have Wings," with a great cast including Stephen Collins, Caitlin O'Heaney, Jeff MacKay, and the late Roddy McDowell. Running only one season, the show never made it into syndication, although the USA Network ran it in the late 80's.

Yep I saw it when I was living abroad but never when I was in the United States strangely enough.

I was in my late teens I loved it, so did my family. I would love to see it again but for all the internet searches I have done over the years this is the first time I have ever got a reply to a search for it.

I would like to find out who has the tapes and see if they are going to release them on DVD. It is set in a very nostalgic era and I think it would go down well today even though it was a TV series.

If you find anywhere broadcasting it please let me know.

Contrary to popular consensus, TotGM was not an Indiana Jones knockoff, although the popularity of those movies was probably responsible for Gold Monkey getting its shot on television. No, Gold Monkey was much more in line with many older adventure movies, and creator Donald Bellisario insisted it was inspired mostly by the 1939 movie Only Angels Have Wings.

Regardless of where it came from, though, this was a very enjoyable series. As a boy of 9 at the time it originally aired, I was absolutely enamored with it (so much so, in fact, that my father still calls me "Jake" to this day). Now, as a man of 30, I have managed to find copies of all the episodes, and I find that I still love it. I may love it even more now that I'm older and more able to appreciate the historical references in the show, which is set in the Pacific in 1938. Spies and political intrigues abound in every single episode, and provide the perfect backdrop for an adventure story.

This series is clearly a product of early 80s American television, showing quite a bit of similarity in structure and production values with nearly every other series produced at the time. Gold Monkey, though, was far from formulaic, and very original. How many shows can you name that had an intelligent one-eyed dog that was regarded in every respect as an equal member of the cast?

I will never understand why it didn't last more than a single season, but at least I can enjoy what little there is. "Tales of the Gold Monkey" will always have a special place in my heart and on my video shelf.

This was a cool show! I'm surprised it didn't last longer, I mean this seems like perfect fare for the early '80s, with Indiana Jones and all. I guess it was a big hit with kids, but not so much with adults. It was awesome to me, but then I was only 9 at the time, so what did I know??