Television series

Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp

Name: Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Family
Released: 1970
Cast: Dayton Allen, Joan Gerber, Bernie Kopell, Malachi Throne, Mel Blanc

Parody
Light-hearted
Strange

A 1970 spy-comedy where a chimpanzee pop star moonlights as a secret agent, fighting cartoonish villains for a shadowy organization. Cheerfully absurd, heavily reliant on sight gags, dubbing, and puns—the kind of thing that plays like a live-action cartoon. For anyone who loves the anarchic energy of 60s kids' TV and doesn't mind that the premise is the entire joke.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you grew up loving spy spoofs and enjoy broad, pun-heavy send-ups of secret-agent clichés, where the joke is the gadgetry and the earnest straight-faced heroes.

Skip it if you need your comedy sharp and quick, because the gags are corny, the pacing is leisurely, and it plays squarely as children's entertainment.

What it asks of you: Expect a light, ambling shape: episodes that wander at an unhurried clip, asking for easy patience and a willingness to meet its wordplay halfway.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Get Smart1965

The clearest spiritual ancestor: spy-comedy built on rapid-fire gags and a bumbling hero who somehow always wins. Agent 86 has the same sweetness under the mayhem that makes Lancelot Link work.

But The humor is very of-the-moment and relies heavily on references that have aged out. If you need naturalistic acting, this will test your patience.

Batman1966

Both treat their ridiculous premises with complete seriousness and a wink. Bright, fast, stuffed with visual gags, and genuinely funny in ways that don't require you to be a kid to enjoy them.

But The relentless campiness exhausts some viewers. It's a show that never lets you forget it's in on the joke, and that constant knowingness can wear thin.

The Monkees1966

Same era, same sensibility: absurdist comedy grafted onto pop music, cheerful disregard for logic, and a cast who seem to be having enormous fun. The musical interludes land exactly the same way.

But Both shows traffic in anarchic energy that can feel formless if you're looking for story. Some episodes blur together into a very specific kind of chaos.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Condemned of Altona1962

Same voice actor in a diametrically opposite register—a reminder that the people making your kids' show comedy inhabited a much larger creative world.

Mel Blanc, the voice of Lancelot Link himself, in a serious political drama about guilt and fascism. A complete tonal reversal that shows you who's behind the chimp, and proves his range.

But It's a heavy, claustrophobic play-adaptation with virtually no levity. Watching Blanc in genuine emotional pain after hearing him voice cartoonish villainy is jarring and uncomfortable in ways you might not want.

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In1967

The same comedic DNA: fast-paced, pun-heavy, willing to be stupid and not apologize for it. A variety show that proves the era found genuine joy in absurdity.

But It's a sketch show with no through-line, so commitment to any one bit is minimal. That fragmentation bothers people who want continuity.

Here Come the Double Deckers1970

British live-action kids' comedy with the same philosophy: ridiculous situations played straight, physical humor, a found-family crew. Genuinely charming in its commitment to nonsense.

But The production values are noticeably cheap, even for the era. British sensibility may not land the same way as American comedy to all viewers.

The Prisoner1967

Both are spy narratives that weaponize the absurd, but this one uses the formula to ask unanswerable questions rather than deliver gags.

Also absurdist, also built on the tension between the rational and the surreal, but with genuine menace underneath. Shows how similar visual language can be bent toward existential horror instead of comedy.

But It's cryptic, bleak, and demands active interpretation. The pleasure comes from unease rather than laughter, and some episodes actively refuse to make sense in satisfying ways.

Project X1968

The same central conceit (ape spy) filtered through adult Cold War paranoia instead of Saturday-morning cheerfulness, revealing how much tone is doing the work.

A chimpanzee trained as a secret agent—the literal premise of Lancelot Link, but reimagined as Cold War paranoia and espionage with genuine tension. Startling in how seriously it takes what seems like a joke.

But The film is genuinely disturbing in places; the chimp is treated as a tool and suffers for it. The darker subtext isn't played for laughs, and some viewers find it difficult to watch.