Television series

Tales of the Gold Monkey

Name: Tales of the Gold Monkey
Genre: Action, Adventure
Released: 1982
Cast: Stephen Collins, Jeff MacKay, Caitlin O'Heaney, Roddy McDowall, Ron Moody

Action

A swashbuckling adventure series set in 1938 where a former fighter pilot runs a cargo airline across the South Pacific, mixing pulp-adventure thrills with comedy and romance. Think *Indiana Jones* meets sitcom, with a one-eyed dog stealing every scene. Warm, funny, delightfully shameless about its own absurdity.

TVMaze rating

4.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like old-fashioned pulp adventure, where a wisecracking pilot, a sly dog and a lot of Pacific-island scheming carry a light, rakish swagger.

Skip it if you want tight, grounded storytelling, since the breezy tone and lightweight spy plotting can feel thin and the humour leans heavily on broad, cartoonish mugging.

What it asks of you: Hour-long episodes, one season of 21, so you can settle in for a sitting or two; attention stays light, with easy laughs and no heavy dread.

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

If you liked this

Tales from the Darkside1984

An anthology that shares Gold Monkey's willingness to toggle between genuine suspense and winking camp. Each episode is its own self-contained adventure with wildly different tones—some serious, some ridiculous, all entertaining.

But It's genuinely uneven. Some episodes are brilliant, others feel padded or slack. The lack of ongoing characters means no stakes to carry you through the weaker ones.

Magnum, P.I.1980

Both celebrate the pleasure of watching a skilled man navigate exotic danger with style and humor. Magnum has the same warmth, the same found-family crew, the same knack for balancing action with character beats that matter.

But Magnum is longer and slower, leaning harder into drama. If you want the comedy-to-action ratio that Gold Monkey has, Magnum will sometimes disappoint you.

Gwendoline1984

A gloriously silly adventure film that revels in pulp and exploitation without apology. It's got the same anarchic energy, the same willingness to be both earnest and absurd, the same sense that fun matters more than plausibility.

But It's genuinely trashy and the gender politics are weird by any standard. If you're sensitive to objectification, this will grate. Some viewers find it unwatchable rather than entertaining.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Tales of the Gold Monkey

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.1964

Both marry spy craft to adventure-comedy in an ensemble setting where the crew's affection for each other is as important as the plot. Both understand that competence and humor aren't opposites.

A spy series that shares Gold Monkey's pleasure in style, charm, and the idea that adventure can be both serious and deeply fun. The same ensemble warmth, the same found-family dynamic, the same chemistry that makes you want to hang out with these people.

But It's a Cold War spy show with real stakes underneath the charm. Some episodes are turgid. And it was canceled: only four seasons before it ended.

The Adventures of Robin Hood1938

Released the same year Gold Monkey is set in, it's the film that perfected the adventure-comedy blend. Errol Flynn has the same roguish charm and physical ease that makes Jake Cutter magnetic. Pure cinema joy.

But It's Technicolor pageantry in Sherwood Forest, not a scrappy island adventure. If you want grit or modern sensibilities, this is too pretty and too old-fashioned.

Danger: Diabolik1968

A delirious heist film that doesn't care if you think it's silly—it cares that you're having fun. Lurid colors, impossible stakes, attractive people in danger, villains with elaborate schemes. Pure pulp energy.

But The plot barely exists and the acting is oddly flat. It's asking you to enjoy the *aesthetic* of adventure more than the story, which doesn't work for everyone.

Foyle's War2002

A spy thriller set in WWII with the same ensemble warmth. It has Gold Monkey's knack for mixing mystery, character, and a touch of romance without becoming saccharine. Intelligent and deeply satisfying.

But It's a procedural detective show, not an adventure romp. The tone is serious and the pacing deliberate. You have to care about solving the crime, not just watching attractive people swing from ropes.

The Road to Hong Kong1962

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope do what they did best: banter their way through exotic locations, flirt with women, and treat the whole enterprise as a song-and-dance routine in a place no one's heard of. Infectious joy.

But The humor is very dated and relies heavily on cultural stereotypes. The pacing is meandering. If you need plot momentum, this will feel like a sketch stretched to feature length.

King of the Khyber Rifles1953

A colonial adventure with genuine action sequences and a leads who play it straight even when the material gets delicious. It's earnest about its pulp, which is exactly Gold Monkey's mode.

But It's deeply of its era in ways that feel politically questionable now. The colonial framing is never interrogated, only celebrated.

The Bravados1958

Gregory Peck in a western with real menace and mystery underneath. It's a tightly plotted thriller that respects your time and delivers genuine tension alongside character development.

But It's a serious western, not a romp. If you came for the adventure-comedy mix, this is all adventure and no comedy. The mood is grim throughout.

Barbarella1968

Both are pulp adventures that refuse to apologize for their own artificiality. Both feature impossibly charming leads in ridiculous danger. Both prioritize aesthetic pleasure and character warmth over plausibility.

A space-age adventure that treats absurdity as a feature, not a bug. Jane Fonda gliding through Day-Glo nightmare sets, Jean-Claude Forest's camp aesthetic fully realized. It's exactly as much fun as it seems, and it knows it.

But The sexual politics are bizarre. It's very slow. And it requires you to surrender to camp entirely—if you're looking for anything grounded, you'll feel adrift.

Rio Bravo1959

Both understand that adventure is primarily about watching people you like spend time together under pressure. The external plot—the siege, the artifact hunt—matters less than whether you'd want these people as friends.

A western that understands the real pleasure of adventure isn't the plot—it's watching likable people with skills handle pressure together. John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan: a found family holding a fort. The dialogue is funny, the action is earned, the company matters most.

But It's 141 minutes long and the plot is genuinely thin. If you need things to *happen* constantly, you'll find it glacial. It's about conversation and character, not momentum.