‘Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp’ arrives on DVD
Watching Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp on DVD in 2012 is a strange experience. The TV series from the 1970s ran on ABC and featured a cast of chimpanzees. The title character is a detective chimp for the Agency to Prevent Evil (APE), and each week he solves mysteries similar to the detectives on Get Smart. Damsels in distress turn up, plus maniacal villains. Mata Hairi provides comic relief as Lancelot’s partner.
Again, all of these characters are played by chimpanzees.
The comedy is inherent in the novelty of seeing animals dressed up like adult humans. The jokes about Ed Sullivan (or Ed Simian as he’s called) are especially funny. The show’s creators were able to get these animal actors to do just about everything, and the results are unbelievably accurate. The chimps mouth words (voiceovers fill in the blanks) and sport many colorful costumes.
But the entire series feels like an unfortunate exercise for the cast of apes. It’s not natural to dress these animals in human clothes and roll the cameras until the laughs emerge. They are not humans and making believe for our entertainment value seems odd. Thankfully, proceeds from the new three-disc DVD release will go to the Wildlife Waystation in Los Angeles, where Lancelot currently resides in “retirement.”
Back in the 1970s, this passed as harmless family entertainment. Much of the humor continues more than 40 years later. The writing is smart and rich in time-tested parody sketches. The musical intermissions are especially gut-busting. Seeing the Evolution Revolution band bang out ’60s-inspired tunes provides a nice break from the “mystery-of-the-week” format.
The new DVD release from Film Chest includes all 17 original episodes (running roughly 25 minutes each), plus several bonus features. Interviews with producer Allan Sandler and music director Bob Emenegger are both included.
If it weren’t for the proceeds going to Wildlife Waystation, it would probably be best to forget about this television oddity. The children may enjoy the unusual laughs, but adults will likely cringe.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
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Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp
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17 episodes, plus bonus features
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Total running time: 499 minutes
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Not Rated
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Rating:
