Children’s television in the sixties and early seventies was bizarre. Really bizarre. I don’t know if drugs were involved, but reflecting on shows like Batman, The Magic Roundabout, Banana Splits, HR Pufnstuff, and even Sesame Street, makes me think they were. And in large quantities. Perhaps the oddest of them all was Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp, which was produced from 1970 to 1972. Mike Marmer and Stan Burns, probably inspired by the success of Get Smart (where they were writers), Planet of the Apes, and Mr Ed, had the idea to create a spy series using talking Chimpanzees. The cost of creating costumes and sets in perfect scale for the apes made it the most expensive Saturday morning children's show of its time. And it looks fantastic for the effort.
The show centred around Link and his love interest, the glamorous Mata Hairi, who were spies for APE (Agency to Prevent Evil). APE were in a continual war with CHUMP (Criminal Headquarters for Underworld Master Plan), headed by Baron von Butcher (voiced by Bernie Kopell who played Siegfried in Get Smart). Each show also included Lance and friends performing as The Evolution Revolution, who were the coolest band of the time (much cooler than Josie and the Pussycats or The Monkees).
The impact of Lancelot Link has meant primates have appeared regularly on television ever since, as villains (eg Mojo Jojo in the Powerpuff Girls) or heroes (eg Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!) and advertisements (PG Tips). Imagine suggesting a live action tv show involving talking chimpanzees to a tv producer today. They would laugh you out of their office, unless the chimps were sharing a house and you could vote them out.
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