The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.
“Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys” Created by Gordon Bressack; Jerry Doyle, Karen Maruyama, Maurice LaMarche, Dom Irrera, James Avery, Malcolm McDowell, Jeff Bennett, and Michael Dorn; Run time: 22 minutes; Originally aired September 7, 1996.
In the early days of the space race an ape name Charlie was sent beyond the bonds of Earth by NASA and was lost in deep space. Due to a combination of freezing temperatures and zero gravity he was kept in stasis until, after decades, he reached the center of the galaxy where he encountered a vastly advanced species known only as The “ “ a species so advanced their name can’t be pronounced, only thought.
The “ “ grant Charlie the gift of enhanced intelligence and technology making him the most intelligent and advanced individual from Earth. Upon his awakening he is informed that the universe is under threat by Lord Nebula (Dorn) a being who was once human but is now a sentient partially realized black hole intent on destroying existence in a big crunch and rebuilding the universe in his own image.
In a last ditch effort to save all reality Charlie recruits four other monkeys and apes to make up his crew. He is joined by a Chinese golden monkey called Shao Lin, a spider monkey called Spydor, a mentally cracked orangutan called Dr. Splitz/Splitzy who exhibits a Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde split personality, and a gorilla called Gor who unfortunately broke the gift giving technology before his evolution was completed. Together they travel the universe fighting off Nebula to keep reality intact and safe.
While the show’s title implies that all of the central characters are monkeys, that is only true of Spydor and Shao Lin. Charlie, Dr. Splitz/Splitzy, and Gor are all in fact apes, but “Space Monkeys” sounds cooler and rolls off the tongue more easily than “Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys and Apes” so for brevity’s sake we’ll let it slide.
Despite sharp writing, interesting concepts, and a star studded cast (no pun intended) the series lasted less than a year with only 26 episodes being produced.