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Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys

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Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys
Created byGordon Bressack
Developed byGordon Bressack
Rob Hudnut
Gary Hartle
Voices ofJerry Doyle
Karen Maruyama
Maurice LaMarche
Dom Irrera
James L. Avery, Sr.
Jeff Bennett
Michael Dorn
Malcolm McDowell
Frank Welker
ComposersThomas Chase Jones
Steve Rucker
Dale Schacker
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes26
Production
Running time30 min.
Production companiesHallmark Entertainment
Monkeyshine Productions, Inc.
Original release
NetworkSyndication (Amazin' Adventures)
ReleaseAugust 16, 1996 (1996-08-16) –
June 21, 1997 (1997-06-21)

Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys is an American science-fiction-comedy animated television series.[1] The show premiered in August 16, 1996 in the United Kingdom and September 7, 1996, in the United States, and ended after 26 episodes on June 21, 1997. It was produced by Hallmark Entertainment, Monkeyshine Productions, Inc., and distributed by Bohbot Entertainment and aired as part of the company's Amazin' Adventures syndicated animation block, later known as the Bohbot Kids Network.

The series is currently available on Amazon Freevee and Tubi as of February 2024.

Summary

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During the monkey-manned spaceflights of the 1960s, one rocket veered off course, sending a chimp named Charles off into the outer reaches of space. After many years, Charles' craft was discovered by the most intelligent race in the universe; a running gag involves them being so advanced their name is unpronounceable, the characters mistake references to them as empty pauses.

Charles was given enhanced intelligence, weapons, and futuristic technology, along with a charge to protect the universe from the evil Lord Nebula. One of the more unusual villains in cartoon history, Nebula was a half-human, half-black hole who hoped to become a complete black hole, swallow the universe in a "Big Crunch," then remake it in his own image. His one problem was that, being half human, he was still susceptible to human ailments, such as the common cold and stomach aches.

To aid Charles (who was given the title "Captain Charles Simian"), The " " allowed him to recruit a team of fellow Earth monkeys and apes: Shao Lin, a Chinese golden monkey with swift fighting skills and serene wisdom; Spydor, a wisecracking little spider monkey with a long prehensile tail; Dr. Splitz/Splitzy, an orangutan with a scientist/madman split-personality; and Gor-illa/Gor, a big, strong gorilla who wrecked the intelligence-enhancing machine before he got a full helping.

The group cruised the stars in their ship, the Primate Avenger, battling Nebula and his cyborg monkey henchman, Rhesus 2, and searching for the ever-elusive bananas. The monkeys mixed fast-talking humor with fast-paced action.

Characters

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Heroes

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  • Captain Charles "Chuck" Simian: Originally a chimpanzee named Charles, sent into space in the 1960s by NASA. After drifting off course and being frozen for many years, he was discovered by The "       ". They believed he was sent by Earth as the most advanced species of the planet. When they realized he was not, they used a machine to evolve Charles into a sentient being. After being told about Nebula, Captain Simian (as he now called himself) recruited a team of fellow Earth monkeys and apes to help him save the universe.
  • Spydor: A wisecracking little spider monkey, originally the property of an organ grinder from New York City. A pickpocket, grifter, and all-around thief, he often tries to take advantage of Gor by trying to get him to do his work and trying numerous get-rich-quick schemes which get him into trouble with the Captain. Despite these flaws, Spydor is loyal to the mission, and will never betray his friends or the universe for money. He is especially close to Gor, and will not let anyone else take advantage of him. Spydor is in charge of communications.
  • Shao Lin: A Golden snub-nosed monkey, who originally lived at a Buddhist temple where she was worshiped as a goddess. She continues to act as a goddess with the rest of the crew even, on occasion, addressing herself in the Royal "we". This leads to considerable tension at first, though over time she warms to the others and vice versa. Skilled in martial arts and knowledgeable in Buddhist wisdom, she is Captain Simian's first officer. There are occasional hints of a romantic attraction between her and the Captain, though this was never developed.
  • Gor-illa/Gor: A gorilla originally from Rwanda as a dominant male and the crew's muscle. During the evolution process he accidentally wrecked the intelligence-enhancing machine before its completion. This left Gor rather naive and childlike. Possessing extraordinary strength, Gor is naturally quite peaceful and does not wish to do anyone harm. But when his friends are in danger he can go into a berserk rage. In an early episode Apax (below) kidnapped Gor to make him a prize fighter, but since Gor's peaceful nature did not permit him to fight needlessly, Apax experimented on him, turning him into a mindless, raging gigantic King Kong-like gorilla named Gormongous. Dr. Splitz was unable to reverse the effect of Apax's isotope, meaning that Gor turns into Gormongous whenever he gets angry, in a manner similar to that of the Incredible Hulk.
  • Dr. Splitz/Splitzy: A former zoo orangutan with a dual personality that alternates between an effete academic ("Dr. Splitz") and a rustic yokel ("Splitzy"). The doctor excels at scientific theory and somewhat cowardly, while Splitzy is a mechanic and engineer eager to jump into a fight. The two personalities are aware of each other and bicker constantly, but often rely on each other to make up for their individual shortcomings.
  • Orbitron: A small ball-shaped robot, given to Charles by The "       " to help him on his mission. Its role was to provide the monkeys with the additional knowledge they required for their journey. Already quite cynical and unpleasant, it was accidentally damaged by Gor and subsequently went quite insane, floating around sputtering nonsense that only occasionally makes sense. This leads Captain Simian to often say, "Gotta get that thing fixed." Because it is so technologically advanced Splitzy was unable to repair it despite trying.

Villains

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  • Lord Nebula (Voiced by Michael Dorn): Nebula is a half-humanoid, half-black hole who hoped to become a complete black hole, swallow the universe in a “Big Crunch,” then remake it in his own image. The gaseous nature of nebulae is employed as a running gag, as Nebula seems to constantly suffer from some cosmic analogue of gastro-intestinal distress. In the series finale he is trapped in an orb and Rhesus 2 takes over
  • Rhesus 2 (Voiced by Malcolm McDowell): An enforcer of Lord Nebula. Originally a rhesus monkey sent into space, Nebula made him intelligent and turned him into a cyborg. His brain is detachable and frequently changes from one to another in order to get different ideas. For example, Brain 1 might give him a more devious plan than Brain 2 or vice versa.
  • Apax (Voiced by Frank Welker): An alien with green skin and snakes in place of hair. Apax forces other alien creatures to fight in an arena. At one point, he injects an isotope into Gor, causing him to turn into a monster whenever he gets angry. He often says "Only in Andromeda!".
  • Kaz-Par (Voiced by Maurice Lamarche): An owner of a club on Maltese 1, who simply planned to steal the Primate Avenger, but had to go under the identity of Gorr when someone else replaced him to steal the Orbitron and sell it to Nebula, as Orbitron keeps repeating "0-1-0-0-1-0-0-1-0-1... oh, and 0-1.", which was the formula for the GLOP (Gravi-Luminous Orbifolding Positrons), which had the component needed by Nebula, the Anti-Force.

Other

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  • Matrix: A computer that captures the Monkeys and learns from them to eventually evolve into a living being. Initially appears in episode Repo Ape.
  • Vog: Vog is a 2-dimensional alien. When Rhesus 2 steals gravitons from a cosmic storm, Vog's world rips open, so he follows Charles to his universe and asks his help to put the gravitons back before the cosmic storm ends to seal the rip and save his universe. Appeared in episode Monkey in the Middle.
  • Holo Boons: Holographic baboons created by Dr. Splitz to test out the atmosphere of unknown planets. They are voiced by Jeff Bennett, with a number of celebrity impressions (such as Beavis and Butt-Head, Jerry Lewis, Woody Allen and The Three Stooges). They are a parody of the redshirts from the original Star Trek series, and almost always get destroyed.
  • Grixilpix: Keeper of the Great Ear. This ear is the one of the Sleeping Giant, whom Grxilpix tells the monkeys is dreaming about the whole universe. Anything that someone asks for to the ear appears. Rhesus attacks Captain Simian and his crew next to the ear, and in their fight, they awake the giant, causing the universe to disappear. Dr. Splitz then plays a lullaby on a handheld device, causing the giant to return to his slumber and the universe to be restored.
  • Largo Trix: A swashbuckling space adventurer who meets the crew in a bar in the episode "Monkey Puzzle Man". Initially appearing as a blue-skinned humanoid, Largo gradually turns into a monkey-like creature as he hangs out with the crew, since he can duplicate another's most distinctive characteristic (martial arts skills from Shao Lin, who he flirts with, for example) after making physical contact. Everyone likes him except Simian (who insists there's something weird about Largo) and Gor (who resents Spydor spending more time with Largo than him), but are dismissed as jealous. Largo invites the crew back to his 'home', but it turns out to actually belong to Rhesus 2, whom Largo is working for. After making contact with Captain Simian, however, Largo realizes the error of his ways and helps the monkeys escape, apparently sacrificing himself to give them time to get away. However, it turns out at the end he managed to escape and leaves aboard a separate ship.
  • The " ": An advanced alien race that is so advanced, the name of their species cannot be spoken or written, only thought. They intercepted Captain Simian while he was still a wild chimpanzee. Believed to be a human broken free of his evolutionary bonds, they gave Simian "The Gift", which is advanced intelligence and the power of speech. They assigned Simian to stop Nebula before he gets the anti-force and completes his dark goal which is to destroy the universe and create a new one within himself. During the series, The " " retreated to the 10th dimension until part one of the series finale, where they warn Simian that Nebula is getting very close to his goal.
  • Mandrax: A being of infinite powers, who appears to be a mandrill able to float in space and midair, go through walls, be invulnerable to attacks, and be able to connect with others' minds. He speaks in ominous and cryptical phrases and seems to know everyone in the crew better than they know themselves. The last image of the series is the revelation of him being Captain Simian from the future. Voiced by David Carradine.

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Yes, We Have No Bananas, Part 1"Bradley RaderGordon Bressack and Rob HudnutSeptember 7, 1996 (1996-09-07)1
During the monkey-manned spaceflights, one of the rockets, with a chimp named Charles, went off course and into the far reaches of the universe. An advanced race of aliens enhanced Charles' intelligence and gives him a monkey and ape crew and a ship and names him Captain Charles Simian. Their mission is to defeat an alien named Nebula, who plans on taking over the universe with a matter called the "Anti-Force".
2"Yes, We Still Have No Bananas, Part 2"Bradley RaderGordon Bressack and Rob HudnutSeptember 7, 1996 (1996-09-07)2
Charles is determined to destroy the Anti-force that Nebula needs by casting it into the nearest Sun. Unable to make it he instead puts it inside a disco ball and rigs it to blow. When Nebula absorbs the ball, it absorbs all of Nebula's energy and he turns back into his original self and then blows up. Charles then names the ship the Primate Avenger.
3"Ape-lien"Bradley RaderPamela Hickey and Dennys McCoySeptember 14, 1996 (1996-09-14)3

The crew answers a distress call from the NC-17 galaxy, where they find a derelict ship and split up to search it. Spydor uses his beamatron to pick up a pile of crystals. The crew then returns to their own ship, since they didn't find anyone alive, and also because Splitzy started a core meltdown. On their way out, Spydor uses the beamatron again to pick up an egg (which he thinks is a coconut).

Later, an alien hatches from the egg, attaches itself to Spydor's rear end, then escapes into the vents. The alien spits out radioactive mucus. By the time the crew finds it again, it has grown, and dodges their blasts. Splitzy says that the alien's DNA is changing rapidly, allowing it to change shape quickly; as Gor fights the alien, it absorbs his DNA, reconstructing itself and becoming stronger.

The primates escape via an elevator; the door chops off the alien's hand, which quickly evolves into a duplicate and merges with the original. Splitzy uses Spydor's crystals to create a cage to trap the alien; Spydor lures the alien into the cage, and the primates dump it into space.
4"The Monkey Has Landed"David SchwartzMark Seidenberg and Gordon BressackSeptember 14, 1996 (1996-09-14)4

The ship is warped to a planet in another galaxy, where they are attacked by a missile (labeled "USA") and several unmanned planes. After blowing up the planes, they search the planet further, finding that it looks like Earth but is covered entirely with jungle, and meet an intelligent monkey named Lilith. Lilith identifies herself as the caretaker of the planet, and tells them that an alien race recently visited, got rid of all poverty and pollution, and made all species intelligent. The others all left to explore space, leaving her behind as the chosen caretaker. Captain Simian quickly falls for her, and she takes him to look around.

The rest of the crew continue to search the planet separately. Gor, Spydor, and Splitzy are attacked and captured by living vines. This turns out to be the work of Rhesus 2, who then confronts Captain Simian. Rhesus 2 explains that the planet isn't Earth, but his former homeworld Terrestria; long ago, its human scientists sent him into space, but his pod escaped orbit and was beamed on board by Lord Nebula, who made him intelligent. After their previous encounter, the immortal Nebula brought Rhesus 2 back to life and sent him searching for a substance called Uterium, which would allow Nebula to become a black hole once again. To this end, Rhesus 2 enslaved his homeworld; he attaches some of his brains to the crew, mind-controlling them so that they cannot escape, and adds them to the slave force.

Lilith is said to be working with Rhesus 2, but later frees the crew while he is away on an inspection tour. The crew free the other slaves; Rhesus 2 returns and blasts Lilith (who is revealed as a robot), but is chased off by the former slaves. Before the crew leaves, Splitzy repairs Lilith, allowing her to return to her caretaker role.
5"Gorilla My Dreams"Bradley RaderMartin Olson and Gordon BressackSeptember 21, 1996 (1996-09-21)5

The episode opens up with Gor having nightmares about crushing the ship. Shao Lin gives Gor a crystal necklace that she says will help him deal with his dreams. Later Splitzy intercepts a message between Lord Nebula and Rhesus 2, Nebula tells Rhesus 2 to go to a planet named Medusa 4, where he will find a device to produce the anti-force. Captain Charles Simian quickly gets to the planet. When they get there they are attacked by Rhesus 2 and his drone ships. the Primate Avenger gets damaged so the Space Monkeys hide behind an asteroid shield. Splitzy creates a holographic image of the ship and Rhesus 2's drone ships start attacking it and destroy each other in the process. Rhesus 2 then leaves the asteroid belt. The Monkey's think that he went back to Nebula for reinforcements, so they head to Medusa 4, to get the device for anti-force. The crew then starts searching the planet. Spydor falls down a trench and the rest follow after him. They land in a chamber, there they meet an alien named Grxylpk. Grxylpk takes them to a wall shaped like an ear, and tells them that this is the sacred ear. He adds that some say it was a sleeping giant around which the planet had crystallized. Grxylpk says that the sacred ear keeps the galaxy running and he whispers everything which gets printed from a computer and the ear makes them through his power of the dreams. None of the Monkeys except for Gor-illa believe Grxylpk. Then to prove Grxylpk wrong, Spydor tells the ear to create some bananas, and soon there is a pile of bananas in front of him.

Then Simian says that the entire cave must be programmed to create stuff and thinks that Nebula is after this, and takes over the cave. Right then one of Rhesus 2's brain attacks Simian. Then they start fighting Rhesus and his robots called Ganglias. Rhesus 2 then tells the ear to give him more ganglias and he does. So now the monkeys are outnumbered, so Simian tells the ear to double their fire powers, and the fight continues. After a while each side keeps telling the ear to upgrade their weapons and cause a lot of noise. Then the ground starts shaking and the giant wakes up, so at that point they find that Grxylpk was right, and the galaxy also starts disappearing. Then Splitzy says that the giant's dreams must occupy the same space time as the physical reality of this galaxy. Splitzy then creates a huge sound wave which sounds like a lullaby, and the giant again goes back to sleep and the galaxy gets restored. At the end Spydor beams the bananas he got and when Simian tries to eat them, they disappear as if they weren't real. At the end Gor says the line, "This is real, right? Or is this a Dream?"
6"Splitzy's Choice"Bradley RaderPamela Hickey and Dennys McCoySeptember 21, 1996 (1996-09-21)7
The episode opens up with Blethorians chasing the Space Monkeys. After fighting for a few minutes the crew make it to their ship and flee the planet. It is later revealed that Spydor had cheated in a card game, so the aliens got angry and were after them. The ship is damaged while fleeing, and is leaking flux, which holds the ship together. Captain Charles Simian, Shao Lin, and a Holo Boon go to a planet to get more flux. Spydor, Gor, and Splitzy stay behind on the ship which is starting to come apart. Splitzy uses a device he created to get rid of his split personality, but the machine separates Splitzy and Dr. Splitz into two apes. Back on the Planet, a sand monster destroys the Holo Boon, and goes after Simian and Shao Lin, but is shot and retreats. Back on the Ship, Splitzy and Dr. Splitz are arguing, and Gor is angry at Spydor for cheating at card game. But when they see that the ship is coming apart faster, they decide to work together and fix the ship. During this time Splitzy and Dr. Splitz realize that they need their other halves. Back on the planet Captain Simian and Shao Lin get the flux. With the new flux the ship restores and reseals itself. Having realized that they need each other, Dr. Splitz and Splitzy decide to merge back into one monkey and get back in the machine and Dr. Splitz and Splitzy again become one ape with split personality.
7"Repo Ape"Bradley RaderPamela Hickey and Dennys McCoyOctober 5, 1996 (1996-10-05)9

The crew catches a coded message from Nasa, but the Monkeys couldn't translate it because the decoder was destroyed in the second episode. Later Splitzy finds that Charles' capsule was not destroyed with the planet and made its way to the XJ-12 galaxy. So the crew get ready to go there. When they get into the galaxy the Primate Avenger gets caught in a magnetic anomaly and crashes in a lifeless junkyard. So the crew goes searching the planet for something to fix their ship. Later a couple of robot attack the Monkeys. The Monkeys defeat the robots and later make their way to another robot that tells them that he is Matrix. The Matrix captures the Monkeys to "deconstruct and assimilate", and more robots arrive. Gor-illa gets free and then frees everyone else. However as the Monkeys are making their way to the ship, a robot captures Spydor and Gor.

On the ship Orbitron tells the Monkeys that 1,000 years ago, Matrix was an automated salvage vehicle that deconstructed and assimilated abandoned space vehicles. Later it was also caught in the anomaly and was trapped. Matrix then linked with other alien computers and continued de-constructing and assimilating. However the robot can't distinguish between machine and Monkeys.

Meanwhile Matrix downloads Gor's brain and becomes smarter. While Splitzy works on how to break through the anomaly, Captain Charles Simian and Shao Lin go to rescue Gor and Spydor. While fighting the robots, Charles finds the Capsule that he was sent into space with, Charles gets in and takes over the robot. Meanwhile Matrix continues to download information from Gor and becomes alive. Then Spydor gets Gor angry by telling him that because of his paper cut he's going to need a tetanus shot. Gor gets angry and into his Gormongus like state because he doesn't want a shot. Gor then defeats Matrix. Right then Splitzy creates a magnetic field to cancel the anomaly, and the robots overload. Then the crew makes it back to the ship and they flee. Splitzy tells the Monkeys that Matrix survived and continues to evolve, but it will take his 20 centuries to complete it. Charles finally finds that the code sent by NASA was course change information.
8"Gormongus!"David SchwartzNick SaganNovember 2, 1996 (1996-11-02)6

The Primate Avenger is attacked by electric beams from an unknown ship. The ship keeps coming in and out of warp, so they can't track it. Later Splitzy finds out that they are scanning the ship for lifeforms with the electric beams. Later the ship beams up and kidnaps Gor and Spydor, and then the ship leaves. At the other ship Gor and Spydor are met by Apax, an alien who has snakes for hair. Apax tells Gor that he's going to make him a champion, and takes Gor and Spydor to an arena, where Gor is forced to fight. Meanwhile back on the Primate Avenger, Splitzy creates a device to capture the ship's warp trace, and then the Monkeys find the trace and head there. Back at the arena, Whenever he's put with a match with someone, Gor convinces them that fighting is wrong and talks them out of the ring. So then Apax tells Spydor that if Gor doesn't fight then he will kill him. So Spydor tells Gor to fight him, but Gor says he doesn't want to. Then Spydor tells Gor to pretend that his opponent eats caterpillars for breakfast, then Gor gets angry and starts fighting his opponent.

The Primate Avenger arrives at the arena, and the Monkeys start looking for Gor and Spydor. Meanwhile, Apax takes Gor to enter an isotope in him, that will make him stronger and have more killer instinct. Before he can continue the Monkeys arrive and tell him to freeze, but Apax's men come and keep the Monkeys busy, while Apax injects the isotope. After the isotope is injected, Gor turns into a huge monstruous form (similarly to Hulk). He attacks anyone that comes in the way, and demolishes the place. Later Spydor sings him a lullaby and he goes to sleep and changes back to normal. Later Simian gets Apax and hands him over to the fighters that Apax forced to fight. Then the Space Monkeys leave. At the end after Splitzy does tests on Gor, he tells him that the isotope has become a part of him.
9"Invasion of the Banana Snatchers"David SchwartzGordon Bressack and Beth SlickNovember 9, 1996 (1996-11-09)8
The crew finds giant alien bananas attached to the hull of the ship. The bananas capture Gor, Spydor, and Splitzy and creates clones of them. The clones take over the ship, forcing Shao Lin and Captain Simian to escape. In the end Shao Lin and Simian go to the space station that the bananas came from and free their crew from them. When the crew is freed, their clones evaporate.
10"Lawnmower Ape"David SchwartzAlan Swayze and Gordon BressackNovember 16, 1996 (1996-11-16)10

Gor had been having hard time keeping up with the rest of the crew, so Splitzy attempts to repair the cerebrotron to increase Gor's intelligence. When he tests it and it works, Gor's intelligence increases and he becomes smarter than Splitzy. Meanwhile Rhesus 2 finishes making his new invention, a robot named Lobiathan. Rhesus 2 then attacks a mining colony to get some anti-force for Nebula. The monkeys get a distress call and quickly go there. When they reach the colony Rhesus 2 attacks with his robot. The Monkeys couldn't stop Lobiathan, so they destroy the building that contained the anti-force. Then the Monkeys leave on the ship, but Rhesus 2 shoots a cannon and the ship crash lands. Then Rhesus 2 attacks the ship to get Gor's brain because Gor is now smart and knows how to create anti-force. Shao Lin and Charles attack Rhesus 2 in a fighter plane, but have no effect on the robot. Later Spydor tries to make Gor transform into Gormungus, so that he can defeat Rhesus 2. However, Gor has gotten too smart to get angry and Spydor's plan fails. Since Rhesus 2 wants Gor's brain because he is smart now, so Gor uses Splitzy's cerebrotron to decrease his intelligence back to how he was before. Then he transforms into Gormongus and destroys Rhesus 2's robot and defeats Rhesus 2.

Holo Boon celebrity sound-a-like: Beavis and Butt-Head
11"Monkey in the Middle"Bradley RaderStory by : Gordon Bressack
Teleplay by : Marlowe Weisman and Laraine Arkow
November 23, 1996 (1996-11-23)11
Rhesus 2 steals gravitons from a cosmic storm, which causes a rip in the universe and Charles goes in it and when he comes back an alien follows him. The alien then tells Charles that his name is Vog and when the gravitons were stolen his world ripped open and says he must put the gravitons back before the cosmic storm ends to seal the rip and save his universe. With the alien's help the crew gets the gravitons back and saves the universe.
12"Plan Ape From Outer Space"Bradley RaderLynn Mills, Jimmy Huston & Gordon BressackNovember 30, 1996 (1996-11-30)13
To escape from a space creature and nearly out of fuel, the Space Monkeys ride a meteor through a wormhole. On the other side, they discover an inhabited planet and decide to refuel there. However, they also discover that the meteor is about to hit the planet. They try to warn the inhabitants, but the universal translator is broken and the inhabitants think they have been invaded. Despite repeated attempts to communicate, they cannot convince the inhabitants of their peaceful intentions. So, to save the planet pretend to invade and lure all of the missiles coming from the planet, towards the meteor. After the meteor is destroyed, the inhabitants think they have destroyed the ship and averted an alien invasion.
13"Monkey Puzzle Man"Joe PearsonPamela Hickey and Dennys McCoyJanuary 25, 1997 (1997-01-25)15
The crew encounter a smooth-talking spacefarer called Largo Thrix, who becomes more monkey-like the longer he hangs out with them. Everyone assumes Simian's bad feeling about him is just jealousy, but it ultimately turns out Largo can duplicate the characteristics of other beings (he took on Spydor's cunning, Splitzy's mechanical skills, Dr. Splitz's scientific genius, Shao Lin's fighting abilities and Gor's strength) and is in cahoots with Rhesus 2. After he helps Rhesus 2 capture the Space Monkeys, his conscience is reawoken by Simian deliberately 'infecting' him with some of his own persona and he helps them escape.
14"The Apes of Wrath"David SchwartzRichard Mueller and Gordon BressackFebruary 1, 1997 (1997-02-01)12

Rhesus 2 destroys the Holo Boon generator to force the crew to Velasquez 9 for a replacement. Unbeknownst to them, he has modified the replacement to generate a megalomaniacal dictator whose "Holo Boon horde" seizes the ship.

Holo Boon celebrity sound-a-like: William Shatner
15"Mind Over Monkey"Joe PearsonMartin Olson and Gordon BressackFebruary 8, 1997 (1997-02-08)14
Rhesus 2 plants a Psycho Neutron Annihilator which will destroy all organic life on the Primate Avenger but leave the ship intact. To prevent the crew from locating it before it blows up, the bomb creates several realistic and dangerous hallucinations of their greatest fears which they must pass through in order to get closer.
16"Planet of the Humans"Bradley RaderD.C. FontanaFebruary 15, 1997 (1997-02-15)16

The crew lands on an alien planet populated entirely by barbaric humans as well as two alien brothers who had been abandoned on the planet for three years as a test to enter adulthood. While one brother wandered alone the other allied himself with the human population who "knew how to survive." Unable to leave, the crew is captured by the human tribe which confirms many of their preconceived notions about humanity. Although Shao Lin was worshiped by humans on Earth and Simian claimed to have a good "working relationship" with them, Gor, Splitzy and Spydor had all been abused by various humans and Gor, who had been hunted by poachers back on Earth, especially disliked them. However, when Gor frightens a young human girl he finds her to be innocent and that humans are capable of change. When the brothers' father finally returns for his sons the crew rethinks what it means to be "evolved."

Holo Boon celebrity sound-a-like: Bill Paxton as Private William Hudson from the movie Aliens
17"Little House on the Primate"Bradley RaderLaraine Arkow and Marlowe WeismanFebruary 22, 1997 (1997-02-22)18
When Spydor demands that the crew land on an uninhabited natural world for some recreation, his plans to officially claim the planet and colonize it for his own benefit are ironically mimicked by a tiny spaceship full of flea-sized aliens, who attempt to colonize Spydor's body. Since their moral codes prohibit them from simply destroying the diminutive aliens, the rest of the crew use one of Dr. Splitz's inventions to shrink down small enough to attempt diplomacy. However, Rhesus 2 attacks the Primate Avenger and captures Spydor whilst the crew are shrunken, forcing the Space Monkeys and the aliens to work together. In the end the crew leaves and the aliens seek out a new planet to claim…the body of Rhesus 2.
18"Felonious Monks"David SchwartzChristy MarxMarch 1, 1997 (1997-03-01)17
Primate Avenger's crew is kidnapped by Apax, and only one Space Monkey can now free them all: Shao Lin (with Orbitron's "help").
19"The Maltese Monkey"David SchwartzPamela Hickey, Dennys McCoy & Gordon BressackApril 19, 1997 (1997-04-19)19

In a parody of Noir films, Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys must navigate the treacherous twists and turns of the denizens of Maltese 1 in order to recover the stolen Orbitron, which has revealed it contains the formula for GLOPP, before a local crimeboss can sell it to Lord Nebula.

Holo Boon celebrity sound-a-like: Peter Lorre as Ugarte from the movie Casablanca
20"Escape From the Plant of the Apes"Bradley RaderLaraine Arkow and Marlowe WeismanApril 26, 1997 (1997-04-26)21

The Primate Avenger comes across a spacecraft containing a huge forest of trees and plants. The roots of the trees suddenly come to life and drag the Avenger on board. The forest is dying and requires a gardener to maintain it. The nature-loving Gor would be ideal for the post and when his companions try to interfere their lives are put in jeopardy. To add to their problems, Splitzy unintentionally switches the minds of Simian and Shao Lin, resulting in them occupying each other's body.

The theme of a forest, a planet's last surviving natural resource, drifting through space in a satellite-like craft, is similar to the movie Silent Running, starring Bruce Dern.
21"Rhesus Pieces"John FoxGordon Bressack and D.C. FontanaMay 3, 1997 (1997-05-03)20

A powerful being calling himself the Glyph offers Simian the chance of destroying Nebula. The plan is to lure Rhesus 2 into a trap and get him to lead them to his master. But the crew soon discovers that their new ally has an agenda of his own.

Guest-voice-star David Warner
22"A Clockwork Orang"David SchwartzGordon Bressack and Rob HudnutMay 10, 1997 (1997-05-10)22

While the crew argues about whether or not they should try to return to Earth when the Universe is still in jeopardy Gor wishes he had a friend to share his interests. Splitzy has created a small android orangutan as an experiment and decides to use Gor's simple mind as a basis for its thought patterns. Gor names it Isaac and the Captain thinks an android crew might be the ideal solution to allow the Primate crew to go home. They travel to Cyber 1, an android planet, for parts to build their replacements although Shao Lin remains skeptical. When they arrive they find the planet is ruled by Matrix; a former enemy who attacks them and refuses to let them leave.

Meanwhile Gor and Splitzy argue about how Isaac should be, for want of a better term, parented. Their fighting causes Isaac to become confused about his identity and run away. When Isaac goes too far out on a ledge and falls, Gor and Splitzy risk their own safety to save him. Isaac does not understand altruism and Gor explains that "We are supposed to help each other." When they find the power grid for the planet, Issac decides to stay behind as he is the only one who can shut down the power grid to allow the others to escape. He declares that he is an android and belongs there, and says goodbye to Gor who he calls Father (and Splitzy who he calls 'Uncle'.) In light of Isaac's sacrifice and sense of duty, the Captain decides that the fight to save the universe is their responsibility and that they must continue on until it is completed.

Later Isaac is shown growing the planet's first organic flower and sharing it with the other androids.

Trivia: The theme from the movie Brazil is playing on Cyber 1. Brazil is set in a similarly dystopian world beset by advanced technology.

Holo Boon celebrity sound-a-like: Arnold Schwarzenegger from the movie Terminator
23"Surf Monkeys Must Dive!"Bradley RaderLaraine Arkow and Marlowe WeismanMay 17, 1997 (1997-05-17)23
When the Primate Avenger's scanners register that an occupied ocean planet is undergoing critical core destabilization, the Space Monkeys attempt to land to warn the inhabitants, only to be attacked by the militaristic society and shot down. The planet's pink ocean is, fortunately, made of hyper-liquidized oxygen, and thus breathable. Determined to continue their mission, the Space Monkeys discover the planet's inhabitants are divided into two subspecies; the surface-dwellers who attacked them, and another culture that lives entirely under the ocean and has been enslaved by the surface dwellers, endlessly mining the metallic core of the planet to provide the raw material that the surface-dwellers, whom the sea-dwellers believe are gods, use to construct floating cities. This rampant mining is what has destabilized the planet, and unless a substantial portion of metal is returned soon, its molten core will break completely through to the surface. Convincing the sea-dwellers of their mission, the Space Monkeys lead a short war before the planet begins its final tremors. With the planet on the verge of exploding, the Space Monkeys convince the two subspecies to work together to return vast portions of ore into the erupting fissure, sealing the core and creating the first natural landmasses on the planet. As the Space Monkeys leave, though, the representatives of the former factions are already arguing over how to integrate their people together and how to share the islands and seas.
24"The Mandrill Who Knew Too Much, Part 1"John Fox and Joe PearsonGordon BressackJune 7, 1997 (1997-06-07)24
Lord Nebula finally creates an almost complete GLOPP generator, and deduces that the one thing he needs to complete it is the Orbitron. He dispatches Rhesus 2 to retrieve the Orbitron. Meanwhile, the Space Monkeys encounter a mysterious mandrill named Mandrax, who speaks ominously of things to come.
25"Ape-pocalypse Now!, Part 2"David Schwartz and Joe PearsonGordon BressackJune 14, 1997 (1997-06-14)25
Rhesus 2 attacks the Primate Avenger with incredible ferocity, and ultimately manages to capture all of the Space Monkeys except for Captain Simian. Realizing that Rhesus 2's goal is to retrieve the Orbitron for Nebula, Captain Simian makes the hardest decision of his career and is forced to retreat, leaving his crews in Rhesus 2's clutches. He lands on a barren wasteland planet... but in his eyes, it's a paradisaical jungle world, where a willing and affectionate Shao Lin awaits him.
26"Ape-pocalypse... A Little Later!, Part 3"Bradley RaderGordon BressackJune 21, 1997 (1997-06-21)26
The Space Monkeys languish aboard Lord Nebula's ships, awaiting interrogation at the hands of Rhesus 2. Initially, they believe their captain has betrayed them, but ultimately realize that he only ran to secure the Orbitron, which is the last component in Lord Nebula's GLOPP generator. Meanwhile, Captain Simian is still wandering a desolate planet, believing himself to be in paradise, until he is suddenly attacked by imaginary monsters. Mandrax appears and dispels the illusion, which turns out to be the result of a pair of obnoxious psychic alien teens. After some conversation with Mandrax, Captain Simian returns to Lord Nebula's ship to rescue his crew, trading the Orbitron for their safety. All seems lost... and then the GLOPP generator goes haywire, transforming Lord Nebula into a tiny round sphere with his head trapped inside and his powers sealed. As Captain Simian explains to his crew, he realized that Lord Nebula didn't know that the Orbitron had been broken and imperfectly repaired, so his machine wouldn't work. Rhesus 2 realizes that he no longer needs to obey Nebula in his diminished state, and he throws the failed GLOPP generator into space (allowing the Space Monkeys to retrieve the Orbitron) before declaring his intent to conquer the universe. The Space Monkeys vow to continue fighting until Rhesus 2 is defeated, and Mandrax watches as they fly away, before revealing himself to be a time-traveling Captain Simian from the future.

Production and personnel

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Production company

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(Epoch Ink Animation/Toon-Us-In Animation)
Executive Producers (Rob Hudnut, Gorden Bressack, Gary Hartle)
Producer (Joe Pearson)
Directors (Brad Rader, David Schwartz, Joe Pearson, John Fox)
Art Director (Joe Pearson)
Design (Brad Coombs, Harry Warner, Gregg Davidson, Sung Woo Hong, Mike Smith, Mac Spada and Young Yoon Gi)
Storyboard (John Fox, Vincent Edwards, Jennifer Graves, Dave Chylstek, Dave Simmons, Mike Hedrick, Adam Van Wyk, Tom Nelson, David Bullock, Lyndon Ruddy, Mike Docherty, Young Yoon Gi, Robert Souza, Keith Tucker, Chuck Droost)

Voice actors

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Crew

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Directors: Brad Rader and David Schwartz
Designers: Brad Coombs, Harry Warner, Gregg Davidson, Sung Woo Hong, Mike Smith, Mac Spada and Young Yoon Gi
Storyboard artists: John Fox, Vincent Edwards, Jennifer Graves, Dave Chylstek, Dave Simmons, Mike Hedrick, Adam Van Wyk, Tom Nelson, David Bullock, Lyndon Ruddy, Mike Docherty, Young Yoon Gi, Robert Souza, Keith Tucker, Chuck Droost and Graham Morris (animation timing).

Studios

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Epoch and Toon-Us-In provided all pre-production in L.A., including layout. Animation, ink and paint and camera was provided by Sun Min Image Pictures and Jireh Animation, two Seoul-based studios. Post house, Vitello Productions provided strong post-production services.

Action figures

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In 1996, Mattel released a collection of action figures based on Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys. Designed by Bluebird Toys of the UK, the line included 9 basic figures and 4 large vehicles or accessories.[3] The figures, armed with several accessories, were unusually packaged so that the consumer could rotate them inside the card bubble as though they were floating in space.

In other languages

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  • Spanish: Capitán Simio y los monos galácticos
  • Italian: Una giungla di stelle per Capitan Simian

References

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  1. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 182–184. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  2. ^ Lawson, Tim; Persons, Alisa (9 December 2004). The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors - Tim Lawson, Alisa Persons - Google Books. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781578066964. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
  3. ^ Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys (Mattel) Action Figure Checklist Figure Realm. Retrieved on 10-28-2012.
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