We’re not monkeying around when we tell you that Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp has been making viewers of all ages go bananas for 50 years. Terrible puns aside, the series is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year, and to celebrate Film Chest has just released the show on DVD in a package that you’ll go ape over. Sorry. Anyway, here’s the details:
On September 12, 1970, at the height of the Saturday-Morning TV mania, Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp first aired on ABC, and television was never the same again. Making a mockery of everything from the Secret Agent craze to variety shows and music videos, the creators of Lancelot Link took the impossibly bold step and made a TV series CAST ONLY WITH ACTUAL CHIMPANZEES! The suave Lancelot Link and his partner, Mata Hairi,are top agents at the Agency to Prevent Evil (APE), a secret organization led by Commander Darwin that protects the world from wrongdoers. APE’s chief nemesis, the nefarious Baron Von Butcher, leads CHUMP, the Criminal Headquarters for the Underworld Master Plan, an evil league bent on world conquest. Assisting the diabolical Baron is a band of unforgettable bad apes including Creto, Wang Fu, the Duchess, Dragon Lady, Ali Assa Seen, and Dr. Strangemind. It’s been 50 years since that fateful day when Lancelot Link literally changed the face of television forever, and it’s as shockingly hilarious and mind-bendingly absurd today as it was when it first aired on Saturday morning TV. Standing alone in its class because nothing else quite like it exists, prepare yourself for the miraculous impossibility of Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp!
The release will include the following special features:
Limited Slip Case
Episode Synopses
Limited Edition Character Trading Cards
Limited Edition Merchandise Store
Bonus CD of original 1970 vinyl release
Interview with producer Allan Sandler
Interview with musical director Bob Emenegger
“I Created Lancelot Link” documentary by Diane Bernard and Jeff Krulik
Footage of Lancelot Link and Allan Sandler at the Wildlife Waystation in 2011
Slideshow of pictures and stills provided by Allan Sandler and LIFE Magazine
Complete Evolution Revolution vignettes and “Chimpies” from the 17 original episodes
No longer will there be a missing, er, link in your physical media collection when you pick up the 50th Anniversary release of Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp, available now!