Tales of the Gold Monkey is a 1982

1982 in television

The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...

 television show broadcast by ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

. Most critics saw it as the network's attempt to capitalize on the fame of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...

the previous year, in the same vein as Bring 'Em Back Alive

Bring 'Em Back Alive

Bring 'Em Back Alive is an adventure television series starring Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan and Ron O'Neal. The series was shown in the United States from September 1982 to May 1983. Set in Singapore, it was one of several shows like Tales of the Gold Monkey to try and capture the success of...

on CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

. In actuality, the premise of the show bears a much stronger resemblance to the 1939 film Only Angels Have Wings

Only Angels Have Wings

Only Angels Have Wings is a movie directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. It is generally regarded as being among Hawks' finest films, particularly in its portrayal of the professionalism of the pilots, its atmosphere, and the flying sequences.It inspired the 1983 television...

and the 1944 film To Have and Have Not

To Have and Have Not (film)

To Have and Have Not is a 1944 romance-war-adventure film. The movie was directed by Howard Hawks and stars Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, and Lauren Bacall in her first film...

. Creator Donald P. Bellisario

Donald Bellisario

Donald Paul Bellisario is an American television producer and screenwriter who created and sometimes wrote episodes for the TV series Magnum, P.I., Airwolf, Quantum Leap, JAG, and NCIS...

 tried to get the series commissioned since the late 1970s, but executives felt that audiences wouldn't be interested in an adventure series set in the 1930s.