Tarzan

Tarzan

1966
Tarzan
Tarzan

Tarzan

7 | NR | en | Drama

Tarzan is a series that aired on NBC from 1966 – 1968. The series portrayed Tarzan as a well-educated character, one who, tired of civilization, had returned to the jungle where he had been raised. The show retained many of the trappings of the classic movie series, including Cheeta, while excluding other elements, such as Jane, as part of the "new look" for the fabled apeman that producer Sy Weintraub had introduced in previous motion pictures starring Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, and Mike Henry. CBS aired repeat episodes the program during the summer of 1969.

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Seasons & Episodes

2
1
EP26  Trina
Apr. 05,1968
Trina

Trina MacKenzie, one of seven girls on an expedition, is also trying to find her uncle, who she believes to be doing humanitarian work. She finds that he has become the leader of a large tribe, and has helped them develop more peaceful ways. But Tarzan comes to believe that his latest crusade, involving a statue he claims to be obtaining but which locals insist does not exist, may involve less than noble intentions.

EP25  Alex the Great
Mar. 22,1968
Alex the Great

The task of protecting a village from man-eating "cats" is complicated by the arrival of a man determined to prove to himself greater than Tarzan.

EP24  Rendezvous for Revenge
Mar. 15,1968
Rendezvous for Revenge

After poacher and arsonist Dan Burton escapes from custody, Tarzan tracks him and his adoring girlfriend to an oceanside cliff, and a fateful encounter. But Burton's girlfriend and two henchmen later track Tarzan down and force him to lead them back to the scene.

EP23  Four O'Clock Army (2)
Mar. 08,1968
Four O'Clock Army (2)

After the village is burned and Tarzan, Jai, the chief, and numerous villagers are captured by the slavers, General Bertram and Charity must work together despite their differences. Tarzan escapes his captors and comes to their aid. He decides to follow behind the slavers to discover who is leading them.

EP22  Four O'Clock Army (1)
Mar. 01,1968
Four O'Clock Army (1)

General Basil Bertram and missionary Charity Jones return in this two-part story, and this time must ally with Tarzan against a band of slavers who have been taking people and destroying villages.

EP21  Jungle Ransom
Feb. 23,1968
Jungle Ransom

Tarzan takes a boat to escort a convicted killer, Velasquez, to the authorities. Also on the boat is the wife of a man the killer's band is holding for ransom. She forces Tarzan at gunpoint to escort her with Velasquez to his camp where her husband is being held. She has left the ransom money hidden behind, but Jai and Cheetah find it.

EP20  End of a Challenge
Feb. 16,1968
End of a Challenge

Jai comes across an old man wounded in the jungle. He stops to help the man while sending word to Tarzan for help.

EP19  Trek to Terror
Feb. 09,1968
Trek to Terror

A doctor trying to control an outbreak of disease among the tribes is wanted for murder. Tarzan intervenes to allow the doctor to complete his work before being taken into custody. Tarzan is concerned however that the charges against the man may not be all they seem to be.

EP18  A Gun for Jai
Feb. 02,1968
A Gun for Jai

Against Tarzan's wishes, Jai is given a rifle by one of the local hunters. However circumstances change and Tarzan discovers the value of allowing the boy a firearm.

EP17  King of the Dwasari
Jan. 26,1968
King of the Dwasari

Tarzan is checking on the Dwsari tribe when he discovers that somehow a white man, Arthur Brown, has become their king.

EP16  The Convert
Jan. 12,1968
The Convert

A nun returns to her village to bring medicine an treat the sick. She is torn between her tribal heritage and those who oppose her new life.

EP15  The Professional
Jan. 05,1968
The Professional

Tarzan encounters a group of soldiers looking for a local tribe. He is unsure of their motives or if he can trust them, but decides to lead them to the tribe so he can keep an eye on the man.

EP14  Creeping Giants
Dec. 29,1967
Creeping Giants

Tarzan becomes concerned when news reaches him of plans to build a dam in a geologically unsound area. He needs to prove the weakness in the plan and why none of the government surveys in the area have not uncovered the same issues.

EP13  Jai's Amnesia
Dec. 15,1967
Jai's Amnesia

Jai loses his memory and a group of criminals decide to exploit the situation to plan a series of robberies. Tarzan must track down the men and attempt to save Jai before he gets into serious trouble.

EP12  Mountains of the Moon (2)
Dec. 01,1967
Mountains of the Moon (2)

Rosanna McCloud and her pilgrims are determined to continue in their trek toward their Promised Land, even after one of their people is killed. Now they are armed and determined to fight off the tribe that lives in the land. Tarzan, meanwhile, learns that the chief of the tribe was tricked into selling the land by the trader Whitehead, whom he hopes to expose before more blood is shed.

EP11  Mountains of the Moon (1)
Nov. 24,1967
Mountains of the Moon (1)

Tarzan comes across a party of religious pilgrims who are being led by Rosanna McCloud to their "Promised Land". To not shatter their dreams, Mrs. McCloud does not inform her followers that her husband, whom they regard as their Prophet, has just been killed, and she is unaware that the government trader who sold the group the land from a reclusive tribe had his own motives for doing so and never intended for the group to reach it. When Rosanna finally tells her group about the death of their leader, she and Tarzan also find that their money has been stolen.

EP10  The Pride of a Lioness
Nov. 17,1967
The Pride of a Lioness

Tarzan intervenes on behalf of a very sick girl. He insists rather than allow the girl to be treated by tribal medicine she should be treated by real doctor. The tribe reacts poorly to his actions and other lives are put at risk.

EP9  Hotel Hurricane
Nov. 10,1967
Hotel Hurricane

A huge storm is bearing down on the area causing a plane with a very valuable cargo to crash. Tarzan helps locate the wreck and try and recover the cargo.

EP8  Last of the Supermen
Nov. 03,1967
Last of the Supermen

Four men are found murdered and Tarzan goes up country to try and establish what happens. What he discoverers shocks everyone and reveals a secret that dates back to WW2.

EP7  The Fanatics
Oct. 27,1967
The Fanatics

Tarzan encounters a female journalist who has arrived in the area for local tribal elections. The journalist has concerns over the conduct of a local white sponsor for one of the candidates.

EP6  Curse of the Mugumba Tree
Oct. 20,1967
Curse of the Mugumba Tree

A local white woman becomes the subject of an spiritual attack by the local witch doctor after a sacred tree is chopped down. Tarzan must find out who really destroyed the tree and try to help his friend fight of the effects of the bad voodoo.

EP5  The Blue Stone of Heaven (2)
Oct. 13,1967
The Blue Stone of Heaven (2)

After uncovering the mythical Blue Stone of Baskar, Colonel Tatakombi takes advantage of the legend associated with it to declare himself the leader/god of the surrounding tribes, in the hope of later taking control of the country. Tarzan is determined to expose and stop him.

EP4  The Blue Stone of Heaven (1)
Oct. 06,1967
The Blue Stone of Heaven (1)

After a guide for an archaeological expedition is killed, Tarzan decides to accompany the group in their quest to enter the forbidden "City Of Death", not only to protect them, but also to find out why a plant specialist and an ambitious colonel are also so interested in the place.

EP3  Thief Catcher
Sep. 29,1967
Thief Catcher

Two convicts escape while being transfered to another prison. Their actions spark a wave of crime around local villages. Tarzan must track and capture the two men before more people are put in danger.

EP2  Voice of the Elephant
Sep. 22,1967
Voice of the Elephant

Jai's pet baby elephant is charged with killing a white man. Under tribal law the elephant is entitled to a trial. Jai goes on the search for evidence and someone to present it.

EP1  Tiger, Tiger
Sep. 15,1967
Tiger, Tiger

A deadly tiger is loose in the jungle but, despite a warning from Tarzan, an engineer insists on continuing work on a project although he lacks the experience to cope with the animal.

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7 | NR | en | Drama , Action & Adventure | More Info
Released: 1966-09-08 | Released Producted By: Banner Productions , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

Tarzan is a series that aired on NBC from 1966 – 1968. The series portrayed Tarzan as a well-educated character, one who, tired of civilization, had returned to the jungle where he had been raised. The show retained many of the trappings of the classic movie series, including Cheeta, while excluding other elements, such as Jane, as part of the "new look" for the fabled apeman that producer Sy Weintraub had introduced in previous motion pictures starring Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, and Mike Henry. CBS aired repeat episodes the program during the summer of 1969.

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Cast

Ron Ely , Manuel Padilla Jr. , Rockne Tarkington

Director

Sy Weintraub

Producted By

Banner Productions ,

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Reviews

George Taylor Unlike the enjoyable if silly Weissmuller films, someone behind this actually read the books since Tarzan was erudite and intelligent. Protecting modern day Africa from many different threats, the one thing I could have done without was the kid. But this was a family show.
Sandy Loam In this episode (A Pride of ASS-ASSins) Jai asks stupid and annoying questions and makes you want to drown him. A gunman shoots at Tarzan with his full auto weapon from a helicopter with the stock under his armpit. An expert drunken knife dude throws his blade, nearly fatally, into Tarzan's armpit. Tarzan turns a hardened sociopath woman (Jill Donahue, known for her performance in, "Stacy Keach's Ex Wife), into a saint, then using his favorite 'Tarzan-pull-the-guy-on-top-of-you-then- flip-him-back-over-your-head' move, tosses her bad guy partner (Victor French, AKA Isaiah Edwards from Little Outhouse on the Prarie Dog) who's trying to kill her, off a cliff!! But not before turning him into a stiff dummy that bounces off the ground. Everyone but Tarzan, even though they are all sweating balls, is wearing heavy jackets. This is the dark continent, and I don't think they're anywhere near the snows of Kilmanjaro. Lose the jackets, morons.
rcj5365 In commemoration of the show's 50th Anniversary Edgar Rice Burroughs' character was played by several different actors over the years not to mention a series that has it's origin going back to Johnny Weissmuller, Lex Barker, Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney,and Mike Henry. Producer Sy Weintraub(who took over the "Tarzan" franchise in the mid-1950's after Sol. L. Lesser) was trying to bring "Tarzan" to television as early as 1958,but the project never got off the ground. By the early-1960's the "Tarzan" films were still theatrical releases,but it wasn't until the mid-1960's when the franchise went into a new medium. Gordon Scott was replaced by Jock Mahoney who abandoned the role in 1963 who lost out to football player turned actor Mike Henry. Henry made three theatrical "Tarzan" films between 1966-1968 and was originally cast for the television version of the series,but declined after some bad experiences while shooting the 1967 theatrical picture "Tarzan and the Great River". In a desperate search,the producers along with Sy Weintraub finally was able to bring "Tarzan" to television as a weekly series by casting Ron Ely in the title role. Ron Ely who was 28-years old when he got the part of playing the 14th "Tarzan" on television while Mike Henry still played him in the movies. Ron Ely had a strong resume of several films and television series to his credit including the films "South Pacific", "The Fiend That Walked The West", "The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker",not to mention "The Night of the Grizzly", and in the TV-series "How to Marry a Millionaire" from 1957-1959. Ron Ely was cast in another series "The Aquanauts" that lasted one season from 1960-1961.The television version based on Edgar Rice Burroughs character retained many of the trappings of the classic movie series including Cheeta The Chimp and a boy sidekick(Manuel Padilla,Jr.) leaving the character Jane on the cutting room floor. Under the production of Sy Weintraub who also served as executive producer under his production company Banner Productions and Starring Ron Ely as "Tarzan" made its television premiere in prime-time on NBC's Friday Night schedule on September 9,1966 for 57 episodes and two seasons,filmed on location in parts of Central America and Mexico in full color until April 5,1968. After NBC canceled the series in 1968,"Tarzan" enjoy a resurgence in summer repeats for CBS airing from May 22, 1969 until August 30, 1969. "Tarzan" the television series on Friday nights faced strong competition during its two seasons on the air opposite "The Wild Wild West" and "The Green Hornet" in Season 1 and in its Second and final Season opposite "Off The See The Wizard","Hondo" and the wildly popular "The Wild Wild West". Several episodes of the "Tarzan" television series were two part episodes that were strung together and actually shown in theaters as feature length films that were released under Banner Productions and National General Pictures. The "Tarzan" television series produced 57 episodes all in color with 32 episodes in Season 1 and 25 episodes in Season 2. Actors that had recurring appearances on this series were Maurice Evans, Julie Harris, along with Chips Rafferty and Woody Strode appear in numerous episodes.Even though this series was attacked by critics,"Tarzan" was indeed a series that was action-packed throughout with breathtaking excitement and high adventure each week. Basically throughout production, Ron Ely did all of his own stunts and took it seriously. But yet check out the big name directors that were associated with this series from William Witney, Robert Day, Barry Shear, Anton Leader, Robert L. Friend, Charles S. Dubin, William Wiard, R.G. Springsteen and Hollingsworth Morse along with Paul Stanley,James Komack, Alan Crosland, Jr. and even Ron Ely himself directed an episode. Big name writers ranging from Jackson Gillis, Richard and Esther Shapiro, Wells Root, Carey Wilber, Don Brinkley, Samuel Newman, John Hawkins and Lawrence Dobkin. The guest star roster for this series consisted of James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Don Mitchell, Don Marshall, Raymond St. Jacques, Brock Peters,Rosie Grier, Diana Sands, Rafer Johnson, Clarence Williams III, Hari Rhodes, to William Marshall, Bernie Hamilton, Lloyd Haynes, Yaphet Kotto, Nichelle Nichols, George Stanford-Brown, Diana Ross(and the Supremes),to James MacArthur, Jock Mahoney, Sam Jaffe, Michael Witney, Simon Oakland, Ethel Merman, George Kennedy, Sally Kellerman, Russ Tamblyn, John Dehner, Antoinette Bower, Fernando Lamas, Peter Whitney, Pat Conway, Michael Dunn, James Whitmore, Warren Stevens, Neville Brand, Morgan Woodward, Ted Cassidy, Barbara Luna, Judy Pace, Jan Merlin, Michael Ansara, to Ralph Meeker, Jeremy Slate, Leslie Parrish, Rockne Tarkington, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Helen Hayes.The best "Tarzan" episodes out of this series from it's first season "The Pearls of Tanga","The Day The Earth Trembled", "The Ultimate Duel", "The Deadly Silence:Parts 1 & 2", "Faces of Death", "A Life For A Life", "The Perils of Charity Jones:Parts 1 & 2", "The Ultimatum", "A Pride of Assassins", "The Fire People", "Jungle Dragnet", "Village of Fire", "Man-Killer", "The Prisoner","The Mask of Rona",and "The Prodigal Puma". The best episodes out of this series from it's second and final season were "Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion", "Last of the Supermen", "Alex The Great", "The Convert", "Mountains of the Moon:Parts 1 & 2", "Jungle Ransom", "The Four O'Clock Army:Parts 1 & 2", "End of a Challenge", "Trek to Terror","Tiger,Tiger", "The Blue Stone of Heaven:Parts 1 & 2","Hotel Hurricane", "The Thief Catcher" and "The Muguma Curse"....TV Guide reported in June of 1968 that the "Tarzan" television series had a 31 share and finished in the top 40 during the 1967-1968 season,but NBC felt its demographics made it unappealing(due to the show's violent content) and it was abruptly canceled after 2 seasons after NBC rejected a renewal for its third season. Popular demand brought it back in repeats as a summer replacement over at CBS in 1969(on Saturday nights as the summer replacement for CBS' The Jackie Gleason Show). For the 1968-1969 season, NBC replaced "Tarzan" after 2 seasons on Friday nights in prime-time with the Western adventure series "The High Chapparal".
jonesy74-1 Aside from Johnny Weismuller, Ron Ely is my favorite Tarzan. An unlikely show, in a sense, it played well amidst the superhero genre that was somewhat prevalent at the time - i.e. Batman with Adam West and Burt Ward and The Green Hornet with Van Williams and Bruce Lee. The show was also contemporary with Star Trek.Unlike campy Batman, the show took itself seriously and yet, Ron Ely running around in a loin cloth week by week on prime time, didn't seem out of place. Ron played Tarzan serious and straight, dealing with poachers and jungle baddies of all sorts as though it were natural for a partially naked man to be a quasi-jungle policeman/detective. Ely's Tarzan was reminiscent of Hawaii Five-O's Steve McGarrett (played by Jack Lord).This was no "Me Tarzan" ape-man. Ely's Tarzan was articulate and educated.Enter Jai (Manuel Padilla Jr. - The Pharoah's Carlos from American Graffiti) and Cheetah the Chimp to provide the less-serious, comedy relief tone to the show. I always wondered how Jai fit in to the cast, as it seemed unusual for a Hispanic boy to be running around in Africa with Tarzan. Was he an orphan or what? Was he a "ward" of Tarzan's, a la Batman's Dick Grayson? Nevertheless, Jai provided an important element to the series - he took the serious edge off of Tarzan and made him compassionate, looking out for a young boy who emulated him (loin cloth and all).You could always count on Cheetah to bring a smile to Tarzan's face at the end of each show with Jai in hot pursuit shouting, "Cheetah, you come back here," or something of that nature.Ely had a great physical look for Tarzan. Long and lanky, yet sinewy and strong, he made the physical part of Tarzan's exploits look good. The vine swinging and running through the jungle were performed with style and aplomb.The introduction always ran with Ely calling out that famous Tarzan yell (Johnny Weismuller's original recorded Tarzan yell - as it was with most Tarzan movies and shows).The plots were well-contrived and enjoyable. It was one of my favorite series at the time.