Results: Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp--A Kids' Show That Could Be No Longer Made Today?

Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp (yes, that's how its title is punctuated) is a television series that originally aired in 1970-71 as part of the U.S. ABC TV network's Saturday morning children's programming lineup. The program's producers employed chimpanzees with overdubbed human voices to spoof international spy storiers. Do you recall this series?

Though the James Bond movie series and prime time TV shows such as Mission: Impossible were popular at the same time as this show's original run, my thought in retrospect is that Link's spy tales may have been a bit much for kids watching Saturday morning cartoons. Would you call that a fair concern?

One of the show's many charms--to my reckoning--is that, like so many animated and live action Saturday kids show of the late 1960's-middle '70's, it featured a band that played bubblegum rock. Lancelot Link and his fellow spy girlfriend, Mata Hairi, were both members of The Evolution Revolution, who sometimes played concerts as a means of spying, if memory serves. And as was the case for at least a few of those kiddie show bands, there was an album of The Ev' Rev' songs released commercially. Even if you didn't buy any by The Evolution Revolution, did you ever own any records, or tapes, by any band ("band"?) associated with a Saturday morning children's show?

Much of the best artistry made for children works on levels that can be appreciated by adults as well. As an example, the voice given to Lancelot Link was meant to evoke that of actual actor Humphrey Bogart. At least once or twice as a kid I recall attempting to speak like Link without yet knowing his voice was an impersonation of someone else! Have you ever intended to sound like someone, be it a fictional character or real person, without knowing the voice you were making, or wanted to make, was based on the voice of another person or character altogether?

Per the title above, I can see at least two reasons why Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp might be a problematic, if not impossible, show to produce nowadays. Firstly, I can imagine animal rights activists campaigning against chimps being made actors on a TV series. Secondly, the series traded in what might be considered broad ethnic stereotypes, perhaps especially of Asian-identified villains (though European ones, too). Which do you see as more troubling?