Shark Bytes

As a kid, I recall seeing the reruns on WGN out of Chicago( ah the early days of cable tv). It was part of a line up on Sunday mornings that included The Cisco Kid and The Lone Ranger and was a fav of mine. However, even as a kid I knew there was something wrong with the show when in a particular episode, TARZAN WAS DRIVING A JEEP. Suspension of disbelief with only take you so far.

I'vewritten several on-line film reviews of theTarzan films, and I'd like to get some people's opinion on this: who was the most impressive "jungle woman" of the Tarzan films? Personally I think it comes down to two: Maureen O'Sullivan as the "original" Jane (th English-Rose-in-the-Jungle) in TARZAN AND HIS MATE and Nancy Kovak as the uber-femme fatale in the Bondesque TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD. What does everyone think?

As kids, anytime we sibs got in a swimming pool, we used to play "Tarzan's rubber crocodile". This invoved one kid floating on his stomach, remaining utterly motionless while the other stood waist deep in the water and wrestled and stabbed fiercely. (The croc didn't fight back). That's how convincing those many scenes on Tarzan were. Sorry, there were whole years when afternoon viewing was crap. I'm sure Ron Ely was fine, but the british characters were dry, the boy Jai, repulsive.

Ron Ely indeed was a sexy Tarzan. I waited to watch those bouncing pecs each week with bated breath. However, I feel that Mike Henry and Miles O' Keefe were by far the sexiest Tarzans!!Does anyone know if this has been released on DVD?

I have to disagree with the person who felt that Mike Henry,who made three Tarzan films in the '60's,was a poor Tarzan compared to Ron Ely.True,Ely is the better actor but Mike looked the part more than any actor who portrayed Tarzan before or after him.I've seen every Tarzan film & television series,Mike's the man!

It may not have meant to be so, but the Tarzan movies and television series was, perhaps, the most RACIST piece of garbarge ever to be shown on prime time television.

Ron Ely was superb as Tarzan! Mike Henry was just a big dumbo girdiron player. Ely, like Tarzan, had/has great interllect. He also did all the stunts and didn't wuss out when the going got tough ...which is exactly what Mike Henry did. Would Tarzan? I think not.

Never. It got better as it went, but was up against THE WILD WILD WEST, one of the highest-rated shows at the time (which also killed THE GREEN HORNET and THE TIME TUNNEL). I watched my ENTIRE Tarzan video collection last year, and was STUNNED when I realized just HOW GOOD Ron Ely was. I felt it was a struck of good luck that Mike Henry quit when he did, though it did cause confusion as his movies were held back to be released BETWEEN seasons of the show. During the summer of '68 I saw an ad for ...AND THE JUNGLE BOY and as a kid, thought, "THAT's not the real Tarzan!" (Ely was my first.) I note the general look, tone & focus of the show seemed to change drastically about 13 episodes in (mid-season hump) when they lost the entire supporting cast except for Jai & Cheetah, and Jai began living with and dressing like his "adopted father". The show got BETTER as it went. I found something memorable and likeable about mostof the film Tarzans (Weismuller, Barker, Scott, Mahoney) but, amazingly, Ely REMAINS my favorite! While the film series seemed to go thru a "mild reboot" every time they recast the role (twice with Scott, when they changed producers and he suddenly got intelligent-- and tougher!), the only movie Tarzan who struck me as possibly being the "same version" (so to speak) would be Mahoney, who reminds me of Ely's Tarzan when he gets a bit older. (Funny, how the 1st time I saw Mahoney's films I didn't realize he guested on the tv series as 3 DIFFERENT characters!) Oh, and something I didn't notice 'til last year... The 2nd season, Nelson Riddle left BATMAN (Billy May replaced him for Bat's 3rd year), to take over Tarzan. GREAT soundtrack & new theme song! One more "classic" tv soundtrack I'm still waiting for someone to put out on CD.

Tarzan never JTS. Not a bad series but it would have been better as a period piece set in the 30's with elements of science fiction & fantasy in it. Ron Ely did a decent job in the role. But Mike Henry WAS Tarzan, and anyone who has followed has been a second stringer.

This show was cool. I may have been a kid when I saw it, and my memory of it may have suffered these many years, but I remember it quite fondly. Lots of action, tree-hopping and even the occasional trademark yodel. Cool stuff. You can't get into serious arguments about Tarzan in the movies or TV, because the books, masterpieces of fiction, were never treated with due respect. Every screenwriter had to improve or simplify the story of the Ape-Man, every one, so we had to settle for what they gave us. All in all, it was good fun. Not until the film "Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan" did we get an even semi-faithful rendering of the book, and even that movie mucked the end of it. Especially since there was no sequel, and "The Return Of Tarzan" was possibly the best in the series. As to Ron Ely, he did fine. True he didn't fit the long-maned Tarzan of print, but neither did any other screen or TV actor that took the role. This show therefore can't have jumped; it just gave young Tarzan fans what they wanted. I loved every minute of it, too.

I liked the episode where Jeremy Slate guest-starred. On the "Malibu Run" series (1961), Jeremy played Larry Lahr and Ron played Mike Madison. They were skin divers and also were partners in a sporting goods store. They lived at the Holiday House in Malibu, California. Guest stars on the series included Inger Stevens, Peter Falk, William Conrad, and Mary Tyler Moore. Jeremy and Ron worked beautifully together on "Malibu Run", and it was good to see them get back together on "Tarzan".

The latest incarnation, featuring an underwear model as the Lord of the Jungle, had Jane as an NYPD detective. Hello???!!! Even if Edgar Rice Burroughs had intended for his signature creation to be as comfortable in urban surroundings as in nature, he'd probably be heaving after seeing this turkey on his big-screen TV in the sky. Wolf Larson did a much better job than that, and he wasn't the absolute best there was. Never tamper with perfection; it rarely works.

This show, for those who actually liked it (and the star), jumped the shark during those episodes where 'Tarzan' was not present. The action focused on the boy and the chimp. I have no idea why this took place: contract negotiations, I guess. But they would always have these 'colorful', but generally elderly, villains kidnap the boy, or con him into selling one tribe to another. I liked the show, but I just couldn't tolerate these episodes. It's been over 15 years (maybe 20) since I've seen this show. I'm sure I'd have a lot more reasons to dislike it if I saw it again.

Jai! Any form of the character "boy" in Tarzan is right out! Probably also when they cast Ron Ely. I don't think he was right for the part, but when you're a Tarzan fan, you get it where you can. Although I would have preferred Mike Henry, he was supposed to be the lead in the show, but some disagreements with the producers ruled him out. The show started after he had quit the part theatrically.

Any character that fills the "Boy" slot in a Tarzan Film is ringing the death nell. I also wasn't thrilled with Ron Ely. Too All American. Mike Henry would have been better (if a little dim) but he actually was not available. He had a falling out with the producers of the last film he did and was slated to star in the TV series, but legal action prevented it. His movies all occurred before the series.