Strange Conversations: Part Eighty-Eight
Posted 16 February 2009 in Strange Conversations by Catriona
Or, how I learnt about the complexities of gender politics through Monkey (a lesson originally learnt some twenty-five years ago):
ME: Why is Tripitaka leading that mob against the slightly sad puppy monster?
NICK: I don’t know.
ME: But didn’t Tripitaka say that all monsters are in the mind? So why is he at the head of a lynch mob now?
NICK: Well, the thing about Tripitaka is that she’s a bit of a flip-flopper.
ME: But she’s so pretty.
And later, during the end-credit music (the dodgy, late seasons’ credit music, not the awesome, early seasons’ credit music):
ME: This is like a Christmas carol as done by “Tainted Love.”
NICK: Yeah.
ME: No, Soft Cell! Not “Tainted Love,” Soft Cell! Dammit. That would have been much funnier if I’d got the name right.
NICK: But I mentally added the correct value, so it’s all right.
Share your thoughts [8]
1
Matthew Smith wrote at Feb 17, 04:24 am
I can sing and play the closing credits song for Monkey Magic – at least I used to be able to. I think I might get words wrong like I tend to sing “Gondwana Gondwana, they say it was in India”. Correct lyrics are here song)
2
Catriona wrote at Feb 17, 04:50 am
But that’s the good closing credit music: I loved that one. That later seasons, after Pigsy started “changing”—because, apparently, “everything is changing”—they moved to dodgy music, and cut the opening monologue and opening title music, thus destroying a large part of the show’s charm.
On another note, I’m constantly fascinated by how everyone—and I mean everyone—calls it Monkey Magic. It’s even listed on imdb.com as “informal title (Australia).” And yet it’s never called that; the opening titles clearly say Monkey. I don’t know where it comes from, and it fascinates me.
3
Tim wrote at Feb 17, 05:53 am
‘Monkey Magic’ is the name and refrain of the theme song.
4
Catriona wrote at Feb 17, 05:55 am
That explains where it comes from, but it doesn’t really explain the widespread use of the term as an alternative to the title Monkey.
5
Tim wrote at Feb 17, 06:25 am
It’s a pretty catchy song.
6
Catriona wrote at Feb 17, 06:27 am
That’s why I was annoyed when they dropped it and the monologue from the opening credits in later seasons. It’s hardly Monkey without the opening-credits music.
7
John wrote at Feb 18, 02:31 am
Anyone know what happened to the movie they were supposed to be making in the last few years? Doesn’t even show on IMDB.
8
Catriona wrote at Feb 18, 02:57 am
An English movie? Or Japanese? Or Chinese?
There was, in the past couple of years, another Japanese adaptation, the first season of which was insanely popular: although viewer figures apparently dropped over the course of the show, Wikipedia says “This latest remake has been so successful as to break viewing records with one in three Japanese viewers watching each episode of the series.”
Which is crazy.
Apparently, that’s an eleven-episode series and a movie in place of a second series. I’d like to see that one.
And, of course, The Forbidden Kingdom is inspired by Journey To The West and is great fun to boot.