Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle

1 9 7 6 (USA)
16 x 30 minute episodes

“The jungle. Here I was born. And here, my parents died when I was but an infant. I would have soon perished, too, had I not been found by a kindly she-ape named Kala, who adopted me as her own and taught me the ways of the wild. I learned quickly and grew stronger each day. And now I share the friendship and trust of all jungle animals. The jungle is filled with beauty and danger. And lost cities filled with good and evil. This is my domain, and I protect those who come here – for I am Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle!”

Edgar Rice Burroughs’s character was featured not only in a live-action prime-time series, but also in cartoon form on Saturday mornings in this half-hour show from Filmation, which ran for one season.

Tarzan (voiced by Robert Ridgely) spoke perfect English but had also learned Mangani – the language of the great apes. And so he lived in the jungle amongst the “Gimla” (crocodiles), “Numa” (lions) and “Bolgani” (gorillas). His best friend was a spider monkey named N’Kima (voiced by Filmation producer Lou Scheimer).

Curiously, the jungle was also populated by Vikings, Romans, monkey people, Yetis, dinosaurs, giants, woolly mammoths, knights, UFOs, and a robot Tarzan!

The Lord of the Jungle always used his brain instead of his brawn, avoiding fist fights and violence – he didn’t even carry a knife –  and teaching moral lessons along the way.

In the fall of 1977, Tarzan teamed up with Batman in The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, and in 1978 Tarzan regained top billing in Tarzan and the Super 7.

Tarzan
Robert Ridgely
Phobeg
Ted Cassidy
Tomos
Alan Oppenheimer
Queen Nemone
Joan Gerber
N’Kima
Lou Scheimer

Episodes

Tarzan and the City of Gold | Tarzan and the Vikings | Tarzan and the Golden Lion | Tarzan and the Forbidden City | Tarzan and the Graveyard of the Elephants | Tarzan’s Return to the City of Gold | Tarzan and the Strange Visitors | Tarzan and the Land of the Giants | Tarzan and the Knights of Nimmr | Tarzan’s Rival | Tarzan and the City of Sorcery | Tarzan at the Earth’s Core | Tarzan and the Ice Creature | Tarzan and the Olympiads | Tarzan’s Trial | Tarzan, the Hated

Video