Monkey

S01E03: The Great Journey Begins

Tripitaka and the ever-impatient Monkey begin their perilous journey. Arriving at a village terrorised by a greedy and lustful monster, Monkey thus faces the wrath of Pigsy and his deadly muckrake. To cross the Mighty River of Flowing Sands, they must first pass the cannibalistic water monster Sandy. A sandstorm, an army of tiger ghosts - will Tripitaka end up as cat food, or will Monkey save the day?

Overview

Buddhist priest Tripitaka and his three disciples Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy, travel from China to India to fetch the Buddhist scriptures. They have been sent by Buddha, and getting these scriptures will bring peace to the people of the world.

Episodes

Monkey Goes Wild about Heaven

S01E01 Monkey Goes Wild about Heaven

October 1, 1978 45 min
Mischievous King Monkey is summoned to Heaven, where he steals the heavenly peaches, and eats them to gain immortality. He fights two of the Emperor's officials, and all three of them are expelled to Earth....
Monkey Turns Nursemaid

S01E02 Monkey Turns Nursemaid

October 8, 1978 45 min
Buddha sends a messenger, the Boddhisattva Kuan-yin the Compassionate, to find a holy man to make the journey from China to India to fetch the large vehicle scriptures. She chooses the boy priest Hsüan Tsang,...
The Great Journey Begins

S01E03 The Great Journey Begins

October 15, 1978 45 min
Tripitaka and the ever-impatient Monkey begin their perilous journey. Arriving at a village terrorised by a greedy and lustful monster, Monkey thus faces the wrath of Pigsy and his deadly muckrake. To cross the Mighty...
Monkey Swallows the Universe

S01E04 Monkey Swallows the Universe

October 22, 1978 45 min
Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy, Tripitaka and the horse enter a land ruled by the demonic Golden Horn and his wife, Silver Horn. Bewitched by a beautiful lady, Pigsy discovers that all is not what it seems....
The Power of Youth

S01E05 The Power of Youth

October 29, 1978 44 min
In his mountain kingdom, the immature King of Youth dictates that everything old is useless. When the pilgrims approach, he decides to kidnap Tripitaka to gain the attention of Heaven and Earth, in an attempt...
Even Monsters Can be People

S01E06 Even Monsters Can be People

November 5, 1978 45 min
When Monkey kills a girl and her elderly parents, Tripitaka is left with no choice but to punish him and send him back home to his mountain of fruit and flowers. No one believes Monkey's...
The Beginning of Wisdom

S01E07 The Beginning of Wisdom

November 12, 1978 42 min
Desperate for water due to the intense heat, the pilgrims find that the nearest village is completely dried up. The local water monster, who has a taste for the souls of boys, had cursed the...
Pigsy Woos a Widow

S01E08 Pigsy Woos a Widow

November 19, 1978 44 min
When Monkey saves a pretty widow from the Demon Spirit of Great Snakes, amorous Pigsy falls snout over trotters in love with her, but she only has eyes for the celibate boy priest Tripitaka. The...
What Monkey Calls the Dog-Woman

S01E09 What Monkey Calls the Dog-Woman

November 26, 1978 44 min
When the magistrate Lord Li's stepdaughter is kidnapped by bandits, Monkey reluctantly takes on the job of catching them. He soon learns that the bandits are not what they seem, but their bark is far...
Pigsy's in the Well

S01E10 Pigsy's in the Well

December 3, 1978
Tripitaka is visited in a dream by the restless spirit of the deceased king of the land of Cockcrow. He tells Tripitaka he was murdered by a Taoist magician and thrown into a well; for...
The Difference Between Night & Day

S01E11 The Difference Between Night & Day

December 10, 1978 43 min
An invisible wall separates the land of night from the land of day. The blood-sucking Queen of Night terrorises the inhabitants of her land, while everyone in the land of day is forced into slavery...
Pearls Before Swine

S01E12 Pearls Before Swine

December 17, 1978 43 min
The once-prosperous land of Codslow is ruled by three animal-strength immortals, and its enslaved people are dying of hunger. The immortals depend on pearls, paper and wine for their magical powers. The pilgrims offer to...
The Minx and the Slug

S01E13 The Minx and the Slug

December 24, 1978 43 min
A village headman and his wife grieve for their beautiful daughter Hai-Min who disappeared a year ago. Lecherous Pigsy offers to go and look for her. He finds a slug monster who says he is...
Catfish, Saint and the Shape-Changer

S01E14 Catfish, Saint and the Shape-Changer

January 7, 1979 45 min
The pilgrims enter a volcanic land that is plagued by earthquakes caused by the frequent quarrelling of two local demons; a catfish demon and a faceless shape-changer demon, who can take on the shape of...
Monkey Meets the Demon Digger

S01E15 Monkey Meets the Demon Digger

January 14, 1979 45 min
While climbing a mountain, the pilgrims discover a man who's been digging a tunnel through the mountain for the past twenty-two years, to provide an easier route for travellers. Ever-helpful Tripitaka tells his reluctant disciples...
The Most Monstrous Monster

S01E16 The Most Monstrous Monster

January 21, 1979 44 min
Desperate to please Chun-Shou, the woman he hopes to marry, the unhappy King of Unicorns promises to find a new toy for her spoilt brat son, little Chen. When he hears about Monkey's magic wishing...
Truth and the Grey Gloves Devil

S01E17 Truth and the Grey Gloves Devil

January 28, 1979 45 min
Following a terrible sandstorm, the pilgrims find a village where everyone has been killed by the evil Grey Gloves Devil, a magician with the power to hypnotise and control anyone who looks into his eyes....
Land for the Locusts

S01E18 Land for the Locusts

February 4, 1979 45 min
As the pilgrims continue their journey, Monkey sees that a nearby village is being terrorised by swarms of locusts, and they're coming in their direction. Led by the power-hungry Demon Queen Grasshopper, the locusts follow...
The Vampire Master

S01E19 The Vampire Master

February 11, 1979 44 min
The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Buddha's Law invites Tripitaka and his disciples to stay as his honoured guests. He tells them of the difficulty in controlling the black magicians, shape-changers and bandits who...
Outrageous Coincidences

S01E20 Outrageous Coincidences

February 18, 1979 43 min
To escape from a deadly blizzard in the Himalayan foothills, Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka take refuge in a small cave. With Tripitaka's death from starvation looking imminent, Monkey tricks Pigsy into going out into...
Pigsy, King and God

S01E21 Pigsy, King and God

February 25, 1979 45 min
The pilgrims arrive at the Kingdom of Red Hog, where pigs are sacred. The people hail Pigsy as their new King and God. Tripitaka discovers that the current king is a disguised demon, the Spirit...
Village of the Undead

S01E22 Village of the Undead

March 4, 1979 45 min
In a deserted village, the evil male demon Wun-Lung and three beautiful witches await the arrival of Tripitaka, Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy. If they can make the four travellers believe in them, they'll be brought...
Two Little Blessings

S01E23 Two Little Blessings

March 11, 1979 45 min
Forty years before the pilgrims' journey to India, two lovers Chun-Ying and Yu-Lee disobey the God of Fertility Ju-Lee by eloping together - love is forbidden in his country. As punishment, he separates them and...
The Fires of Jealousy

S01E24 The Fires of Jealousy

March 18, 1979 45 min
The pilgrims enter the Kingdom of Lo-Chun, the Queen of Fire, where they are prevented from continuing their journey by the active volcanoes in the Fire and Flame mountain range to the west. The Queen...
The Country of Nightmares

S01E25 The Country of Nightmares

March 25, 1979 44 min
On their way to India, the pilgrims must pass through the Land of Nightmares, inhabited by all the legions of Hell, bad demons and wicked spirits. All humans who go there are eaten, and all...
The End of the Way

S01E26 The End of the Way

April 1, 1979 45 min
Tripitaka and his disciples are just a few days away from reaching India - they can clearly see the Gold Temple of the Thunderclap ahead. The King of All Geological Ages appears and says he'll...

Cast

Masaaki Sakai
Masaaki Sakai
Monkey
Masako Natsume
Masako Natsume
Tripitaka
Shiro Kishibe
Shiro Kishibe
Sandy
Toshiyuki Nishida
Toshiyuki Nishida
Pigsy
Takayuki Akutagawa
Narrator
Shunji Fujimura
Shunji Fujimura
Horse
David Collings
David Collings
Voice of Monkey
Gareth Armstrong
Gareth Armstrong
Voice of Sandy
Peter Woodthorpe
Peter Woodthorpe
Voice of Pigsy
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes
Narator
Andrew Sachs
Andrew Sachs
Voice of Horse / Yu-Lung

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