From: owner-monkey@valinor.eldar.org (Monkey Digest) To: monkey-digest@valinor.eldar.org Subject: Monkey Digest V1 #29 Reply-To: monkey@valinor.eldar.org Sender: owner-monkey@valinor.eldar.org Errors-To: owner-monkey@valinor.eldar.org Precedence: bulk Monkey Digest Wednesday, June 11 1997 Volume 01 : Number 029 In this issue: [monkey] Favourite Character Re: [monkey] Favourite Character Re: [monkey] Favourite Character Re: [monkey] Favourite Character [monkey] Who is the "Crow Man"? Re: [monkey] Favourite Character Re: [monkey] Favourite Character [monkey] Trade TV eps Re: [monkey] Favourite Character Re: [monkey] Trade TV eps Re: [monkey] Favourite Character [monkey] Analysis of "Hsi Yu Chi" [monkey] A Chinese Odyssey parts 1 & 2 [monkey] Episode Summary - "Monkey Goes Wild about Heaven" (Season 1, Episode 1) Re: [monkey] Episode Summary - "Monkey Re: [monkey] A Chinese Odyssey parts 1 & 2 [monkey] Episode summary (1.11) - "The Difference Between Night And Day" Re: [monkey] A Chinese Odyssey parts 1 & 2 [monkey] Call for site addresses Re: [monkey] Trade TV eps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 18:54:46 +1000 (EST) From: aholland@tuu.utas.edu.au (Aaron) Subject: [monkey] Favourite Character > Who is your favourite character in "Monkey"? (it may not be > > Monkey...) I would have to say Sandy. I don't know why, he just seems more mysterious than the others. As someone noted before, the skulls around his neck are very cool! (is there some story about these skulls?) Aaron ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 02:07:10 PDT From: "Howell Parry" Subject: Re: [monkey] Favourite Character >> Who is your favourite character in "Monkey"? (it may not be >> > Monkey...) My favourite has to be Monkey himself; he's just so cool - with his cloud flying, his magic and his attitude - he's the best! I'd say that my 2nd favourite is probably Pigsy - I can identify with his greediness :) Howell - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 17:18:57 +0800 From: "Robert Vong" Subject: Re: [monkey] Favourite Character > I would have to say Sandy. I don't know why, he just seems more > mysterious than the others. As someone noted before, the skulls around > his neck are very cool! > (is there some story about these skulls?) According to the original story... he was banished from heaven for whatever reason. His earthly punishment was stupidity, as intelligence was what he had admired most, also, he was to suffer the agony of being stabbed through the heart everyday by a bunch of knives sent from above. Consequently, he was forced to hide in a very very deep river, where there was no food... so he ended up abducting & eating the local fisherman or anyone who was unlucky enough to be paddling by. The Japanese adaptation is a little different. bye. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 06:24:29 PDT From: "Howell Parry" Subject: Re: [monkey] Favourite Character >> I would have to say Sandy. I don't know why, he just seems more >> mysterious than the others. As someone noted before, the skulls around >> his neck are very cool! >> (is there some story about these skulls?) > > According to the original story... he was banished from heaven for >whatever reason. His earthly punishment was stupidity, as >intelligence was what he had admired most, also, he was to suffer the >agony of being stabbed through the heart everyday by a bunch of >knives sent from above. Consequently, he was forced to hide in a very >very deep river, where there was no food... so he ended up abducting >& eating the local fisherman or anyone who was unlucky enough to be >paddling by. The Japanese adaptation is a little different. > >bye. The thing about "being stabbed through the heart everyday by a bunch of knives from above" ties in with episode 1 of Monkey. When he is banished from Heaven for breaking the Jade Fish Cup, he lands in a river, and *load* of knives come flying down at him from the sky. I wondered what this was all about. Howell - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 06:30:33 PDT From: "Howell Parry" Subject: [monkey] Who is the "Crow Man"? In episode 2 of Monkey, a "Crow Man" helps out Monkey & Tripitaka. When I saw him I wondered who he was, I thought he must be evil, but he's actually some kind of good spirit who helps them out. Who is he? Is there any mention of him in the book? Howell - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:29:44 +0100 From: bcappas@glam.ac.uk (DROWBOY) Subject: Re: [monkey] Favourite Character Bye wrote: According to the original story... he was banished from heaven for whatever reason. His earthly punishment was stupidity, as intelligence was what he had admired most, also, he was to suffer the agony of being stabbed through the heart everyday by a bunch of knives sent from above. Consequently, he was forced to hide in a very very deep river, where there was no food... so he ended up abducting & eating the local fisherman or anyone who was unlucky enough to be paddling by. The Japanese adaptation is a little different. As I understand it... Sandy lived in the River of Shifting Sands upon which nothing could float. He would throw the bodies into the river and they would lost. But nine of the skulls of the murdered victims floated to the water where nothing else could. When Kuan Yin saw this she ordered Sandy to make them into a necklace to wear around his neck for future use. Eventually, when crossing the River of Shifting Sands with Tripitaka, Monkey meets Sandy and has a dilema of how to cross. There is no boat which will float instead being sucked directly to the bottom. I seem to remember that Sandy's skulls are used in a raft type thing and they safely make it across. Could be wrong tho - that was according to the book. Ben ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 07:21:51 PDT From: "Howell Parry" Subject: Re: [monkey] Favourite Character >Bye wrote: > > According to the original story... he was banished from heaven for >whatever reason. His earthly punishment was stupidity, as >intelligence was what he had admired most, also, he was to suffer the >agony of being stabbed through the heart everyday by a bunch of >knives sent from above. Consequently, he was forced to hide in a very >very deep river, where there was no food... so he ended up abducting >& eating the local fisherman or anyone who was unlucky enough to be >paddling by. The Japanese adaptation is a little different. > > >As I understand it... Sandy lived in the River of Shifting Sands upon which >nothing could float. He would throw the bodies into the river and they would >lost. But nine of the skulls of the murdered victims floated to the water >where nothing else could. When Kuan Yin saw this she ordered Sandy to make >them into a necklace to wear around his neck for future use. > >Eventually, when crossing the River of Shifting Sands with Tripitaka, Monkey >meets Sandy and has a dilema of how to cross. There is no boat which will float >instead being sucked directly to the bottom. I seem to remember that Sandy's >skulls are used in a raft type thing and they safely make it across. > >Could be wrong tho - that was according to the book. > >Ben Woah! I'm really going to have to read the book. There's lots of little things I don't understand in "Monkey" - no doubt it would all make sense if I read the book. I'm considering getting the full 2000-page translation sometime! Howell - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 15:35:02 +0000 From: Gareth James Pidgeon Subject: [monkey] Trade TV eps Anyone trading episodes of Monkey on this list ? I would be interested in good quality eps in PAL or NTSC. I can swap for Anime, Hong Kong movies, Some UK comedy and other cult stuff. Let me know. - -- Gareth James Pidgeon www.pidgeon.demon.co.uk/cathedra.htm pidgeon_gareth@amat.com gareth@pidgeon.demon.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 16:04:58 +0100 From: bcappas@glam.ac.uk (DROWBOY) Subject: Re: [monkey] Favourite Character The book is very cool - even the one based on the TV series - very in character and with loads of flavour. As you say, there are lots of little bits which really make the whole Monkey saga much more real for a fan :) I have no idea where to get hold of a full copy, if you find out let me know. Ben ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 09:49:26 PDT From: "Howell Parry" Subject: Re: [monkey] Trade TV eps >Anyone trading episodes of Monkey on this list ? >I would be interested in good quality eps in PAL or NTSC. >I can swap for Anime, Hong Kong movies, Some UK comedy >and other cult stuff. > >Let me know. > >-- >Gareth James Pidgeon www.pidgeon.demon.co.uk/cathedra.htm Hello there Gareth! Most people on this list seem to be based in Australia and UK, which both use the PAL video format. Someone recently advised me that it's a bit dodgy discussing the copying of videos on an open discussion list, so maybe anyone who can help Gareth out should reply to him personally, i.e. not via the list? Looking forward to the UK video release of Monkey, whenever that is, Howell - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 09:55:45 PDT From: "Howell Parry" Subject: Re: [monkey] Favourite Character >The book is very cool - even the one based on the TV series - very in character >and with loads of flavour. As you say, there are lots of little bits which >really make the whole Monkey saga much more real for a fan :) > >I have no idea where to get hold of a full copy, if you find out let me know. > >Ben I'll have to get it! You'll find lots of info about the full version, as well as several different abridged versions of the story, on my Monkey Books page: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/8153/books.html I just haven't got round to buying it yet; it's available from the University of Chicago Press in 4 volumes, total cost approx. $72 [ordering info can be found on my page] Howell - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 10:18:34 PDT From: "Howell Parry" Subject: [monkey] Analysis of "Hsi Yu Chi" For those of you that are interested in Hsi Yu Chi, the ancient stories on which Monkey is based (available in English translation as "Monkey" or "Journey to the West"), you might like to read this analysis of the story: http://www.duke.edu/~ptavern/Pete.Monkey.html It includes a bibliography of translations of the story, and a summary of the story. Howell - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 16:12:49 PDT From: "Howell Parry" Subject: [monkey] A Chinese Odyssey parts 1 & 2 Hi! Has anyone out there seen the Cantonese films "A Chinese Odyssey", part 1 or part 2? They're based on the Monkey story, and were both made in Hong Kong in 1995... For more information on them, including the original Cantonese names, see these pages of the Internet Movie Database; http://uk.imdb.com/M/title-exact?Dahua%20xiyou%20%281995%29 http://uk.imdb.com/M/title- exact?Xi%20you%20ji%20da%20jie%20ju%20zhi%20xian%20lu%20qi%20yuan%20%281995%29 Do you know if it's possible to get these films on video in the UK? Howell - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 16:30:36 PDT From: "Howell Parry" Subject: [monkey] Episode Summary - "Monkey Goes Wild about Heaven" (Season 1, Episode 1) I wrote this summary of the very first episode of Monkey the other day. I think perhaps I've gone into far too much detail... Anyway, read it and let me know what you think. In a few days, I'll put it up (with any corrections any of you think I should make) on my Monkey Summaries page: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/8153/summaries.html Happy reading, Howell - --- Episode Summary - "Monkey Goes Wild about Heaven" (Season 1, Episode 1) "Thousands of years ago, and now, in a magical land very like ancient China was the ape's mountain of fruit and flowers. Spirit and beast were always at war. Somehow every war seemed to involve the apes. And the King of them all was Monkey". Monkey is involved in a fight with some demons, and shouts "I love to fight!" In the Western Heaven, the Jade Emperor sits with his lady friend the Star Vega (it's implied he's having an affair with her). He's concerned about all the mayhem down on Earth. He plans to investigate just what's going on. The Martial of the Heavenly Host (Pigsy in human form) and the Commander of the Heavenly Host (Sandy) make the arrangements. The Jade Emperor is told about Monkey, his magic and that he calls himself "Great Sage, Equal of Heaven." Monkey tells his monkeys of his latest victory (against the Demon of Havoc), and says he wants a great weapon, and one of them tells him to go to see the Old King Dragon of the Western Ocean. He goes there to ask for a weapon, but the King refuses. After Monkey grabs his throat and demands a weapon, the King's daughter, the Princess, comes to see Monkey and says she might be able to find him a weapon. She takes him to a room and shows him a huge staff, about the width of the room. She shrinks it to the size of a matchstick. Monkey has a go, and he changes it to various sizes. He takes the magic wishing staff with him. The Dragon King complains to Heaven about Monkey's threatening behaviour, and a spirit, the Spirit of the Staff, comes down to see Monkey, and invites him to Heaven "to be rewarded". Monkey gets excited and agrees to go with him to Heaven. Voiceover: "How long must a fool who misses the way wander through his many lives". A week later, the Spirit of the Staff goes to see the Jade Emperor, and reminds him that Monkey has been waiting to see him all this time. Without warning, Monkey bursts into the room, saying, "Here you all are. I've been looking for you lot." He gets told off for being disrespectful to the Jade Emperor, and Monkey says he can't show respect for someone he can't see; he accuses the Jade Emperor. He goes forward to pull up the screen that's in front of the Emperor, and shouts "Good day, Emperor". Sandy pushes him and tells him off. A fights erupts, but is stopped short by the Spirit of the Staff. Voiceover: "Quarrelling before the throne of Heaven, Monkey thus met Sandy". They try to find a job for Monkey to do, and it turns out that the only vacancy is for Director of the Heavenly Stables. Monkey gets excited ("A Director!") and sits for a meal with his new co-workers. He points to a pole and asks one of the men "If this were the list of the ranks of Heaven, am I about here?" and points to a position about his height. He is told that he's a little lower down. Monkey keeps moving his hand gradually further down the pole, but the man keeps telling him it's further. Eventually, Monkey asks the guy exactly where his rank would be. To his horror, the man slides his hand all the way to the ground, and Monkey realises he doesn't feature on this list at all, and that his only duty is to clear out the horse's barns. He loses his temper, makes his staff big and starts smashing things. The Jade Emperor finds out about Monkey's tantrum, and considers punishing him. With some persuasion, the Spirit of the Staff persuades the Emperor to offer him another job - "Honourable Guardian of the Heavenly Peach Garden." While Monkey is chasing the stable workers, he finds himself face-to-face with Star Vega (the Jade Emperor's lady friend) in front of Heaven's Gate. He decides to kidnap her and use her as a hostage. At this point, Pigsy appears, introduces himself and threatens to tell the Emperor about Monkey's threats. A fight starts. Voiceover: "And fighting by Heaven's Gate was how Monkey first met Pigsy". The Spirit of the Staff appears yet again to stop Monkey's fight, and escorts him to the Peach Garden. Monkey tells him he doesn't want to be "a gardener". The Spirit explains to Monkey how important the job is. He shows him the three different kinds of peach, and tells him the benefits to be gained from eating each. The small peaches ripen once every 3000 years - "you'll become supernaturally strong." The medium peaches ripen every 6000 years - "you'll never age; you can levitate at will." The large peaches ripen every 9000 years - "you'll be like Heaven itself; one would outlast the entire Universe". The Spirit explains to Monkey that the peaches are not for anyone to eat; they're picked every once in a while when the Emperor has a peach banquet. He then leaves Monkey alone in the peach garden. Immediately, Monkey begins eating the peaches - he takes one bite from each, and throws it over his shoulder. Eventually, he starts eating the large ones. Meanwhile, the Emperor and the Queen are making plans for one of their peach banquets, the first one in 4321 million years (the Queen remarks "It seems like just yesterday"). They send some fairy maidens to pick peaches. When they arrive at the peach garden, they are amazed that none of the peaches are ripe enough. Monkey blocks them, and accuses them of being "evil demons". They tell him they've come to pick peaches for the Queen's peach banquet. He is shocked, and is annoyed that he's not been invited. He chases them into the banqueting room, where he meets the Queen of Heaven. He rudely takes a seat at the head of the table, where her sacred Jade Treasure Cup is positioned. She tells him off and tells him that he hasn't been invited to come there. He tells her to speak to the Emperor, and that he'd just approved Monkey's new title "Great Sage, Equal of Heaven". She laughs at him, and tells him "You're a monkey, that's what you are. Just a great ape." He calls her an "old witch", and begins spinning his stick in anger. The Queen screams out "Mind the cup, he mustn't smash the Jade Cup", and one of the women grabs it. He chases them, and declares "All right, it's war!". Sandy is sitting with Pigsy, who looks upset; it's because he fancies the Lady Vega, and Sandy tells him to forget about it because he's got a good job there in Heaven. Suddenly, the maidens come running past, screaming that Monkey is chasing them. Monkey declares that he wants to fight the Emperor. A fight breaks out between Sandy, Pigsy and Monkey. The Emperor appears with Star Vega and tells Monkey to stop, but he responds with "I want to challenge Heaven". The fight continues, then Sandy tells Pigsy to protect the Jade Fish Cup, and he'll deal with Monkey. Pigsy goes and drags Star Vega away, to "guard her". Sandy runs off and grabs the Jade Fish Cup from one of the maidens to save it, but Monkey hits it, smashing it into pieces. The Emperor is furious with Sandy, who is desperately trying to defend himself. He tells Sandy "Think of the trouble it will cause on Earth". He says, "Expel this spirit from Heaven." Sandy freezes, then falls from a cloud, into a lake. Loads of knives falls down from the sky after him, and land all around him. Pigsy is still "rescuing" Star Vega. She tells him "You're not to touch me. You're as bad as him, and you smell of wine." He replies "It's a manly smell". She stumbles away; Pigsy takes a swig of wine, then follows her and grabs her. She screams "Let me go" and runs off. Suddenly the Emperor arrives on the scene; she tells him what's happened, and he's furious. He calls Pigsy over, and tells him "You're expelled to Earth, as a pig monster." Pigsy is horrified - "A pig!" He freezes, falls from a cloud, and lands in a field (he makes a hole) full of pigs, who are all sniffing around him. Back in Heaven, a whole army of martials is chasing Monkey on their clouds, but Monkey's well ahead of them. He lands his cloud, and they all descend for a big battle. Voiceover: "Even a starving camel is still bigger than a horse". Monkey shouts out "Emperor, I want your job". Back at the palace, the Queen tells the Emperor they should ask for help from the Buddha. We see a female Buddha strolling along, thinking, "Since gentleness seems to be needed in this case, perhaps I should be in my female aspect". Monkey is still fighting, and she calls out "Son-Aware-of-Vacuity listen to me. Come to the Himalayas, Monkey." Buddha waits, with her head and shoulders above the clouds. Monkey appears at the top of the Himalayas, which is above the clouds, and faces her. He says, "I always thought you were a fella." She tells him "Let us have a small wager. If you can fly out of Buddha's hand, I shall tell the Jade Emperor to leave the Western Heaven to you." Monkey jumps onto her hand, and whistles for his cloud. He flies through thick clouds and rain, and comes across 5 pillars, which he thinks are the "5 pillars at the end of the Universe." He wonders how he can prove he's been there, and comes up with an idea - "Yes, a bit of graffiti". He plucks a chest hair, and turns it into a chunky paintbrush. He writes on one of the pillars "The Great Sage, King Monkey, Equal of Heaven was here." He then urinates on it. He flies back to Buddha, really pleased with himself, tells her he's been to the end of the Universe, and says that the 5 pillars are "the colour of skin". She laughs, and shows him her hand. Monkey is horrified that he's written on Buddha's finger. She tells him he's lost the wager; he panics, and tries to fly away, but she puts out her hand and grabs him. She says "Learn patience". He falls from the sky, and hundreds of rocks fall on top of him. He's trapped under the rocks, and can't move. A magical piece of cloth with lettering on it lands from the sky and stick to the rock above him (it's a Buddha seal). He shouts for help. The Emperor and his servants bow to Buddha and thank her. Buddha talks about the bad in the world, that worse things are to come, and that scriptures will be given to the people of the world. She tells them that a holy man must be sent to fetch them from Buddha, now the 500-year-old temple has been built. We see lots of bandit gangs on horseback, stealing, killing and burning down a village. Tripitaka sits there (without a hat) praying in the midst of all this mayhem. The bandits spot him ("A boy priest") and say they're going to kill him. He carries on praying, and does not acknowledge him. One bandit says that the priest is not afraid of him, that he must know something, and they all leave. Tripitaka bows his head, closes his eyes and carries on praying. The bandits all leave the village and a group of villagers shoo them away ("And don't come back!"). They all settle around Tripitaka, and bow down. Tripitaka says some Buddhist words or wisdom. We see Sandy, with skulls around his neck, emerging from under the water, gasping for air, with his eyes closed. We see Pigsy, with his big pig ears, shaggy blonde hair and eyebrows, walking through lots of overgrown bushes, in tears. The last scene features Monkey, stuck in the rock, during an incredible rainstorm, with lots of lightning. He's screaming that he's been there for 500 years - "Let me out!" The episode finishes with Monkey shouting to Buddha "You're doing it to yourself, don't you see? It's you that's stuck in here." - --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - --------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 10:32:38 +1000 (EST) From: Chris Hadgis Subject: Re: [monkey] Episode Summary - "Monkey According to Howell Parry: > I wrote this summary of the very first episode of Monkey the other day. > I think perhaps I've gone into far too much detail... No, it doesn't. This is obviously a very important episode with much information in it. > Anyway, read it and let me know what you think. > The Dragon King complains to Heaven about Monkey's threatening > behaviour, and a spirit, the Spirit of the Staff, comes down to see > Monkey, and invites him to Heaven "to be rewarded". Monkey gets > excited and agrees to go with him to Heaven. I thought it was the spirit of Venus, who has the appearance of a very old man. Or am I thinking about Quon Li - The Compassionate? > We see a female Buddha strolling along, thinking, "Since gentleness > seems to be needed in this case, perhaps I should be in my female > aspect". Monkey is still fighting, and she calls out > "Son-Aware-of-Vacuity listen to me. Come to the Himalayas, Monkey." I think his it's Acuity (keenness of perception) rather than Vacuity (an empty space; the state, fact, or quality of being vacuous; something (as an idea) that is vacuous or inane) which could sometimes be used to describe Monkey Apart from that, I think it's a great summary of an important episode. ChrisH ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 09:59:22 -0700 From: "Daniel M" Subject: Re: [monkey] A Chinese Odyssey parts 1 & 2 - ---------- > From: Howell Parry > Hi! > > Has anyone out there seen the Cantonese films "A Chinese Odyssey", part > 1 or part 2? > > They're based on the Monkey story, and were both made in Hong Kong in > 1995... > > For more information on them, including the original Cantonese names, > see these pages of the Internet Movie Database; > Do you know if it's possible to get these films on video in the UK? > > Howell > Yes, I have seen both and they SUCK! Don't even bother with 'em they are really bad. The (very few) fighting scenes are good (but you expect that from a HK film) however the storyline and comedy really suck. The whole 2 stories take place before the journey even begins (they start the journey at the end of the second movie). Monkey isn't even trapped in the mountain, instead he is reincarnated as a robber who lives on the mountain and has no idea that he is the Monkey King. And he doesn't even become Monkey until near the end of the second movie. Pigsy (or "Piggy" as he is called) and Sandy don't make an appearance until the second movie and even then they aren't seen much. It doesn't even explain that they were thrown out of heaven. The whole 2 movies are just an excuse for Stephen Chow to show off his bad comedy and talentless acting. There is one cool scene near the end of the second movie where monkey plucks some of his hairs and creates a huge army of monkeys..:) But all in all theyre pretty crap (you don't even get to see Monkey on his trademark pink cloud for god's sake!). If you want to see great HK movies go out and hire a Jackie Chan or Jet Li movie (or my personal favourite "The Iron Monkey" which doesn't star either of these two but is fantasttic nonetheless). ~Daniel ************************************************************************ Monkey Magic!-- http://www.student.adelaide.edu.au/~redcat/monkey.htm The Amazing Astroboy!-- http://www.merlin.net.au/~daniel/astroindex.htm ************************************************************************ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 10:34:36 +1000 (EST) From: Chris Hadgis Subject: [monkey] Episode summary (1.11) - "The Difference Between Night And Day" Season 1, Episode 11 - "The Difference Between Night and Day" The pilgrims encounter an invisible wall. Monkey says it is magic and tears a hole in it. On the other side, it is night. That land belongs to the Queen of Night. The barrier is a curtain between night and day. The pilgrims try to figure out why the queen is keeping her country in perpetual night. The queen and her followers are vampires. They feed on the inhabitants of the village. Monkey stops the queen from feeding on a young woman. She wants Monkey to join her, but when he reveals he has a human master, she orders her followers to attack him. He beats them and chases after the queen. During an aerial fight, he knocks her to the ground. Pigsy finds the queen and makes a move on her. As he hugs her, she bites him, he says it tickles. She tastes his blood and finds it horrid. However, she invites him to her house, to talk, and tells him she is divorced from the King of Day. Pigsy goes with her. Monkey is looking for Pigsy. He finds a sleeping girl who reminds him of Tripitaka. "That's the trouble mixing up wishful thinking with magic" [Monkey] Monkey is enchanted with her. She wakes up and sees him. As she is talking to him, he is attacked by more vampires. She tells him she used to have a pet monkey whom she named "great sage equal of heaven" and was a coward. Monkey is determined to rid the village of vampires so he can be with her. Pigsy has told Tripitaka and Sandy that the King of Day and Queen of Night have divorced. Tripitaka wants to help the people suffering in the king's land but Sandy objects. Monkey is to stay and help the people in the queen's land. As a vulture, the king sees them enter his land. While the king is making his slaves work hard, one of them tries to run away. He is caught and beaten. He asks the king if he can go and see his fiance in the land of night. The king refuses because marriage is outlawed. Tripitaka interferes and offers to help the king get back together with his wife. The king rejects Tripitaka's offer and puts him and Sandy to work. Pigsy is having a good time in the land of night - eating, drinking, singing, and dancing. He wants to stay with the queen, little realizing she is just using him. The king pays a visit to the queen. Pigsy is less than eager to face him. The soldiers of the king and queen are fighting when she appears with Pigsy and tells the king she is with him now. The king becomes jealous and attacks Pigsy. The queen orders Pigsy to kill him. Eventually, some of the vampire bats fly up and cover the moon, and drive of the King and his men. The girl tells the villagers that Monkey is going to help them. Monkey says he can create an army with the hairs on his body, but when he tries, all he produces is pictures of the girl. The villagers laugh at him. His magic is gone because he can't concentrate. He is in love with the girl. She still wants his help. Tripitaka is still trying to help the king. He meets the slave who tried to escape before. Tripitaka tells him about the hole in the wall, then gives him the horse so he can get away. He tells a reluctant Sandy that he must go with the man. The guards chase Tripitaka as Sandy and the man escape. The queen is upset because she and her followers are starving. She convinces Pigsy to fight Monkey. Pigsy is scared of him, but eventually agrees. TomTom (the slave) is finally reunited with MinMin. Meanwhile, Monkey is still trying to conjure an army, but only produces more drawings. Sandy tells him the pictures are of MinMin, and that she has a boyfriend. Monkey can't believe it until he sees them together. Sandy realises that Monkey is in love with MinMin, and Monkey confesses that he has lost his powers. Sandy tells Monkey the facts of life in an effort to convince Monkey that he can't love a mortal girl. Sandy : Let's assume a lady bee meets a nice gentleman bird. Now what does he do? Monkey: He eats it The queen, accompanied by Pigsy, lead the vampire army into the village and the battle begins. When Monkey appears, the vampires are scared off. Pigsy is told to fight him. Sandy warns hims to go easy on Monkey because he has no power. Pigsy ignores him and beats Monkey. The queen notices TomTom and takes him with her to see the king. Tripitaka is still trying to help the king. The queen arrives and complains that there was to be no contact between day and night, but it seemed that love had found a way. She wishes more men (ie the king) would be like that. He orders TomTom be put to death. MinMin arrives. She admits she risks death to see her lover. The king wishes more women (ie the queen) would be like that. She orders MinMin be put to death. Another fight breaks out. Monkey meets up with Tripitaka and tells him he loves MinMin. Tripitaka suggests Monkey goes and rescue her. Monkey reveals that he has lost his magic because he loves a mortal girl. With some encouragement from Tripitaka, Monkey tries again. The lovers are about to be killed when Monkey interferes. Both sides attack him. As if this isn't enough, Tripitaka chants the headache sutra to force Monkey to try and use his magic. This time it works. Monkey is about to kill the queen when the king covers her and says he would die to protect her. "You two die for each other? Buggered if I would" [Monkey] MinMin and TomTom are together, and so are the king and queen. The curtain is lifted. Back in the village, TomTom and MinMin thank Tripitaka. Monkey is still sad about MinMin, but he realises it would never have worked. "As there are questions which have no answers, so there are answers to questions which were never asked." The pilgrims continue their journey. Notes * There is a beautiful song playing as Monkey tries to create an army, just before TomTom is reunited with MinMin. Does anyone know what it means? * Just how much of Monkey's skill is tied up in his magic? He couldn't even through a proper punch when he was fighting Pigsy. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 09:31:57 +0800 From: "Robert Vong" Subject: Re: [monkey] A Chinese Odyssey parts 1 & 2 > Has anyone out there seen the Cantonese films "A Chinese Odyssey", part > 1 or part 2? > > They're based on the Monkey story, and were both made in Hong Kong in > 1995... I have :) I've seen both. Very very loosely based on the original. Part 1 was made mostly for laughs, it was part 2 that I loved. There's probably not much you could learn form them, if that's the direction you lean. bye. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jun 97 15:16:00 PDT From: "Adey, Kelly" Subject: [monkey] Call for site addresses Hi guys. I've finally got that Monkey section up and running in on my page (http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/9903/) under the Sheer Magic link. Now since my site is basically a links directory, there's no new whizzbangery, but what I would like is for anyone who wants a link to their page put in to email me privately at kelly.adey@accc.gov.au and I'll organise it asap. There's a few links there I haven't seen up on other Monkey pages, most notably a selection of pages from a US educational site discussing aspects of the text of the Wu Ch'Eng En novel, if yez are interested at all! Anyhow, here's what's already up: http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~chris/mon_pics.html (Chris's Monkey pictures) http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~u5ms/monkey/ (Matt Sephton) http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~iw/monkey.html (Ian Walker) http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/8153/ (Howell Parry) The academic sites are at Brian Hooks' East-West Synthesis course pages (St Petersburg Junior College, somewhere in the USA I think). The main page is . There doesn't seem to be any direct link to some of the relevant subsidiary pages, and you can't jump from one to the others (some of which seem to be student responses to the text), but you can get to them at: http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/ew/MattickMonk.html (Monkey) http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/ew/DeNykeMonk.html (Monkey King) http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/ew/SullivanMonk.html (Eastern Religious Influence in the Folk Novel "Monkey") http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/ew/SmithMonk.html (Tripitaka) http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/ew/CusickMonk.html (Monkey) http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/ew/BraistedMonk.html (Monkey) Lots of other Buddhism/Zen/Confucianism/Taoism etc stuff hangs off these pages. These ones aren't up yet but I'll fix that in the next day or so: http://freeweb.redcat.org.uk/~semprini/monkey.htm (Semprini Dirt Fiction Monkey Page) http://www.student.adelaide.edu.au/~redcat/monkey.htm (Daniel) Have I left anyone out? Let me know -- privately so we don't nark off anyone on the list. BTW Howell there's also a link to the list for any interested newcomers -- I assume this is ok, no? hugs & flying blue bananas to all kel ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 08:39:44 +0000 From: Gareth James Pidgeon Subject: Re: [monkey] Trade TV eps > > Hello there Gareth! > > Most people on this list seem to be based in Australia and UK, which > both use the PAL video format. > > Someone recently advised me that it's a bit dodgy discussing the > copying of videos on an open discussion list, so maybe anyone who > can help Gareth out should reply to him personally, i.e. not via > the list? > > Looking forward to the UK video release of Monkey, whenever that is, Why on earth is it dodgy discussing copying videos on an open discussion list ? There's no law against non profit trading of video cassettes in the UK, and certainly none in the US. Is there some Australian law against it ? Anyway, as I like a quiet life, if anyones interested email me. - -- Gareth James Pidgeon www.pidgeon.demon.co.uk/cathedra.htm Applied Materials pidgeon_gareth@amat.com gareth@pidgeon.demon.co.uk ------------------------------ End of Monkey Digest V1 #29 *************************** ----------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the Monkey Mailing List digest list, send mail to: majordomo@valinor.eldar.org with the following command in the body of your email message: unsubscribe monkey-digest To send a message to the list, send mail to: monkey-digest@valinor.eldar.org If you have any problems or questions, send mail to: owner-monkey@valinor.eldar.org For lots more information and news about "Monkey", check out the Monkey! web site: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/8153/