The Checklist: Tarzán (S1 Ep10) “Tarzan’s Christmas”
There were two goals I wanted to achieve with this edition of The Checklist. The first was to cover a series that I have not covered in a while, the second was to find a holiday themed episode.
I knocked out both of those goals when I saw that the Wolf Larson/Lydie Denier series, Tarzán, had an episode titled “Tarzan’s Christmas” that originally aired on December 15, 1991.
#1. Do we get to hear the famous Tarzan yell?
We hear the yell almost instantly as Tarzan (Wolf Larson, Expect No Mercy) swings in to help his chimpanzee friends, Cheetah and Maya, who are experiencing a jungle cat problem. The elderly Maya is worse for wear after the incident and things are not looking good as Tarzan and Cheetah take Maya back to Tarzan’s hut to see if Jane (Lydie Denier, Guardian Angel) can nurse Maya back to health. SPOILER ALERT: Unfortunately there’s not much that can be done. Maya eventually passes away in the episode and we hear a much different yell from Tarzan upon hearing the news. 1/1
#2. Were there any Cheetah hijinks?
Cheetah is often a source of comic relief but with his chimpanzee elder at death’s door, Cheetah is on his best behavior in this episode. 1/2
#3. Did Tarzan rescue Jane?
When Tarzan’s friend Simon (Malick Bowens, Tears of the Sun) brings the mail in from town, he has a postcard from Jane’s sister in Paris. Jane and her sister had a falling out prior to Jane leaving for Africa, so hearing from her sister was a pleasant surprise, being invited to spend Christmas in Paris made Jane even happier… but it’s December 23rd, what are the odds she can make it home in time? Especially with a sick chimp to look after… Tarzan insists that Jane go home and make things right with her sister. And by some Christmas miracle, Simon manages to find her an available seat on a plane headed to Paris. So Jane hops in Simon’s jeep and they make their way to the airport.
But a rockslide prevents Jane and Simon from making it to the airport, it also buries them in rubble… fortunately Tarzan’s keen senses kicked in and he dug them out by hand because he’s strong AF. Jane may not be able to make it to Paris, but at least she’s not dead (like Maya).
A quick side note, if you ever wanted to see an elephant tow a disabled jeep, then this is the episode of Tarzán for you. 2/3
#4. Were there any notable guest stars?
Sadly there were no guest stars notable or otherwise in this episode, not even Santa Claus! 2/4
#5. Was there plenty of Christmas content?
I have already given away the fact that Santa did not appear in “Tarzan’s Christmas” but there was still plenty of Christmas content in the episode. Early on, we see Jane and her young apprentice Roger (Sean Roberge) decorating a palm tree as they both talk about how this will be their first Christmas away from home… Instrumental versions of such Christmas classics as “O Tannenbaum”, “Hark the Herald Angel Sing” and “The First Noel” can be heard throughout the episode… There’s a gift exchange including a “The Gift of the Magi” moment between Roger and Simon… Jane gifts Tarzan with a painting she did of Maya and then Tarzan and Cheetah make it “snow” for Jane to show their gratitude… Roger even gets a surprise gift from his dad (Jane’s benefactor) much to the chagrin of Simon as the show wraps up. 3/5
- Final Score = 3/5 (60%) I should point out that each episode of Tarzán was only 23 minutes long, so when you throw in a gimmick like it being a Christmas episode, you are going to have to sacrifice other things… like action, Cheetah hijinks and any sort of guest star. Instead of those things, this episode featured slowly killing off a chimp and exchanging gifts and that was “Tarzan’s Christmas”.
