By April MacIntyre Jan 8, 2009, 1:37 GMT
A new series by Animal Planet takes the style of graphic novel animation and live action along with star voice-over talent, and brings a wholly unique primate drama to the smallscreen.
Macaques (macaca fascicularis) monkeys pick frozen fruits out of blocks of ice, at the zoo in Basel, Switzerland, 09 July 2008. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS
"Dark Days in Monkey City" is an intensely visual series that reveals intense tales of love, treachery, betrayal and triumph among several monkey characters including Portia, Lear, Hector, Gemini and Pandora.
The show tapped the talents of comic book legends Joe Kelly and Joe Casey who took the series and developed it for the network.
The channel described the premise as an adventure within the jungles of the isle of Sri Lanka - in the deserted city of Polonnaruwa, also known as Monkey City, where large populations of toque macaques live on the streets and have turned it into a savage battlefield.
Once ruled by Buddhist and Hindu kings, the temple city is now home to myriad monkey gangs that fight for supremacy to survive in this abandoned city where food is scarce and the drama is plentiful. The weak will be banished from Monkey City and sent into the Badlands, or worse, the human hell that lies across the river, where human civilization continues to expand into the habitat of many populations of wildlife.
Top primates in Monkey City are the Temple Troop, led by Lear and his queen Gemini, who are the defenders of the the Fig Tree Vale; prime Monkey real estate.
Their ancient foes are the neighboring Black Claws, who will stop at nothing to conquer that territory and no longer have to feed on a diet of human rubbish. It’s a bloody conflict in Monkey City and now, more than ever, the tension between these two groups is ripe for battle.
"Dark Days is a fantasy world reminiscent of epic stories of antiquity but very much relatable to modern audiences,” says Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet Media.
“The series is great television that pushes the boundaries of what audiences can expect from Animal Planet but it’s a great archetypal tale that is entirely and uniquely based on real natural history. In monkey city, truth is cooler than fiction.”
The interesting series on Animal Planet debuts Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 10 PM (ET/PT) with back-to-back premiere episodes.
From Animal Planet:
Using dynamic graphic novel-style animation elements to accentuate the dramatic and violent reality of the stories presented, the 13-part series is an epic tale based on the Smithsonian Primate Project, the longest-running study of primates in the world conducted by Wolfgang Dittus, Ph.D.
In addition, comic writers Joe Kelly and Joe Casey from Man of Action Studios ( www.manofaction.tv ), who have written for a variety of titles such as Uncanny X-Men, JLA, The Adventures of Superman and Action Comics , have brought their writing expertise to the series along with Emmy Award winner Ian McGee.
Finally, Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies, known best for his role in the Indiana Jones and Lord of the Rings movies, lends his tremendous voice to the series.
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