Daktari
 One
of the funniest shows of the late 60s was intended to be a serious
drama, but Daktari
(the Swahili word for 'doctor') was little more than Carry On
Up The Jungle as Judy the chimpanzee and Clarence the
cross-eyed lion continually managed to rescue their human
masters.
Not only were the animals more intelligent than the humans, but
they were also considerably better actors.
The setting was the Wameru Study Centre in Africa (although the series was filmed in a Los Angeles safari
park), an animal-welfare compound run by vet Dr Marsh Tracy,
played by Marshall Thompson, who received frequent visits from
District Officer Hedley (Hedley Mattingly).
 Hedley,
in particular, was an astonishing character - so wooden that he
blended in perfectly with the trees, and with an upper lip so
stiff that he looked as if he had swallowed a packet of starch.
Dr. Tracy was assisted by his daughter Paula, an American named
Dane and an African native named Mike.
New regular additions to the cast came in 1968. Bart Jason was
a former ranger and hunter who had become a guide for
picture-taking safaris, and Jenny Jones, a 7-year-old orphan who
became part of the Tracy family (played by Erin Moran - Joanie of Happy
Days).
Judy the chimp was simultaneously starring on Lost in Space
as Debbie. Allegedly, the studio had the chimp's teeth removed
after she attacked the cast once too often.
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