^^ I remember that scene. I always took it to be a little bit of camp directed at the time period; I'm not that familiar with Bellisario's work in general.
I really loved
Tales Of The Gold Monkey, and I can't wait for the DVDs. It got on the air because of
Raiders, but it really had more of a
Terry & The Pirates feel, right down to the Dragon Lady (who was also in Trek, in a TNG episode). The casting was very strong (Roddy McDowall was amazing, as always, especially in the episode that featured his daughter), the stories were great, and the sets were wonderfuly evocative. It was pure Saturday Morning Serial.
One of the minor characters was a guy named Gushi, who was Bon Chance Louie's (Roddy McDowall) assistant. He had no legs and was in a wheelchair. The actor made his own period wheelchair for the part; he also got to do some cool stuntwork that you seldom get to see from disabled people. He also brought some humor to the part. Once, Louie calls down the stairs for Gushi to bring his medical bag; when he rolls in with it a couple of minutes later, Louie admonishes him for taking so long. He replies, "There's no elevator!"
And, despite being a campy homage to old serials, this show had some nice, moving drama. The aforementioned episode with Louie's daughter was one example. Another is the episode where Corky, Jake's assistant, is believed to have fallen off the wagon and burned up Jake's plane. There are a couple of moments in that story that can bring tears to your eyes.
The only real weakness I can think of is that Louie is played by a different actor in the pilot, which is unfortunate (and I think the pilot is also probably the weakest episode, though still very good).
All in all, I give this series my highest recommendation. Blind buy it, even if you've never heard of it; you won't be sorry.
