There was someting of a mini trend of shows starring apes and monkeys in the late 70s/early 80s. BJ AND THE BEAR was about the only one that was remotely successful.
I actually watched a few episodes of the terrible MR. SMITH show, which was something about a wise-ass talking orangutan in Washington. I guess NBC had high hopes for it, since it got its own TV GUIDE cover story right before it flopped out of existence.
I also saw a few episode of the rotten ALL IN THE FAMILY spin-off called GLORIA. This one went way beyond beating a dead horse.
You know what, Joey? Life sucks and so did your show.