Here Comes The Monkees

(Original Pilot Episode)

      Written by Paul Mazursky&Larry Tucker

       Directed by Mike Elliot

        Produced by Robert Rafelson&Bert Shneider

  Songs: “I Wanna Be Free”&“Let’s Dance On” by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart

                     Guest Appearances

                                                 Rudy                                  Bing Russell

                                                 Charlie Russell            Richard St. John

                                                 Vanessa                            Robyn Millan

                                                 Mrs. Russell           June Whitley Taylor

                                                 Jill                                    Jill Van Ness

                                                 Dr. Turner                         Larry Tucker

                                                 T.V. Interviewer             Paul Mazurksy

                                                 Guard                                 Joe Higgins

            Premiered on November 14, 1966

        Summary

This episode begins with a T.V. reporter interviewing Dr. Lionel B. Turner regard-ing bystanders ignoring violence on the streets in which the doc swears his duty to defend anyone in need.  They're soon interrupted by Micky, Mike and Peter staging an assault on Davy who calls to doctor for help to but he flees in fright.  To avoid the reporter, the doctor ends up helping an old lady across the street who then charges him $.15 in return.

At Rudy’s Record Rack record store, Rudy Gunther, the Monkees manager and owner of the store tells the foursome about a gig at the Riverdale Country Club.  The owner, his old marine bubby Charlie Russell is auditioning bands for his daughter’s sweet sixteen party for $150 in cash.  That night at the country club, Mr. Russell and his daughter Vanessa are dancing to the music of Sven Helstrom and his Swedish Rhythm Kings although Vanessa isn't enjoying the music.  When the Monkees arrive, both Davy and Vanessa get stars in their eyes upon sight as they become smitten with each other and Mike has to drag him to the stage.  Soon they're performing the song “I Wanna Be Free” while Davy fantasizes about him, Vanessa and the guys having fun in the park and at the Kiddieland amusement park. 

After they finish, Mr. Russell hires them and soon Davy and Vanessa start going out.  Vanessa is about to kiss Davy on her front porch at the end of their date when Mr. Russell interrupts.  The following night, Davy is preparing for his next date with her as the guys start teasing him and at the end of that date Davy and Vanessa do get to kiss before she enters her home.  Once inside, she's confronted by her parents who complain of her neglecting her studies for her history final to spend time with Davy.  Vanessa swears she'll pass her final but she ends up flunking it instead.  At the beach, Rudy’s daughter Jill and a friend of Vanessa's tells the guys that Vanessa is getting a make-up exam but if she flunks that too they’ll lose their jobs.  She doubts that she’ll pass since the only thing she has on her mind is Davy.  Upon hearing this, an upset Davy walks off in the middle of their volleyball game and strolls along the beach to a slower rendition of “I Wanna Be Free”.  Back at their pad, Davy expresses is guilt over Vanessa flunking and wants to help her.  Mike declares a meeting and in a fantasy sequence, the guys are lawyers in a board meeting who select Davy to help Vanessa pass her make-up exam.

That night, the guys disguised as deliverymen sneak Vanessa out of the house in a big box.  The next morning, Mr. Russell complains to Rudy about Vanessa’s disappearance and Jill explains that the Monkees are only helping her pass her final.  Meanwhile, the Monkees help Vanessa by dramatizing historical events with a musical number at the beach and an re-enactment of the Aaron Burr/Alexander Hamilton duel at the park that ends up scaring away picnickers when Mr. Russell arrives sending the guys fleeing.  Vanessa does manage to pass her make-up exam and at the country club, Vanessa's teacher explains what the Monkees did for Vanessa but her father still refuses to let them in while Sven Helstrom and the Swedish Rhythm Kings perform instead.  When the Monkees show up, the guard sends the away while inside Vanessa and then Mrs. Russell start crying until Mr. Russell relents.  He goes outside to question the guard about the Monkees who informs him he sent them away as ordered but they hear the sound of the Monkees jumping over the wall.  As a flashlight shines on them there’s a fantasy sequence of them as fugitives dressed in black and white striped prison outfits in which ends with Micky in a hysterical fit at the sound of police sirens.  As Mr. Russell is about to explain to the boys that they’re invited, they run off.  Then he and the guard give them a wild comical chase all over the country club from the card room where they do another fantasy sequence as mavericks playing cards to the game room and a few times in the bar where they repeatedly knock a waiter carrying a tray of dishes down. 

When they enter the ball room, Mr. Russell explains that they’re invited and the guard replies that he sold out his country club and himself and storms off.  To get Sven Helstrom and the Swedish Rhythm Kings off stage, Mike announces on the microphone that Norway just declared war on Sweden and that all Swedish Nationals are to report to their embassy and with that the band marches off stage.  Then the Monkees gets the party rolling to the song “Let’s Dance On” and everyone from the drunk at the bar, Dr. Turner and the old lady, Vanessa with another boy and Vanessa’s parents are dancing while the T.V. reporter tries to unsuccessfully get an interview leaving him hysterical.  Then Davy gets starry eyed on another girl he spots in the audience which angers the other guys(since this is how all the trouble started in the first place) and they grab Davy and exit the ball room while beating him with balloons with the crowd in pursuit. 

This episode ends with Micky and Peter in the midst of filming the episode “The Son of A Gypsy” introducing black and white segments of Davy and Mike’s October 1965 screen test.  Click here____ for transcripts.

Trivia Notes

This was the original pilot episode filmed in November 1965.

After a disastrous screen test of the episode in January 1966, co-producer

Robert Rafelson went to the cutting room for two days and made changes from changing the screen test of Mike and Davy from the beginning of the episode to the end.  Also, he deleted a few scenes.

Mike is referred as Woolhat at the record store and the producers wanted 

to give him that nickname, but Mike was against it.

An original ending had the Monkees beating Davy with intruments instead of

balloons.

The Monkeemobile is a different car in this episode being a yellow volkswagon.

The interior of the Monkees pad looks different than it did in the other epi-

sodes due to the fact it was filmed in real beach house.

The late actor Neil “Bing” Russell(father of actor Kurt Russell) who played

their manager Rudy was slated to be a regular character to keep the Monkees

in line  as well as his daughter Jill played by Jill Van Ness.

Actor Joe Higgins who portrayed the guard appears in two more episodes from

the first season “Find The Monkees” and “The Prince And The Paupers”

Paul Mazursky(The Interviewer) and Larry Tucker(Dr. Turner) who both wrote this

episode collaborated together again on films "I Love You Alice B. Toklas"(1968),

"Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice"(1969) and it's short-lived TV series and "Alex In

Wonderland"(1970)

Some of the deleted scenes which includes Peter taking of his wet suit at the beach

to show a suit and tie underneath and the guys entering the record store dressed

as gangsters using guitar cases as machine guns were shown in footages from other

episodes.