I Was A Teenage Monster

Written by Gerald Gardner, Dee Caruso&Dave Evans

Directed by Sydney Miller

Produced by Robert Rafelson&Bert Schneider

Songs:  " Your Auntie Grizelda" by Jack Keller&Diane Hilderbrand

Guest Appearances

Dr. Mendoza                                    John Hoyt

Groot                                         Byron Foulger

Monster                                             Dick Kiel

Premiered on January 18, 1967

Summary

This spoof of the Frankenstein movies begins with the Monkees arriving at a spooky old mansion on Rosebud Lane thinking they're hired to do a gig at a party.  They soon learn that Dr. Mendoza, a mad scientist has hired them to teach a youngster to sing.  Little do they know the youngster is really a Frankenstein looking seven foot monster he created in his lab to become the greatest rock n' roll singer in the world.

Dr. Mendoza takes the guys to see the "little monster" downstairs in his lab and the Monkees are shocked at the sight of the creature who's strapped up to a board.  The frightened musicians are reluctant to teach the android to sing until the doc offers to pay them $200.  Later, the guys work with the monster first by changing his image, giving him a Beatle hair-do, hippy clothes, shades, and a guitar.  Then they try teaching him to be a rock n’ roll singer first with Davy and Peter showing him some dance moves by shaking his hips which results in him knocking both Davy and Peter to the floor.  Micky tries to show him how to play the drums but the monster drums so hard causing a hole in the drums.  After the foursome are finish with their teaching, the monster can only play the guitar out of tune and repeatedly shout “Goorah!”  The guys offer to come back tomorrow to teach him some more but Dr. Mendoza insists they stay the night since the roads are hazardous at nights and has them sent to their rooms.  He then informs his assistant Groot of his next plans to transform the Monkees talents into the monster.  Meanwhile, the guys settled in their room are still spooked by their surroundings and even more spooked when Micky opens the closet door to find a young woman in white inside who claims to be the doctor’s beautiful daughter but has nothing to do with the story since she’s in the sequel.  To calm their nerves, the guys decide to watch television and turn on the TV.  They are starting to relax watching a horror movie when they start to dissappear one by one, with Davy sliding in a secret passage in the couch, then Mike who's sitting in chair against a wall when the wall suddenly turns around, Micky being grabbed and pulled by the feet from behind a curtain and finally Peter gets a blanket thrown on him from behind by Groot and taken away.  Later, all four guys are in the doctor’s lab in the basement strapped to a board with head gear on their heads.  The doctor reveals his plans to transform their talents into the monster who’s also strapped to a board and proceeds by turning on the machine causing electric vibrations.  After it’s done, the doctor orders the band to sing and when they do they find that they can’t sing anymore and when the monster starts singing, he sings with their voices.  Mike threatens to tell the police but the doctor using a stethoscope erases their memory.

The next morning, the guys having no memory of their ordeal are prepared to perform for the doctor only to discover that they can’t sing or play their instruments and end up giving the doctor his money back.  Then the doctor shows off to the guys his monster who starts singing with their talent the song “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day”.  Later in their room, the guys are still confused about not being able to sing while the android could sing with their talent.  Suddently Micky remembers about the experiment the doctor performed on them last night and soon the others remember too and all head for the lab. Before Micky leaves with the others he opens the closet again only to see the doctor's dauther now reading a Monkees script and reveals to him about the sequel where a vampire turns Davy into a werewolf!  The guys head to the lab to reverse the process and strapped themselves to the board with the head gear on the heads as Micky works with the wires but his arm is too short to reach the switch of the machines so he has to use a cane.  But still the first three attempts fail with the monster turning into a super hippy, then Mike starts chanting “kill, kill!” in a very deep voice and the monster doing an impersonation of a gayish interior decorator.  Then Micky accidentally knocks over and shatters a glass which alarms the doctor and he and his sidekick enter the lab.  Seing what the monkees are up, so he unstraps the android and orders him to kill them.  Peter manages to stop the monster and turn him against Dr. Mendoza who’s able turn him back against Peter and soon Peter and the mad doc are competing for control over the monster sending him back and forth between the two of them of whom he should kill.  Then Micky turns on the record for an distraction and soon there’s a mad romp and chase to the song “Your Auntie Grizelda” and which the guys eventually overpower the doc and Groot by strapping them to a board.

Later, Mike is on the phone to the police while Dr. Mendoza and Groot are still tied up.  Micky tells them he reversed the process so they all have their musical talents back but when the guys decide to play their instruments to make sure the strings from the guitars break and there’s a small explosion from the drum.

Trivia Notes

This episode was a rip-off of the classic horror flick “I Was A Teenage Werewolf”

The late actor John Hoyt (Dr. Mendoza) would go on to portray his best known

role as Grandpa Stanley Kanisky on NBC’s comedy sitcom “Gimme A Break!”

Actor Dick Kiel (Monster) is remembered as Jaws, the villain’s sidekick in the

James Bond flicks “The Spy That Loved Me” and “Moonraker”.

The late actor Byron Foulger (Groot) would go on to portray Mr. Nash in the

short-lived series "Captain Nice" which followed after the Monkees during its

second season.  He would also portray Wendell Gibbs in the popular CBS

sitcom "Petticoat Junction".  He's also the father of actress Rachel Ames best

known as long running character Audrey Hardy on ABC's daytime soap opera

General Hospital.

The doctor's daughter is portrayed Bonnie J. Newburry who as an uncredited

role.

During this episode's CBS Saturday morning repeat on September 13, the song

"Your Auntie Grizelda" was replaced by Michael Nesmith's "Good Clean Fun",

their eleventh Colgrem single.