The Monkees At The Circus
Written by David Panich
Directed by Bruce Kessler
Produced by Robert Rafelson& Bert Schneider
Songs: "Sometime In The Morning" by Tommy Boyce&Bobby Hart, "She"
by Gerry Goffin&Carole King
Guest Appearances
Susan Donna Baccala
Pop Forrest Lewis
Victor Richard Devon
Sword Swallower Carl Carlsson
Juggler Ruth Carlsson
Strong Man Gene Rutherford
Midget Felix Silla
Premiered on February 13, 1967
Summary
The Monkees trespass on Pop Arcade's circus and manage to sneak into the tent where they begin to fool around with the equipment remiscining about the circus. Then Victor, an angry knife thrower starts using Davy for target practice and warns the guys that they’re trespassing and orders them out.
Later, Victor announces to the crowd of circus performers that they should all leave since people stop coming to see the circus and that the circus is dead. One performer in the crowd blames the rock n’rollers for their troubles angering Micky. Then Davy spots Pop’s pretty daughter Susan and becomes instantly smitten. She tells him that the circus is closing down because people have stop coming to see it and that she and her father can’t afford to pay the performers or their animals. Davy comforts her and as Victor is trying to convince the performers to leave, Davy steps in and makes a moving speech to encourage the performers not to give up and manages to convince them to stay except Victor. Susan thanks Davy for his speech and explains that Victor who’s their star performer is upset because people would prefer to see rock n’ roll bands instead of him and when she asks what they do they claim to be brain surgeons.
Then the guys engage in a fantasy sequence in which Peter is the ring announcer and Micky as Clyde Greedy the world’s greatest lion tamer known as Lefty and Mike as the lion and soon they two are bickering as Mike ends up getting his tamer Micky to do the trick of jumping through the hoop. Next, Davy is the Great Zambini who without using a net holds on to a trapeze with his teeth suspended only a few inches of the ground! Later, the guys overhear Victor tell Pop and Susan that he has a signed a petition from all of the troupe declaring they either get their back pay or leave the circus. Trying to help, the guys appear(literally) disguised as trapeze performers announcing themselves as Amazing, Incredible, Colossal and Stupendous, The Mozzarella Brothers who have arrive from Paris to help out. They claim to do the act of walking on the wire 500 feet in the air forming a human pyramid on Colossal shoulders and bicycling on the wire carrying twenty glasses. Impressed, Victor goes to convince the others to stay but Susan is upset about the deception worrying what will happen when the crowds come to see the Mozzarella Brothers who don’t really exist.
Later, while the guys are hanging out with troupe with Mike watching the swordsman swallow a sword, Micky juggling with the juggler, Peter watching the strong man trying to lift a 1,000 lbs. dumbbell with difficulty which Peter can lift easily and Davy watching with the midget whom each informs them that the Mozzarella Brothers are coming to save their circus and the guys realize their deception. Then the guys try to practice their so-called trapeze act with negative results as Susan watches on. Afterwards, she suggests that they just tell the truth and so they confess that they’re really rock n’ roll musicians which is overheard by Victor who then exposes them to the troupe and they all decide to leave after all. The Monkees also decide to give up and leave but when Susan starts crying, they try to cheer her up and through the musical romp of “Sometime In The Morning” they do a clown act that is witnessed by the other performers. Impressed by their act, the others decide to stay on and do a show. On the night of their performance, Victor still brooding refuses to go on with his knife throwing act and Davy in an attempt to lure him out decides to take his place and announces himself as Victor. After witnessing Davy’s lousy performance, Victor decides to perform after all. Pop thanks the guys for their help and tells them to get ready for their act leaving the guys confused since they’re not really trapeze performers until he tells them just to do what they do best. Then Pop announces the Monkees in which now dressed in suits they do a rendition of “She”.
Later, as Davy and Susan engage in a long kiss, each of the troupe gives the guys a token of their appreciation, Davy a large golden key from the midget, Mike a sword from the sword swallower that becomes stuck in his throat, Peter the 1000 lbs. dumbbell from the strong man that he can now barely lift and Micky on a unicycle, juggles and a lion’s head from the juggler. Last scene is of the Monkees driving off in their Monkeemobile.
Trivia Notes:
This episode was the highest ranking episode of all the episodes.
This episode was also a return to the circus for Micky who played Corky in “Circus Boy” as a child actor. Micky even sings the theme song to Mike “It’s great, it’s terrific, it’s the best show on earth!” By coincidence, the Monkees chief cameraman, Irving “Lippy” Lippman was also the Cameraman on that series.
Also by coincidence, this episode aired on Peter’s 25th birthday.
In the original storyline, Pop Arcade(Forrest Lewis) was going to called
Pop Wooster and the Monkees aerialist act was called the Santinis.
An alternate ending had Pop and Susan thanking the Monkees for saving
the circus before their departure.
Richard Devon(Victor) had a recurring role on the classic series “Lassie” as Merle Dixon and also starred on the classic “Richard Diamond, Private Detective”.
Felix Silla(Midget) also portrayed Cousin It on “The Addams Family” and Twiki on “Buck Rogers”
