Monkee Chow Mein
Written by Gerald Gardner&Dee Caruso
Directed by James Frawley
Produced by Robert Rafelson&Bert Schneider
Song: "Your Auntie Grizelda" by Jack Keller&Diane Hilderbrand
Guest Appearance
Dragonman Joey Forman
Toto Gene Dynarski
Inspector Blount Dave Barry
Agent Modell Mike Farrell
Chang Kay Shimatsu
Premiered on March 13, 1967
Summary
The Monkees are dining at the China Boy Club Chinese restaurant where Peter is putting a bunch of egg rolls in a large doggie bag to bring home to a dog( that they don't have). Meanwhile, in the back room, the Dragonmaster informst his sidekick Toto about a formula for the doomsday bug, a green spotted, 200-eyed eight hairy legged germ cell that is being hidden in the fortune cookies for the foreign spies posing as customers to collect and give to their Asian masters. While Toto takes a plate of fortune cookies to the spies, Peter who's now collecting fortune cookies mistakenly takes one of the fortune cookies Toto has and when he's surrounded by foreign spies, Mike drags him away and soon the guys are chased out of the restaurant by the spies but they manage to hide by using a newspaper. To make matters worse, a man approaches them at gunpoint and orders them into a car that speeds off.
Mike, Micky and Davy are being interrogated by the man, who's a CIA operative, Agent Modell at CIA Headquarters. Inspector Blount enters with Peter after receiving the formula from him and claims the guys are clean. He explains to the guys about doomsday bug which is the most dangerous weapon that the chemical warfare branch has developed. He then shows them a large photograph of it which looks like a tranicula. Apparently the CIA are trying to learn about the master behing the spy ring, the number two man called Dragonman and now want the Monkees help the spies. However, they refuse so he gives them a warning of the impending danger since the spies knows Peter took the formula. At the restaurant, as the Dragonman shows a photograph of the doomsday bug, informs his henchmen that they need to get the 1/4 of the formula back from Peter. That night, Mike puts all the locks on the door before going to bed since they're still jumpy about the CIA's warning. Then Toto and Chang arrive with a bag and rope and they mistakenly abduct Mr. Schneider, their pet dummy. Then they return only this time they abduct Micky by mistake. After Micky's abduction, the remaining trio are scared into returning to the CIA Headquarters seeking their help. The inspector reassures them they're safe as a little Chinese boy enters and takes a photograph of them before exiting. Later that day, Mike and Davy find a large letter from Peter explaining his guilt over Micky's abduction and his plans on going confronting the Dragonman. Then they decides to rescue Peter. When the Dragonman learns of Peter's arrival, he sends Chang and Toto to fetch him and while he's sitting at table to order they offer him plan C in which they knock him out with large gavel.
With both Peter and Micky tied and gagged, they are threatened with torture, first by a pack of ants in an ant farm them by the Chinese ice torture, where a dagger is suspended by a rope over the victim's throat and tied to clunk of ice and as the ice melts the dagger becomes closer to the victim's throat. Meanwhile, Mike and Davy attempt twice to enter the restaurant by disguising themselves as food inspectors and Italian customers only to be thrown out. Finally they decide that this is a job for Monkeemen and head to the phone both as an old lady watches and come out the superheroes with Clarke Kent glasses. After Micky and Peter admit to knowing nothing just being singers, the Dragonman considers just killing them but he decides to give them a chance to escape by telling them that three of the four doors will lead to death and the forth to freedom and that they only have a minute to find it. After leaving, the two try the first three doors, one has monster behind it, the second, a sea monster, and the third a cannonball and convinced the last door is the one, they open it only to find the Dragonman with his henchmen (he didn't say it would lead to freedom positively). Just as they are about to attack them, Mike and Davy come to the rescue knocking down the door. Soon Davy does psychological warfare on Toto giving insults but when Toto retaliates, Mike takes over. In order to distract the villains, Mike pretends to have the doomsday bug throwing it on the scared villians as Micky and Peter make their escape. The Dragonman realizing it was a trick sends his henchmen after them and to the song "Your Auntie Grizelda" foursome give a mad chase through them four doors with the villains, teenage girls, chickens and a gorilla! After placing cotton in their ears, they manage to overpower the villains by using a gong causing them to shake to the vibrations as the CIA agents arrive to take them away.
After their plight, the guys becoming hungry decide to eat some of the Chinese food, However, Peter opens another fortune cookie and reads a secret note giving spy instructions to which the guys grab Peter and drag him out of the restaurant.
Trivia Notes
The Monkees put their concert tour on hiatus to film this episode and the previous one "Monkee A La Mode".
There are several deleted scenes in this episode including a battle with charging rhinoceroses and whooping Indians, and the ants breaking loose and causing the bad guys to scratch busily. Also an alternate ending in which the guys are arrested for changing in the phone booth.
When this episode re-aired on NBC July 31, 1967, the song "Your Auntie Grizelda" is replaced with "Words".
Actor Mike Farrell (Agent Modell) would go on to portray Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt in 1975 on CBS's long running TV series "Mash". He later starred on NBC's drama "Providence".
Actor Joey Forman who also appeared in the episode "Captain Crocodile" portrayed Freddie in NBC's "The Mickey Rooney Show".
Actor Ed Walsh(Policeman) isn't credited in the end credits.
