Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik
Written by Jack Winter
Directed by Alex Singer
Produced by Robert Rafelson&Bert Schneider
Songs: "Love Is Only Sleepy" by Barry Mann&Cynthia Weil, "Cuddly Toy" by Harry Nilsson
Guest Appearances
King Monty Landis
Princess Colette Donna Loren
Vidaru Arnold Moss
Shazer Noam Pitlik
Curad William Baghdad
Maiden #1 Cherie Latimer
Maiden #2 Anne Randall
Maiden #3 Lisa Mitchell
Premiered on September 25, 1967
Summary
Somewhere in a hotel, King Hassar Yaduin of Nahudi tells his beautiful young daughter Princess Colette that Viaru, his sinister Prime Minister has consulted the stars and they say she must marry soon since, if he dies before she marries no on will inherit the throne. The Princess doesn't know who to marry and when her father suggests Vidaru, she rejects him in repulsion and then picks Davy out of a teen magazine as her groom-to-be. The King's two servants Abdul and Shazar show up at the pad and weigh Davy in gold, and then Abdul puts him in a sack and carries him off on his shoulder while Shazar hands Mike an invitation. The guys are shocked when the invitation is of a wedding for the Princess and Davy.
After bringing Davy to the hotel, Shazar informs him that he's going to marry the Princess and when a reluctant Davy questions him if the Princess ever wanted to marry someone else before, Shazar tells him about a boy who rejected her and that now she visits him every week and puts a wreath on his grave! Now dressed a Sheik and Nahudian wardrobe, Davy is greeted by the King. Elsewhere, Mike, Micky and Peter now in suits attempts to see Davy are stopped by the guard Abdul. The King fetches Princess Colette and both are smitten at the sight of each other as they display their affections and fantasize of dancing romantically together but Davy quickly snaps out of it and explains to Colette that he can't marry her. She insists that he marries her or she'll be forced to marry Vidaru who then interrupts claiming their laws don't permit too much contact on the first meeting before escorting Davy out. Mike, Micky and Peter arrive again in disguises claiming to be bomb experts and manage to get rid of Abdul with a bomb scare as they enter Davy's room. After Davy explains to them about the marriage plans, the King shows up concerned about Davy not wanting to marry his daughter. Soon the King explains what will be in store for him and presents a miniature of the royal palace which he says contains 700 bedrooms, twenty-two swimming pools and an indoor polo team. Davy discusses the decision with his friends who don't want him to do it until the King informs them that Davy can select each of the guys as cabinet ministers of the Nahudian government, a year of weight in diamonds and their choice of a dozen wives and presents a harem of beautiful women.
Meanwhile, the menacing Vidaru informs his aid Curad that the Monkees won't survive the night. The guys indulge in their new royal lifestyle being surrounded by harem of women eating grapes as Davy imports Micky the Secretary of Defense, Mike, the Secretary of State and Peter the Director of Forests. Vidaru lurking plots their demise by sending Curad to kill them separately by four different ways so they won't link all the murders together. When each of the guys are alone with a beauti-ful woman at their side, Curad unsuccessfully tries to kill them with Mike by a falling paper weight that luckily misses him. Peter by poisoned food which Shazar ends up eating to check if it's safe, Micky by a flying knife which barely misses him as well. Then, Davy who's with the Princess by a dart that barely misses his heart when Colette places a locket on him which he mistakes as a cupid. Now aware of some-one's plans of their demise, the guys want to plan an escape. However, Micky doesn’t believe they need a plan and tries to subdue Abdul who's on guard outside their room with a lamp and when that fails, he agrees with a plan. Vidaru informs Curad on his latest plan on disposing the Monkees by rigging golden goblets with explosives that will explode when they clink glasses for a toast that night at the banquet which is overheard by one of the maidens. The maiden then warns the Princess of Vidaru's deadly plot but since she is forbidden to go the banquet or see Davy until the wedding she sends the maiden to give him a message: "Golden Grecian Goblets guarantee graves".
That night at the banquet, the maiden gives the message to Peter just before she's grabbed by a guard and dragged away. Peter not understanding the message re-peats it to Micky who thinks it’s a tongue twister and Mike who thinks it's a song for Davy's wedding. When he tries to give the message to Davy, he's interrupted by King Hassar who gives a toast but each time they're about to clink glasses, the King keeps interrupting to give another speech. Soon an overjoyed Peter accidentally throws one of the glasses which flies into a wall and explodes. Vidaru tries to distract everybody by insisting on clinking glasses in toast but when a suspicious Davy tries to get Vidaru to clink glasses with him Vidaru is reluctant confirming his suspicion. When Davy throws his glass into the wall and it explodes as well and the King scolds the villain for trying to kill his future son-in-law and for disgracing the land of his birth. Then Vidaru announces he's just an oil baron from Innas, Oklahoma who's only interested in getting the King's oil and sends his henchman to seize them. To the romp "Love Is Only Sleepy" the Monkees fight off Vidara's guards with swords which ends with the all the villains being subdued by explosive golden goblets.
To show his gratitude for the Monkees saving the day, King Hassar offers to grant them any wish and Davy wishes for them to have their freedom. He explains to an upset Princess Colette that he's too young to get married and she doesn't have to worry anymore about Vidaru anyway. The Princess agrees and Davy tells her she'll find someone she likes to better than him but she admits that she's already has and points out Peter who is suddenly placed on a gold weight for weighing. The Monkees geared up in vaudevillian wardrobe perform "Cuddly Toy" with Davy dancing with a Woman.
This episode ends with an interview if guys now all donned up in their new hippy look discussing their summer activities. Click here____ for transcripts.
Trivia Notes
There was an alternate ending to this episode which has Vidaru ordering the
Monkees and King Hassar to face a firing squad in which they are saved by
the golden Grecian goblets.
A few scenes in this episode are featured in the second season’s opening inclu-
ding a fearful the happy looking Davy, Peter in sheik gear snapping his fingers
and Micky as the Secretary of Defense.
Actor Monte Landis (King Hassar) makes his debut in this episode. He would
appear in several other Monkees episodes portraying only villains.
Anita Mann is the woman dancing with Davy during the “Cuddly Toy” rendition.
She would later go onto choreograph the dancers on the dance show “Solid Gold”.
There was a second rendition of “Cuddly Toy” with the guys playing instruments
while Davy dances on stage alone which was featured in the episode “The Monkees
On The Wheel”.
Actress Donna Loren(Princess Colette) is remembered as the Dr. Pepper Girl that she
played for five years as well as being a regular on the "Milton Berle Show" and the
dance show "Shindig" which also featured Monkees guest star teen idol Bobby Sher-
man. She would also appear in several Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello in the
beach movies doing a musical performance.
Monkees stand-ins David Price and David Pearl once again make cameos as grape
peeling surgeons.
The late actor William Baghdad(Curad) would also appear with the Monkees in their movie “Head” also portraying a sheik.
The late actor Noam Pitlik (Shazar) appeared in another Monkees episode “Hitting
the High Seas” as Harry Hooker. He would later appear as Victor Gianelli in the
classic CBS sitcom ”The Bob Newhart Show” and as Officer Swanhauser in NBC’s “Sanford and Son”.
