Fairytale

Written by Peter Meyerson

Directed by James Frawley

Produced by Robert Rafelson & Bert Schneider

Song: “Daily Nightly” by Michael Nemsith

Guest Appearances

Narrator/Town Crier                                                 Rege Cordic

Harold                                                                  Murray Roman

Richard                                                               John Lawrence

Fairy of the Locket                                                 Diane Shalet

Horseman #1                                                         Richard Klein

Premiered on January 8, 1968

Summary

In this episode which is a spoof of fairy tales, the Narrator introduces Mike, the cobbler, Davy, the tailor, Micky, the innkeeper and Peter who is unemployed all living in a town called Avon-On-Calling.  Peter is out of work because he’s so busy being in love with the beautiful yet selfish and conceited Princess Gwen that he can’t concentrate on getting a job.  The other guys try to convince Peter to forget about the princess since she’s out of his league but Peter declares that he loves her so deeply that he’ll cut off his right arm to please her just as Princess Gwen arrives on carriage which ends up stuck and the mud.  Princess Gwen (Mike in drag) calls for help.

Peter offers to carry the Princess across the mud but she rudely rebuffs his suggestion and instead orders him down on the ground so she can walk across him followed by her fiancée Harold, a knight and soon Princess Gwen starts balking orders to get the carriage out of the mud or she won't marry him and soon they're on their way.  Later at Micky’s Inn, Harold and fellow knight Richard order food are soon served fruit, bread, pig, wooden chairs, wooden benches and studio lights!  Then Peter overhears Harold plotting the Princess’s murder with Richard and goes out to the carriage to warn her but before he can he’s interrupted by Harold and Richard with leftovers for the Princess.  Peter is back on the ground again as Harold once again walks on him.  Then Princess Gwen hands Peter a tin locket she was wearing before they depart.  Back at Micky’s Inn, Peter tells the others of Harold’s murderous plans.  The bites down on the locket convinced it's a worthless piece of junk made of tin.  Suddenly, a fairy appears in a puff of smoke who’s still wearing curlers since she just had her hair done declaring she’s the fairy of the magic locket.  The guys tells her about Princess Gwen so she decides to help them save her by telling Mike to make shoes that can scale walls, Micky to make a kitchen knife into a sword that can cut through anything, Davy to sew a suit of maille and Peter to collect unemployment while his friends are working.  She then warns them not to damage or lose the magic locket because she’ll be killed since it’s her home.  Soon Mike, Micky and Davy set to work to make all the things required for Peter's armor.

Meanwhile, the Princess is locked up in the castle dungeon as they guys dragged a now suited and armed Peter to the forest to save the Princess and on his way there he encounters Little Red Riding Hood,(Davy), Hansel and Gretel(Micky and Davy) and Goldilocks(Micky) before arriving at the castle’s gate.  There he encounters the fierce dragon decides to let him enter rather than figthing him if a guesses a riddle right.  Peter doesn’t know the answer to the riddle but the dragon lets him enter anyway and orders the bridge to be lowered.   It turns out to be a trap as Peter encounters Richard who unsuccessfully tries to fight him but Peter is protected by the magic locket he’s wearing and Richard flees.  Then Peter scales the walls of the castle and enters the dungeon to rescue the Princess.  However, the ungrateful Princess  demands the locket back so Peter hands it over just as Harold and Richard arrive.  Peter tries to fight them but is unable to without the locket which the Princess refuses to give back so Peter is captured and  chained in the dungeon next to the Princess. 

Meanwhile back at the Inn, the others fret over allowing Peter go rescue the Princess alone when the town crier reads them a message that states that Peter was found trespassing on Knight Harold’s estate and will be executed so the others set out to rescue him.  After searching for the castle for three days, Micky suggests they split up leaving a trail of bread crumbs behind them wherever they go and follow them back.   They all take off in different directions and encounter characters from fairy tales with Micky encountering Little Red Riding Hood and Davy Goldilocks.  The trio meet up again and arrive at the castle gate where they are at first scared off by the dragon but later after answering the dragon’s riddle correctly, they are allowed to enter.  Harold and Richard are about to execute Peter and the Princess on the roof just as the others arrive to rescue them and a battle erupts with an army but since both Peter and Harold hate violence they decide to arm wrestle instead.  Peter seems to losing so Princess Gwen tosses him the magic locket and Peter wins driving Harold and Richard to surrender. 

After Harold and Richard have been captured, Princess Gwen thanks Peter and offers to grant him any wish and the others urge him to propose to her.  When he does, she refuses and takes off the wig revealing to be Mike who claims he’s already married.  They all wrap up the episode by giving a brief speech to the audience before singing the Monkees theme song.

Mike gives an interview along with the other Monkees about his role as thee Princess.  Click here____for transcripts.  This episode ends with the Monkees performing the psychedelic tune “Daily Nightly”.

Trivia Notes

This episode was the first during the season to divert from its normal format

And have a more surreal, off-beat flair.

The fictional town Avon-On Calling was refers the successful advertising campaign

Of the renowned perfume manufacturer Avon—the historic Avon Calling.

Monkee stand-in once again appears as horseman #2 although he’s not credited in

The closing credits.

Mike is the latest of the Monkees to dress in drag.

Actress Diane Shalet (Fairy of the locket) is best remembered as Eula Pendleton

CBS’s hit drama series “The Waltons” and as Ms. Hawkins in NBC’s “Matlock”.

she’s also an accomplished writer and acting teacher.

The late comic Murray Roman (Harold) won an Emmy for his writing work for

“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” which also featured the late Paul Paulsen

who would play the secretary in the Monkees episode “The Monkees Watch Their

Feet” and whose writing staff included one of the Monkees writing team Gerald Gardner

and Dee Caruso.

A rejected idea in the original storyline had Princess Gwen accidentally dropping the

magic locket instead of handing it to Peter thus Peter grabbing it and overpowering Harold.