The Monkees Race Again (aka Leave The Driving To Us)

Written by Dave Evans, Elias Davis & Dave Pollock

Directed by James Frawley

Produced by Ward Sylvester

Song: “Hangin’ Round” by Travis Lewis & Boomer Clarke

Guest Appearances

      T.N. Crumpets                                            William Glover

                         The Baron                                                       David Hurst

                        Wolfgang                                                        Stubby Kaye

                         Butler                                                   Maurice Dallimore

                         Officer                                                          Don Kennedy

Premiered on February 12, 1968

Summary

The Monkees are working on the Monkeemobile when Davy gets a phone call from T.N. Crumpets, his grandfather’s friend and England's major racing car driver who wants the guys help.  The guys decide to head over to Crumpets's place and as Davy gets starts the car, the telephone is triggered instead wheels drives itself into the Monkee’s pad!

At T.N. Crumpets’s garage, the Monkees admire his race car #54 as they meet the elderly racer and his butler, Carruthers.  Crumpets believes that someone is sabotaging his car and soon Peter and Mike look under the hood when the engine explodes leaving them convinced it’s the work of saboteurs.  Meanwhile at another garage, Baron Von Klutz and his henchman Wolfgang, German officers of the Third Reich work on the Baron’s racecar, the Klutzmobile #13 but are having difficulty with their engine. Then the Baron spies on the Monkees through a periscope working on Crumpets’ car and notices their strange techniques (using a hammer and a nail, a saw and wood).  Back at the Crumpets’ garage, the Monkees continue to work clumsily on the car by taking the engine apart and Micky pulling out a tiger’s tail!  The Baron and Wolfgang march inside to see the troubles Crumpets has with his car but the Monkees pretend nothing is wrong.  In an  attempt to take away his suspicion. they  take the engine apart claiming it’s way to get rid of excess.  After putting the engine together again, Davy attempts to start the car but it's no use until Micky hits the car and ends up getting it going.   Meanwhile, the Baron plots with Wolfgang to kidnap the mechanic and the driver since a fixed car is no use without a driver to race it. 

The Monkees and Crumpets engage in their tea to celebrate when the butler sprays London Mist spray at the same time the two villains wearing gas masks spray knockout gas causing everyone to pass out.  Then they drag both Crumpets and Micky away.  Back at their garage, the Baron has them tied up as he explains his plans to win the race and make the Klutzmobile the most famous race car in the country and then the world and demands that Micky work on it.  Micky refuses insisting that brainwashing, solitary confinement and starvation won’t make him relent until the Baron threatens him with physical torture.  Back at Crumpets’ garage, the others have woken up and realize they've been doped and that notice both Micky and Crumpets are missing.  After fixing the Klutzmobile, Baron orders Micky to start to car so he can analyze the engine but only music starts instead despite the car not having a radio.  When Mike, Davy and Peter head for the garage, the Baron orders  Wolfgang to get rid of them while he hides Micky and Crumpets.  Peter finds Micky’s tuning fork and when Wolfgang greets them he insists that only Klutzmobile personnel can enter the garage meaning: you have to be Klutz to get in.  Peter points out Micky’s B flat tuning fork he found but Wolfgang claims it’s his and that it’s an A flat.  Soon Mike, Davy and Peter take turns trying out the tuning fork claiming it’s a B flat arguing back with Wolfgang who tries to send them a way. When they won't budge, he pulls out a gun .  Then the Baron intervenes but they head out.   Having hidden both Micky and Crumpets under a stack of tires, the Baron plans to have them dispose of after the race when they are no longer needed.

Back at Crumpets, the Monkees realize they don’t have a driver for Crumpet’s race-car until Davy offers to go in his place since he’s a British subject.  The racing official agrees but doesn’t think he’ll be able to see over the wheel since he’s so short but Mike and Peter solve this problem by having him sit on a telephone book.  Meanwhile, Micky still working on the Baron’s Klutzmobile, winds up totally ruining his engine.  Then after spotting Cumpete's car that is up and running, they decide to steal the engine.  For a diversion, the Baron calls Mike and Peter from the loudspeaker, then they sneak in and steal the racecar.  The racing official tells them they can’t be in the race without a car and Davy decides to race in the Monkeemobile.  After putting the engine in the Klutzmobile, the Baron instructs Wolfgang that when the starting gun fires he’s to shoot one of their captives and when the race is over and everyone is cheering he’s to shoot the other one.  Meanwhile as the race is about to begin, Mike and Peter to decide to look for Micky and Crumpets while Davy races the Baron.  Davy wonders about the other contestants but Baron drives up telling him that there aren’t any other contestants since they’ve all been sabotaged.  Wolfgang is just about to shoot Micky when Peter and Mike burst in and begin chasing Wolfgang all over the garage just as the starting gun is fired and the race is on.  Soon the Baron and Davy are racing on the street and it appears that the Baron is winning as he tries to sabotage Davy with a newspaper and then a rolling tire which winds up preventing him from winning the race instead. 

Davy wins the race and is surrounded by a crowd including pretty women kissing him and soon there’s a musical romp the song “Hangin’ Round” in which the Monkees chase the Baron and Wolfgang around the garage and wind up turning them into flower children and ends with all of them including “The World’s Oldest Flower Child” throwing flowers in the air.

Trivia Notes

This episode was the last full Monkees episode to be produced.

This was also the last to feature the Monkees running afoul of bad guys and

to feature the Monkeemobile.

The Show’s co-creator/co-producer/executive producer Robert Rafelson appeared

in a cameo appearance at the end as “The World’s Oldest Flower Child”.  This was his

second appearance in the series.

David Price and actress Valerie Kairys appear among the crowd congratulating Davy.

The late actor Stubby Kaye (Wolfgang) appeared in classic musicals MGM’s “Guys

And Dolls” and “Sweet Charity” as well as 1988 classic “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”

There was a deleted story idea that has Davy and Baron making several stops during

the race: tea, girls, relay races, mechanics on skateboards, trading stamps, glassware

and contests.

Three days after this episode aired, production of the Monkees feature film “Head”

began.

This was director James Frawley’s 32nd and final episode he directed.