Mijacogeo(aka The Frodis Caper)

Teleplay by Micky Dolenz & Dave Evans

Story by Jon Anderson & Micky Dolenz

Directed by Micky Dolenz

Produced by Ward Sylvester

Song: “Zor and Zam” by John & Bill Chadwick

Guest Appearances

  Glick                                          Rip Taylor

  Otto                                       Tony Giorgio

  Henchman                            Richard Klein

                                 Neighbor                                Nyles Brown

                                 Cop                                      Bob Michaels

Premiered on March 25, 1968

Summary

As the morning sun rises one morning, it causes the suspended rope to burn triggering a record player to go off playing the Beatles’ song “Good Morning" waking Mike, Micky and Davy who all drop their alarm clocks on the floor to shut them off but when Peter’s alarm clock is still ringing they all rise out of bed realizing he’s missing.  They soon head downstairs and search all around the pad even going to Mike as the Lost and Found Man but it seems no use until Davy spots Peter sitting in the living room chair in a frozen state seemingly in a trance staring at the television which shows a huge eye.  The Monkees nearly fall in trance themselves until Mike quickly turns off the TV.  Then they head off as Mike explains what’s going to happen next in this episode.

The guys dash off into the streets and to check on their neighbors and Mike and Micky head to the Parkers home only to them in the living room littered with TV dinner trays and are also in a trance in front of the same huge eye on TV.  Davy heads for his neighbor Nyles’s place who also seems to be in a trance from watching the same eye on TV but Nyles replies “What TV man, I’m always like this” and then they head for the KXIW-TV station to find out what’s wrong.  When they get there, they find the stage hand  is also in a trance from a nearby television showing the same eye and they all wonder what kind of warped maniacal mind is plotting such a conspiracy then the scene shows Glick, a mad wizard giving an evil laugh which answers their question.  Deciding this a job for Monkeemen, they head for a nearby phone booth to change but they discover a sign in the booth stating that Federal Law W443 paragraph seven prohibits anybody using the phone booth to change into their secret identities, so they have to stop the evil Glick as themselves.  Meanwhile at the studio, the evil Wizard Glick makes his plans at 12:00 noon to use the power switch which will activate the magnetic freeble energizer which will then release the power of the Frodis so he’ll be able to control the minds of millions.  One of his henchmen notices the Monkees monitor which hasn’t worked in five years is on.  Figuring the Monkees are heading to the studio, Glick orders the release of the two-headed org and when they guys arrive at the studio they are confronted by the creatures.  Micky takes out his Monkees manual which instructs them on how to dispose of it by jumping up and down three times, rolling cabbage and giggling and they do all this which stops the creature dead in its track.

After witnessing it all on the monitor, Glick then send in his TV repairmen who are all carrying portable TV sets with all programs of they eye but each of their attempts to hypnotize the Monkees are unsuccessful.  Then Mike mentions that it’s time for the Monkees and wonders if there’s a television around to which they are all surrounded by the TV repairmen with the TVs.  Soon, they are tied up in the warehouse and in order to contact Peter for help, Micky suggest they use the latest psychedelic mental telepathy that every musician is using which Micky learned from a cereal box top.  Then they all chant “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” and it appears to be working as Peter rises from the chair and heads for the studio.  However, he is spotted by Glick on the monitor who greets Peter at the front door and captures him as well.  Now with all four of them tied up, Peter manages to hop near the phone and calls the police.  Wondering what to do about Glick, Davy comes up with plan and as Glick and his henchmen are working on their next phase of their plans, the Monkees are on the rafters with bull horns warning the villains they have them surrounded and not to reach for the their weapons, move or even write home.  Trapped, the villains try to use the same chant but the Monkees wind up tying them up.  Then the police finally arrive and mistake the Monkees as the villains and arrests them while freeing Glick and his men.  The Monkees try to explain their innocence as they are dragged off then one of the cops mentions Dragnet is about to come on and asks about a television.  Micky tricks them into staring into the TV set in the window of store which sends them all in a trance as the Monkees look away except Peter.  With Peter back in a trance, the guys carry him as they head back to the studio. 

They sneak back in the studio and Mike wonders if it’s a trap since they snuck back in so easily and it turns out his suspicions are right when they wind up back in the warehouse now chained up and handcuffed.  They wake Otto, the sleeping guard and try to trick him to giving them the keys by offering to play cards for keys in exchange for a statue Peter.  It turns out that he’s a expert card player so they offer to play him a made up game called creebage in which they scatter all the cards then call out “creebage” declaring themselves the winner and with that, they grab the keys to unchain themselves and take off.  After escaping, they decide to hang Peter on a coat rack and fetch him later since they can’t keep carrying him and head off again.  They find the Frodis room and as they enter,  they come face to face with the Frodis, a one-eyed plant.  Using a peashooter, they prepare to destroy it when it claims to be friendly and explains that he was captured by the evil Wizard Glick when his spaceship landed on Earth and now Glick is using his Frodis power to control men’s minds through his machines.  He then asks for the Monkees help in returning him to his spaceship so he can recharge his Frodis energy and undo what the evil Glick has done.  Moved by his sad tale, the Monkees decide to help him escape and just as they grab him, Glick and his henchmen show up. 

Then to the musical romp “Zor And Zam” there is a chase as the Monkees with The Frodis and carrying Peter head to the spaceship which is on a hill and managed to make it.  Glick and his men are closing in on them just as the Frodis emerges from the ship surrounded by smoke and soon Glick and his men fall to the ground laughing and cheerful.  The guys along with Peter who is finally out of his trance and the Frodis rejoice in their triumph.

This episode ends with Micky off camera introducing folk singer Tim Buckley who performs “Song To The Siren”.

Trivia Notes

This was the final episode of the Monkees series before it

was cancelled.

This was the only episode that Micky co-wrote and directed and

also provided the voice of the Frodis which was sped 50% of it’s

normal speed.

The episode’s title “Mijacogeo” is an amalgam of Micky and his

immediate family: Micky (his name), Janelle (his mother), Coco (his sister) and

George (his father).

During a CBS Saturday Afternoon repeat of this episode, the song “Zor And Zam”

is replaced by the song “I Never Thought It Peculiar” by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart.

The late singer Tim Buckley who sings at the end of this episode is also the father of the now late singer Jeff Buckley who passed away in 1997.