Daydream Believers (Micky Dolenz Commentary) Script

(00:00:00) [opening credits]
New Concorde presents… a big black dot in the center of the screen! Hi, this is Micky Dolenz, and we’re watching Daydream Believers, and we’re all watching it for the first time! World International Network, Inc. presents… a Pebblehut Production of… come on, come on… oh! There it is! Daydream Believers: The Monkees’ Story. That’s Davy! Well, not really. That’s an actor playing Davy. And it’s L.B. Fisher, and there’s Peter, and there’s Mike, yeah, hwlahwlalala, and there’s Je—IT’S ME! Oh, what a good looking guy. Huh ho! Good lord! Colin Ferguson. Good actor, that guy. Wallace Gr—ooh, psychedelic! HEL-LO! Hi, live around here, what’s your sign? Huh ho! Whoa! Look at those chicks! Oh, the colors! The colors! Boy! Hare krishna, waterbeds, nam-myoho-renge-kyo, nam—Harold Bronson, good friend of mine, executive producer. Wow! Pretty psychedelic, this stuff! Look at this! Ohh, whoa, man! Whoa! Like the colors, the colors! Neil Fearnley, directing. Okay, go to black, and we open on some scripts. Really exciting scripts. A girl!

(00:01:11) [“I’m not really getting this.”]
PlayWait a minute. She’s not… this is not the sixties. When is this? Hold on. She has a laptop! We didn’t have laptops in the sixties!

(00:01:22) [“It’s a TV show about young musicians.”]
Yeah, like The Monkees.

(00:01:26) [“They got a beach house or something?”]
That’s like The Monkees! What are they talking about?

(00:01:30) [“The gigs they’re playing, the girls they are dating.”]
Gig!

(00:01:34) [“Like they do on Friends and Ally McBeal?”]
Friends and Ally McBeal? What is this, some kind of time trip?

(00:01:40) [“Like the Backstreet Boys, N*SYNC.”]
The Backstreet Boys? We were before the Backstreet Boys and N*SYNC!

(00:01:49) [“It’s a merchandiser’s wet dream.”]
PlayAh—wet dream?! That was rude!

(00:01:57) [“It’s Hollywood; these guys fall off trees.”]
I beg your pardon? Excuse me? Excuse me? Didn’t fall off a tree.

(00:02:06) [“And you’re sure this has never been done before?” “Never.”]
PlayHa ha! Oh, *I* get it.

(00:02:07) [“This is so 1965.”]
Oh! Suddenly, we’re back in 1965! Wobededoodlebloblo! Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah! Now, these guys are definitely sixties. Ho! Look at that leather jacket. Change your tailor.

(00:02:23) [“Wild boys!”]
Ah, now they’re talking about us. Now they’re talking about us.

(00:02:29) [“They should be nervous.”]
The networks being nervous.

(00:02:33)
Walking out of an office onto a set? I don’t think so. Oh. Oh, that’s right! ’Cause we used the set of I Dream Jeannie (Actually The Farmer’s Daughter) for the auditions! This is the audition sequence. PlayThat coffee pot was not 1960s! That was not a 1960s coffee pot.

(00:02:52)
Oh, now, we’ve cut to Peter working at the Golden Bear in Long Beach. Hey, that guy looks a little bit like Peter. His hair’s pretty cool. Wonder if it’s a wig?

(00:03:01)
That’s right, I saw Peter at the Golden Bear in Long Beach when he was doing like a hootenanny thing. He would work as a dishwasher, and then he would like play on like Sunday nights in a dishwasher’s outfit. It was really cool. I’m not listening to the dialog here. I don’t know what the heck they’re talking about.

(00:03:17)
Hey, cool car. There’s Nez. There’s Nez and the hat. And that must be Phyllis, his wife. Oh, that’s right! She was pregnant.

(00:03:31)
Hey, he looks pretty cool. He looks like Mike. Hair’s cool. PlayLook at that dress! Does that wanna make you vomit? Oh my god! Yeck! Uh! Aww, dey kissed. Oh, waddn’t dat sweet?

(00:03:46)
Yes?

(00:03:51)
Yes, this is the set of Columbia, Columbia Studios—oh, here comes Davy. Here comes Davy.

(00:04:05)
He’s like doing a pretty good English accent there. Hey, I know that girl on the left. I remember her.

(00:04:14) [“Thank you. That was… fabulous.”]
That was gross. What is he talking about?

(00:04:19) [“He’s one of the best that we’ve seen.”]
Uh-oh! Must mean we’re coming! Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm! Yes.

(00:04:26) [Harris is talking to Don Kirshner.]
Oh! This is Donny Kirshner, the man with the golden ear. His ears don’t look golden to me.

(00:04:30) [“We don’t just want you; we need you.”]
We need you. You have to do it all. PlayFull creative control. I will take these young boys and mold them into something that I need and want to make me millions of dollars, while I’m putting more sugar in my coffee… and he’s sucking his popsicle stick! What a weird guy!

(00:04:45) [Another auditioner walks in.]
Ah. Here we go. Who’s this?

(00:04:47)
Now, this guy here is supposed to be Bert Schneider, but there was another guy, Bob Rafelson, and they combined it into one character because they probably couldn’t afford the casting. Ah ha ha. But, it works. It works. Donny’s in! [gasps]

(00:05:00) [The auditioner starts singing “Kumbaya”.]
[sings] “My lord”. PlayOh, man. This really sends me back. Kumbaya—aw. No, I want to hear more. What happened? Oh. That’s me! Hey, that’s me. I don’t think I would’ve worn a shirt like that, but you never know.

(00:05:23)
What a great looking guy! Just like me, ha ha ha, geez. Where’d they get this kid?

(00:05:32) [“You’re Corky, right? Corky the Circus Boy.”]
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Oh, they’re referencing Corky. [sings] Play“It’s great, it’s terrific, it’s the best show on earth. The circus’ll be in town today”. That was the theme song from my show in 1955 called Circus Boy where I rode an elephant. The elephant was probably a bigger star than I was.

(00:05:51) [“I’m your average, out-of-work, starving college student with no direction in life.”]
Yep. That’s true. I was taking architectural drafting. I wonder if they reference that.

(00:05:55)
I was going to school every day, doing architecture, and, uh, I was gonna fall back on showbiz if I couldn’t make it as an architect.

(00:06:07) [“Next!”]
Uh-oh, here he goes. Good luck, and I hope you don’t get it because *I* want it.

(00:06:14) [A woman opens the door for the auditioner.]
PlayOoh! Hel-lo!

(00:06:22) [“Those are great boots.”]
Boy. Ha ha. Think he’s being sarcastic? Ha ha ha, ha ha. “Take a seat”.

(00:06:42) [Van continues to harass the auditioner about his boots.]
Heh heh heh. Oh. This is embarrassing.

(00:06:49) [“Where did you get those stupid boots? Did you lose a bet?”]
Nah, come on, Bert was not that cruel. They were not quite that cruel.

(00:06:54) [Van starts crossing out a line on a paper.]
Ha ha ha! Guess you’re outta there.

(00:07:03) [“Don’t go in there, Corky. He’s crazy!”]
A little over-dramatized, this particular section, but uh, not quite that bad. First of all, there was nobody else there in the audition with me, waiting in a row, because I didn’t have to do cattle-call auditions. PlayI had an agent, and I had my own private, solo audition, actually.

(00:07:20) [Micky walks in to his audition.]
This is actually true. I think I know what’s coming here. It’s a little…

(00:07:28) [“Checkmate.”]
A little over-dramatized, but nevertheless, likely, accurate.

(00:07:37) [audition boxes montage]
Whoa!

(00:07:48) [“Maybe the next time you send me somebody, you can do your job!”]
PlayAngry, so angry!

(00:07:52) [Mike walks in to his audition.]
Hey, there’s Nesmith with his laundry. Yep. Supposedly, that’s true. Could be urban myth, but, uh, supposedly he brought his laundry to the audition.

(00:08:07) [audition boxes montage]
Looks like, like Laugh-In.

(00:08:11) [Peter is at his audition.]
I don’t think Peter ate the paper airplane, but it works for me. Works for me.

(00:08:18)
Hey, there’s Davy. Yes, Davy can dance. He can dance very well. He can tap dance. Don’t get much of a sound on carpet though, ha ha ha.

(00:08:27) [“But take a look at that face.”]
What a face, eh? What a face, Davy. Still got that face. PlayLike Helen of Troy in Greece was the face that launched a thousand ships, and Davy is the face that shipped a thousand lunch boxes. Ha ha ha.

(00:08:44) [“A manufactured image to capitalize on the zeitgeist of a new era.”]
Zeitgeist? What a minute, hold on. There wasn’t anybody named Zeitgeist. Oh yeah, there was. Charlie Zeitgeist, I remember. There’s Peter playing the banjo. Plays it very, very well indeed, and still does to this very day. An ethnic instrument invented in the United States, the six-string banjo. PlayA little astounding fact from Micky’s almanac.

(00:09:12) [“Why don’t we get rid of Woolhat? He seems like too much trouble.”]
PlayWhat?! Get rid of Woolhat?!

(00:09:20) [“They’re not just good little boys who are gonna do what their parents say.”]
No, we’re gonna be nasty, dirty, vile, little, weirdo, alternative freakos. Long-haired weirdo. There we are. Blump! Here we come…

(00:09:38) [“So if you’re Doctor Frankenstein, that must make us the monsters.”]
PlayHa ha, ho ho, what a great line! Who writes this stuff?

(00:09:55) [“Right, Edgar?”]
Ha ha ha ha ha. Edgar? His name’s Mike. What are you talking a—whoa, look at that cool car. Wow. Now, where are we now? Appear to be on a street.

(00:10:22) [“Actually, uh, I have a wife and a baby on the way.”]
Yes, he did. A very nice wife, named Phyllis.

(00:10:31)
What’s this? The Lakeview Restaurant. Hm, I don’t recall this particular location, but I do recall having this meal. But I think we were out in the desert somewhere, but they possibly couldn’t get out to the desert to film this, but that’s alright. It works. Now wait a minute. Let me think. No, Mike was sitting on the other side next to Peter, and Davy was sitting next to Mike. No, wait a minute. No, hold on a sec. No, no, I was sitting across from David, but I don’t think that Mike was—no, wait a minute. I think Peter was where Mike was and… no, I didn’t, no, no, hold on, he didn’t have the French fries, no, wait, no, Mike had a, Mike had a, uh, tuna fish sandwich, not a hamburger, no, no, no, sorry, and, yes, I did have a salad. I was eating a salad, yes. Not quite as grossly as that, I don’t think. Anything for the humor.

(00:11:19) [“Does nobody teach you Americans how to eat properly?”]
Not a bad English accent that kid has.

(00:11:23) [Everyone is quiet.]
Uh-oh. Guess he put me in my place.

(00:11:31)
What’s coming now? Oh, I remember this. Yes. Yes, that’s right. Stuffing the salad in his face. Got a big laugh. Got a big laugh. I don’t think it got quite as out of hand as that.

(00:11:52) [The Monkees are getting their outfits on in fast motion.]
Oh, the wardrobe fitting. Yes. I do remember—Playoh, look at that guy that plays me! What a great looking guy. Oh, good lord.

(00:12:23)
This is not speeded up. That’s actually how fast everybody moved back then. It’s a Einsteinian relativity sort of thing.

(00:12:37) [“I can’t do this, Peter; I’m not a drummer.”]
No, that’s true. I was a guitar player. I played guitar.

(00:12:43) [“So act like a drummer.”]
What do you mean? Like, put on dark glasses and fall asleep?

(00:12:51) [The Monkees are clowning around shooting a scene.]
Oh, that’s the set. That’s the old Monkees set. There we are. Or, a reasonable facsimile of.

(00:13:02)
This must have been filming the pilot. Now, on a real movie set, there are a number of more people standing around. A bunch of smelly grips in dirty t-shirts, but, what the hey.

(00:13:28)
Oh, I guess we’re picking wardrobe here.

(00:13:34) [“L.A.’s just too cutthroat for me. You know, back in the Village…”]
What is this? PlayOh, like the Village in New York is not cutthroat? Like, right.

(00:14:15) [“I was stuck, ’cause mom and dad were both actors.”]
That’s true. My mom and dad were both actors and singers. My dad was the Count of Monte Cristo in a television series in the fifties under contract to Howard Hughes. My mom was a singer, big band era.

(00:14:35) [“’Cause everything you don’t play, you’re like a one-man band.”]
That’s true. That’s very true. These guys, uh, got a lot of little accurate bits in here. Peter played a lot of instruments. Still does, excellent musician. I know that girl on the left. I remember her.

(00:14:52) [Davy is talking to his dad on the phone.]
Wow! Look at that phone! It has a dial! Ha ha! I forgot about those.

(00:14:57)
Who’s he talking to, I wonder? Oh, his family. He’s talking to his dad, back in England. Yeah, his dad was living in England.

(00:15:04) [“I’ll always make the best of it.”]
Yeah, you will, kid.

(00:15:09) [“Give my love to everyone.”]
Aww. Aww. Bye, dad. Aww.

(00:15:19)
That was sweet.

(00:15:25) [The Monkees are in the recording studio.]
Oh, this looks like our first recording session. Ah, this is when we first met Donny Kirshner. Did not know who he was. It’s true. Had no idea.

(00:15:46) [“Guys, they promised we’d get to do our own music.”]
This is where the trouble started. And this is pretty accurate, except that Peter showed up with a bass and they told him, “What did you bring that for?”.

(00:16:01) [“Guys? Guys?”]
PlayWhere did we go? [gasps] We disappeared. Where are they? They’re gone!

(00:16:32) [Micky starts imitating Don Kirshner behind his back.]
Ha ha ha ha!

(00:16:43) [“You need to cool down.”]
Now, that, I’m afraid to say, is a very, fairly accurate representation of what did happen. I don’t think I did it in quite such a, a cruel way, but nevertheless. It was true.

(00:17:02) [“Welcome to the zoo.”]
Ha ha ha!

(00:17:13)
Not a happy camper is old Donny at this point. Ah, here we are filming an episode. This must have been the creeping-through-the-door episode. Ah, I remember it well. Except that that bookshelf on the left was on the right. Oh, a chase scene, a romp! This is what we called one of the romps before the term “music video” came into being. We just needed some film to cover the tunes.

(00:17:42)
Oh, this must have been the audience testing scene that they showed before the, the preview audiences to get a, uh, a test on it. Does not look like we’re doing well.

(00:18:01) [“You don’t happen to be The Monkees, do you old chaps?”]
Oh, this is from the pilot.

(00:18:09)
PlayThis is from the pilot, shot at the Del Coronado Hotel in beautiful San Diego overlooking the bay, yes, the Del Coronado. For a lovely weekend, try the Del.

(00:18:25)
Oh, yes, this is the first preview that did not do very well, I’m afraid to say.

(00:18:31)
We were not there however, but uh, this works anyway.

(00:18:34) [“Negative energy just attracts more negativity.”]
Oh, Peter, like, whoa, that was so deep. Heh. Whoa.

(00:18:44)
Here comes the bad news.

(00:19:08) [“Hey, well, if we’re the lowest in history, I guess it can only get better, right?”]
Yeah, Pete. Whoa. Ha ha. Very true.

(00:19:16) [“What?”]
PlayWhat?

(00:19:41) [Van and Harris are trying to figure out why the pilot tested so badly.]
Oh, *I* know what this is about. This is when Bob Rafelson put the interviews back in the show so the audience could figure out who were actually were, the real us.

(00:19:54) [The test audience is watching Mike’s audition.]
This was very funny, Mike’s interview. Very, very funny. Very spontaneous. This is the set of I Dream of Jeannie, I believe.

(00:20:29) [“Being a jockey is what I really wanted to be.”]
And Davy is. Davy has lots of horses. As we speak, he’s probably thundering across some racetrack back east.

(00:20:39) [“Woo hoo!”]
Uh-oh. What happened? [gasps] “It’s another trick.” “We did it.” [gasps]

(00:20:53) [“What’d you do?”]
We recast you guys, ha ha ha ha.

(00:20:55) [“That’s the key, making them like you.”]
Yes, that’s true. Put the interviews back in. They also took the manager out of the pilot, because he was kind of like Father Knows Best, your uncle’s father and they took that guy out, so that we were all alone in the show. I think that helped too.

(00:21:13) [“This time next year, every kid in America is gonna know The Monkees.”]
Every man, woman, and child across the United States!

(00:21:23)
Oh, this was the first promotion tour, the Last Train to Clarksville, where we took this rather cheesy train from Los Angeles down to San Diego and they renamed Del Acornado (???) Clarksville for about twenty minutes. Cost them a lot of money to get them girls to bounce up and down like that. They put little springs on the bottom of their feet. Ha ha. How did they do that?

(00:21:56) [“It’s one song. How bad could it be?”]
Real bad. Ha ha. Real bad on a train. We did this song on the train actually. I wonder if they’re gonna have us do it on the moving train or not. Probably not, prob—ah, yes, they have us outside, in front of the train. That’s alright. In reality, it was on the train as it was moving in a box car without tying instruments down, and everything fell over, including my entire set of drums.

(00:22:31)
What a good looking guy playing me, huh huh huh ho ho, boy. Did I say that before?

(00:22:41)
[sings] “And I must see you again, we’ll have one more night together ’til the morning brings my train and I must go”. Great song by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who, by the way, produced most of the great old Monkee hits that you know and love.

(00:23:06)
Where are the drums? I don’t see any drums. Oh, there were drums. I was playing the drums on the train in the box car. Too bad they didn’t do that. That would have been very funny. PlaySad, but funny. Children falling off the train. Oh, it was terrible. Oh, it was horrible. I don’t want to think about it.

(00:23:35)
Do-do do-do do-do do-do, do-do do-do do. Do-do do-do do-do do-do, do-do do-do do.

(00:23:49)
Now, of course, these girls had no idea who we were. They’d been told jump up and down and scream fanatically.

(00:24:23)
Ah, great song, this. An anti-war song, as a matter of fact, about a soldier going off to boot camp. Little did they know. Little did they know, we snuck that one in kind of sideways. PlayOh, yeah, hi, thanks very much, really nice to be here, out in the middle of nowhere, in front of a train. Hey, thank you very much, we’re The Monkees, we’ll be back. Don’t forget to tip your waitresses.

(00:24:58) [The Monkees are filming the episode “Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth” on a farm.]
Now, where are we here? Obviously, on location, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Oh, yes, this was the Farmer’s Daughter episode. Oh, yeah. See if I can remember what this is about.

(00:25:15) [“And uh, no man, or padlock, should stand in the way of art.”]
Uh-oh. I smell a Monkee caper coming on.

(00:25:24) [Van is talking to Harris.]
Doesn’t he ever take that jacket off? Geez, that thing must stink.

(00:25:37) [“Don’t worry about it, kid. We got everything under control.”]
Kid? Sarcastic little punk. Patronizing little suit.

(00:25:50) [Harris drives away from the set.]
Whoa, cool car.

(00:25:56)
Those people on the left are some of those smelly big grips that I was talking about earlier.

(00:26:06) [“Van? You might wanna move.”]
Uh-oh. Yes, a Monkee caper coming on. I don’t actually recall doing this particular thing, but it makes for good cinema anyway.

(00:26:23) [The Monkees drive through the locked gate.]
Play[gasps] That’s vandalism. It’s vandalism. Arrest those boys. Those long-haired weirdo anti-American punks.

(00:26:45) [A bunch of kids are buying The Monkees first single from a record store.]
Ripping those singles off the shelves. Sold out! Yeah, that’s what we like to see. PlayOh, Davy, Davy! Ohh!

(00:27:03) [“Kundalini yoga. You should try it. It’s very relaxing.”]
Kundalini yogurt? Euh! I prefer blueberry.

(00:27:16) [“Yeah, it’s the establishment out there.”]
Oh, I remember what this is. This is at the big network promotion meeting in front of all the affiliates across the country.

(00:27:28)
PlayThis was at Chasen’s in Beverly Hills for those of you that… care.

(00:27:37) [“They’re all afraid he’ll do his James Cagney impression.”]
PlayAlright, you dirty rat. You dirty rat! Oh, I think I do it better. That was more like Boris Karloff doing James Cagney.

(00:27:50) [“This can’t be good.” “No, but it sure could be fun.”]
Yes, this was not a pleasant experience. Let’s see how they stage this particular event. It was a lot of very stuffy people at this particular—oh, no, no, we didn’t do that exactly like that, but we um, uh-oh.

(00:28:16)
Yeah.

(00:28:24) [“Out. Now.”]
Uh-oh. Who was that guy?

(00:28:35) [The Monkees and Mike’s family are hanging out on the beach.]
Okay, we’re having a volleyball game, obviously. In the sand, wearing our shoes.

(00:28:51)
Oh, there’s Phyllis with the baby.

(00:28:56) [Peter is playing an acoustic guitar.]
[sings] “Kumbaya, lord, Kumbaya”.

(00:29:12) [“What do I want a bunch of girls hanging off me for?”]
Yeah, I hate that too. Oh, it’s disgusting.

(00:29:24) [Micky is playing with Mike’s son Christian.]
Yeah, I remember this. That little baby puked on me just after we, we had this conversation.

(00:29:30) [“Yeah, but anger comes and goes. Somebody’s always angry about something.”]
How deep. Very profound.

(00:29:43) [“Oh, well, we connect on a very deep, philosophical level.”]
Bleech!

(00:30:01) [“Do you guys think anybody will watch the show?”]
Little did we know. Little did we know.

(00:30:06) [The Monkees theme montage]
Blump! [sings] “Here we come, walking down the street, we got the funniest looks from everyone we meet”.

(00:30:25)
Nearly got killed filming that little bed thing, I hope you know. Hope you’re happy. Hey, that’s a pretty good replication of the title sequence.

(00:30:39) [“We beat Gilligan’s Island.”]
We beat Gilligan’s Island? Oh no! Poor Bob Denver! Oh, ho, will he ever forgive me?

(00:31:00)
Boy, are those shirts red.

(00:31:04) [“Aaand… cut. Print that.”]
PlayCut! Cut! Print it! Wrap! Let’s go home and have a drink.

(00:31:36) [“The Monkees are officially a smash!”]
We did it! Oh! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

(00:31:45)
Pan over to the drums and segue to Christmas. Now, where are we? In a… we’re in a mall. What are we doing in a mall?

(00:32:04) [Some girls spot Micky and Peter in the mall.]
[gasps] Oh, I know what this is about. This is the first time I went to a mall shopping. Peter actually was not there, but hey, you know, anything for the dramatic impetus. Yes, I thought there was a fire, and they were running at me, yelling my name. We’re surrounded by tiny little girls, oh! Kill me before I stop again.

(00:32:33) [“I said in the beginning, we should play our own instruments.”]
PlayUh-oh. This is when the fecal matter hit the whirling blades.

(00:32:46) [“For Peter and me, the music comes first.”]
You tell ’em, Mike. You tell ’em, boy.

(00:33:23) [“I thought they already ‘dug’ us, Mike.” “Not like they’re gonna.”]
PlayYou tell ’em, Mike, boy. You tell ’em, big boy. You tell ’em, fella.

(00:33:46) [“So let’s get them a live gig, but let’s do it far, far away. If they bomb, maybe we can cover it up.”]
Ha ha, good thinking.

(00:35:05) [“You guys can’t handle that? Huh?!”]
Ooh, he’s angry. PlayHey, watch it! Those are my drums! Hey! Hey! Whoa! Oh, uh, ahh! Ooh, that hurt. Fade to black. Come up from black to Davy being made up. PlayHow could he be any more beautiful?

(00:35:23)
Uh-oh, Mike is not happy. Not a happy camper.

(00:35:39) [“I guess I’ve been an ass about all of this.”]
Huh. No kidding! Huh!

(00:36:05) [“We have to work together. As a team.”]
Dun-duh da! Duh-duh dun duh-da! Da-da. Da da! Da-da duh da da!

(00:36:26)
Oh, there’s Mr. Schneider on the right. That dummy that used to be in the, in the show. Wonder where they found that?

(00:36:35) [People are going into The Monkees concert in Hawaii.]
Oh, I remember this. The Miss Teenage America Beauty Pageant in Hawaii! Huh-luh huh-luh hulu ha-ka. Ha la-la ma-ka hoo-wa. Hu-lu-la ha ha.

(00:37:03) [The Monkees walk on stage.]
This was incredible. Hey, wait a minute. We came out of the speakers. It was a big, a big entrance! We came out of these big speakers! What happened to the big speakers? Oh well.

(00:37:17) [Davy is singing “I Wanna Be Free” on stage.]
This was weird. I do remember this. Oh, look at that girl! Oh my goodness! I do remember this. I could not hear a thing. I couldn’t hear myself, the drums. No monitors back in those days, folks. The guitars were steam-powered. Out in back, they had a big truck with a boiler and a furnace, and you had to throw another groupie on the fire to get up ahead of steam for the guitar solo. It was tough. PlayI had to walk seven miles through the snow for my grass. I mean, wait a minute. Hold it.

(00:37:57)
Ahh. PlayDavy! Davy! PeterMickyMike!

(00:38:12)
I think they’re using the track from our actual live performance in ’67. How cool.

(00:38:21) [A girl who ran up on stage is being carried off.]
Ah, yes. They had that girl cleaned and burned. It was tragic.

(00:38:44)
And little did I know that my mom had flown all the way from San Jose and showed up without me knowing. She was there watching. PlayIsn’t that sweet? My mom. Must’ve thought I was entirely out of my mind.

(00:39:40) [The crowd cheers.]
They loved us! They loved us! Ah, oh!

(00:39:46) [Someone pours a bottle of champagne.]
Yeah, party time! PlayOh, look at that, Davy got leid. Oh ho, so did Bert.

(00:39:58)
I did not wear the flowers on my head. I promise you that. That’s poetic license.

(00:40:08)
No.

(00:40:10) [“Don’t worry about the next album, we’re almost done with that anyway.”]
PlayUh-oh. Bum bum-bum bum. Bum bum-bum bum… bum! Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Here it comes. They dropped the big one on us. Donny, naughty, naughty, naughty, Donny.

(00:40:30) [“Donny, that’s not the point.”]
PlayIt’s not the point, Donny.

(00:40:38) [“These songs are gonna be monsters.”]
PlayDon’t talk with your mouth full. That’s so rude!

(00:40:43) [“I’m a Believer” starts playing]
Doddle-le doddle-le doddle-le doddle-le doddle. [sings] “I thought love was”. great Neil Diamond tune. Wrote a couple of tunes for us. “Little Bit Me, Little Bit You”. Thanks, Neil. Great tunes. I bet you wish you’d recorded ’em. Ha ha ha ha.

(00:41:08)
PlayOh, it looks like a montage coming up. I smell a montage. Yes, the world, traveling the world. Hey, nice logos. Good graphics, guys. Oh, there we’re coming out of the VOX box. There we’re coming out of the VOX box. Yeah, good commercial for VOX. I don’t think I got anything for that except an old VOX guitar amp. Ah, it’s montage time. Oh ho, where did they get this good looking guy?

(00:41:46)
PlayHey, shake it, Dave. Oh, do that little shing-a-ling. Axl Rose stole that from Davy Jones, I want you to know.

(00:41:58)
Hey, let’s see more of that psychedelic split screen. That was kinda cool. There it is. Look at, two Mikes. Oh, the mind boggles. [sings] “I got rain”. Oh, around the world. Australia, yes, the land of poisonous snakes and kangaroos and lovely beaches and long, long plane flight back in those days.

(00:42:27)
[sings] “Ohh, I’m a beli—” Hey, there’s four Davys and two Peters and two me’s. Psychedelic. Oh, boy, we’re just going everywhere. I’m getting sick here. I’m getting jet lagged, uh.

(00:42:56)
This is what is known in the business as a montage sequence.

(00:43:12)
Sing it, Pete!

(00:43:44)
Okay, hit that high note, Mick.

(00:43:51)
USA, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Hawaii, Canada, Van Nuys, Duluth.

(00:43:59)
PlayAh. Warms the cockles of my heart.

(00:44:04) [A sign in the background reads “Keep off the grass”.]
Play“Keep off the grass”. What does that mean? Davy’s sleeping.

(00:44:08) [Peter, wearing a monster mask, sneaks up on Davy.]
Oh, lord, what is that?

(00:44:14) [Peter takes off the mask.]
Ah, ah. That’s the way Peter looks now. Ha ha ha.

(00:44:20)
A candle? That would burn the set down.

(00:44:33) [“And we have to be back here by six a.m. tomorrow morning.”]
Oh, tough. It’s hard at the top, guys. Tough at the top. Yeah, well. Get used to it. It’s gonna get worse.

(00:44:44) [“People would kill to be in our place.” “Yeah, or our beds.”]
Uh-oh. What kind of reference was that? Bit rude, I’d say.

(00:44:49)
I think Davy’s having a moment here.

(00:44:55) [“Well, we’re all kind of lost.”]
Ohh.

(00:45:01) [“The Buddhism, free love.”]
PlayWell, not free, but reasonable.

(00:45:12) [“But I’m an actor, Peter. I’m not a revolutionary.”]
I think we’re getting heavy here, folks. Yes. Tell ’em, Pete. Yes.

(00:45:28) [“Look, you can’t be happy being a puppet. Eventually, you have to cut the strings.”]
But then you fall down. And go boom.

(00:45:34)
Ah, nice little moment there. Yeah, go back to sleep, Dave. Sleep it off.

(00:45:51)
Oh, this is the famous me-as-the-movie-producer episode.

(00:46:32) [“Terribly. I lose sleep over it almost every night.”]
Hm-hm-hm.

(00:46:38) [Micky smears some butter on Mike’s nose.]
That’s kinda gross.

(00:46:42)
Hey, look at those cameras. Look at those flash bulbs. Can you imagine?

(00:46:51) [“If we’re not playing our own instruments, we’re gonna be in a lot of trouble.”]
You tell ’em, Mike.

(00:47:23) [“It’s about respect, about making a difference.”]
Tell ’em, Pete.

(00:47:29)
Uh-oh. I think I see what’s coming. This is the famous fist-through-the-wall scene.

(00:48:34) [“You see that? That could have been your face.”]
He uttered an expletive after that actually, but we can’t repeat that in family television.

(00:48:45)
That was pretty, pretty accurate rendition there. Got pretty heavy. Poor Mike.

(00:49:52) [“Rise or fall, we do it our way. What do you say, guys?”]
Dun da-da. Dun-da da-da. Dun da-da, dun da-da, dun da-da. Come on, Dave, yeah! PlayOne for all, and all for one. Dun da-da-da da-da, dun da-da!

(00:50:37) [The Monkees tell Van they want to play on the next album: “Pleeeease?”]
Come on, Bert. Come on, come on.

(00:50:54) [There is a crowd of fans with Monkees signs lined up outside.]
Where in the world are we now?

(00:51:01)
In a very fancy hotel, obviously.

(00:51:12) [The Monkees get in the elevator and close the doors.]
Ah, yes, I remember this.

(00:51:15)
Yes.

(00:51:33) [“This is the mezzanine, not the lobby.”]
Uh-oh!

(00:51:39)
Run for your lives, guys.

(00:52:00)
Another romp.

(00:52:05)
Set to the music of “Stepping Stone”, another fantastic song by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.

(00:52:55)
I remember this. We ran from a bunch of these kids out of a hotel and ended up in a police car. I wonder if that’s where we’ll go.

(00:53:06)
Run, guys, run! A fate worse than death!

(00:53:21) [“Officer, go, go, go!”]
Ah! Yes, in the police car.

(00:53:56) [The Monkees are performing “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” in concert.]
Play it, guys! Big ending!

(00:54:18)
Play it, Mike. Psychedelic!

(00:54:24) [Several images flash on the screen very quickly.]
Ohh-ho!

(00:54:48) [Micky jumps off the drum platform on the stage.]
Ho! I could do that! I could do that when I was young!

(00:54:56) [Micky is running around the stage.]
Yeah! Freak it out, Micky!

(00:55:36) [Micky does the James Brown bit.]
Hm-hm!

(00:55:39)
Cheap James Brown imitation, but what the heck.

(00:56:12) [The Monkees finish the song.]
[claps] Hurray, hurray! Hurray!

(00:56:30) [“My contract gives me complete creative control over the music.”]
PlayYeah, well, tough, buddy.

(00:57:13) [Don Kirshner storms out of the room.]
I don’t think he’s happy. Donny was not happy.

(00:57:29) [The Monkees are in London.]
Oh, yes. This was at the, at the Royal Gardens Hotel, overlooking Kensington Palace. Kids were screaming so much, Princess Margaret had to send us a note to tell them to shut up.

(00:57:49) [“The Beatles are throwing a party in our honor!”]
That was some party. I wonder what they’re gonna do with that. Are we gonna go to the party? PlayCome on, guys, let’s go to the party. Please, let’s go to the party. Come on.

(00:57:57) [Mike is on the phone with Phyllis: “Hello? No, no, you’re not missing anything at all.”]
No, you’re not missing anything, honey. Come on, let’s go. Let’s go to the party. Yeah, come on, come on, guys. Let’s go to the party. Yeah.

(00:58:04) [at The Beatles’ party]
Uh-oh, let’s see. Here’s the party. Oh yes, it is. It’s the party. Yeah. Woo. Party. Psychedelic. This was at the Speakeasy, a very famous club in London, and it didn’t look quite like this, but uh, it’s close. It’s close.

(00:58:22)
Whoa, man. Psychedelic. Yeah.

(00:58:29) [“’Ello.”]
That’s George? Ha. That’s cool. PlayOh, that must be John. That must be John. Hello, John.

(00:58:41) [“I think you’re the greatest comic talent since the Marx Brothers. I’ve never missed one of your programs.”]
I believe he actually said that. Good old George. Here’s to you, buddy. Cheers.

(00:58:49) [“Sometimes the whole comedy thing just feels so hollow, you know?” A girl walks by.]
Hel-lo.

(00:58:51)
PlayCome on, Dave, party down. Come on, Dave, have some fun.

(00:59:06) [Davy goes home to see his dad.]
Davy sneaking into his house as a girl? Ha ha ha ha!

(00:59:16) [“’Ello, dad.”]
Aww.

(00:59:18) [“Oh, you’ve grown into a lovely woman, lad.”]
Ha ha ha! Ohh, I don’t believe that. Oh lord.

(00:59:28)
He went home as a girl? I don’t know. Here, have some tea, David. Have a little tea.

(00:59:37)
Davy’s dad was real nice guy.

(00:59:47) [“Dad, those girls would tear you apart in seconds.”]
Hm, he should be so lucky.

(00:59:59) [“So, it’s all good then, is it?”]
I feel a moment coming on here.

(01:00:51)
Aww. That was sweet.

(01:00:55)
Here we are, back in Hollywood. Columbia Pictures, on the set.

(01:01:13) [“I was only exercising the creative control rights which are clearly defined in my contract.”]
Uh-oh, Donny. I sense you might be looking for another job, buddy.

(01:01:33) [“Sorry, Donny, but you’re no longer supervising The Monkees.”]
Uh-oh. Bu-bu bum-bum… bum!

(01:01:41)
PlayGet your stuff out of your office, put it in a box, and be out by four o’clock. Heh heh heh heh.

(01:01:55) [The Monkees go in the studio to start recording Headquarters.]
Yeah, now we’re happy. In the studio!

(01:02:00)
Set ’em up, guys.

(01:02:06)
[sings] “Like all of your toys”. That’s a cool song.

(01:02:12)
We’re doing it, guys!

(01:02:17)
PlayWe can sing! We can play! We can walk!

(01:02:19)
And there’s Liquid Paper! Hu-ho, very clever again, a little Liquid Paper plug there for Mike’s mom, huh? Of course, with computers now, huh huh, oh well.

(01:02:32)
Oh, it’s a Moog synthesizer! I had one of the first ones in the world. Make a lot of weird flying saucer sounds. Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa. Vrr-vrr-vrr! Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa. Wow-wow-wow. Hit it, guys!

(01:02:54)
Sing it, Mick.

(01:03:02) [split screen]
There’s two of me. A ha ha. I love it!

(01:03:16)
Look at that. Six maracas at one time. The only man in the world that can do that: Davy Jones.

(01:04:51)
PlayAh, sing it, Mick!

(01:04:56)
One for all, and all for one.

(01:05:03) [“Now we have to see if anyone actually buys it.”]
Hm.

(01:05:10)
Yes, Headquarters, great album.

(01:05:15)
Knocked out by Sgt. Pepper. Ho, what a way to go!

(01:05:51) [“You just don’t care. You’ve got your magazine covers and your adoring teenage fans.”]
Not quite true, gentlemen. Not quite true.

(01:06:27)
Bu-bum bu-bum buuum.

(01:06:51) [“It’s not like we’re breaking up or anything.”]
PlayEnter cellos. Low string line. Peter sits down on the couch. Slumps. Thinking about what could have been.

(01:07:04) [The Monkees are at the Emmys.]
Ah, the Emmy Awards. Yes, remember this. Big night.

(01:07:18) [“Don’t get caught up in all the hogwash, alright.”]
Oh, come on, Mike. Oh, come on, Mike. Oh, give me a break. He didn’t say that. Oh, come on.

(01:07:27) [“I’m just trying to say keep things in perspective.”]
Yeah, look at you, in the white suit with the handkerchief sticking out of the sleeve. What is that?

(01:08:43) [The Monkees are filming the episode “Fairy Tale”.]
This is my favorite episode, this one. So funny. PlayWe must have been out of our frigging minds.

(01:09:10) [Peter and Mike are cracking up.]
Come on, guys, get it together. We don’t have all day here.

(01:09:36) [“Shut up, or I’ll have you paved.”]
Ha ha.

(01:10:04) [“There’s a social revolution going on.”]
Uh-oh. I sense something heavy going on here.

(01:10:21) [“I hope he says yes.”]
Oh, it’s when Jimi Hendrix agreed to go on tour with us. That’s true. I’d seen him in Monterey Pop Festival and thought he’d be a cool opening act. Actually, I’d seen him before that in New York City playing guitar with John Hammond Band and then a couple of months or so—oh, there he is! Well, not him, but. Oh, this was so cool, watching Jimi out there on stage. Wow.

(01:10:52) [“This will change the way everyone sees us. We’ll start getting older listeners.”]
Older listeners, like nineteen.

(01:10:58)
Yeah, play with your teeth, baby.

(01:11:03)
I don’t think the kids got this part.

(01:11:15) [The crowd chants “We want The Monkees!”]
We want Davy, we want Davy.

(01:11:38) [Jimi flips off the crowd (off-screen) and storms off the stage.]
Ha ha ha ha. Yeah, can’t exactly show that part.

(01:11:46)
That’s kinda weird. But he was cool.

(01:12:03) [Mike’s house]
Oh, whose house is that?

(01:12:13) [“But it’s a castle.”]
Now, Mike is from Texas, y’know, so he had to have everything the biggest and the best.

(01:12:20)
Has a cool house. Well, not that one in the show, but the one he really had. Had this huge dog named Fraak. German attack dog. Killed a big rattlesnake one day in the yard. That was a big day.

(01:13:14) [Peter and Davy are recording “Daydream Believer”.]
Ah, “Daydream Believer”. Written by John Stewart, great tune.

(01:13:24) [“What the hell does it mean? It doesn’t make any sense!”]
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

(01:13:57) [Peter punches Davy.]
Whoa! Heavy!

(01:14:38) [The Monkees are performing “Daydream Believer” in the Rainbow Room.]
Oh, I remember this uh, music video session, in the middle of the tour. Boy, were we tired. I think we shot this in Chicago. Hey, Mike’s got the fluffy handkerchiefs out of his suit again.

(01:15:03)
That’s cool song though.

(01:15:12)
But Davy’s right. I still don’t know what it means.

(01:15:48) [Davy does his dance.]
Hey, do that shing-a-ling, kid!

(01:16:02)
PlayEverybody, skate backwards! [sings] “Oh, what can it mean, to a daydream believer, and”. Everybody sing!

(01:17:00) [Micky jumps in front of the camera.]
There he is, hogging the show again. It looks like we’re having so much fun!

(01:17:27)
[claps] Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!

(01:17:48) [“This face is worth millions, you know.”]
Heh heh heh heh heh!

(01:17:54) [“You remember Jack?”]
Oh ho ho, Jack Nicholson! Cool.

(01:18:01) [“Son. Jack Nicholson.”]
Hey, that actor looks a little bit like him. Cool. Yeah, Jack was cool.

(01:18:50) [“What if we make a movie?”]
Good idea! Call it Arm or Elbow or Neck. No! How about Head?

(01:19:10) [“What we’d like to do is make a movie and explode the myth of The Monkees.”]
You tell ’em, Jack.

(01:19:36) [“Yeah, and not just a bunch of screaming girls.”]
PlayHey, I like screaming girls. What’s he talking about?

(01:19:44) [The Monkees, Van, and Jack are talking about ideas for the movie.]
Hey, I got sixteen millimeter film of this actual event out in Ojai, sitting around talking about the movie.

(01:19:55) [“Tape player on? Ah-ha, alright.”]
What ever happened to those tapes? Hm.

(01:19:58)
PlayUh-oh. That don’t look like a cigarette! Neither does thaaat!

(01:20:06)
Not your ordinary filtered cigarette.

(01:20:10) [“Something that people can look at for years, you know?”]
Yeah man, whoa, a movie, like, a building. Yeah, man. PlayWhoa, psychedelic. Cool. Farm out. Right arm. Ravi Shankar, Shankar sayz, with a sitar playing in the background. Wild stuff, man, yeah.

(01:20:38) [“You guys don’t think maybe we’re going too far?”]
Farm out, man. Too far.

(01:20:53) [The Monkees are filming the dandruff scene in Head.]
This was a cool scene.

(01:21:23) [“What’s up, babe? You look constipated.”]
Ha ha ha ha ha. It’s the tie. It’s too tight around his neck.

(01:21:30) [“NBC has just canceled The Monkees, and I’m out of a job. Hope you guys are happy.”]
Aww. Too bad.

(01:21:40) [“You can never move forward standing in the same place, Harris.”]
Woo, heavy.

(01:21:57) [“We picked you up off the street and made you what you are.”]
Hu-ho! Put you back in the gutter where you belong!

(01:22:13) [“And if this movie busts, which I think is a pretty good bet, you’ve got nothing. Have a great shoot.”]
Bum bum-bum bum bum! Back in the hair, guys.

(01:22:29) [Head is playing in a movie theater.]
Ah, this is the big party for the movie in New York. Yeah, this was weird. A lot weirder than you have any idea that we can show on television.

(01:22:48)
This is the big psychedelic dance scene. Did not go down well, I’m afraid.

(01:22:58) [People watching Head leave the theater.]
PlayHey, where you going? Hey!

(01:23:17) [The Monkees are reading a bad review: “Ugh, I hate vague reviews.”]
Ha ha ha!

(01:23:59) [“Can you believe it was only two years ago when we came here for the first time? We could buy the place now.”]
Who’d want to?

(01:24:03) [Peter leaves.]
Bye, Pete. Have a nice day. Ah.

(01:24:15)
Ah, here we are in Mike’s pool. How’d they get the camera in the pool like that? Hm.

(01:25:22) [Mike answers the phone.]
PlayNo, I don’t want a copy of the L.A. Times, and please, stop calling!

(01:25:29) [Mike is with Phyllis in the hospital.]
Uh-oh. Yeah, this was when Phyllis got hurt. But she’s okay. [whispers] I’ll tell you. She’s okay. She actually gets better.

(01:26:17) [“I hate to bother you, but you’re Davy Jones, aren’t you?”]
Could you sign my wound? Heh heh heh.

(01:26:33)
She’s gonna be okay, Mike. She’s gonna be okay. Honest, I know.

(01:27:03) [Mike signs a young boy’s cast.]
PlayOw! Not so hard! Oww-ooh-ah-ooh! Ow-ooh-ooh! Ah!

(01:27:13)
Back on the beach.

(01:27:27) [“It’s like… Monkee magic! Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!”]
PlayI never did that. I never, never went, “Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh! Aah-aah-aah-aah!” But it’s funny, what the heck.

(01:27:47) [“…it’s pretty easy to forget.”]
Yeah. You tell ’em, Pete.

(01:28:09) [“We’ll sing, but on one condition.”]
PlayYou don’t wanna know what that is.

(01:28:16) [The Monkees start singing the theme song.]
Uhh.

(01:28:26)
Oh! A big happy ending! Surrounded by little girls in the sand.

(01:28:40)
PlayAnd the rest is a hysterectomy. I mean history.

(01:28:49)
Yes, The Monkees go on to even greater fame and fortune. Years and years later, when all the naysayers are dead and gone, the music still lives on and on forever! Hurray!

(01:29:22) [credits]
Featuring Stephen Bogaert, Harris Green, ralsan Brooks and brarab, Jeff Ironi, Policeman, member, Katie Griffin, Award Presenter, and Tony Springer, Jimi Hendrix, according to Girl Fran David swayne, Production Manager, Joanne smashenberg, Avrel Fisher, and Ken Smith, Toronto Casting by Jon Comfinder, Costume Designer, Catherine Ashton, Hair Stylist, Kim dismooney, Transport Coordinator—Playhow could anybody read these credits? These people are gonna be so pissed off! Special thanks to Fender Music Company, sugrandre Hohner, Left Hand Strat fordazan courtesy Rhino, All of Your Toys, performed by the Monkees, courtesy Rhino, Daydream Believer, John Stewart, some guy, I Wanna Be Free, Tommy boba and Bobby Hart, Last Train to Clarksville, Tommy Bobba Bobby Hart, (Theme From) The Monkees, written by bababa Bobby Hart, I’m Not Your Steppin’, written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, I’m a Believer, written by Neil Diamond, and the come by the ownership multiple copyright 2000 Pebblehut Monkees Inc. RBC filmed on location PlayCanada, Canada, Canada! Government of Ontario, de CHUM television, de TMN thewinmever, produced in production the Super Channel! Go to black! Pebblehut Productions Inc., a MUSE company, in association with Rhino. PlayBye! And this is Micky Dolenz saying goodbye!