Pilot Episode: The Monkees are hired to play a sweet sixteen party if the guest of honor can pass her history exam. Unfortunately, she only wants to study Davy.
The episode opens on a reporter in a crowd, asking an authoritative-looking man about violent crimes committed in broad daylight. Dr. Turner says it’s disgusting and he’d be the first one to defend the victim if he witnessed such a fight. Suddenly, a young man calls for help and rushes into view with three larger guys attacking him. In a British accent, the young man dramatically asks if no one can help him – “How about YOU, sir?!” The elder man runs away screaming as the crowd laughs. Trying to save face, Dr. Turner walks a little old lady across the street. She allows it, but charges him a fee of fifteen cents.
The actual episode opens with the Monkees’ manager telling them he’s booked the Monkees for a sweet sixteen party. The girl’s dad and the Monkees’ manager are old Marine buddies. The band is happy to have the exposure and the money.
Later, the daughter is unhappily listening to champagne music from the country club's middle-aged in-house band. Vanessa was really hoping for a fun rock band like the Monkees. The father will humor her by auditioning them, but is more concerned about his reputation with the country club than her style. When the Monkees arrive for their audition, Davy and Vanessa lock eyes in a mutual crush.
Once their performance is over, Vanessa begs her dad to hire the Monkees and he relents. Davy’s a little worried about the pressure of mixing his dating life with a paying gig because he doesn’t like to feel tied down.
In the week leading to the party, Vanessa‘s evenings out with Davy lead her to fail her history exam. If she can’t pass the make-up exam, the party will be cancelled. Davy feels guilty about failing her and the band.
Song: “I Wanna Be Free” (slow version)
Back at their apartment, Mike tells Davy he’s not responsible for her grades, but Davy still wants to help her study. They call a band meeting and agree to coach Vanessa in history. To get her past her strict dad, the Monkees pose as furniture movers and sneak Vanessa out in a cabinet.
Playing on the beach, they all review the exam material in funny, memorable ways. Vanessa aces the test, although her teacher is somewhat confused about why she's talking about monkeys.
At the party, the teacher vouches for the Monkees on Vanessa's behalf. The girl had invited the Monkees herself, but unfortunately since she disobeyed her dad, the in-house band was given the gig anyway. The party feels more like a fiftieth anniversary than a sweet sixteen, and Vanessa and her mom are bored to tears.
Outside, the Monkees are trying to get into the country club. Once inside, they hide out in the parlor among the card games in full Old West mode. When the guard comes through, they hide in the game room for a quick game of ping-pong and then charge into the ballroom. Vanessa’s delighted. The dad, having had a change of heart, tells the guard they were invited after all. The guard calls Mr. Russell a sell-out.
The Monkees are trying to find a way to play when an announcement comes from the bandstand. Mike solemnly informs the party that Norway has declared war on Sweden, and all Swedish nationals must report to the embassy. Without question, the entire champagne music band patriotically marches out the door.
The Monkees take the stage and the party bursts into life. Everyone’s having a good time – maybe too good. A pretty redhead locks eyes with Davy and sparks fly again. The other Monkees freak out and chase him off the stage into the night, beating him with the party balloons.
The scene changes to Micky and Peter addressing the camera directly. The episode was a little shorter than planned, so they’d like to show Mike and Davy’s audition tapes. The footage is in black and white, so they want to reassure the audience the lack of color is not a technical problem with their TV sets.
Screen tests: David Jones, Michael Nesmith
This episode provides examples of:
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: The Swedish champagne-music band is a knockoff of German-American Lawrence Welk's bubbly 40's-style polka band.
- Living in a Furniture Store: Only for the pilot episode, the Monkees' apartment is decorated like a typical sitcom family's beach home. In the rest of the series, it's changed to the random junkyard odds and ends you'd expect from a broke, creative band just starting out.
- Put on a Bus: The character of Rudy Gunther, the manager, was dropped after this episode. The four were on their own after this point with Mike booking their gigs. At the time, a TV show about a group of young people living without an authority figure was unheard of.
- Refuge in Audacity: Mike's declaration of war to steal a party gig.
