Royal Flush

Of the 13 episodes in the can prior to the Sept 12 premiere, "Royal Flush" was chosen for the debut, no doubt to capitalize on the growing fan base of Davy Jones, who had already released the Colpix LP "David Jones" in 1965 (Colgems merged the now defunct Colpix with Screen Gems). Third in production (June 7-10), second since the pilot was picked up, and very similar to the pilot, Davy helping out a girl in trouble, the twist being that Bettina (Katherine Walsh) is a foreign princess, whose archduke uncle Otto (Theo Marcuse) seeks to usurp the throne for himself. The laughs just aren't that frequent, though Vincent Beck's henchman Sigmund remains consistently amusing. Apart from teen idol Davy, the other Monkees aren't allowed much to do, but Michael Nesmith quickly establishes himself as droll and laconic, Micky Dolenz the versatile clown, and Peter Tork the Harpo-inspired, smiling sad sack with a warmth that was never in doubt. Sad to say, the principal actors were destined to die tragically within four years of this broadcast: Theo Marcuse, very busy character villain (THRILLER, BATMAN, STAR TREK), was killed in a car crash in Nov 1967, while pretty Katherine Walsh was murdered in London in Oct 1970, an apparently unsolved homicide. Ceil Cabot steals her scenes as the chambermaid, and returned in "Success Story." The very first song heard on the series (not counting the regular theme) is at least sung by Davy, "This Just Doesn't Seem to Be My Day" (recorded July 5), composed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, followed by Micky's "Take a Giant Step" (recorded July 9), B-side to the debut single "Last Train to Clarksville" (issued Aug 16, a full month before), composed by the husband and wife team Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Both tracks featured on the debut LP THE MONKEES, produced by Boyce and Hart, but not released until Oct 10.

Ran across the series being re-run on AXS TV recently, so decided to take a stroll down Memory Lane, having watched the series when I was a little kid (I was in love with Davy Jones when I was seven...). Watching this as an adult was interesting because of all the stuff that I probably wouldn't have noticed (or even registered, assuming I had seen this one at all), what with the effective screen pop-ups (at one point during the sword fight, Davy is thinking "This always worked for Errol Flynn" or some such. Fun sword fight between Jones and the villain, with cuts at various points of some couple falling in love while shoving food in their faces. So, Shakespeare or Ibsen it's not, but was a good way to blow 20 minutes (fast forwarding over the commercials -- sorry advertisers) on a holiday weekend. We'll see how many of the rest of the episodes I can sit through before going "I can't take this drivel anymore!"

Being an old DJ, how can I forget THE LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE (the Monkees first big hit), followed by I'M A BELIEVER, which came out the same year this wacky on steroids series premiered.

Definitely a cross between the bananas adventures on GET SMART and GILLIGANS ISLAND, because the villains were soooo outrageous! We kids loved them, and still do.

Davy Jones (who we all miss) happens to rescue a real live princess, called Bettina (Katherine Walsh) from drowning. Alas! There's good reason because someone wants her out of the way. Her no-account uncle, Archduke Otto (memorably played by tv bad guy Theodore Marcuse) wants to bump her off so he could become KING of their small country. The Fiend.

Fantasy, yes, but LOTS and LOTS of fun and gags. You may even want to toss in some silly schtick from BEWITCHED. It's all here.

True, the show didn't last long on prime time tv, but alive and well for decades in reruns. The guys have never been so NUTS.

Tribute to Mike Nesmith, who passed in 2021 and director James Frawley, who passed in 2019.

Micky Dolenz always the scene stealer here, and Peter Tork is good guy Peter. Who else?

Sad note; Katherine Walsh died suddenly a few years after this episode.

A diamond in the rough. SEASON 1 EPISODE 1 remastered color dvd. On sale everywhere. The Monkees box set is a collectors item. Thank you CATCHY TV for running these oldies.