The FRODIS Caper aka Mijacogeo - The final aired Monkees episode and a classic one at that. Micky’s direction is wacky and surreal and Rip Taylor is the epitome of camp as Wizard Glick. Lots of creativity displayed and Micky shows a talent as a director which he carried over into his solo career. Tim Buckley as the show’s last special guest adds a nice coda to the episode and the series. A natural and perfect lead-in for Head. 5/5. Show Note: Micky approached The Beatles and was granted permission to use a snatch of the song Good Morning, Good Morning for the opening of the episode, the very first time the Beatles gave permission for one of their actual songs to be used in a television show or film that they weren’t involved in.
Frodis is a 5. Some things just work even when common sense says they should not. Not sure this episode had the Monkees any more dedicated than the last several, not sure the plot was any better but it was and is a great episode. Still today when someone says "how do you know?" in my head I can hear Micky saying "I saw the next scene, I saw the next scene" I knew that the BBM version of Zor and Zam was different but back then it took forever to watch that episode and hear it again to be sure. Rip Taylor wraps up 2 seasons of really good guest stars and they helped make the Monkees as good as it was. Glad they had guys like Zappa and Buckley on the show.
The Frodis Caper aka "Mijacogeo" This gets off to a good start with the use of Good Morning Good Morning played back by Heath Robinson style device to wake them up. Mike does look cool in his specs. And, yep, you can definitely see where Head came from. Interestingly surreal. And the gunshot to turn the alarm clock off. Rather than being 'A Hard Days Night', maybe this is a bit more influenced by 'Magical Mystery Tour'. From checking IMDB, the henchmen all appear to be the Monkees standard stand-ins. I thought they looked a bit 'band'-like. Rip Taylor appears, to my eyes and ears to be sending up the over-the-top villain rather than playing one straight. Very suitable for the last episode. Pete's great playing hypnotised. Zor and Zam is a great non-traditional song for the 'Typical Monkee Romp' for the last episode. Nice to see Tim Buckley at the end. Shades of the variety show they wanted to do. I'm a bit late to the dinner table, but I'll agree with most that this is a glorious mess and a great way to end the series. 5/5
You give Junior the keys to the family car, you can’t expect him not to take it out on the highway and push it up to fifth gear. Dolenz got a chance to write and direct for the first time, and he had to push every button on the dash. At one point on the commentary track he actually apologizes for the “nauseating camera work.” But what I notice most are the naked sets, the crude props, the frenetic acting, and the gimmicks. Oh, the gimmicks! Not satisfied with breaking the fourth wall once or twice, he does it on seven distinct occasions. And then there’s the slow motion, fast motion, jump cuts, freeze frames, rewinds, extreme close-ups, multiple exposures, title cards, recycled footage, old newsreel footage and random footage inserted for no apparent reason. I’m never sure what frame of reference to use when watching this episode. Dolenz says, on the commentary track, that he was trying to make a serious point about the manipulation of American minds by the media. And the episode also seems to be a thinly veiled joke about the mellowing effects of marijuana. But then, at the sixteen and a half minute mark (out of twenty minutes total) we suddenly take a screeching hard left into science fiction. Alien? Spaceship? Where the heck did that come from? With time rapidly running out, the Expository Houseplant breaks one of the fundamental rules of writing: Show, Don’t Tell. That said, I must acknowledge three moments of absolute genius in Mijacogeo. The first is a variation on the old stuck-in-a-door routine, this time in the form of three Monkees trying to escape from a phone booth. The second is the cereal-box-top chant that rouses Peter from his trance; the third is the devious plot twist that has the police arresting the Monkees for the crime of tying up Glick and his henchmen. Near the end of the episode, the title card “Typical Monkee Romp” appears. What follows is a decidedly un-typical romp, and I use the word “romp” only because that is the traditional term in this series for a filmed sequence set to music. No actual romping occurs. Instead, we get a slow-motion hike with lots of multiple exposures and freaky camera angles. The three Monkees can’t run or even walk very fast, as they have to carry Peter (who has been frozen for a second time) and an enormous potted plant / friendly alien, who may be able to talk but apparently can’t walk. I have to wonder how this episode might have been different if Dolenz had taken on only one extra job. If he had co-written the script and then turned it over to an experienced director, might the odd story have been more fleshed out and dressed up? Or, if he had been assigned to direct from a more polished script, might all the gimmicks and razzle-dazzle have served as a welcome layer of frosting on a more substantial cake? Absolutely Not a Nitpick I was going to accuse them of ripping off the Kreebage card game from Star Trek’s Fizzbin; it’s the exact same plot device used in exactly the same manner. But a little research is a good thing! The Star Trek episode A Piece of the Action first aired in January, 1968—more than a month after Mijacogeo was filmed. Grading Big Brother is Watching You Watch Big Brother. B- Pass the Frodis. C The alien will explain what’s going on. D Overall grade 2 out of 5
The Frodis Caper is 4/5 Very trippy and fun and good way to end the season and series. Think Dave Evans gets overlooked as the one who actually wrote the episode and probably a lot of what we actually see. Check out that Monkees Pad podcast on YouTube for an interesting interview with him.
This is it. My favorite Monkees Episode. Love everything about it and have been quoting it since I was at least 5 years old. Most syndication packages dropped the Christmas, Tour, Paris and maybe a few other episodes so this one seemed to be on a LOT back in the day. "Yeah man the Frodis Room!", "But I HAVE a Creebage!", "How do you know? How do you know? I saw the last scene, I saw the last scene", Evil Wizard GLICK! Zor and Zam! It would be many years before I learned it was the last episode but what a way to go out. 5/5 with a bullet!
Every time I watch this I can't believe it exists - it's unlike anything I've ever seen before. Bizarre would be an understatement. It's funny as hell and incredibly cool but it's also at points strangely menacing and very unstettling - there's some freaky **** goign on. I'll be honest - I don't enjoy watching it that much... but it's never short of completely fascinating. 5/5
Today we will discuss the movie Head: I will post my thoughts later when I have more time... I thought it was interesting though, on the Daydream Believers DVD, that Peter said that the movie will never find an audience...or words to that effect.
Head I've watched this a couple of times over the last week. I must admit that the first time I watched it (in my life) it didn't really make much sense. But, having watched it a few times, now I can see what it is meant to be. A lot of people have mentioned that the TV show had been heading in this direction for a while, and it seems that Head is where The Monkees finally got to do what they wanted. I'm not sure how accurate that is, as various others including Bob Rafelson were still involved. It is definitely a film of its time. The music is very good, but as when we discussed various self-covers of Porpoise Song, I don't see that song as the classic that others do. The remaining songs are all good, but not Monkees classics, I feel. Though, I do appreciate that Peter got some songs on this album while he didn't on some others. I feel that the film has aged better than Magical Mystery Tour, in some ways. But, the music on MMT is (I apologise) better. There may have been a suitable audience for this film, and having Frank Zappa involved may have bought in some of his fans who might have 'dug' this material more. But, as said for some of the more Head-ish episodes recently, I wonder what the kids would have thought of it. I never saw the film while young, only when I was already middle-aged and quite used to things more bizarre than Head. Even if the film never found its audience, I think that the Monkees at least got to do their show their way. Again: at least, that's my impression. However, this started Bob's film career which then definitely progressed. Jack Nicholson also partook in this as building a career - and we know where his went. Professionally, could it be the case that some others benefitted more from this film than The Monkees. The Monkees perhaps benefitted artistically, however. Oh, and I think that 'psst psst' is the best joke in the whole film. 4.1/5
Head - 4.5/5 It's quite hard to give this movie a "fair" rating given I am a big fan. The music for me is among their best efforts. The movie itself is very odd, but it holds up well for me in my older years. I generally prefer to watch Head over most of the TV show. I first saw this movie in the late 80s as a teen and back then, my opinion about it was generally just "weird." As a movie into itself, it is just way out there. I personally see the Head-era as the Monkees' peak as a band. A very unusual flick.
Head -- 5/5 This is, hands down, the best thing The Monkees ever did on screen. I like the story, although there isn't one. That is to say, there's many. I dunno, it feels like that way there is more...fun??
I'm surprised you didn't watch Head earlier @HitAndRun . I can see the Magical Mystery Tour parallel. I can only watch the video segments in MMM otherwise, the film generally is boring to me. Indeed the Head chapter is one of the most unusual for this TV band.
Head - Perhaps the best thing The Monkees ever did artistically and creatively. More in line with Bob Rafelson’s message about media manipulation, I’ve always seen the movie as a sort of psychedelic biography of the Monkees and their attempts to escape from the confines of their own fame at the time. And no matter how hard they tried to escape, they always end up back inside the big, black box, which could symbolize television, their fame, etc. Lots of brilliant images and containing perhaps the best songs they’ve every recorded, Head is a journey into the inner reaches of the Monkees’ world, a time capsule of them and the late 60’s culture. And the message is just as prevalent today as it was then: “Tragedy of your times, my young friends, is that you may get exactly what you want.” While it was a commercial flop at the time, Head is recognized today as a brilliant piece of pure filmmaking. 5/5.
There was a big gap for me. I knew the TV show when I was very young in the 1970s, watching re-runs. It's a long time ago, but I think that I never saw Head back then. I bought Monkees albums and then CDs over decades, but only purchased Head maybe 10 years ago. And, haven't seen it much. There are a lot of bits and pieces by bands I know well that somehow I manage to avoid. This isn't unusual for me.
HEAD is to me, by far, the best output of the Monkees. We had TV shows with music, we had albums (some darn good ones), we had concerts and TV specials but the combination of the music and the format of a movie pushes this to the top. I believe I rated all six songs a 5. You had a great Davy tune coupled with perhaps his best choreographed segment, two Pete written tunes, live Circle Sky, two extraordinary Carole King (with Goffin and Stern) tunes and guest musicians in which their fans generally scoffed at The Monkees. I watched the film when it appeared on cable in 1979/80 time frame. Since I was then 20 or so, the whole thing, while being wild and weird, did actually make sense to me. It did not seem as far off of the past few episodes we saw and while it was not conventional, I did see clearly the concepts that several have alluded such as social justice issues, escaping their mold and creation, comments on fame, as well as some wacky funny parts that may or may not an explanation. Will have to reread The Monkees, Head and the 60's. HEAD the movie is a 5. Peter may have been right that the movie would not find a "big" audience but it did find an audience, however small, as evidenced by the string of 5's it is recieving.
Although I had seen some of The Monkees episodes while growing up during the 70s, and I knew a handful of the songs, it was only after seeing Head when it was screened on Channel 4 - and in particular hearing "Porpoise Song" for the first time - that prompted me to go and investigate Monkees music further. So basically, Head is the reason why I'm here today on page 937 on this thread. For that reason it has to be 5/5 - although it's worth that rating simply for its coolness factor.
My take: The later episodes of the Monkees TV show began to deconstruct sitcom tropes. HEAD was an attempt to do the same to movies. The film, while commercially unsuccessful, was a stab (poke?) at taking down the Hollywood formula and studio system. The monkees themselves are trying to break out of the system— but ultimately are shelved as props. I think it’s brilliant and entertaining. But can also understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Head is 2.5 I like the concept of it but think it’s ultimately not very kind to the Monkees themselves. The movie is a Raybert & Nicholson movie than a Monkees movie, like 33&1/3 is more a Jack Goode tv show than a Monkees show. They went too hard on the experimental side in the film and in the marketing, so any other box office result and critical reception could not have been expected. I think they thought they could pull the hat trick of killing the Monkees, making it a smash hit, and making them movie players but they only succeeded in that first part. They needed to adopt Easy Rider to make it on the other two. I think it’s great that they at least made a movie, but with all respect I think that the accolades for it are more hindsight revisionist than fair analysis. I will say that I think that if the supposed original cut existed that showed the mirror scenes and how each Monkee gets out of the box, it would have been a more interesting and perhaps more engaging movie. An analogy would be watching the pilot before they added the screen tests to it. The movie just doesn’t show enough of the personal traits of the Monkees, just short glimpses here and there. So unless you’re a fan already, it probably won’t land for most people.
One more thought, the Monkees peak was mid 1967 - the had recorded and released Headquarters, the tv show won two Emmys, they had recorded most of Pisces, and were on a very successful concert tour that started with a bang at the Hollywood Bowl and shortly there after in the UK. Head doesn’t compare to any of those achievements, sorry
