‘The Monkees’ aired its final episode ‘The Frodis Caper’ 54 years ago today
When The Monkees made its debut on NBC in 1966, no one would have guessed the cultural impact the show would have. Flash forward two years later to 1968. The Monkees became a phenomenon and made stars of actors Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones. The Monkees aired its final episode “The Frodis Caper” on March 25, 1968. Why did the series end after 58 episodes of music, fun, and laughter?
‘The Monkees’ was about a band trying to make it in the music business
The Monkees told the story of four young musicians who lived together in a California beach house. The series had a light touch. The series took a lot of its comedy from the legendary Marx Brothers. This lent a nostalgic air to the series that parents of the series’ teenage viewers would recall.
“Before they even began casting for the show,” Micky Dolenz said in a statement published by Something Else Reviews.
“The producers had in their heads what they wanted. The show took its style from The Marx Brothers more than The Beatles. In the pilot, they had one Jerry Lewis-type wacky guy, one serious guy with dry, Will Rogers sort of humor, and so on.
“They wanted very distinct characters to play off one another so that the comedy would work. When they began casting, they looked for four guys who jumped out of the screen. That indefinable thing that every casting director looks for when they cast a role,” he concluded.
Why did ‘The Monkees’ end after only two seasons?
The Monkees aired its final episode on March 25, 1968.
However, Dolenz, Jones, Tork, and Nesmith had tired of their shows’ old-fashioned formula, which never seemed to vary.
“Quite frankly, we were a little jaded with the show as it existed,” Micky Dolenz wrote in his book “I’m A Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness.
“Every week Davy [Jones] would fall in love with some girl or Peter [Tork] would be kidnapped by some bad guy, or some guy spy would hide microfilm in somebody’s something or other.”
The Monkees producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider allowed the actors to become more involved in the series. They gave them leeway to introduce more trendy clothing into their wardrobe.
Rafelson and Schneider allowed The Monkees to address counterculture issues of the late 1960s. However, in a gentle way that wouldn’t ruffle the feathers of NBC’s censors.
In the series’ second-to-last episode, Nesmith and musician Frank Zappa switched places for a hilarious skit where they impersonated the other.
‘The Monkees’ finale episode was directed by Micky Dolenz
Dolenz directed the series finale, titled “The Frodis Caper.”
The episode was significant as it was a crossover between the band that inspired The Monkees and the characters themselves.
The cast awoke to the sounds of The Beatles’ “Good Morning Good Morning” as seen in the Instagram clip above. This was the first time The Beatles allowed their music used on a television series.
Dolenz admitted the episode was his attempt to address the manipulation of the American mind by the media. He told the story of an evil wizard trying to control people’s minds via their television sets.
A Frodis plant was captured in the episode when its spaceship landed on Earth. Glick used this plant as part of his mind-control. The Monkees rescued the plant and returned it to its spaceship. However, the plant emitted a cloud of smoke that appeared to calm those in its path. This was a clear reference to the effects of marijuana.
In lieu of another season of silly episodes, the band suggested they appear in a “Laugh-In” style series. There, they could utilize their musician friends and have the freedom to address timely topics.
However, that idea never came to fruition. The Monkees series was canceled. The band would go on to star in the avant-garde film Head shortly thereafter.
