The Monkees Second Season - Episode No. 56:

“SOME LIKE IT LUKEWARM”
(a.k.a. “THE BAND CONTEST”)

To provide the one missing ingredient The Monkees need to enter a band
contest that requires groups of mixed sex, David must dress in drag.

Technical & Telecast Info:

Production No.4754
Final Draft:November 29, 1967
Filmed At:Screen Gems Studios, Hollywood, CA.
Filming Dates:December 11-13, 1967 (this episode); December 20, 1967 (David Jones' chat with Charlie Smalls).
Original Air Date:March 4, 1968.
Ratings:19.9 rating/31.7 share (11,140,000 viewers)
© Raybert Productions; 3-4-68; LP37627
Sponsor This Week:
Yardley Of London™
Rerun Dates:August 19, 1968 (NBC); December 26, 1970, June 26, 1971 (CBS).

Production Credits:

Written byJoel Kane & Stanley Z. Cherry.
Directed byJames Frawley.
Executive Producers:Robert Rafelson & Bert Schneider.
Story Editor: Neil Burstyn.
Associate Producer:Gerald S. Shepard.
Produced byWard Sylvester.
Background Music Composed and Conducted byStu Phillips.
“The Door Into Summer”: Written by Chip Douglas & Bill Martin; Produced by Chip Douglas.
“She Hangs Out”:Written by Jeff Barry; Produced by Chip Douglas.
Guest cast:

Maxine....................................................... Sharon Cintron
Pierre......................................................... Rob Rudelson
Janitor........................................................ Bill McKinney
Deana Martin as Daphne
Jerry Blavat as Himself

Releases On Home Video:

  • The Monkees TV Show 10 (VAP Video VHS Tape VPVU-63094 [Japan], December 1, 1992)
  • The Monkees - Special TV Collection - Disc 10 - Side 2 (VAP Video VPLU-70215 [Japan], December 1, 1992)
  • The Monkees: The Collector's Edition - VHS Tape #14 (Columbia House #13691, May 22, 1995)
  • The Monkees Deluxe Limited Edition Boxed Set - VHS Tape #9 (Rhino R3 2960, October 17, 1995)
  • The Monkees - Volume 14 (Rhino VHS R3 2317, April 22, 1997)
  • The Monkees - Season 2 DVD Boxed Set - Disc 4 (Rhino RetroVision DVD R2 970128, November 18, 2003)
  • The Monkees - Season 2 DVD Boxed Set - Disc 4 (Eagle Rock Entertainment DVD EM351369, September 27, 2011)
  • The Monkees - The Complete Series - Blu-Ray Disc 7 (Rhino BD2-552705, July 8, 2016)

Synopsis:

The Monkees show up at the KXIW-TV station to enter a Rockathon contest in which the prize is $500. While they are in line at the station with other bands, waiting to sign up, Michael gives David and Micky a pep talk: Since they desperately need the money, the way to get it is to act like they don’t need it, assuming a very casual, suave, debonair, “who needs it” kind of attitude. David tests out the suave, casual attitude, claiming “We don’t need it.” This confuses Micky, who wigs out because of course they do need it! The Monkees approach Jerry Blavat, a DJ who is also the MC, and presumptuously request the prize money. Of course Blavat treats them like they’re nuts, so they sing for him, going into a doo-wop bit; Michael performs an excellent D.J. patter routine. When they demand the money again, Blavat turns them down, informing them that the contest is only for groups of mixed gender; without a girl in the group they can’t even compete. The obviously male-dominant Monkees suggest basses and baritones, peas and carrots, and Republicans and Democrats, but Blavat insists on them having a girl in their band. He leaves shouting about how “I love girls! I snap over them!” Micky then explains that that means one of them is going to have to be “a chick!”

Later, with Peter, The Monkees have to decide on a volunteer basis which one of them makes the best looking girl, and Michael, Micky, and Peter all nominate David to play the girl. Reluctant, he backs himself into the closet and comes out with a mop on his head that looks like a long wig. To David’s disbelief, a flirty janitor approaches and hits on him. Back at the pad, David, standing behind a dressing screen, questions how they’re going to turn him into a woman. Micky explains that a woman is a “rag, a bone, and a hank of hair.” First, they hand David a scarf (rag). Then, they hand him an actual bone. He looks at the camera and says “Woo!” Third, they hand him a wig (hank of hair). Michael breaks out into boisterous laughter when David comes out in the wig and dress clutching the bone, and asks how he looks. Micky: “Kind of like a raggy, hairy bone.” David complains that he doesn’t know what to do with the bone, and that he doesn’t know how to act like a woman. Peter pulls out a book, How to Act Like a Feminine Female in Three Easy Lessons, and reads off the lessons. Lesson One: “All feminine females must learn to walk with small delicate steps.” David walks around with this feet tied together and falls. Lesson Two: “When a feminine female walks from north to south her hips must move from east to west. A small loud bell in each direction will help to teach this technique.” David tries this out, with pots and pans tied to his hips, feet still tied with a small rope. Michael gives directions to Micky who shouts them to David. “Faster. Slower. East. West.” David spins around in circles. Lesson Three: “The feminine female must glide like a swan when she walks with her head high, erect and motionless. The best way to teach this is to place a book on top the head.” Michael and Micky place a tome on David’s head, causing him to drop onto the floor under its weight!

The Monkees return to KXIW-TV to show Blavat that they have a girl in the group. David tries to leave but the other three hold him back. Blavat checks “her” out and tells them they are now officially entered in the Rockathon contest. Blavat tells David he’s cute, which makes David all growly (“So are you!”), but Micky reminds him, “Money, money! Anything for money!” Back at their pad, David expresses doubts about their plan. Elsewhere, an all-girl band in a similar dilemma has dressed Daphne, one of their female members, in a suit of armor and a VanDyke beard. Daphne pulls off her facial hair and frets that they’re bound to find out she’s not a boy. That night at The Rockathon, Blavat introduces the girl band as The West Minstrel Abbies, 3 girls and a boy respectively comprised of Harmony, Melody, Caphophone, and William The Conqueror (Daphne duded up as a dude), who do a speedy rendition of “Last Train To Clarksville” at 78 RPM. The Monkees admire the band musically and visually; David accuses the one in the beard of being a bit “effeminate.” After they finish, they score a 98.6 on The Applause-O-Meter (an applause meter/thermometer that Blavat is using to judge the contest), its highest reading! The Monkees force David on stage; Blavat ogles “her” some more and starts becoming smitten with “Miss Jones” as they go on next with their act, singing “The Door Into Summer” and doing everything physically possible to keep David from fleeing the stage! The Monkees tie with The Abbies on The Applause-O-Meter with a 98.6 reading, so Jerry Blavat announces that both bands will have to come back tomorrow for a tie-breaking “battle of the sounds!”

Once they get home, David is understandably only too happy to to remove his drag outfit, but Micky, Michael and Peter won’t let him, worried that, just in the off chance case, someone from the station might show up; suddenly, as if on cue, there’s a knock on the door from Jerry with a boquet of roses for Miss Jones! While Micky, Michael and Peter hide behind the couch, Jerry makes numerous passes at “Miss Jones,” forcing him to back away nervously, asking him out and offering to help him win if plays his cards right! David says he’ll have to think about it; Blavat gives him until tomorrow, just before he kisses David’s hand and goes on his merry way. When Blavat leaves, Peter, Micky and Michael tease David; Peter says all he has to do is go out with him, and they’re a cinch to win. Michael says if David lets Blavat kiss him, he might own the television station. But a righteously unamused David retorts, “One more remark like that, and I’ll hit you with me purse!”

Micky, Michael, and Peter go out to dinner, but David stays behind; so does Daphne when her friends go out, since both of them would have to dress in drag. Both groups’ mates offer to bring them back a tuna sandwich. David and Daphne, however, don’t want to spend a Saturday night home alone and each decides to go out alone, to the Southside Branch of The Some Little Out Of The Way Place Where Nobody Goes Café, outside of their drag outfits. David sneaks in, wearing a huge coat and sunglasses and asks for a secluded booth. The waiter helps him: “I have a booth which is so secluded, that last week three of our best waiters disappeared while trying to find it!” He takes David to a booth that’s already occupied by Daphne. David apologizes, and they both take off their sunglasses and they become starry-eyed as it’s love at first sight. They are in the middle of making vows of love to each other when David sees Micky, Michael and Peter noisily enter the restaurant. For some reason David was carrying his girl boots in a large bag with him, and he leaves in a panic when he hears the other Monkees, dropping one of the boots. Daphne picks it up, “Wait my darling, you forgot your… high heels?” Back at the pad, David rushes into the bed under the covers and pretends to be sleep just as the others arrive back. He fakes waking up and nearly gives himself away by inadvertently naming the place where they ate. Then he discovers that one of his high heels is missing!

The next day, at the KXIW-TV studio, The Monkees return for the rematch with The West Minstrel Abbies---and David again masquerades as “Miss Jones,” much to his chagrin. David nearly slips up again about Daphne when questioned him about his missing high heel but he quickly covers his tracks. David heads outside when all of a sudden Jerry Blavat arrives, checking his watch, so, in order to dodge any impending advances, he ducks into another dressing room, where he reencounters Daphne. He quickly realizes that she doesn’t recognize him dressed in drag and tries to leave but she grills him about his missing high heel which looks like the one she has. Then David takes off his wig and confesses and then Daphne also reveals herself as the male singer of The West Minstrel Abbies; both realize that their deceit is wrong. When David confesses to Jerry Blavat, he becomes outraged and tries to disqualify The Monkees for not being a mixed group, but David explains that they are a mixed group and to prove it, The Monkees perform “She Hangs Out” with The West Minstrel Abbies now in black miniskirt dresses, long hair and highheeled shoes as backup dancers, joining them as a mixed group, which impresses Jerry.

Tag Sequence:

David chats with whis friend and songwriter Charlie Smalls about soul in music, and then sing a tune which they both composed, “Girl Named Love.”

Production Notes:

For the last time on the series, a Monkees episode's submain title sequence doesn't involve the 4 boys' faces on the yellow background.

“Some Like It Lukewarm” (a.k.a. “The Band Contest”)'s submain title cue was previously used in Episode No. 12, “I've Got A Little Song Here”, No. 23, “Captain Crocodile”, and No. 46, "The Monkees On The Wheel".

As the second season filming sessions wound down, The Monkees felt the format of Monkees-derring-do/Davy-meets-girl had begun to stagnate, and decided upon a new approach. The concept of The Monkees showcasing special guests of their choice each week (done to a small degree here in these final three new episodes of the second season) was part of a planned new format for The Monkees proposed third season. NBC, unwilling to take the chance of the show's audience dwindling due to this new format, however, declined this strategy, and all parties agreed not to have The Monkees renewed for the 1968-69 season. (Peter Tork is the only Monkee not to have showcased a special guest of his own; his plans were to feature Janis Joplin, with whom he crossed paths at The Monterey International Pop Music Festival in June 1967.)

An unused scene has The Monkees entering the contest as The Rotten Breaks, beacuse 3 chimps and a baboon are already entered as "The Monkeys"! Also, the MC of the contest was originally going to be named "Mr. Arnold," and the episode alternately ended with The Monkees and the Abbies winning the contest because they are the only entrants.

Unlike its first appearance, in Episode No. 41, “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes,” Jeff Barry's “She Hangs Out” is aired here in its mono mix with brass (arranged by the late Shorty Rogers), as heard on the mono version of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.. Also notice that “She Hangs Out” and “The Door Into Summer” appear in “Some Like It Lukewarm” in the reverse order of their appearances as tracks 2 and 3 on The Monkees fourth LP.

The late Joel Kane and Stanley Zachary “Zack” Cherry, the authors of “Some Like It Lukewarm,” previously collaborated on the 1959-63 CBS sitcom The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis (Kane was associate producer, while Cherry directed several of its 147 episodes). Cherry produced, directed and/or wrote episodes for a variety of series, including The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS, 1961-66), The Kids From C.A.P.E.R. (NBC, 1976-77), The Addams Family (ABC, 1964-66), and the sitcom which ran head-to-head against The Monkees in 1966, Gilligan's Island (CBS, 1964-67); he teamed up with Monkees writing alumnus Coslough Johnson to script the 1971 American International picture Bunny O'Hare. Cherry succumbed to cancer on September 27, 2006 at the age of 74.

David Jones' marriage to Linda Haines took place after “Some Like It Lukewarm” (a.k.a. “The Band Contest”) finished production.

“Some Like It Lukewarm”'s rerun shown on August 19, 1968 got an 11.1 rating, 27.2 share with 6,220,000 viewers tuning in. 

Trivia Notes:

The episode title “Some Like It Lukewarm” was inspired by the 1959 United Artists movie Some Like It Hot, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe.

These last 3 shows were part of only 4 segments of the whole Monkees series to feature other famous musicians, following Liberace's appearance in Episode No. 37, "Art For Monkee's Sake".

David's quip, "Isn't this fun?", reflects a pivotal scene from the previous installment, Episode No. 55, "The Monkees Mind Their Manor", which saw Micky utter the same line.

“Some Like It Lukewarm” (a.k.a. “The Band Contest”) features brief snippets of each Monkee dressed in drag from Episode No. 3, “Monkee Versus Machine” (Peter as David's "mother"), No. 9, “The Chaperone” (Micky as Mrs. Arcadian), and No. 48, "Fairy Tale" (Michael as Princess Gwen and David as Little Red Riding Hood).

This is David Jones' fifth of seven onscreen Monkee appearances in drag, following No. 2, “Monkee See, Monkee Die”, Episode No. 3, “Monkee Versus Machine”, No. 13, “One Man Shy” (a.k.a. "Peter And The Debutante"), and No. 48, "Fairy Tale", and preceding The Monkees' movie HEAD (after the "silent movie" sequence), and his "Ethel Merman" impersonation in The Monkees' 1997 reunion special, Hey Hey It's The Monkees. This is also the 12th and final occasion on the series which finds David falling in love.

In this episode's teaser sequence, David, Micky, and Michael lampoon Jerry Blavat's "Doo Wop" schtick with their radio routine ("So How's By You!"); a sound byte from this scene has appeared on numerous bootleg Monkees LPs, along with the closing musical number, David Jones and Charles Smalls' performance of “Girl Named Love.”

Collector's Note: “Girl Named Love” was originally planned as a medley with another song, Neil Sedaka and Carole Bayer Sager's “The Girl I Left Behind Me”, for possible inclusion on The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees LP. Jones didn't complete his vocal for “Girl Named Love”, however, leaving only the first portion intact, and the song failed to see release on the album; it would finally be released as a bonus track on Rhino's September 1994 reissue CD of The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (R2 71794). 

You may also have noticed that Peter was compleetly absent from this episode's teaser!

The station which airs the Rockathon contest, KXIW, would serve as the secret GHQ for the evil Wizard Glick (Rip Taylor) in The Monkees' series finale, Episode No. 58, "Mijacogeo" (a.k.a. "The Frodis Caper").

The flashing "STAND BY/ON THE AIR" sign appears once again, seen prior to the start of the KXIW Rockathon contest; it was also displayed in 2 other fictional TV stations seen on The Monkees: KXIU-TV, the station which aired “The Amateur Hour” in Episode No. 15, “Too Many Girls,” and “The Captain Crocodile Show” in Episode No. 23, “Captain Crocodile”; and the WXIU-TV studio, where Michael Nesmith announced his withdrawal from the mayoral race in Episode No. 36, "Monkee Mayor".

In David's encounter with Daphne at the Some Little Out Of The Way Place Where Nobody Goes Café, each gets stars in the eyes--a gimmick which has not been seen on this show since Episode No. 2, “Monkee See, Monkee Die”, and No. 10, “Here Come The Monkees” (Original Pilot Film). This would be resurrected in 1997's Hey Hey It's The Monkees. Incidentally, another episode, No. 29, “The Monkees Get Out More Dirt”, had April Conquest (Julie Newmar) borrowing David's gimmick of getting stars in the eyes!

In the episode, The West Minstrel Abbies are called Harmony, Melody, Caphophone, and William McCochrane, yet 2 of them are listed in the end credits as Maxine (played by Sharon Cintron) and Daphne!

Daphne's alias, "William The Conqueror", is a pun on the famous 11th century King of England, William I of Normandy. He was nicknamed William The Conqueror because he was very brutal and competitive. The West Minstrel Abbies are named after the "Westminster Abbeys," the church in England, famous for royal burials and coronations.

Guest Cast Notes:

Deana Martin (Daphne), daughter of entertainment legend Dean Martin, trained professionally at the Dartington College of Arts in the United Kingdom. Her theatrical credits include Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and A Taste of Honey. She co-starred in the National Broadway tour of Neil Simon's play Star Spangled Girl with George Hamilton and Jimmy Boyd. Other starring roles include Wait Until Dark, 6 Rms Riv Vu, A Shot in the Dark, and The Tunnel of Love. She made her major motion picture debut in the 1969 United Artists Western Young Billy Young with Robert Mitchum, David Carradine, and Angie Dickinson. This debut led to starring roles in the films Strangers at Sunrise (Commonwealth United Entertainment, 1969) with George Montgomery and A Voice in the Night with Vito Scotti. Martin made her television debut in 1966 on her dad's 1965–74 The Dean Martin Show on NBC, on which she was a frequent guest, performing in musical and comedy numbers with a wide array of entertainers, including Frank Sinatra. She landed her acting role in this segment at the behest of David Jones (after separating briefly from Flying Nun star Sally Field), who escorted her to her late brother Dino's 16th birthday party, an arrangement okayed by Papa Dino himself. Incidentally, NBC repeated this episode on Deana Martin's 20th birthday.

The late Gerald Joseph "Jerry" Blavat, a/k/a The Geator With The Heator and The Boss With The Hot Sauce, was a for-real iconic rock DJ in Philadelphia, who was still heard weekdays from 5 to 7 PM, and often from 2 to 4 PM. On November 15, 1968, The Monkees would make one of 2 final TV appearances as a quartet to promote their feature film HEAD, slated to open at Philly's (now-defunct) Trans-Lux Theatre, on Blavat's regional TV show, Jerry Blavat's Place, on Philadelphia's ABC affiliate WFIL-TV Channel 6 (now WPVI-TV). (The other would be on fellow Philly DJ Hyman Aaron "Hy" Lit's 1965-71 namesake nationally-syndicated Hy Lit Show, at now-defunct WKBS-TV 48.) Jerry Blavat was later enshrined in the the Philadelphia Music Alliance's Walk of Fame and into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's Hall of Fame; with this episode, he became the third popular disc jockey to appear on The Monkees TV series, following Rodney Bingenheimer's appearance in Episode No. 21, “The Prince And The Paupers”, and the cameo of Bob Shannon aka R.J. Adams in No. 32, “The Monkees On Tour”. Blavat died on January 20, 2023 (ironically National Disc Jockey Day) at age 82.

Sharon Cintron (Maxine), a May 1963 Playboy Playmate of the Month, previously appeared in a November 3, 1967 episode of The Wild, Wild West (CBS, 1965-70), "The Night Of The Circus Of Death," with Monkee guest actors Merri Ashley ("The Monkee's Paw"), Dort Clark (“Monkees A La Carte”, "The Picture Frame" [a.k.a. "The Bank Robbery"], "The Monkees On The Wheel"), Arthur Malet ("Art For Monkee's Sake"), and Arlene Martel (“The Spy Who Came In From The Cool”, "The Monstrous Monkee Mash").

Bill McKinney (Janitor) later appeared in a great many movies with Clint Eastwood, including Thunderbolt And Lightfoot (United Artists, 1974) which also featured Monkee guest alumni Vic Tayback (“Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers”, “The Son Of A Gypsy” and "Art For Monkee's Sake"), Dub Taylor ("Hillbilly Honeymoon" [a.k.a. "Double Barrell Shotgun Wedding"]) and Stuart Nisbet ("The Monkees In Texas"), the box-office blockbuster Every Which Way But Loose (Warner Bros., 1978), and its sequel, Any Which Way You Can (Warner Bros., 1980), which featured HEAD co-star Logan Ramsey and 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee guest Fats Domino in assorted roles.

Songwriter Charles E. Smalls (1943–87), a graduate from The High School of Performing Arts, and having toured as a member of The New York Jazz Repertory Company, was best known for writing the music and lyrics for playwright William F. Brown's 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz, an African-American urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was adapted into a Universal motion picture in 1978 starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Smalls also wrote the score for the 1976 United Artists film Drum.

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