The Monkees Second Season - Episode No. 35:

“EVERYWHERE A SHEIK, SHEIK”

It's a harem-scare 'em scene as David is picked out from a glossy magazine
picture as the potential future husband to a beautiful Arabian Princess.

Technical & Telecast Info:

Production No.4749
Final Draft:April 10, 1967
Filmed At:Screen Gems Studios, Hollywood, CA, and at Fred Niles Film Studios, Chicago, IL.
Filming Dates:April 25-27, 1967 (this episode); August 2, 1967 (interview segment and “Love Is Only Sleeping” musical number)
Background Cues Recorded:September 11, 1967, at United Recorders Studio A, Hollywood (from 9:30am-12:30pm)
Original Air Date:September 25, 1967
Ratings:15.2 rating/28.6 share (8,510,000 viewers)
© Raybert Productions; 9-25-67; LP37978
Sponsor This Week:
Kellogg’s™
Rerun Dates:April 8, 1968 (NBC); October 11, 1969, January 3 and June 20, 1970, November 13, 1971 (CBS)

Production Credits:

Written byJack Winter.
Directed byAlex Singer.
Produced byRobert Rafelson & Bert Schneider.
Story Editor: Neil Burstyn.
Associate Producer:Gerald S. Shepard.
Production Executive:Ward Sylvester.
Background Music Composed and Conducted byStu Phillips.
“Love Is Only Sleeping”:Written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil; Produced by Douglas Farthing Hatlelid.
“Cuddly Toy”:Written by Harry Nilssen; Produced by Douglas Farthing Hatlelid.
Guest cast:

Shazer........................................................ Noam Pitlik
Curad......................................................... William Bagdad
Maiden #1................................................. Cherie Latimer
Maiden #2................................................. Anne Randall
Maiden #3................................................. Lisa Mitchell
Monty Landis as King
Arnold Moss as Vidaru
Donna Loren as Colette

Releases On Home Video:

  • The Monkees TV Show 7 (VAP Video VHS Tape VPVU-63091 [Japan], November 1, 1992)
  • The Monkees - Special TV Collection - Disc 7 - Side 1 (VAP Video VPLU-70215 [Japan], December 1, 1992)
  • The Monkees: The Collector's Edition - VHS Tape #6 (Columbia House VHS #13226, May 22, 1995)
  • The Monkees Deluxe Limited Edition Boxed Set - VHS Tape #4 (Rhino R3 2960, October 17, 1995)
  • The Monkees - Volume 3 (Rhino VHS R3 2237, March 26, 1996)
  • The Monkees - Season 2 DVD Boxed Set - Disc 1 (Rhino RetroVision DVD R2 970128, November 18, 2003)
  • The Monkees - Season 2 DVD Boxed Set - Disc 1 (Eagle Rock Entertainment DVD EM351369, September 27, 2011)
  • The Monkees - The Complete Series - Blu-Ray Disc 5 (Rhino BD2-552705, July 8, 2016)

Synopsis:

Somewhere in a lavish hotel, oil-rich King Hassar Yaduin of Nehudi informs his beautiful young daughter Princess Colette that Vidaru, his sinister prime minister, has consulted the stars, and they say she must marry at once; otherwise, no one will inherit the throne should he die before she marries. The Princess doesn't know who to marry and when her father suggests Vidaru, she rejects him in repulsion and then picks David out of a teen magazine as her groom-to-be. The King's two servants Abdul and Shazar show up at the pad and weigh David in gold, and then Abdul puts him in a sack and carries him off on his shoulder while Shazar hands Michael an invitation. The guys are shocked when the invitation is of a wedding for The Princess and David!

After bringing David to the hotel, Shazar informs him that he's going to marry the Princess and when a reluctant David questions him if the Princess ever wanted to marry someone else before, Shazar tells him about a boy who rejected her and that now she visits him every week and puts a wreath on his grave! Now dressed a Sheik and Nehudian wardrobe, David is greeted by The King Hassar. Elsewhere, Michael, Micky and Peter now in suits attempts to see David are stopped by the guard Abdul. The King fetches Princess Colette and both are smitten at the sight of each other as they display their affections and fantasize of dancing romantically together but David quickly recovers and explains to Colette that he can't marry her. But she insists that he marries her or she'll be forced to marry Vidaru, who then interrupts claiming their ancient laws forbid excessive contact on the first meeting before escorting David out. Michael, Micky and Peter arrive again in disguises claiming to be bomb experts and manage to get rid of Abdul with a bomb scare as they enter David's room. After David explains to them about the marriage plans, the King shows up concerned about David not wanting to marry his daughter. Soon the King explains what will be in store for him and presents a miniature of the royal palace which he says contains 700 bedrooms, 22 swimming pools and an indoor polo team. Davy discusses the decision with his friends don’t think that David should marry Colette until the King informs them that David can select each of his fellow Monkees as cabinet ministers of the Nehudian government and a year of weight in diamonds. They still balk but are won over when The King offers them a choice of a dozen wives and presents a harem of beautiful women.

Meanwhile, the menacing Vidaru informs his aid Curad that The Monkees won't survive the night. The guys indulge in their new royal lifestyle being surrounded by harem of women eating grapes as David assigns Micky, Michael and Peter to positions as ministers in his shiek cabinet: respectively, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the Director of Forests. Vidaru secretly plots their demise by sending Curad to kill each Monkee by a different means, so that the murders won’t be connected. When each of the guys are alone with a beautiful woman at their side, Curad unsuccessfully tries to kill Michael by a falling paper weight that luckily misses him, Peter by poisoned food which Shazar ends up eating to check if it's safe and expires, and Micky by a flying knife which barely misses him as well. Meanwhile, Princess Colette places a locket on David as a symbol of luck…which saves his life when a dart Curad fires at him barely misses his heart, which David mistakes as an Arabian Cupid. Now aware of someone's plans of their deaths, The Monkees want to plan an escape. However, Micky doesn’t believe they need a plan and tries to subdue Abdul who's on guard outside their room with a lamp and when that fails, he relents. As a last resort, Vidaru informs Curad on his latest plan on disposing The Monkees by rigging golden goblets with explosives that will explode when they clink glasses for a toast that night at the banquet which is overheard by one of the maidens. The maiden then warns the Princess of Vidaru's deadly plot, but since she is prohibited by law to see her groom on the eve of her wedding, rendering her unable to give a warning herself, Colette sends a warning that “Golden Grecian goblets gaurantee graves.”

That night at the banquet, the maiden gives the message to Peter just before she's grabbed by a guard and dragged away. Peter not understanding the message passes it on to Micky who thinks it’s a tongue twister and Michael who thinks it's a song for David's wedding. When he tries to give the message to David, he's interrupted by King Hassar who gives a toast but each time they're about to clink glasses, the King keeps interrupting to give another speech. Soon an overjoyed Peter accidentally drops one of the glasses which explodes on contact with a wall. Vidaru tries to distract everybody by insisting on clinking glasses in toast but when a suspicious David tries to get Vidaru to clink glasses with him Vidaru is reluctant confirming his suspicion. When David throws his glass into the wall and it explodes as well and the King reprimands the villain for trying to kill his future son-in-law and betraying the land of his birth. Then Vidaru announces he's just an oil baron from Innas, Oklahoma who's only interested in getting the King's oil and sends his henchman to seize them. A mad chase set to “Love Is Only Sleeping” ensues with Vidaru’s gang winning in a scimitar duel, but The Monkees and The King are saved by the exploding goblets.

To show his gratitude for The Monkees saving the day, King Hassar offers to grant them any wish and David wishes for them to have their freedom. Unfortunately for Colette, this also means him calling off their wedding. He explains to the Princess that he's too young to get married and she doesn't have to worry anymore about Vidaru anyway. The Princess agrees and David tells Colette she might find someone else she likes better than him to marry, but she admits that she's already has and points out Peter who is suddenly placed on a gold weight for weighing!

Tag Sequence:

Clad in Vaudevilian gear, The Monkees sing “Cuddly Toy”, which features David dancing with a lady, and, flaunting new psychedelic-'60s duds, are interviewed about their summer activities.

Production Notes:

“Love Is Only Sleeping” appears here in an alternate mix, with more audible background vocals and sound effects and no organ parts at the close. It was originally slated for the A-side of a Monkees single that never materialized. It would, however, appear again, in Episode No. 38, “I Was A 99 Lb. Weakling.” Its musical romp includes footage from its accompanying musical sequence, which is seen in its entirety in “I Was A 99 Lb. Weakling.”

“Cuddly Toy” composer Harry Nilsson is misspelled as "Nilssen" in screen credits for “Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik”; this will be corrected in the end titles for “The Monkees On The Wheel”.

Both “Love Is Only Sleeping” and “Cuddly Toy” appear in this episode in the same order they eventually would as Tracks 4 and 5 on Side 1 of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd..

Screen Gems' original story synopsis for “Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik” reveals an alternate ending in which the wicked Vidaru (Arnold Moss) orders The Monkees and King Hassar to face a firing squad. They're saved just in the nick of time by the same exploding golden Grecian goblets that nearly did them in during the banquet scene.

Scenes from “Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik” featuring David looking horrified, then happy, Peter (in sheik gear) frustratingly snapping his fingers, and "Secretary of Defense" Micky are seen in The Monkees' second season opening.

The hotel corridor in “Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik” can also be seen in The Ritz Swank Hotel in the premiere episode, “The Royal Flush”, and The Compton Plaza Hotel in No. 30, “The Monkees In Manhattan” (a.k.a “The Monkees Manhattan Style”).

The Monkees commenced work on their fourth album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones, LTD. in the same week “Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik” was filmed.

Director Alex Singer would direct a second Jack Winter-written Monkees script: the one for the next episode, "Monkee Mayor".

“Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik” is the first Monkees episode in its second season to feature a tag interview segment. This particular one was filmed at the Fred Niles studios during the musical number filming sessions on the "rainbow" set; according to the clipboard with which Peter accidentally hurts his finger, it was the 34th scene of the first take with Track 35, production #5338, filmed on August 2, 1967, directed by Bob Rafelson and filmed by Mr. Whitehead, produced by FAN Productions, Inc. It was one of only 3 episodes this season to feature interview segments; the others are No. 48, "Fairy Tale", and No. 51, "The Monkee's Paw".

“Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik”'s first airing on CBS Saturday Afternoon, October 11, 1969, coincided with the release of The Monkees' 8th album, The Monkees Present Micky, David, Michael (Colgems #COS-117).

This is the second occasion on the show where the episode's storyline concludes at the end of Act III, leaving the tag sequence open to showcase a Monkees musical number and interview segment. The last such occurrence took place in Episode No. 30, “The Monkees In Manhattan” (a.k.a “The Monkees Manhattan Style”).

Continuity Goof:

Micky's Magical Sunglasses! In the scenes of “Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik”'s teaser sequence where Abdul hands the wedding invitation to the other Monkees and in the scene where Michael, Peter and Micky look up to the camera in shock at the end of the teaser, Micky has his shades on (the same ones he wore in the previous episode, "The Picture Frame" [a.k.a. "The Bank Robbery"]). But in the scenes where Micky, Michael and Peter witness David being weighed by Abdul, and Micky and Peter read the invitation, Micky's sunglasses disappear!

Trivia Notes:

The title "Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik" is a rip on the lyrical arrangement of the old children's song/nursery rhyme "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" (i.e., "Here a sheik, there a sheik, everywhere a sheik, sheik").

“Cuddly Toy” is the only song to appear on The Monkees TV series in two different musical numbers; a second variation of the “Cuddly Toy” musical sequence featuring The Monkees in Vaudevillian costumes would be at the outset of Episode No. 46, “The Monkees On The Wheel,” which features 3 of them playing on instruments (Michael on guitar, Peter on piano, and Micky on drums) while David dances and sings lead, on the very same stage, filmed at Screen Gems Studio 7 on June 1, 1967 (quite possibly during production of Episode 33, "It's A Nice Place To Visit..." [a.k.a. "The Monkees In Mexico"]). In both versions of the “Cuddly Toy” number, David wears the exact same Vaudevillian garb he wore (save for the blue shirt) in Episode No. 15, “Too Many Girls” (a.k.a. "Davy And Fern"), as part of his short-lived "Fern And Davy" act; he wears it again in Episode No. 43, "A Coffin Too Frequent", as part of his dance number with Boris Westherspoon (Mickey Morton). Also in both numbers, Micky's own striped jacket resembles one worn by Dick Van Dyke during his dance sequence with animated penguins (to the tune of Richard Morton and the late Robert Bernard Sherman's "Jolly Holiday") in Mary Poppins (Buena Vista, 1964).

Also notice in the “Cuddly Toy” number that Micky Dolenz wears sunglasses (purple) similar to a pair Michael Nesmith would wear in subsequent episodes and musical numbers (including the interview segment which ends this episode); Micky wears another similar pair (dark blue) in Episode No. 41, "The Card-Carrying Red Shoes". During the “Star Collector” motorcycle race climax in No. 42, "The Wild Monkees", stand-in David Pearl wears similar shades (yellow), as he comes in to take a featherduster to Micky. And the “Star Collector” musical sequence first seen in No. 44, "Hitting The High Seas", sees Peter Tork with Nesmithesque sunglasses, too (light blue).

The Monkees wore the same '60s duds they did in this episode's interview segment for the rocking "No Time" number, which will appear in Episode No. 52, "The Devil And Peter Tork". The first time The Monkees will be seen in flashy psychedelic duds in an actual episode will be in No. 39, "Hillbilly Honeymoon" (a.k.a. "Double Barrell Shotgun Wedding").

In The Monkees' beach pad, their refrigerator, painted white throughout virtually the entire first season and in the previous episode, "The Picture Frame" (a.k.a. "The Bank Robbery"), makes its first appearance on the show painted in psychedelic livery of yellow, orange, brown and green--a probable precursor to the impending Summer Of Love.

This episode finds The Monkees singing their "Hello!" scale for the second time, the first being in Episode No. 24, “Monkees A La Mode”. Other occasions are Episode No. 51, "The Monkee's Paw", and No. 56, "Some Like It Lukewarm" (a.k.a. "The Band Contest").

This episode features a gag in which Micky continually knocks Michael's hat off. It's repeated in Episode No. 41, "The Card-Carrying Red Shoes", where the ballet dancer keeps knocking Davy's Russian hat off.

Here is another episode of The Monkees which sees Micky reeling off a tonguetwister ("Rubber baby buggy bumpers"); the first was No. 17, “The Case Of The Missing Monkee” ("She sells seashells by the seashore").

For the second of three times on The Monkees David successfully sidesteps matrimony; the first being in Episode No. 21, “The Prince And The Paupers”, and a third in No. 39, "Hillbilly Honeymoon" (a.k.a. "Double Barrell Shotgun Wedding"). In real life, David actually did take the dive, with record producer Linda Haines, in December 1967.

Notice that Vidaru's beard is half-shaven on the left side. 

Guest Cast Notes:

This episode marked the debut onscreen appearance of character actor Monte Landis in The Monkees TV series—and was the only one in which he wasn't cast as a dastardly villain! Landis was later briefly seen as Michael in ABC's short-lived crime drama The Father And Feather Gang and the May 13, 1977 ABC-TV movie which inspired it, Never Con A Killer, and took on bit parts in such films as Young Frankenstein (20th Century Fox, 1974), and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (Warner Bros., 1985). 

The late Arnold Moss (Vidaru) is recognized by many fans of Star Trek (NBC, 1966-69) as Anton Karidian in a December 8, 1966 episode of the series, "The Conscience Of The King." Moss' son, Jeff, was the founding headwriter and composer for Sesame Street, who won 15 Emmys and wrote the songs for four Grammy winning records.

The late William Bagdad (Curad) later portrayed The Black Sheik in The Monkees' 1968 movie HEAD. In fact, a scene from this segment of sheik-clad Monkees surrounded by harem girls foreshadows the “Can You Dig It” sequence in the movie, and the Napoleonic hat worn by Micky appears amongst the many birthday gifts showered upon Michael after the “Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again?” number in the film. The moniker of Baghdad's role in “Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik”, Curad, is named after the company which produces a wide array of first aid products including wound dressings and gauze; its trademark was first registered in 1951. Baghdad previously appeared with Monkee guest Joseph Perry (“The Monkees In The Ring”) in a March 13, 1967 episode of I Dream Of Jeannie (NBC, 1965-70), "My Master, The Pirate."

The late Noam Pitlik (Shazer) appears on this show again in Episode No. 44, “Hitting The High Seas,” as seaman Harry Hooker. Pitlik later played Mr. Victor Gianelli on The Bob Newhart Show (CBS, 1972-78) and Officer Swanhauser on Sanford And Son (NBC, 1972-77); he went on to find his niche as a prolific TV director, helming several episodes of the 1975-82 ABC cop comedy Barney Miller (winning an Emmy Award in 1978 for his efforts on the November 20, 1978 episode of the series, "The Harris Incident"), and 11 of 114 episodes of Taxi (ABC/NBC, 1978-83). Pitlik appeared with Monkees guest stars Ben Wright (David's grandfather in “The Success Story”) and Billy Beck (Judge Roy Bean in "The Devil And Peter Tork") in the 1966 Walter Matthau-Jack Lemmon comedy The Fortune Cookie and also guested with Paul Sorensen (Red O'Leary from “Monkees A La Carte”) in 1969's The Big Bounce. Pitlik died in February 1999 of lung cancer, and a memorial tribute was aired during the 51st Emmy Awards.

“Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik” guests Cherie Latimer and Arnold Moss both later appeared in the April 28, 1968 episode of Bonanza (NBC, 1959-73), "In Defense Of Honor," which also featured Monkee guest Lou Antonio ("Hillbilly Honeymoon" [a.k.a. "Double Barrell Shotgun Wedding"]).

Monkee stand-ins David Price and David Pearl cameo as grape-peeling surgeons.

Donna Loren (Colette) was one of the few actual teenagers in the American International Pictures' Beach movies, and was also a frequent dancer on Shindig (ABC, 1964-66). She appeared in ads as The Dr. Pepper Girl for five years from 1963 to 1968, and was also a regular on The Milton Berle Show. In Dr. Kildare, she played the role of Anna Perrona. Today, she and her husband Jerry are based in Hawaii and are partners in the company ADASA, where they design and sell causal clothes. The ADASA web site has some pictures from her days as a star in the 1960's (including some photos from The Monkees.) was also a regular in the Beach Movies as "Donna", the girl who always sang a song near the beginning of each movie ("It Only Hurts When I Cry", "Muscle Bustle", "Love's a Secret Weapon", etc.). (Loren's birthday, March 7, falls on the eve of Micky Dolenz's.)

2 of Playboy Playmates of the Month appeared as Maidens in “Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik”: Cherie Latimer (Maiden #1) (March 1971) and Anne Randall (Maiden #2) (May 1967). Randall was also a regular on Hee Haw (CBS/Syndicated, 1969-92) and was the second actress to play the role of Sheila Hammond (preceded by Karen Carlson) on the NBC Daytime drama Days Of Our Lives. Other Playboy Playmates of the Month to be seen in guest roles on The Monkees are Corinne Cole (May 1958) and Christine Edith Williams (October 1963), who portray Queenie and Jan, respectively, in Episode No. 42, "The Wild Monkees", and Sharon Cintron (May 1963), whom we'll see as Maxine in Episode No. 56, "Some Like It Lukewarm" (a.k.a. "The Band Contest")

Aside from two episode appearances of Batman (ABC, 1966-68), Lisa Mitchell (Maiden #3) also wrote the 1981 CBS-TV movie Merlene Of The Movies.

Anita Mann is seen dancing with David Jones in the “Cuddly Toy” number. Mann later choreographed the dancers on Solid Gold (Syndicated, 1980-88), and also worked with Elvis Presley on several projects, including in a "boathouse" scene in the 1967 United Artists movie Clambake and the December 3, 1968 Elvis: The '68 Comeback Special on NBC. She was a dancer on the 1964-66 ABC series Shindig! and appeared as a dancer in the 1967 Warner Bros. rock movie The Cool Ones as a dancer on Whiz Bam (the film's lampoon of Shindig! and Hullabaloo), Bye Bye Birdie (Columbia, 1963) and The T.A.M.I. Show (American International, 1964), where she worked with James Brown and met fellow dancer Toni Basil (future chorographer of the movie HEAD). She worked as the assistant choreographer on The Lucy Show (CBS, 1962-68) and Here’s Lucy (CBS, 1968-74) with Lucille Ball.

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