The Monkees: The Picture Frame

The Monkees: The Picture Frame
NBC
September 18, 1967
Sitcom, Musical
DVD
C

Jack Winter wrote this story (his first of five) where the Monkees, "known collectively as the Monkees," are gullible idiots, but then the rest of the characters aren't too bright either.  The episode is somewhat redeemed in the last few minutes, by the songs "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Randy Scouse Git," which both are much better than the music in the previous episode, and both show the tension between the series' fakeness and the rebellious undercurrents.

We saw Kelton Garwood recently, although six years previously, on Mister Ed as the musician Fuzzy, while here he plays Harvey.  Henry Beckman, who's the D.A., would be a Manager the next year.  Art Lewis has his middle of three Monkees roles, as the Lawyer, while Dort Clark has his middle of three, as the Sergeant, and Donald Foster has his third of three, as the Vice President.  Bob Michaels would again play a Cop later in the season.  Cashier Joy Harmon is instantly recognizable if you've seen the movie Village of the Giants, and she would return as Zelda.