Cheap The Monkees, Vol. 09 - One Man Shy / Monkees Marooned (Video) (Jon C. Andersen, Micky Dolenz, Mike Elliot (III), Bob Rafelson, Alexander Singer, Peter Tork, Gerald Shepard, David Winters, James Komack, James Frawley) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Monkees, Vol. 09 - One Man Shy / Monkees Marooned

Millionairess Valerie Cartwright (Lisa James) hires The Monkees to perform at a ball she is holding, despite the protestations of her snooty aide-de-camp Ronnie Farnsworth (George Furth, a well-known playright). Peter falls so in love with Valerie that he steals her expensive portrait, which Mike must disguise as a mirror when Valerie and Ronnie visit their beachfront house - "You get a big kick out of yourself?" "Yeah, well I'm all I have." Ronnie's contempt for the boys leads them to humiliate him in public in varied disguises, but Farnsworth gets his revenge by embarassing them at varied competitions.

It so infuriates Valerie that she invites Peter to be her escort at the ball - even though Peter doesn't know how to act in front of a lady. Mike, Micky, and Davy try to teach him etiquette to the debut of the group's biggest hit, "I'm A Believer." The use of the Neil Diamond classic may not have been scheduled, however, as a magnificent monaural mix of the Peter-sung "I Don't Think You Know Me" (written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and featured on the 1995-6 reissue of More Of The Monkees) was slated for use in the show and would fit the video segment closing the first act perfectly.

At the ball the other boys still try to make Peter seem better than he is, but the furious Ronnie shoots down their efforts, until Valerie publically expresses her faith in Peter as he is, and a final showdown ensues to the strains of the Robert West-bassed Mike Nesmith classic "You Just May Be The One" - curiously, Mike misidentifies his own compostition during his introduction to the ball attendees.

From there we delve into Peter's acquisition of a treasure map by hustler Leonard Sheldon, a map that leads to Davy's guise as a Redcoat and his ill-advised voyage in an overloaded boat into the studio harbor. Once the boys arrive at the seemingly deserted island, they find that insects really bug them - it's a good thing Micky didn't give the ladies of SheDaisy his insect spray for the giant bug in their "Get Over Yourself" video; Mike, Peter, and Davy would tell them it doesn't work too well.

The island, though, isn't deserted, for eccentric Major Pshaw (Monte Landis) and his man Friday Thursday (Rupert Crosse) have a thatched hut home, complete with TV with which Thursday enjoys first-season snippets of The Monkees while wondering who writes that stuff. Major Pshaw captures the Monkees and decides to use them as hunting bait. The original Kimba of the jungle (TV Land fav Burt Mustin) - abandoned by his studio, his wife, and the kid who played the kid - arrives and tries to help, but his summons to the jungle leaves Davy with a cat, Peter with a chicken, Micky with a rabbit, and Mike with a collie pup (making for a terrific shot at the Internet Movie Database). He also finds his swinging days are over.

Thursday, though, helps them escape, only to see it all come undone, and it all ends first with "Daydream Believer" (with Mike's Monkees and First National Band bassist John London as a gorilla) and then the Mike Murphy-Owen Castleman country-rock classic "What Am I Doin' Hangin' Round?"

Two episodes featuring Peter in love and in trouble
Peter Tork is front and center on this pair of episodes from "The Monkees." "One Man Shy" (a.k.a. "Peter and the Debutante, Episode #13, 12/05/66), finds Peter finally having some success with a girl, which makes it a pretty rare episode indeed. Debutante Valerie Cartwright (Lisa James) hires The Monkees to play at her coming-out party, but snobbish Ronnie Farnsworth (George Furth) does not like it one bit. Peter falls in love with Valerie, who is too shy to express his feelings, so he steals her portrait instead. The boys help out by pulling the old Cyrano de Bergerac routine. This episode features the first appearance of the Monkees mega-hit "I'm a Believer." At the end "You Just May Be the One" is used as the newly confident Peter beats Ronnie at every competition for Valerie's attention (I know, you thought "Valerie" would pop up at some point, but that song is on the Monkees second album and this is only Episode 13). "Monkees Marooned" (Episode #40, 10/30/67), finds Peter once again getting the boys in trouble because he is too gullible. Meeting a con man Peter refuses to buy San Diego, but agrees to swap his guitar for a map of Blackbeard's treasure. The rest of the episode is basically a romp through the jungle that pokes fun at every movie genre they could come up with. The songs used in this one are "Daydream Believer" and "What Am I Doin' Hangin' Round?" "Marooned" is one of those below average episodes as the series lost steam in the second season, although is does feature old Burt Mustin. Since "One Man Shy" is above average, that pretty much balances out the two episodes. So if Peter is your favorite one of the Pre-Fab Four, you will want to check this tape out.

Great For Monkee Lovers...and Everybody Else!
This is a great tape. Monkees Marooned is simply hilarious with a romp at the end to "Daydream Beleiver". One Man Shy is also adorable with Peter. These are, to me the funniest episodes. Wellworth it.