Every ‘Monkees’ Episode: “Monkees In The Ring” (S1E20)
This past summer, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Monkees as a band by counting down our top 50 Monkees songs. Now, we’re celebrating The Monkees TV show by profiling each and every episode — exactly 50 years after it first premiered.
Tonight’s episode: “Monkees In The Ring” (Season 1, Episode 20)
Air date: January 30, 1967
Lions and tigers and boxers, oh my! Davy adds new meaning to the phrase, “Take it on the chin” as he faces the Champ in a boxing match.
While going for a walk, Davy scolds Peter for dropping his pistachio shells. When Peter bends down to pick them up, he bumps into a guy who gives him a hard time until Davy steps in.
The guy swings at Davy who ducks. On his way back up, Davy pokes the guy in the chin, causing him to fall to the ground and pass out.
Another man — whom we later discover is Mr. Sholto — witnesses the whole scene, approaches Davy, and promises to make him the next and best Featherweight Champion the world has ever seen.
Despite his friends’ protests, Davy agrees to meet with Sholto. (In real life, Davy Jones was a boxer at one point, having fought in the Lightweight class in Newmarket.)
Before Davy arrives at the office, Mr. Sholto and his sidekick Vernon (who repeats everything his boss says before forming his own sentence) go over their master plan: fix Davy’s fights until they match him with the Champ and make a killing when the Champ wins.
Sholto is played by Ned Glass, a familiar face from ’60s and ’70s TV shows like Julia, Bridget Loves Bernie, and The Partridge Family. Joseph V. Perry’s (Vernon) career spans from the 1960s with Captain Nice to the 2000s with his role as Nemo on Everybody Loves Raymond.
Davy and his mates show up at the Sweat Shop Gymnasium, and Sholto brings them to the boxing ring where they meet a boxer named “The Smasher,” who passes out when Davy lightly hits him on the chin with his left hook.
If this scene feels a bit like foreshadowing, the Monkees will revisit this ring for their 1968 feature film Head — and Davy will box again, although the outcome will be very different. (No spoilers!)
Sholto makes a fake promise to Davy’s concerned friends that if he doesn’t win the first three fights by knockouts, they can have him back. Sholto and Vernon then present “Dynamite Davy Jones!”
Davy packs for his tour and is warned by Mike that he could go into a strange city where there’ll be one hotel with a lot of gambling, fast women, drinking, and loose talk. When asked if he knows what to do when he reaches the city, Davy replies, “Find that hotel!”
Davy begins his tour to the Monkees’ “Laugh,” written by members of the group the Tokens, most famous for their 1961 #1 hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The song’s montage includes Davy jumping rope with two women, shadowboxing with himself, and “winning” the first three fights until a newspaper headline announces he may fight the Champ.
An impromptu press conference displays a cocky Davy Jones enjoying his sudden fame. Mike answers a randomly ringing phone, and it’s the Smasher.
Thinking he’s speaking with Sholto, the Smasher voices his concern to Mike that he’s getting $300 less to take a dive than a fellow boxer. Mike is unsuccessful at convincing Davy that the fights were rigged.
Smasher is played by Robert Lyons who acted in the “Broken Gun” episode of The Iron Horse. You might recall Davy watching The Iron Horse in “Too Many Girls.”
Back at the ring, Mike, Micky, and Peter meet up with the Champ, also known as “Tiger” (who speaks in rhyme as an homage to Muhammad Ali) and try to talk him out of fighting Davy. Tiger (D’Urville Martin, who’d star as Frankie in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) sees through their scheme and is more determined than ever to win.
Later, a worried Vernon asks Sholto what should happen if Davy wins the fight because anything can happen in the ring. To be safe, Sholto suggests they offer Davy a glass of water spiked with a sleeping pill.
Before the fight, Sholto offers the water to Davy, but he refuses it. Tiger arrives, wishes him good luck, grabs the water, drinks it, and leaves.
Davy’s friends try to leave their pad to stop the fight, only to be greeted by Vernon, who holds them at gunpoint and cuffs their wrists, preventing them from going to the arena.
In the ring, a bored announcer observes a groggy Champ trying to fight a confused Davy. Meanwhile, Mike challenges Vernon to an impromptu fight to relive his glory days of being a prizefighter. The boys — now un-cuffed — tell Vernon to go to his corner and shove him into a closet. The boys head to the arena.
It’s round four of the fight. The sleeping pill’s effects have worn off, and the Champ is filled with new energy. “I’ll Be Back Up on My Feet” plays while usual Monkee chaos ensues as the other three guys interfere with the fight.
Written by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell and originally recorded in October 1966, the song was meant to be included on the Monkees’ sophomore album (More of the Monkees, release two weeks before this episode aired) but was pulled from the lineup.
The band re-recorded it during the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones Ltd. sessions, but, alas, the poor song failed to make the final album. It would have to wait until 1968 to be re-recorded yet again and finally find a home on The Birds, The Bees, & The Monkees.
Vernon breaks free and arrives at the ring where he confesses to Sholto that he goofed up. Eventually, Davy wins, and Peter declares him the new Champ. Sholto and Vernon are arrested for assault, attempted bribe, and kidnapping.
Learning that the fights were fixed, a disappointed Davy is comforted by Mike who tells him that despite the fact that he’s not a great boxer, he is a gentleman, he’s kind, and sincere. In real life, Davy Jones was a boxer at one point, having fought in the Lightweight class in Newmarket.
This episode was written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso who were inspired by Caruso’s own script that was previously written for an episode of The Smothers Brothers Show.
While the episode has fun with the usual Good vs. Evil premise, it’s cool to see the Monkees face a different challenge (in this case, boxing) only to get back up on their feet and return to the music.
