This is possibly my favorite episode of the entire show. This is where the show's identity really coalesced, polishing out the roughness of the first episode and setting the tone for the rest of the first season.
Firstly, we have to mention the many quotable, iconic jokes from this episode. From the first appearance of Davy getting literally starry-eyed over a girl, to the classic first interaction between the boys and the butler, to that whole thing of sending out an SOS message to non-English speakers. My favorite gag is probably the one where they try to use a carrier pigeon, but really every joke lands here.
This episode features the first of many Monkees scripts written by Treva Silverman, and right off the bat it's a knockout. The story is another variation on the old dark house tale, but with enough new angles that it's refreshing instead of tiresome. Plus, it also acts as a precursor to "Scooby-Doo Where Are You?". It's got four teenage hippies going to a dark creepy place and having to stay there for whatever reason (fog, crashed boat, no gas, etc.). A mystery ensues with some spooky goings-on involving monsters and ghosts. After some cue hunting, comedic shenanigans, and a musical chase sequence, the ghouls are unmasked, revealing the whole thing to be a (inheritance/real estate/etc.) plot. In fact, the basic plot of this would be used in "A Night Of Fright Is No Delight" from the first season of Scooby-Doo (spooky house on an island, inheritance from a mysterious millionaire, inheritors picked off one by one), with only the culprits being different (here it's the missing inheritors, in Scoob it was the lawyers).
With all that in mind, I can't justify giving this episode anything less than a 10. It's just perfect.
Firstly, we have to mention the many quotable, iconic jokes from this episode. From the first appearance of Davy getting literally starry-eyed over a girl, to the classic first interaction between the boys and the butler, to that whole thing of sending out an SOS message to non-English speakers. My favorite gag is probably the one where they try to use a carrier pigeon, but really every joke lands here.
This episode features the first of many Monkees scripts written by Treva Silverman, and right off the bat it's a knockout. The story is another variation on the old dark house tale, but with enough new angles that it's refreshing instead of tiresome. Plus, it also acts as a precursor to "Scooby-Doo Where Are You?". It's got four teenage hippies going to a dark creepy place and having to stay there for whatever reason (fog, crashed boat, no gas, etc.). A mystery ensues with some spooky goings-on involving monsters and ghosts. After some cue hunting, comedic shenanigans, and a musical chase sequence, the ghouls are unmasked, revealing the whole thing to be a (inheritance/real estate/etc.) plot. In fact, the basic plot of this would be used in "A Night Of Fright Is No Delight" from the first season of Scooby-Doo (spooky house on an island, inheritance from a mysterious millionaire, inheritors picked off one by one), with only the culprits being different (here it's the missing inheritors, in Scoob it was the lawyers).
With all that in mind, I can't justify giving this episode anything less than a 10. It's just perfect.