Synopsis:

The Monkees arrive at The Vandersnoot Mansion on Christmas Eve expecting to perform at a party. When the butler, William, greets them at the front door, he tells them four gentlemen were expected, perplexed by their long hair. Michael declares that they're "four ladies who shave," and they are allowed inside. Peter envisions a plethora of Christmas presents to buy his mates with the resulting money, but Michael warily reminds him of the disastrous presents he bought the previous year: David had a sportscoat that fit him like a tent, Micky drank a potion he concocted from his chemistry set, turned into a monster and attacked Mr. Schneider, and Peter bought himself an intelligence test that exploded trying to figure him out. Michael was afraid to open his gift until July, only to find Peter gave him snow skis. Mrs. Vandersnoot breezes in and graciously thanks them for agreeing to babysit her 12 year-old nephew Melvin while she’s on her Christmas cruise. The Monkees tell her this wasn’t their agreement, and they’re not babysitters but reconsider when she offers them $100 each in advance for the 10 days. They soon see that Melvin is a cynical boy in a three-piece suit, when he enters the room with an executive air and emphatically agrees he doesn’t need childcare. His aunt offers again to take him along on the cruise, but he thinks he’ll have nothing to do for fun besides mah-jongg and accompanies the group to their pad. His aunt wishes Melvin to take care of himself, seeming to regret leaving him.

Back at The Monkees’ apartment, Melvin assures them he’s self-sufficient and they should go about their day. The Monkees then take the opportunity to take their places on their bandstand to practice. Melvin interrupts to question why Michael and Peter have the same instrument. After a quick correction and discussion, they decide to play a game. Michael tries to teach him Simon Says, but Melvin challenges them to a math problem instead. Micky’s confident he can warm Melvin up with yo-yo tricks but hits himself in the mouth without so much as a shrug from the boy. David’s getting fed up with Melvin’s attitude, and asks him why he wouldn’t like getting to hang out in a new place with cool guys like them. Melvin shoots back and sneers at them for acting like such kids! Micky decides that since they’re dealing with a rich kid, they’ll do something a rich kid would like to do, like Christmas shopping. The Monkees take him to a department store, where, Micky tries to pump up Melvin’s mood, but he’s unimpressed. But within about ten minutes, things go awry when Peter tries out a motorbike which winds up going out of control zooms around the store with a giant stuffed monkey on the handlebars, breaking through Styrofoam building blocks and crashing into the Christmas tree! The guys are charged $320 for damages, leaving $80 left of the aunt’s pay for their time with Melvin. Oh yes, plus $20 for the stretcher they use to carry Peter out, which Michael quips as a “carrying charge”!

Back at the pad, a doctor advises Peter isn’t seriously injured. In the spirit of the season, he generously reduces his $20 fee to $19.95. Melvin doesn’t understand how they can enjoy Christmas so much and thinks they’re stupid to feel Christmas is special, asking how anyone can believe in the Christmas spirit. Michael says the Christmas spirt is demonstrated all year long, like when people smile at each other on the street. Melvin hitches up his mouth to try to do so, but the boy is unable to and he sputters “Bah! Humbug!” at them. The guys unanimously realize that Melvin has a lot to learn about Christmas and are even more determined than before to help him.

First, they take him out to a lot to buy a Christmas tree, and Michael finds a small evergreen tree which he uses to show Melvin the distinguishing characteristics of a Christmas tree, when suddenly he gets into a tug of war battle with a little old lady over the tree, ending with the lady pelting him with a Karate Chop. Well, all the other small trees are gone, and a big tree is too expensive, so Michael hatches an alternate plan: take Melvin to the forest for a Christmas tree. Michael tries to chop down a tree with his ax only to wind up getting bad vibrations having struck petrified oak, so he sends David and Peter to buy a Christmas tree instead. As if all this weren’t bad enough, Micky pops up to show Michael what he believes to be holly and mistletoe—which turns out to be poison ivy! Back at the pad, the guys use the remaining $30 of their Xmas money to the doctor, for Micky who has now broken out in a rash. Furthermore, they decide to show Melvin how to decorate the Christmas tree. David is pleased to finally be able to put the star on top of the tree but growing up and growing bigger unfortunately varies considerably, and he loses balance and topples off the ladder! A concussion later, the doctor is back to patch David’s head with bandages, but the group will have to owe him the fee since they used up all their Xmas money; the doctor decides to instead charge them after Christmas (business has been picking up!).

A still unmoved Melvin lambastes the boys for nearly killing themselves over something that doesn’t exist and when Michael replies that Christmas doesn’t exist as long as you don’t believe it to, Melvin gets angry and says he doesn’t have to put up with them, his servants can look after him at home. Michael invites him to stay or go as he pleases; Melvin turns at the door with a hopeful look back at Michael, but still leaves and they guys give up. The Monkees are still confused about Melvin’s aloof attitude since they did everything from taking him shopping to hunting for Christmas trees. Michael agrees, especially at a time of year for peace and love. Just then Michael realizes that that's exactly what Melvin actually needs. Back at the mansion, Melvin finds the housekeeper and butler are just leaving for Christmas dinner. They ask if he’ll be all right alone, and he says he prefers it so they leave. Suddenly feeling very small in the mansion, he looks at his reflection in a silver tray and thinks about his time with The Monkees. He practices trying to smile but breaks down in tears from loneliness instead. Then he sadly pictures the fun he might have had with The Monkees in the department store and at their pad had he shared the boys’ feelings for Christmas; keeping his cynical guard up led him to miss out on all the fun.

Unknown to him, The Monkees are storming his castle; no longer responsible for or trying to profit from being Melvin’s babysitters, they’re back to deliver Christmas goodwill and love as Melvin’s friends. Up on the roof of the massive house, Micky and David (who apparently quickly healed from his head injury!), as Santa Claus and his elf, respectively, plan on sliding down the chimney; the two crash down and emerge from the fireplace with Santa covered in soot and his elf right behind him, clean as you please. Micky asks how that’s possible and David explains he finally found an advantage to being the smallest Monkee; he just slipped straight down the middle. Micky blows a handful of soot into Davy’s face for spite. Then they start to sing “Deck The Halls” for Melvin; Michael and Peter arrive, joining in and bearing a Christmas tree. Finally overcome by emotions, Melvin, to everyone’s surprise, is overjoyed to see them, and begins to laugh, get hysterical and cry. The guys surprise Melvin even by bringing his aunt, Mrs. Vandersnoot to him, and Melvin, finally caught in the spirit of Christmas, runs into her arms, declaring how they missed each other. Melvin begins to tell his aunt of all things he did with The Monkees as he opens his present (a basketball!) on the couch with Micky and David, while Peter and Michael happily look on in tears.

Tag Sequence:

After Peter, Michael, David and Micky sequester in front of a microphone in their pad to sing an a capella rendition of the Spanish villancico Christmas Carol, “Ríu, Chíu,” they devote the entire final segment to bringing their soundstage personnel on-camera to say hello, since some of them would not get home for the holiday season. The Monkees introduce cameraman Irving Lippman, wardrobe master Gene Ashman, Jack Williams, the prop-man, Les Fresholtz, the sound man, Monkee stand-ins Bruce Barbour, Ric Klein, David Pearl and David Price, head gaffer Pat Blymyer, Neko Chohlis, Jack Ahern, Brendan Cahill, Gene Warren, the Monkee Girls (who work in the office and “take care of everything for us!”) including Candy Craft, Barbara Hamaker and production assistant Marilyn Schlossberg, Gerry Shepard, the editor, and director Jon C. Anderson, just to name a few, as the end credits superimpose over them.

Production Notes:

“The Monkees Christmas Show” (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story") is one of 3 second-season Monkees scripts involving Dave Evans; the others were those for Episode No. 53, "The Monkees Race Again" (a.k.a. "Leave The Driving To Us") (with Elias Davis and David Pollock), and the teleplay of No. 58, "Mijacogeo" (a.k.a. "The Frodis Caper") (with Micky Dolenz). Evans took a much-needed break during the first phase of second-season episode filming, between April and June 1967.

With “The Monkees Christmas Show” (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story"), assistant director Jon (C.) Andersen directs for the second and final time on The Monkees; the first being Episode No. 42, "The Wild Monkees". Andersen would later on direct “Christmas Show” guest Larry Gelman and Monkee guest alumnus Booth Coleman (“The Spy Who Came In From The Cool”) in the April 3, 1970 episode of The Flying Nun (ABC, 1967-70), "No Tears For Thomas" (its last).

The set that was used as the Vandersnoot mansion in this Christmas episode was reused as Kibbee Manor in Episode No. 55, "The Monkees Mind Their Manor."

The end credits to the "Christmas Show" credit Jill Chandler as Salesgirl, but its original Screen Gems storyline lists Toby Adler in the role! The storyline also reveals a deleted plot twist which sees Michael and Peter, with guitars, getting tangled in a Xmas tree with the ersatz Santa (Micky), and a different ending with the backstage crew joining in on Christmas carols.

Take note of the two members of The Monkees production crew introduced by the boys during the closing credits, both of whom never received any screen credit: sound recordist Les Fresholtz and property master Jack Williams. Williams would cameo in 2 episodes in the last half of The Monkees' second season: the Customs Man in Episode No. 55, “The Monkees Mind Their Manor,” and the Stagehand in Episode No. 58, "Mijacogeo" (a.k.a. "The Frodis Caper"), The Monkees' series finale. (At the end of “The Monkees Christmas Show”'s closing credit sequence, Micky can be heard shouting "Frodis forever!", which foreshadows "Mijacogeo".) Columbia Pictures later hired Fresholtz and Williams to work on The Monkees' feature film HEAD. And artist Neko Cholis, who can also be seen in the crowd, would later on design the cover for The Monkees Present Micky, David, Michael.

For the fantasy montage featuring Melvin sharing the Christmans spirit with The Monkees, the show's background music composer-conductor, Stu Phillips, adapts the following Christmas carols into the musical cue accompanying the scene: “Ríu, Chíu,” "The 12 Days Of Christmas," "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," "Deck The Halls," and "Jingle Bells"; Stu even manages to sneak in a non-Christmas-oriented tune, "Pop Goes The Weasel" (as Melvin is seen playing with a jack-in-the-box). The Monkees, of course, can also be seen singing "Deck The Halls" and “Ríu, Chíu” in this segment, and Stu Phillips' "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" sting can be heard towards the end of the closing credits.

Here, all 4 Monkees are seen singing “Ríu, Chíu” live. Undoubtedly they must have lip-synched to their own vocals which they cut on August 24, 1967 at RCA Studio B in Hollywood during the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones, LTD. sessions. An actual studio version which featured Micky, Michael, Peter, and producer Chip Douglas (who had previously performed it with The Modern Folk Quartet) was recorded October 3 that year at RCA Studios, and was not released until Rhino's January 1990 release of Missing Links Vol. 2 (R2 70903).

Collector's Note: The TV version of “Ríu, Chíu” has been included as a bonus selection on Disc 1 of Rhino's July 10, 2007 2-CD Deluxe Edition reissue of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. (R2 77767).

A third (and final) repeat of “The Monkees Christmas Show” (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story") on CBS Saturday December 25, 1971 occurred 4 years after its first (and only)-run telecast on NBC.

Postproduction on Episode No. 54, "The Monkees In Paris" (a.k.a. "The Paris Show") (wraparound segments in the beach pad), the last portion of production on The Monkees TV show, wrapped 24 hours before this episode's first-run telecast on NBC. 

Following completion of “The Monkees Christmas Show” (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story") The Monkees, Bob Rafelson, Bert Schneider, Jack Nicholson and assistant manager Brendan Cahill took a trip to the resort town of Ojai, California to vent ideas for the screenplay of the group's impending movie.

The original script for “The Monkees Christmas Show” (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story") only credits Neil Burstyn as its author, though its onscreen credits states it was based on an original story by Dave Evans and Burstyn.

Trivia Notes:

This Christmas episode is the only holiday-themed episode of the entire Monkees series---which, surprisingly, was shot in the week of Thanksgiving! It is also the only episode of The Monkees to have a special end credit sequence.

Trivia Footnote: The version of "The Monkees Christmas Show" (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story") as repeated thrice on CBS Saturday Afternoon (and later aired on December 23, 1999 by The Screen Gems Network) did not use these end titles; instead, it uses the standard end credit sequence. Plus, during the department store sequence, its underscore used "Jingo Jango," a Christmastime musical track composed by Bert Kempfrant and Herbert Renbein (replacing the incidental Christmas-carol homage music by Stu Phillips), and released in 1963 on Kempfrant & His Orchestra's LP Christmas Wonderland (Decca #DL 74441). Bafflingly, the end titles' song listing of the CBS incarnate of "The Monkees Christmas Show" (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story") makes reference only to Kempfrant and Renbein's "Jingo Jango" instead of both it and the featured tune “Ríu, Chíu” (which was still used in this edition), and credited Robert Rafelson and Bert Schnieder as Executive Producers (whereas they were still credited as Producers in the original NBC broadcast)! The CBS version saw VHS and laserdisc release in December 1992, courtesy of VAP Video.

“The Monkees Christmas Show”'s end credit sequence is also the only time Micky Dolenz is the first Monkee credited instead of David Jones; the end credits of The Monkees' feature film HEAD have Peter Tork the first Monkee credited. 

“Ríu, Chíu”, the Spanish villancico that has attained some contemporary fame as a Christmas carol, written by Catalan composer Mateo Flecha (1481–1553), is translated as "Roaring River."

Michael Nesmith's rendition of "Deck Us All With Boston Charlie" is in reference to the Walt Kelly strip, Pogo.

In the scene where he helps trim the tree, David is seen wearing a white Nehru shirt. He will wear a similar one in Episode No. 46, "The Monkees On The Wheel", and No. 51, "The Monkee's Paw".

In his disguise as Santa's elf, David wears Michael Nesmith's green wool hat and a green shirt previously worn by one of The Jolly Green Giants in Episode No. 19, “Find The Monkees!” (a.k.a. "The Audition"). 

180 x 3 ÷ 2 - 7 equals 263! (Oh, everyone knows that!) BTB, the blackboard Micky uses to calculate this rather difficult problem (given by Melvin, of all people!) is reuses in Episode No. 51, "The Monkee's Paw", in the scene where Peter, Michael and David (in black professor's gowns) give Micky a speech lesson.

This Christmas segment finds Michael Nesmith being pelted with a Karate chop for the second time on The Monkees. The first was in Episode No. 5, “The Spy Who Came In From The Cool”, during the discotheque climax in which he is slugged by enemy spy Madame Olinsky (Arlene Martel).

In the scene where Michael and David coach Melvin in how to smile, Melvin blurts out, "Bah! Humbug!" This immortal 2-line exclamation echoes that of Ebenezer Scrooge, that cherished (and soon-to-be-reformed) miser of Charles Dickens' classic 1843 novel A Christmas Carol, whose popularity continues to flourish in the various film and TV versions that have been made of it. In the scene from Episode No. 3, “Monkee Versus Machine”, in which Daggert (Stan Freberg) is given the boot by toy factory president J.B. Guggins (Severn Darden), Daggert is heard fuming the same line. And a jab at another central character from A Christmas Carol, The Ghost Of Christmas Past, was made in Episode No. 2, “Monkee See, Monkee Die”.

Prior to the fantasy sequence in which he joins The Monkees’ as they enjoy Christmas, Melvin looks at his reflection in a dinner tray trying to smile, and he sees images of Peter, David, Micky and Michael doing the same thing. By the by, the image of Micky grinning (compleet with tablecloth!) is gleaned from the interview segment of Episode No. 35, "Everywhere A Sheik Sheik".

Peter's one-liner, "Yeah, cool. Machine.," is in reference to the character Brenda in Episode No. 38, "I Was A 99-lb. Weakling" (a.k.a. "Physical Culture").

“The Monkees Christmas Show” (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story") is one of three episodes of The Monkees not to feature a musical romp as part of the story; others are "The Fairy Tale" and “The Monkees Mind Their Manor.” 

The names of the Salesgirl (Jill Chandler) and the Salesman (Larry Gelman) at the department store are Miss John and Mr. Anderson, respectively—both obvious references to The Monkees’ Assistant Director Jon C. Andersen, who also happened to direct this episode.

This episode's alternate title, “The Christmas Story”, shares with that of a special Christmas installment of Dragnet 1968, a remake of an episode from the police drama's 1951–59 original run, "The Big Baby Jesus". NBC aired the Dragnet 1968 Christmas show on December 21, 1967, coincidentally the very Thursday prior to The Peacock Network’s airing of The Monkees’ own Christmas special the following Monday. 

Guest Cast Notes:

The late Jeanne Sorel (Vandersnoot) appeared in a February 12, 1970 episode of Bewitched (ABC, 1964-72), "What Makes Darrin Run?," with Monkee guest alum Arch Johnson (“The Chaperone”), and with Paul Sorenson (“The Monkees A La Carte”) in an October 30, 1969 episode of the series, "To Trick-Or-Treat Or Not To Trick-Or-Treat".

Butch Patrick (Melvin) is best known for his portrayal of Edward Wolfgang "Eddie" Munster on The Munsters (CBS, 1964-66) and in its 1966 Universal big-screen spinoff, Munster, Go Home!. Other notable roles he took on were as the voice of Milo in Chuck Jones' The Phantom Tollbooth (MGM, 1970), and Mark on Sid and Marty Krofft's Lidsville (ABC/NBC, 1971–74). Almost a full year before this Christmas episode's networkcast, Patrick appeared in a December 26, 1966 episode of I Dream Of Jeannie (NBC, 1965-70), "My Master, The Author," with Monkee guest Mary Foran (“I've Got A Little Song Here”).

Jill Chandler (Miss John, the Salesgirl) is the pseudonym of Toby Adler, an actress who was a native of Paris, France (born Judith Bakker). She portrayed roles in the films Russ Meyer's Good Morning...and Goodbye! (Eve Releasing, 1967) and Rosemary's Baby (Paramount, 1968), and appeared in guest shots on TV series The Flying Nun (ABC, 1967–70) and Emergency (NBC, 1972–77). She was married to character actor Lew G. Brown (1925–2014) until her death from cancer in Los Angeles on July 26, 1979…one day after her 48th birthday.

The late Rege Cordic (the doctor) pops up again on this show in the very next episode, No. 48, "The Fairy Tale," as The Town Crier/Narrator. From 1948 to 1965, Regis John Cordic was the dominant morning drive-time radio host in Pittsburgh, and, from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, a successful voice, TV, and film actor in Los Angeles; The Monkees television series marked his acting debut. Cordic loaned his voice for a number of cartoon series including Hanna-Barbera's Jabberjaw, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (both ABC, 1976-78) and The Pirates Of Dark Water (Fox, 1991-92), and Marvel/Sunbow's Transformers (Synd., 1984-87). Other Hanna-Barbera cartoon voice artists to appear in guest roles on The Monkees are Henry ("Mr. Babbitt") Corden, Sherry Alberoni, Heather North, Cliff Norton, Michael Bell and Hamilton Camp; Micky Dolenz, a series regular, would also lend his voice to several Hanna-Barbera projects, starting with The Funky Phantom (ABC, 1971-73).

Extra Color/B&W Episode Photo Stills: