"Monkees at the Movies"

When I watched "Monkees at the Movies" this morning, I noticed a pretty obvious Shakespeare reference.  I thought it would be mentioned in the trivia on the DVD, but since it wasn't, I thought I'd make a note of it here.  About five minutes into the episode, after the Monkees have discovered how much of a jerk Frankie Catalina is, Micky says, "No longer shall we suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous Catalina."  He appears in an older style of clothing and holding a skull:

Both of these are references to Hamlet.  In his famous "To be or not to be..." soliloquy, Hamlet wonders about "suffer[ing] / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" (III.i.65-66).  Much later in the play, he picks up the skull of the King's jester (which had been buried for twenty-three years) and says, "Alas, poor Yorick" (V.i.177).

For what it's worth: in "Monkees Get out More Dirt," two episodes before this one, Mike quotes from Hamlet too.

"Monkees at the Movies"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Monkees at the Movies" - the thirty-first episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (17 April 1967).  It was written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, directed by Russell Mayberry, and featured the songs "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You," "Valleri," and "Last Train to Clarksville."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The group is cast as extras in a teen-exploitation beach part flick… until Davy is cast into the spotlight."