"The Monkees" Rewatch: Captain Crocodile

In “Captain Crocodile” the Monkees are set to play on the children’s show of the same name. Unfortunately, convinced they’re an attempt to replace him, the show’s star sabotages their first appearance. When offered a regular spot on the show the boys initially refuse, but accept when executive Junior Pinter guarantees “no more pies in the face.” This change increases the Captain’s paranoia and he conspires to embarrass them or prevent them from playing. Finally, Mike demands he let them play or they quit, he relents, but once done the boys find out they’d been playing off the air. After the TV station receives twenty-seven letters (presumably from the captain), complaining about the band, a meeting is called to determine if they will continue to appear on the show before the final showdown between costumed Monkees and the Crocodile Corps. 

My biggest takeaway from this episode is that Captain Crocodile is a total asshole. He reminds me of The Golden Girls episode “Mister Terrific” where Rose (Betty White’s character) meets and starts to date the titular Mister Terrific, a children’s show host/superhero, who is grumpy and uptight because his producer wants to update the show, even if it means firing him. In both cases, the intent was add to the show, not to “ease [them] out” and their problems were the result of paranoia and resistance to any slight change. The big difference between Captain Crocodile and Mister Terrific is how their respective shows frame them. The Monkees rightly positions Crocodile in the role of a villain, complete with canned hissing and booing lest the audience miss that they shouldn’t like this guy and his “evil thoughts.” The Golden Girls, however, wants the audience to like and sympathize with Terrific, for reasons beyond me. Crocodile’s hubris and asshole-ery costs him his job and show, but even after multiple tantrums and a dangerous publicity stunt Terrific gets his show back, which he only lost in the first place because he didn’t want to have to change anything about it. And maybe it could’ve worked if the actor who played Terrific had approached the role with any kind of warmth or sympathy, but no.

And I’m getting way off track. Sorry.

Anyway. 

Something else worth mentioning from the episode is the sequence wherein the boys fantasize about the TV shows they could be successful doing, which include parodies of Batman and To Tell The Truth, among others. It’s really funny and one of those moments where talking would ruin it, so just watch it: