Broadcast no. 48 (Jan 8 1968), "Fairy Tale" is a product of high inspiration, namely casting Michael Nesmith in the role of the captive Princess Gwendolyn, with whom Peasant of Tork falls in love, and Michael the Cobbler praises as a groovy lookin' chick with a great body (what sideburns!). Micky and Davy dress up as Hansel and Gretel (Peter thinks Davy was 'very Gretel'), Micky plays Goldilocks, being chased by the two bears, Papa Bear preferring she 'hang around!' Davy also wanders about in the guise of Red Riding Hood, fortunate she has more than one grandma for that hungry wolf (we do get a mention for the Texas prairie chicken). Papa Nes, whom Peter feels should have won an Emmy, has a field day hamming it up with the insults, while Diane Shalet ("The Night Strangler") literally pops up as the Fairy of the Locket, the only way Peasant of Tork can defeat the mighty Dragon and rescue the Princess (no surprise this is both Michael and Peter's favorite episode). The lone song featured is a Nesmith original, "Daily Nightly," composed on Hammond organ (like The Beatles' "Blue Jay Way"), one of the band's most acclaimed excursions into psychedelic obscurity, the cryptic lyrics a Nesmith poem conceived prior to the Aug 1967 demolition of Pandora's Box, a youth hangout at Sunset and Crescent in Los Angeles. It was the 10PM curfew that drew the wrath of patrons such as Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda, their Nov 1966 protest inspiring Stephen Stills to write The Buffalo Springfield response, "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey, What's That Sound)" (the group's lone top 40 hit). Recorded June 19 1967, "Daily Nightly" features Nes on electric guitar, Tork on organ, producer Chip Douglas on melodic bass, Eddie Hoh on drums. Listening to the original mix, with Tork's keyboards more prominent, it's gratifying that Micky Dolenz decided to add an additional touch, spaced out sound effects generated by his newly acquired Moog synthesizer, differing slightly in both mono and stereo, resulting in a fascinating aural experience. 52nd in production, "Fairy Tale" was filmed Nov 8-10 1967, next up- "The Monkees' Paw."
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