Ok, so, now are we ready to begin?

Mike: (Nods) Yeah. Man, poor Pete...

Peter: (Nods sadly) I'm ready.

Micky: *sighs* Yeah, let’s get this over with.

Davy: Ready.

(We open in the Pad. Three Monkees and their wives sit or stand around the table in the kitchen, looking glum. Everyone wears black or dark colors. Emma serves cookies, soda, tea, and coffee.)

Mike: Thanks, Em. (Sighs) I can't believe he's gone.

Emma: You're welcome. (Nods) Mr. Bennett was such a wonderful person. Peter adored him. We knew he hadn't felt quite like himself since last winter, but that last heart attack...

Lauren: At least he's in a better place.

Micky: *nods* Yeah.

Mike: An' he's with his wife again. He always used to talk about his wife Louise. She died about five years ago, accordin' to Mr. B.

Emma: Peter's heartbroken. Mr. Bennett was like a second father to Peter. He taught him so much...

Davy: But Petah's got wonderful memories of 'im. 'E'll get over it.

Micky: Eventually.

Emma: Valerie told me Peter inherited something in Mr. Bennett's will. That's why he stayed behind.

Mike: Instruments, I bet. Mr. Bennett didn't have much money, and Pete told me he was leavin' what money he had to his grandkids for their college tuitions.

Micky: More than likely.

Emma: Maybe the radio will cheer us up a little. (She turns on the radio, but instead of music, we hear people talking and sound effects)

Mike: Oh man, news. :p

Emma: No, it's not news. (Listens harder) I think it's a show!

Lauren: Hey, yeah!

Man On the Radio: Come on, Golden Boy! Let's ride! There's gold to be found! (Sound of neighing and a horse riding away)

Emma: Sounds like a western-type show.

Announcer On Radio: You are listening to a vintage transcription of "The Bandit of El Dorado" from summer 1933. This is KMBR, your voice of Malibu Beach and the southern San Fernando Valley.

Mike: Hey, one of those old-time radio shows, like "The Lone Ranger" or "Amos and Andy!"

Emma: Wow, cool!

Micky: Groovy!

Emma: Didn't Mr. Bennett say he was involved with radio in the 30s and 40s?

Mike: Used to talk about it all the time. He told us some great stories about all the stuff they did on those crazy radio shows. And people think TV's weird.

Micky: I loved how Bennett said they made all the sound effects. That's my kinda gig. ;)

Davy: Figahs, mate.

Emma: Writers for radio had to be really on their toes, especially small stations that couldn't afford more than one or two writers for their shows. They had to write every single kind of program, from news to kids' shows to sitcoms to soap operas, and they sometimes had to do it within the space of days, hours, or even minutes.

Mike: Bennett said radio was a great place for actors and musicians to stretch. Regular radio musicians, the ones who didn't play sidekick for a comedian or announcer, had to play all kinds of music, from weepy hearts-and-flowers stuff for soap operas to dramatic heart-poundin' backgrounds for the action and mystery shows.

Man On Radio: Come on Golden Boy, Tomahawk, let's sneak into the Pruitt Gang's hide-out and find where they've hidden the map!

Man On Radio 2: (Bad Indian accent) Right, Mr. Bandit!

Micky: Man, what fun! :D

Mike: I kinda remember listening to reruns of "Gunsmoke" and "The Lone Ranger" in Texas when I was really, really little. That was some of the only entertainment Mom could afford then.

Emma: I also vaguely remember listening to some of the old shows before they stopped running them. :)

(Everyone is leaning over the radio as Peter and Valerie come in. Both carry guitar cases and narrow cases that look like they're for horns or flutes. Peter has a big cardboard box. His eyes are red and there are clearly tracks of many tears on his cheeks.)

Valerie: Hi, guys...(raises an eyebrow)...what's so interesting?

Mike: (Finally turns around) Oh, hi guys. What did Bennett leave you?

Peter: (Grins) His entire instrument collection. Some of it is Japanese; others date to the 30s.

Mike: What's in the box?

Peter: Old-time sheet music.

(Peter sets the box down on the table with a thump, puts the guitar down on the table next to it, and joins the others.)

Peter: (Stands next to Micky and Lauren) What are you guys doing?

Micky: Listening to a radio show. :D

Peter: A radio show? Like a talk show?

Mike: No, a REAL radio show! A western! The announcer said it's from '33.

Peter: (Frowns) Mr. Bennett used to be in radio. He loved telling me stories about all the crazy things that went on in the radio station he worked for. (Sniffles) I miss him so much... :(

Valerie: (Puts a hand on Peter's shoulder) It'll be ok, honey. I miss him and I know you do, too, but he's with Louise now.

Peter: It's just...he was one of the nicest people I ever knew, and he's gone... (he starts sobbing; Valerie takes him into the living room. They sit on the bandstand as Peter cries into her shoulder)

Valerie: (Holds him) It'll be all right, honey.

Peter: (Wails) No it won't! I'll never see him again!

Valerie: Yes, you will! You just have to remember, he's in a better place. He can be with his wife and his old radio and Army friends.

Peter: I wish I could have met his friends. They sounded like they were a lot of fun. Mr. Bennett said he played in a quartet on various radio stations and local nightclubs in the 1930s and early 40s. He always said the guys and me reminded him a lot of his old band. (Sighs) I wish I could have met Louise, too. I saw so many pictures of her at his house. She wasn't a striking beauty, but she was pretty, and Mr. Bennett said she was a really good singer. He said she was a singer with the radio for three years, before she quit to take care of their children better, and she wrote shows and was a secretary during World War II when Mr. Bennett was in Japan. :)

Emma: (Thoughtful, as she goes through the sheet music) You know...maybe we could make you feel better, Peter.

Peter: How? Even our powers can't bring someone who is fully dead back to life! :(

Emma: No...but we can travel back in time to when Mr. Bennett was not only alive, but around our age.

Mike: That's right. Remember how we went back in time to Mammoth Studios? This'll be kind of the same thing, but in radio.

Micky: *gins* Yeah!

Peter: Mr. Bennett says he started in radio in 1931 as a page, then got together with other friends of his who were starting a band. They played in nightclubs for a while before they appeared in a radio amateur show. They didn't win the big cash prize, but the manager was so impressed with them, he hired them as their organist and house band...and they were the house band for various California radio stations for five years, eventually ending up at an NBC station in LA before they broke up.

Valerie: I don't know, guys. The last time we went time-traveling, we tangled with gangsters who almost fried Peter extra-crispy. :p

Emma: We'll try to stay away from gangsters this time, then.

Micky: We promise!

Mike: Yeah, and we're just gonna be around long enough to meet Mr. Bennett and his buds. We ain't gonna be makin' movies. (Looks over his shoulder) Mick, that means you ain't got any camera crews to order around this time.

Micky: Rats.

Peter: I'd love to see Mr. Bennett again. I miss him so much. (Smiles a little) I want to meet Louise, too. I think Mr. Bennett said they met when she worked on the same amateur program he appeared on in 1933. It was so romantic... :X

Emma: We just need to be careful this time. If any buildings burn, don't go anywhere NEAR them...and for god's sake, stay away from gangsters!

Valerie: KMBR used to broadcast on the third floor of the Malibu Beach Register's building. The Register was the one who started it in the first place as a promotional tool for the paper. They sold it to some LA big-shot in the late 20s, and they owned it until the 50s, when it was sold to a national radio network.

Emma: Thought those call letters sounded familiar...

Peter: (Sniffles) Well, what are we waiting for? I want to see Mr. Bennett! :)

Micky: Yeah, let’s go! :D

Mike: (Nods) Ok, everyone, concentrate and think "Front of Malibu Beach Register buildin', summer 1933!"

(There's a series of blue lights in various shades, and the group disappears.)

(Fade out on the now-empty Pad; fade in on a street in Malibu Beach, circa summer 1933. Everything looks like a set from a 1933 movie, from the old-fashioned, Art-Deco-y buildings to the classic cars to the men in suits and fedoras and the women in calf-length dresses and suits with frilly or Art-Deco-inspired collars and small, elegant hats.)

(There's a series of blue lights, and the entire group shows up in an alleyway between two buildings.)

Mike: (Brushes off his black and white suit and black Fedora) Hey, not bad.

Micky: *looks down at his all-white suit and brushes the rim of his white Fedora* Not bad at all! :D

Emma: (Turns around in her red summer dress and open-toed heels, her brown curls bouncing tightly under her flower-trimmed red hat; she holds a red zig-zag clutch purse) Wow, I feel so elegant! Where's Fred Astaire and Dick Powell? :D

Peter: (He wears a simpler light brown suit, his beads, and a newsboy's cap; a guitar case is slung over his shoulder) Oh, this is so groo...um, swell! :)

Lauren: *looks down at her medium purple ankle-length dress* This is the only part of time travel I don't like.

Valerie: (Shows of her soft yellow suit, huge beads, and simple hat and purse) Doesn't bother me a bit. I always wanted to be Alice Faye. :D

Davy: *wears a very dark green suit; eyes Daphne in her yellow dress* I could really get used to these clothes. ;)

Mike: Well, guys, let's see if we can find another boardin' house to stay at while we're here. (Pulls out a fistful of cash) I made sure to imagine us a little money. Not enough to make us look like more than the Eight Pearls Orchestra. ;)

Peter: We're going to be the Eight Pearls Orchestra again? :D

Emma: (Shrugs) It's not THAT long after 1929, and we may run into people we knew from our first trip here.

Valerie: Don't forget, this is the height of the Depression, too. Too much money would attract, well, too much attention when no one has any.

Peter: Do you think the O'Malleys are still in town?

Mike: We could always check the want ads... (We hear whistling, and see a familiar figure walk down the street, swinging his night stick; it is, indeed, Officer O'Malley of "The Mammoth Melody," four years older but otherwise not much changed.)

Peter: Officer O'Malley! We're so glad to see you! (He gives the startled policeman a huge hug)

Officer O'Malley: Well, laddie, I don't be recognizin'...

Mike: (Grins) How could you for get us? Remember the Eight Pearls Orchestra? ;)

Officer O'Malley: Saints preserve me! You're back! (Hugs Peter back) I canna believe it! Where have ye been all this time?

Mike: Oh, here, there. We got kinda hard-hit by the Depression.

Officer O'Malley: Oh, you and everyone else, Michael. I scarcely know a soul who hasn't been effected by this blasted Depression in one way or another.

Peter: Do you and your wife still have the boarding house?

Officer O'Malley: (Nods) Yes, we do, and I don't be lyin' if I say it's the only reason we be havin' food on the table. We loved givin' rooms to you and other Mammoth folks so much, we're offerin' rooms specifically for show-business folks now.

Mike: How come you're on the beat?

Officer O'Malley: (Makes a face) Mammoth had to cut it's security force. I'm lucky I got a job on the beat. Many cops are out of work, along with everyone else.

Emma: Oh, I'm sorry, Officer. That's a shame.

Officer O'Malley: We're still in the same place, about three or four blocks from here. You call Maureen and tell her you're on your way.

Mike: Thanks, Officer. By the way, you wouldn't know anything about any radio jobs opening, would you?

Officer: Not off the top of me head, but...(grins)...Maureen's addicted to the Malibu Beach Amateur Hour on KMBR. They have a big contest every week, and the person or group who wins gets one thousand and a regular contract with Moonbeam Records in the Valley.

Peter: Wow!

Valerie: That sounds like a golden opportunity, Officer!

Officer: I don't know if you'll find much in the way of jobs there. Maybe they could use help with the show. It's become wildly popular. Performers from all over southern California come to KMBR to try for a chance at that thousand dollars and the contract!

Mike: (Looks at the others) Sounds right up our alley.

Micky: *nods* Especially that thousand dollars part.

Mike: And we don't even have to perform if the competition's going to be that stiff. They might be able to use us in other ways.

Officer O'Malley: Well, I be wishin' ya luck, kids. I've got to get back on my beat. Malibu Beach is usually a quiet town, but sometimes, we'll get hoodlums from LA who get lost and decide to take their wars out here.

Mike: Thanks again, Officer! We'll see you at the boarding house!

(Officer O'Malley tips his policeman's cap and heads around the corner, whistling and twirling his nightstick again.)

Emma: (Sighs) I hope you all know this isn't going to be easy. We can't just waltz right in this time and expect someone to throw a job at us. Radio stations were as hard-up as anyone else in the early 1930s.

Peter: We never do things the easy way! That's no fun!

Mike: (Mutters) Yeah, that's the problem.

Micky: *shrugs* Maybe we can use that to our advantage.

Valerie: Why don't we go right to the station? We can settle in the boarding house later.

Mike: Might as well see what we're in for.

Emma: (Looks longingly at the newspaper equipment in the window of the building behind them) Yeah... (Sighs)