Ok, everyone ready to finish off this year's Christmas opus? ;)

Mike: Definately, darlin'.

Peter: I'm ready!

Micky: Me, too! :D

Lauren: And me! :)

Davy: I am, too. :D

(We open in the ballroom of the Montgomery House after the party is over. Emma, Lauren, and the four Monkees sit on the bandstand, sipping drinks and eating the last of the food. The ballroom is decorated lavishly but tastefully in garlands of greenery and holly, with mistletoe in the door and a huge tree and a big - and decimated - banquet spread in one corner. Everyone is now back in their regular clothes.)

Bob: Hey there, gang. Merry Christmas! Where's the kiddies? ;)

Emma: Katie and the twins are upstairs. We talked Lauren into coming. ;)

Lauren: Yeah, they're very persuasive. :)

Peter: Valerie went upstairs to feed Jordan and to rock him to sleep. :)

Davy: Daphne went out with the othah Abbies for a while. ;)

Bert: So, how did it feel to do stories based after two of the best-known Christmas stories in the world?

Micky: Totally groovy! :D ;)

Emma: It was a very interesting experience, playing parts that everyone knows, but changing enough to make it your own. :)

Mike: A lot more fun than I thought it would be. Scrooge ain't the only one who learned a lot tonight. :)

Micky: Got it through the old thick cranium, huh, Mike? ;)

Mike: You're one to talk about thick crainiums, Mr. I-Tear-a-Ten-Foot-Tree-Out-Of-The-Ground-Without-Measuring-the-Celing-First! ;) :p

Micky: It still worked. :P

Peter: (Grins) I loved working with the twins and the Starlight orphans. They were so cute! The one who played Tim was really wonderful, quite a natural performer. :)

Bob: Where did the idea to do "A Christmas Carol" with this crowd come from? ;)

Emma: This story, as of now, holds the record for the longest time for a "Dream World" story in gestation. We came up with this idea when we ran out of plotlines about half-way through LAST year's Christmas main story. ;)

Mike: You guys have had this one boilin' THAT long?

Lauren: Yup. ;)

Emma: At least the general idea of the Dream World characters doing "A Christmas Carol." Some of the details, like the changed ending, came much later. :)

Bert: How close is your version to the actual book?

Emma: Some of the lines are lifted literally straight from the book, but others are pure improvisation to fit the characters and ideas from other versions - movie, book, animation, and even radio - of "Christmas Carol." (Grins) One of the reasons we came up with this story was we figured it would be VERY diffcult to run out of ideas by the middle of the role-play! ;)

Lauren: Since we knew exactly how the whole thing would work out, generally. ;)

Bert: Who's idea was it to bring Scrooge's love interest back in for the finale?

*Lauren points at Emma.* ;)

Emma: (Raises her hand) As I told Mike, that really was mine. I've seen it done in "Flinstone's Christmas Carol" and the 1988 Bill Murray modernized version "Scrooged," and I thought it would be a nice tie-in with next month's story as well. (Smiles) Besides, even ol' Scrooge deserves a little holiday love. :)

Micky: No matter how scroogey he can be. *smirks* ;)

Emma: Anyone who has read the original book or seen some more faithful versions (like the 1984 live-action one with George C. Scott) knows that Belle gets married to someone else, has kids, and doesn't reappear after Chapter 2. I kept the "married to someone else and had kids"...but brought her in for the finale to underscore the charity theme, the differences between Scrooge and Belle (looks at Mike) and how much Scrooge had changed by the end. ;)

Mike: She did a nice job, too. That was a genuine surprise for me. ;)

Peter: Me too! :D

Bob: Where did this set's warm-up come from?

Emma: Summer and early fall brainstorming chats. We wanted to do something different...and a bit more related to the OTHER, less secular side of the season. (To the camera) This would be a good time to add that while Lauren and I both celebrate Christmas, we hope you enjoy these stories even if you enjoy different holidays than we do at this time of year. This is a time of giving, sharing, faith, and love...no matter WHAT you celebrate. :)

Lauren: Darn right. ;)

Bert: Whose idea was it to bring in the Peanuts? ;)

Emma: (Grins) Mine. We were discussing what the Peanuts kids may have been like when they grew up after I bought a couple of the original Peanuts specials in October. (Squeaks) Oooh, incidentally, I think I'd better thank the Internet Movie Database for providing "Father Pelt"'s famous speech in toto. ;)

Peter: I thought he was Dorothy's dog! ;)

(Mike nudges him as he snickers. :p)

Bob: The kids sure liked appearing in that pageant, didn't they?

Mike: Katie ran around bleating for days. ;) :p

Lauren: And the twins ran around, flapping their arms like wings and saying they were angels for days. ;) :P

Peter: Chrissy loved being an angel and leading the choir. She's talking about getting involved in the church's children's choir now. :)

Emma: Half the reason I came up with the idea for the warm-up was to get the twins into angel costumes. ;)

Mike: Perfect countercastin'. ;)

Micky: Hey! :P

*Lauren snickers.* ;)

Bert: What was your favorite part of this set?

Emma: Doing the "Christmas Carol" finale. :)

Mike: Ditto. And watchin' Katie run around, pretendin' to be a sheep. ;)

Lauren: Actually being able to remember my lines. ;)

Peter: Singing "We'll Have the Brightest Christmas" with Valerie and the kids in the "Past" sequence. :)

Micky: Playing narrator. That was fun! ;)

Mike: Too much fun. Did you ever recite anything from the script, Mick, or just make everything up off the top of your head? :p

Micky: I recited lines! I gave my lines the way they were written, then occasionally added something that I thought would work. ;)

Davy: I liked doin' the "Thank You Very Much" dance numbah and the numbah at Fred's pahty. ;)

Emma: Incidentally, while some of the songs used in "Christmas Carol" are genuine older carols, most of them come from holiday TV specials and films made before 1971. "Thank You Very Much" and "December the 25th" are from the 1970 film version of "Scrooge." "Ringle Jingle," "Winter Was Warm," and "We'll Have the Brightest Christmas" are from the 1962 animated TV special "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol." "Holly Jolly Christmas" is from the 1964 special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." "And We Won’t Be Happy ‘Til We Get It" is from "Babes In Toyland" and uses some of the revised lines from the 1961 Disney version. (Chuckles) Oh, yes, and "Christmastime Is Here," of course, is from the Emmy-winning 1966 special "A Charlie Brown Christmas." ;)

Bert: So, what's the next planned stories?

Emma: We actually set up for the next stories in this one. We're off to New England for some fun in the snow in January. ;)

Mike: Not for too long, though. We do have to finish that album sometime.

*Lauren whoops.* :D ;)

(Peter whoops, too. :D)

Davy: Much to the delight of the New England natives 'ere. ;)

Peter: It'll be so nice to be able to show Jordan and Katie and the twins how to make snowballs and snowmen and snow angels! :D

Micky: Snowball fights... *grins* ;)

Lauren: Oh, geez. :P ;)

Emma: In fact, the first story of the set is, once again, going to entirely be devoted to the twins and Katie. (Grins) I'm really liking writing for the kids. It's so much fun to get the reactions of a baby and two toddlers to stuff like snow, zoos, drive-ins, and Christmas pagents. ;) :D

Bert: You know, since we're at the end of the first full year of "Dream World" stories, let's go back a bit. Which story was your favorite this year, and what was your favorite moment from that story?

Mike: Oh, man, that's tough!

Peter: Wow...

Lauren: Umm...

Davy: Well, for me, it would be "Pirates of Malibu Beach." The swordfight I did with Shelia was awesome. That was some of me best work. ;)

Micky: *grins* Saving Lauren from that idiot Alex. ;)

*Lauren blushes.* :">

Peter: (As everyone chuckles) Saving Valerie and Michael from Ronnie and Shelia during the wedding in "The Way to a Bard's Heart" and helping Millie out in "Icing on the Cake." (Sighs) But the trip to New York was fun, seeing Stephan Stills again, and Val having Jordan was just...just....amazing. :D

Mike: Gettin' to be the suave mystery man and save Em in "Monkees to the Future" and the birth of Katie in the finale of "I Think I’m a Clone Now." ;)

Lauren: I don't know. I can't pick just one. There's so many moments I really liked. :)

Emma: I loved doing "Monkees In Wonderland" and "Monkees Christmas Carol," but "Monkees to the Future" came out extremely well, too. ;)

Bert: Hey, what are you planning for the first months of the new year, in addition to snow frolics? ;)

Emma: We've mostly just got ideas right now. February looks like a mystery parody and a Davy and Daphne story.

Davy: (Perks up at the mention of him and Daphne) Tell more, luv. ;)

Bert: Any upcoming site updates?

Emma: (Shakes her head) Other than the possiblilty of a holiday prose story or two, I'm probably not going to have the time to work on anything other than the actual stories and my own non-Monkees fiction until mid-February, maybe March. :p

Lauren: And I just don't know if I might have a chance or not.

Mike: Hey, Em (pulls her under the mistletoe) time to do this again. ;) (Kisses her as passionately as he can; both are red-faced and blushing when they come up)

Emma: Um, oh my, is it hot in here? (Fans herself as she returns to the bandstand; Mike grins rather stupidly) ;) :o :X

*Micky cackles.* :)) ;)

*Lauren cuts off Micky's laughing by kissing him, even though they aren't even under the mistletoe.* ;) :D

(Peter and Davy just laugh. :)) )

Emma: Um, I guess this would be a good time to wish everyone a "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmas." ;) :">

Peter: (Puts up a "peace" sign) May there be peace for all of us this year! :)

Mike: Yeah, we at "Dream World" wish everyone the very happiest of holiday seasons and the merriest of Christmases.

Emma: (Puts her arm around Mike) From our family to yours! :D

Micky: Don't eat too much! ;)

Lauren: You're one to talk, Mick! ;)

(Everyone laughs.)

Davy: 'Ave a great time, folks. Stay safe and be 'appy. :)

All Six (In Unison): MERRY CHRISTMAS! (The entire cast and crew joins the six on the bandstand to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" as we fade out.)

(We fade back in on the Montgomery House. The boys, back in their Victorian-esque costumes, sing "Riu Chiu" in the darkened main hall. A Christmas tree glows softly in one corner. The four boys hold candles that flicker softly as they sing.)

(The song ends with all four boys blowing out their candles, plunging us into total darkness that becomes a red and green "Merry Christmas" holly and ivy graphic.)

("Riu Chiu" returns for the credits, as it plays over scenes from both productions. "A Raybert Production" is seen over a live sequence of the entire cast and crew, including Emma, Lauren, and the Monkees, waving and singing.)