- Peter browses through a pawnshop owned by a mysterious man known as S. Zero. He meets Zero and the two chat about the varied instruments he sells, Zero talking cryptically about the instruments' previous owners. Peter notices a harp and falls in love with it although he has never played one before. When he says he would give anything for the harp, Zero makes a deal: Peter will sign a contract to own the harp and pay for it later. Peter happily signs, carries the harp home, and does not see when Zero makes a phone call to inform his home office that he--in reality, The Prince Of Darkness--has purchased Peter's soul. Zero later appears at The Monkees' beach house and tells Peter he can play the harp; when the initially-disbelieving Peter begins playing and finds he has great dexterity in doing so, Zero disappears and Micky, Mike, and Davy are left surprised at Peter's ability. The Monkees integrate the harp into their touring act and are an enormous success--until Zero returns and it is revealed that he is The Devil, who now wants Peter's soul by midnight, although Mike vows to take Zero to court over his contract, leading to a trial in Hades itself at which Peter must prove to a waiting gaggle of criminals that he can play the harp on his own, without Zero's help.—Michael Daly
- Peter enters a seemingly unoccupied pawn shop and is startled by the sudden appearance of the shop's proprietor, one Mr. Zero, who ambiguously discusses the numerous old instruments he has in stock and how their original owners are no longer around. Peter is then drawn to a harp, and is instantly taken by its design. Saying he'd give anything for the harp, Peter is surprised when Zero produces a contract, which Peter eagerly signs, allowing him to take the harp immediately and pay for it later. After Peter leaves, Zero calls his home office - revealing to the viewing audience that he is none other than Beelzebub himself.
At The Monkees' beach house, while Mike, Micky, and Davy appreciate the harp's beauty, they point out that Peter can't play it. After Micky and Davy leave the room, Zero suddenly appears in a blast of smoke. He tells Peter that he doesn't need the others now that he has the harp, and mentions that he can make Peter famous, which Peter ignores. After Mike leaves the room, Zero goads Peter into playing the harp. Initially disbelieving, Peter surprises himself when he starts to play, and quite beautifully. After Zero disappears the other three return, stunned by Peter's sudden skill with the harp, but when Peter suggests they add it to their musical act, Mike scoffs at the idea until they immediately get a mysterious phone call from a booking agent proclaiming they will be an overnight success.
Unaware that Zero may have tipped anyone off, the Monkees go on tour with the harp and become an smash hit, with Peter's happiness derived not from the new-found fame and fortune, but from the music itself and the pleasure it gives others. After weeks of offers of worldwide performances, Zero reappears, and opens up Peter's contract. Mike, suspecting a hitch, snatches the contract from Zero's hands and is shocked when he reads it, as it reveals Zero's true identity. Zero proclaims that Peter must surrender his soul to him by midnight, but as it's only 8 pm Zero grants the boys the four extra hours and disappears. Mike, Micky and Davy, clearly shaken, try to reassure a frightened Peter that everything will be all right. A vision of hell ensues amid the strains of The Monkees' song "Salesman." When they snap back into the real world, they are even more shaken, not just by the reality of hell, but also that they can't say 'hell' on television (due, of course, to TV standards in the 1960s).
As midnight approaches, Zero returns to spirit Peter away, but Mike decides to challenge the validity of Zero's contract with Peter and is willing to go to court to test it. In exasperation, and with ten minutes remaining before midnight, Zero convenes a kangaroo court with the deck stacked heavily against Peter. Presiding over the trial is the infamous 'Hanging Judge' Roy Bean, with a jury comprised of twelve prisoners awaiting execution on Devil's Island. Zero begins the trial by calling three of his most infamous clients to testify on his behalf: outlaw "Billy the Kid", Blackbeard the Pirate, and Atilla the Hun. Mike, Davy, and Micky each take turns at cross-examination, all to comically disastrous results.
When the defense presents their case, Mike, in a surprise move even to the other Monkees, calls Zero himself to the witness stand. When Zero presents the contract into evidence, Mike submits to the court that Zero gave Peter nothing in return for his soul, thus rendering the contract null and void. Mike builds his defense around the observation that all Peter really wanted was his music, and not the fame and fortune Zero promised.
Mike then goes into a dissertation (which may or may not have been scripted) about Peter's love for music, in that his harp-playing talent came from his love for the harp and its sound, and not from Zero as claimed. To further drive his point home, Mike ends by saying that anyone who loves music can play music, and that being a musician himself, Mike knows Zero couldn't possibly have given Peter the ability to play the harp. Calling Mike's bluff, Zero takes back the power he gave Peter, leaving him as he found him, and then dares Peter to play the harp on his own. Peter is scared, but Mike calmly persuades Peter that his talent is his and his alone and nobody can take it from him. Peter then takes to the harp and brings the jury and the witnesses to tears with a heavenly rendition of "I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane". When Judge Bean rules in Peter's favor, everyone in the courtroom cheers the decision while Zero, with Mike watching, beats a cowardly retreat by sending himself back to Hades. (at the end, Judge Bean asks if Peter knows "Melancholy Baby")
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