"The Monkees" (1966) TV series 1966-1968

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Writers:

Dee Caruso (writer) (21 episodes)
Gerald Gardner (writer) (21 episodes)
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

12 September 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Plot:

The misadventures of a struggling rock band.

Plot Keywords:

The Monkees | Famous Opening Theme | Unemployment | Struggling Music Group | Actor Playing Himself

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Davy Jones	...	Davy / ... (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Micky Dolenz	...	Micky / ... (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Peter Tork	...	Peter / ... (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Michael Nesmith	...	Mike / ... (57 episodes, 1966-1968)

(more)

Series Directed by
James Frawley		(28 episodes, 1966-1968)
Bob Rafelson		(6 episodes, 1966-1968)
Alexander Singer		(6 episodes, 1967-1968)
Bruce Kessler		(4 episodes, 1966-1967)
David Winters		(2 episodes, 1967-1968)
Jon C. Andersen		(2 episodes, 1967)
Russ Mayberry		(2 episodes, 1967)
Gerald Shepard		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Writing credits
Dee Caruso		(22 episodes, 1966-1968)
Gerald Gardner		(22 episodes, 1966-1968)
Dave Evans		(9 episodes, 1966-1968)
Peter Meyerson		(8 episodes, 1966-1968)
Coslough Johnson		(6 episodes, 1967-1968)
Treva Silverman		(5 episodes, 1966-1967)
Jack Winter		(5 episodes, 1967)
Robert Schlitt		(4 episodes, 1966-1967)
David Panich		(3 episodes, 1966-1968)
Bernie Orenstein		(3 episodes, 1966)
Neil Nephew		(3 episodes, 1967-1968)
Jon C. Andersen		(2 episodes, 1967-1968)
Bob Rafelson		(2 episodes, 1967-1968)
Stanley Ralph Ross		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Produced by
Bob Rafelson	....	producer / executive producer (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Bert Schneider	....	producer / executive producer (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Ward Sylvester	....	associate producer / producer (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Gerald Shepard	....	associate producer (25 episodes, 1967-1968)

Series Original Music by
Stu Phillips		(54 episodes, 1966-1968)
Allyn Ferguson		(3 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Cinematography by
Irving Lippman		(56 episodes, 1966-1968)
Richard H. Kline		(1 episode, 1966)

Series Film Editing by
Michael Pozen		(22 episodes, 1966-1968)
Gerald Shepard		(11 episodes, 1966-1968)
Stanley Frazen		(8 episodes, 1966-1967)
Robert Crawford		(5 episodes, 1967-1968)
Bernard Balmuth		(4 episodes, 1967-1968)
Donald W. Starling		(2 episodes, 1966)
Bob Collins		(2 episodes, 1967-1968)
Lee Gilbert		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Art Direction by
Ross Bellah		(58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Malcolm C. Bert		(39 episodes, 1966-1968)
Phillip Bennett		(14 episodes, 1967-1968)
Zoltan Müller		(2 episodes, 1967)
Robert Peterson		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Set Decoration by
Alfred E. Spencer		(21 episodes, 1967-1968)
Jack H. Ahern		(18 episodes, 1966-1967)
Fred Price		(11 episodes, 1966-1967)
Louis Diage		(5 episodes, 1966-1967)
Sidney Clifford		(2 episodes, 1967-1968)

Series Costume Design by
Gene Ashman		(25 episodes, 1967-1968)

Series Makeup Department
Ben Lane	....	makeup supervisor (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Jan Van Uchelen	....	hair stylist (16 episodes, 1966)
Sally Berkeley	....	hair stylist (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Lawrence Werner	....	post-production supervisor (3 episodes, 1966)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jon C. Andersen	....	assistant director (36 episodes, 1966-1968)
Richard Landry	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1966)
Marvin Miller	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1966-1967)
Leo M. Langlois	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1966)
Mark Sandrich Jr.	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1966)

Series Sound Department
Terrance Emerson	....	sound playback (5 episodes, 1968)

Series Special Effects by
Chuck Gaspar	....	special effects (58 episodes, 1966-1968)

Series Stunts
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunt performer / stunt double (7 episodes, 1967-1968)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Pat Blymyer	....	head gaffer (58 episodes, 1966-1968)

Series Editorial Department
Lawrence Werner	....	post-production executive (56 episodes, 1966-1968)

Series Music Department
Igo Kantor	....	music coordinator / music editor (36 episodes, 1966-1968)
Don Kirshner	....	music supervisor (28 episodes, 1966-1967)
Stu Phillips	....	conductor: background music (24 episodes, 1967-1968)
Tommy Boyce	....	composer: theme music (8 episodes, 1966)
Bobby Hart	....	composer: theme music (8 episodes, 1966)

Series Other crew
Dean Jeffries	....	monkee mobile stylist (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Richard Klein	....	stand-in: Micky Dolenz (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Paul Mazursky	....	developer (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
David Pearl	....	stand-in: Peter Tork (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Winnie Rich	....	script supervisor (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Larry Tucker	....	developer (58 episodes, 1966-1968)
David Price	....	stand-in: Davy Jones (57 episodes, 1966-1968)
John London	....	stand-in: Michael Nesmith (55 episodes, 1966-1968)
Dee Caruso	....	story editor / script editor (31 episodes, 1966-1967)
Gerald Gardner	....	story editor / script editor (31 episodes, 1966-1967)
Neil Nephew	....	story editor (26 episodes, 1967-1968)
Marilyn Schlossberg	....	production assistant (26 episodes, 1967-1968)
Ward Sylvester	....	production executive (17 episodes, 1967-1968)

Production Companies

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
• Raybert Productions
• Screen Gems Television

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1966) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1972-1973) (USA) (TV)
• Channel 4 Television Corporation (1997-) (UK) (TV)
• Colex Enterprises Inc. (1986-1988) (USA) (TV) (syndication)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1969-1972) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia Pictures Television (1975-1985) (USA) (TV) (syndication)
• Columbia TriStar Domestic Television (2001) (USA) (TV) (syndication)
• Columbia TriStar Television
• LBS Communications (1989-1996) (USA) (TV) (syndication)
• Pioneer Artists (1997) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Rhino Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD) (season 1)
• Rhino Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD) (season 2)
• Rhino Home Video (????) (USA) (DVD) ('Our Favorite Episodes')
• Rhino Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Sky Channel (198?) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Television (2002-) (USA) (TV) (syndication)

Other Companies

• Edit-Rite  sound effects
• Kellogg's Cereals  original sponsor (1966-1968)
• Kool-Aid Company  original sponsor (1969-1972 repeats)
• Post Cereals  original sponsor (1969-1972 repeats)
• Screen Gems  distributor
• Winters Hollywood Entertainment Holdings Corporation  special thanks
• Yardley Cosmetics of London  original sponsor (1966-1968)

Runtime:

30 min (58 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Trivia:

The address of the beach house where the boys "lived" on the show was 1134 North Beechwood Drive. The real-life location of that address was in the middle of the Columbia Pictures studio lot, and it was used by their Sixties fan club for correspondence.

Goofs:

Continuity: In a number of second-season episodes, Micky's hairstyle changes back and forth from a straight hairdo to a curly "permed" look. This was due to the fact that second-season episodes were filmed at two different times, the spring of 1967 (when a number of the actual episode storylines were filmed) and then later that fall (during which time all the song performances were filmed). During the summer break, Micky let his hair grow out. The difference is perhaps most notable in the episode "It's a Nice Place to Visit," when at one moment Micky is performing a song with his hair curled, and is then seen leaving the stage with his hair straight.

Quotes:

Peter: Oh no, foot prints! Someone else is on this island!
Micky: Oh don't worry, those are ours, we don't have a larger set so we had to use the same one twice.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Door Into Summer

My Favorite Memory

To be honest, I was never a big Beatle fan, but if they were more like Mikey, Davy, Peter and Michael, I could have tolerated them. First off, I loved the Monkees more for their slipshod, improvisational, Benny Hill comedy than their music. They seemed to barely stick to a script as they just had fun, and a lot of their guest stars seemed to share the fun. Some of whom were John Hoyt and the timeless Marla Martel. Most of the music was great, but I loved their comedy routines best. Mickey was the funniest with Michael as his straight man. Peter, the shy one, was funny when he did the dumb guy thing who got his buddies in trouble, but Davy also did the same thing as the cute one with girls chasing him down. My favorite episodes are the ones with the reading of the will, the mad scientist and the fairy tell. I didn't mind much that they weren't allowed to play their instruments, but I was shocked to hear in recent years they smoked pott. I thought they would have known better, but then looking at ""Head," I guess they know now.