The Monkees 

The misadventures of a struggling rock band.

Stars:

Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Davy Jones	...	Davy / ... 58 episodes, 1966-1968
Micky Dolenz	...	Micky / ... 58 episodes, 1966-1968
Peter Tork	...	Peter / ... 58 episodes, 1966-1968
Michael Nesmith	...	Mike / ... 58 episodes, 1966-1968

Storyline

Short-lived comedy about the extremely Beatles-esque band The Monkees. The group of four (Micky, Davy, Mike, and Peter) encounter interesting events and tie in their music with each episode to encompass fast-moving comedic scenes.

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | 1960s | named car | the monkees | teen idol | 

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Taglines:

Who's putting who on? You'll never know till you see this show!

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Official Sites:

The Monkees Home Page

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Monkees

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (58 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Whereas on the Monkees most of the musical montages were phantasmagoria; just fantasy played out in music video form; the Partridge Family musical performances were just that, musical performances, nothing less or more. This is ironic because the Monkees were closer to an actual band. Though dreamed up by a bunch of television producers at Screen Gems and ABC, with most of their music written by people like Neil Diamond; the Monkees did actually perform in front of audiences; they all sang on all their albums, they all played instruments, and they wrote some of their own songs. Though considered a bogus front band in 1967, by today's standards, they are as real as it gets. Whereas the Partridge Family was almost completely bogus. David Cassidy and Shirley Jones were the only ones who performed at all on their records; (mostly it was just David Cassidy singing with a tiny bit of Shirley doing backup vocals.) They never performed live as a band. So it's ironic that the show pushed this image of the family as a band on the audience; when they were not a band at all.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Peter: [as the rigged blimp carrying the muscle man floats away] Well, there he goes.
Davy: Yeah, where's that uh der-uh... der-uh blimp headed for?
Peter: [almost comically] Bayonne, New Jersey.
Davy: Bayon-Bayonne, New Jer-? You know, I used to have a girlfriend in Bayonne, New Jersey.
Peter: Anything like the Secaucus girls?
Davy: [nonchalantly] No, I don't know, her name was MaryAnn.

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Crazy Credits

"The Christmas Show" ends with the Monkees giving the TV audience a Christmas wish of peace. The group then brings the crew-members on to the set and gives them all a very happy and raucous opportunity to give their loved ones at home a Christmas greeting, all while the closing credits play over this.

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Alternate Versions

Various episodes when either shown in network reruns (i.e. the CBS run) or in syndication had newer songs replacing older ones on the soundtrack.

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Connections

Spoofed in Family Guy: McStroke (2008)

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Soundtracks

Randy Scouse Git
Written by Micky Dolenz
Performed by The Monkees
Produced by Douglas Farthing Hatlelid (Chip Douglas)

User Reviews

Pivotal Series In TV & Pop Music History

The Monkees may have been created as a Beatles-of-America series, but like The Fab Four the show and the group within had a pivotal role in pop music history. While the concept of quick-edit rock music pieces began with A Hard Days Night and its sequels, it was The Monkees that really fleshed out the concept that today is known as the music video.

The power of television proved itself with Monkee-mania, and seeing the series and listening to the records four decades after their debut reveals how fresh and engaging both still are. The sit-com concept was basically parodied, and the free-wheeling styles of Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and David Jones made the parodies all the more cutting and funny. There is a magnetism to Micky, Mike, Peter, and Davy that still shows in the show and the music; the use of session hipsters in the backing tracks certainly created a strong baseline at the beginning, but in concert with session help or all on their own (in the album Headquarters and the songs from which the show made use), it was Micky, Mike, Peter, and Davy who gave the music a stamp that was undeniably theirs.

The same is true of the show - other singers have shown engaging humor (Alison Krauss is one of the funniest), but none show the magnetic zaniness of The Monkees (if anything, Ms. Krauss' sense of humor is more like Mike Nesmith's than anything).

This is why the show and the group will always endure.