Just in case anyone was wondering, the original broadcast of The Monkees was around the same time I was born, but like many others, I caught the show on re-runs through the years and quickly found the band endeared themselves to me.  As a pre-teen in the 1970s, I had a crush on Davy Jones like so many other girls through the years. Watching the episodes as re-runs, I grew to love them as much as the girls had in the 1960s. In the 1980s, I can remember enjoying seeing three of the band members playing live on one of their various reunion tours. More than forty years after their inception, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith, and Mickey Dolenz still managed to charm my own 13-year-old daughter.

Watching the boxed set of the entire first season of The Monkees on DVD was quite interesting. Not only did I get a sense of nostalgia, but it was also a bit of fun and gave me insight into the marketing tactics of television executives in the 1960s.

The band The Monkees was created by television executives. After watching the film A Hard Day’s Night featuring The Beatles, television executives wanted to do essentially the same thing only with a television show. A casting call went out, and thousands responded. The four lads eventually cast weren’t hired at all for their musical talent. Initially, their only involvement was to be the vocals on tracks while studio musicians actually played the music. However, this didn’t last.

The first season of shows involves a basic premise of the four musicians living together on a beach in California. They are struggling to the point that getting a job is a recurrent theme often throughout the season. There are times when they lament not being able to pay their rent or having food. Each show has a set-up to generate a story of some kind. Some of the episodes are quite predictable. Many of the stories involve Davy falling in love with a girl. There were also stories about the boys encountering gangsters, spies, a haunted house, and much more. Usually, the meetings are completely coincidental and they fall into it completely by accident and usually get out of trouble just about the same way! Each episode generally includes at least one musical sequence known as a “romp”. Quite often, there were two. These actually resemble early music videos as those of us from the MTV generation came to know and love.

The episodes in this first season are all very family-friendly. It’s the second season where a few liberties began to be taken with their popularity, and the actors/musicians began to experiment. In this first season, there really is nothing that’s objectionable, despite it being the 1960s. The humor in them is slapstick and generally hits the mark. It’s often surprising how good the shows actually were. Reading the synopsis of the shows themselves as well as how the four leads came together, it would seem like there was no way this show should work, but it did. I actually laughed more watching these DVDs than I have at anything on television in quite some time.

In this release, the episodes have been remastered and restored and are packaged along with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio soundtrack. There are still times where the print obviously wasn’t in all that great shape, and it shows. This is especially true with some of the extras, including commercials The Monkees filmed that were shown along with their show. It was interesting to see the original form with the sponsor intertwined with the closing credits. Around the time I caught it in reruns, these were all deleted. There are also often introductions to the show: “The Monkees… Brought to you by…” This was something I’d never seen done before on television.

There are some issues with the volume level. When I was watching the shows, it seemed like the volume was low and I would have to up the volume. When the music came on, it seemed that these sequences were louder, and I found myself decreasing the volume.

The extras on these DVDs also make this well worth having. In addition to the commercials, there are commentaries on various episodes with three of the four original members of The Monkees as well as some of the members of the crew. Surprisingly, the one everyone thinks would be missing from the line-up isn’t. Mickey Dolenz doesn’t participate in any of the commentaries. I haven’t been able to find a reason for this. Even Mike Nesmith, who became a millionaire due to his mother’s invention of liquid paper, participates in the commentaries. This is unusual because since he really didn’t need the money he hasn’t participated in many of the reunions through the years. The insight into their musical capabilities from the commentary is terrific. Davy was the only one who could play drums, but he was so small he was dwarfed by the drum kit. Peter Tork was a better guitar player. It was only after they had already been cast on the show that they learned to play instruments.

The discs also include the option to play just the romps. Watching this it felt like watching one music video after another. It is easy to see what songs were being released and promoted around the time the episodes aired. I do have to say that after about two episodes, my daughter started getting distracted, so we watched a few at a time together. Watching one after another instead of a week apart (or even a night apart) as many of us saw them can feel repetitive after a while. Each episode also includes a few paragraphs of trivia about the making of the episode or those who appear in it. It’s really a nice touch, which makes this a good collection rather than just something slapped together to make a few quick bucks.

Because the episodes are uncut, there are some items included that were deleted to add in more commercials. When they first aired, occasionally, the episodes ran short, and filler was added. These included original auditions by Mike and Davy on one episode and another where the four are interviewed about demonstrations going on in Los Angeles at the time. It provides great insight into who they were at the time outside of their characters on the television screen.

There are some actors you might recognize in the episodes. Vic Tayback (Alice) appears in several episodes, usually as a heavy. A very young Mike Farrell (MASH) appears as a government agent in the episode Monkee Chow Mein. If you watched any television in the 1960s and 1970s, you’ll likely recognize a wide variety of character actors as well.

The release of The Monkees Season One on DVD is expensive with it retailing for over $70 when new. I think it’s worth it. There are plenty of extras included in the set. Although the picture and sound isn’t perfect, it’s a damn sight better than what you’ll see on television. The show is a lot of fun and something the whole family can sit down and watch together, just not all at once. If you don’t want to buy it, these DVDs are available from Netflix. If you were ever a fan of the series or the music, you owe it to yourself to give these a look.


Episode and Song List:

• Royal Flush 
Songs: This Just Doesn’t Seem To Be My Day, Take A Giant Step 
Available with commentary tracks by Director James Frawley and Davy Jones. 
• Monkee See, Monkee Die
Songs: Last Train To Claksville, Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day
• Monkee vs. Machine
Songs: Saturday’s Child, Last Train To Clarksville 
Available with commentary tracks by Creator/Director Bob Rafelson and Peter Tork 
• Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnapper
Songs: Let’s Dance On, (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone, Last Train To Clarksville 
• The Spy Who Came In From The Cool
Songs: The Kind of Girl I Could Love, (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone, All The King’s Horses, Saturday’s Child
• Success Story
Songs: I Wanna Be Free, Sweet Young Thing
• Monkees in a Ghost Town
Songs: Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day, Papa Gene’s Blues 
• Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth
Songs: Papa Gene’s Blues, All The Kings Horses 
• The Chaperone
Songs: This Just Doesn’t Seem To Be My Day, Take A Giant Step, You Just May Be The One 
• Here Come the Monkees
Songs: I Wanna Be Free, Let’s Dance On
Commentary with Peter Tork & Mike Nesmith. 
• Monkees A La Carte
Songs: (I’m Not Your) Steppin Stone, She 
• I’ve Got a Little Song Here
Songs: Gonna Buy Me A Dog, Mary, Mary 
• One Man Shy (Peter and the Debutante)
Songs: I’m a Believer, You Just May Be The One 
• Dance Monkee, Dance 
Songs: I’ll Be Back Up On My Feet, I’m A Believer 
Commentary by Director James Frawley.
• Too Many Girls (Davy and Fern) 
Songs: (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone, I’m A Believer 
Commentary with Davy Jones
• Son of a Gypsy 
Songs: Let’s Dance On, I’m A Believer 
• The Case of the Missing Monkee 
Songs: (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone 
• I Was a Teenage Monster
Songs: Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day, Your Auntie Grizelda
• The Audition (Find the Monkees)
Songs: Papa Gene’s Blues, Mary Mary, Sweet Young Thing
• Monkees in the Ring
Songs: Laugh, I’ll Be Back On My Feet
• The Prince and the Paupers
Songs: Mary, Mary
• Monkees at the Circus
Songs: She, Sometime In The Morning
• Captain Crocodile
Songs: Valleri, Your Auntie Grizelda
• Monkees a la Mode
Songs: Laugh, You May Just Be The One
• Alias Mickey Dolenz
Songs: The Kind of Girl I Could Love, Mary, Mary
• Monkee Chow Mein
Songs: Your Auntie Grizelda
• Monkee Mother
Songs: Sometime in the Morning, Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
• Monkees on the Line
Songs: Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
• Monkees Get Out More Dirt
Songs: The Girl That I Knew Somewhere
• Monkees in Manhattan
Songs: The Girl That I Knew Somewhere, Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow), Words

DISC 6 SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Commentary on The Monkees in Concert by Bobby Hart, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith
• 16mm Pilot for “The Monkees”
• Monkees Commercials
• Interview with songwriter Bobby Hart
• Memorabilia Gallery