Guide Note

The Monkees was an NBC television series created in 1966 about a Pop / Rock group loosely based on The Beatles. The Monkees were the first "manufactured" rock band assembled on television that became a mega-success on and off the screen.

Fast Facts

1. Network: NBC
2. Pilot was written by Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker
3. Starring: Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork
4. Aired: September 12, 1966 - September 9, 1968
5. Show won two Emmy Awards
6. Group officially broke up in 1970
7. Reunion tours of the group first took place in 1986

The Series

The show first aired on September 12, 1966 on NBC and ran for 58 episodes. The concept of the show was to manufacture a band like The Beatles and play off of films A Hard Day's Night and Help!. Once a success on TV, the group became a real group releasing albums and going on tour. The show attempted unconventional approaches such as breaking the fourth wall, fantasy sequences, and jump cutting. Most episodes had musical breaks looking like music videos and extra clips shown at the end of each episode, usually of actor screen tests or interviews.

Casting

The foursome were cast based on ads placed in the trade publication Variety looking for musicians to play four insane boys for a new series. Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz who were more actors than musicians had enough musical experience to carry them into the part, while Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork were both folk musicians. Once cast the four trained in improvisational comedy and were placed with the instrument in which they would play for the run of the show, even if they didn't know how to play it at first.