Monkee Magic: a Book about a TV Show about a Band

by Melanie Mitchell

Before the first gold record, before the first concert tour, before the Monkees racked up four number-one albums in a single year and outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, THE MONKEES was a half-hour TV show, airing Monday nights on NBC. Join a nostalgic viewer as she rediscovers the magical series of her childhood, exploring the episodes with a warm heart, a critical eye and a sentimental sensibility. From teeny bopper bubblegum to psychedelic experimentation, from matching blue eight-button shirts to eye-popping paisley, from playful romps to sophisticated performance videos, watch the sideburns grow and the love beads multiply as the revolutionary, rebellious little rock ‘n’ roll TV show cheerfully pokes the corporate network television machine and paves the way for boy bands, MTV and American Idol. Monkee a Book about a TV Show about a Band provides insightful commentary about all 58 episodes of the original MONKEES television series, as well as the feature film Head and the group’s two stand-alone TV specials. With a wry sense of humor and just a little bit of affectionate snark, the author notes comedy highlights, running gags, nitpicks, obscure cultural references and inside jokes. It’s a fresh view, a provocative analysis and a whimsical journey for dedicated Monkees fans and nostalgic boomers alike.Iain Lee, broadcaster and Monkee Maniac, last, THE MONKEES TV series is given the respect and the detailed study it has long deserved. While their music is seen by many as timeless and classic, the onscreen antics of the pre-fab four have been criminally overlooked. Now the groundbreaking and innovative show is gathered together in one well written and passionate book.

Genres: Nonfiction

366 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2013

Reviews

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solo per appassionati dei Monkees e della serie tv che li ha visti come protagonisti a fine anni '60 del secolo scorso.
L'autrice discute gli episodi, racconta del suo gradimento, dei retroscena, curiosità e via discorrendo, in rigoroso ordine alfabetico.
Si può essere o meno d'accordo, i gusti personali possono variare, ma l'insieme è esaustivo e divertente.

[Jocelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt kind of terrible about enjoying Melanie's discussion group about a book about a TV show about a band so much and not having bought the actual book, so I've remedied that - and enjoyed it immensely. I like the group she runs (and it turns out, this book) so well because Mitchell is not afraid to Think Too Hard about the show, but she never descends into unmerited pedantry or querulousness. Her favorite episodes, bits, and elements are not the same as mine (most notably, the two "political" episodes are a couple of my favorites, an opinion I seem to be largely alone in, and I *adore* the fourth-wall breaking and think of it as really integral to the subversive humor of the show; I'm guessing by the ordering of the categories that for her it comes behind the verbal wit and sight gags), but a difference of opinion is no bar to enjoying her thoughtful reflections; she's a companionable writer and it's like hearing from a friend who loves the same anything for different reasons.

[Sharon Falduto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is exactly what I wanted it to be; it had episode synopses, funny quotes, nitpicking of details like continuity errors. And it wasn't overly sycophantic; the author acknowledges the racial stereotyping that can take place, and the parts where plots completely fall apart.

Organized in alphabetical order by episode title, but with an index to help navigate.

Seems like it would have been a fun book to write.

[Alan Duran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very informative book about The Monkees television series and movie and specials. I did read the book as I rewatched the series on BluRay. Lots of minutiae to please any Monkees fan. This book gets 4 Monkee Tails Up. Recommended.

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Monkees is just about my favorite TV show ever. I loved this book so much that I went out and bought it so that I can keep it as a reference for the TV show.

[Kifflie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun! Melanie intersperses her amusing episode reviews with interesting essays about the making of the show and the culture behind it. Well worth having if you are a fan of the Monkees.

[Lori Schiele · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Monkees "arrived" in Sept 1966, but I wasn't born until 1971; however when they came back in syndication several years later, I was instantly hooked. I couldn't get enough! My older sister and I watched it every day after school and listened to the original 4 albums over and over and over again. I learned every song, every word, every skip that developed in the albums from overuse. I was still very young, but tried to learn what I could about them and even learned a lot of their "tag lines" from the TV show. (Save the Texas Prairie Chicken, Love is the Ultimate Trip, Cross at the Green-Not In-Between)

Then my dream came true--their 20th Anniversary in 1986. I was a teenager and MTV showed an entire weekend of both seasons, including the two movies, "Head", and "33 and 1/3 Monkees" and I watched every single minute. (We didn't have MTV, so I camped out at a friend's house for the weekend who also loved the Monkees and had cable TV) And then there were the concerts. Too young for the originals, but as a teenager, I saw not one, not two, not three... as many as I could find a way to get there to see them, I was there! And I was in heaven.

This book originally came out before the passing of Davy Jones in 2012, and long before the passing of Peter Tork in 2019 (who I was fortunate enough to see perform only a few years ago with his band, Shoe Suede Blues--also got to meet him and get his autograph on a CD of the band. He was so laid-back and sweet! I always hated that the TV show portrayed him as a dummy. He was anything but.)

Enough about me--about the book--if you are even as close to interested/obsessed with them as I was/am, then this book is great. It goes through each episode with a short plot description, then favorite lines, favorite physical gags, but also nitpicks (some of the things that even I had never noticed after watching the shows hundreds of times, for instance, how often Micky could be seen with his script rolled up in his back pocket!!) then bits of trivia she had learned while researching to write the book.

Having the DVDs, I have been reading through her entry before watching each episode and its been a ton of fun. Unfortunately, there were only 2 seasons (and the 2 movies) before the Monkees broke up, but I've enjoyed living through it all with a different set of eyes.

[Eric Parsons · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book itself is okay...but the author takes far too many sidetracks on needless political commentary where none is needed. This, with the addition of the author's complaints about the silliest of things, really distracted from the focus of the book and made it difficult to finish. Bear in mind that I do not say that she is necessarily wrong, but that this was not the proper forum for it.

If you have enough of a basis of the series and four Monkees, you could simply watch the show. The book, as other reviews have said, really doesn't add anything. While reading the book may help to pick up on little facts that may have been somewhat hidden from view, the griping about nearly everything--particularly removed from the contemporary context--was too much of a distraction.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be a must-read for any fan of The Monkees t.v. series. Written from an almost hybrid perspective, it gives you a fan's thoughts of each episode in the series while also noticing the little inconsistencies, hidden jokes & gags, and head-scratching moments most viewers probably missed the first (or 100th) time through. I look forward to watching the series with this as a companion!