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The Monkees was a situation comedy that followed the adventures of a rock quartet. The actors were hired to play fictionalized versions of themselves and produce their own music, but the musical content of the series was initially contributed primarily by session musicians. The series brought several innovations in format and production technique to television. The program won two Emmy Awards in 1967. Behind the scenes, the actors gained creative control over the music released under The Monkees name and had more input into the second season of the series. The program ended in 1968 at the conclusion of its second season and has enjoyed a long afterlife in Saturday morning repeats and syndication.

Origins
Inspired by the Beatles' feature film A Hard Day's Night, television producer Bob Rafelson and former Screen Gems vice president Bert Schneider formed Raybert Productions intending to make films and develop a television show about a rock 'n' roll group. In April, 1965, Raybert sold the series idea to Screen Gems. By August, Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker had submitted a pilot script to Raybert titled The Monkeys.

On September 8th, 1965, trade publications Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter ran an ad seeking "Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series." As many as 400 hopefulls showed up to be considered as one of "4 insane boys." Fourteen actors from this pool were brought back for screen tests, and after audience research, Raybert chose their final four.

British-born David Thomas Jones ("Davy") was an accomplished stage performer who was appearing in several Columbia Pictures television productions and recording for Colpix Records. Hollywood native George Michael Dolenz Jr. ("Micky") had starred in the series Circus Boy as a child and was actively auditioning for new pilots. Texan Robert Michael Nesmith ("Mike" or "Wool Hat") was a songwriter and musician who had also recorded for Colpix Records under the name Michael Blessing. Peter Halsten Thorkelson ("Peter Tork") had performed at various Greenwich Village clubs before moving west and striking up a friendship with Stephen Stills, who recommended Tork at his own audition for Raybert.

During the casting process, Screen Gems head of music, Don Kirshner was contacted to secure music for The Monkeys. By October, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart were assigned to the project, contributing four demo recordings to the pilot.

In November, 1965, the freshly selected actors filmed the pilot episode for the series, now titled The Monkees. Initial audience testing in December received very low scores, however the producers decided to retest the pilot, adding the screen tests to the beginning of the show. Positive scores from the second test convinced NBC to pick up the series in February.

The television show first broadcast on September 12, 1966 on the NBC television network and lasted for two seasons (58 episodes). The final primetime episode ran on September 9, 1968 (see List of The Monkees episodes). Modeled on The Beatles' theatrical films A Hard Day's Night and Help!, The Monkees featured the antics and music of a fictional pop-rock group. Due to the massive success of the records, and the public's expectations, the four Monkees became a real pop group. The series was sponsored by Kellogg's Cereals and Yardley of London.

Nesmith (releasing pre-Monkees singles as "Michael Blessing") and Tork (part of the folk music scene in Greenwich Village) were both aspiring musicians. Dolenz (who starred in the 1950s TV series Circus Boy) and Jones (who appeared with the cast of Oliver! on The Ed Sullivan Show the night of The Beatles' debut on live American TV) were better known as actors, but both also had musical and recording experience. Jones, who had a solo album to his credit, had performed in musical theater in England as well as in Broadway theatre in New York. Dolenz had sung and played guitar in Los Angeles area bar bands. However, only The Monkees' voices were used on the group's initial recordings, with the music provided by session players. This was mainly due to the time constraints on the four Monkees and a rivalry between The Monkees and music supervisor Don Kirshner hired by Bob Rafelson to handle the music side of The Monkees. However, within a short time, Nesmith who was already an accomplished writer, was writing, producing, and recording Monkees music in a separate studio from the other Monkees music under Kirshner control. Despite Kirshner's objections, some Nesmith material started being included early on. Nesmith had songs on the first album (the self-titled The Monkees). This struggle over The Monkees musical direction increased the tension between Nesmith and Kirshner.

Many of the early sessions of Kirshner-controlled music contained songs written, produced, and performed by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. These included "Theme from The Monkees" and "Last Train to Clarksville" where the Boyce and Hart demo was used with vocals removed and replaced with multi-track vocals provided by only Micky Dolenz.

All four Monkees were trained in both improvisational comedy and stage presence as a group by Monkees director James Frawley before the pilot episode was filmed, so that they could look and act like a cohesive band. Each was given a different personality to portray: Dolenz the funny one, Nesmith the smart and serious one, Tork the naive one, and Jones the cute one. Their characters were loosely based on their real selves, with the exception of Tork, who was actually a quiet intellectual. Choosing someone to play the drummer proved tricky; Nesmith and Tork did not want to give up their guitars, and the 5' 3" Davy Jones nearly vanished behind the drums. Dolenz ultimately took the job, and began drum lessons (according to Rhino Records liner notes, by the time of The Monkees' first solo tour, Dolenz had only a crash-course in drums. To this day, he still sets up his drum kit as if he were left-handed, as his drum teacher had been, although Dolenz is right-handed).

The series was filmed by Columbia Pictures, the studio that made The Three Stooges short films from 1934 to 1958. Many of the same sets and props from the Three Stooges were used on The Monkees. A pair of pajamas with a bunny design on the front that had been worn in several shorts by Curly Howard appear to be the same ones worn by Peter Tork in various episodes.

As a television show, The Monkees used techniques rarely seen on episodic television. This included characters breaking the fourth wall and talking to the camera (and sometimes even to off-camera studio production staff), fantasy sequences, and abrupt inserts and jump cuts. At least once a week, there was a musical romp which might have nothing to do with the storyline. In retrospect, many episodes included vignettes which now look very much like music videos: short, self-contained films of songs in ways that echoed Beatles' film sequences.

Another interesting feature of the series was "extras" that were sometimes added to the end of the show. These included showing the original screen tests of the four regulars, and even interviews with the members during which David Jones reveals to have had his appendix out. During one such interview, Davy reported that a fan had actually mailed herself to him. Another exchange between Mike and "Bob" (one assumes it was Bob Rafelson), Bob asks Mike why he feels it is so important to own a house. In his own classic style, Mike replies "To keep the wind off of me!...when it rains you get wet if you live in a parking lot."

The 1965 pilot episode was co-written by Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker, who later co-wrote the Mazursky-directed movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. Mazursky went on to direct such films as Harry and Tonto and Down and Out in Beverly Hills. Series producers Schneider and Rafelson also went on to movie careers, commencing with 1969's Easy Rider (co-produced with star Dennis Hopper). Rafelson would direct such films as Five Easy Pieces and The King of Marvin Gardens.

Dolenz said in a 2007 interview on the Roe Conn radio program that, while inspiration did come from The Beatles, the band's image was not meant to be a ripoff of them. He said that the Beatles were always depicted as superstars with legions of fans, whereas The Monkees were always depicted as unsigned and struggling to make a buck. Rafelson has said that he had the idea for a TV series about a music group as early as 1960, but had a hard time interesting anyone in it until 1965, by which time rock & roll music was firmly entrenched in pop culture.

The Monkees won two Emmy Awards in 1967: Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy (James Frawley). Frawley was nominated for the same award the following season.