Monkees Question of the Moment: How did you defend The Monkees to your friends?
Leave your thoughts in the comments!
“…But I also wrote it in honor of and to honor the fans who love the show and lived with years of teasing when the mistaken reputation of the band and the show as ‘plastic’ kept dogging them. With this book I hope to show that those early and continuing fans all recognized the diamond in the rough from the start. ”
Monkees Question of the Moment: How did you decide what to watch in your childhood?
Leave your thoughts in the comments!
“I was a fan from the beginning at the age of 6 when the show debuted on NBC and caused what I often tease was the first great choice of a childhood lived without benefit of DVR. Should I watch The Monkees or Gilligan’s Island?”
“The Monkees as a television show introduced young audiences to new ideas of political ideology, a new anti-military discourse and new concepts of class and feminist theory.”
Keeping my focus on the television program it’s nice to post this cast and crew photo – traditionally taken at the end of each season. (Found at The Monkees Live Almanac. A great resource for tons of Monkees info) This offers fans and students the chance to see just how many skilled and talented craftsmen and women are required to create television.
In Why The Monkees Matter I discuss the work of several of these folks and how it contributed to the magic of The Monkees.
#14 is of particular interest as property master Jack Williams actually appeared on the program and was referenced in a couple of episodes. And many of these folks were invited in front of the camera in the Tag for the Christmas episode, reminding the audience of their contributions.
The pity is that, since writers work in offices elsewhere on the lot, they often don’t appear in such photos – as has happened here.
This week’s Antenna offering for The Monkees – “Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth” – was written by Dave Evans who is one of the nicest, kindest, men I have ever had the pleasure of interviewing.
Mr. Evans remembered being asked by Davy’s manager, Ward Sylvester, to write something that would highlight Davy’s ability with horses and hence this episode was born. Mr. Evans also remembered being asked by Bob Rafaelson to be on set for rewrites as needed, which gave him the chance to get to know the actors early on – an opportunity not all the other writers shared. After his two-season, nine episode run on the show he moved on to Laugh-in and Love, American Style, but told me no other job ever gave him the pleasure The Monkees did, so he eventually quit writing and went into conflict resolution, where he won awards for his ability to bring deeply distant parties together in compromise.
A 2014 article in the Los Angeles Times tells you all you need to know about him:
After the 1992 Los Angeles Riots Evans, the son of a minister, was a member of an all white Presbyterian church that created a cross town friendship with an all black Presbyterian church. Members of each began to visit the other church to create community. Twenty years later, Evans is the only member of his church still visiting the other church.
So exciting to share the cover art that the McFarland graphics team has put together for my book! It makes everything start to feel more and more real.
Even though it won’t be available until Fall (the better to coordinate with the premiere of the show!) I enjoy seeing each step in the process.
Guess it’s time to make up some bookmarks with this to hand out at events!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture by Rosanne Welch
![Cast and Crew of The Monkees Television Show from The Monkees Live Almanac [Photo]](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/monkees-cast-crew.jpg)
