Category: Monkees

What this entire presentation — How The Monkees Changed Television with Rosanne Welch, PhD (Complete Presentation and Q&A) [Video] (45:06)

Rosanne Welch, PhD, Author of Why The Monkees Matter, presents “How The Monkees Changed Television” at a Cal State Fullerton Lunch Lecture on May 8, 2018.

In this talk, she shows how The Monkees, and specifically their presence on television, set the stage for large changes to come in the late 1960s.

Transcript

This is probably the most critical studies interesting thing — their identity construction and of course by that we mean when we look at an actor many people assume they have the traits of their character, right? Tom Selleck is not, in fact, a Vietnam vet right? Magnum P.I. doesn’t exist but we assume they have these traits. This was very difficult for these guys because normally on a TV show you’d be given a character name right? The guys on the Big Bang Theory that’s not your– it’s Johnny Galecki it’s not Leonard, right? So we know that they’re acting they have a fake name on this show. For whatever reason, they chose to use their real names — not them personally but the producers chose to have them use their real names. So right away the audience is lost between who’s Michael Nesmith the man versus Michael Nesmith the actor on the show right? Versus all these other Michael’s that are going to be invented here. What’s really triply interesting is in the very first pilot they gave Micky Dolenz the name he’d used on Circus Boy. That’s his acting name because when he was a child his dad didn’t want people to think that he got the job because who his dad was, so on Circus Boy, it stars Micky Braddock.

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 Buy Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture

 

A hit television show about a fictitious rock band, The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys–Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Acheivement in Comedy.

Capitalizing on the show’s success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana. In the late 1980s, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.

This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.

Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers’ move into films such as Head, Easy Riderand Five Easy Pieces.

McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition

Want to use “Why The Monkees Matter” in your classroom?

Order Examination Copies, Library and Campus Bookstore orders directly from McFarland

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What this entire presentation — How The Monkees Changed Television with Rosanne Welch, PhD (Complete Presentation and Q&A) [Video] (45:06)

Rosanne Welch, PhD, Author of Why The Monkees Matter, presents “How The Monkees Changed Television” at a Cal State Fullerton Lunch Lecture on May 8, 2018.

In this talk, she shows how The Monkees, and specifically their presence on television, set the stage for large changes to come in the late 1960s.

Transcript

In this episode, which I’m sorry the still is dark, that’s Micky and he’s confronting the werewolf and the first thing he says to the werewolf is, “You know they won’t et you into Disneyland with hair that long.” Because at the time Disneyland had a dress policy and men with long hair were not allowed in the park as guests. So they were literally putting down a major American corporation in the middle of their program and they got away with it and he did that 2 or 3 times across — I would find it in two or three other episodes there’d be a joke about “Long hair’s going to keep you out of Disneyland.” So it made me wonder if at any time any of them had attempted to go to Disneyland with their children and not been allowed in. I have not found proof of that, but I wonder why they were particularly made at Disneyland. I don’t know. Of course, often they would do things like this — Micky said, “Peter! I’ve got an idea!” and then the light bulb and Peter would say, “Wait! Let’s hear Micky’s idea.” So often they were speaking to the audience which was a particular thing that was talked about — Seinfeld gets credit for and whatnot, but these guys did it very early on.

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 Buy Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture

 

A hit television show about a fictitious rock band, The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys–Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Acheivement in Comedy.

Capitalizing on the show’s success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana. In the late 1980s, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.

This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.

Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers’ move into films such as Head, Easy Riderand Five Easy Pieces.

McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition

Want to use “Why The Monkees Matter” in your classroom?

Order Examination Copies, Library and Campus Bookstore orders directly from McFarland

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

What this entire presentation — How The Monkees Changed Television with Rosanne Welch, PhD (Complete Presentation and Q&A) [Video] (45:06)

Rosanne Welch, PhD, Author of Why The Monkees Matter, presents “How The Monkees Changed Television” at a Cal State Fullerton Lunch Lecture on May 8, 2018.

In this talk, she shows how The Monkees, and specifically their presence on television, set the stage for large changes to come in the late 1960s.

Transcript

In this metatextuality world, they weren’t — The Monkees weren’t the first ones to do it. We can go back to George Burns and Jack Benny and they talked directly to the screen. George would be having a problem with Gracie then he would walk into his study and look right at you and say “Well, what’s Gracie gotten us into now?” So talking to the audience — breaking the fourth wall — it’s been done before, but no one was doing it right there in the 60’s so I think it’s interesting that our guys jumped in and did that. And you see that in a lot of ways. They would write on the screen, so in the Pilot, you have dancing and then ‘Typical Teenager? No, friends of the producer.” So there were often those kinds of inside jokes so they’re talking to the audience. They’re letting you in on the joke which made a younger audience, a hipper audience think “Wow. We’re part of this things. That’s really exciting.” Now we also have the fact that they were on NBC and in one of the episodes they were running through town and they were at NBC. It’s a little knock knock cute.

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 Buy Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture

 

A hit television show about a fictitious rock band, The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys–Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Acheivement in Comedy.

Capitalizing on the show’s success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana. In the late 1980s, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.

This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.

Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers’ move into films such as Head, Easy Riderand Five Easy Pieces.

McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition

Want to use “Why The Monkees Matter” in your classroom?

Order Examination Copies, Library and Campus Bookstore orders directly from McFarland

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

What this entire presentation — How The Monkees Changed Television with Rosanne Welch, PhD (Complete Presentation and Q&A) [Video] (45:06)

Rosanne Welch, PhD, Author of Why The Monkees Matter, presents “How The Monkees Changed Television” at a Cal State Fullerton Lunch Lecture on May 8, 2018.

In this talk, she shows how The Monkees, and specifically their presence on television, set the stage for large changes to come in the late 1960s.

Transcript

This is my final happy episode. It’s called “Some Like It Lukewarm.” If you’re an old movie fan, of course, that’s “Some Like It Hot.” So the writers are making fun of some of their favorite movies. There’s a band contest and everyone shows up and discovers you have to be in a mixed gender band. So they force Davy to dress as a girl and they meet a girl’s group where they force — that’s Deanna Martin — Dean Martin’s daughter — she and Davy were hooked together in the tabloids as being a relationship. but they really weren’t, but it’s kind of fun to put them together. So this group, so she’s doing that. The answer — for the most pretty feminist in that there’s this girl rock band before The Bangles and The Gogos there’s a girl rock band. The flaw in this one — I feel bad — is when you first meet the women, see how they can all play their own instruments. They’re all playing guitars and drums. When the answer of course is we are individually lying about having a mixed gender group so let’s mix our groups together and we will be telling the truth, but when we do it look what the girls become. They’re the gogo dancers behind the boys playing their instruments. They totally lose their own ability to be rock stars.

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 Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture

 

A hit television show about a fictitious rock band, The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys–Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Acheivement in Comedy.

Capitalizing on the show’s success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana. In the late 1980s, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.

This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.

Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers’ move into films such as Head, Easy Riderand Five Easy Pieces.

McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition

Want to use “Why The Monkees Matter” in your classroom?

Order Examination Copies, Library and Campus Bookstore orders directly from McFarland

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

What this entire presentation — How The Monkees Changed Television with Rosanne Welch, PhD (Complete Presentation and Q&A) [Video] (45:06)

Rosanne Welch, PhD, Author of Why The Monkees Matter, presents “How The Monkees Changed Television” at a Cal State Fullerton Lunch Lecture on May 8, 2018.

In this talk, she shows how The Monkees, and specifically their presence on television, set the stage for large changes to come in the late 1960s.

Transcript

…And then there’s an episode called “99 Pound Weakling” where Micky falls in love with a girl and look how he defines her. It’s about her intelligence. Two words about how smart she is. Only one word about how pretty she is. So it’s her smarts that makes him want her and go through all this trouble to try and get muscles and whatnot and it’s cute, but never did they want a girl just because she was pretty and I thought that was particularly unexpected in an era when — in The Big Bang Theory which is having its 250th episode this week, which is lovely. It really is all about who’s going to have sex with who next week. Right? I mean that’ what the show devolved to in terms of their personal relationships and this did not. Now, I have to grant you that, back in the day, they couldn’t discuss that on television, but they didn’t even go to a point where it was about getting a beautiful girl. it was about getting a smart girl. So that strikes me as very cool.

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 Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture

    

McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition

Want to use “Why The Monkees Matter” in your classroom?

Order Examination Copies, Library and Campus Bookstore orders directly from McFarland

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About Rosanne Welch, PhD

Rosanne Welch, PhD is a writer, producer and university professor with credits that include Beverly Hills 90210, Picket Fences, Touched by an Angel and ABC NEWS/Nightline. Other books include Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture (McFarland, 2017) and Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection (ABC-CLIO, 2017), named to the 2018 Outstanding References Sources List, by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association. Welch has also published chapters in Torchwood Declassified: Investigating Mainstream Cult Television (I.B.Tauris) and The American Civil War on Film and TV: Blue and Gray in Black and White and Color (Lexington Books, 2018) and essays in Doctor Who and Race: An Anthology and Outside In Makes it So, and Outside in Boldly Goes (both edited by Robert Smith). By day she teaches courses on the history of screenwriting and on television writing for the Stephens College MFA in Screenwriting programs. Her talk “The Importance of Having a Female Voice in the Room” at the 2016 TEDxCPP is available on YouTube.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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What this entire presentation — How The Monkees Changed Television with Rosanne Welch, PhD (Complete Presentation and Q&A) [Video] (45:06)

Rosanne Welch, PhD, Author of Why The Monkees Matter, presents “How The Monkees Changed Television” at a Cal State Fullerton Lunch Lecture on May 8, 2018.

In this talk, she shows how The Monkees, and specifically their presence on television, set the stage for large changes to come in the late 1960s.

Transcript

Later in the series, we’re going to meet girls who are reporters for newspapers and who are working in television studios. Every time we meet a girl she’s defined by her job first and that’s how the boys get involved with her. So to me, that’s a pretty feminist statement in the 1960s. This, if you were a Batman fan from the TV show back in the day, that’s Julie Newmar and she guests on the show playing April who runs a laundromat and she’s getting a Ph.D. in laundry — I’m not really sure what that’s all about — kind of funny — but she’s getting a Ph.D. and she’s the girl that all four of them fall in love with. The whole episode is all four of them trying to be what she wants them to be and when they define what it is “The fastest way to a woman’s heart is through her mind.” Her mind. That’s what matters in a woman. Whoa. That’s a really bold statement for back in the day.

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 Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture

    

McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition

Want to use “Why The Monkees Matter” in your classroom?

Order Examination Copies, Library and Campus Bookstore orders directly from McFarland

---

About Rosanne Welch, PhD

Rosanne Welch, PhD is a writer, producer and university professor with credits that include Beverly Hills 90210, Picket Fences, Touched by an Angel and ABC NEWS/Nightline. Other books include Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture (McFarland, 2017) and Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection (ABC-CLIO, 2017), named to the 2018 Outstanding References Sources List, by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association. Welch has also published chapters in Torchwood Declassified: Investigating Mainstream Cult Television (I.B.Tauris) and The American Civil War on Film and TV: Blue and Gray in Black and White and Color (Lexington Books, 2018) and essays in Doctor Who and Race: An Anthology and Outside In Makes it So, and Outside in Boldly Goes (both edited by Robert Smith). By day she teaches courses on the history of screenwriting and on television writing for the Stephens College MFA in Screenwriting programs. Her talk “The Importance of Having a Female Voice in the Room” at the 2016 TEDxCPP is available on YouTube.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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