On Screenwriting and Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch
Writing, Film, Television and More!
Yet another research resource for Why The Monkees Matter
Micky Dolenz on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
In honor of Micky’s performances last weekend at Club 54 here’s a fun blast from the past clip of him being interviewed on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous back before the 1986 reunion tour – when he was working as a director and living in the lovely English home profiled in the show and playing polo.
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
This book signing at Book Soup was wonderful – good people, good conversation (before and after the signing). Just another example of the kind of quality positive people who have been drawn to The Monkees across generations – I even met a former head of publicity for ScreenGems who had some fun stories to tell. — Rosanne
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Transcript:
What I’m not sure that I should admit — in such an august work of academia — is that I concocted the entire pitch for the original piece in Written By magazine partly for an excuse to interview Micky Dolenz. I’m sorry, but he was the teen idol of my childhood. So, I guess I won’t admit that to anybody. But I can tell you, the mere fact that I, a 50-year-old professional writer and academic, squealed when I hung up the phone that day after the interview and immediately called 3 or 4 of my oldest and best chick friends to say that I had just hung up on Micky Dolenz tells you something about the cultural touchstone that this group was for my generation and interestingly enough, for the next generation and the next generation, thanks to reruns on MTV and today the reruns on Antenna television, which I think is really something special.
Rachel Maddow stated during an interview with Peter Tork that “the teenagers of the 80’s learned what it was like to be a teenager in the 60’s from watching The Monkees reruns on MTV.” And that tells you something important about the show and how it’s resonated across time.
Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
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I had a blast as a guest talking head in this Zilch round table discussion of the Top Ten guest acting spots made by the lead’ actors before and after their time on The Monkees. Producers Melanie Mitchell and Sarah Clark invited me, Cindy Large and Richard Woloski to vote on and then discuss (ala Casey Kasem’s American Top 40) a variety of shows such as Micky’s early work on Peyton Place, Peter’s stop off on California Dreamin’ and the all-famous, iconic Davy taking Marcia to the prom on The Brady Bunch.
Zilch #84 Top 10 Monkees Guest Appearances & Jeffrey Sherman of Boy Meets World!
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It’s a double-header! First, The Gang (including Rosanne Welch) rates their favorite Monkees TV Guest Appearances from Ed Sullivan to Portlandia—and beyond. Then, Melanie and Sarah talk with Boy Meets World Writer and Producer Jeffrey Sherman about the Monkees’ guest appearance, his musical heritage, and his amazing Hollywood memories.PS–Stay tuned all the way to the end for an update from Casey Kasem!
I had a blast as a guest talking head in this Zilch round table discussion of the Top Ten guest acting spots made by the lead’ actors before and after their time on The Monkees. Producers Melanie Mitchell and Sarah Clark invited me, Cindy Large and Richard Woloski to vote on and then discuss (ala Casey Kasem’s American Top 40) a variety of shows such as Micky’s early work on Peyton Place, Peter’s stop off on California Dreamin’ and the all-famous, iconic Davy taking Marcia to the prom on The Brady Bunch.
** Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today **
Perhaps the show’s boldest comment concerning television came near the end of their run in episode 52 “The Devil and Peter Tork” (Kaufman and Gardner and Caruso). In visualizing hell as the place Peter may be sent since he sold his soul for the ability to play the harp, every time they say “Hell” they are bleeped. This elicits the comment from Micky, “You know what’s even more scary? You can’t say (bleep) on television.”
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
** Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today **
As the show was winding down this second season, the occasions for recognizing themselves as actors in a television program, often referenced as being trapped inside the program, become more pronounced, giving evidence of the growing conflict between the artists and the front offices of the studio and network.
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
This book signing at Book Soup was wonderful – good people, good conversation (before and after the signing). Just another example of the kind of quality positive people who have been drawn to The Monkees across generations – I even met a former head of publicity for ScreenGems who had some fun stories to tell. — Rosanne
Watch this entire presentation
Transcript:
I started by writing an article for Written By Magazine which is the magazine of the Writers Guild and I’m on their board and I wanted a chance to meet some people so I recommended this idea and from that article, I then used that as the proposal for the book company and that’s what they chose to let me continue it. So that was what was fun. Here’s the beginning part.
I was a fan from the beginning. At the age of 6 when the show debuted on NBC and caused what I often teased was the first great choice of a childhood lived without the benefit of DVR. Should I watch The Monkees or Gilligan’s Island? Both aired at the same non-Bat Time on the same non-Bat Channel. I used that question as the thesis to an essay when many years later I applied to film school and I’m amazed how it still resonates with others of my generation. For my students, that choice harkens back to an unimagined time before VCRs, DVRs or iPads. When one had to choose between two favorite programs and wait for summer reruns to see if the one they hadn’t chosen was going to re-run and you could finally see that story.
Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
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** Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today **
In the pilot, the mere act of beginning with the unrehearsed auditions of Jones and Nesmith ushered in the underlying metatextuality almost by accident. It was actually a desperate attempt to raise the ratings of the test audience who complained they could not tell the difference between the four long-haired band members.
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
Yet another research resource for Why The Monkees Matter
Daydream Believers: The Monkees’ Story. Canada: World International Networks.
Braunstein, Harold (Producer) & Kearnley, Neill (Director). (2000)
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
Previously in Out of Research Vault:
This book signing at Book Soup was wonderful – good people, good conversation (before and after the signing). Just another example of the kind of quality positive people who have been drawn to The Monkees across generations – I even met a former head of publicity for ScreenGems who had some fun stories to tell. — Rosanne
![Introduction from Why The Monkees Matter Book Signing, Book Soup. Hollywood [Video] (1:03)](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/wtmm-reading-01.jpeg)
Transcript:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank everybody for coming out tonight. It’s really coo to talk about The Monkees whenever you get a chance so I appreciate the chance. What I was just going to do was I was going to read a little bit from the Preface and the Introduction — kind of a setup for the purpose of the book and what it’s all about and then just talk about The Monkees for a little bit and see if anybody’s interested in telling stories and what they first remember about the show. So, if that’s good with everybody….I’ll start. The Preface of the book is called “I’m (Still) A Believer” and one of the things I did in writing it was I made all the chapters were the titles of songs — famous Monkee songs and it was really interesting to sit there and try to think of, what was the right song to put on this particular (chapter) and I ended up finding song titles I didn’t even remember because they put out so much music and everyone has their favorites and you just didn’t realize that there were these other titles. So, part of the them, they might have been perfect for that chapter, but they didn’t hit your brain immediately as obvious Monkee songs so then I would pick something else. The first one is obviously “I’m (Still) A Believer” because that’s what brought me to writing about them.
Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
About Dr. Rosanne Welch
Dr. Rosanne Welch is a professor in the Low Residency MFA in Screenwriting Program from Stephens College, California State University, Fullerton, Mount San Antonio Community College and Cal Poly Pomona. In 2007, she graduated with her Ph.D. in 20th Century U.S./Film History from Claremont Graduate University. She graduated with her M.A. in 20th Century United States History from California State University, Northridge in 2004.
Welch is also a television writer/producer with credits for Beverly Hills 90210 , CBS’s Emmy winning Picket Fences and Touched By An Angel . She also writes and hosts her own podcasts on 3rdPass.media, her first one titled “Mindful(I) Media with Dr. Rosanne Welch.”
Three Ring Circus: How Real Couples Balance Marriage, Work and Kids and The Encyclopedia of Women in Aviation and Space are two books she has written. Los Angeles Times and the Journal of Screenwriting hold some of her published articles.
Dr. Rosanne Welch Web Site and Blog Follow Dr. Welch on Twitter Dr. Rosanne Welch on YouTube
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** Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today **
This all added up to a new, exciting aesthetic that caught the eye of a newer viewer and was planned from the start by the producers. In an interview with TV Week, Rafelson claimed he was creating “something rare in television–creativity, freedom and non-phoniness… We’re doing something new, avoiding the status quo. We’re probably the only show with the technical crew built around the content.”
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition