“If mentioned in television histories at all, The Monkees were seen as the bastard child when discussing counter-culture humor in 1960s television, behind Laugh-In and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, yet they prefigured and influenced both of those programs.”
I didn’t pick, because I’m not going to pick for you. You’ve got to pick for yourself. These are the messages that we’re being sent by this piece o popular culture. So, how we’re relating to those messages is the question. What I did do was look into who the show named as the most manly man and they did in The Day of the Doctor. They made a choice. They mentioned the man that all men should live up to. Anyone remember who it was? It’s at the very end of The Day of the Doctor. And it’s John Hurt talking. He’s made that choice, right, in the end. Made the cool choice not to bow everybody up. I thought that was brilliant writing. Who knew you could do that? Literally, re-wrote the last 10 years of the series with that one choice. Who did he pick as the manliest man ever to appear on Doctor Who? A Woman! A modern women is the equal to any man. That’s a modern an talking. That’s a modern man thinking about people as complete and total equals and, to me, that was so cool when I stumbled on that. Didn’t even occur to me. Now, Clara’s not necessarily my favorite character, but in this particular episode she helped a decision be made that saved the world. She’s the one who told him he didn’t have to drop the bomb. That’s a huge, manly, choice. She influenced the lives of millions by standing up and saying that. So, I think that was hilarious and wonderful which brings us back to that first quote. “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” Right now! Today! Which means be a good family man. There you have it. Thank you so much for coming.
A clip from this 5th talk on various aspects of Doctor Who presented by Dr. Welch. You can find Dr. Welch’s other Doctor Who talks using the links below.
Why The Monkees Matter is now scheduled for publication for Fall 2016, just in time to gift it to your favorite Monkee’s Fans among your friends and family…and, of course, a copy for yourself, too!
I’ll send out more information about the book as it happens. You can also join the Monkees discussion on my Facebook Page, Why The Monkees Matter.
It is always fun to work with student journalists – this is a story written by one from CalPoly Pomona about the 4 volume encyclopedia my colleague Peg Lamphier and I co-edited for ABC-CLIO over the last three years – it is now available for pre-order by high school and college libraries (and any individuals who like to college encyclopedias or books about cool women!)
There’s a proverb that says “women hold up half the sky,” a centuries-old homage to the vital role women play.
Cal Poly Pomona Professors Rosanne Welch and Peg Lamphier have compiled those historic feats in a new encyclopedia titled “Women in American History.”
The four-volume set covers pre-colonial history to modern-day feminism.
“It’s women in American history and culture, so we thought about what kind of women don’t normally get into encyclopedias to ensure there was a great diversity expressed,” says Welch, who holds a doctorate in American social history of the 21st century.
Some women who are included in the compilation are ones people may not expect to see in an encyclopedia.
“Lady Gaga hasn’t made many encyclopedias, but her philanthropy and influence on media earned her a place in the book,” Welch says.
“Television forced families to see things they might not have chosen to see, but needed to see, such as independent women, people of color and new political perspectives. All these things appeared on The Monkees long before the rise of social commentary comedies such as All in the Family.”
That leaves me with wondering, of all The Doctors who is the manliest man? I think it’s an interesting thing to ponder. We’re critically thinking about our media and what messages is our media sending us. Who do we bond with? Who do we think’s the best? I’ll tell you. None of them. Why can’t any of them be the manliest man? They aren’t men. They’re aren’t human. They’re Timelords. None of them can be the manliest man. All right. They’re all Timelords. However, I’m very interested in the actual men who have appeared on the show. So from that group. who do we think defines masculinity in the modern world best?
Student: “Is it Rory?
Ooo, why?
Student: “Because he’s a family man”
He does it all! He’s a family man, but he’s also a warrior and a protector and he’s a good dad to both the baby and to the grownup River, who he didn’t get a chance to know. Imagine – that’s like an adoption story, where you meet your child when they’re a grownup and how do you make a relationship with someone who you didn’t share any time with. You’ve got to start from scratch and that’s exactly what he has to do with River Song. It’s a very modern story. In the days before, when you never opened adoption paperwork and you couldn’t know that. So, I think that Rory is a very modern guy. And a very manly man. He was good pirate, too. When he had to be.
A clip from this 5th talk on various aspects of Doctor Who presented by Dr. Welch. You can find Dr. Welch’s other Doctor Who talks using the links below.
Who Wrote The Monkees? – “Monkees At The Circus” by David Panich – Part 6 of an on-going series
David Panich wrote Monkees at the Circus as one of only a few freelancers contracted for the series and was also on the staff 1967 of writers who won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Music or Variety show for his work on Laugh-In, a show that took a page from The Monkees by bringing the counter-culture into more and more homes in that era.
Likewise, Panich had been nominated for the same Writing award but for a different show and with a different future Monkees writer – Gerald Gardner – when they both worked on That Was the Week That Was. This is likely where Gardner knew of Panich and why Panish was invited to pitch ideas for The Monkees. He would be nominated for Laugh-in three more years in a row, and then receive a writing nomination in 1975 for his work on Cher, the show she headlined after her divorce from Sonny. A seasoned variety show sketch writer Panich had also written for The Dean Martin Show, and would later work for the Hudson Brothers and Dom DeLuise. Sadly, Panish died in 1983.