The Show
"The Monkees spoke to their generation unlike any show that had come before. Not only were the stars about the same age as their teenage audience, they wore long hair, had freaky clothes and played rock'n'roll music. They defended themselves against adults when challenged and often outsmarted the authority figures around them. However, the Monkees were not stereotypical, unmotivated, anti-social youths. These four guys were independent and making it on their own without relying on Mom and Dad like the young adults in other contemporary shows. The good-natured boys balanced fun with responsibility and, be it friend or stranger, they always lent what little they had to help others and solve the problem at hand."
"Rafelson and Schneider began the Monkees selection process by thinning
out the vast pool of performers through several unorthodox interviews.
The producers wanted to 'psych out' the applicants by catching them
off-guard and revealing their true personalities. Only a handful
were mentally nimble enough to proceed onto an equally grueling series
of screen tests. Two of these early tests, Davy's and Mike's, appear
in the pilot episode and they exemplify the producers' unusual interviewing
technique. After twelve finalists had been chosen, their screen tests were
measuered by a computerized survey of a sample TV audience. The
survey results determined the final four: Davy, Mike, Peter, and Micky,
now collectively known as The Monkees."
"The Monkees debut episode, "Royal Flush," aired on Monday night,
September 12, 1966, in color on NBC. The Monkees' first single had been
climbing the charts and, although the show went up against ABC's
Gilligan's Island, it became an instant success. Not all markets ran the
show due to overly conservative station programmers being unsure
about the show's merits. Concerns aside, The Monkees was critically
acclaimed and the debut episode won Emmy Awards in 1967 for
Outstanding Comedy Series and Direction. The second season began on
September 11, 1967 and ended on March 25, 1968. By this time the
ratings had fallen to a point where NBC executives decided to cancel the
series. In September 1969, the series went into Saturday morning
reruns on CBS and moved to ABC beginning in 1972."
