Nine Monkees Episodes Funny Enough To Stand Up Amongst The Best Sitcom and Sketch Shows
By Sharon Dougherty on February 28, 2015
The Monkees. To most people the name means a “manufactured” 60s pop group, formed by producers to sell records via a TV show. But that TV show starring Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones (RIP) and Peter Tork was actually funny and on par with some great silly/slapstick comedy of our time.
The show featured some great guest stars – Liberace, Ruth Buzzi, Vic Tayback, Julie Newmar, Pat Paulson, Rose Marie, Butch Patrick, and Rip Taylor to name a few. Their landlord played by Henry Corden was famous as the voice of Fred Flintstone and a group of series regulars was consistently strong.
“I think you’re the greatest comic talent since the Marx Brothers. I’ve never missed one of your programs.” — John Lennon
Although they were viewed as a “pre-fab four”, the Beatles themselves were actually fans and even hosted a party when the Monkees visited London. At a recording session for “Day in the Life”, Mike Nesmith asked John Lennon “Do you think we’re a cheap imitation of the Beatles, your movies and your records?” to which Lennon assuredly replied, “I think you’re the greatest comic talent since the Marx Brothers. I’ve never missed one of your programs.”
Time magazine contributor James Poniewozik praised the television show, saying that “even if the show was never meant to be more than entertainment and a hit-single generator, we shouldn’t sell The Monkees short. It was far better TV than it had to be; during an era of formulaic domestic sitcoms and wacky comedies, it was a stylistically ambitious show, with a distinctive visual style, absurdist sense of humor and unusual story structure.” The main writers of the majority of the episodes, Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, also wrote for Get Smart which displayed a similar style and wackiness
. . .during an era of formulaic domestic sitcoms and wacky comedies, it was a stylistically ambitious show, with a distinctive visual style, absurdist sense of humor and unusual story structure. — James Poniewozik
The Monkees TV show was funny like the Marx Brothers, sprinkled with the silliness of Monty Python, the madcap comedy of Benny Hill and wackiness of Bugs Bunny all rolled up in one show. The show used a variety of comedy bits – there was the fast motion music soundtrack, the running props and characters like Mr Schneider (the dummy who has his own tumblr), the cigar store Indian, the constant parade of girls for Davy – used every week and figured into the majority of episodes. The Monkees would cut to random scenes of screaming cheering girls at their live show, just like Monty Python would cut to the clapping old ladies Many episodes were more like a series of sketches where they played characters. Here are the top six funniest Monkees episodes, in no particular order both as I loved them as a kid and as I understood them as an adult.
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