"Here Come the Monkees"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Here Come the Monkees" - the tenth episode (and original pilot) of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (14 November 1966).  It was written by Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker, directed by Mike Elliot, and featured the songs "I Wanna Be Free" and "Let's Dance On."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "In the pilot episode, The Monkees land a sweet-16 gig that is soon thrown into jeopardy when the birthday girl falls for Davy." 

"Monkees in a Ghost Town"

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I'm behind in writing this, but I noticed something about "Monkees in a Ghost Town" when I watched it a couple weeks ago.

The episode trivia on the DVD menu mentions that Lon Chaney Jr.'s "role of Lenny in this episode is a lampoon of his role of Lennie Small in the film Of Mice and Men."

I think there's a bit more to it than that.  I haven't seen the 1939 movie, but I have read Steinbeck's book (albeit only once and about two and a half years ago; some of the delay in writing this was my looking up some things).  Like the two bandits in the Monkees episode, the two main characters in Of Mice and Men are named George and Lennie.

In one scene in the episode, the Monkees pretend that they want to play baseball (using a shovel as a bat), but really they just want to acquire the shovel so they can try to dig their way out of a jail cell.  After they have the shovel, Micky asks Lennie, "Hey, can we use your ball?"  Lennie puts his hands in his pockets, and he brings them out with the ball and a dead mouse:

Early in Of Mice and Men (it's page 7 in the Penguin Classics edition, which is what I have), Steinbeck's Lennie also has a dead mouse in his pocket.  He tells George he has it there so that he can "pet it with my thumb while we walked along."

"The Chaperone"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "The Chaperone" - the ninth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (7 November 1966).  It was written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, directed by Bruce Kessler, and featured the songs "This Just Doesn't Seem to Be My Day" and "Take a Giant Step."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "When Davy sets his sights on dating the daughter of an uptight military man, Micky is recruited as a chaperone - albeit with a twist." 

"I'm a Believer" b/w "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "I'm a Believer" b/w "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" - the Monkees' second single (Colgems 66-1002) - was released in the U.S. fifty years ago this month (November 1966).  The U.K. release (RCA 1650) followed on 30 December. 

"Don't Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Don't Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth" - the eighth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (31 October 1966).  It was written by Dave Evans, directed by Robert Rafelson, and featured the songs "Papa Gene's Blues" and "All the King's Horses."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The Monkees are saddled with the responsibility of babysitting a real live horse." 

"Monkees in a Ghost Town"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Monkees in a Ghost Town" - the seventh episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (24 October 1966).  It was written by Peter Meyerson and Robert Schlitt, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day" and "Papa Gene's Blues."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The Monkees get lost on their way to a gig and find their Monkeemobile vehicle out of gas in a seemingly deserted town." 

"Success Story"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Success Story" - the sixth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (17 October 1966).  It was written by Gerald Gardner, Dee Caruso, and Bernie Orenstein, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "I Wanna Be Free" and "Sweet Young Thing."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The group are bent on making Davy look like a star and give his visiting grandfather the Monkee treatment." 

"The Spy Who Came in from the Cool"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "The Spy Who Came in from the Cool" - the fifth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (10 October 1966).  It was written by Gerald Gardner and Dee Caruso, directed by Robert Rafelson, and featured the songs "The Kind of Girl I Could Love," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," "All the King's Horses," and "Saturday's Child."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The Monkees are cast into the Cold War after Davy purchases a pair of 'red' maracas at a pawnshop." 

"Royal Flush"

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Last week, one of the readings in the church lectionary included 1 Timothy 6:10:  "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.  It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs."

It occurred to me - because Davy Jones made a note of it in his commentary for "Royal Flush" (season 1, episode 1) - that this is the origin of the "Money is the root of all evil" sign that hangs in the Monkees' pad:

"Gonna Buy Me a Dog"

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I listened to The Monkees [Deluxe Edition] a couple days ago, and I realized that the bass part in "Gonna Buy Me a Dog" mostly just alternates between two notes a fourth apart.  Once I had those two notes (B and E), it wasn't too hard to figure out the rest.  This is just the introduction (which is really only three notes), the first verse (which is entirely those two alternating notes), and the first chorus.  The bass part repeats for the rest of the song though, so while I didn't play the whole part, I do have it all.

"Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers" - the fourth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (3 October 1966).  It was written by Dave Evans, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "Let's Dance On," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," and "Last Train to Clarksville."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "When The Monkees become finalists in a band contest, they are subject to some competitive sabotage." 

The Monkees

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, the Monkees' first album - The Monkees (Colgems COM-101 [mono], COS-101 [stereo]) - was released fifty years ago this month (October 1966), although Sandoval also notes that "some copies may have been on sale in September."  The U.K. release (RCA SF 7844) followed on 20 January 1967.

Side One:

1. "(Theme from) The Monkees"
2. "Saturday's Child"
3. "I Wanna Be Free"
4. "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day"
5. "Papa Gene's Blues"
6. "Take a Giant Step"

Side Two:

1. "Last Train to Clarksville"
2. "This Just Doesn't Seem to Be My Day"
3. "Let's Dance On"
4. "I'll Be True to You"
5. "Sweet Young Thing"
6. "Gonna Buy Me a Dog"