"Son of a Gypsy"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Son of a Gypsy" - the sixteenth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (26 December 1966).  It was written by Gerald Gardner, Dee Caruso, and Treva Silverman, directed by James Frawley, and featured the song "I'm a Believer."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "A band of jealous gypsies kidnap Peter after The Monkees purloin their party gig."

"Too Many Girls (Davy and Fern)"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Too Many Girls (Davy and Fern)" - the fifteenth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (19 December 1966).  It was written by Gerald Gardner, Dee Caruso, and Dave Evans, directed by James Frawley, and featured the song "I'm a Believer."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "A scheming stage mom plots to place her doe-eyed daughter alongside Davy in a dynamic duo." 

"Good Times"

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A couple days ago, I finally listened to Good Times!  I noticed something interesting about the title track, written by Harry Nilsson.  There are the recurring lines "I can tell it won't be long / Till there's dancing in the streets again / And music everywhere."  I'm pretty sure this is an allusion to the song "Dancing in the Street."  It's originally by Martha and the Vandellas, but the only versions I have in my collection are by the Mamas & the Papas and by the Who (live on the BBC).

In any case, "Dancing in the Street" has the lines:

There'll be music ev'rywhere
There'll be swingin' and swayin'
And records playin'
And dancin' in the street

As quoted above, "Good Times" also has "music everywhere" and "dancing in the street."  Those two phrases match exactly and are in close proximity to each other in both songs, so I can't think this is anything other than Nilsson's referencing "Dancing in the Street."

"I'll Be Back up on My Feet"

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While I was watching the "I'll Be Back up on My Feet" romp in "Dance, Monkee, Dance" yester-day, I thought the bass part sounded like it wouldn't be too hard to figure out, so I figured it out last night.  I got one of the guitar phrases too.

My recording is just the introduction, first verse, and first chorus (and maybe a bit of a lead-in to the second verse).  I should also note that this is the version that appears in that episode and as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of More of the Monkees.  Apparently, the Monkees re-recorded it for The Birds, the Bees, and the Monkees, but I don't have that album (yet) so this is the only version of the song I know.

"Dance, Monkee, Dance"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Dance, Monkee, Dance" - the fourteenth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (12 December 1966).  It was written by Bernie Orenstein, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "I'll Be Back up on My Feet" and "I'm a Believer."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "A lifetime contract of dance lessons keeps The Monkees on their toes until the group tap into a scheme of their own."

"One Man Shy (Peter and the Debutante)"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "One Man Shy (Peter and the Debutante)" - the thirteenth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (5 December 1966).  It was written by Gerald Gardner, Dee Caruso, and Treva Silverman, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "You Just May Be the One" and "I'm a Believer."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "When Peter falls for a debutante The Monkees comes to the rescue with a plot to win her heart." 

"I've Got a Little Song Here"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "I've Got a Little Song Here" - the twelfth episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (28 November 1966).  It was written by Treva Silverman, directed by Bruce Kessler, and featured the songs "Gonna Buy Me a Dog" and "Mary, Mary."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "An unscrupulous music publisher tries to take Mike Nesmith for a ride until The Monkees turn the tables." 

"Monkees a la Carte"

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According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Monkees a la Carte" - the eleventh episode of The Monkees series - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (21 November 1966).  It was written by Gerald Gardner, Dee Caruso, and Bernie Orenstein, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" and "She."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The Monkees monkey with a mobster's plot to take over a string of West Coast restaurants."

"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.