"The Monkees" Rewatch: Monkees in a Ghost Town

“Monkees in a Ghost Town” starts off with the band travelling to an “out of town” job, but a missed left turn causes them to drive until they run out of gas in a ghost town. However, it isn’t completely deserted as a pair of robbers is using the buildings to hide out while they wait for their boss, the Big Man, to arrive. The crooks decide to leave it up to the boss what will happen to the boys and toss them in a cell during the wait. After some “fun on the desert,” escape attempts, and baseball, the Big Man finally shows up and orders the boys to be taken out, but becomes (slightly) sympathetic upon hearing they’re a band due to her show business past. They ask her to perform one last number with them to buy time until they can find a way to get help.

I think this episode is just great. If I ranked the whole show this one would probably end up in the top ten or fifteen. I love the writing of this one. It has some of my favorite lines in the series, such as this exchange:

Peter: Cross at the green, not in between.

Davy: He’s been out in the sun too long.

Micky: He was no bargain in the shade.

And:

Micky: Don’t trust the cavalry.

Another great aspect of “Ghost Town” is its guest stars, Rose Marie, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Len Lesser. Lesser and Chaney play crooks George and Lenny, respectively, and yes, it is a pretty obvious Of Mice and Men riff, though nowhere near as depressing. I know the book’s something of a classic, but I don’t get why that duo became a trope, of sorts, especially among comedies, The Monkees included. One could even argue that Horace and George from “Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers” count as such a riff. (A little bit, at least.) Like I said, maybe I was just too scarred by the book, but yeah, it baffles me. Still, this episode’s Lenny is about as adorable and lovable as you’d expect and luckily doesn’t die horribly.

 

Told you I have scars. Anyway…

Of course Rose Marie as the Big Man is hilarious and while I like this episode I think her second guest appearance later on in the season is a better performance. My main exposure to her came from watching The Dick Van Dyke Show as a kid, so it was a bit weird initially to see her in something else and in color to boot.

“Ghost Town” also has two fantastic romps for “Papa Gene’s Blue” and “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day.” When I first got into the Monkees the song I considered my favorite for the longest time was “Papa Gene’s Blues,” so admittedly, I’m biased toward any romp that uses it. Even so, I do think the concept of baseball in a jail cell while they dig holes to escape is cute.

I’ve never given much thought to “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day” as a song, honestly, so it’s a bit weird that some of my favorite romps feature it. This episode is no exception. In fact, it might be my favorite romp of the first season, if not the whole series. I’d try to intellectualize it, but why do that when I can I simply show it in all its goofy glory?

Pretty much everything about this episode is on point, except for one nagging question: How’d they leave at the end if the Monkeemobile was out of gas all along?

Daily Album Digest: July 12 - 25, 2015

Carrying on February's Music Writer's Exercise (#MWE), each day I listen to a new album and tweet a brief review of it. Then every two weeks compile those tweets here with some extra thoughts.

7/12: Miles Kane's Colour of the Trap: Portions sound like a 60s spy movie. I dig it. Highlight: "Happenstance"

Why? Spotify recommended it to me.

Additional Thoughts: This album presents a problem for me. I really like it, but at the same time I don’t feel like I have much to say about it. I think the 60s spy movie comparison is a pretty good summation, though maybe an oversimplification. There are other sounds going on here, such as the bouncy “Quicksand,” but, still if you’re not into 60s style stuff it might not be for you. 

7/13: Phoenix's Bankrupt!: The title track is among the most noteworthy, particularly the line "Self-entitled portrait."

Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get through; I decided to round out Phoenix.

Additional Thoughts: Honestly, I’m still not sure how I feel about this album overall, but as I said, I think the title track is interesting. The line “Self-entitled portrait” stuck out to me, because it’s one of those lyrics that seems like it might have a lot to unpack or it only wants to appear that way. I’m not sure which category it sits in though. I need to think on it a bit more.

7/15: Jessy Lanza's Pull My Hair Back: Minimalist electronic/R&B, but that restraint works both for and against it.

Why? Her featured performance on Caribou’s “Second Chance” made me curious.

Additional Thoughts: Jessy’s performance on “Second Chance” was one of the few moments I felt Caribou’s Our Love sprang to life, so the restraint of this record came as a bit of a disappointment. The beats and atmosphere are good, but I wish she’d push through more. Her lovely voice is allowed to just fade into the background. I get that much of it is going for a breathy Janet/Aaliyah sort of vibe and that’s cool, but it feels detached.

7/18: The Staple Singers' Be Altitude: Respect Yourself: "I'll Take You There" is a classic, but "Who" should be as well.

Why? While listening to songs discusses in my Rolling Stones course, I listened to another track of theirs and figured I’d just give a whole album a listen as well.

Additional Thoughts: This is some uplifting and passionate soul. It saddens me that years of commercials can make one forget that in regard to “I’ll Take You There,” but it’s so recognizable (and therefore useful for such things) for good reason. 

7/19: Jessie Jones' Jessie Jones: "Quicksilver Screen" reminds me of the Fiery Furnaces, especially "Here Comes the Summer."

Why? NPR featured it in First Listen.

Additional Thoughts: I want to like this album, but I’m not feeling it, at least not right now. Many of my favorite records so far this year have gone down a psychedelic route, so one would think this would be up my alley. I don’t know, though, in some ways this record feels like checking beats off a pschedelia checklist, such as in the Middle Eastern influenced track “Lady La De Da.”

7/20: Phoenix's United: Fantastic debut, though more rock orientated than more recent work. Highlight: "Funky Squaredance"

Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get through; I decided to round out Phoenix.

Additional Thoughts: The first Phoenix records I listened to were Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and It’s Never Been Like That, which I guess counts as their mid period work (as of now.) Those records are a bit more atmospheric and have a more electronic bent, so the rock presence on United caught me by surprise. I was also shocked by how varied the record is, while still having underlying joy that made me love Wolfgang. And “Funky Squaredance” is a blast! It’s this great mix of a country, old school hip-hop, funk, and rock that on paper probably shouldn’t work, but it does.

7/21: Wilco's Star Wars: The dad rock label seems appropriate yet dismissive. Solid, but might need to grow on me.

Why? 2015 release. I’ll be honest the title and cover were what intrigued me the most.

Additional Thoughts: The first time I heard the term “dad rock” was during a discussion about the Black Keys. I was going through my usually thing about them not doing anything wrong, per se, just not having much of anything there to grab onto and this person referred to them as dad rock. It seemed a perfect fit. Dad rock, to me, evokes bands that love 70s guitar rock, but don’t really do anything with it and as a result end up kind of boring to anyone but dads nostalgic for that time. While parts of Star Wars do fit that description, I do think there’s good in it, such as “You Satellite,” “Pickled Ginger,” and “King of You.”

7/22: The Elwins' Play for Keeps: Unabashedly sunny pop/rock. Refreshing in its seeming lack of cynicism.

Why? Spotify recommended for me.

Additional Thoughts: Some might wish for more grit to break up the sunniness of this record and while I can certainly understand that view, I don’t know that I agree. It’s refreshing to find a record that isn’t bogged down in angst or too-cool-for-the-room posturing. Is it for everyone? Probably not. But it’s good to know such a record can still exist.

7/23: Phoenix's Alphabetical: Rides a nice groove throughout, but lacks the variety and effervescence of other work.

Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get through; I decided to round out Phoenix.

Additional Thoughts: This seems where they started trying to go a more atmospheric route. I don’t know that it really works here, but they eventually do get it right and so I can’t rag on this record too much.

7/24: Ducktails' St. Catherine: Quite a chill album that also has a sense of humor and the ability to move ("Medieval.")

Why? New release.

Additional Thoughts: Ducktails is a side project led by Matt Mondanile, guitarist for Real Estate. I don’t know much Real Estate, but I quite liked Atlas. Also, the names of this project and the first track of this album (“The Disney Afternoon”) gave me a laugh, so I figured I’d check it out. The line between something being chill and being comatose is difficult to walk and probably a matter of personal taste, but I liked this. It’s not totally lifeless, like some mellow music can feel. As I tweeted, there is humor here, mainly in the previously mentioned “The Disney Afternoon.” Also, I think “Medieval” is moving and heartfelt. It seems to be about the fleeting thoughts one can sometimes have post-break up, thoughts that aren’t necessarily regretful but just curious, even after a very long time. “It’s all in the past, my feelings for you. And once in a while it goes away, the thought of you, it fades.” But I might sit on this one for a while and see if I can make a full post about it. 

7/25: The Rolling Stones' Out of Our Heads: The UK version consists mostly of covers; the best likely being "Cry To Me."

Why? I’m currently taking a course called The Music of the Rolling Stones, so it’s going to reflect in my album choices for a while.

Additional Thoughts: These early Stones records are difficult for me to judge given the amount of covers present. I’m not knocking that in any way. Everyone does covers and the prevalence of the practice was especially common in the 50s and 60s. The Beatles first few records consisted mainly of covers as well and I certainly don’t look down on them at all. It’s just difficult to gauge an artist’s identity when most of their material is covers. Covers speak more to what they are able to play and what they like, not the full potential they might hold. Anyhow, I also really liked this album’s cover of Sam Cooke’s “Good Times,” but my favorite track is the original “Gotta Get Away.” Why that wasn’t included on the American release is beyond me.

7/25: The Rolling Stones' Out of Our Heads (US): Yeah, sure, "Satisfaction" is here, but "The Last Time," man.

Why? The UK version was a bit underwhelming, so I figured I’d give this one a shot.

Additional Thoughts: Honestly, this is the first of these early Stones records that I’ve actually enjoyed. And yes, most of that might be due to “The Last Time,” which is a killer track. But this feels much tighter than other early records, which just feel kind of like compilations. Though, granted, back then albums were just compilations and afterthoughts when compared to singles. 

All albums available to stream on Spotify. 

If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry or tweet me. 

"The Monkees" Rewatch: Success Story

In “Success Story” Davy receives a message that his grandfather will pay him a surprise visit from England. In an effort to please and impress the man who raised him (and quell his fear about his grandson going abroad), Davy had previously written about how successful he’d become in the States. The others try to cover the lie and make Davy appear well-off by disguising themselves as (among other things) fans and photographers, acquiring a fancy car, expensive food, and such. But, of course, the plan quickly backfires and Davy’s grandfather, as his guardian, threatens to take him back home.

Before I say anything else let me be clear, there are a lot of hilarious moments in this episode. (See: “Micky, as my chauffer, how would you help a lady into the backseat of a car?” “As quick as I can.”) But, oh man, I’d be lying if I said this episode doesn’t choke me up something fierce. The scene of Davy saying goodbye to the others came with a lot of tears during my first viewings and time has barely softened it. If anything, Davy Jones’ passing in 2012 has given the scene another layer of sadness. His choked up “I hate goodbyes” was heartbreaking before, but now? Forget it, man, I can barely look at it. Similar things could be said about the “I Wanna Be Free” sequence of Davy walking on the beach, which was also used during the Evening with the Monkees tour that came in the late 2012.

Another aspect that always tugged my heartstrings was the melancholy “Shades of Gray” played over the beach scene instead of the ballad version of “I Wanna Be Free” in the cut of the episode I initially watched. My first viewings of the show included edits that had been made for syndication. Many syndicated shows receive edits to accommodate more commercials and while that happened to The Monkees, some songs were also changed. Some shows do change music on syndicated episodes for copyright reasons, but I don’t know what the rationale was behind certain song changes here. I think for this particular instance the song change doesn’t hurt or alter what the scene was trying to convey. “I Wanna Be Free” and “Shades of Gray” differ thematically, but the various emotions they bring up (feeling constrained, nostalgic, conflicted) make sense in context. However, the same cannot be said of notable song changes in later episodes, which I’m sure I’ll discuss in time. 

"The Monkees" Rewatch: The Spy Who Came in from the Cool

In “The Spy Who Came in from the Cool” Davy buys a pair of red maracas while the boys are out and about. Unfortunately, due to some height confusion, they contain a microfilm said to show “the latest secret American weapon” stolen by vaguely Eastern European/Russian spies. (The 60's, eh? Yesh.) Then there’s fourth wall breaking, I Dream of Jeannie references, silly dancing, and an agent who talks to popsicles while the band tries to help the C.I.S. catch spies Madame and Boris.

Man, I love this episode. The premise is a bit out there, sure, but is has so many great little moments. For example, when Boris and Madame first confront the boys at gunpoint, Peter cries, and Mike admonishes, “Look! See what you did? You made ‘im cry, ya big ox!” It makes laugh every time.

The same goes for this exchange:

Madame: I grow impatient.

Peter: I grow daffodils.

And then he yanks a fake bouquet out of nowhere.

Little absurd curveballs like that are one of my favorite things about the show overall. Nowadays it would be called “random” (and that’s true), but to me it’s also Python-esque. That descriptor will become more appropriate as series goes on, especially when it comes to The Greatest Monkees Episode Ever. (But I’m getting ahead of myself, we’ll get there.)

Another great moment is the spy movie dream sequence wherein Micky teaches the others how to use spy gadgets and karate. I realize now how little I’ve yet to talk about Micky Dolenz in these posts so far and that just cannot stand. Micky’s a comedic genius, but he’s difficult to discuss because so much of that genius comes from his voice and how he says things. He does some great accents and voices and the dream sequence here is a great example (as is his answering service lady from the previous episode.)  Mike is often pegged as the dry, sardonic Monkee (or maybe that’s just my observation), but Micky has some great deadpan moments himself and in “Spy” in particular. His “Sorry yours won’t do” is a prime example and bloody hilarious to boot.

Something I think is interesting to note about this episode is that it shows them playing a gig at a club. Out of the episodes so far the bulk of their performances take place in the context of romps and not them just being a(n occasionally) working band. Ironic that a show built as a vehicle to promote the Monkees’ music has little to do with them being a band, in terms of plot. Of course the previous episode, “Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers” is an exception, as it shows them taking part in a talent contest, but for the most part the band aspect is kind of incidental. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing, though. I mean, realistically, how much kid-friendly material can you really squeeze out of band related stuff before the band must “make it” and the show completely jumps the shark? Being kind of off-center from the beginning with the band mostly as a background detail was probably the best way to go.

Daily Album Digest: June 28 - July 11, 2015

Carrying on February's Music Writer's Exercise (#MWE), each day I listen to a new album and tweet a brief review of it. Then every two weeks compile those tweets here with some extra thoughts.

6/28: The Rakes’ Klang: "The Light From Your Mac" and "1989" have their charms. I don't know about the rest of it though.

Why? Spotify recommended it to me because of the Strokes.

Additional Thoughts: I try my best to be constructive, find the good in things, and not sink into ranting and hate, but oh boy, was this album an unpleasant listen for me. One review recommended it for people who enjoyed pre-Tonight Franz Ferdinand, which would make me want to flip every table if not for the fact that it does sound like Franz – if Alex Kapranos couldn’t sing at all.

6/30: Radioactivity's Silent Kill: Great energy and flow. "No Connection" almost sounds like a punk rock Buddy Holly.

Why? New release. I’m not sure if the title was meant to be a riff on Silent Hill, but that’s my headcanon and why I chose it, so there.

Additional Thoughts: Some pretty straightforward punk with awesome energy. I like how many of the songs flow so well into each other, which is helpful since many of the songs are quite short (most are two minutes or less) and that flow makes the album feel cohesive. As for “No Connection,” I think it’s the vocal melody that reminds me most of Buddy.

7/1: Laurel Halo's Quarantine: The purposely ugly vocals make it unnerving and stand out, but I don't know if it works.

Why? A review on the Needle Drop made me curious.

Additional Thoughts: I would feel presumptuous calling the vocals “purposely ugly” if not for the fact that the album’s final track, “Light + Space,” proves Laurel Halo can carry a tune well. The juxtaposition of these often very pretty synth and electronic pieces with distorted, unconventional (if not, out of tune) singing and unnerving lyrics makes for an interesting listen, if nothing else. Personally, I don’t dig it very much, but she does have talent and ambition which I do applaud.

7/3: Son Lux' Bones: I like much of the atmosphere and beats, but it gets repetitive lyrically and drags a bit.

Why? 2015 release.

Additional Thoughts: Unfortunately, I feel that tweet about sums it up. The only thing I’d add is that the vocals remind me of Brandon Flowers, in a way. That isn’t a judgement call or anything, just an observation.

7/4: The Rolling Stones' The Rolling Stones: A wide stylistic gulf sits between the covers and the one Jagger/Richards track.

Why? I’ve mentioned on Twitter that I’m currently taking a course called The Music of the Rolling Stones. I listened to this not long after completing the corresponding lecture.

Additional Thoughts: Prior to starting my course of them, my knowledge on the Stones was quite limited. I basically know their prevalent image – the Bad Boys of Rock ’n’ Roll. Their debut certainly hints at that as well as showing their love of blues, but that’s mostly through covers. However, their one original track is so typical early 60s pop and as well as sticking out among all the early rock and blues, not what I would’ve expected from them at all.

7/6: Mini Mansions' Mini Mansions: There's much to like ("Crime of the Season"), but it's hard ignore a blemish like "Girls"

Why? I enjoyed The Great Pretenders and wanted to check out their debut.

Additional Thoughts: As I said, I really enjoyed The Great Pretenders, so I went into this one with kind of high hopes which was probably a mistake on my part. I try very hard to steer clear of making too many Beatles references, but this record, with its Lennon-esque lead vocals, harmonies, and psychedelia, invites those comparisons itself and most of the time it works. However, “Majick Marker” proves that for all the snide comments made about it “I Am Walrus” is very hard to replicate and I can’t help but cringe at “Girls,” particularly the line “Fond of fondling you, while you fondle me too.” It’s not sexy and it’s not funny (unless you’re in middle school), it just awkwardly and obviously sits there.

7/7: Hilary Duff's Breathe In. Breathe Out.: Decent ear candy, if you can ignore the often bewildering lyrical choices.

Why? 2015 release. A friend’s opinion on it made me curious, but I perhaps should’ve listened to them.

Additional Thoughts: Honestly, I should’ve run screaming from this record when the chorus of “Sparks” turned out to be just whistling. I wish I didn’t have to be harsh. I have no beef with Miss Duff; she seems like a nice person and I’ve liked singles of hers in the past, but yeah, I didn’t like this album. The music itself is passable pop, the melodies sweet, and her voice is pleasant to listen to. The lyrics are a big problem though. I’m not sure I can call the metaphors bad or even metaphors at all (see: “Confetti”), because that would imply the writers had a point to make beyond filling space with random words. I mean, look, I’m a big fan of Lady Gaga and she writes some pretty tortured metaphors, “Hair” for instance, but even when her metaphors don’t work you can at least see what she was going for with them. Or Gaga’s track “MANiCURE,” which has a fairly silly premise, but she throws herself in it and goes so hard vocally you can ignore that. Hilary Duff, by comparison, simply doesn’t have the vocal prowess or charisma to distract from lines like “Your television life couldn't channel this love” and “Hot sweats in cold sweaters.”

7/8: Pastel Ghost's Abyss: A beautiful mix of synths, chiptunes, and ethereal vocals that is wonderful to sink into.

Why? Spotify recommended it.

Additional Thoughts: I really like this album. My main criticism would be that the vocals are so low in the mix, which makes the lyrics barely audible. But I realize that’s likely the point. It forces you to pay attention since in order to catch the lyrics you need shut your eyes, lay back, and dive into the music.

7/9: Snow Patrol's Songs for Polarbears: The unassuming and open "Mahogany" stands out the most on this album.

Why? Front man Gary Lightbody has been tweeting up a storm lately, which made me track down whether or not I’d listened to this album. I hadn’t. It was time to rectify that.

Additional Thoughts: According to Last.fm, I “first scrobbled Velocity Girl on 13 Jun 2005” which makes my timing with this listen kind of funny to me. I can’t believe it took me a little over ten years to listen to this in its entirety. That said, I don’t know that I see myself going back to this album very much. Then again, Snow Patrol frequently takes time to grow on me. As debut albums go this does do a job of showcasing a lot of their qualities, for good and ill, which would become even more prevalent in time. Case in point, the straightforward lyrics of “Mahogany” remind me a great deal of Final Straw’s opening track, “How To Be Dead” and that song’s one of my biggest favorites in their catalog.

7/10: The Bird & the Bee's Recreational Love: From "Young & Dumb" to "Lovey Dovey" this record is simply exquisite.

Why? New release. Their Spotify bio intrigued me, especially the bit about jazz and “60’s tropicalia.”

Additional Thoughts: Some themes have definitely emerged among the 2015 albums I’ve loved the most; progressive rock/baroque pop, pyschedelia, sweet vocals, and echoes of R&B. Recreational Love contains those last two for sure. I just really love this record. I’m glad I took the chance to give it a listen and I look forward to checking out their other stuff.

7/11: The Rolling Stones' 12 x 5: So. The Stones did a faithful cover of "Under the Boardwalk" ...and I am confused.

Why? As with the previous Stones album this listen was influenced by my “The Music of the Rolling Stones” class. You all should probably expect a lot of Stones in the coming weeks/months.

Additional Thoughts: As I said earlier, I have very limited knowledge of the Stones and my image of them is definitely getting a shake-up. I never would’ve pegged them as fans of the Drifters, but right here is a very faithful cover of “Under the Boardwalk.” I don’t know that there’s much else I can say about this album, though, as it’s not very different from their debut. All I’ll say is this regarding their cover of "If You Need Me": Mick Jagger is no Wilson Pickett. Sorry, man.

All albums available to stream on Spotify. 

If you'd like to suggest an album, comment on this entry or tweet me. 

"The Monkees" Rewatch: Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers

In “Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers” the Monkees make it to the finals of a talent contest. Nick Trump convinces the band to take him on as their PR agent, because the rules require them to “submit to exploitation and publicity.” They agree to multiple publicity stunts with the final one being a staged kidnapping attempt meant to drum up interest until they’re freed right before the contest. The only wrinkle? Trump is actually manager for rival band the Four Swine and the kidnappers aren’t actors, but actual criminals.

This episode feels like a good time to bring up a concern I’ve had regarding these posts: spoilers. Sure, the show is nearly fifty years old and I bet most would say that the statute of limitations is up when it comes to spoilers. However, I’ve always felt that using the age of a work as an excuse to ruin it for someone who has yet to experience it is, well, shitty. Take for instance Hamlet or Romeo & Juliet; they’re hundreds of years old, but plenty of people still haven’t seen or read them and I’ll be damned if I’m going to ruin them for those people. That said, I will concede that after a certain point you can’t expect to go into an older work completely cold. When it comes to The Monkees, while I do worry about giving away too much plot, my biggest concern is spoiling too many of the jokes and I think it’s a tightrope I’ll be walking throughout this whole project.

Now, I’m sure my sympathetic take on spoilers might seem ironic in light of how I opened this post, but that just leads into another sitcom trope: dramatic irony. Dramatic irony basically entails that the audience know what’s going on, but the character(s) do not and the humor or drama comes from the build-up to a reveal. It’s a common literary technique, but sitcoms use it quite often and would probably be among the most easily recognizable examples to people. As for this episode, the audience sees during the opening that Trump is the Four Swine’s manager and encourages sabotage against the Monkees. Even after the boys accept his offer all his publicity stunts seem intent on causing them humiliation or pain, so when Mike expresses doubts about the kidnapping plot one might hope they’d heed it. They don’t, of course, but it does make for some great moments. The hoods, Horace and George, hired to kidnap them are pretty fantastic. Plus, the “answering service” exchange Micky and Mike have while waiting for them to show up is probably the best part of the episode, at least for me.

The only proper romp in this episode is a chase scene set to “Last Train to Clarksville.” The romp also includes the same performance footage as earlier episodes and I can’t help but be curious how many times it was used throughout the show. Also of note, this is fourth episode of the show and “Last Train to Clarksville” has already been used in three romps. The heavy usage makes sense as it was their big single at the time these episodes aired and the show was a vehicle for the music as much as it was anything else (sometimes even before it was anything else.) I’m sure a spike in “I’m a Believer” romps coincided with that single’s release and popularity as well. I get it, believe me, but… I know I’m about to commit Monkee fan heresy, I just don’t like “Clarksville.” I can certainly see why it was a hit and endures and I wouldn’t call it awful, but it’s not for me.

"The Monkees" Rewatch: Monkee vs. Machine

In “Monkee vs. Machine” the boys decide to find day jobs to help pay the rent. Peter is rejected for a job at a toy factory when his interview, conducted by one of the company’s advanced computers, goes horribly and hilariously wrong. Mike comes to the rescue and earns the job after he overloads the machine with his own questions and comebacks. Though glad to have the job, Mike feels conflicted with his position as Daggart’s assistant. Daggart wants all the company’s products to be designed by his computers and to push out a man who has designed for the company his whole life. To help Pop Harper keep his job, the other three boys (in mother-son pairs) infiltrate the focus group meant to test the toys.

Neat bit of trivia, this is actually Peter Tork’s favorite episode of the show and I must admit that it ranks very high up for me as well. There’s just so much in this one to love. Peter and Mike’s interviews are both hilarious. Case in point:

Peter: My name is Peter, you dig? Pete.

DJ61: You dig Pete? Occupation: Pete Digger.

The scenes in the focus group probably steal the show, though. The combination of the guys in drag and dressed as kids kicking Daggart in the leg is magical, especially when Micky attempts a lady voice. Between the band’s antics and the kids turning on him, Daggart damn near has a nervous breakdown. His attempts to keep his cool among exploding pies and getting pelted with bridge pieces fail to fantastic results.

As one can probably guess by my gushing over the song “Tapioca Tundra,” I have a deep affinity for Mike Nesmith, so I have a soft spot for Mike-centric episodes such as this one. Of course I love his comedic timing and facial expression, but his morals and sense of duty make him so endearing as a character. It’s easy to see why in moments of distress they (especially Peter) will turn to Mike or he’ll just fly in to the rescue on his own, like in “Monkee vs. Machine.” There are deviations occasionally, but the Monkees’ characters remain fairly static throughout the series.  Many older sitcoms don’t have continuity in terms of an overall plot for a series; most of the connecting threads are running gags and characterization. Another example of such a sitcom would be The Golden Girls, which is loaded with tiny contradicting details that take a backseat to their character archetypes and “back in St. Olaf” stories. Well… unless you’re like me and have watched the series a bajillion time, but even then it doesn’t ruin anything at all.

The episode also means a lot to me, because it really takes me back to that first summer I spent watching the show. According to my mother, I watched the show when MTV aired it in the mid- to late eighties, but I don’t remember that at all. My memories of the show begin in 1997 when VH1 and Nick At Nite would have weekly marathons of the show. I still have VHS tapes of Nick At Nite’s Monkee Mondays. I want to say VH1’s marathon aired on Thursday, but it could’ve been Wednesday as well. I’m a bit unclear on that detail. I spent so much of that summer (and the following summer) watching the show and holding my radio up to the TV to record songs and favorite bits of dialogue so that I could listen to them outside. I have really fond memories of running and swinging to “Saturday’s Child” (the first romp in this episode), so hearing that song or watching “Monkee vs. Machine” instantly brings me there.