The Monkees Our Favorite Episodes in Metal Lunchbox

xd — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:42:35 +0000

$39.98

$69.95

Whether you're indulging nostalgia or experiencing the Monkees for the first time, Our Favorite Episodes--chosen by Davey Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith--is a curious time capsule. Even for veteran Monkeephiles, it's obvious that the TV series, totaling 58 episodes from 1966 to 1968, hasn't aged very gracefully. It's fun as a pop-cultural artifact, and original fans will fondly recall the eagerness with which each week's episode was anticipated. Looking back, however, the shows are marginally amusing, and their improvisational, low-budget strategy tends to limit their lasting appeal. For die-hard fans it won't matter a bit; any chance to own and archive the Monkee phenomenon (with brief latter-day interviews included) is going to be welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed.

Because Jones's favorite episode was actually the Emmy-winning Royal Flush, the inclusion of Hitting the High Seas is a conspicuous blunder, but it's compensated by Peter's Monkee vs. Machine. Directed by series producer (and then-budding filmmaker) Bob Rafelson, and featuring comedian Stan Freberg as a stodgy toy-company executive, this early episode was a first-season highlight. Mickey selected (and directed) the series finale, Mijacogeo (The Frodis Caper), which is noteworthy for a filmed performance of Tim Buckley singing a rare acoustic version of Siren Song (further proof that the Monkees were hipper than their TV personas). Mike's favorite Fairy Tale is a wild romp indeed, with Nesmith in drag (as a fairy princess), sounding shockingly like Cher from her later TV variety show. They're semi-inspired at best, but these vintage episodes still capture the lunacy that accompanied the meteoric success of the Pre-Fab Four. --Jeff Shannon ....read more