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Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this classic 1960s sitcom about four young men in a band is light-hearted, innocent fun. Some silly sexual innuendo pops up here and there, but it's pretty old-fashioned in its tone, and it's very mild.

Families can compare The Monkees to The Beatles. What were parents' experiences with the two bands? How are they similar and different? How do the show and the characters reflect the culture of the time? Families can also talk about the fact that the band didn't exist before the TV show. Does that make the guys seem less like genuine musicians? What do you think the motivations were for creating the band and the show? Are there any parallels in today's TV/media world (Making the Band, for example)?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Sierra Filucci

Capitalizing on Beatlemania, the 1960s sitcom THE MONKEES followed a group of four hip, floppy-haired young guys in a band as they played music, hung out on the beach, and goofed around. Eventually, the fictional titular band became a real touring and album-recording group, cementing their status as Beatles doppelgangers (or, according to some, inauthentic knock-offs) -- and their appeal to the '60s youth culture demographic.

Viewers familiar with The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night will see many format, performance, and personality similarities in the TV show. The Monkees -- cute Brit Davy Jones, silly Micky Dolenz, smart Mike Nesmith, and naïve Peter Tork -- wear coordinated outfits and cavort in public places, leaping and tumbling around in the midst of serious older folks.

Episodes typically follow the boys' mishaps and capers. For example, one centers on a visit from Jones' uncle. To avoid being sent back to England, Jones had told his uncle that he'd become very rich during his stay in America. So, during the visit, Dolenz, Nesmith, and Tork dress up and pretend to be Jones' chauffer, chef, and houseboy. The charade quickly falls apart, and the uncle carts Jones off to the airport. After the boys try to rescue him in another dress-up scheme, the uncle relents, realizing just how devoted his nephew's friends are.

While the show's plots are very simplistic and incredibly corny (especially when the boys break into a mid-episode song-and-dance performance), The Monkees has a campy appeal. There's nothing really objectionable for kids; teens might find the show ironically entertaining, and grown-up viewers will either cringe or enjoy the trip back in time.

Fans might also enjoy old Marx Brothers or Three Stooges movies, as well as The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch.

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