Mike Nesmith Complained About ‘The Monkees’ Scripts, Claimed Cast Didn’t ‘Learn’ or ‘Read’ Them
The Monkees Mike Nesmith appeared to have both a love and hate relationship with the process of filming the band’s television series. While the show brought him fame as a performer and a wide-ranging professional platform, there was a lot about the series he didn’t like. Nesmith complained about the series scripts, claiming the cast didn’t “learn” or “read” them during two seasons.
Mike Nesmith often spoke of his Monkees past, but always as an observer
Nesmith regularly faced questions about his Monkees history. A generation of fans intertwined the television show and the band’s music. Nesmith would always punctuate his statements as more of an observer of the madness the group generated than being in its mix.
For example, in an interview with USA Today, Nesmith was approached by one interviewer who cited a quote from the musician who called himself “the difficult Monkee who won’t talk about his Monkee past.”
Nesmith responded, “My sense of The Monkees has stayed fairly consistent over the years. The Monkees belong to the people and the fans and not to me — and I don’t think they ever can be a part of me in that way.”
He continued, “I am forever grateful and happy for the association and feel it is positive and beneficial in my life. In the context of my overall career, The Monkees experience is a substantial and welcome part of the puzzle.”
Mike Nesmith complained about ‘Monkees’ scripts and said the cast didn’t ‘learn’ or ‘read’ them
In an excerpt from Total Control: The Mike Nesmith Story, Nesmith complained about The Monkees‘ scripts. He also stated the cast, including Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork, didn’t “learn” or “read” them.
“The boys were also becoming more vocal,” the book said. “They complained to anyone who would listen that the scripts were rejects from the first season. The scripts got better when they threatened not to do a third season.”
The book quoted Nesmith as saying, “We don’t learn scripts. Hell, we don’t even read them.”
The show’s former publicist Don Berrigan said, “It became the job that’s the worst kind of job, having responsibility for the boys without having any authority over them. So, I would come down with a directive from [Monkees producer] Bert [Schneider], and I would tell Nesmith to do this. He’d say, ‘screw you.’ And then I’d tell Davy, and he’d say f*** you.’ And then I’d have to go back to Bert and tell them they wouldn’t do it.”
He once called The Monkees ‘an important and pleasant chapter’ of his life
In his book Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff, Nesmith kept his history with The Monkees close to his chest. He was asked by AZ Central why he kept that significant part of his professional life out of his autobiography.
“It seems to me that everyone has had their say. All that needs to be written has been written,” he wrote.
“It seemed the better part of wisdom to leave that story in the book where it was in my life — an important and pleasant chapter, but only a chapter, followed by many others that put the Monkees in their proper perspective,” Nesmith concluded.
