The Monkees: The Real Reason Only 2 of Its Stars Appeared in Every Episode of the Series
The Monkees viewers were used to seeing all four of the show’s stars battling bad guys, singing songs, and participating in the general lunacy of their TV series every week on the NBC network. However, there were several instances where this was not so. Only two of the cast members appeared in each episode of the series.
In two years, The Monkees became a TV and music phenomenon
The Monkees starred Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones. The series aired on NBC from 1966 through 1968. At that time, the series broke down barriers in television as the first to lack parental figures. Viewers were used to shows with a nuclear family, with a figurehead leading the antics of the show’s younger cast members. The Monkees characters lived and worked independently, tried to make ends meet, and navigated life as they sought success in the music business.
Subsequently, The Monkees series would break other barriers on television. Its actors were the first to say the censored word “hell” on television [the network bleeped it out during post-production] and also the first to feature four young “hippie” men as their stars.
The Monkees also broke the fourth wall, where performers act as if the audience is not there. During the series, Micky walked off set to visit the writers’ room, Davy stopped midscene to ask to take a line over again, and the actors looked directly at the camera to speak to the viewer.
Only two cast members appeared in all 58 series episodes
According to MeTV, only two cast members appeared in all 58 episodes and two seasons of The Monkees. Every installment of the series featured only Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz.
Jones missed an episode of season one titled “Alias Micky Dolenz.” He appeared during the band’s performance of the tune “Mary, Mary” and in an interview at the end where he explained his absence. Jones was written out of the episode so he could attend his sister’s wedding in England.
Despite rumors, Nesmith did not appear in several episodes due to his clashes with the cast and producers. He missed the season two episodes “I Was a 99 Pound Weakling,” “The Card Carrying Red Shoes,” “The Monkees Watch Their Feet,” and appeared briefly in “Hitting the High Seas” due to a tonsillectomy, the birth of his son Jonathan and a family trip to Texas.
Mike Nesmith and his fellow Monkees bandmates disagreed often
On June 28, 1967, The Monkees arrived in London for 5 concerts at the Empire Pool, Wembley from June 30 to July 2! @TheMonkees #themonkees
— Micky Dolenz (@TheMickyDolenz1) June 30, 2022
Video: https://t.co/bMDjsKHo6n pic.twitter.com/7esWzrrndH
It has long been part of The Monkees lore that the foursome wasn’t as close as they appeared on stage and the set of their television series. Rolling Stone asked Nesmith if the rumors he couldn’t get along with Jones were true.
He replied, “Well, some people would say that one or both of us were fractious and couldn’t get along with anybody. I’ll leave that somewhere on the doorstep or the threshold of the Davy and Mike friendship, but I don’t know. We were all friends on some level, very casual work-space partners. We enjoyed, to a degree, playing music.”
In a separate Rolling Stone interview, Nesmith said this about bandmate Tork. “We didn’t have too many civil words to say to each other, but we also didn’t fight all the time. We didn’t say much.”
“There wasn’t a lot to say. Peter would play me the songs that he thought were good and I didn’t. And I would play him the songs I thought were good, and he wouldn’t. Then we just left it at that. Partners in silence,” he concluded.
However, Nesmith remained friendly with Micky Dolenz. The former bandmates reunited in 2018 for “The Monkees Present: The Mike and Micky Show.” This tour was followed by “The Monkees Farewell Tour Featuring Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz.”
