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The Monkees were four boys, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, and Davy Jones. They were chosen over hundreds
of other actors and musicians to portray an out-of-work, Beatles-esque rock 'n' roll group every week on national television.
Once the show premiered on NBC in the fall of 1966, kids across the country began to flip over these zany boys and their crazy
antics.
In the world of the show (and, to a slightly lesser extent, in real life) Mike was the leader, Peter was the sweetheart,
Micky was the funny one, and Davy was the teen idol. They were each, as director James Frawly put it, "one
quarter of the perfect man."
The amazing thing about this show is that these four boys were so believable in their roles that viewers seemed to forget
that it was television. Everyone thought that The Monkees were a real band, and when it came out that the boys didn't
play on their own albums (they only provided the vocal tracks), the public was outraged. Never mind that they could
play their instruments and simply hadn't been allowed to, never mind that every major rock band of the era, including The
Beatles, used studio musicians. Monkees fans thought that they had been deceived and they were pissed off about it.
The Monkees did eventually gain creative control and released albums that featured their talents as musicians, but they never
completely recovered from the backlash.
The reason it's important to know all this, is because The Monkees is one of the rare examples of perfect casting.
The boys had fantastic chemistry with each other and really understood the spirit of the show. It didn't matter that
they weren't a 'real band', because if any other combination of people had been cast as the Monkees it would have never worked.
Yes, the writing and the gags were great, yes, the music was good, and yes, even the clothes were cool, but when it comes
down to it, it's all about those four guys and the fake band they helped make real. And that's what makes them great.
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