Monkee Sightings
Man, I just can't watch TV without someone mentioning the Monkees, and, freak that I am, I go nuts, squealing, giggling, generally making an ass of myself.  So, I thought, what the hell, I'm just gonna write all these down.
I could probably do an essay or something about how they've insinuated themselves into our culture.  I mean, MOST people have heard of the Monkees in some way, if only just the group name or "that Believer song".
If you've spotted one that I've missed, feel free to use the feedback form to submit it.

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On Conan, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards.  There, he spoke to the Strokes.
And I quote:  "Aren't you cute?  You are like the Monkees with a drinking problem."
I, of course, said "Ohmigod ohmigod" a few times, laughed myself silly, and then emailed a bunch of people.
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From Quinn:
One time, I was watching Bewitched and Sam or Tabitha had turned this one chimp into a person.  The guy that played the chimp as a person was the same guy who played Judd on "Hillybilly Honeymoon".  Also, in the same Bewitched episode, Sam and the chimp guy went to a party, and I could tell it was the set of the Monkees' beach pad, except painted in really bright colors.  I could make out the spiral staircase and the kitchen and the big bay window.  I guess Screen Gems just borrowed sets from their shows, cuz on "Monkees on Tour", I could tell the first seen where the guys are talking about what the ep's about, the set they were on was Sam and Darrin's living room from Bewitched.
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From Quinn:
On Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, they play a little bit of "I'm A Believer" when Austin was romping down the street with what's-her-name.
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From Jill at The Blue Light Diner:
LeeAnn Womack's new music video "Something Worth Leaving Behind" contains two short clips of a little boy looking at The Monkees bobbin' head dolls, and snatching the Mike doll before running off.
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"Judd" from Hillbilly Honeymoon (AKA Double Barrel Shotgun Wedding) appeared in at least one episode of I Dream of Jeannie (the one with the moon safe?  I don't know, I came in mid-episode and I have to leave for class soon, so I won't get to see the end.)
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More snagged from Monkees-Alert:
From: Melissa Neal
Monkees show up in the darndest places. In MacWorld magazine, this blurb about a website: "The music world survived the Monkees--so why not the Gorillaz? This four-piece hip-hop band--made up of Murdoc, 2-D, Noodle, and Russel--is nothing but a collection of Flash-based characters, yet they're still more animated than Peter Tork." I don't know why they picked on Peter. He seemed pretty animated to me back at the June concert I saw.
In the Sporting News, a writer discussed the Pittsburgh Steelers and ended his piece with: "Like Micky, Mike, Peter and Davy, I'm a believer." It's cool that the Monkees are such an icon people don't have to mention the name of the band--everybody knows who those four guys are. :-)
Missy
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MARTHA ROCKS!  She sent me this:
I was reading this week's Entertainment Weekly, and they're talking about Andy Richter's new show, Andy Richter
Controls the Universe, where, I guess they have a lot of fantasy sequences.  And Andy says, "Scrubs didn't invent goofy
cutaways, and neither did Ally McBeal.  We're all ripping off The Monkees."
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1/05/02 Wait Wait Don't Tell Me: When asked who was said by one critic to have outshone the Beatles on their Ed Sullivan appearance, Adam Felber guessed the Monkees, even though the Monkees hadn't been around when the Fab four were on Ed Sullivan.  Davy was there, though.
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Mike was apparently on the AFI awards, but dammit, I missed it.
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Mick is guesting on the 12/19/01 episode of The Drew Carey Show.
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In an NPR news article about the continued popularity of vinyl LPs among some collectors, the song Last Train To Clarksville was used to illustrate the vinyl sound. (12/19/01)
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Okay, so I feel like a total twit for not posting this one WAAAY earlier, because it's one of the reasons I started keeping track of "Sightings".  On the second Chumbawamba album, WYSIWYG, there's a song about being addicted to the media called "Hey Hey We're the Junkies" and in the notes for the song "I'm In Trouble Again", it says "Then at lunchtime we jump into the band van (much like The Monkees) and drive down to McDonald's for a Happy Meal."  It's all fairly sarcastic and not exactly complementary, but it's a way in which the prefab four have influenced the world.
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Snagged this one from Monkees-Alert:
On Sunday evening October 14, 2001 CBS television aired a documentary movie of the classic comedy series Gilligan's Island entitled Surviving Gilligan's Island. The movie reunited cast members Bob Denver, Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson.  Toward the conclusion of the movie, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells were discussing how the series was cancelled right before production was scheduled to begin for the fourth season. During this discussion, Dawn mentioned that at the conclusion of the third season the series had beaten The Monkees in the ratings but the powers that be had decided to cancel the series.
Thank you,
Nez4Ever1230
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From Chantal (The Pump Room):
I am a fan of ATWT and on an episode I think aired in May or June '01, two of the characters were stranded on a deserted island looking for this lost diamond. Well the guy, his name is Henry tells the girl he is with, Katie, "The diamond is probably down in Davy Jones' locker by now." Katie in turns says, "Isn't he in the Monkees?" I cracked up 'cuz I thought Davy Jones' locker was, when I was younger, associated with our Davy.

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I think I saw "Ronnie Farnsworth" on Blazing Saddles.  I'm not sure.  The TV in the complex basement has REALLY bad reception, and I haven't seen Blazing Saddles (on a clear screen) in years.
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From Martha:
This is from Q magazine, and it is from a thing about Gorillaz and various monkeys in rock, such as the Friends monkey in a Travis video and that guy from Limp Bizkit with the freaky ape eyes.
Here it is, it made me laugh:
The Monkees:  "People say we monkey around!" they sang in their mid-'60s prime.  Is this true?  Did people point at them rolling a bed down the middle of the road and say, "They monkey around?"  Seems doubtful.
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From Belle of Wisetouch Healing:
1) The guy who played "Boris" on "The Spy Who Came in From the Cool" episode, I saw on a 1961 Twilight Zone episode with "Peaceful Valley" in the title.
2) The guy who taught dance lessons in "Dance, Monkee, Dance" in a 1965 episode of Gidget.
3) I can't remember!!
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I was leisurely reading Dear Abby and Ann Landers, when I came across an article in my Sunday paper about a band called Frump.  They're composed of mothers in their 30s and 40s, and their "tastes encompass punk rock, folk songs and a couple of Monkees tunes."  Steppin' Stone is listed in their repertoire.
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From Come On, Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story:
Producer guy: We need a title, something catchy... like The Monkees.  Now there was a title!
Other guy: How 'bout the Gorillas, hur hur.
later....
Producer guy: ...rock n' roll, like the Monkees, but less threatening.

Okay, dude, the Monkees are not exactly Frank Zappa, are they?
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Well, well, we have another submitted sighting!  Thank you Jill!  Visit her site.
The Monkees have been mentioned in the movie "Dumb and Dumber". They are sitting in a small cafe' looking at the songs in the little juke box when Jim Carey says: "Look, they have the Monkees. They were a big influence on the Beatles." and secondly- A snippet of "I'm A Believer" was used in an episode of The Wonder Years.
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Another "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" sighting:  After a question about Helena Bonham-Carter keeping her prosthetic teeth from Planet of the Apes, they played "Theme."  In the same program, a question about Michael Nesmith inventing MTV was asked.  Look for 8/05/01's show in the archive at
http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait.  The Nesmith question is under "Not My Job".  It's effing hilarious.
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This one is a total WOW that my dad brought to my attention:
Blues Review Magazine, Issue # 70 Sept. 2001:
Reviews: Love, Janis: The Songs, The Letters, The Soul of Janis Joplin Columbia/Legacy 85730
(Partial excerpt)
"But even if you're familiar with the Joplin story, listen anyway because Love, Janis also performs an odd service for a tribute: It demythologizes the subject matter.  The highly personal nature of the letters takes her off the pedestal and forces us to deal with her as what she also was: a troubled young girl trying to live up to her family's expectations while persuing her dreams.  In other words, a human being.  Rock Goddess she may be, but listening to her giggle about her kitten, complain about baby cousins and swoon over The Monkees' Peter Tork brings her down to mortal size."
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I was just watching the movie, "The Joy Luck Club" on TV, and in the first, oh, maybe the first 15 minutes of it, right after June's failed piano recital, she watches the Monkees.  They only play "Theme", and June talks over it.  Pretty cool, really.  I've watched this movie twice before and never noticed before.
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Oh, by the way, referring to the Shrek blurb further down, the song is performed by Smash Mouth and by Eddie Murphy on the Shrek soundtrack.  I'm rather fond of the Eddie Murphy version, but then again, I love Eddie Murphy.  (Especially in "Coming to America".)
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Bloom County -
I can't quite put an exact date to it.  I got it out of a March/April 1987 Monkees newsletter, and I know I have it in a Bloom County collection somewhere.
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I was playing "Discworld II: Mortality Bytes", a video game based on a popular British book series, and Ponder Stibbons, who is portrayed as a hippie, even though he ISN'T a hippie in the Discworld books, says "We're the young generation and we've got something to say."  I assume it's a reference, since there are a few backhanded references to other groups in the speech.  Soooo... If you have the game, talk to Ponder in the first act.  Heeheeheeheehee.
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I was playing You Don't Know Jack TV, and one of my first category choices was "The Monkees and their Bimbo Fans".  I chose it, for obvious reasons.  The question was "If the Monkees named their group after Micky Dolenz's Circus Boy companion Bimbo, what would they be called?"  The answer was "The Elefants".  The funny thing was, I started playing the game today to see if I could find a Monkees question.  Woo-hoo!
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From The Beatles Anthology (page 241):
JOHN: How can we tour when we're making stuff like we're doing on the new album?  We can only do what we're doing.  We've toured- that was then.  If we do another tour, we'll probably hire London for one big happening, and we'd have us and the Stones and The Who, and everybody else on it.  Unless that happens, forget it.  I don't want to be a moptop.  For those who want moptops, The Monkees are right up there, man.
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"AND AS SOON AS MICKEY DOLENZ AND PETER TORK RECOVER, THEY'LL BE BACK ON THEIR REUNION TOUR"
- The title in the local paper's "humor" column.  The little blurb was a rather disturbing piece about a scientist transplanting a monkey's head to another monkey's body.  Maybe I'll write an outraged letter to the editor.  Now I'm sad.
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Courtesy Celestia Phillips:
I had something you could add to your monkee sightings, from L.A. Law:
Roxanne has just read the manuscript for Douglas's autobiography, and she mentions that one chapter in particular had quite a few typos. His response (how much do I love this? *g*): "That's what that Monkee's mom invented white-out for!"
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From California Dreamin': The True Story of the Mamas and the Papas, Michelle Phillip's autobio
"Well, anyway, as rich hippies we wouldn't have said "uncle" to anyone.  I would not have changed places with anyone I knew.  I remember driving from San Francisco to the airport with the others, and John was reading aloud from the KHJ newsletter something about the Monkees' progress.  "Seems they're going to make a movie," he said.
"So what?" Cass observed.  "In the end, they'll have the money but we'll have the legend."
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I finally saw the Sabrina, The Teenage Witch with Davy Jones.  He appears as a pun ("I've got a Monkee on my back"), then continues to give relationship advice, sing, ("Why doesn't this kind of thing ever happen to Peter Tork?") and teaches the Spellmans to Monkee walk to a pseudo Monkee theme.  (I imagine it costs money to use the real thing.)
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My mom and I were talking and the West Wing, which I usually do not watch (and miss Voyager?  You must be joking!) was on in the background, but we both stopped when we heard this: (This is an approximation of the conversation, okay?)
Josh(?):  You'd think Davy Jones himself was coming to town.
Toby: Don't make fun of Davy Jones.  He wrote me a letter once.  He's just that kind of guy.  Besides, he still tours.
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In Entertainment Tonight's Whatever Happened To... Teen Idols edition, there is sizeable portion devoted to Davy, Peter, and Micky.  Unfortunately, it's at the end.  I don't know if they'll ever re-air it, but I mysef taped it.  It also has a teensy bit of info on the upcoming Tour 2001.
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In the trailer for the new movie, "Shrek", (as seen on a rented copy of "Chicken Run",) a cover of I'm a Believer is played.  (That is to say, the Monkees are NOT the ones singing.  And neither is Neil Diamond, BTW.)
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Don't know why I didn't have this one down sooner, but the 3kees guest star in the "Boy Meets World" episode entitled "Rave On".  Peter is rather like his TV show personality, Davy is overblown ("Reg!  Reginald Fairfield!"), and Micky is very funny in his comments about a whirlpool bathtub.
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Micky and Ami Dolenz are panelists on the "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus" talk show episode about fathers and daughters.
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Last August, I was watching a late night rerun of "Friends" (a Thanksgiving episode, before Ross's son, Ben, was born).  Ross sang into Carol's pregnant stomach, and the song he sang was... *drumroll* "(Theme from) The Monkees"!  He never actually said "Monkees", though, he sang "Hey, hey, I'm your Daddy" instead.  He was singing it again later when he got to Rachel and Monica's apartment.
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(I haven't seen this myself, a friend told me and another confirmed it)
On "Two Guys and a Girl" (then "Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place"), Pete sings Pleasant Valley Sunday when he gets a date.  (This happened at least twice.)
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Anyone heard of the Capitol Steps?  They're a group of people who work in politics and they do lots of satiric stage shows.  My mom had me listen to their song about the Kansas School Board's decision to ban evolution from the state curriculum.
Here's an excerpt:
Hey, hey, we're not Monkeys
People say we Monkey around
But we're too busy singin'
To drag our hands on the ground.
(Ed. Note:  Do you know how hard it is to type 'Monkey' instead of 'Monkee'?)
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(11/9/00)
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
(The game: Film, TV, and Theater Styles -- Style: The Brady Bunch)
Colin: I can't believe you did this, right before my big date with Davy Jones!  Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!
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If anyone listens to the NPR show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", on 10/15/00, Roy used the name "D.W. Washburn" in a tale of Penguins and Porn.  I'm going to have to go to NPR.org to see if I can find it.  Oh, man, I was so shocked.  I'm not sure whether he got the name from the Monkees song, but it was a made up story.
Ed. Note:  Actually, he didn't know that the Monkees had covered the song.  He was thinking of the version by the Coasters.  I emailed him. *g*
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The Simpsons: Fear of Flying
Dr. Zweig: What's your earliest memory of something bad happening?
Marge:  It was my first day of school...
**Flashback**
Little Girl:  Ewww!  You like the Monkees?  You know they don't write their own songs.
Little Marge: They do so!
Little Girl: They don't even play their own instruments!
Little Marge: No!  No!
**This is my favorite line of all time**
Little Girl:  That's not even Michael Nesmith's real hat!
Little Marge: *Screams*
**End Flashback**
Dr. Zweig: Kids can be so cruel.
Marge: But it's true.  They didn't write their own songs or play their own instruments.
Dr. Zweig: The Monkees weren't about music, Marge.  They were about rebellion; about political and social upheaval!
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The Simpsons: That episode with Mel Gibson, I don't know the title
If you watch when they're in the Hollywood Automobile museum or whatever it's called, they have the Monkeemobile, complete with dummies of the guys inside.
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The Simpsons: That episode with Helen Hunt being the girl of Moe's dreams
They play a snippet of I'm a Believer.
 

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