Line #38 Series/TheMonkees


1	[[quoteright:350:[[Magazine/TVGuide https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/monkees_tv_guide.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Top row: Music/MichaelNesmith. Middle row: Micky Dolenz (left), Peter Tork (right). Bottom row: Davy Jones.]]
3
4	->''"The series stars a fearsome foursome in The Monkees, a wholly manufactured singing group of attractive young men who come off as a combination of Music/TheBeatles, the [[Film/AngelsWithDirtyFaces Dead End Kids]] and the Creator/MarxBrothers. Critics will cry foul. Longhairs will demand, outraged, that they be removed from the air. But the kids will adore The Monkees; you can bet on it."''
5	-->--'''''The Washington Post''''', May 31, 1966
6
7	This article is about Franchise/TheMonkees' TV show; the article about the music is [[Music/TheMonkees here]].
8
9	''The Monkees'' was about four incredibly clean cut aspiring young musicians with regrettable taste in clothes and haircuts who people on the show treated like they were pierced and tattooed Alternative Rockers. But hey, it was TheSixties!
10
11	This is one of the first American TV series to rely on MetaFiction and FourthWall humor. Some jokes work better when you know a little about each actor's real life. An important part of the show itself was the tension between the cast's need to be taken seriously by their peers and the series' younger-skewing fantasy of being an independent, cool band of best friends. It was a refreshing change from typical TV for many kids in the audience.
12
13	The series ran two seasons on Creator/{{NBC}} from 1966 to 1968. The show ended its initial run when the group and the network could not agree on a format for the third season. The band wanted to update the format and make it more like a variety show, while the network wanted to maintain the status quo. NBC decided to pull the plug, but did make an agreement with the band for three television specials to be produced. When the first, the extremely weird ''33 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee'', bombed in the ratings, plans for the other two specials were cancelled. However, Saturday morning reruns on Creator/{{CBS}} and Creator/{{ABC\|US}} were successful. Then in 1986, a marathon showing of the series on Creator/{{MTV}} produced that network's best ratings to date, propelling the group back into the limelight. Over the next few years, the series would return to syndication on Creator/NickAtNite and a variety of local channels. It's available in its entirety on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray, and as of 2011 the series has been a weekend fixture on over-the-air digital subchannel network Creator/AntennaTV, which also occasionally airs ''Film/{{Head}}''.
14	----
15	!!Here we come, tropin' down the street:
16	* AccidentalMisnaming:
17	** Every minor character seems to be completely incapable of pronouncing Mike Nesmith's last name. Among the variants: Nishwash, Nashmirth, Nipmop... Subverted in "The Monkees in Texas", when the villians refer to Mike and his aunt as "Nesters"...he starts to correct them before his aunt explains that the word means "farmer" and that they were correct in their word choice.
18	** In the season 2 opening sequence, Peter gets increasingly upset when each of the others is mis-identified as him, then smiles once the credits get his name right.
19	** In "Monkee vs. Machine", when Peter gets flustered in an interview, the computer identifies him as "Notwhat" and "Nitwit".
20	* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: In "Monkees At The Movies," after the guys spend the majority of the episode getting [[{{Jerkass}} Frankie Catalina]] to leave the set in order to land Davy the lead role, Davy gets cast and ''immediately'' starts acting the same as Frankie. He snaps out of it fairly quickly and quits, telling the director that becoming a movie star [[LampshadeHanging was spoiling]] [[BreakingTheFourthWall his character.]]
21	* ActorAllusion:
22	** Micky sings the theme from ''Circus Boy'', the series he starred in as a child, in "Monkees at the Circus." He also mentions that "I haven't been to the circus since I was a kid!"
23	** After ''The Monkees'', Dolenz was cast as Wally, the drummer of WesternAnimation/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKids--who bore a passing resemblance to Dolenz.
24	** Joey Forman guest starred in "Monkee Chow Mein" as The Dragonman, a parody of Forman's character Harry Hoo from ''Series/GetSmart''[[note]]who in turn is a parody of Film/CharlieChan[[/note]].
25	** In "The Monkees in a Ghost Town", they meet a character played by Creator/LonChaneyJr named [[Literature/OfMiceAndMen Lenny (who's the sidekick of a guy named George)]].
26	* AdultsDressedAsChildren: All (except Mike) take turns disguised as 11-13 year-olds in "Monkee vs. Machine", ultimately to throw a SpannerInTheWorks and disrupt a toy company's product testing session.
27	** And again in "Captain Crocodile," Davy and Peter barge in on the studio board meeting disguised as children demanding to see The Monkees perform. Even the studio head [[GradeSchoolCEO (who is a child)]] is fooled.
28	* AIIsACrapshoot: When Peter applies for a job in "Monkee vs. Machine", he gets confused when the computer interviews him:
29	-->'''Computer''': [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness To preclude the variable factor inherent in the human equation, we have instituted this new electronic personnel procedure requiring...]] Your name, please?\
30	'''Peter''': What?\
31	'''Computer''': Thank you, last name "What". And your first name, Mr. What?\
32	'''Peter''': [[WhosOnFirst No, it's not "what".]]\
33	'''Computer''': Notwhat, Mr. Notwhat What.\
34	'''Peter''': Wait a minute, that's not my name at all. My name is...\
35	'''Computer''': Occupation?\
36	'''Peter''': Peter, you dig? Pete.\
37	'''Computer''': [[InsaneTrollLogic You dig peat, occupation peat digger.]] And your mother's maiden name?\
38	'''Peter''': Thomson.\
39	'''Computer''': Mother's name "Thomson". Sex, please?\
40	'''Peter''': Female, of course.\
41	'''Computer''': All right, Mrs. Notwhat.\
42	'''Peter''': No, my mother is female.\
43	'''Computer''': What do you do in your spare time, Mrs. Notwhat?\
44	'''Peter''': Listen, I'm a man.\
45	'''Computer''': In your spare time, you are a man.\
46	'''Peter''': No, no... that's not it at all. First of all, you got my name wrong.\
47	'''Computer''': Correction, name misspelled. Please give correct letter.\
48	'''Peter''': Well, I...\
49	'''Computer''': Correct letter is "I". Name is not "Notwhat", but "Nitwit".\
50	'''Peter''': Oh brother.\
51	'''Computer''': Brother is also a nitwit.\
52	'''Peter''': Now just a minute...!\
53	'''Computer''': That will do, Nitwit. Test complete. Interview ended, application rejected.
54	** Mike later turns the tables on the computer when he uses this interview as a LogicBomb.
55	* AlienInvasion: "Monkees Watch Their Feet", "The Frodis Caper"[[note]]Though in the latter, [[HypnoticEyes the alien]] is [[InnocentAliens benevolent]] and [[UnwittingPawn kidnapped by]] the [[MassHypnosis villain for]] an [[TakeOverTheWorld evil scheme]][[/note]].
56	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Played with in "The Wild Monkees". The four boys try to adopt "tough" personas in order to impress some female bikers. They immediately become cowards again once the girls' actually tough biker boyfriends enter the picture.
57	* AmbiguousSyntax: In "Monkee Chow Mein", Dragonman sends Toto to recover part of the formula hidden in a fortune cookie:
58	-->'''Dragonman''': So, Toto, we must find lost portion of formula!\
59	'''Toto''': But master, who took the formula?\
60	'''Dragonman''': The boy with the long hair named Peter!\
61	'''Toto''': Oh, that's a strange name for long hair.
62	* AndYouThoughtItWasAGame:
63	** In "The Picture Frame", the Monkees are hired to play bank robbers in a movie holdup scene, not knowing they will actually be robbing a bank.
64	** In "Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers", a shady publicity agent (actually the manager of a rival band) convinces the Monkees to submit to a phony kidnapping as a publicity stunt. Only, he doesn't tell the band that it will be a ''real'' kidnapping.
65	* AnticlimacticParent: Davy's grandfather flies in from England for a visit, under the impression that Davy is a big star. Panicked, Davy convinces the rest of the band to pose as his chauffeur, houseboy, and personal chef to keep up appearances. Of course, given what show we're talking about, it fails, but the grandfather allows him to stay (rather than taking him back to England) because he has "such loyal friends".
66	* AttractiveBentGender: Micky in "The Chaperone", at least to Davy's love interest's father.
67	** Also with Davy in "Some Like It Lukewarm" to radio personality Jerry Blavat.
68	** Mike in "Fairy Tale" to both Peter and Mike!
69	-->'''Mike:''' Wow, what a great looking chick! She's the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on! Look at those sideburns!
70	* AudienceMurmurs: Parodied when at least one of the boys says "rhubarb" over and over in "Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers".
71	* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Peter. Although the actor was the oldest in the group, his character seems to be the youngest. He's [[TheCutie good-natured]], gets emotional easily and is the most likely to fall for an obvious rip-off scheme.
72	-->'''Peter, trying to cheer up Mike:''' Mike, my mother says you have the best posture of anyone she knows.\
73	'''Mike:''' [''smiles''] Thank you, good buddy.
74	* BANGFlagGun: In the second season/syndicated opening credits.
75	** In "Monkees à la Carte", Peter, disguised as a member of the Purple Flower Gang, is stopped by one of the {{Mooks}}:
76	-->'''Rocco''': Nobody leaves the meeting.\
77	'''Peter''': Who says so?\
78	'''Rocco''': This gun says so.\
79	'''Peter''': Oh, yeah? Well, this gun says "I go". [''[[LampshadeHanging Peter pulls out a gag gun that says "I go"]]'' ]\
80	'''Rocco''': Oh yeah, hurry back.
81	* BalletEpisode: "The Card Carrying Red Shoes" centers on a prima ballerina who tries to defect to America as she gets caught up in a spy game and falls for Peter.
82	* BeachBury: In "Here Come the Monkees", the boys (except Davy) are buried side by side up to their necks at the beach. Each has a bucket over his head, and Davy lifts the bucket off so each can sing a tune (to help the GirlOfTheWeek study for her history test).
83	* BeachEpisode: The Monkees lived in a shabby Southern California beach house, with scenes in many episodes taking place at the beach. The episode "Monkees at the Movies" takes place almost entirely on the beach.
84	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Micky's wishes give him and the guys bad luck in the episode "The Monkee's Paw" in their version of the classic story.
85	* BigBrotherInstinct: Mike has this for the rest of the band, and it's implied that he's the oldest (in the show's universe, anyway). Possibly explained in "Monkee Mother," where he said that he was the oldest of MassiveNumberedSiblings and had to help take care of them (even though in real life Mike Nesmith was an only child).
86	* BlandNameProduct: In one episode the boys take a bus to UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity on Blem Bus Lines.
87	-->'''Micky''': You know them - Ride Blem, and leave the driving to them.
88	* BleepDammit: NBC wouldn't let them say "{{Hell}}" in "The Devil and Peter Tork", even though they were talking about the place and not just cursing. Cue a magnificent bit of BitingTheHandHumor where they {{Lampshade}} this by saying "Hell" over and over, bleeped out with a whistle sound.
89	-->'''Mike''' ''(the three have just escaped [[spoiler: Hell]])'': So, that's what [''whistle''] is all about.
90	-->'''Davy''': [''whistle''] is really scary!
91	-->'''Micky''': You know what else is really scary? They won't let you say [''whistle''] on television.
92	* BloodlessCarnage: "Monkees à la Carte" ends with rival gangsters shooting each other, which is depicted by the actors simply falling over. The scene deliberately avoids realism.
93	* BookcasePassage: In the episode "The Spy Who Came In From the Cool", there is a secret exit from the pawn shop through a harp case. Micky jokes that he thought it was through the accordion.
94	* BorrowedCatchphrase: In "The Devil and Peter Tork", when Mike calls Mr. Zero to take the stand:
95	-->'''Davy''': Would you please raise your right hand and put your left hand on Literature/TheBible?\
96	'''Zero''': You must be joking.
97	* BorrowingTheBeatles: The band was conceived as a television version of the Beatles, a fact not unnoticed by observers at the time given that the group gained the disparaging nickname "The Pre-Fab Four."
98	** Both groups are named after living creatures in MyspeldRokband fashion.
99	** Although their characters were, by and large, exaggerated versions of their real personalities (with the notable exception of Peter), they also correlated loosely to the four Beatles. Most obviously, Davy was the boyish heartthrob analogue to Music/PaulMcCartney, and Peter was the goofy {{Buttmonkey}} parallel to Music/RingoStarr. Music/GeorgeHarrison and Music/JohnLennon both were subject to DecompositeCharacter treatment: George's status as the "quiet one" was given to Peter, while Mike took on his [[TheStoic stoic]], [[DeadpanSnarker sardonic]] nature. Mike also got John's role as group leader, while Micky picked up on his other side as chief prankster and chaos agent.
100	** The show has several Beatles shout-outs. In "Mijacogeo," the foursome wakes up to an alarm clock/radio blaring the song "[[Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand Good Morning, Good Morning.]]" In "Success Story," Davy's British grandfather pays a visit, echoing a major plot point in ''Film/AHardDaysNight''. Many of the song interludes in the show feature the foursome jumping and running around in [[FastForwardGag sped-up fashion]], also mirroring the "Can't Buy Me Love" sequences in ''A Hard Day's Night''.
101	* BottleEpisode: "Monkee Mother" and "A Coffin Too Frequent" both take place entirely in the Monkees' apartment. There's also the episode "Fairy Tale", which takes place on a minimalist cardboard set.
102	* BoundAndGagged: The boys were tied to chairs a few times, including in "Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers" and "Monkees Chow Mein".
103	* TheBoxingEpisode: "Monkees in the Ring" sees a crooked promoter attempting to cash in on a big bet by making Davy a stooge in a bout with the champ. Funnily enough, Davy had boxed in real life.
104	* BreakingTheFourthWall:
105	** "Dance, Monkee, Dance" has a scene where Micky leaves the set and talks directly to the writers (who are portrayed as elderly Asian men).
106	** In "The Devil and Peter Tork", Micky insists that the prosecution call another witness, on the grounds that the television show isn't over and they need to fill more time.
107	** An episode set in the WildWest (despite still being in the 1960s) had Micky approached by a saloon girl. He hissed at her, "Not now; this is a family show!"
108	** ...and other examples too numerous to document. Most episodes contained at least one, if only an aside to the audience.
109	* {{Calvinball}}: In "The Frodis Caper", the boys make up a card game called "creebage" to escape from imprisonment.
110	* CallBack: "The Frodis Caper" has two odd call backs to "The Monkees on The Wheel": the villain in "Frodis" is Wizard Glick, whose name is mentioned in "Wheel". Wizard Glick was played by Rip Taylor, who played a croupier in the earlier episode, and he quotes a couple of his lines from "Wheel" in "Frodis".
111	** The song performed by the all-female band The Westminster Abbeys in "Some Like It Lukewarm" is just a sped-up "Last Train To Clarksville", which they {{Lampshade}} by interspersing a few quick cuts of sped-up footage of The Monkees performing it.
112	* TheCameo: Music/{{Liberace}} in one episode, smashing a piano to pieces with a sledgehammer as a performance piece, and Creator/BurgessMeredith in "Monkees Blow Their Minds" as [[Series/Batman1966 The Penguin]].
113	* {{Catchphrase}}: "HE/SHE'S GONE!" Said by all four in unison whenever someone disappeared or pulled a StealthHiBye.
114	* Catch22Dilemma: In "The Monkee's Paw", Micky is trying to talk things out with their union agent:
115	-->'''Micky''': How can we pay our dues unless we work? [''Hangs up'']\
116	'''Mike''': Guy at the union?\
117	'''Micky''': Yeah.\
118	'''Mike''': What'd he say?\
119	'''Micky''': He said we can't work until we pay our dues.\
120	'''Peter''': And we can't pay our dues until we work.\
121	'''Micky''': That's what I told him!\
122	'''Mike''': Well, what did he say?\
123	'''Micky''': He said, "Don't confuse me".
124	* CelebrityEndorsement: The band appeared in advertisements for Kellogg's cereals and Yardley aftershave. When the show was placed in Saturday morning reruns in 1969-1970, Dolenz, Jones and Nesmith appeared in a series of Kool-Aid advertisements.
125	* CensorshipBySpelling: This little gem from Peter:
126	-->'''Peter:''' Well, when I was very young I used to be embarrassed about kissing, but now I can talk very openly about...S-E-X.
127	* ChaseScene: The kids chasing the band in "Captain Crocodile," among many others in Monkee "romps" that the series was well-known for.
128	* ChickMagnet: Davy Jones. The episode "One Man Shy" has them playing Spin The Bottle, with the bottle's mouth homing in on him every time. When he goes into another room, the bottle flies off the table and sticks to the door.
129	* [[JapaneseRanguage Chinese Ranguage]]: In "Monkee Chow Mein", when Peter shows up at the Dragonman's lair:
130	-->'''Chang''': Master, Master!\
131	'''Dragonman''': Has Toto returned with the boy?\
132	'''Chang''': Better yet Master, the boy has come to us! He is outside in the restaurant!\
133	'''Dragonman''': So, he has fallen into my crutches!\
134	'''Micky''': Your "crutches"?\
135	'''Dragonman''': Not my crutches, my ''crutches''!
136	* ChristmasEpisode: "The Christmas Show" has the Monkees babysitting an unhappy, cynical young boy and trying to teach him the Christmas spirit.
137	* CircusEpisode: In "The Monkees at the Circus" the band goes to a bankrupt circus and pretend to be a French trapeze act in order to help them drum up business.
138	* CoatCape: Micky did this when he was pretending to be a big-time movie producer.
139	* CodeName; In "Art, For Monkees' Sake": "Manchester Marauder" (Davy), "Connecticut Counterspy" (Peter), "Los Angeles Leopard" [[note]]....also known as "The Peoria Panther"[[/note]](Micky), and the "(Modest) but Towering Texan" (Mike).
140	** All four's cat burglar-like caper is known as "Operation: Ridiculous".
141	* CombatBreakdown: The climactic fight in "Fairy Tale".
142	* ComicBookAdaptation: It was published by Creator/DellComics and lasted 17 issues. It matched the slapstick tone of the TV series, and the artist depicted Mike with PointyEars.
143	* ConcealingCanvas: A painting hiding a painting of a safe hiding an actual safe.
144	* ConfusionFu: In "Monkee Chow Mein", Micky tries to confuse Toto when the Dragonman gives him instructions:
145	-->'''Dragonman''': I want you to find the Monkee, get the cookie, bring the Monkee and the cookie to me. Repeat, please.\
146	'''Toto''': I find the cookie and bring the Monkee...\
147	'''Micky''': Uh, no, no, no, no. It's find the cookie, get the Monkee, then cook the cookie.\
148	'''Dragonman''': Shut up, please! Quiet! I repeat for you one more time, listen carefully: You monk the cookie, buy the turkey... [''mumbles''] You try the turkey, baste the turkey... Baste the turkey?!\
149	'''Micky''': Nice try, Dragonman, you want to try it again?
150	* CoolCar: The Monkeemobile, a Pontiac GTO modified for the TV series by celebrated car customizers George Barris and Dean Jeffries.
151	** ''Too'' modified; Jim Wengers, [[ProductPlacement then head of marketing for Pontiac]], was displeased with the result as it looked far too different from the cars he was trying to sell.
152	* CoolShades: Mike in later episodes and the movie ''Film/{{Head}}''.
153	* CordonBleughChef: Peter invents cream of root beer soup. A single bite has Mike complimenting him on reaching a new low, and Micky feigning a dramatic werewolf transformation. Based on Peter’s exasperated reaction, this is hardly the first time.
154	* CourtroomAntics: In "The Picture Frame", Mike, Micky, and Davy make a very thorough mockery of the court system.
155	* CrankyLandlord: Mr. Babbit.
156	* CreativeClosingCredits: The ChristmasEpisode has the behind-the-scenes crew and office workers saying hello to the camera during the closing credits.
157	* CreatorCameo: James Frawley, who directed many episodes of the series (and had previously been an actor), also made cameo appearances in a handful of shows, including a Yugoslav diplomat in "Son of a Gypsy" and Oraculo's assistant Rudy in "Monkees Blow Their Minds".
158	** Monkees co-creator Bob Rafelson also appeared in a few episodes: Notably as "The World's Oldest Flower Child" in "The Monkees Race Again." He also does the voiceover about "soul" at the end of the cold open for "The Devil and Peter Tork".
159	** Besides writing the pilot episode, Creator/PaulMazursky and Larry Tucker also appeared in the opening scene (Mazursky conducting a man-on-the-street interview with Tucker).
160	* CreditsGag: The second season credit sequence mistakenly names everyone Peter, cut to Peter with sad face, cut back to Monkee with his correct name... and, finally, Peter smiling when the credits get his name right.
161	* CriminalDoppelganger: In "Alias Micky Dolenz", Micky gets in a bit of trouble because he looks absolutely identical to a dangerous gangster wanted by the police.
162	* {{Crossdresser}}: All four Monkees appeared in drag on the show. In fact, with the exception of Peter, each of them had a drag role as the main focus of an episode. The topper might be Mike Nesmith playing the princess in "Fairy Tale".
163	* CrystalBall: The fortune teller in "Monkee See, Monkee Die" has one at the seance (& another one that's just a snowglobe).
164	* CutAwayGag: Usually a couple or so per episode.
165	* DadTheVeteran: In "The Chaperone", Davy tries to date the daughter of a military man, but has a difficult time finding time alone with her because he runs his household like a barracks.
166	* DeadpanSnarker: Mike.
167	* DealWithTheDevil: "The Devil and Peter Tork"
168	* DidNotThinkThisThrough: In "Mijacogeo [=/=] The Frodis Caper", after Peter gets captured with the other Monkees by Wizard Glick, Peter hops over to the telephone and calls the police, telling them they're being held captive by weird people who plan to take over the world, Glick's henchmen who resemble evil versions of the Monkees. Mike unsuccessfully tried to tell Peter he already untied himself and could have saved them the trouble. This backfires when the Monkees tie up their evil counterparts, and the police arrive, setting Wizard Glick and his evil Monkee henchmen free and arresting the real Monkees, whom the police mistake for the weird people Peter told them about earlier.
169	* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: Used for comedic effect in multiple episodes. One example is in "Monkees A La Mode", when after the group is proclaimed "typical young persons" by a chic magazine, the show cuts to a photo montage of the boys making goofy faces while the show's theme song plays in the background.
170	* DisguisedInDrag: Several episodes
171	* DistractedByTheSexy: Usually as part of the GirlOfTheWeek plots, topped off by the guest appearance of [[StatuesqueStunner Julie Newmar]] whose mere presence stuns each of the boys into incoherence at a laundromat.
172	* DistressedDude: Either Peter or Micky get kidnapped pretty often. Davy just tends to agree to situations that are [[StealthPun over his head]], and Mike is only kidnapped when someone captures all four of them.
173	* DocumentaryEpisode: "The Monkees on Tour"
174	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: In "The Monkees Watch Their Feet", {{Narrator}} [[AsHimself Pat Paulson]] talks of the "[[StealthPun Alien-ation]]" of American Youth, as well as part of Micky's problems stemming from "being forced to fight in an oversea war he didn't understand" (while showing him in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI garb).
175	* DoorRoulette: Micky and Peter's peril in "Monkee Chow Mein."
176	* DraggedByTheCollar: Peter is often on the receiving end.
177	* DroppedAfterThePilot: Rudy Gunther, the band's manager, played by Bing Russell.[[note]]Creator/KurtRussell's dad[[/note]] The producers decided the character wasn't necessary, an important decision since the depiction of four young men without an authority figure was unheard-of on American television at the time. Since the pilot was originally aired as the 10th episode of the series, Rudy's sudden appearance and disappearance made him seem more like a OneShotCharacter.
178	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The tenth episode "Here Come the Monkees" was meant to be the pilot and contains oddities like the only appearance of the band's manager, Mike being referred to as "Woolly Hat" and the guys arriving at the party in a red-and-yellow "woodie" station wagon instead of the Monkeemobile.
179	* EndOfEpisodeSilliness: The interviews of the guys by an off-camera Bob Rafelson whenever episodes ran short. While usually silly, sometimes they'd have a thoughtful discussion about youth culture concerns (like the Sunset Strip riots or the co-option of hippie rhetoric by mainstream culture). Occasionally they'd end episodes with the group saying goodbye or with HilariousOuttakes.
180	* EndingTheme: The second season replaced the theme song in the closing credits with "For Pete's Sake", a Peter Tork-penned song from ''Headquarters'' sung by Micky.
181	-->''We were born to love one another\
182	This is something we all need\
183	We were born to love one another\
184	We must be what we're going to be\
185	And what we have to be, is free''
186	* EvenEvilHasStandards: "Monkees in Texas" plays this for laughs in a Western pastiche, where Black Bart plans to give the owners of the ranch one last chance to give it up, failing which they'll kill her and forge her signature, but, "Of course, we'll fight the clean way first... I hate to resort to forgery!" and his accomplice cackles.
187	* EverybodyMustGetStoned: "Mijacogeo: The Frodis Caper."
188	* ExpositoryThemeTune[=/=]TitleThemeTune: The TV show had an iconic one, quoted above.
189	** Leading Micky to be quoted as complaining "Music/TheBeatles don't have to sing 'Hey, Hey, we're the Beatles'"
190	* ExploitingTheFourthWall: In "Dance, Monkee, Dance", Micky exits the set and goes to the writers' room [[note]]A room full of elderly "19th Century Chinaman" stereotypes held captive by a hunky, shirtless slavemaster[[/note]] and asks them to write a way to escape their current predicament. The trope is [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] when upon returning to the set, Micky reads what they have written and tosses it aside, commenting, "This is terrible! Those guys are really overpaid."
191	* {{Expy}}: Maw Weskitt and Ella Mae Chubber, of Daisy Mae "Granny" Moses and Elly Mae Clampett from ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies''.
192	* ExtraExtraReadAllAboutIt ("The Devil and Peter Tork")
193	* FailedAuditionPlot: Spoofed in "Find the Monkees", when Hubbell Benson sends out audition invites to local groups and hears a tape with the Monkees' music. Just when it looks like the Monkees are about to be signed, the homely secretary hums a few bars of Mr. Benson's theme song, and he hires his secretary as the sound he was looking for, leaving the Monkees and other groups disappointed and confused.
194	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption
195	* FakeFood: In the episode "Success Story", while pretending to be rich and successful, Davy is served rubber food while his grandfather gets the real stuff. Also, the fruit in the center of the table is plastic.
196	* FanService: Micky interrupts the climactic gunfight in "Monkees A La Carte" in order to parade an attractive woman across the screen. "[[BreakingTheFourthWall The producers thought we should have a pretty girl in the show.]]"
197	** The Monkees, themselves were often MrFanservice.
198	* FeudingFamilies: In "Hillbilly Honeymoon", the Monkees find themselves in a rural mountain town, caught in a feud between the Chubbers and the Weskitts (a parody of the real-life feud between the Hatfields and the [=McCoys=]). The clan leaders order the boys to stay on the line that divides the town in two, until Ella Mae Chubber pulls Davy to the side to romance him, prompting her pa to declare that Davy will be Ella Mae's groom in a ShotgunWedding, at which point Judd Weskitt (who is in love with Ella Mae) kidnaps Davy and takes him back to his cabin. Mike and Micky pretend to be relatives of Judd and Maw Weskitt with a pig as a peace offering to rescue Davy, while Peter stays behind at the Chubbers' place, before later dressing as a mountain man to coach Judd in manners so he can properly court Ella Mae. When Judd shows up at the wedding, a gunfight ensues, and during the crossfire, he and Ella Mae tie the knot, ending the feud.
199	* FilmFelons: In "The Picture Frame", Mike, Davy, and Micky are tricked into robbing a bank, thinking they're acting in a movie.
200	* FingerForcedSmile: Melvin does this in the ChristmasEpisode when Mike tells him to smile, as he is seemingly incapable of actually smiling.
201	* FingerPokeOfDoom: Played with in "Monkee See, Monkee Die" when Peter seemingly knocks out the bad guys by "shooting" at them with his finger. They really just happened to pass out at the exact moment Peter did that (from a drugged drink).
202	* [[Foil/LiveActionTV Foil]]: Part of why the group's personalities work so well. There are contrasts between the individuals and the pairs.
203	** Mike and Micky are the more independent and smarter big brothers to Davy and Peter, both of whom get carried away with their emotions in different ways.
204	** Peter and Micky are more proudly hippie than the traditionally-oriented Mike and Davy.
205	** Peter's shyness with women he likes contrasts with Davy's knack for mutual love at first sight.
206	** Mike can use the rulebook to his advantage, while Micky loves to trick adults into doing what he wants.
207	* TheFool: Peter.
208	* FormulaBreakingEpisode: Apart from the concert episode, "The Monkees on Tour", the first season generally stuck to the usual formula. Things became a lot more unconventional in the second season, with such things as a FairyTale spoof, a plotless romp through UsefulNotes/{{Paris}} ("The Monkees in Paris"), and guest appearances by other musicians, such as Music/TimBuckley and Music/FrankZappa.
209	* FourManBand:
210	** The OnlySaneMan: Mike is considered the leader of the group and has the most common sense of the four.
211	** TheSmartGuy: Micky is usually the one who comes up with all the plans, loopholes and technical repairs.
212	** TheCharmer: Davy tends to attract a lot of women and even gets distracted by girls himself sometimes.
213	** The ButtMonkey: Peter is the goofball of the group and is often a victim of hilarity.
214	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Davy is Sanguine, Micky is Choleric, Mike is Melancholic and Peter is Phlegmatic.
215	* FracturedFairyTale: Appropriately named, "Fairy Tale."
216	* FrothyMugsOfWater: The boys have milk whenever they're at a bar.
217	* FundraiserCarnival: "Monkees Mind their Manor" has a medieval faire to raise money to buy Davy's inherited Manor for the local villagers.
218	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: A guy randomly riding on the bumper of a backwards-moving car (with his arms out [[WalkLikeAnEgyptian like an Egyptian]]) in the beginning and end of "Monkees Marooned."
219	** What makes it funnier is that, in both times, it's a BlinkAndYouMissIt moment in a way that one might question, "Did I see that?". It's so random and has NOTHING to do with anything going on in the scene or plot.
220	* GagSeries
221	* GameShowAppearance : In "Captain Crocodile" the boys parody two classic game shows with "[[Series/WhatsMyLine What's My Scene?]]" and "[[Series/ToTellTheTruth To Tell A Fib]]"
222	-->'''Micky''': Will the real David Jones please stand up?
223	-->'''Davy''': I '''AM''' standing up!
224	* GayParee: "The Monkees In Paris." The opening has the guys flat out saying they don't want to do the episode's spy story but just take a vacation in UsefulNotes/{{France}}.
225	* TheGenerationGap: Played straight (it was the 60's after all).
226	* GenieInABottle: In one episode, Davy rubs against a table lamp and a genie appears. He turns to the camera saying [[ShoutOut "Imagine That!]] [[Series/IDreamOfJeannie Wrong show!"]]
227	* GilliganCut: in "The Frodis Caper"
228	--> '''Mike:''' We made it awfully easy. You don't suppose it could be some kind of a trick, do you?
229	--> [''cut to Mike and the others chained up in chairs'']
230	--> '''Mike:''' It was some kind of a trick...
231	* GirlOfTheWeek: More often than not, an episode will feature a girl after one (and in some cases, more than one) of the Monkees' affections. Mainly Davy, the cute ChickMagnet of the group.
232	* GradeSchoolCEO: In "Captain Crocodile" the owner of the studio is a kid.
233	* [[GranolaGirl Granola Guy]]: Peter.
234	* [[GreaseMonkey Grease Monkee]]: Micky. He usually handles anything to do with cars, radios or tech.
235	* GroupieBrigade: "The Monkees in Paris".
236	* HangingJudge: The episode "The Devil vs. Peter Tork" uses Roy Bean as the judge for the trial, and explicitly calls him this.
237	* HauntedHouse: Featured in "Monkee See, Monkee Die" and "Monstrous Monkee Mash".
238	* HaveAGayOldTime: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuGvCXDycEc "Don we now our GAY apparel!"]]
239	* HelicopterParents: General Vandenburgh in "The Chaperone", who refuses to allow his daughter to attend parties without a chaperone. When he overhears Davy telling Leslie that Micky is dressed as the hostess because the real chaperone is passed out drunk, he shuts the party down and forces the guests to leave in military march style.
240	* HenpeckedHusband: The Monkees find Millie a husband in "Monkee Mother" and he quickly becomes this.
241	* HereWeGoAgain: ''Broken down'' at the end of "Monkees on the Wheel", "and then we give the camera a pained look" when Micky is seen back at the slot machines.
242	* HeroicSelfDeprecation: When Peter is smitten with a beautiful socialite, and her snobbish suitor takes notice.
243	--> '''Ronny:''' A gentleman does not stare at a lady!
244	--> '''Peter:''' A beggar can look at a queen.
245	* HilariousOuttakes: In TheTag of "Monkees On the Wheel", Mike tries over and over to finish the line "Save the Texas Prairie Chicken", but ends up corpsing over and over. He finally gets the line down (to fake thunderous applause).
246	* HisNameIs: Micky attempts to invoke this in "Hitting the High Seas". When the captain is about to make the boys walk the plank, Micky tries to stall them by saying that if they're killed, the captain and his crew will never know about "the secret". It works, at first, until Peter blows it by revealing that he isn't aware of any secret.
247	* HotAsHell: The "Salesman" sequence in "The Devil and Peter Tork" shows the boys in Hell, tormented by a bunch of pitchfork-wielding sexy female demons clad in leotards with horns and tails.
248	* HurricaneOfPuns: In "The Picture Frame[=/=]The Bank Robbery", when Mike, Davy and Micky are being interrogated by the police:
249	-->'''Sergeant''': All right, my fine feathered monkees, start talking!\
250	[''Mike, Davy and Micky mumble at random'']\
251	'''Sergeant''': About the robbery!\
252	'''Mike''': Huh, well, you see, it's like I told you, but we thought we were doing a movie.\
253	'''Sergeant''': Still sticking to that story, huh? Well, if you know what's good for you, you'll change your tune!\
254	[''Mike blows a sour note on a harmonica and repeats what he just said in a high-pitched voice'']\
255	'''Sergeant''': You do that once more, and you're gonna get the third degree!\
256	'''Micky''': Oh, three degrees! Here's a Ph.D. ...[''Mickey starts handing out diplomas'']\
257	'''Sergeant''': All right, bring out the light!\
258	'''Micky''': Oh, the light!\
259	'''Davy''': Oh, we might as well get a suntan while we're here. [''They put on sunglasses'']\
260	'''Sergeant''': Okay, Monkees, are you ready to spill the beans?\
261	'''Micky''': You think we should?\
262	'''Mike''': Sure.\
263	'''Micky''': All right, here we go: spilling the beans. [''They spill canfuls of beans on the floor'']\
264	'''Sergeant''': All right, throw the book at 'em! [''An officer throws a book into Mike's hands'']
265	* HypnoTrinket: The infamous magic necklace in "Monstrous Monkee Mash".
266	* ICantHearYou: "The Wild Monkees", when Micky runs his motorcycle indoors and no one can hear anything.
267	* IceCreamKoan: In "The Prince and The Paupers"
268	-->'''Mike''': “If apple seed turns to wing, it’ll fly away a beautiful butterfly, but if a butterfly turns into apple seed, it’ll just lay there on the ground.” That’s what Ling Foo Yang said five thousand years ago.
269	-->'''Davy''': Oh really? What does that mean?
270	-->'''Mike''': I just don’t have any idea.
271	* IdeaBulb: Another running gag. In one episode, Peter holds one above Micky's head, and smiles to the camera.
272	* IdenticalStranger: "Alias Micky Dolenz"- Micky looks exactly like a notorious criminal. The police recruit Micky to impersonate the crook in order to capture his gang and retrieve the merchandise they stole. Things go awry when said crook busts out of jail and catches Micky in the act.
273	* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: Lampshaded in "Monkees Marooned", after big game hunter Major Pshaw catches the Monkees hiding in his hut:
274	-->'''Thursday''': I figure this is the one place Major Pshaw wouldn't look.\
275	'''Major Pshaw''' [''fires his rifle'']: Here, you turncoats! Ha ha, you blaggards! I thought that you would think that I would think that you wouldn't come here, so you did! Therefore, so did I!
276	* ILied: In "Monkee Chow Mein", Dragonman tells Micky and Peter that three doors lead to sudden death, and the fourth will lead to freedom. When Micky and Peter detect the first three doors are booby-trapped, they go for the fourth door, only to find the Dragonman waiting inside. When Micky reminds the Dragonman of his words, the Dragonman dismisses this with "I didn't say ''positively''."
277	* ImagineSpot: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] and combined with BreakingTheFourthWall in "Monstrous Monkee Mash" when the episode's villain intrudes on a fantasy scene that Micky and Davy are having. "Hey, what are you doing? This is ''our'' fantasy scene!"
278	* ImprobablyCoolCar: The Monkeemobile probably ''should have been'' an early '50s panel truck, since they were broke all the time...
279	* IncorruptiblePurePureness: In "The Devil and Peter Tork", the only reason Peter wanted to play the harp wasn't for fame or fortune, but merely because he just wanted to play the harp. Zero decides to test this by seemingly taking away the ability, which Mike says [[ItwasWithYouAllAlong that Peter always possessed]], and Peter gives a touching performance of beautiful harp music, which leads Judge Roy Bean to declare Peter not guilty.
280	* IncrediblyObviousBug: In the episode "The Spy Who Came In From the Cool", the bug is in a lamp at the center of the table which the guys blatantly move back and forth between them and the spies.
281	* INeedToGoIronMyDog: In "Monkees Get Out More Dirt", the four boys have all fallen in love with April Conquest and want to get away from the apartment to go see her. Micky suddenly declares that his aunt is ill and leaves. Mike announces he is going to the store to get dog food. When informed that they don't have a dog, he says that he'll pick up a dog too while he's out. Davy announces a desire to become a boxer and leaves immediately to start doing road work. Peter, who has believed every excuse, isn't sure what to do now that he's all alone, and decides without a hint of irony that he'll go visit April.
282	* InkblotTest: In "The Monkee's Paw" a [[HerrDoktor German psychiatrist]] (played by an uncredited Creator/SevernDarden) administers one to Micky, who can't talk. The doctor insists that the inkblot shows "a bunny and a chicken" and gets in an argument with the other Monkees over it (Mike sees flowers, Peter says it's a ketchup stain and Davy thinks it looks like a bunch of dancing women).
283	* InsaneTrollLogic: In 'The Devil and Peter Tork", Micky has a dialogue with UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun consisting of indecipherable gibberish with his sword drawn, and Mike suddenly stands up and says something at random, to which Attila respectfully bows away.
284	-->'''Micky''': What did you say?\
285	'''Mike''': I don't know.
286	* InstantMessengerPigeon: Parodied in "Monkee See, Monkee Die".
287	* InterdimensionalTravelDevice: Mike turns the Monkeemobile into a dimension machine (and lowrider) in 1997's ''Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees.''
288	* IntroductoryOpeningCredits: The opening shows the boys with their names. In the Season Two intro, they are all first misidentified as Peter, then by their actual names, except for the actual Peter.
289	* ItWillNeverCatchOn: In "Monkees' Paw", Micky makes a wish and loses his voice. One of the acts the Monkees try until Micky gets his voice back is a Creator/MarxBrothers style routine, with Micky dressed as Harpo. The club manager isn't happy, so he dismisses them. Later on at the apartment:
290	-->'''Mike''' [''dressed as Groucho'']: The nerve of that guy, throwing us out of that place! How do you like that?\
291	'''Peter''' [''dressed as Chico'']: I don't like it a bit.\
292	'''Davy''': You know, I don't blame him meself. Now who wants an act with a fuzzy-headed mute harpist, an Italian with a weird-looking felt hat, and another guy with a long nose, a mustache, and a smelly cigar?
293	* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne:
294	** From "Monkees a la Carte"
295	-->'''Red O'Leary''': Fuselli, you're a two-timing, double crossing, cigar smoking rat!
296	-->'''Fuselli''': Watch what you're saying, Red! I don't smoke cigars!
297	* JuryOfTheDamned: The jury in "The Devil and Peter Tork" are all prisoners from Devil's Island. The judge is HangingJudge [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade Roy Bean]].
298	* KarmaHoudini: The villains in "The Picture Frame". [[spoiler:The Monkees get off the hook for the robbery, but the real crooks aren't shown getting in trouble for it.]]
299	* KlaatuBaradaNikto: Said by Micky (or, to be exact, a robotic duplicate of Micky created by aliens) in "The Monkees Watch Their Feet", along with the other catchphrase from ''[[Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still]]'', "Gort baringa".
300	* LameComeback: Micky: "You do and I'll be sorry!"
301	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: A henchman attempts to [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade Kill Peter to Uphold a Masquerade]], but his plan is quickly shot down by his boss. They opt to brainwash him instead.
302	-->'''Villain''': What are you doing with that [gun]?
303	-->'''Henchman''': HeKnowsTooMuch.
304	-->'''Peter''': [[InsultBackfire Thank]] [[TooDumbToLive you!]]
305	-->'''Villain''': No, we cannot afford to murder here. Besides, I have a better plan...
306	* LaughTrack: Dropped midway through the second season.
307	* LetsMockTheMonsters: Micky and Mike, confronted with a mummy, berate it for being dirty and smelly. The mummy retires discomfited. (Note that despite his bravado, Micky is actually terrified.)
308	* LikeASurgeon: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvTM2HF1A9U This]] ad for Kellogg's Rice Krispies, where Mike, Davy, and Micky, dressed as surgeons, perform an "operation" on Peter, who's lying on an operating table. Said operation consists of pouring him a bowl of Rice Krispies.
309	* LipLockSunBlock: Peter and Miss Cartwright (the "GirlOfTheWeek") kiss this way in the episode "One Man Shy".
310	* LogicBomb: Mike confuses the computer interviewing him at the toy company and he gets the job.
311	-->'''Computer:''' What is your name?\
312	'''Mike:''' Nesmith, what's yours?\
313	'''Computer:''' What?\
314	'''Mike:''' Thank you, Mr. What, and what is your first name?\
315	'''Computer:''' It's not what.\
316	'''Mike:''' [[InsaneTrollLogic Mr. Notwhat What.]] And what is your occupation?\
317	'''Computer''': Name is not "Notwhat". I am computer DJ-61.\
318	'''Mike:''' Oh, you're a D.J.? Look, I bet you got a great record collection.\
319	'''Computer:''' ''[smokes from a short circuit]'' Wait, I am not programmed for these questions.\
320	'''Mike:''' Oh, you want a different program? Wait, okay, look, um... ''[Mike starts pressing buttons; the computer sparks up and dispensing punch-cards]''
321	** Worth noting that he starts off using ''exactly'' the sequence of lines that the computer used earlier to confuse Peter.
322	* LouisCypher: S. Zero, the pawn shop owner in "The Devil and Peter Tork", who comes to the Monkees' door to collect Peter's soul in exchange for the harp.
323	* LovableCoward: All four of the boys have shades of this.
324	-->'''Davy''': Mike, that guy was throwing knives at me. He could've killed me! Why didn't you do something?
325	-->'''Mike''': Well, I didn't want to antagonize him.
326	* MarriedToTheJob: If Mike shows any interest in a girl, it'll either be for a joke or part of the Monkees' plan to beat a scammer.
327	* UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren: The answer to a trivia question in "Dance, Monkee, Dance".
328	* MediumAwareness: One of the first television series to really play with this concept.
329	* MerchandiseDriven
330	* [[MickeyMousing Micky Mousing]]: Slapstick gags are punctuated by the music.
331	* MindControl: "The Frodis Caper", "Monkees Blow Their Minds"
332	* MindScrew: The movie ''Film/{{Head}}'', as well as the TV special ''33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee''.
333	* MockMillionaire: Done twice; once so that Peter could romance a debutante, and another time to convince Davy's grandfather he is a success so he won't force Davy to return to England.
334	* MrFanservice: All four boys, but especially Davy.
335	* MyspeldRokband: They were called The Monkeys in the pilot script, but this trope prevailed once it was picked up for series.
336	* {{Narrator}}: The Japanese broadcast of the series added one, to explain elements of the story that might not otherwise make sense to the viewing audience.
337	* NerdsAreSexy: Micky spends most of "I Was A 99lb. Weakling" trying to win the GirlOfTheWeek away from a JerkJock by working out, only for her to go for a nerdy guy reading Marcel Proust.
338	* NewJobEpisode: Besides episodes where the band gets a new gig to play, there's "Monkee vs. Machine" where Mike gets a job at a toy company, "Monkees on the Line" where all help work an answering service, and "Monkees at the Movies" where they are extras in a movie (among other episodes).
339	* NewTechnologyIsEvil: The episode "Monkees vs. Machine" is all about a JerkAss toy company executive who is in favor of firing all unnecessary humans and letting computers design and run most everything. Mike is seen as having a genuis level IQ for [[LogicBomb confusing the computer]] that interviews potential employees.
340	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
341	** The creators used Creator/WillRogers, Creator/JerryLewis and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bowery_Boys Huntz Hall]] as archetypes for Mike, Micky and Peter. As the chipper, boyish Limey, Davy also recalled Peter Noone of Music/HermansHermits, to the extent that when Noone first saw an episode of the show, he remarked "He does me better than I do!"
342	** In "The Monkees At The Movies", the teen idol/beach party movie star was an obvious spoof of Frankie Avalon. [[note]] That Frankie found absolutely ''hilarious'' to the point of seeking out the boys and praising them for it, and even later becoming a good friend of both Davy and Peter. [[/note]] His name, Frankie Catalina, was even a StealthPun of Avalon's name (the largest town on Catalina Island is Avalon).
343	** "The Champ" is UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli in "Monkees in the Ring".
344	** ''The Monkees Get Out More Dirt'' briefly features a fellow musician whose appearance seems to be based on Roger [=McGuinn=] of Music/TheByrds (the rectangular "Ben Franklin" sunglasses are a dead giveaway).
345	* NoFourthWall: Even supporting characters sometimes talk to the camera.
346	* NoHoperRepeat: ''33 and 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee'' was broadcast opposite the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s. As a further indicator of how seriously [=NBC=] regarded the special, its segments were aired out of order.
347	* NoPartyGiven: In "Monkee Mayor", Mike threatens to take his complaint with the current mayor and "dump it in the opposing party's lap". It's never stated which party the mayor belongs to or which party would be the opposing party.
348	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: In "Everywhere a Sheik, Sheik", Donna Loren, playing the princess of a [[{{Qurac}} fictional Middle Eastern country]], makes no attempt to sound even remotely Arabian.
349	* OneBookAuthor:
350	** The pilot episode is director Mike Elliot's sole credit on Website/{{IMDB}}. He was actually a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbIg9_5j-f4 highly-regarded director of TV commercials]][[note]]among his most notable commercials was the Daisy ad for [[UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson LBJ]], the Keep America Beautiful "Crying Indian" spot, the AMC Rebel "Driving School" spot and Alka-Seltzer's "Spicy Meatball" ad[[/note]] who was hired because the producers wanted a fast-paced show with lots of quick cuts like in a commercial.
351	** The Peter Tork-directed "The Monkees Mind Their Manor" is his only directorial credit of any kind. It's actually a pretty entertaining episode, with one of the more memorable supporting characters of the series (Lance Kibbee the Sot) and a BreakingTheFourthWall moment with Davy confronting series prop man Jack Williams about his cameo as the customs agent.
352	* OneSteveLimit: Slightly averted by Robert Michael "Mike" Nesmith and George Michael "Micky" Dolenz.
353	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: In "Success Story", Davy (who is a born & raised Brit) states that he was raised by his grandfather, who is flying in from England to see his grandson. However, when we first hear the grandfather speak, his British accent is very mild-to-nonexistent, to the point of almost sounding American, and later, when the charade is falling apart, the grandfather starts sounding...Irish? Ben Wright, who played the grandfather, was a London native, but his father was American.
354	* OutOfCharacterMoment: Peter usually plays "the dummy". But then you see him expertly spinning a bandit's gun and translating for an island native.
355	-->'''Mike:''' "I didn't know you could do that! [[LampshadeHanging You usually play the dummy!]]"
356	** This may be a lampshading on how Tork was actually very intelligent and intellectual in real life.
357	** In "The Devil and Peter Tork", Mike and Peter drop a lot of the usual gags from their acting and leave the silliness to the bad guys.
358	* PassThePopcorn: "The Picture Frame" has three of them robbing a bank after being tricked into thinking they're making a movie. When the police present them with the film from the surveillance cameras as evidence, they treat it as an actual movie, complete with being critical about their performance and popcorn.
359	* PerpetualPoverty: There's often a threat of running out of food or being kicked out of the beach house for non-payment of rent, but [[StatusQuoIsGod the status quo is maintained]].
360	* PieInTheFace: In "Captain Crocodile", the boys are invited onto a children's TV show, presumably to perform. However, the host, who is deliberately trying to sabotage them, has them hit in the face with pies instead. The group refuses to appear again unless they're promised they won't be hit with any more pies. However, this doesn't stop the eventual new host from spraying them with seltzer water.
361	* PirateParrot: The captain in "Hitting the High Seas" has one. His voice is provided by Micky Dolenz; this is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Micky is called upon to impersonate the parrot because he is the only one of the boys with the skill to do so.
362	* PlungerDetonator: Usually, something else completely blows up instead.
363	* PortraitPaintingPeephole
364	* PrankInjuries: Mike has a fake arrow through his head in one of the romps.
365	* PreciousPuppies: The romp to "Gonna Buy Me a Dog."
366	* PrinceAndPauper: Davy impersonates a visiting prince in order to find him a wife.
367	* PuddleCoveringChivalry: Used in "One Man Shy" as part of Peter's dating etiquette training. Instead of using his coat, Peter uses his girlfriend's.
368	* ReadTheFinePrint: Peter in "Dance, Monkee, Dance" is tricked into signing a lifetime contract at a dance studio after winning a free dance lesson.
369	* RearrangeTheSong:
370	** In the ''33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee'' special, Micky sings a slowed-down, funkier version of "I'm a Believer".
371	** "Words" and "Valleri" were two songs featured in the show's first season. Reworked versions of those songs would be featured in Season Two.
372	** The pilot featured two different versions of "I Wanna Be Free": a midtempo, bright version sung by Davy and Micky, and a slow, poignant version featuring just Davy.[[note]]The latter was released on their debut album in 1966, while the former stayed in the vault until ''Missing Links Vol. 2'' in 1990.[[/note]]
373	* RecursiveCanon: Says Mike in "The Frodis Caper": "Hey! It's 7:30, 6:30 Central time! Time for ''The Monkees''!"
374	* ReunionShow: ''Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees'' in 1997.
375	* {{Revival}}: The 1987 series/band ''Series/TheNewMonkees'', which was intended to make the franchise relevant to the Creator/{{MTV}} era, was a revival InNameOnly. It featured none of the original band members, and it had only one tenuous connection to the 60s project: the executive producer was Steve Blauner, studio manager of Rafelson and Schneider's Raybert Productions, the company that made the original series and ''Film/{{Head}}''. ''The New Monkees'' failed as quickly as the "old" Monkees had succeeded.
376	** One odd ShoutOut - we see them watching the tv - when they see Micky singing "Last Train to Clarksville" they all shout "Dad!"
377	* RunningGag: Many of them. Some were contained within a single episode, while others spanned several shows. A common example of the second type involves someone telling Davy that he needs to stand up, whereupon Davy (the shortest of the four) or another Monkee comments that he ''is'' standing up.
378	** Davy Jones "Is standing up."
379	** Several Monkees trying to enter a threshold at once (getting stuck).
380	** Davy's cute little "Ooh!" noise.
381	** CatchPhrase stuff like "He/She/They/It's GONE!", "Don't do that!", Davy's "You must be joking" and "Save the Texas Prairie Chicken".
382	** The Monkees deciding on who'll do something with "Shooting Fingers"[[note]]"....One, Two, Three, Shoot!...One, Two, Three, Shoot!....etc. until the "odd" finger is out/in.[[/note]].
383	** Singing some variation of their Opening Theme (complete with imitating the drum noise in the beginning).
384	* {{Ruritania}}: In "Royal Flush", the country of [[FictionalCountry Harmonica]], where the princess and soon-to-be queen is from. "Card Carrying Red Shoes" is about a traveling ballet company from Druvania, a fictional version of Russia.
385	* SayMyName: When one of the other three is in distress, he’ll usually call out for Mike.
386	* ScoobyDooHoax: "Monkee See, Monkee Die", though the fortune teller doesn't always try to hide her involvement in the scheme.
387	* SenselessViolins: Subverted in "Monkees A La Carte": "Boss! There's a guitar in this guitar case!"
388	* SerialRomeo: Davy.
389	* SharePhrase: "Don't do that!"
390	* SheIsAllGrownUp: Parodied in "The Monkees in Texas". Michael marvels at how beautiful his TV cousin Lucy turned out to be, given how awkward and unattractive she was when they were younger. Aunt Kate points out that Michael is thinking of his other cousin, Clara, who still looks the same.
391	* ShirtlessScene: Parodied in "Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers". When the band contest in which the Monkees are entered is won by a man who had his clothes torn off earlier in the episode, the group realizes that the key to success is having your clothes ripped off and proceed to do it to each other in a desperate grab for attention.
392	** Played straight with Davy in "Monkees in the Ring" during his boxing training.
393	** In "Monkees a la Mode", when asked what they have to lose by being featured in the magazine, the group replies, "Our shirts!", at which point Micky and Peter are suddenly shirtless.
394	* ShoutOut: The show contained frequent references to other popular artists of the period. At the end of the concert episode, Mike thanks the Lovin' Spoonful, the Mamas and Papas, and Music/TheBeatles for being such great groups.
395	** From "Randy Scouse Git": "''[[Music/TheBeatles The Four Kings of EMI]] are sitting stately on the floor...''"
396	** The final episode, "The Frodis Caper", begins with Music/TheBeatles song "Good Morning, Good Morning".[[note]]Not a random choice. Micky attended a ''[[Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand Sgt. Pepper]]'' recording session during his first visit to UsefulNotes/{{London}} and they played him a rough mix of "Good Morning, Good Morning".[[/note]]
397	** In ''Film/{{Head}}'', Peter can be heard whistling Music/TheBeatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" in the bathroom scene.
398	** During the song "Papa Gene's Blues" Mike says "Oh, pick it, Luther!", meaning Music/JohnnyCash guitarist Luther Perkins.
399	** In the ChristmasEpisode a quick cutaway shot of Micky at a chalkboard figuring out a math problem reveals the words "Beatles" and "Frodis" written in the corner.
400	** Micky says the first thing the Monster/Android needs to be a rock musician is a Beatles haircut.
401	** In the song "Gonna Buy Me A Dog," Davy's line "You can't teach a dog to do that; you can only train elephants" is a reference to Micky's childhood role in the series ''Circus Boy.''
402	** In one episode there's a joke contrasting Music/BobDylan and [[Series/{{Gunsmoke}} Marshal Matt Dillon]].
403	** Micky Dolenz [[WordOfGod has mentioned many times]] that the word "Mijacogeo" is a ShoutOut to the names of himself and his immediate family: '''Mi'''cky, his mother '''Ja'''nelle, sister '''Co'''co and father '''Geo'''rge. [[invoked]]
404	** In "The Monkees Race Again" Micky says "[[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Curse you, Red Baron!]]"
405	* SignatureHeadgear: Mike's wool cap. He rode his motorcycle to the audition and was wearing it to keep his hair out of his face. The producers used this as an easy way to remember him ("Let's see Wool Hat again"), so he kept it for the show.
406	* SitcomCharacterArchetypes:
407	** '''The Wisecracker''': Mike
408	** '''The Charmer''': Davy
409	** '''The Goofball''': Micky
410	** '''The Dork''': Peter (as the GeniusDitz who can do surprising things like play the harp, he straddles the line between Dork and a more childlike Goofball. Tork rhyming with Dork also helps.)
411	* SomethingPerson: Monkee Men!
412	* SoundEffectBleep: In "The Devil and Peter Tork", after the Monkees imagine what hell might be like:
413	-->'''Mike''': So that's what [cuckoo] is all about.\
414	'''Davy''': Yeah, [cuckoo] is pretty scary.\
415	'''Micky''': You know what's even more scary?\
416	'''Peter''': What?\
417	'''Micky''': You can't say [cuckoo]![[note]]hell[[/note]] on television.
418	* SpinTheBottle: Played to help Peter's confidence in "One Man Shy." Unfortunately for him, the bottle ''always'' points to Davy, even when the latter leaves the room.
419	* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Series/BigTimeRush''. Also ''Series/{{Jonas}}''. (It's been stated in Creator/{{Disney}} press releases that the series is directly inspired by The Monkees' TV concept.)
420	** ''Music/GarfunkelAndOates'', especially with the music video cutaways, the stars playing [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] versions of themselves, and plots dealing with the struggles of being a professional musician.
421	* SpookySeance: "Monkee See, Monkee Die" and "A Coffin Too Frequent".
422	* SpringtimeForHitler: In "Too Many Girls", Fern's manipulative StageMom gets Fern signed up in a talent show with Davy. Peter, Mike and Micky each come up with individually inferior acts with Peter as an inept stage musician, Mike as a mumbling poor off-key imitation of Music/BobDylan, and Micky appears as a "comedian of 1000 voices", which all consist of bad Creator/JamesCagney impressions. The other Monkees give Davy a throat spray that leaves him temporarily unable to sing as he goes onstage to dance with Fern. The group finishes off the show with "I'm a Believer", but in the end, the winners of the amateur hour are Davy and Fern's dance number (with no help from Davy's temporary laryngitis), moments after Fern's mother had given up on them.
423	* SpySpeak:
424	** In "The Spy Who Came In From the Cool", Davy inadvertently says the spy's secret phrase at a pawn shop, as he's actually looking for a pair of red maracas.
425	** In "Royal Flush", the henchman Sigmund, trying to dial his boss, dials a number and exchanges several cryptic phrases with the caller on the other end until the other man responds differently than expected, leaving Sigmund to realize that he called the wrong number. He then dials the correct number and tries to start the sequence again, only for his boss to cut him off and insist they just talk normally.
426	* StageMom: "Too Many Girls" finds one of these trying to pair her daughter with Davy in the hopes they'll rocket to stardom together. The other Monkees' individual acts are so cheesy, they go onstage as a group, only for the stage mom to achieve an unexpected win when the poorly coordinated dance number with her daughter and Davy wins with one vote.
427	* StandInPortrait
428	* StarvingArtist: Despite the CoolCar and the nice beach house, the boys fit this trope to a T. To the point that they're happy to eat spaghetti off of Micky's head. Their having no food in the house is a RunningGag.
429	** In fact, apart from the issues concerning food and rent, they seem more like InformedPoverty. Even the house seems kind of eccentric and cool.
430	* StockFootage: The musical segments tend to reuse footage from previous musical segments or from other episodes.
431	* StopTrick
432	* StorybookEpisode: The appropriately titled "Fairy Tale".
433	* SuperheroEpisode: A few episodes feature the guys dressed as Monkee Men and fighting crime (& sometimes flying to the rescue). In "Monkee Chow Mein", Davy & Mike's "powers" were limited to VolleyingInsults at their opponents.
434	** In ''Find The Monkees'', the band auditions over a pay phone as a Clark Kent {{Expy}} impatiently waits to use the booth.
435	** Defied in "The Frodis Caper[=/=]Mijacogeo" when Davy, Micky and Mike attempt to change into the Monkeemen, only to encounter a sign that prohibits using a phone booth for changing into superhero costumes:
436	-->'''Micky''': This looks like a job for...\
437	'''Micky''', '''Davy''', '''Mike''': Monkeemen!\
438	'''Davy''': Quick, men, the phone booth! Let's go! [''Micky, Mike and Davy enter a phone booth'']\
439	'''Davy''': Hold it, look at that!\
440	'''Micky''', '''Mike''': What?\
441	'''Davy''': Federal Law W-443, paragraph 7 prohibits the use of any public phone booth for the purpose of changing into or out of secret identity.\
442	'''Micky''': But if we don't change into our secret identities, the entire television audience is doomed!\
443	'''Davy''': Hey, look, look, look, it's the heat! [''A telephone maintenance van passes the phone booth, and a phone bell rings'']\
444	'''Micky''': The heat!\
445	'''Mike''': Hey Mick, it's all right. It just... We just won't change; we didn't need to change anyway.\
446	'''Micky''': I didn't need to change, did you need to change?\
447	'''Davy''': No, no.
448	* TheSvengali: Oraculo, a washed-up stage magician in "Monkees Blow Their Minds", who brainwashes Peter to use him as his unwilling assistant for his stage act.
449	* TheTag: every episode would have a tag scene or an additional musical number before the credits.
450	** [[{{Deconstruction}} Deconstructed]] and {{Lampshaded}} in the "tag" of "Monkees On the Wheel" (actually two scenes before the actual tag - see HilariousOuttakes).
451	* TakeThat:
452	** One of the first shots in the series was of the Monkees using a [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] poster as a DartboardOfHate. In the "Here Come the Monkees" pilot episode, Mike throws a dart which lands on Music/RingoStarr. This was probably also a ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Help}}'', which begins with a similar scene (except that it was a movie screen showing Beatles footage in the latter case).
453	** At the end of Episode 19, the boys give an interview regarding The Sunset Strip Riots[[note]]In 1966, residents and business owners on the Sunset Strip had enforced a 10 pm curfew, which didn't sit with the youth. The curfew was met with rallies and demonstrations on November 12, 1966 with crowds as big as 1,000, including Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda, who was actually arrested.[[/note]] and when asked about it, the boys spoke their minds, especially with Micky chiming in, “There haven’t really been riots. In actuality, since I was there, there have been demonstrations. But I guess a lot of people, uh, journalists don’t know how to spell ‘demonstration’ so they use 'riot' because it only has four letters.”
454	* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: "Monkee See, Monkee Die" during the reading of the will [[VideoWills (on phonograph)]]
455	-->'''John Cunningham''': I leave my mansion, and everything contained within it, to Miss Ellie Reynolds.
456	-->'''Kingsley''': Ellie Reynolds??
457	-->'''John Cunningham''': Shut up, Kingsley!
458	* TeamDad: Mike
459	* TheTelevisionTalksBack: In "The Monkees Get Out More Dirt", the boys are watching an advice presenter on tv who reads a letter relating to them.
460	-->'''Dr. Sisters''': Tormented, you say in the rest of your heartbreaking, and ungrammatical, letter, that you boys have made this girl fond of each of you by taking on interests she likes.
461	-->'''Davy''': That's right, what of it?
462	-->'''Dr. Sisters''': I'll tell you what of it! You've placed this girl in a dangerously emotional state. She is now drawn to four different boys, and this unresolved conflict could lead to a nervous collapse.
463	-->'''Micky''': You gotta be kidding!
464	-->'''Dr. Sisters''': Do I look like a kidder?
465	-->'''Davy''': That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!
466	-->'''Dr. Sisters''': Oh, is it? I have here in my hand another letter, from a girl telling how she is in love with four boys. It's signed "Miss Laundromat".
467	-->'''All four boys''': Laundromat??
468	-->'''Dr. Sisters''': Yes, Laundromat! And she tells in this letter that she's so close to a nervous collapse, that she's too nervous to even write this letter.
469	-->'''All four boys''': That's nervous!
470	-->'''Dr. Sisters''': And don't forget collapse!
471	* ThemeTuneExtended: A bit of an aversion, because the longer take included on the debut album was actually recorded first. The shorter TV version was recorded a few weeks later and has an extra little part that was missing from the first version ("we may be comin' to your town!")
472	* ThisIsMySide: Happens in "Monkees Get Out More Dirt" when the four boys fight over a guest character played by Julie Newmar. The show plays with it, noting that each would have access to only one particular vital part of the apartment. Davy's side has the front door, implying he is the only one with the ability to come and go; however, he states that he would gladly trade Mike for the bathroom right away. Moments later, the whole arrangement is quickly forgotten when a show comes on TV that they want to see and everyone rushes to Peter's side (which contains the television set).
473	* ThrowTheBookAtThem: In "The Picture Frame", a police detective says "Throw the book at them!" while interrogating the boys; Mike catches the book and begins to read it.
474	* TabletopGame/TicTacToe: Played for laughs in "Monkees à la Carte", when the Monkees (disguised as the Purple Flower gang) divide the city into nine sections, and Micky whispers hints to the individual gangsters about which sections they should get, alternating between X's and O's, resulting in three X's down the middle column.
475	* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Davy to the laundromat owner in "Monkees Get Out More Dirt".
476	** Davy and most girls, actually (he's quite short). In "Monkees at the Movies", he is paired up with a girl much taller than himself, and the height difference is played for laughs.
477	* TitleSequenceReplacement: Each season had a similar TitleSequence, with the second one adding some new clips. The second season opening replaced the first one in reruns, but was restored for the [=DVDs=].
478	* TranslationYes: Kimba's 'Kretch!' in "Monkees Marooned":
479	-->'''Peter''': He says that he's the original Kimba of the Jungle and that when the movie company ran out of money here on location in 1916 they left him here behind to rot.
480	-->'''Davy''': What happened to the chick who played his wife?
481	-->'''Peter''': She ran off with a casting director who promised her a big career.
482	-->'''Micky''': What about the little kid that played er, the kid?
483	-->'''Peter''': He's alive and well in UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}}.
484	-->'''Mike''': You mean you got all that from... all he said was 'kretch'!
485	-->'''Peter''': Well, it's not the word, it's the way he said it.
486	-->'''Davy''': Do you speak English?
487	-->'''Kimba''': It's been long time since I speak in my native tongue.
488	-->'''Peter''': "No."
489	* TrueCompanions: For all the snark, the boys really would do anything for each other.
490	* TheTrickster: Micky, in spades. If you’re rude to his friends, or try to scam them, he’ll get you back using a disguise and a fake voice, and he’ll enjoy every minute of it. Frankie Catalina and Bernie Class found that out the hard way.
491	* {{Tuckerization}}: The group's advisor/dummy Mr. Schneider is named for the show's executive producer Bert Schneider.
492	* [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture Twenty Years Into The Future]]: The reason why the show was such a hit 20 years later on MTV.
493	* TwoWordsICantCount: In the episode, "Monkee vs. Machine"..., which is also a play on ThereIsNoRuleSix.
494	-->'''Mike''': Remember these three little words: "Don't argue."
495	-->'''Peter''': That's two words.
496	-->'''Mike''': You're starting already.
497	* UnsoundEffect: One episode parodies the fight scenes from the Adam West ''Series/{{Batman\|1966}}'' series.
498	* VacationEpisode: The (nearly) episode-long romp "The Monkees in Paris".
499	* VideoWills: An audio phonograph version in "Monkee See, Monkee Die".
500	-->'''Mike''': It'll never sell as a single.
501	-->'''Micky''': Depends....what's on the flip side?
502	* VisualPun: the tongue-lashing and the ants/aunts in "Monkees Marooned".
503	* VolleyingInsults: In "Monkees Chow Mein", Davy and Mike are dressed as Monkee Men and bruise egos as their "weapon":
504	-->'''Davy''': You're a nail biter. You're a nail biter and your mother never ''ever'' loved you.
505	* WellExcuseMePrincess: [[CrossDresser Mike]] plays a hilariously over the top version in the "Fairy Tale" episode.
506	* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: {{Lampshaded}} in "Monkees à la Carte", after Peter (disguised as one of the Purple Flower Gang) has left the meeting to fetch the cops:
507	-->'''Mike''': Man, I hope Peter gets the cops okay.\
508	'''Davy''': Stay cool. [[LampshadeHanging What could go wrong?]]\
509	[GilliganCut to a disguised Peter entering the police station, and getting arrested by the cops as a member of the Purple Flower Gang]
510	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: At the beginning of "Monkee See, Monkee Die", before the plot gets underway, the boys' landlord tells them that he is kicking them out. Once the actual story begins, this plot thread is completely forgotten about and never addressed further.
511	** In "Hitting the High Seas", Mike goes down below after getting seasick from taking seasickness medicine and is never heard from again in that story. [[note]]Mike's appearance in the video afterwards is unrelated to the storyline.[[/note]]
512	* [[WhoWritesThisCrap Who Writes This Stuff?!]]: A RunningGag that appears in several episodes.
513	** An episode parodying ''Literature/RobinsonCrusoe'' starts with the Crusoe and Man Friday characters watching ''Series/TheMonkees'', and Friday saying, "Who writes this stuff?'' Once the band arrives, he would repeat this frequently while watching their antics.
514	** A more subtle example occurs in "Monkees a la Mode", which features a character named Rob Roy Fingerhead. Whenever his name is mentioned, Mike and Micky look at each other in disbelief and mouth the words "Rob Roy Fingerhead??" to each other.
515	** Not exactly this trope, but in "Dance, Monkee, Dance", Micky is frustrated by a turn of events and stomps off the sound stage, past the cameras and crew, into a back room, and demands that the writers give him an idea to resolve the plot. They do, but he rejects it and returns to the set, complaining that the writers are really overpaid.
516	* WholePlotReference: "The Devil and Peter Tork" doesn't slavishly follow ''Literature/TheDevilAndDanielWebster'', but it still hits most of the same story beats.
517	* WingdingEyes: Davy locks eyes with a beautiful girl in many episodes and both get starry-eyed.
518	* WrittenInAbsence: Davy was written out of a first season episode in order to attend his sister's wedding. Mike was written out of a few second season shows while he had a tonsillectomy.
519	* WrongInsultOffence: In "One Man Shy"
520	-->'''Ronnie Farnsworth''': Stop! Frauds, every one of ’em. Yachtsmen, brokers, tailors. Ha! They are just fifth-rate musicians.
521	-->'''Micky''': Third-rate musicians!
522	* YellowPeril: In the episode "Monkee Chow Mein," the band faces off with the insidious Dragonman (played by Joey Forman, who also played "Harry Hoo," a CaptainErsatz version of Film/CharlieChan, on ''Series/GetSmart'').
523	* YouMeddlingKids: Involved in the plot of many episodes.
524	* ZanyScheme
525	!!In this generation, in this tropin' time...

Context Series / TheMonkees