The Monkees: Our Favourite....: Amazon.ca: Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith, David Price, David Pearl, Valerie Kairys, James Frawley, Richard Klein, Bob Rafelson, Monte Landis, John London, Richard H. Kline: DVD

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Whether you're indulging nostalgia or experiencing the Monkees for the first time, Our Favorite Episodes--chosen by Davey Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith--is a curious time capsule. Even for veteran Monkeephiles, it's obvious that the TV series, totaling 58 episodes from 1966 to 1968, hasn't aged very gracefully. It's fun as a pop-cultural artifact, and original fans will fondly recall the eagerness with which each week's episode was anticipated. Looking back, however, the shows are marginally amusing, and their improvisational, low-budget strategy tends to limit their lasting appeal. For die-hard fans it won't matter a bit; any chance to own and archive the Monkee phenomenon (with brief latter-day interviews included) is going to be welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed.

Because Jones's favorite episode was actually the Emmy-winning "Royal Flush," the inclusion of "Hitting the High Seas" is a conspicuous blunder, but it's compensated by Peter's "Monkee vs. Machine." Directed by series producer (and then-budding filmmaker) Bob Rafelson, and featuring comedian Stan Freberg as a stodgy toy-company executive, this early episode was a first-season highlight. Mickey selected (and directed) the series finale, "Mijacogeo (The Frodis Caper)," which is noteworthy for a filmed performance of Tim Buckley singing a rare acoustic version of "Siren Song" (further proof that the Monkees were hipper than their TV personas). Mike's favorite "Fairy Tale" is a wild romp indeed, with Nesmith in drag (as a fairy princess), sounding shockingly like Cher from her later TV variety show. They're semi-inspired at best, but these vintage episodes still capture the lunacy that accompanied the meteoric success of the "Pre-Fab Four." --Jeff Shannon

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Their Favorite Episodes, Aug 17 2003

By

Mark Ebert (Lancaster OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Monkees: Our Favourite.... (DVD)

You can't really disagree with someone else's favorite episodes, they are THEIR favorites. For the most part, I found myself agreeing with the Monkees. While I think Mike's and Micky's pick are the standouts, I also enjoyed Peter's MONKEES vs. MACHINES.

I do wish Rhino would release a Monkees Holiday DVD with the two Halloween episodes and the Christmas installment featuring Butuch Patrck.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Good DVD "Stand In", July 27 2002

By

smctopia - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Monkees: Our Favourite.... (DVD)

This disc was Rhino's first attempt to package Monkee episodes in the then-new DVD format. Clips of each of the Monkees from their 1997 documentary are used to introduce their favorite episodes.

It has already been noted that the episode that Davy mentions is really "Royal Flush" ("Hitting the High Seas" is shown instead as his favorite). "Royal Flush" would have been a better choice because it would've balanced the DVD better to have 2 episodes from the first season and 2 from the second, instead of having 3 from the second and only 1 from the first.

The film quality was a bit of a disappointment, especially during parts of "Fairy Tale". The quality is much better on Rhino's second Monkee DVD (Monkees Volume 1 & 2) although there are some good moments on this disc. Some of the episodes have the original end credits with Kellogg's products. It's fun on both discs to pause the picture and use the "step" button on your DVD remote to discover things that have never been noticed before on VHS copies.

The chapter breaks are much better than on Rhino's second Monkee DVD and there are actually breaks for all of the songs in each episode; even the Kellogg's commercial shown during Mijacogeo has a chapter break.

Since the DVD format was still young when Rhino released this, it has no extras, not even closed-captioning. It's too bad that the Monkees couldn't have recorded audio commentary in addition to introducing the episodes. A photo gallery and some more Kellogg's commercials wouldn't been a nice extra also.

Fans desparate for any Monkee episodes on DVD will want to pick this up but keep in mind that the VHS edition is packaged better in a retro-style metal Monkee lunchbox with a mini-ceral box and puzzle. This DVD will have to do as a "stand in" until Rhino gets around to issuing the entire series on DVD.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Davy is little, but PETTY?!!, Jun 19 2002

By

Dough Hubler (The Beautiful Mountains of Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Monkees: Our Favourite.... (DVD)

First off, I'm a 1st-gen fan (yes, I'm very old) and since this DVD has been well-covered by other reviewers, I wanted to use this space to explain Davy's choice of "Hitting The High Seas".

When this DVD was being produced, Davy was in the center of a protracted and one-sided snit with Michael Nesmith... seems the mystery surrounding Mike had drawn all the attention away from Davy, the self-professed heart-throb of the group, and Davy is not one who relinquishes attention easily. Its widely known that he chose this particular episode as his "fave" because Mike doesn't appear in it for more than 3 minutes!

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars monkees
i enjoyed your show alot and more i enjoyed it.i know that is hard for the monkees that way for live and learn from your mass up the monkees show on the television show and i know... Read more

Published on Aug 22 2003 by BEVERLY ANN CLARK

4.0 out of 5 stars I Would Have Chose Other Episodes
I could see why "Royal Flush" and "Mijaceogeo" were included because the former is acknowledged as the first episode, and the the latter is the last... Read more

Published on Dec 19 2001 by Hillari Hunter