The Monkees: Season 1
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Canada
Movie Reviews of The Monkees: Season 1
Movie Review: "Your eyes are like cupcakes, in a sea of sour cream..."
Summary: 4 Stars
Awesome! We finally get to see this woefully underappreciated series on DVD. Although the first season is not nearly as good as the second (where the wackiness became downright inspired) it is still a lot of fun and contains some terrific music. Season one episodes include: Here Come the Monkees, One Many Shy, Two Many Girls, Alias Mickey Dolenz, Monkee Mother, Monkees on Tour (with lots of great live music), Captain Crocodile and many others spread out over 6 discs. There were 32 episodes in the first season, and 25 in the second. My five all-time favorite episodes are all in the second season, so if you're new to the show you might want to wait for the second season release on DVD.
These cute shows are suitable for the whole family; in fact when I recently lent 3 of my videos to a 15 year friend she watched them 4 times over in 3 days. The music is perfect 60's pop, and songs in this season include "Last Train to Clarksville", "Pleasant Valley Sunday", "Steppin' Stone", "I'm a Believer", the beautiful "I Wanna Be Free" and my favorite Monkees song, "You Just May Be the One", written by Mike Nesmith.
A good show that was occasionally great, and a thousand cheers for Rhino for releasing the DVDs.
GRADE: B+ (And check out that cool packaging!)
Movie Review: Perspective from the UK
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm in the UK and had two potential problems with this release: it's Region 1 and it's also NTSC format (we have PAL in the UK).
However, not only did my DVD player deal with the Region 1 disc with no problem, but my cheap Samsung TV dealt with the NTSC issue as well.
So far, so good.
After reading some of the reviews here, I was expecting to be a bit disappointed by the sound and picture quality but, apart from over-saturation of colour in some episodes, (which could be an product of the NTSC translation) so far I haven't found this release to be anywhere near as 'bad' as others have done.
I have, for comparison, some episodes saved on my Sky Plus hard drive recorder (like TiVo only better) when Disney Channel screened them in the UK about 12-18 months ago. These are definitely cleaner versions than in the Rhino box set BUT the Rhino ones are perfectly acceptable, in my view.
Let's face it, there is no alternative at the moment - and definitely not at this price. Even after I got stung for some customs duty (about £9 in total) I still thought I'd got a bargain.
So if you're in the UK, and can play Region 1 and NTSC, I'd say buy with confidence.
Movie Review: Great set! Buy it, but know the caveats...
Summary: 4 Stars
Hey, what can you say BAD about a DVD box with ALL the episodes of Season One of The Monkees? Not much! The shows themselves are a JOY to watch in the newly restored glory. Unlike most hardcore Monkees fans, I've always preferred Season One over Season Two (sure, some of Season One's episodes are goofy, but Season Two - while showcasing the superior tunes - just gets a little too self-indulgent at times for my delecate palate). Having said that, I STILL can't wait for Season Two!Now, the minuses. The packaging, while certainly cute, is not very user-friendly or storage-friendly. If you're a 'cute gimmick' fan, you'll love it. If you're more inclined to appreciate practicality, get out the swear word thesaurus.
Unfortunately, I'm guessing it's the gimmicky packaging that has pushed the price tag into the upper-stratosphere. Compare the cost of this box to OTHER single-season DVD compilations and you'll see what I mean;...P>... Even if you're NOT hip to these things, buy it anyway!
One hopes a sclaed-down version will follow and encourage more average buyers to invest in these gems.
Movie Review: MUST HAVE!
Summary: 4 Stars
If you are a fan of this TV show, you will love this collection! The one and only complaint is the 5.1 audio. The show sounds much better in Mono. The 5.1 audio is tinny and hollow.The extras are cool and I would be interested to know why Micky didn't participate in any of the commentary. It would have been cool if all 4 (or three at least) could have done commentary together but maybe its a contract thing. Even Mike has appeared to put his past in perspective now and doesn't seem as bitter in discussing the show as we've been lead to believe in recent years.
You get the Kelloggs commercials (fans of the bootleg market will notice that this gathers up to my knowledge all of the TV spots for Kelloggs. Two Kelloggs ads from season two are featured in this collection and haven't been available in their entirety anywhere before I believe) You also get their ad for Yardley Black Label cologne and a brief ABC promo spot for season one.
I'm looking forward to season two and its nice to see these episodes gathered together in broadcast order.
Movie Review: Really special
Summary: 4 Stars
Finally the Monkees first season is on DVD and I'm thrilled. I didn't see the show until they were reruns in the early 70's but absolutely fell in love with the show. The Monkees and Batman were my favorite 60's TV shows. Everything is awesome about the set but I agree with other reviewers that the 5.1 sound isn't that great. I still use it because it seems more complete to me but you can be the judge. Definitely don't let that deter you from buying this. I also wish that there would be a Play All feature but oh well. And each time you choose an episode, you have to decide in 2.0 or 5.1. Just little nick picks if you're wanting to watch many. This is well worth it and the convenient small box should be the wave of the future for box sets.