The Monkees: Season 2
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Movie Reviews of The Monkees: Season 2
Movie Review: Too Bad They Couldn't Follow The Beatles' Lead...Again!
Summary: 3 Stars
First of all, let me state that this review does not concern itself with the content of the Monkees episodes. I grew up with the show in 1970's syndication and love it. I'm a big fan of both the show and the Monkees' music.The axe I have to grind is not with the show, the music, or the (1960's) Monkees themselves. Those aspects of the show get a 5-star rating from me. (And if you are reading this, then I assume you are also a big fan.) It's just that while Apple was able to wonderfully restore the Beatles' legacy in the "Anthology" DVD collection, Rhino chose not to do the same thing here...
My first problem is the fact that Rhino (or more precisely, AOL Time Warner, which bought Rhino in 1998) did not bother to spend any money to restore & clean up the audio or video of any of these episodes. If you bought the mid-90's VHS box set and were expecting an audio & video upgrade, you're going to be in for a disappointment. Rhino seems to have used the same video masters they used for the earlier collection (the 1994, 1995, & 1996 "program content" copyrights on the DVD boxes would support this theory).
The audio portions of each episode sound much softer than the title screens. As a result, you have to crank the volume up when you watch an episode. When the episode is finished, and you go back to the title screen (and forget to reset the volume), it's almost like being hit on the head when you are blasted by the *very* loud Monkee's Theme that will greet you there. Granted, this is a minor annoyance, but after you are startled a number of times, it starts getting to you.
The video quality is also rather poor. The episodes appear *very* dark and murky. Lots of details cannot be seen as they have faded into the shadows. The prints used for syndication were a bit edited in places, yet they had MUCH more vibrant colors and were not as dark as the prints Rhino used. If you saw the show in the 1970's, then you should remember how much more colorful it looked at that time.
If you are lucky enough to own one of the early 1990's Japanese Laserdisc box sets, you'd know how much better those episodes look when compared to the ones released by Rhino. The LD box only contained 40 of the 58 episodes, yet that's what I still reach for when I want to watch the show.
Now, let me direct my attention to the audio commentaries:
In a perfect world, all four of the Monkees would have done the commentaries together and they would have been complimentary to the producers who gave them the show, the fans who have supported it all of these years, and the other guys in the group. In a less perfect world, they would have at least done a little fact-checking before they got behind the microphones.
It's sad to say that in the Monkees' world, none of this happened. All four of the Monkees (with the exception of Davy, maybe) don't come off very well. Their commentaries are short on anecdotes, and collectively, they appear to be rather dysfunctional. I'd bet that paychecks were driving force behind a few of the commentaries, not out of respect for the fans or the show.
Micky comes off the worst. He may have believed he was being cute and funny, but his rather obnoxious commentary is like a poor-man's version of MST3K. He offers precious little insight into the episode he co-wrote and directed. He is also quite blistering in his assessment of the 33 1/3 special. It really seemed like he didn't want to do the commentary and he was carrying on just to prove a point.
Mike seems to show bemusement that the show was and continues to be popular. He says the intelligence level of the show appeals to 9-year olds. He can't seem to understand that adults like (and continue to watch) the show. While he has mellowed in regards to his place in the Monkees' legacy, it still appears he feels the show was beneath him (and that its fans might be too).
Peter (or "Former Monkee Peter Tork" as he identifies himself at the start of each commentary) uses his commentaries as a platform to rip into Mike and (to a lesser extent) producer Rafelson. Some of his Monkees' history is a bit faulty (like going on about how his song "For Pete's Sake" was edited onto the end of *first* season shows when the show was in syndication in the 70's - it wasn't). Peter has replaced Mike as the group's curmudgeon.
Davy is the only Monkee who is gracious to the others, and who appreciates the fans who have kept the show going for all these years. His commentary is light on the facts and anecdotes, but it's not mean, dismissive, or obnoxious. He definitely comes off the best.
Conversely, the two non-Monkee commentaries here (by Bob Rafelson and Brian Auger) are the most informed and interesting. Mr. Rafelson is very gracious to the group he created and he is very complimentary of the guys. Mr. Auger shares some interesting insights about the 33 1/3 special and he never attacks it (unlike a certain Mr. Dolenz). Both Rafelson & Auger enhance this collection, unlike the Monkees themselves.
So, unless AOL Time Warner / Rhino decides to spend the dough and really restore these classic TV episodes, then this rather disappointing collection is all we're going to get. I recommend it for the inspired content it contains (the original episodes), not for its presentation.
Movie Review: Great shows, but sound quality not so great...
Summary: 3 Stars
I've had this set for a while, but finally got around to watching them just recently, as I was working my way through the first season. I actually enjoy the second season episodes to the first, but I was disappointed at the sound quality of the music. Rhino owns the original master to the Monkees recordings, and could easily have improved on the sound over the original 16mm prints, but unfortunately didn't. The music clips on most episodes sound muffled and distorted. This is especially true for the "Rainbow" performances, the end-of-show music videos that feature the Monkees lip syncing to their songs. I didn't notice this on the audio of the first season shows. How hard would it have been to overdub the stereo recordings to these clips? On the plus side, the picture quality was generally excellent, and the inclusion of the rare 33 & 1/3 special (with very good audio) makes this worth recommending. However, I was still disappointed at this set from Rhino, a label with a usually excellent track recordMovie Review: Enough Already!
Summary: 3 Stars
Please remember that these are the Monkees. They were, at best, a pop fad. Nothing more! They can be compared to the boy bands of today. A group of guys thrown together based on the look and popularity of a particular generation. Yes, they did have a unique sound, and a very popular TV show, but they should in no way be considered icons, or have their work be scrutinized by theater and drama critics. I enjoyed the show and sound very much, but I was not even a teenager at the time! The Monkees are not Led Zeppelin or Nirvana. They are a "cult classic", like Rocky Horror...no more, no less. Just enjoy the music and stop picking them and this release apart. They were young men having fun. Sex, drugs and rock n' roll was the motto at that time. That should say it all.Movie Review: A Rhino Rush Job???
Summary: 3 Stars
I was pretty stoked to hear that Rhino was finally going to release the second season of the Monkees' TV show. Once I got my package and opened it up I was pretty disappointed. The 45 record sleeves that held the discs were very poorly glued together. One was completely open as it had not been glued properly at all!
The quality of the prints are very poor-there's lots of dirt on them in every episode. I was surprised at what a poor "remastering" job they had done on the prints. Many of the tunes (especially "Goin' Down") sound very muffled, no matter whether you set the audio at 2.0 or 5.1!
I like these episodes immensely but I can't help but express my disappointment at the poor quality of it all.
Movie Review: Not as bad as some say!
Summary: 3 Stars
First of all, I'm in the UK so am watching NTSC on a PAL format TV, which will have some effect on picture quality.
While this is hardly the best quality DVD transfer ever done, I couldn't care less. For the money, it's great. It's all perfectly watchable, and some of the extras - especially the episode trivia - are excellent. Love the packaging as well, which is perfectly robust if you're careful with it.
The bottom line is that these episodes are unavailable elsewhere on DVD as far as I know and I'm delighted to have them (although I prefer Season 1 overall). If someone produces some better versions, then fine, I'll buy them too!