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Monkeemen
Monkeemen
THE MONKEEMEN

"The Monkees" TV show premiered on NBC on Monday, September 12, 1966, and the rockin' sitcom's second and final season ended on September 9, 1968. After that, the show lived on in reruns for many years. Inspired by the popularity of the Batman TV show, the Monkees briefly adopted superheroic personas, calling themselves THE MONKEEMEN.

Rather than parody the Batman TV show, which was almost a parody of itself, the Monkeemen satirized Batman's super-pal, Superman. They wore capes, had large letters as chest emblems, flew through the air, and changed identities in a phone booth. The Monkeemen appeared in just three of the series’ 58 episodes. Here are some stills of The Monkeemen in their debut episode from Nov. 28, 1966, "I've Got a Little Song Here":
MonkeyMen
MonkeyMen
MonkeyMen
This sequence was incorporated into the series' introduction, which ran at the beginning of every episode, so it is well-remembered by Monkeemen fans. As a special treat, here's the scene, rendered using Robby's amazing Ani-motion technique. This time, let's call it MONKEE-MAN-imotion!
MonkeyMen
The next MONKEEMEN appearance came in "MONKEES CHOW MEIN," which first aired March 13, 1967. In this one, Davy and Mike rescue Peter and Mickey after they are abducted by a whacky gang of Chinese waiters. Chaos ensues, to the tune of "Auntie Griselda":
MonkeyMen
MonkeyMen
MonkeyMen
MonkeyMen
The last MONKEEMEN appearance came in "I WAS A 99-LB. WEAKLING," which first aired October 16, 1967. Mickey joins a gym, and gets tangled up with a "physical culturist" fraud. Monkeemen to the rescue, to the tune of "Sunshine Girlfriend":
MonkeyMen
MonkeyMen
MonkeyMen
MonkeyMen
This has nothing to do with The Monkeemen, but Batman TV villain Burgess Meredith once appeared on The Monkees show, in full costume as THE PENGUIN, in the episode "The Monkees Blow Their Minds" (aired March 11, 1968). Here's how he looked:
MonkeyMen
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