New Monkees, “Monkee Mail”

Remember the New Monkees? Probably not! But these four bastards have haunted the cobwebbed hallways of my rattled mind. A quick bit of background: on the 20th anniversary of the debut of the original manufactured pop group, a new version was soon constructed via Straybert Productions and Coca-Cola Telecommunications (which is apparently a thing!). Much like their predecessors, the project was meant to be both an actual musical group and a group of personalities to entertain on their show (also titled New Monkees). Warner Bros. distributed the album (again, also titled New Monkees) while the television show was sent out for syndication on UHF stations across the country.

These New Monkees were not your daddy’s Monkees! They were comprised of Jared Chandler, Dino Kovas, Marty Ross, and Larry Saltis with a greater emphasis being placed on their musical abilities than their forebears. And while the originals were positioned quasi-counter cultural rascals with their zany pop culture references and silly shenanigans (or, you know, Beatles Lite™), this new crop would still be wacky but in a more Gen X, New Wave, but also rockabilly and arena rock, all by way of hypercolor hijinks. The 1980s patterns on all the clothings and sets are something to behold. My God…the ‘80s patterns.

Here’s an episode for your enjoyment—the seventh out of the total 13 (it was canceled after just one season and one album), titled “Monkee Mail.” The plot description reads thusly:

The boys decide to answer some fan mail. The result? They meet some interesting fans.

And the summary from IMDB is written in staccato telegraph fashion and merely states:

The Del Rubio Triplets pop from New Monkees mail. Rocky Schenck Music video "I Don't Know" an underwater mermaid fantasy. Stiv Hernjak as Konstantinos Kovas. Edie Robinette-Petrachi choreographs scarf dance. Dino's Kitchen.

Dino’s Kitchen, indeed. Enjoy “Monkee Mail” episode of New Monkees, which originally aired October 26, 1987, directed by Victor Fresco, and written by Rob Fresco, Victor Fresco, Matt Fassberg, Paul Tassie, Steven M. Martin, and Rocky Schenck (that’s…a lot of people to write one New Monkees episode).