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The Best Episodes of The Monkees Season 1

Every episode of The Monkees Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Monkees Season 1!

Binge this in 10h 26m•Peaking at 8.2/10

Micky, Mike, Peter, and Davy are four young men in mid-1960s LA, members of a struggling country-folk-rock band looking for their big break amid madcap encounters with a variety of people straight out of TV

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Seasons2

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    The Monkees Season 1 Episode 18 - I Was a Teenage Monster
    8.2/10(183 votes)

    S1:E18

    A mad scientist (John Hoyt) hires the Monkees to teach his monster (Richard Kiel) music—and then transplants their musical talent into the monster. Can the Monkees get their talent back? Byron Foulger appears as Groot, Dr. Mendoza's assistant.

    Director:Sidney Miller
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner, Dave Evans

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  2. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 29 - Monkees Get Out More Dirt
    8.1/10(178 votes)

    S1:E29

    The Monkees' friendship is threatened when they all fall for the same girl, luscious local laundromat proprietress April Conquest (Julie Newmar).

    Director:Gerald Shepard
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner

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  3. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 31 - Monkees at the Movies
    8.1/10(176 votes)

    S1:E31

    The Monkees have a run-in with a snobbish movie idol (Bobby Sherman) on the set as extras in a beach movie.

    Director:Russ Mayberry
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner

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  4. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 32 - Monkees on Tour
    8.1/10(169 votes)

    S1:E32

    A mini-documentary chronicling a live Monkees concert gig on location in Phoenix, Arizona during their first public appearance tour.

    Director:Bob Rafelson
    Writer:Bob Rafelson

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  5. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 3 - Monkee vs. Machine
    8.0/10(242 votes)

    S1:E3

    In a computerized toy factory, the Monkees foil an efficiency expert (Stan Freberg) who wants to replace an old toymaker (Walter Janovitz) with automation.

    Director:Bob Rafelson
    Writer:David Panich

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  6. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 4 - Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers
    7.9/10(202 votes)

    S1:E4

    A shady PR man (Andre Philippe) kidnaps the Monkees to prevent them from winning a talent contest in order for his clients (rival band the Four Swines) to win.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writer:Dave Evans

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  7. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 7 - Monkees in a Ghost Town
    7.9/10(211 votes)

    S1:E7

    Stranded in a ghost town after their car runs out of gas, the Monkees are held prisoner by bank robbers (Len Lesser, Lon Chaney Jr.) and their boss, "The Big Man" (Rose Marie).

    Director:James Frawley
    Writers:Peter Meyerson, Robert Schlitt

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  8. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 12 - I've Got a Little Song Here
    7.9/10(181 votes)

    S1:E12

    Mike is fleeced by a fraudulent music publisher (Phil Leeds), but Micky dons the guise of a flashy Hollywood producer to get Mike's money back.

    Director:Bruce Kessler
    Writer:Treva Silverman

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  9. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 13 - One Man Shy (Peter and the Debutante)
    7.9/10(165 votes)

    S1:E13

    Bashful Peter tries to win the heart of lovely debutante Valerie Cartwright (Lisa James) while dealing with her haughty boyfriend Ronnie Farnsworth (George Furth).

    Director:James Frawley
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Treva Silverman, Gerald Gardner

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  10. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 23 - Captain Crocodile
    7.9/10(164 votes)

    S1:E23

    The Monkees' appearance on popular children's show The Captain Crocodile Show is sabotaged by its host (Joey Forman), who fears that his guest's popularity is diminishing his own.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writers:Peter Meyerson, Dee Caruso, Robert Schlitt, Gerald Gardner

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  11. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 30 - Monkees in Manhattan
    7.9/10(147 votes)

    S1:E30

    In New York City, the Monkees fend off an irate hotel manager (Philip Ober) as they help a producer (Richard Anders) get backing for a Broadway musical.

    Director:Russ Mayberry
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner

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  12. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 9 - The Chaperone
    7.8/10(176 votes)

    S1:E9

    Davy's feelings for retired General Harley Vandenberg's (Arch Johnson) daughter Leslie (Sherry Alberoni) leads Micky to pose as a female chaperone at a party after the real chaperone (Diana Chesney) gets drunk.

    Director:Bruce Kessler
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner

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  13. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 14 - Dance, Monkee, Dance
    7.8/10(162 votes)

    S1:E14

    The Monkees sign up for lessons at Renaldo's Dance Au Go Go (Hal March), and then find out that their contracts are for life.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writer:Bernie Orenstein

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  14. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 15 - Too Many Girls (Davy and Fern)
    7.8/10(150 votes)

    S1:E15

    A domineering stage mother tries to use Davy to further her daughter Fern's career.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner, Dave Evans

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  15. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 19 - The Audition (Find the Monkees)
    7.8/10(166 votes)

    S1:E19

    When television producer Hubbell Bensen (Carl Ballantine) hears a tape of the Monkees, he frantically stages auditions in the hope of finding them for his new television show, unaware they are desperately trying to audition for him.

    Director:Richard Nunis
    Writer:Dave Evans

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  16. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 2 - Monkee See, Monkee Die
    7.7/10(239 votes)

    S1:E2

    The Monkees spend the night in a haunted house to collect an inheritance.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writer:Treva Silverman

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  17. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 5 - The Spy Who Came in from the Cool
    7.7/10(198 votes)

    S1:E5

    The Monkees get mixed up in a spy ring (Jacques Aubuchon, Arlene Martel) after Davy accidentally purchases a set of red maracas containing secret microfilm. Can the Monkees outwit two professional spies ?

    Director:Bob Rafelson
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner

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  18. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 17 - The Case of the Missing Monkee
    7.6/10(154 votes)

    S1:E17

    Peter becomes involved with the disappearance of the respected Professor Milo Schnitzler (Norbert Schiller) and then disappears himself.

    Director:Bob Rafelson
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner

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  19. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 25 - Alias Micky Dolenz
    7.6/10(162 votes)

    S1:E25

    The police cash in on Micky's striking resemblance to imprisoned crime kingpin Baby Face Morales in an attempt to locate robbery loot.

    Director:Bruce Kessler
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner, Dave Evans

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  20. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 27 - Monkee Mother
    7.6/10(168 votes)

    S1:E27

    Middle-aged widow Millie (Rose Marie) moves in with the Monkees as a new tenant, resulting in the boys' trying to find her a husband.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writers:Peter Meyerson, Robert Schlitt

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  21. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 6 - Success Story
    7.5/10(178 votes)

    S1:E6

    Davy's grandfather (Ben Wright) visits, and the Monkees try to convince him that his grandson is wealthy and successful.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Bernie Orenstein, Gerald Gardner

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  22. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 11 - Monkees à la Carte
    7.5/10(156 votes)

    S1:E11

    The Monkees pose as the Purple Flower Gang to save their favourite Italian restaurant from a gangster (Harvey Lembeck).

    Director:James Frawley
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Bernie Orenstein, Gerald Gardner

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  23. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 22 - Monkees at the Circus
    7.5/10(162 votes)

    S1:E22

    To save a bankrupt circus, the Monkees pose as a troupe of dazzling, supreme high-wire artists from France known as the Mozzarelli Brothers, but get in trouble when their guise requires them to actually perform.

    Director:Bruce Kessler
    Writer:David Panich

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  24. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 24 - Monkees à la Mode
    7.5/10(162 votes)

    S1:E24

    The Monkees are chosen as "Typical Young Americans of the Year," by Chic magazine, a haughty publication that runs a bogus article on the group moulding them into a false image of clean cut young men.

    Director:Alexander Singer
    Writers:Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner

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  25. The Monkees Season 1 Episode 1 - Royal Flush
    7.3/10(290 votes)

    S1:E1

    The Monkees rescue Princess Bettina, Duchess of Harmonica (Katherine Walsh) from her evil uncle Archduke Otto (Theodore Marcuse).

    Director:James Frawley
    Writers:Peter Meyerson, Robert Schlitt

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"I Was a Teenage Monster" is the best rated episode of "The Monkees" season 1. It scored 8.2/10 based on 183 votes. Directed by Sidney Miller and written by Dee Caruso, Gerald Gardner, Dave Evans, it aired on 1/16/1967. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Monkees Get Out More Dirt".