I heard someone say once (I don’t remember who it was) that the Monkees were ridiculously one-dimensional. They were just a bunch of nuts who could sing. Well, I’ll admit that when I was a kid, most of the appeal of the show was that they were basically like living Looney Tunes. But as I grew up, I came to realize that the characters were much deeper and much more realistic than I ever gave them credit for. They’re like a family. They love and care for each other, and they’ll do almost anything to keep the group together and happy.

Mike is definitely the big brother of the group. He’s the protector, the smart one, the one they all look up to (if you watch, whenever they have a question or a problem, they all look to Mike), and the one who always tries to comfort them with his warm, fuzzy speeches. He’s also the one who usually comes up with the best ideas.

If they were a trio, I would consider Micky to be like the middle kid- always cracking jokes and doing impersonations, like he’s trying to get attention. But he’s also sweet and helpful, and I think of him as Mike’s lieutenant, sort of- the one who backs him up the most, because he’s sneaky and crafty and almost certainly the craziest. I think if it weren’t for Micky, the boys would have had a lot more trouble getting out of some of their scrapes. And if Mike’s the one needing help, it’s usually Micky that figures out how to get him out.

Peter is a sentimental sweetheart. He cries a lot, and I usually hate that, but most of those guys I know who cry a lot do it because they’re feeling sorry for themselves and they want attention- big, dumb sissies, every one. (I know what I’m talking about. Some of the men in question are my relatives.) Not Peter. That’s just the way he is- you know, sensitive. And he’s not all dumb. If you pay attention, he has what I call “flashes of brilliance.”

Of course, Davy is the baby of the family, and they all feel a need to mother him- or I guess I should say “father” him. Well, whatever, he’s as warm and caring as the rest of them. Since he falls in love with every pretty girl he sees and he’s so pretty himself, it’s easy to think of him as being shallow. But he has a heart and a brain, and even if he only dates a girl for a couple of days, for those days, she is his world. (How many girls can say their boyfriend for years has ever made her feel like that?) And if someone’s in trouble, it bugs him until he can help them out, even if he can’t figure out how. But the details of problem-solving need not worry him… that’s what Mike and Micky and Peter are there for. Well, who ever said you have to be blood relatives to be family, anyway?