Just as a TV show, The Monkees or The Partridge Family?

I've been rewatching my PF DVDs and I still laugh and find a lot of it funny. I can't even watch The Monkees anymore. Music-wise, The Monkees are so much better, but I find the show really has not aged well at all.

 

The Monkees is a great show:



I would sooner have my eyeballs gnawed out by rabid wolverines than watch The Partridge Family. Indeed one of the things I've learned from the forums is that are actually people who still care about TPF.

 

I'll watch either happily but I'll give the edge to The Monkees because it's funnier.

 

Two completely different approaches to a TV show.
The Partridge Family show has an actual on-going story line, and I believe was geared to more of a family audience, although Keith sure brought in the teeny bopper girl audience.
The Monkees were clearly geared toward just young people. The show's story line is not really an on-going story that evolves over the season, but rather a series of vignettes.

While I am a Monkees fan and clearly enjoy watching their shows and the escapades they encounter, I believe that the Partridge Family is actually a much better TV show from the standpoint of storyline, and I enjoy watching that one too. But the little girl and the little boy (or two little boys as drummer) are a distraction and were never really much a part of the show, other than to show up on screen.

 

Back then, and today still, The Monkees tv show was far superior entertainment 98% of the time.

 

To me it's like comparing apples to oranges.

Monkees is more sketch oriented while Partridge Family is more the serial.

I like them both.

Musically, Partridges had some really good tunes. I especially like "I woke Up In Love This Morning".

The Monkees had far more tunes I enjoyed. Hey Neil Diamond was one of the song writers. You can't go wrong with talent like his.

 

If only Ruben had managed the Monkees. They'd have played in public park bandshells!

 

The Monkees. Maybe if The Partridge Family was on a lot while I was a kid, it could be that instead. Either way, I think The Monkees has a lot of style and originality that you don't find in other shows from the same period.

 

The Monkees, no contest.

The Monkees series was created by two aspiring filmmakers, Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, who brought a cinematic style to the series. Paul Mazursky and James Frawley helped in developing and, in Frawley’s case, directing episodes, incorporating improvisational techniques which included breaking the fourth wall. This unique mix with The Monkees own natural comedic and musical talents helped to make the series the hit that it was and still a fun, viewing experience today, especially when taken in context with the events of the late 1960’s.

On the other hand, the Partridge Family was a typical late ‘60’s-early 70’s family sitcom, the twist was the family being a musical one, with the main comedy scenes focusing on the Danny character. As noted earlier, the Partridge series is more of a serial, with the storylines involving individual or group characters, highlighted by a song sequence. It followed the usual sitcom blueprint of a character with a problem, that by the end of the half hour would be solved, with a song capping off the episode.

In comparison, there are many more memorable episodes of The Monkees than there are of the Partridge Family. Of the few highlights in the PF series is an episode co-starring Richard Pryor and a couple of episodes featuring Ray Bolger as the grandfather. The Monkees can boast guest appearances by Stan Freberg, Julie Newmar, Burgess Meredith, Liberace, Bobby Sherman (who, to be fair, also guested on The Partridge Family), Frank Zappa, just to name a few. Plus, The Monkees series won the 1967 Emmy Award for Best New Comedy Series.

Both series are fun and entertaining. But, with the heavy weight talent that was involved behind the scenes, The Monkees definitely have the edge over The Partridge Family.

 

Neither show has aged that well for me, but I can still watch the Partridge Family on occasion. The Monkees just seems stupid to me in the same way that Laugh In just no longer seems funny when I try to watch it. I guess I'll have to hide under the chair now, but I actually think this decade's Monkees-inspired Big Time Rush is funnier than the show that inspired it, though enjoying BTR does require one to get used to the extreme overuse of silly sound effects.

 

I would pick The Monkees based on the music alone. And I mean that as a TV show since the music was a major component of both shows.

But The Monkees also spoke to a youth sensibility with a more off-the-wall, even occasionally surreal atmosphere. The Partridge Family appealed to both your 6 year-old sister as well as Grandma and as a result had more of a generic, by-the-numbers feel to it.

 

this is like comparing apples to oranges.

The Monkees was surreal and absurd -- even in some of the most early formulaic episodes where they tried to play it straight.

The Partridge Family was going for more real realism in it's storytelling.

 

Boy that's a tough choice. I probably watched more Monkees but I was no slouch when it came to watching the Partidges. I guess I agree with Sally that the Monkees was a bit of a silly show (it typically was broadcast between kid cartoons after school) and the Partridges actually had more of a "plot" and a message behind it's storytelling.

 

While I liked both shows I give the edge to the Monkees. There was more creativity in the Monkees compared to the Partridge Family, which seemed like more of a conventional family sitcom.

Scott

 

In terms of production values, though I'm not a fan, I'd have to say THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY. Re-watching THE MONKEES, I was annoyed by how incredibly sloppy the visual comedy on it was, and it's thrown into sharper relief by it's British erzatz THE GOODIES, which had very well thought out and produced visual comedy scenes. The directors of THE MONKEES seemed to think that all you had to do was speed up the film and it would be funny! PARTRIDGE FAMILY, on the other hand, knew what they were and how they'd set about being it.

 

Anyone have the distinction of guest starring on both shows?

 

Well, I answered my own question.
A quick scan of IMDB revealed a few: Bobby Sherman, Vic Tayback, Carl Ballantine, Nita Talbot, Ned Glass.

More than I would have thought.

 

A while ago I enjoyed the Partridge's on one of those special antenna channels along with Mod Squad.

But I choose Monkees, they got pretty odd in the second season. And I watched them when I was a pup, so all the time I have Monkees dialogue going through my head. "Steak clogs your veins."

 

both are just manufactured TV shows...no real bands.
Frankenstein...

 

Although I enjoy watching both shows, TPF never broke the 4th wall.



Sometimes the funniest parts are The Monkees reactions to each other (like Peter's reaction to Davy at 4:40 into this clip.

Darryl

 

The Monkees for sure! The music was awesome and the show was silly but that's what made it so appealing. The boys breaking the fourth wall was probably one of my favorite things. I had never really heard of that term before but now I look for it in other shows. I "caught" it on an episode of "Fuller House". And I remember Norman Fell doing it on Three's Company.

As for the Partridge Family, it was a good show yes - but meh. Sometimes the stirylist was boring. I can sit through a Monkee Marathon and not get bored whereas I'd probably get bored with the Partridge Family.

The Monkees were real. Although they were miming the music and such on the shoe - it looked like they were playing. On the Partridge Family - it was obvious they weren't performing. It was only really David Cassidy singing for the most part. There were albums put out but only really featured David Cassidy and probably Shirley Jones. They never went on tour as the Monkees did.

Another actress that was on both shows was the gal who played "Dora" on the Partridge Family. I forget the actress name and the part she played on the monkees but I recognized the name in the credits. (Again the name escapes me)

I do have to say I found David Cassidy to be very cute as with our Davy Jones. But that said - Micky will always be top in my heart.

 

Have to go with Partridge Family.

I was too young for Monkees and Laurie Partridge was a babe.

 

Yeah, the Partridge Family had Susan Dey and when I was 10 yrs old I was in love but, it's still The Monkees show for me

 

The Monkees for me. They never tried to bring a little kid on the show to sing Sesame Street-type songs in the final season.

It really was a matter of The Monkees being a more surreal type of humor vs TPF standard sitcom fare. I watch both but still vote Monkees as the funnier of the two.

 

Antenna TV( the channel) has been showing "The Partridge Family" nonstop as a cheap commercial tie-in on Mothers Day. No argument here but Holy Crap Susan Dey