Fifty years ago this week, NBC TV introduced America to four young men who would change the way music and television interact.

Looking to capitalize on the humongous an ongoing success of th Beatles and so many other groups,NBC assembled a team of four actors who also happened to have musical talent: Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and, of course, Micky Dolenz who, years before, actually started in a short-lived series called Circus Boy.

After The Monkees premiered something strange happened. It wasn't clear whether this was a TV show about musicians or musicians doing a TV show ,, or something in between.It was a strange and new hybrid that actually frightened some people in the entertainment industry.