The first episode? This has puzzled me.

[um]

I was too young to have memory of actually seeing the first episode when it first aired sometime in 1964. But in later years when the The Monkees aired in reruns I recall one of the episodes that may have been the very first one, or maybe one very soon after the first episode in which comedian Pat Pulsen was shown speaking at the beginning of the episode. (Some of you may know which one I am referring to).
What "puzzles" me is that Davy, Mickey, and Peter were then immediately shown getting dressed up in a room, and Pat Pulsen says "Here are three typical teenagers" (I think he might have said "American Teenagers") and I don't think that Peter and Mickey were teenagers at the time and Davy might have just been on the edge of turning 20 (and if Pat Pulsen said "Ämerican," Davy was born in England and his accent was obvious).
Throughout the series none of The Monkees seemed to be teenagers (well, perhaps Davy, but again, in his very very late teens and about to exit them). They just seemed to be young men in their early to mid 20s. Mike Nesmith seemed to be significantly older than the rest of them, at least when he wore glasses and had the bushy sideburns.
But it is odd that in one of the first episodes Mickey, Peter and Davy were said to be teenagers. Of course it was for the comical context of the particular scene and maybe it mattered less back then.

Were The Monkees supposed to be teenagers in the sitcom?

Also The Monkees were supposed to be an imitation of The Beatles, but only Davy spoke with a British accent. It was a bit odd realizing that decades later.

BTW, (after clicking the link below) notice how Mike is trying to look nonchalant as he pretends to be playing the guitar and trying to look as if it does not matter that his tie is in the way of the strings.This video has been around for decades but I only recently noticed that fact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU615FaODCg

[DJM77]

I don't know the answer to your question, but The Monkees premiered in 1966.

[um]

Originally Posted by DJM77

I don't know the answer to your question, but The Monkees premiered in 1966.

Then it seems to make it far more unlikely that any of the Monkees were in their teens when the show first aired.
In 1964 The Beatles made their first appearance on Ed Sullivan, and as many of us know who studied enough, or read enough about the matter, Davey Jones made an appearance that exact same day on the Ed Sullivan Show in a performance of "Oliver" playing the Artful Dodger and when he saw what a response from the audience The Beatles got, he said "I want a part of this" meaning he wanted to be on stage performing like the Beatles did. Reportedly Davey Jones was 19 years old when he played the Artful Dodger then.
So if The Monkees premiered in 1966 Davey Jones was two years older than 19.

Of course a lot of actors who were in their 20 played teenagers in sitcoms. The guys who played "The Sweathogs" in "Welcome Back Kotter" were in their 20s but they played teenagers.
David Cassidy played a teenager (Keith) though he was really in his 20s.

So perhaps The Monkees were supposed to be guys in their teens, but then again though they all acted in weirdly made-up plots, they all had their own real names and in a certain way, they were not playing completely fictinoal characters.
Makes it a bit harder to know.

[IllinoisTVFan]

The teenager comments were in several episodes and were confusing. Let's be honest, if they were actual teenagers they would be living with their parents or guardians.

[treky]

THE MONKEES premiered in 1966 not 64

[treky]

Originally Posted by um

Then it seems to make it far more unlikely that any of the Monkees were in their teens when the show first aired.
In 1964 The Beatles made their first appearance on Ed Sullivan, and as many of us know who studied enough, or read enough about the matter, Davey Jones made an appearance that exact same day on the Ed Sullivan Show in a performance of "Oliver" playing the Artful Dodger and when he saw what a response from the audience The Beatles got, he said "I want a part of this" meaning he wanted to be on stage performing like the Beatles did. Reportedly Davey Jones was 19 years old when he played the Artful Dodger then.
So if The Monkees premiered in 1966 Davey Jones was two years older than 19.

Of course a lot of actors who were in their 20 played teenagers in sitcoms. The guys who played "The Sweathogs" in "Welcome Back Kotter" were in their 20s but they played teenagers.
David Cassidy played a teenager (Keith) though he was really in his 20s.

So perhaps The Monkees were supposed to be guys in their teens, but then again though they all acted in weirdly made-up plots, they all had their own real names and in a certain way, they were not playing completely fictinoal characters.
Makes it a bit harder to know.

The Beatles didn't make their first appearance on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW they made their first LIVE appearance on it. Their first appearance was in Feb. of 1964 on THE JACK PARR SHOW but it was a film of them.

[visaman666]

Pat Paulson was known as a satirist with a very dry sense of humour. He was spoofing the classroom films of the era. America was obsessed with teenagers then. Of course the teenagers of that time are the great grandparents of today.