Jan & Dean: On the Run

"Jan & Dean: On the Run" is a very odd failed TV pilot that would confuse the heck out of younger audiences. After all, the show seems to have little in the way of structure and is a strange stream of consciousness experience that is completely unlike anything you might see today. However, seen in context, this show actually makes sense. After all, 1966 ALSO brought America "The Monkees"...a show that has a lot of similarities to this Jan & Dean pilot. Additionally, you must understand that the show was never intended for many of us...mostly just for young folks of the 60s who liked Beach Movies as well as defying conventions!

The show, as I mentioned above, doesn't have a conventional plot. Instead, you see clips of the pair in concert and it's interspersed throughout the show. What is left consists of all sorts of short clips that seem unrelated and odd. And, as for the singers, well, they come off as real knuckleheads....which is what the makers of the program wanted. So, while I didn't love it in the least, it WAS what network execs thought teens and young adults would like. Apparently, there just wasn't enough room for this AND "The Monkees" in the weekly schedule. It also might not have been approved because also in 1966, Jan Berry was critically injured in an accident and was left with having great difficulty in speaking and singing.

I give this one a 3 because at least the music is nice and a few of the jokes (the one with Elizabeth Montgomery was cute) work....though most just seem flat and boorish.

If you are curious about this ultra-strange attempt at a TV show, it is currently posted on YouTube. Fortunately, unlike most failed pilots, the quality of the print posted there is very good.