It's been forty years. That's a lot of water and blood and Real Life under the bridge for the Pre-Fab Four, with all of them seeming to be doing exactly what they want to be doing.

And that's terrific, really, because I remember enjoying these guys on television when I was a kid. A young, redheaded freckle-faced boy could do a lot nastier in his fantasies than imagining himself as a Gretsch-strumming sixstringer with a tricked-out GTO and a sense of humor during his struggles.

I got my guitar and a sense of humor that made the girls laugh. No GTO, but I do have a slick-looking late-model Mustang. Good enough for now, and two out of three ain't bad.

But nostalgia can hit even a guitar-playing piratical beach bum with all he has. It would be great to see The Monkees get together again, but let's be practical. It would take something other than a revamp of the old romps and antics that came easy to dudes in their twenties.

Seeing as I'm nearing fifty years old myself and in the grip of modern television even as I sneer at so much of the content, I figured today's "reality shows" with their fake boobs (I'm talking about the people here, mind you) could use a bit of a lift and a reality show would be a super way to reunite a band that has long since gone their separate ways except in the minds of their fans.

The Sixstring Challenge? A reality show entitled...

"Just One Damned Song"

Here's how I picture it, best case scenario:

The delightful and charming moderator of the program updates the audience on the current careers of the guys, then puts in calls to all four of the former members of The Monkees with the proposal that they participate in a reality television special. Since I'm talking best case scenario, of course they all accept.

Davy, Micky, Mike, and Peter are assigned a pretty simple task: They are given a song title and each are required to write a tune based on the title. One title, four different songs. When finished, they all learn each of the songs and perform them together as THE MONKEES in a televised mega-special for a monster studio audience and millions of fans at home.

I don't know how reality shows manage to be hanging around people's homes or studios at the magic times, but it sure would be a treat to see how each individual musician labors through the creation of a song. And it would really be special if the cameras were rolling during the time the guys are practicing their own and the other songs - not to mention group rehearsals. (Imagine the Nielsen ratings just for that last bit alone.)

Think about it. The cast of a classic pseudo-reality show gathered together forty years later for a real reality show. Sure would be a lot more real than some of the stuff being passed off as such.

And no poseurs or attention tramps. We're talking about four men who've been through the show biz wringer and who don't need to flash parts of their body or eat bugs to be "real" for an audience.

Because they have talent, and watching talented folks is the best entertainment television there is. Especially if they can take you away from the daily grind with rollicking escapism.

That being said, it's time for me to hit the high seas with the guys. "Come here, wench!"

Dare to dream. And hang loose.

Sixstring Kahuna