The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz discussed the origin of “That Was Then, This Is Now.” “In 1986, MTV started showing the old show and we reunited for a tour,” he said. “It just exploded.

In 1986, nearly two decades after The Monkees ended its TV run, MTV began airing re-runs of the show. “The show hadn’t been on the air for almost 20 years, so once they did that, it relaunched ...