Wishing to break into movie production, but lacking experience, Rafelson and Schneider used their Hollywood connections to get the chance to produce a pilot episode for a television series. Adapting what they saw in the Beatles' movies "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!", and throwing in ideas of their own, Schneider and Rafelson developed "The Monkees" as the misadventures of an as-yet undiscovered rock band, with songs by the (originally) fictional band as soundtrack music, and as a tie-in for promotion and merchandising.