The Munsters: Difference between revisions

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* [[Housewife]]: Lily
* [[Housewife]]: Lily
* [[I Am Not Spock]]: Averted. Al Lewis loved his Grandpa Munster character, and eagerly exploited it.
* [[I Am Not Spock]]: Averted. Al Lewis loved his Grandpa Munster character, and eagerly exploited it.
* [[I Want You to Meet An Old Friend of Mine]]: Previously, Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis were featured in the series ''[[Car 54 Where Are You]]''.
* [[I Want You to Meet An Old Friend of Mine]]: Previously, Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis were featured in the series ''[[Car 54, Where Are You?]]''.
* [[It Runs in The Family]]
* [[It Runs in The Family]]
* [[Lightning Can Do Anything]]: Like turn Herman into a normal human.
* [[Lightning Can Do Anything]]: Like turn Herman into a normal human.
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* [[Mad Scientist]]/[[Bungling Inventor]]: Grandpa
* [[Mad Scientist]]/[[Bungling Inventor]]: Grandpa
* [[Man Child]]: Herman. One of the [[Running Gag|Running Gags]] was him throwing foundation-shaking temper tantrums.
* [[Man Child]]: Herman. One of the [[Running Gag|Running Gags]] was him throwing foundation-shaking temper tantrums.
* [[Mirror Cracking Ugly]]: Herman.
* [[Mirror-Cracking Ugly]]: Herman.
* [[Monster Mash]]: Another difference from the Addams Family who were general gothic, while the Munsters were based on specific movie monsters.
* [[Monster Mash]]: Another difference from the Addams Family who were general gothic, while the Munsters were based on specific movie monsters.
* [[The Movie]]: Several
* [[The Movie]]: Several
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* [[Sequel Series]]: ''The Munsters Today''.
* [[Sequel Series]]: ''The Munsters Today''.
* [[Sexophone]]: Used when Grampa's latest invention turns Herman [[Gender Bender|into a woman]]. ([[Lightning Can Do Anything|He got changed back]] [[Status Quo Is God|by the end of the episode]]).
* [[Sexophone]]: Used when Grampa's latest invention turns Herman [[Gender Bender|into a woman]]. ([[Lightning Can Do Anything|He got changed back]] [[Status Quo Is God|by the end of the episode]]).
* [[Shout Out]]: Butch Patrick's 1983 novelty single "Whatever Happened to Eddie?" is set to the tune of the theme song and details his life as Eddie Munster.
* [[Shout-Out]]: Butch Patrick's 1983 novelty single "Whatever Happened to Eddie?" is set to the tune of the theme song and details his life as Eddie Munster.
** Marilyn, of course, is a reference to [[Marilyn Monroe]].
** Marilyn, of course, is a reference to [[Marilyn Monroe]].
* [[Sit Com]]
* [[Sit Com]]

Revision as of 18:43, 26 January 2014

A Mundane Fantastic Dom Com that originally ran from 1964 to 1966 about a working class family of would-be monsters. Experienced surprising high ratings during the period before the Batman TV series came on, revolutionizing color TV.

The humor of the series came from the odd juxtaposition of many "cartoon" antics in a live action series, namely "Fast Motion", as well as the fact that despite their gothic appearance, the family doesn't seem to think they're different from anyone else, with the exception of cousin Marilyn who didn't inherit "The Family Look". Though sometimes compared to the Addams family, there are considerable differences. The Addams Family are in essence landed gentry (their history in the US goes back to the Pilgrim era), very refined and elegant, and independently wealthy; the Munsters are working-class recent immigrants (Grandpa having immigrated from Transylvania), and Herman has a quite coarse sense of humour. The Addamses are borderline supernatural in some undefined way; the Munsters are explicit monsters. The most important difference, however, is in the families' views of themselves and the people around them. The Addamses consider themselves perfectly normal, and cannot understand why the people they meet are so very strange; the Munsters believe themselves to be just like the people around them, and cannot understand why said people seem to think the family is so strange.

The character list is as follows:

  • Herman, the 7-foot-tall Frankenstinian patriarch of the family. Though he believed himself to be a Standard Fifties Father, he was really more of a Bumbling Dad and loveable idiot. Afraid of Blood.
  • Lily, the doting Housewife. The child of immigrant parents, Lily was more keenly aware of social standards than the rest of her family, but nevertheless cheerily went about her bizarre habits anyway. Usually became involved to bail Herman and Grandpa out of trouble.
  • Eddie, a boy with werewolf tendencies, Eddie had the typical problems of a pre-teen in 1950s America: too much homework, not enough television, can't stop chewing the teacher's leg, etc.
  • Marilyn, the pretty blonde Unfazed Everyman of the series, Marilyn was the shockingly normal Muggle niece of the family. Rather than proud of being able to conform better, Marilyn was convinced that she was the freak, and her aunt and uncle regarded her "weirdness" as a tragic affliction. Despite being ripe for storylines, Marilyn was a background character at best. Her (second) actress even said years after the fact that anyone could have played her.
  • Grandpa, Herman's Lancer and usually the instigator for the show's zany scheme of the week. A combination Count Dracula and Mad Scientist, Grandpa was an Omnidisciplinary Scientist with at least one degree in Occult Magic. He sometimes reported being discriminated against by his neighbors -- not because he was a blood-sucking demon of the night, but because he was European.

Tropes Include:

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