Review of Munsters, The: Season 1

Introduction

The Frankenstein Monster, he of the flat head and electrodes at the neck, lumbered through a total of seven films on the Universal lot between his debut in Frankenstein (1931) and House of Dracula (1945). Along the way he met his first Bride, met the elder Son of his creator, made the younger son think he`d seen a Ghost, met the Wolf Man and had various adventures at both the Houses of Frankenstein and Dracula. He`d had his brain transplanted on at least one occasion, had beams repeatedly dropped on his head, and falling in the hot sulphur pit at the end of Son of Frankenstein had done nothing for his complexion. His movie career came to a shuddering halt when Dracula attempted to replace his brain once again with that of comic Lou Costello, half of the double act Abbott and--.

He dropped out of sight at the end of the 1940s along with all of his friends and relatives, and only reappeared briefly in the 1960s on television - happily married and settled into suburban American life in a spooky old house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Herman Munster (to give him his full name) had left the howling mobs of the Old Country with their pitchforks and blazing torches far behind. People still screamed at him and occasionally fainted, but since moving to America, nobody had tried burning him at the stake or transplanting his brain.

Herman had found marital bliss with his second Bride, a daughter of Dracula - Lily by name. Old Sam Dracula himself lived with them, happily tinkering in the basement with his mad scientist kit. They had a son Eddie, who had those typical pre-adolescent problems such as hair on the palms and a tendency to howl at the full moon. The only member of the family with any problems was Lily`s blonde bombshell niece Marilyn.

The Munsters re-teamed two stars of the classic "Car 54, Where Are You" in the shape of Fred Gwynne as Herman (in a version of the iconic Pierce monster makeup), and Al Lewis as Grandpa Dracula. Forties pinup Yvonne DeCarlo played Bride of Frankenstein Lily (without the Marge Simpson hairdo). Young Butch Patrick played Eddie in fangs, pointy ears and widow`s peak hairdo while the glamorous and completely normal Marilyn was played for the first 13 episodes by Beverley Owen and the rest of the run by Pat Priest. All seventy 30 minute episodes (of which the first 38 are in the Season One set) were made in moody black-and-white. A feature film and several revivals have followed, but these episodes are the original and best.

The set includes the thirteen minute pilot episode of the series "My Fair Munster". The series was made back in the days when studios would go to the expense of shooting a pilot episode for a series which was never intended to be seen by the public. In the case of "My Fair Munster", only a first act - as far as the first commercial break - was shot. The pilot was shot on the still-standing main set of the Bates House from Hitchcock`s Psycho, and unlike the subsequent series was shot in colour. Although Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis and Beverley Owen are all present, actress Joan Marshall takes the role of Mrs Munster. She is called Phoebe rather than Lily and is more of a Morticia Addams clone than Yvonne DeCarlo`s Lily. Butch Patrick is also missing, his role of Eddie taken by a growly, sullen child of more limited acting ability called Happy Dergan. There are distinct differences in makeup design for Herman and Grandpa between the pilot and the series - Al Lewis` makeup included prosthetic pieces to his nose and chin which were phased out during the initial run of the show. Fred Gwynne`s Herman makeup was adjusted to be a better fit for the series and the makeup around his eyes changed to make him look less sinister. The pilot episode is paced a lot slower than the subsequent series, telling in thirteen minutes what the later remake of the story tells in nine.

During the run of the show changes were made, not least in Marilyn. Beverley Owen had taken the role as a favour, but soon discovered that working in weekly television was not for her. Suffering an emotional breakdown during the shooting of the first thirteen episodes, matters came to the point where Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis were forced to intercede with the producers to release her from her contract. She was replaced by actress Pat Priest who stayed with the show for the rest of the run. Smaller changes were made to Lily`s makeup design and Eddie`s wig. With the departure of Beverley Owen, the title sequence had to be reshot (as it was a single sequence), and tweaks were made to lighten the look of the show.

The biggest difference between The Munsters and similarly pitched, contemporary sitcom The Addams Family was that where the Addamses were weird and proud of it, the Munsters acted like a perfectly ordinary suburban American family. Not that they didn`t have their own weird, Old Country ways, they just didn`t make too much of it.

The pilot storyline of Grandpa mixing up a love potion for Marilyn (who is seen as the ugly duckling of the family in spite of her resemblance to her namesake) is expanded on in the second story of the season proper. In the final show, Grandpa puts his potion in Marilyn`s breakfast oatmeal but when Marilyn takes off for college, Lily puts the bowlful back in the pot to reheat it and all the family get a dose. Herman becomes irresistible to the neighbour Mrs Cribbins, and Lily has to fight off the attentions of the local mailman (played by 12th Angry Man and Voice Of Piglet John Fiedler).

Disc 1 Side A
1.1 Munster Masquerade
Marilyn`s date invites the family to a masquerade ball.

1.2 My Fair Munster (see above)
Grandpa mixes up a potion to make Marilyn irresistible (like she needs it).

1.3 A Walk on the Mild Side
Lily is worried about Herman`s safety when a Monster is reported in the park. No prizes for guessing who`s out for a stroll to cure his insomnia.

1.4 Rock-a-Bye Munster
Paul Lynde guests as Herman and Grandpa are under the misapprehension Lily is pregnant and soon they`ll be hearing the patter of tiny asphalt-spreaders.

1.5 Pike`s Pique
The gas company digging threatens Grandpa`s laboratory, and an official thinks Herman is out to bilk the company so he goes round to investigate.

1.6 Lo-Cal Munster
Paul Lynde pops up again to put Herman on a diet so he can fit into his uniform for his Army reunion.

Disc 1 Side B
1.7 Tin Can Man
Eddie is in danger of being expelled from school unless his science project is something spectacular.

1.8 Herman the Great
Herman turns pro-wrestler.

1.9 Knock Wood, Here Comes Charlie
Herman`s conman twin brother Charlie hits town looking for an easy mark - and he`s related to the easiest.

1.10 Autumn Croakus
Grandpa joins a dating agency and meets up with "The Black Widow".

1.11 The Midnight Ride of Herman Munster
Herman winds up an accomplice in a bank robbery when the car he is snoozing in is stolen as the getaway car.

1.12 Sleeping Cutie
Grandpa turns Marilyn into Sleeping Beauty when she has insomnia.

1.13 Family Portrait
Event magazine picks the Munsters as the average American household.

Disc 2 Side A
1.14 Grandpa Leaves Home
In a bid not to be taken for granted, Grandpa moves out. This was Pat Priest`s first episode as Marilyn.

1.15 Herman`s Rival
Lily tries to build up the family`s cash flow by reading palms.

1.16 Grandpa`s Call of the Wild
Grandpa answers the call of the wild on a camping trip, then comes the news on the radio of the capture of a rare Transylvanian wolf.

1.17 All-Star Munster
Herman becomes a basketball star.

1.18 If a Martian Answers, Hang Up
Herman`s experiments in ham radio get him into trouble.

1.19 Eddie`s Nickname
The kids at school call him Shorty, so Grandpa mixes up a growth potion.

1.20 Bats of a Feather
Grandpa is bound for outer space when helping Eddie with the Pet Fair at his school backfires.

Disc 2 Side B
1.21 Don`t Bank on Herman
Herman is handed a fortune at the bank when he is mistaken for a bank robber.

1.22 Dance With Me, Herman
Herman takes dance lessons to help Marilyn.

1.23 Follow That Munster
Herman Munster - Private Eye. Got a ring to it.

1.24 Love Locked Out
What happens when Munster and Bride need to see a Marriage Counsellor?

1.25 Come Back, Little Googie
Billy Mumy (Will Robinson) guests as Eddie`s pal, who Grandpa thinks he`s turned into a monkey.

1.26 Far Out Munsters
A band needs a place to hide from their fans and 1313 Mockingbird Lane fits the bill.

1.27 Munsters on the Move
Family friction over Herman`s possible promotion and a move to Buffalo.

Disc 3 Side A
1.28 Movie Star Munster
Two con artists convince Herman he can be a movie star so they can stage an accident and claim on huge insurance.

1.29 Herman the Rookie
Herman tries his hand at baseball.

1.30 Country Club Munsters
The Munsters win admission to a snooty country club.

1.31 Love Comes to Mockingbird Heights
Marilyn`s suitor is only after one thing - money.

1.32 Mummy Munster
A sleeping Herman becomes an exhibit at the natural history museum.

1.33 Lily Munster - Girl Model
Lily, fed up of being the housewife, gets a job as a couture model with Laszlo Brastoff. Roger C Carmel (Trek`s Harry Mudd) guests.

1.34 Munster the Magnificent
Herman gets roped into Talent Night at Eddie`s school.

Disc 3 Side B
1.35 Herman`s Happy Valley
Herman`s idea of an ideal holiday home isn`t everybody`s.

1.36 Hot Rod Herman
Herman and Grandpa get mixed up in drag racing.

1.37 Herman`s Raise
Asking for a raise gets Herman fired.

1.38 Yes, Galen, There Is a Herman (aka My Friend Herman)
Herman rescues a young boy who has trapped his head in railings, but nobody believes the boy when he tells them the story.

Video

All the episodes are presented in their original 4:3 format, and in monochrome as produced (with the exception of the colour pilot). The episodes vary in quality, with some exhibiting some print damage. The episode "Lily Munster - Girl Model" has some very bad duplication artefacts during the first act, but these do disappear. For old tv episodes made in black-and-white they are in better condition than they might.

Audio

The original mono soundtrack is reproduced in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. The main drawback with the sound is the genuinely canned laughter track which can frequently be very annoying as it is totally artificial.

Features

There are no extras to speak of because of the space 38 episodes take up on four double-sided, double-layer discs. All the episodes have HOH subtitles (not closed captioning as the box implies), except for the pilot. The discs come digipak-ed in a nice foil over-print box with a flip-up lid.

Conclusion

One of the most fun comedy series of the 1960s alongside The Addams Family and Get Smart. Loaded with very self-aware gags and a goofy sense of humour, this box set gives you a total of over sixteen hours of creamy televisual goodness. I mean how could the show not win with a pitch like: "Frankenstein`s Monster and his bride settle down in suburban America with Grandpa Dracula and werewolf son Eddie"? An absolute howl - irrespective of whether there`s a full moon tonight.