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Mockingbird Lane (NBC "Munsters" Halloween Special) (1 Viewer)

WinstonCely

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Probably. I actually really like Bryan Fuller's work in the past (Pushing Daises, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me) but he always seems to be at odds with the company fitting the bill. So, this looks like it might be another case of that. Too, bad. I'm sure the talent could have made it worthwhile.
 

Greg_S_H

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The trailer is atrocious. I may tune in for the premiere, being a Munsters fan, but I'm not sure I'll even watch the full hour.
 

Nelson Au

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Why isn't Herman green?
This might work for a new generation whose never seen the original series. But I'm dubious.
 

Stan

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Dave Scarpa said:
I Smell a Bomb.
So do I. That preview looked awful.
Most of the enjoyment I got from this show as a child was their sort of early Goth type of makeup and clothing. Loved the movies since they were in color and they showed how green Herman really was.
Now they're just an oddball white family? DOA in my opinion. I'll DVR it, but doesn't look like I'll get through much of it before I hit the delete button.
 

Greg_S_H

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I liked that the Munsters were always cheerful and kind, Grampa's curmudgeonly snipes aside. That looks like the main things they threw out.
 

EricSchulz

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Being a fan of the original (I was a kid during its original run but mostly remember it through reruns in the late 60's) I was disappointed.Grandpa was the only character that seemed "connected" to the original. I was a bit surprised at the gore factor, as I'm sure many fans of the original were, especially in a 7pm time slot. And Herman in a polo? Ummmm, no.
 

mattCR

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It's rare that I say a show outright offends me. But this show outright offends me. I made it through the pilot and thought: who the hell ever approved this dark, creepy, somewhat hate filled version of the Munsters that lacks all the cute, fun joy of the original?
Holy cow just brutal.
 

Greg_S_H

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Awful and stupid. NBC claims there's a series chance depending on ratings, but they're just dumping a stinker. If I'm wrong, count me out.
 

ScottH

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Originally Posted by EricSchulz /t/324426/mockingbird-lane-nbc-munsters-halloween-special#post_3993879
I was a bit surprised at the gore factor, as I'm sure many fans of the original were, especially in a 7pm time slot.

No kidding. I recorded this for my 9 year old daughter thinking it might be something she would enjoy for the Halloween season...bad idea.
 

Nelson Au

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I missed it! I checked the NBC app to see if it was up for streaming yet. It wasn't. But they had an original episode there to view. The one where Marilyn's boyfirned's parents invite the Munsters to their masquerade party. Now that was good clean fun! That's the show I enjoyed as a kid too!
Just looking at the pictures of the new cast, it's seem in violation to the original premise with Marilyn being a knock out and the rest of the facility not being ghoulish. Unless Marilyn is not a knock out. I'm curious to at least see a few seconds of it when they out the video up for streaming. I'm sure I'll not like it based on comments here.
 

mattCR

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Originally Posted by ScottH /t/324426/mockingbird-lane-nbc-munsters-halloween-special#post_3993911

No kidding. I recorded this for my 9 year old daughter thinking it might be something she would enjoy for the Halloween season...bad idea.

Yeah, not very kid friendly. Watched with my 13 year old (autistic) thinking this would be pretty light hearted, cute.. wow was I disappointed.. holy cow there was a lot of gore for the timeslot, and the problem was, it didn't even help the show.. at all.
 

Greg_S_H

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Nelson Au said:
Unless Marilyn is not a knock out. I'm curious to at least see a few seconds of it when they out the video up for streaming. I'm sure I'll not like it based on comments here.
She's kind of cute if you can get past the fairly nasty attitude. Like the original, she's seen as different--but this time, the family doesn't misunderstand and secretly fret over how unattractive she is. Grampa just resents her for being "normal." I think there was dialogue about how she should have been eaten at birth or her mother should have been eaten, I don't know. There was a lot of talk about who should or shouldn't have been eaten.
 

Dheiner

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Wow, really? I liked it. I thought it had a nice, dark sense of humor. The only one I did not like was Eddie.
 

Nelson Au

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I just streamed it.
There was a lot of graphic horror touches.
My initial thought before I saw it was that the trouble with past remakes, such as the short lived series from the 1980's with John Shuck, is the premise just doesn't work for a modern audience and especially when it's in color. I had forgotten that the original series was created by the same people who created Leave It To Beaver. So the original had that similar nice family unit aspect. The original still works when you watch it. It implies more then shows. I like how they hold Grandpa back from drinking blood. I like that they are monsters living like every day regular people.
So after seeing the new Bryan Fuller version, I have to say, it s very much a product of the times. It had to be different to work for a modern audience used to this level of explicitness. I liked the idea they were grappling with how to tell Eddie who he really is.
I did not like Grandpa either. I guess they felt they had to make Herman and Lily more human like in appearance and use the jokes to explain all the scars on Herman. And they made Lily a temptress. I am not as familiar with the vampire genre, but my guess is she is like a vamping vampiress who makes men's wild for her.
The original series wasn't that far removed form the original Universal classic monsters, so it made sense to make the family as they were in the films. But this new series I think made the right call to make the family different. It works better in color.
As a series, it was a odd mix of mean spirited Grandpa and the nicer more family friendly Herman. I had no idea Portia de Rossi was cast as Lily. She wasn't bad, but she is no Yvonne DeCarlo! Marilyn wasn't innocent enough in my view. But again, this is for a modern audience. I thought Herman could have been more like Fred Gwynne, have his similar level of goofiness he had later. Or have his same level of innocence as well. Interesting they set the series in San Francisco, my home town.
I wasn't clear if this was a test run, or if the series is really green lit and filming. It wasn't my cup of tea, but it wasn't a total disaster. I may see how a regular episode co pares to the pilot.
I forgot to add, I thought Pushing Daisies had a much sweeter and nicer feel to it then this remake of the Munsters. So I was expecting that same kind of feel, and with the Pushing Daisies kind of look and production values.
 

EricSchulz

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IIRC, this was the first episode of a new series that NBC has now scrapped. According to EW.com the cast is under contract until June or July or 2013 so there may be more coming. I read the ratings were good and actually boosted the numbers for Grimm.
 

TonyD

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I would watch this if it continued.
Grandpa wasn't a vampire I pretty sure he is a demon at least that's what he liked like plus his cookies were a D.
Hard McConnel on a radio interview Friday and he seemed to thi k more were coming.
H mentioned something aout how we will see more of the reasons why they eat people in coming episodes.
 

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