TheLittleSongbird
When I was a kid The Munsters was a big favourite, and at 19 it still is. The costumes, sets and photography still look great after all these years, and the music is more than memorable. The humour is perhaps broader than a 60s series like The Addams Family(also a classic) but goodness isn't the humour hilarious too? The lines are sharp and the slapstick uproarious. And it really helps that (at least to me that is) the laughter track is never inappropriate or annoying. The stories are always well-paced and entertaining, Grandpa's experiments are worth the viewing alone and the characters are so lovable and genuinely for each other as a family, my personal favourite is Eddie. The acting is spot on, Al Lewis, Fred Gwynne, Yvonne DeCarlo and Butch Patrick are just perfect. Overall, another TV classic of the 60s. 10/10 Bethany Cox
FloatingOpera7
The Munsters (1964-1966): Starring Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, Pat Priest, Mel Blanc, Bob Hastings...Director Earl Bellamy, Norman Abbot, David Alexander, Jerry Paris, Don Richardson....The Munsters was on ABC channel 7, and from 1964-1966, enjoyed a successful run as a highly creative and one-of-a-kind sitcom, though they were similar in "Halloween family" theme to CBS' The Addams Family. Fred Gwynne, of comedic cop movies in the early to mid 60's, portrayed Frankenstein-look-alike Herman Munster, head of a household of folks who are NOT wearing their Halloween costumes. They include his wife Lily (Yvonne De Carlo), a vampire woman, Grandpa Dracula (Al Lewis)son Eddie Munster (Butch Patrick) a were-wolf and the "odd" one in the family, the normal and beautiful Marilyn (Pat Priest, originally played by Beverly Owen in the first season). They lived in a creepy haunted house, they had a fire-breathing dragon for a pet and their alarm clock was Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" itself. Like the Addams, the jokes were the same. We are privy to their bizarre lifestyle and, like the other Americans that revolve around them - including Herman's boss, Eddie's schoolmates, Marilyn's many dates, are genuinely frightened or repulsed by them, though mostly, we laugh at the whole situation. Herman Munster was evidently very slow and childish, a far different animal than the intellectual Gomez Addams. Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis were especially hilarious, in fact their training in comedy helped the show tremendously. Yvonne De Carlo as Lily was a ghoulish house-frau, far less elegant than Morticia Addams but who was always dependable and who was a lot smarter than her dim-witted Frankenstein husband. Butch Patrick will never get over his success as Eddie, the adorable, mischievous werewolf son, and still appears in horror conventions and has his own horror showcase "Macabre Theater" on cable TV. This show was full of visual jokes and funny lines. Among some of the more memorable moments include Herman jogging at night and scaring other joggers, Herman's stint as a wrestler, Grandpa's ability to turn into a bat eventually leading him to be taken into a science lab, Herman's shot at Hollywood stardom, etc. The Munsters were originally from Germany and were kicked out by an angry mob with torches and pitch-forks! The show was less intelligent in language than the high-brow Addams intellectual comedy, and was decidedly more of a "blue-collar" comedy and depended mostly on the physical comedy of Fred Gwynne as Herman, who was ridiculously tall and awkward. The show eventually got tired and repetitive in '66, and together with The Addams, left the air. But the Munsters re-appeared in a 1967 film and later in a 1981 film "The Munsters' Revenge", which also inspired a short lived series "The Munsters Today" (1988-1991). A great show overall.
abrafocus
I don't think any spoilers can ruin a perfect show like this one.Fred Gwynne plays Herman Munster, part machine, part human who looks a little like Frankenstein's monster. I think that's who he's supposed to be, but I'm no expert.This is a good show. I'm shocked it only lated two Seasons; I think the creators were very smart casting Al Lewis as the Grandfather. AHe was very funny, and played his part very well. And I can't seem to say enough about Marilyn. Beverley Owen played her for a while, then she left the show to get married, and Pat Priest took over.Not having seen any of the second season, I can't say it was 100% perfect, but from what I saw, it was rally good.