The Munsters NBC Will Not Be Returning To Mockingbird Lane

[zombiehorror]

The correlation need not be made between those two, just between tv execs bad decisions, the worlds stupidity and reality tv!

Originality in tv/movies has gone the way of the Dodo, much like it has in literature; There used to be original novels, original movies (along with books reimagined into movies), there used to be original shows (along with books reimagined as shows, movies reimagined as shows.....hell even radio programs [most of those taken from literature] reimagined as shows so it is/was only inevitable that movies would also become a source for this....Oh wait it happened long ago, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu (1922), Dracula (1931), Dracula (1958), etc.  It's hard not to see a writer's inspiration (or thievery if you prefer) in a particular work nowadays whether they call it original, remake or reboot!

Mockingbird Lane was far enough removed from its source material but would it have made it any worse or better had they stayed away from using the Munster names?  Not in my opinion, it just would have been another in a long line of "original" ideas that don't acknowledge their pedigree!

[Scatter]

Mockingbird was SO damn removed from its SUPPOSED source material that the only common thread were the names used. Period. So the IIC (idiots in charge) never had to drag the original show through this to begin with.

Originality is gone because, frankly, too many viewers will accept "re-imagined" (ie mangled) retreads and reality TV as viable viewing choices. The problem isn't a talent drain on TV, it's a brain drain on the couches.

[Haunted hearse]

There was no reason to refer to the Munsters, since the idea of monsters being a family might have originated with the Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons.  Hannah Barbera had had there own monster family (The J. Evil Scientist characters) and Bob Clampet had tried to get his own monster family off the ground.  I think show was good enough to have stood on it's own, and they could have easily called it the "Frankenstein Family". To be honest, if it hadn't been for the 1960's series, the name "Munsters' could have been applied to a family of cheese makers.  The only horror there, however, would be the aftermath of some of the members of the family digesting their own product.

[Scatter]

There was no reason to refer to the Munsters, since the idea of monsters being a family might have originated with the Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons.  Hannah Barbera had had there own monster family (The J. Evil Scientist characters) and Bob Clampet had tried to get his own monster family off the ground.  I think show was good enough to have stood on it's own, and they could have easily called it the "Frankenstein Family". To be honest, if it hadn't been for the 1960's series, the name "Munsters' could have been applied to a family of cheese makers.  The only horror there, however, would be the aftermath of some of the members of the family digesting their own product.

He said it better than I.

[zombiehorror]

He said it better than I.

Wait!  What?  Are you admitting that Mockinbird Lane was good!?

[aura of foreboding]

For what it's worth, my opinion on Mockingbird Lane:

I thought it was okay, better than most of what is on TV today.  I didn't like a lot of the humor...  (What else is new?)  And I felt most of it had very little place being tied back to the original series.  They were Munsters in name only.  At Comic Con, the producers and creators flaunted this as a return of the Universal Monsters.  Yet, the show only seemed to reference new Monster movies.  For example, Grandpa was based solely on Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker's Dracula.  There was no Lugosi in this at all - not even in the costuming.  Same goes for Herman.  He lacked almost any connection to Boris Karloff.  How can this be a return to the Universal Monsters when you don't even feature said characters?  (That rant is done.)  I liked Marilyn.  I liked Eddie.  I loved the music.  Had it gone to series and had it lacked the sex jokes and the other silly things, I would have watched it.  It was not The Munsters.  The family was not comprised of the Universal Monsters.  But it had a heart of its own.  And, other than the script, it was well done.  It certainly doesn't deserve the bashing it's been getting by many in the entertainment media, but I can understand how a lot of Monster and Munsters fans would be upset with it.  It was more coherent than Burton's Dark Shadows, but it suffered many of the same problems.  All in all, this was not the year of '60s TV revivals.   

[Count_Zirock]

All in all, this was not the year of '60s TV revivals.

I'm not holding out much hope for "Bates Motel," either.

[Unknown Primate]

How about the new "reality" series, Master Bates Motel?

[Haunted hearse]

How about the new "reality" series, Master Bates Motel?

Starring Paul Rubens? I don't know if I'd care to see how he'd handle that.

[Scatter]

Wait!  What?  Are you admitting that Mockinbird Lane was good!?

No, that it had zero to do with the original series, and that it should have stood or fallen without dragging the Munsters into that mess.

[marsattacks666]

How about the new "reality" series, Master Bates Motel?

Hey-yo!!!!

[Scatter]

Starring Paul Rubens? I don't know if I'd care to see how he'd handle that.

Ba dum tssshhh

[marsattacks666]

Ba dum tssshhh

Hey! That drum kit suspiciously looks like mine. Lol

[Unknown Primate]

Starring Paul Rubens? I don't know if I'd care to see how he'd handle that.

Huh, huh...  you said "handle"...

[BlackLagoon]

No love-lost here. 

Agreed.