La familia Munster

My all-time favorite sitcoms would start with The Honeymooners and find room for (in no particular order): Seinfeld, Cheers, Taxi, Beverly Hillbillies, Dick Van Dyke, and The Munsters would be in the mix.

Superb writing (it worked as a young kid and it still works for me today), amusing plots, great family dynamics and a terrific, multi-faceted performance by the late, great Fred Gwynne. Hwerman Munster was at once truly monstrous in size and appearance, yet vain, vulnerable, goofy and baby-ish. Just a wonderful, lovable character who was well assisted by Lily and Grandpa. Eddie was okay, and Marilyn superfluous, and the occasional guest characters were almost always very good. Great fun that stands up beautifully about 40 years later --I'm getting old1

I'm not sure which aired first: "The Addams Family" or "The Munsters," but I always had the impression that "The Munsters" was trying to copy "The Addams Family." Of course, none of that mattered to me as a kid. In fact, I liked "The Munsters" more; partially because I saw more episodes of it and partially because I thought it was funnier. Both shows were off the air before I was even born, so I was watching reruns.

"The Munsters" were led by Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne) who can probably be remembered as the judge in the movie "My Cousin Vinny." He was the funniest and most prominent character. I loved when he would laugh and stomp his feet and shake the entire house. The other Munsters were Grandpa (Al Lewis), Lily (Yvonne De Carlo), Eddie (Butch Patrick), and Marilyn (played by Pat Priest and Beverly Owen). None of them were as large, literally and figuratively, as Herman Munster.

The simultaneous runs of Munsters and Addams Family doomed both to two-season lifespans. Much of the audience became polarized. Munsters fans would not watch Addams Family and vice versa, but if either show had been on without the other it would have attracted almost the full audience of the other.

Either could have become a major, long-running classic. Addams Family had the better chance, being a comedy/social commentary of the type that later became the major hits, All in the Family and The Simpsons. But Munsters also could also have had its seasons in the sun. After scrapping the ill-conceived and twice miscast role of Marilyn, the enormous talent and charisma of Fred Gwynne and his chemistry with Al Lewis (good friends off-camera, too) could have carried that show for many years.

I'll say that "The Addams Family" was actually cleverer, but still, "The Munsters" definitely had its merits. Basically the story of a household in which the father, Herman (Fred Gwynne), is Frankenstein's monster, the mother, Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo), is a vampire, the son, Eddie (Butch Patrick), is a werewolf, the grandfather (Al Lewis) is Count Dracula, and the niece, Marilyn (played by two different people), is the ugly (make that "pretty") duckling in the family. While the Munsters' everyday routine is the same as everyone else's, everything that's normal to them (e.g., a house that looks like a Halloween party should be held there) is weird to the rest of the world, and vice versa. Every human who sees them freaks out, and yet the Munsters can never figure out why everyone finds them strange.

It's completely silly, with a string of gruesome, sardonic jokes, but it's always really funny. Truly one show that you gotta admire.

Being only 27 years old I was not around when this series was actually being made but I remember watching this series in the eighties when I was around 9-12 years old. I remember enjoying every minute of it.

The catchy theme tune, the spooky house, the dinosaur under the stairs, Grandpa's experiments and the brilliant central performance from Fred Gwynne all added up to a terrific half hour comedy.

Watching it ten years on it seems a little more cheesy than I first remember it to be - but it is one of those shows I will always fondly remember.