The Munsters Today

The original Munsters had a gifted cast, writing that was in synch with that cast, and a sense of the absurd but channeled through a family whose logic and interactions you understood.

The Munsters Today (YouTube has a few episodes) has exactly none of that. It is just a bunch of supposedly funny lines (obvious and groan-inducing) that do not link at all to the episode story line. Put another way, the "jokes" have nothing to do with the story. They're just one-liners and consistently unfunny.

The characters were all one-note and cardboard. Zero depth. It would be like watching I Love Lucy, but with talentless look-alikes playing the roles.

Truly awful.

The Munsters Today is one of the first television shows in history to recast for a new version of the show. Here we see a terrific cast, hilarious plots and all round daftness that can only be expected of the family Munster. Excellent performances from Lee Meriwether as Lily and the late great Howard Morton as Grandpa.

Well worth watching if you have a chance - these episodes are rare to come by. Even rarer is the 1988 "The Munsters Today, pilot episode" featuring Mary Ellen Dunbar as Marilyn. The episode begins in b&w and explains how the Munster family "went to sleep" 22 years ago and how they awoke "today". Great idea for a storyline the "suspended in time" theme. Meant that the family didn't have to be any older. The show wasn't popular with die hard fans of the original show, however attracted a new and previously uninterested audience to the "long since dead" Munster format from 1964.

Search the web, search file sharing peer networks, search boot sales and search anywhere you can to find these episodes. Fantastic overall.

I think some people are being way too harsh on the Munsters Today.Sure,this 80s rehash of the original classic 60s series doesn't measure up. But I did find this series to be a lot more amusing and entertaining than most of the lame situation comedies of the 80s that somehow managed to get themselves on a major network.Howard Morton's interpretation of Grandpa at times was really quite hilarious.And there is a touching moment when John Shuck's Herman confesses to his family that he never made it passed the fourth grade.I know this contradicts the original premise of Fred Gwynne's Herman attending Heidelburg University(in three different jars).But a story had to be told. So let's not hate Munsters Today for being what it's not(THE ORIGINAL).Let's praise it for what it is.A funny show that surpasses the the unfunny shows of the time in which it was made.

While I admit I'm a diehard fan of the original, this series wasn't bad at all. Veteran actors Schuck, Merriweather and Morton were great in their characters. Naturally they didn't copy exactly as the original, but as a reboot it was quite comical. I enjoyed the episodes and acting and hoping some network picks up these reruns for all to enjoy. Yes, the original series was great, but this was good enough to renew an old idea.

I struggled sitting through the abysmal first episode and couldn't bear to sit through another. Granted, that's not giving it much of a chance but growing up with the original show I was highly disappointed with the characters. Every time Herman opened his mouth I was reminded of Holmes & Yo-Yo where he was also put together in a lab. The only saving grace was Lee Merriwether who actually played her character very well. The canned laugh track was quite annoying inserting laughter at lines that weren't even funny. I have yet to see a remake that was any good. Maybe I'm expecting too much but it seems Hollywood has run completely of of ideas.