Mockingbird Lane

Brian Fuller, the man behind the dark fantasy TV series "Pushing Daisies", decided to do an equally dark update of "The Munsters". For those not familiar with "The Munsters", it was a sitcom from Universal Pictures that parodied their classic movie monsters like Count Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster by taking these terrifying creatures and placing them in suburban America as the typical family. Fuller attempts to present the Munsters as their dark original counterparts with "Mockingbird Lane".

However, that negates the point of the original series: It was how these ghastly individuals got along with the average American in a very humorous vein. Instead, "Mockingbird Lane" seems to be trying to be a straight horror show with little glimpses of comedy. The problem with this is the horror overshadows the humor. For starters, the original Munsters all looked like monsters except for "poor" Marilyn. In this version, everyone looks close to normal, yet they still pick on Marilyn because of her "looks". Marilyn here (played by Charity Wakefield) is still a beautiful girl who is thought of as unattractive by the rest of the family. The thing about this is that Herman in this version (Jerry O'Connell) is rather handsome even though he does have spare body parts (he's having trouble with his replacement heart). Also, Grandpa (Eddie Izzard) and Lily (Portia de Rossi), though they are vampires, don't have the pallor that they had in the original series. Even young Eddie (Mason Cook) looks like a normal little boy until he transforms into a werewolf under the full moon. Every one plays their role too seriously except Izzard. He has great lines and is the only one who seems to be having any fun at all.

On the plus side, the special effects are great. Especially in the introduction of Grandpa and Lily. However, if the series is picked up, things need to lighten up greatly. Make the show fun to watch and it might pick up where the original series left off.

I'm not sure why NBC decided against moving forward with this series as it was a successful pilot as far as I can tell. Many people across the nation enjoyed seeing one of their favorite older shows being brought back to life. It was imaginative and witty, and it kept me wanting more. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell there will be no more which really irritates me. If they had no intention of continuing the show past the first episode they should not have even aired it. But, as I have said before it was a successful release. The actors played their parts quite well. I was surprised by the Herman aspect but then I took into account that they are hitting refresh on the series and that nowadays in media anything created doe NOT look like the older Frankenstein monsters that they had back in cinema history. It was a bit nice to see a little bit of realism in the reincarnation and I think that is what appealed to me the most. I honestly think another network should pick this show up and continue to run it. That or the original network should realize its true potential and continue it.

Mockingbird Lane is truly a work of genius. I have never seen anything quite like it ever before. It brilliantly mixes comedic, dark, horrific, and family elements together to form the greatest TV show to ever air on NBC. I'm a huge fan of the original Munsters TV show, but I'm on-board for this reboot/remake/whatever the hell it is. NBC has given us a glimpse of an amazing TV show. I hope that they plan on continuing this idea as a TV show rather than making it a TV Movie. The cast has a great chemistry and their talents can be utilized to form more family and supernatural bonds, that viewers will just eat up. NBC would be completely and totally idiotic if they didn't continue this genius idea.

I really Loved it! It was fantastic. There were nods to the original series that were great and it was funny! Jerry O'Connell was a fantastic Herman, being a big softie monster. The actors had awesome family chemistry together and the special effects were stunning. I really loved the 'charming monsters' and All the actors did a great job of embodying their characters. To me the special just played pitch perfect, hitting all the right notes to capture the spirit of the original while still standing well on it's own as a new and unique show. Strong plot, humorous quips and beautiful special effects! Please pick this up NBC!!

I'm old enough to remember the original Munsters television series and all of its clichéd comedy set ups - Herman and Grandpa getting into situations and find a way out every week etc.

This "re-boot" fleshes out the characters and give them life. In todays TV world, the old "set up the gag, hit the punchline" style of comedy has lost its appeal and comedies now have to be clever enough for the audience to find the joke themselves - Malcolm In The Middle really started this trend.

While there were not a lot of laughs in this Pilot, there were enough to warrant giving this show at least one full series to find its feet. Sometimes ratings shouldn't be the driving force that makes studio execs make the right decisions.

One of the best things about this re-boot is the fact that none of the characters is instantly recognizable as a parody of the famous Hollywood movie monsters like the original Munsters series. Yes, we know that Herman is a Frankenstein type of Monster, but he can fit into the real world in this show - of course, turtleneck sweaters would need to be added. Lily, Eddie and Marylin could quite easily pass as "normal". In this version, Grandpa would just be seen as odd rather then looking like Dracula.

This has got to be made into a viable series - dark comedy is something that has been lacking in TV for a long time.