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If you are a child of the 60's you will no doubt already be familiar with The Munsters, as one of the two main horror themed comedy shows - this show truly was a great example of how horror and comedy can mix well.
My parents watched the show all the time when they were young and to this day it is one of their favorite shows.
Like it's counterpart, the Addams Family - this was a series that was a mix of horror and humor and was centered around a supernatural family.
The first introduction to the Munsters was the tv movie Here Comes The Munsters and it was a really great fun movie.
The original Munsters tv series run from 1964-1966, it spun off a video game and two movies including a Christmas special.
This review is a review of the pilot for the revival known as Mockingbird Lane. Starring Portia Di Rossi, Jerry O'Connell, Chasity Wakefield, Mason Cook and one of my all time favorite comedians Eddie Izzard.
Mockingbird Lane is a darker and edgier take on the classic monster comedy show, as it expands more on the background on the family.
The history of this pilot's origin goes back to November of last year when NBC Announced that they would be dong a 'reboot' of the classic series, it wasn't until January of this year that it would end up getting the title of Mockingbird Lane and the characters looks would be toned down to look more human-like.
It was during March of this year, Eddie Izzard was one of the first cast members to be added as he was announced to play Grandad. Later on the other cast members Jerry O Connell, Charity Wakefield, Portia Di Rossi and Mason Cook were announced and later added to the cast.
Bryan Fuller (who also brought us Pushing Daisies) was added as director and producer and thus Mockingbird Lane was born.
The pilot aired on 26th of October, and helped boost ratings for NBC gaining a 1.5/5 ratings share for adults aged 18-49.
The story revolves around the family as they move in to their new home at Mockingbird Lane, which is where a series of gruesome murders took place in the past.
Eddie (Mason Cook) is having problems coming to terms with not only the fact he's going through puberty but also that is a werewolf but his parents have never told him about it.
This is a very good and well-written story with plenty of dark humour, i'm not going to spoil too much for you though.
I thought the performances were superb especially Eddie Izzard as Grandpa, who has some of the best lines in this entire pilot.
The setting works well as does the dark humour and supernatural elements, in overall I really liked it - it was really interesting and it's a pity that NBC has decided against making this an official series.
My only nitpick is that they made the Munster family look more normal instead of monster-like but it's only a minor one, and to be honest I really wasn't bothered by it that much at all.
Even though I am usually not the type to like the kind of special effects used in movies and shows of today, I admired the sfx used for this.
Including a bunch of rats crawling around and then turn into a grandpa, a cloud of dust turning into Lily, and Grandpa in his demon-like bat creature form (which is awesome!).
I watched it just recently on youtube and I'm glad to say that it more than just met my expectations, it satisfied them as well.
Also...for those true horror fans out there, there is a cameo by John Kassir who you might know as the voice of the Crypt Keeper in Tales From The Crypt (both live action and animated).
