Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster from The Munsters
© Universal Studios
Mania Grade: A+
DVD: The Munsters (Complete Series)
Rating: Unrated
Starring: Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis, Yvonne DeCarlo, Butch Patrick
Written By: Various
Directed By: Various
Distributor: Unversal Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2008
Extras: Four Documentaries, Unaired Pilot, Two bonus movies
DVD: The Munsters (Complete Series)
Rating: Unrated
Starring: Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis, Yvonne DeCarlo, Butch Patrick
Written By: Various
Directed By: Various
Distributor: Unversal Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2008
Extras: Four Documentaries, Unaired Pilot, Two bonus movies
DVD Review of The Munsters The Complete Series
By: Tim JansonReview Date: Sunday, October 12, 2008
Over forty years after it went off the air, The Munsters remains an American institution. It’s an iconic TV show that has never been out of syndication in over forty years and continues strong in the U.S. and around the world. This 12 disc boxed set presents the entire Munsters series in all of its hip, monster mash glory. While running only two season, the Munsters had 70 episodes. In today’s TV world where the norm is 20 or 22 episodes, that’s really like three and a half seasons. In addition to all the episodes you get so much more. The set includes the two feature films made with the original cast (mostly): 1966’s “Munster, Go Home!” and 1981’s “The Munster’s Revenge”. There are also several documentaries as well.
The Munsters worked because at its heart it was the All-American sitcom…they just happened to be monsters. They faced the same situations that all families face…issues at home, in school, and on the job; relationships with neighbors and family members, etc… The series featured numerous guest-stars who were well known TV personalities of the period including: Paul Lynde, Harvey Korman, Don Rickles, Dom DeLuise, John Carradine, and Frank Gorshin.
Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Al Lewis as Grandpa had previously worked together on another hit sitcom, “Car 54 Where are You?” Their chemistry was perfect from the opening episode as they sometimes fought, and sometimes schemed together, but were always a hilarious pair. Yvonne DeCarlo as Lily frequently found herself having to play referee in their squabbles. The series began with Beverly Owen playing niece Marilyn. When a homesick Owen wanted to go back to New York, Pat Priest replaced her in episode #14 for the rest of the show’s run.
The series kicked off with “Munster Masquerade” on September 24, 1966. The Munsters are invited to a costume party. Herman dresses as King Arthur in a full suit of armor and wins first place because he was “Wearing a mask under another mask”.
One of the frequent themes of the show was Herman and or Grandpa scheming to make money or Herman becoming famous. In “Herman the Great” Herman takes to the ring to become a professional wrestler; “In All-Star Munster” Herman visits Marilyn’s college and is mistaken as the school’s basketball star; “Herman The Rookie” finds Herman trying out for the Los Angeles Dodgers and smacking homeruns further than anyone has seen. Dodgers manager leo Durocher guest-stars; and Herman becomes an unwitting pop star in “Will Success Spoil Herman Munster.”
While you can certainly see that the plots became tired towards the end of the series, the show was still performing well but the decision was made to cancel the show anyway. Still, the Munsters had one more trick up their sleeve. “Munsters Go Home” was shot after the show ended. The theatrical film was released on July 15, 1966. The Munsters learn they have inherited an English estate known as Munster Hall. This does not set well with some of the other stuffy English relatives and they try to scare the Munsters off once they get there and even plot to kill Herman. A highlight of the movie is Herman racing the famous “Dragula” dragster, one of the two famous custom cars from the show along with the Munster Koach”. Two things about the film, first, it gave audiences the chance to see the Munsters in color for the first time. Second, the lack of a laugh track really hurts the feel of the film compared to the TV show. Debbie Watson replaced Pat Priest in the role of Marilyn for this film.
Gwynne, Lewis, and DeCarlo would reprise their roles for the 1981 made-for-tv movie, “The Munsters Revenge”. While not very good, it did give fans a chance to see the stars one more time in their familiar make-up.
The Munsters is one of the most enduring shows in the history of television. It wasn’t the highest rated show and it certainly was not a long-running show, but it’s influence can still be seen all over today with various merchandising. A fantastic TV show and a first-rate DVD set!
EXTRAS:
Unaired TV pilot: The 14 minute pilot episode featured a very different looking Munsters family. Joan Marshall played “Pheobe” Munster, Herman’s wife and her look was almost identical to Morticia Addams. Happy Derman played a truly maniacal Eddie Munster, who hissed and growled throughout. Thankfully he was replaced!
The set comes with four documentaries. The documentaries are not new. They were originally produced for the A&E Channel’s biography series back in 2000, and 2002. They include:
“America’s First Family of Fright”
“Fred Gwynne: More than a Munster”
“Yvonne DeCarlo: Gilded Lily”
“Al Lews: Forever Grandpa”
Each documentary runs approximately 45 minutes and if you haven’t seen them on A&E previously they are all outstanding, especially “America’s First Family of Fright”. This documentary covers the entire history of the show. The Munsters were literally everywhere in the mid-1960s and had their images on model kits, toys, lunch boxes, and more. You get to see rare footage of the cast in full make-up doing publicity appearances at Marine Land and at a Thanksgiving Parade. Great Stuff!
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