Thursday, November 17, 2011

NBC wants to resurrect "The Munsters". Should they, in light of recent failures?

"Those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it."--George Santayana.

NBC has had rotten luck in reviving older shows recently. They've been fortunate to get a 2nd season out of Parenthood this time, considering the first television adaptation of the Ron Howard comedy that starred Steve Martin lasted just one season. More familiar properties like Knight Rider & Bionic Woman have gotten quick hooks the 2nd time around because of poor scheduling, and don't get me started on their opting against a David E. Kelley-produced revival of Wonder Woman, which never got green-lighted for even allowing a pilot to air.

So now comes word that yet another property from the Universal vaults (Wonder Woman, being from WB, is the exception to this group) is being revived by NBC. The Munsters spent 2 seasons on CBS almost in direct competition with its lone contemporary, The Addams Family, from 1964-66. NBC received a script from Bryan Fuller, whose last series, Pushing Daisies, lasted a year on ABC just a few short years ago, cancelled due to low viewers despite being a critics' darling. What Fuller intends to do, with The Munsters' 50th anniversary due in 2014, is turn it from a sitcom into a drama. Uh, wait a minute. There's something inherently wrong here.

Before I get anywhere else, let me just give you the season 2 open to the original series, complete with Jack Marshall's kick-ass surf-rock score.......



That theme was so popular, radio stations began playing it to fill time. WPYX in Albany was one such channel. Apparently, according to a Yahoo! article, Fuller might've been inspired by the sudden success of ABC's freshman fantasy drama, Once Upon A Time, moreso than NBC's own Grimm, which is trying to be Law & Order crossed with Night Stalker, or something along those lines. However, I'm not really sold on a dramatic take on The Munsters, unless they want to have Marilyn, the human member of the family, suddenly get into a "Twilight"-style relationship, and given the timing of this announcement, with the 4th movie in the "Twilight" series opening this weekend, is more than just a coincidence.

Oh, by the way, there was one previous revival, back in the 80's. Here's the 1st season open to The Munsters Today.



Granted, John Schuck (ex-McMillian & Wife) wasn't quite as tall as Fred Gwynne, but he must've done something right to get 3 years with this series. Lee Meriweather (ex-Barnaby Jones, Time Tunnel) was ok as Lily, and most people are familiar with Jason Marsden from his cartoon work in recent years. Something just didn't look right about it, but the fanbase embraced it just the same.

I'm having a hard time getting my head around the thought of a dramatic take on this franchise, but NBC, and their bosses at Comcast, had better pay heed to Santayana this time......

6 comments:

magicdog said...

I so hate that this could be resurrected!

I know some old shows are better suited to reboots than others, but some shows should be left alone, The Munsters is one of them.

The old series is far too ingrained in just about anyone over 30 and even if it's done in a dramatic format rather than a comedic one, it probably still won't go down well. The reboots of "Charlie's Angels", "Bionic Woman", and "Wonder Woman" should be proof of that.

It goes to show there is no more originality in Hollywood. Sure, I admit a lot of tropes are as old as dirt, but that doesn't mean you have to use the name recognition of the original show. That could actually work against it since most viewers remember the series (and its former stars) fondly.

The mess, "Munsters Today" was just plain horrid!

hobbyfan said...

If "Munsters Today" was such a mess, how did it survive for 3 years?

What we have in Hollywood right now are a bunch of fanboys who want to put a new spin on their favorite shows. However, the overall execution is leaving a lot to be desired. For every Hawaii 5-0, there's a Charlie's Angels, if you get my drift.

magicdog said...

"Munsters Today" was in syndication and shows like that can be contractually obligated to a certain amount of episodes or seasons.

There are plenty of shows that aren't that great but limp along year after year for one reason or another.

hobbyfan said...

Can we count "Baywatch" as one of those "limp along" shows?

magicdog said...

Touche.

However my point still stands as for every "Baywatch" there's a "Small Wonder".

hobbyfan said...

I'll reserve comment on Small Wonder for Saturday Morning Archives another time. Some ideas, though, should be left well enough alone.