If you are interested in watching The Mini-Munsters movie we talked about this past season, you may want to act now! Tubi's license of it expires this weekend, and it isn't renewing it, one can assume based on it including it on its "leaving soon" list.
It's not the best Munsters you can see, but it's a cool little piece of the franchise's history, and the full version wasn't available on YouTube when we did the podcast (the one we found was a truncated rerun version). So head to Tubi and see it for free before Saturday!
This might be the most ludicrous attempt yet in our exclusive series of power rankings. Because there are so many incredible characters? Er, not quite. On the contrary, the series relies on a small core of individuals, and it's hard to fill out a credible list of 10, not to mention the obvious separation at the very top. The lack of recurring characters on The Munsters (Sorry to Herman's boss Mr. Gateman, who just missed the list) means we had to break our rule and include several people with a mere one appearance.
With all that in mind, we're doing it! The Munsters episode of the podcast this season was our first official look back at the pre-BOTNS era, so we want to pay tribute to the series with an arbitrary ranking of the characters! We will incorporate The Munsters Mini-Movie but not other movies, Munsters Today (still waiting for you to let that one out again, NBCComcastUniversal), etc. So, no, Roger from Munster, Go Home, played by Original Genius Robert Pine, is not eligible.
And remember how this works: This given week, if these characters were to face off against each other on a neutral court in Transylvania, who would win? Let's get after it because this might be a road after the top several entries!
1) Herman Munster: The top spot is a battle between two individuals, and while I won't argue with anyone who wants to put Grandpa at #1--I mean, it's Al freakin' Lewis--this is Fred Gwynne's show without a doubt. Even Grandpa is funnier in his scenes with Herman due in part to Gwynne's reactions. Yet Herman itself is a hilarious and memorable character in his own right, which is a great achievement considering he is based on an even bigger icon--and I don't mean Francis Muldoon.
2) Grandpa: And give Lewis credit because he is also amazing in his own right while serving as the perfect foil for son in law Herman. He's one of the great supporting characters in sitcom history and a solid runner-up to the star of the show.
3) Lily Munster: No disrespect to Yvonne De Carlo nor to the rest of the cast, but there is a huge dropoff after the top two. It's through no fault of the supporting castmembers; the creative team just figured out what the heart of the series was and ran with the dynamic duo (Hey, maybe someday we should do Batman...). De Carlo did have some spotlight episodes, and Lily had her share of good lines, but many times she was more of a point guard, distributing assists to the heavy hitters.
4) Eddie Munster: I'm on record as having been irritated by many child characters when I was watching reruns as a child, so I give Butch Patrick his props because Eddie was one of the better ones out there. Many of the show's best episodes revolve around Eddie, so he earns his number 4 slot.
5) Marilyn Munster: Beverly Owen...Pat Priest...Talk about "thankless role." Marilyn was fine, but she barely got more than the one-joke premise of her being the outcast of the family--a good joke, but Marilyn is this high due to her status as regular and the overall lack of depth.
6) Spot: The faithful family pet got his chance to shine in 1973's The Mini-Munsters, the only core character to get a boost from that Saturday morning movie (I wasn't a big fan of the teenage rockin' Eddie).
7) Uncle Gilbert: If there's one character whose underuse is abominable, it's Uncle Gilbert, whose reveal in the one episode in which he appears is one of the great moments in the show's history.
8) Dr. Dudley: The Paul Lynde version of the Munster family doc is the one that gets him the eight spot, but Dom DeLuise did take on the role in the second season. Lynde's 3 appearances helped establish the role "civilians" would play in the series.
9) The Raven: He's just like one of the family! In this family, the ability to land a wisecrack or 3 comes in handy. Mel Blanc's voice helps make it a memorable part of the household.
10) Uncle Charlie: That handsome devil may look like Herman, and he may kinda sound like him, but he ain't no Herman. However, he's kind of a likable rogue, right? Twin brother Uncle Charlie's spot makes "Knock Wood, Here Comes Charlie," one of the standout installments of the classic sitcom.
There's a lot of cool stuff in this week's video playlist devoted to the world of Munsters, but one that delights me in particular is this clip of Al Lewis hosting a Saturday afternoon horror movie show on TBS.
He's in classic form here, totally inhabiting the character and even wielding a shovel to "dig up the films!"
Of course, many are nostalgic for the glory days of horror hosts, and Svengoolie is perhaps the most high-profile example of those who continue the tradition today. The Eighties had some attempts to create franchises, and TBS enlisted Grandpa Al Lewis in 1987 for a show that would start at noon--well, 12:05, natch--each Saturday and showcase an old movie plus hosting segments and skits.
I remember some crossovers with the WCW wrestlers of the day and also just seeing the program promoted during the graps action I watched.
After listening to us discuss the original Munsters and the 1973 Mini-Munsters animated special, continue the exploration of the franchise by looking at our video playlist! In it you will see promos, clips, and commercials from the whole Munstersverse as well as commercials and more. Watch Al Lewis on TBS! Fred Gwynne promoting tires! The Munsters at Marineland! And for a change, Ethel Merman isn't in the playlist!
And remember, you can visit our official YouTube channel anytime for past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one! Thanks for listening!
*We hope you enjoy this slight departure from our usual format, and if you'd like to hear us step back in time a bit and cover more 50s and 60s series, please let us know!
*As of this posting, Munsters Today is still conspicuous by its absence on NBC and Peacock.
*Turnabout with John Schuck and Sharon Gless lasted a mere 7 episodes on NBC in 1979.
*Click below for the video Mike mentions with TV show openings from the "hellish" midseason of 1979:
*The original Munsters series ran two seasons and 70 episodes from 1964-1966 on CBS. The Addams Family lasted 64 episodes in ABC in essentially the same time frame.
*Mini-Munsters premiered October 27, 1973 as part of the ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, in the early afternoon in most markets. That franchise lasted two seasons and 20 movies from 1972-1973.
*Check out our look at one of those movies, The Man Who Hated Laughter,right here!**
*Season 2 was The New Saturday Superstar Movie and only featured 3 movies--the Munsters special. a Lost in Space movie, and a second (!) Nanny and the Professor movie. The last one featured Richard Long reprising the titular role of, of course, Nanny. No, it was the Professor. Long is also Herman Munster in Mini-Munsters!
*The traditional gift for a 100th anniversary is--Well, there is none. It seems that it stops at diamond for 75!
*The oil embargo began in October 1973, and the average price of a gallon of gas in the USA jumped from 38.5 cents in May to 55 in June of 1974.
*According to this site, a used 1969 Chevy Malibu cost about $10,00 in today's dollars in 1973.
*This looks to be the truncated rerun version of the movie:
*Season 2 episode 14 of the original series, "Treasure of Mockingbird Heights," debuted December 23, 1965 on CBS, followed by Gilligan's Island, My Three Sons, and TheCBS Thursday Night Movie. ABC's lineup had Shindig, Donna Reed, O.K. Crackerby, Bewitched, Peyton Place, and Long Hot Summer. NBC offered a Christmas episode of Daniel Boone plus Laredo, Mona McCluskey, and The Dean Martin Show.
*According to IMDB, the runtime of 1960's Sunrise at Campobello is 144 minutes yet was in a two-hour time slot including commercials!
*Ben Casey was on ABC 1961-1966, and Dr. Kildare was on NBC 1961-1966.
*Marilyn 2.0, Pat Priest, started in episode 14 of season 1, replacing Beverley Owen. 1966's Munster, Go Home! featured Debbie Watson in the role. Jo McDonnell was Marilyn in 1981 NBC TV movie The Munsters' Revenge.
*As of today, Rob Zombie's film version is under production. There's speculation that it will be for Peacock.
*Are you a Munsters fan or an Addams Family fan? Can't we be both?
We had big plans to compare The Munsters Today to the original classic Munsters, but in a blow to John Schuck fans everywhere, our plans went awry. Luckily, we discovered the one-off 1973 animated Mini-Munsters, so we look at it, then travel back to 1966 to join Herman and Grampa on a treasure hunt.
Watch this Family Channel promo for an upcoming showing of Munster, Go Home, then be prepared to answer a simple question about why it's an example of poor marketing.
OK, you ready? Here is the simple question: What is wrong with this?
Well, the promo shows us that this movie reunites The Munsters. It shows us that it's in color. It promises laughs and maybe some comical monster chills.
What doesn't it show?
That's right, it doesn't show Robert Pine!
The inaugural Genius Award winner in his early days
Our favorite Genius is the male love interest for Marilyn in the movie, and he even gets to use a British accent! He's a key player in the film--OK, maybe not as important as Fred Gwynne or Al Lewis, but he is conspicuous by his absence in this promotion.
Genius at work
It's only a 15-second spot, you may think, so they didn't have enough time to show everyone. I counter that if you only have 15 seconds, you had better get the important stuff in there!
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that The Family Channel might still be around and thriving in this incarnation if the in-house marketing team had properly hyped this screening.
Fellas, this is the kind of look you get when you treat your date to a steak and a Lowenbrau
If you're interested in reading more about the movie itself, may I recommend this blog post by yours truly?
Bobby Pine keeping an eye out for Family Channel weasels
Realizing he isn't in the promo
Fred Gwynne realizing he is co-starring with--no, actually this is just a funny screencap
