The Munsters Season 1

December 11, 2004

Rated: NR Runtime: 966 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

With a theme song that immediately brings a smile to our faces and characters that will forever be considered pop-culture icons, there was never a doubt in anyone’s mind that this set would be coming to our door sooner or later and here it is presented in all it’s classic glory. Herman, Grandpa, Lily, Eddie and Marilyn (Raaarrrrrr) have never looked so good on our TV, so without further delay, let’s get it on!

Show Synopsis: Are you kidding me, do you really need a plot outline for this show? If you dare call yourself a man, you already know that this show was and still is pure TV gold and that it is just as good today as it was the first time you saw it on cable (Superstation 17) when you were a boy. But, if you need a little refresher head out to your local DVD supplier or log onto Amazon.com and buy I Love Lucy because you are a woman and have made a huge mistake coming here; You should leave this site immediately and go to any available chick site or watch some gossip show where a bunch of cows, sit around and talk about their feelings and cry a lot.

Audio/Visual: A Universal Home Video release; Presented in 1.33:1 Full frame format and in high quality Black and White this set looks pretty darn good and, with the exception of some noticeable sound fluctuations between episodes, the Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is none too shabby either.

Extras: This is department is a bit bare and it is the only thing in the set that I can really criticize but since I can, I will. First, each of the 38 full length episodes features an episode summary on it’s first panel of the menu that includes; Episode Title, Original air date, a Still shot and a list of any guest stars featured in that specific episode. Secondly, and probably the best or worst (depending on your drug of choice) feature, is the inclusion of the 15 minute original pilot episode. This episode was shot according to the summary as a ï¿½pitch’ idea to CBS and although it was shot in color and had a little goth-hotty named Phoebe that played Herman’s wife, WE thought it sucked. I hate to do spoilers but in this case it is a moral imperative, the reason of suckage must be known and we must clarify that is not in the story or the characters; We love them. No, it comes in the form of the kid that played Eddie, a young actor named Happy Derman and I sh*t you not, that is his name in the credits. This kid was a complete Ass Clown and all we have to say here @ MFGï¿½ï¿½thank god for the casting of Butch Patrick or this show would not have lasted a week after the first episode.

Packaging: A cool bright green flip box that looks kind of like a coffin when you open it with some really nice graphics throughout. I don’t usually dig cardboard packaging but this one isn’t too bad.

There is an age-old debate among TV aficionados that still goes strong even today; Munsters or Addams Family? Well with this reviewer there is no debate at all. By a big green nose, it’s The Munsters all the way baby and this box set does not disappoint in the least. With just over 16 Hours of quality family entertainment on 3 dual sided discs you and yours will be laughing so hard you’ll wake the neighbors, or the dead. Muhahahhahaha.

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Posted by J.C. Edwards | Filed Under 4 Stars, Al Lewis, Beverley Owen, Butch Patrick, Comedy, DVD, Fred Gwynne, NR, Yvonne De Carlo