This Friday Oct. 26: A Serious "Munsters"?

[sleepy]

Apparently, NBC has spent $10 Million on a Serious revisioning of the 60's social comedy show, "The Munsters".

Titled "Mockingbird Lane", the $10 Million pilot was rejected by the network as a series, but will air this Friday Oct. 26 at 8 P.M. E.S.T. or whenever in your area.
It was co-produced and directed by Bryan Singer of "X-Men" fame.
In recent years Singer has also co-produced the FOX t.v. series, "House M.D."

So the question is, is anyone ready for a serious "Munsters"?
Or will it be a fright fest?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2130271/combined

 

[faralos]

and it is NOTHING like the original
I for one am not going to be watching it
no one can replace Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster
it doesn't help that I made a pin based on the old series
so I guess I am a tad biased when it comes to my fave tv shows
being trashed to make 'new' ones

 

[sleepy]

I am slightly interested in what they *could do* with it.

Just curious. How do you feel about the New Hawaii Five-O?

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

well, munsters was a rival network's answer to the success of the addams family, which was based on charles addams' satire of american families. IMO there's plenty of room anywhere between those poles for a more serious and/or satirical treatment.

EDIT: oops, no... looks like the two shows arose mostly independently and ran concurrently, mostly by chance. damn you, WP!


anyway, let's not pretend the original munsters was some kind of masterpiece for the ages. most of the actual episodes are pretty spotty, despite a lot of endearing quirks...


EDIT2: completely random note-- i've been looking through the list of disney movies lately and noticed that sean connery made one of his early appearances in a disney movie (about ireland and leprachauns) and THAT was what got him noticed for the role of james bond. even though ian fleming hated his look and demeanor at first. fun note #2-- fast forward to peter jackson's LOTR movies. seems that connery was actually first choice to play gandalf the wizard. holy moley...! that would have been a serious miscast IMO...

 

[sleepy]

And I wonder where they got the name from?
I remember back when the show was on CBS first-run, a few school chums gave me a nickname based on something like...

http://www.mcmunns.com

I thought they were making fun of me at the time though.
They never let up.

But I'm sure this upcoming failed pilot is on NBC because NBC now owns Universal Studios and Universal is the studio that produced the original series, so NBC Universal probably owns the rights.

In fact you can still witness the original "Munsters house" on "Mockingbird Lane" by taking the Universal Hollywood Tour, about seven miles from where I am.
The "house" is on the same street as the "one" used for "Leave It To Beaver".

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

the mcmunnsters? :)


as i was looking to see if the name is scots, scots-irish, or irish, it does look like the sean connery connection is still valid:

The Mcmunn family history stretches back to the clans of the Dalriadan kingdom on the sea-swept Hebrides islands and mountainous western coast of Scotland. The name Mcmunn is derived from a devotion to St. Munn. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Gille Mhunna, which means son of the servant of St. Munn.

Mcmunn Early Origins

Spelling in the medieval era was a highly imprecise process. Translation, particularly from Gaelic to English, was little better. For these reasons, early Scottish names are rife with spelling variations. In various documents Mcmunn has been spelled MacMunn, MacIllmunie, MacIllmoon, MacMun and others.

First found in Argyllshire, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

http://www.houseofnames.com/Mcmunn-history?A=54323-292

side-note: it seems that the practice of spelling irish names O-apostrophe-ancestor name was wrong from the beginning. an english error in translating celtic into ainglish. so instead of "o'brien" it should be "obrien"... which people seem to be switching back to, now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_name#Surname_prefixes

 

[GSGregg]

Just curious. How do you feel about the New Hawaii Five-O?

I watch it because I'm a TV watcher and there's nothing any better in that time slot; I also like the reinvented backstory for Steve McGarrett and the casting of Terry O'Quinn (he's everywhere!). The incessant banter between Scott Caan's Dano (Danno?) and McGarrett is tiring, though, as is the girl-vs-boy fight choreography in which the anorexic lady agent can drop a 200-pound evil stud without breaking any of her own bones (this is industry-wide, though, and not just Five-OH!). Anyway, I like it overall.

.....it seems that the practice of spelling irish names O-apostrophe-ancestor name was wrong from the beginning. an english error in translating celtic into ainglish. so instead of "o'brien" it should be "obrien"... which people seem to be switching back to, now.

I'll pass this on to a friend named O'Brien and tell him not to be surprised if I stop typing the apostrophe in emails.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

gregg, in case it helps, this is the specific section where i read that: (from the article above)

Ó: In Old Irish as ua ("grandson", "descendant"). E.g., the ancestor of the O'Brien clan, Brian Boru (937–1014) was known in his lifetime as Brian mac Cennéide mac Lorcán ("Brian, the son of Cennéide, the son of Lorcán "). Not until the time of his grandsons and great-grandsons was the name O'Brien used as a surname, used to denote descent from an illustrious ancestor. It has for some three hundred years been written as O', but in recent years the apostrophe is often dropped, bringing it into line with early medieval forms. The apostrophe came into existence as an error by the English, when in the process of anglicizing the surnames in Ireland, mistakenly recognized the accent above the O as an apostrophe.

also, the Ó is a long "o" sound. so from what i gather, the accent would fall on the first syllable of "obrien," not the second syllable as you might hear in star trek the next generation or deep space nine.

 

[GSGregg]

.....the Ó is a long "o" sound. so from what i gather, the accent would fall on the first syllable of "obrien," not the second syllable as you might hear in star trek the next generation or deep space nine.

Hmmm.....then a secondary accent, if used, would fall on the third syllable and the world we know might not exist.....

On the other hand, maybe someone walked by the house one evening and heard a woman's voice; OH! BRI-an!

 

[sleepy]

The elders in my family never did talk about our origins.
Most of what I've heard comes from the Internet and genealogy sites, and somewhere I've read that the surname McMunn is a Sept of The House of Stewart (Scottish), he of King James' fame, however, I believe the source was interested in selling information.

Has anyone here ever gotten junk mail from a Psychic-for-Hire?

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

Hmmm.....then a secondary accent, if used, would fall on the third syllable and the world we know might not exist.....

On the other hand, maybe someone walked by the house one evening and heard a woman's voice; OH! BRI-an!

i'm glad someone found some humor in the situation, because clearly it was not going to be me!

The elders in my family never did talk about our origins.
Most of what I've heard comes from the Internet and genealogy sites, and somewhere I've read that the surname McMunn is a Sept of The House of Stewart (Scottish), he of King James' fame, however, I believe the source was interested in selling information.

regardless, every site i've looked at so far seems to indicate the name is scottish, not irish, in origin. time to put on your kilt, mon...


btw, i read somewhere that the kilts were a total anachronism in braveheart. seems that kilts were not worn in scotland in the time of william wallace.

 

[sleepy]

No kilts, but oodles of entrails.
I guess it all comes down to who is the law, eh?

 

[sleepy]

I can't stand to eat Mutton!

She's Eating Scones

She's eating Scones after having Lamb Bones
For So Many Years...

She's eating Scones
My, My...

 

[sleepy]

Serious?? No.
A very dark and gory comedy, and I loved every minute of it!

 

[elton]

Getting it now Sleepy - sounds rather good. :)

 

[sleepy]

Is it online?

Where?

 

[sleepy]

Is it online?

Where?

EDIT: Er, just a slight palpitation.

 

[sleepy]

And I should warn you that a few folks were disappointed with Herman Munster's "normal" appearance.
Nothing that a future set of dead man's eyes wouldn't cure, however, he more than makes up for that slight.

 

[elton]

Yeah, its online. I got it via http://kat.ph/usearch/Mockingbird Lane/

Not sure if ya can get access to that site though :)

 

[elton]

If you cannot .... let me know and I'll try and get it to you somehow :)

 

[sleepy]

Thanks Man, but I live about seven miles from Universal and I've already seen it, and not for being in the neighborhood.
Just on the tube.

But I was thinking that it would be available at hulu or elsewhere.

 

[elton]

Cool - I'm gonna watch it tonight. :)

 

[sleepy]

Exactly! Do not let the sun destroy the bouquet!

 

[sleepy]

And it is on hulu, but is hulu available internationally?

It should be:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/417829?ut...pularVideosToday+(Hulu+-+Popular+videos+today)

 

[elton]

Nah ... not here ....

Sorry, currently our video library can only be watched from within the United States

Hulu is committed to making its content available worldwide. To do so, we must work through a number of legal and business issues, including obtaining international streaming rights. Know that we are working to make this happen and will continue to do so. Given the international background of the Hulu team, we have both a professional and personal interest in bringing Hulu to a global audience.