MovieChat Forums > The Munsters (1964) Discussion > This show is unwatchable as an adult

This show is unwatchable as an adult

posted 8 years ago by Navaros
35 replies | jump to latest

I really want to like the Munsters but as an adult, it's just unwatchable.

The tone of show makes it play as if it's designed for kids.

I.e. Every time Grandpa says magic words, they sound like a nursery rhyme from Sesame Street. But that's just one example. Everything about the show has that exact same babyish tone to it.

Yet despite the show's overall extremely babyish tone, sometimes it also features themes that are totally inappropriate for kids. For example, one episode has Commissioner Gordon guest starring as the lover of a Black Widow woman who murders people.

Another example is when Grandpa transforms into a woman who pretends to be Herman's lover. That was one of the most creepy things I've ever seen!

Why does the show have adult themes if it's a kids' show?

Why does the show play like Sesame Street 98% of the time if it's an adults' show?

How do you enjoy this show as an adult despite the fact that 98% of it plays like Sesame Street?

I have no idea why this show is popular. It's aggravating to watch. What's good about it?

[–] jmarkoff2 8 years ago

The performances of the main cast are quite good. It's such a shame that the scripts were so dumb. The whole show seemed like something better was struggling to get out, just below the tepid surface.

[–] Tresix 8 years ago

The show wasn't aimed at kids. It would be what is now known as "family friendly", meaning that it was designed for the whole family to enjoy. I STILL like it a lot some 52 years later.

Annoying the world since 1960!

[–] Navaros 8 years ago

I am all-for family friendly shows, but I would argue that:

A> The Munsters is not always family friendly, as per the adult themes mentioned in the OP.

B> It's quite possible to have a family friendly show that is still highly sophisticated & realistic, and that tells complex stories, and that features psychologically-deep characters. For example, the show Leave it to Beaver has all of those traits. And it was even made before The Munsters, by the same producers who made The Munsters.

Compared to The Munsters, Leave it to Beaver is akin to Masterpiece Theater and The Munsters is akin to the dumbest reality show ever made, like "Flavor of Love."[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0488262/]

It's like the producers discarded their brains or something before they created The Munsters. I have no idea why they did that.

[–] Tresix 8 years ago

I think you're taking this show WAY too seriously. The show has The Frankenstein Monster married to the daughter of Count Dracula with a werewolf son. You might as well call "Die Hard" a true, hard-hitting cop documentary.

Speaking of "Leave It to Beaver", did you know the houses from both series are next to each other on the Universal Studios backlot? They were both used on the show "Desperate Housewives". I took a photo of the Munsters' house.

Annoying the world since 1960!

[–] Navaros 8 years ago

Maybe I am taking it way too seriously, but the problem with the producers not taking it seriously is that it becomes unentertaining/unwatchable to adults. Apparently you can stand it somehow, but I can't.

I take the point that maybe part of the problem is that I'm expecting it to be more of a drama than a comedy...but even if it is supposed to be 100% comedy and 0% drama...then my counter-argument is that that the comedy still could have had a tone that was appropriate for people beyond the age of eight. The jokes just aren't funny 99% of the time.

I.e. the other week I was watching an episode where Grandpa says, "I used to fly around the Old Country until I got rheumatoid in my wings." In another episode, the joke is, "Remember when Grandpa invented athlete's foot?"

Those types of unfunny lines are heavily saturated throughout every episode. Rarely does the show ever present anything that is actually funny. So it fails as a drama. And it fails as a straight-up comedy too.

No, I didn't know those things about the Houses. Thanks for sharing. That must be a cool photo that you have.

[–] hack-stone 8 years ago

Didn't they burn down during that fire at Universal Studios back in 1991 (give or take a year)? They were Alain the same street as the town hall in Back To The Future, which was also the main building of Faber College in Animal House.

[–] Navaros 8 years ago

The whole show seemed like something better was struggling to get out, just below the tepid surface.

I kind of see what you mean. Like the scene where Grandpa finds out that the other guys are rigging Herman's wrestling match or something....Grandpa gets really angry and says something like: "You want to play games, I'll show you games!"

...that would have been the perfect opportunity for Grandpa to unleash some epic Dracula-style carnage...but instead all he does is recite some preschool-style nursery rhyme magic words and make the lights go out for a second and them come back on with Herman winning. What a letdown!

[–] Tresix 8 years ago

Since the show was aimed at families (not to mention being on TV in the mid-Sixties), there was only so much vengeance they could show.

Annoying the world since 1960!

[–] Navaros 8 years ago

Well, that speaks to another fundamental problem with the show. They are supposed to be monsters, yet they never do anything monster-like.

They might as well not even be monsters at all, since their monsterness is almost 100% irrelevant to the show. The only very slight relevance that their monsterness has is that they make unfunny joke comments about being old and undead and things like that.

[–] jmarkoff2 8 years ago

My main problem with the show is that the conflict of each episode revolves around everyone being stupid. If the characters had a lick of sense, the plot would be short circuited. It would have been better to have the Munsters be smart and overcome a true conundrum. The stupidity of the characters suggests to me that the writers were extremely lazy.

The fantasy angle isn't much fun either, for the simple reason that it violates itself as discussed in an earlier thread: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057773/board/thread/252899600

[–] Tresix 8 years ago

That was the joke: that the family were monsters, but they were actually kind and gentle people. They couldn't figure out why people were afraid of them. Also, as far as they were concerned, everyone else in the world were the scary ones. Remember, they think Marilyn is the "disfigured" one!

Plus, Herman was never supposed to be the brightest bulb in the marquee. Lewis and Gwynne were quite a comedy team (although I wasn't a big fan of "Car 54, Where Are You?").

Annoying the world since 1960!

[–] jmarkoff2 8 years ago

The idea that normal people are scary to the Munsters would have been neat, but wasn't followed through. Whenever Grandpa's magic conjures up an ideal beauty, it's something that looks like Marilyn. And Herman and Grandpa always talk about ideal men like Frank Sinatra or Rock Hudson which also violates the consistency.

[–] Tresix 8 years ago

What "beauty" did Grandpa conjure?

Annoying the world since 1960!

[–] jmarkoff2 8 years ago

A cute blonde who is supposed to make Lily jealous. Grandpa, in the form of the blonde, forgets to stay in character and lights up a cigar before catching himself.

[–] audierules 8 years ago

I recently started to watch the show for the first time since I was a kid and I disagree 100% with you. I even find the show to be way funnier in my adult years. Great cast including both Marilyn's , insane scripts, super supporting cast that did a great job being scared , fantastic sets, a lot of fun.

[–] joeann_21 8 years ago

I agree 100% with you Audie, truly funny and entertaining show.

I can watch Munster episodes over and over again!

See how many of today's series can last that long.

[–] The_Stranggler 8 years ago

It may feel that way due to the 60s family values and clean fun

[–] SteveRes (508) 6 years ago

You're never too old to enjoy The Munsters, timeless comedy for all ages. Just roll with the fun.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I must be still a kid...I love this show more than the Addams Family

[–] PaladinNJ (21510) 6 years ago

52 Year old child here. I still love this show.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2408) 3 years ago

I'm in my 40's and I still like the Munsters. A lot of the humor is from the 60's though. I wasn't born even then.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

A lot of shows back then had "in jokes" for the adults that usually went over the kids heads.

I can't really enjoy a lot of the shows I used to watch as a kid. If I think about it I tended to only watch them back then because there wasn't as many options around ie the internet, DVD/VHS etc

[–] Catbookss (13664) 5 years ago

Even when I was a little kid I didn't like it. I did love The Addams Family.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Unwatchable is a little harsh, but yeah.

The Addams Family holds up better, watching it again as an adult. The humors a little darker, weirder, more satirical.

[–] liscarkat (18410) 3 years ago

OP is right. As an adult I remember the show with nostalgia, and I like the idea and the characters, but it's hard to watch because the humor is infantile and corny. There is little to appeal to grownups. At the time it was in its original run I loved it, but I was ten or eleven. I remember my dad and mom couldn't stand it, but they both liked "The Addams Family". Now I understand why.