tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122304314547021226.post5690106621550937605..comments2023-02-16T10:29:31.767-05:00Comments on CELTIC PUMPKIN: Comparing Classics: The Addams Family vs The MunstersRook Wilderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16627545466953210016noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122304314547021226.post-52039526143178039302019-09-29T17:24:26.407-04:002019-09-29T17:24:26.407-04:00I grew up watching both shows and at the time I wo...I grew up watching both shows and at the time I wouldn't have been able to say I enjoyed either better than the other. Decades later I took my daughter to see both Addams Family movies and we enjoyed them very much. Later I bought the Addams Family complete DVD set and loved watching the series all over again. By then I never would have thought to get the complete Munsters set.<br /><br />I did eagerly watch the new Munster show/movie (?) maybe a decade ago but sadly wasn't impressed and finally turned it off. It's true that they could have done so much more with the Munsters especially nowadays with the love of all things vampires and werewolves. And I suppose that's why there's an Addams Family animated movie coming out soon based on the cartoon at least from the artwork I saw on a poster at Cinemark.<br /><br />Ultimately I liked both shows as a youngster but in my older years Addams Family won me over - that theme song alone! How could anyone not smile and sing and snap their fingers when you hear it? It just stays with you. It, (not cousin Itt - lol) along with most episodes, made/make me smile and laugh and I don't think either show was meant to be more than that, just good entertainment. But I think, overall, the Addams Family has aged well. And maybe Hollywood feels that way too as there hasn't been anything more done with the Munsters but quite a lot with the Addams Family. But what fun both shows were in simpler times! How fortunate we were/are to have these shows.<br /><br />Thanks for you article!Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16348118786536811029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122304314547021226.post-43264621278688357132017-10-27T01:05:14.651-04:002017-10-27T01:05:14.651-04:00Muy buenas! me ha agradado esta nota, espero haber...Muy buenas! me ha agradado esta nota, espero haber cogidobuena anotacion, amo Tailandia <br />y deseo volver el próximo mes me quedo chequeando alguna mas, me apunto <br />a ver las actualizaciones, muchas muchas graciasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122304314547021226.post-39768815813838190562017-09-27T13:38:33.414-04:002017-09-27T13:38:33.414-04:00This is awesome that I am not alone in 2017 eagerl...This is awesome that I am not alone in 2017 eagerly reading this! Great article and Great Great comments! #TeamMunsters for future readers in 10 yrs, remember when hashtaging was a thing?? TataBehahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06690859378259987743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122304314547021226.post-21368428985729390112017-04-18T17:01:29.634-04:002017-04-18T17:01:29.634-04:00I strongly disagree with you. The Munster's wa...I strongly disagree with you. The Munster's was much more of an imaginative TV show compared to the Addams Family, even in it humanising the monsters while maintaining some of their unique qualities. The Addams family was very limited to me, it appears they spent so much time developing the macabre aspect of them that the humour wasn't really all that funny, and they were not truly a representation of what's American. They may not have confirmed as much as the Munster's, but their mentality was very American. The Addams had a superior logic like that of Americans. They tended to think their way was valid, and others wasn't. So I disagree with your statement that they believed their way was valid sit as much as everyone else's. I did not find this to be the case. The Munster's, while they disagreed with other ways, we're welcoming of new things. They were innately unique, and didn't let rejection cause them to further conform. They tend to just assume people rejected them because themselves or simply shrugged of the rejection. I'm a huge non-conformist, but I find the Munster's to be more pleasant because of how they handle rejection. I don't believe anything is wrong with being the Apple pie family, if that's what you want, but don't let rejection cause to think you have to change the rest of yourself to be 100% like others. The Munster's, we're able to maintain their uniqueness while also being the apple pie family that they wanted. I believe it's up to people what they want to be, and be that, just don't change your unique ways for it. <br /><br />As to the comedy aspect, I didn't find it to be lazy that they made the Monsters cartoonish, in fact that's what made them great. I loved the satirical/physical comedy aspect of the show. The Addams family was heavily macabre, but the humour wasn't developed very well to me. So reusing the popular comedic style of that time for monsters was a smart idea, I believe is what made the Munster's so successful. When you humanise monsters like that, veering too far over into a new way of comedy, especially not knowing if people will like it can affect how people receive it. In the case of the Munster's, that style of comedy was not yet a novelty as you say. Many people seems to still enjoy it. So it was well used. <br /><br />In my case, I'm a Star Wars fan, than Star Trek. Star Trek is not as imaginative as Star Wars, and is more scientifically realistic than Star Wars. Star Wars adds a little humour, while being less scientifically real sitcom making more imagination based. That's the relationship between the Addams Family and the Munster's, the Addams Family is more serious, realistic, and centered around being different, with underdeveloped humour. The Munster's were more relatable, unique, welcoming/hospitable, and lived the lives they wanted to live. The humour was better developed. <br /><br />The Addams family doesn't have much potential to me. They are just simply known for being dark and different, that's all. I never really into them, minus the dark aspect. The Munster's, we're traditionalists in family values, dark, unique, slightly backwards, funny, and proud of themselves as well. I would also say that the Munster's didn't really have much more else going as a show. Neither shows really had a whole lot of potential. Even though the Addams family has had movies and games, I didn't care for the films. The strong development of the macabre of the Addams family is the Addams family has been used for years now. The problems is that the Addams Family just isn't interesting outside of their dark or macabre way. But I'm sure people still found them entertaining despite that. In the case of the Munster's, because they humanises, goofy, and less dark, not much seems could be done with them after the show. But they were more entertaining. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15655243930773245296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122304314547021226.post-21974738580821952832017-04-03T11:23:46.932-04:002017-04-03T11:23:46.932-04:00Responding to david kelly, I honestly don't kn...Responding to david kelly, I honestly don't know how a boisterous working class family of immigrants is somehow considered less diverse and PC than a family of millionaires where dad makes his money on the stock market (using an endearingly dated tickertape machine). <br /><br />And I think you forgot the episode where Herman became a woman for an ep, and Lily sort of shrugged and said what the hell? They'd never have done that to the macho Gomez. Gender roles were very well defined with the Addams. If Morticia didn't do housework, it was because it was beneath her as an upper class woman. <br /><br />As to the Russian ep, I think you are missing the point of that script, which is that Russians are stupid and childlike, and don't know anything about the world around them. It's making fun of them for their naivete, not praising diversity. <br /><br />I think people who bigotedly prefer the Addams' (as opposed to just saying "I like this show better") are often just expressing their own inner snobbery, even though simply by discussing the merits of two silly 60's sitcoms, they are exposing themselves as having rather lowbrow tastes themselves. Well, don't we all, at times?<br /><br />Both shows have their virtues, but neither is a cultural masterwork. Both were aimed at the LCD--that's how they came to air at the same time. <br /><br />And honestly--diversity? Remind me of ONE non-white face ever appearing on The Addams Family? I suppose we can't really be sure about Cousin Itt. Thing is definitely caucasian. At least Lily mentioned Sonny Liston before she decked Herman. <br /><br />The Addams' are treated deferentially because of their wealth. The Munsters are cheerfully unaware of the fact that they are social pariahs in their nabe. If you want, you could say that's an indictment of American attitudes towards immigrants and their strange values, even though the Munsters (like most immigrants) just want to fit in. <br /><br />Or you could just enjoy both shows for what they are, and not turn it into a goddam dissertation on things that television in general rarely tried to address back then, and never when it was trying to make us laugh. Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00271250698430923736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122304314547021226.post-80111924644790951472017-04-03T09:32:15.626-04:002017-04-03T09:32:15.626-04:00Great article, maybe the best I've seen compar...Great article, maybe the best I've seen comparing these two endlessly-compared shows. I go back and forth between the two, and find it fascinating that they premiered and concluded within days of each other. People sometimes say The Munsters was an Addams Family rip-off, but it seems to be more the case that both networks had been working on a weird family sitcom, and it was CBS deciding to go ahead with The Munsters that made ABC decide to give the Addams' a try (even though that show went into development first). <br /><br />I just recently read that the original idea that eventually became The Munsters came from animation legend Bob Clampett, who was certainly every bit the visual genius Charles Addams was. <br /><br />The Addams' had better dialogue, quite right. But the Munsters had better physical comedy, and it was a more kinetic household on Mockingbird Lane, with Grandpa's basement laboratory, and Spot's lair beneath the stairs. Also Universal did a great job creating a moody atmosphere for the show. The Addams' Family always felt a bit languid for my tastes. Living in New York, you still pass old Victorian houses that have somehow survived the changing times, and you wonder who the hell is living there. I know technically the Munsters are supposed to be in California, but it feels more like a suburb in Queens or Brooklyn to me. <br /><br />The Munsters would easily win a battle royale between the two families, since they have a dragon. But more likely they'd just exchange friendly greetings, and maybe send each other cards on Halloween. The Addams' were eccentric, but never snobbish. As opposed to some of their more chauvinistic fans. ;) Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00271250698430923736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122304314547021226.post-77688043474195515162016-08-03T15:15:26.451-04:002016-08-03T15:15:26.451-04:00The Munsters was a waste of potential. It could ha...The Munsters was a waste of potential. It could have shown at a time when the Civil Rights era was at full swing that a family can be both upstanding citizens while being uniquely themselves and not wanting to be anything else. The Munsters tried too hard to be like everyone else, which undermines what America is about: that people with different cultural values and perspectives can still be as American as the apple pie eating variety. Their lifestyle is just as valid as anyone else's. Also, the Munsters was inconsistent in tone. It went from satire to overly broad cartoon. I just wish the Munsters did the more to deride the staid family sitcoms of the time than just reusing similar plotlines with monsters instead. It just seemed lazy after that novelty wore off. The Addams Family was just more daring in bold to suggest that the Addams Family lifestyle and values were just as valid as anyone else's. They were upstanding citizens as well but uniquely and proudly themselves. I remember an episode where two Russian ambassadors visit the Addams. At first their suspicious of all Americans, but learn to respect Americans because of the Addams. Just think how affirming that is that these cooky people are able to represent the best of America and they succeed. That's the message I wish the Munsters wouldve taken to its core and ran with, and it wouldve added more bite to the lampooning of those Father Knows Best type shows. I agree with your assessment that Addams feel disconnected from America. But I feel that fact that the Addams can live their life they way THEY choose with out fear of persecution makes it ideally American. After all, the Puritans came to this shore to have what the Addams so enjoy--the freedom to be yourself. I dont hate the Munsters but I feel it's too conformist, while the Addams family feels like a bizzare celebration of diversity-- Something Star Trek would also later be remembered for. The Munsters just couldve been a series about so much more.Issa Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10448615063317064696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122304314547021226.post-71117752301393770822014-12-07T01:03:43.234-05:002014-12-07T01:03:43.234-05:00Inspired from 1964-66 CBS television
series about ...Inspired from 1964-66 CBS television<br />series about a group of eerie/weird horrible family from Mockingbird Lane a suburb of Los Angeles led by Herman Munster and his family turned into a popular television series for six seasons rivals ABC network Addams<br />Family became a cultural icon of American television history. Thanks!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13328023720882533998noreply@blogger.com