Brian Fuller, the man behind the dark fantasy TV series "Pushing Daisies", decided to do an equally dark update of "The Munsters". For those not familiar with "The Munsters", it was a sitcom from Universal Pictures that parodied their classic movie monsters like Count Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster by taking these terrifying creatures and placing them in suburban America as the typical family. Fuller attempts to present the Munsters as their dark original counterparts with "Mockingbird Lane".
However, that negates the point of the original series: It was how these ghastly individuals got along with the average American in a very humorous vein. Instead, "Mockingbird Lane" seems to be trying to be a straight horror show with little glimpses of comedy. The problem with this is the horror overshadows the humor. For starters, the original Munsters all looked like monsters except for "poor" Marilyn. In this version, everyone looks close to normal, yet they still pick on Marilyn because of her "looks". Marilyn here (played by Charity Wakefield) is still a beautiful girl who is thought of as unattractive by the rest of the family. The thing about this is that Herman in this version (Jerry O'Connell) is rather handsome even though he does have spare body parts (he's having trouble with his replacement heart). Also, Grandpa (Eddie Izzard) and Lily (Portia de Rossi), though they are vampires, don't have the pallor that they had in the original series. Even young Eddie (Mason Cook) looks like a normal little boy until he transforms into a werewolf under the full moon. Every one plays their role too seriously except Izzard. He has great lines and is the only one who seems to be having any fun at all.
On the plus side, the special effects are great. Especially in the introduction of Grandpa and Lily. However, if the series is picked up, things need to lighten up greatly. Make the show fun to watch and it might pick up where the original series left off.
