Tresix

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.

Prior to THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, all early silent movies did were show things like horses running, people dancing and kissing, even sneezing. THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY was the first movie to tell an actual story, thus explaining and justifying its place in American film history. A railroad clerk is accosted by a gang of bandits who tie him up to prevent him from sending a telegraph. The thieves then board the train, kill the stoker and throws the body from the train (there is an edit cut that shows a dummy being substituted for the actor that is pretty fluid for its time). Admittedly, when some of the people are shot, their histrionics are over the top as they die. But you'd have take into consideration that acting on camera was something new in 1903. Also, a lot of things that have become western clichés were introduced here: the kerchiefs over the bandits' faces; the tenderfoot being made to "dance" by having guns fired at his feet; the gathering of the posse and "head 'em off at the pass" chases. This is the movie that also contains one of my all-time favorite movie images: the cowboy pointing his pistol at the camera and firing it. There were stories that when this movie "premiered", audiences ducked in terror at that moment. Who knows? Without this movie, there may never have been a John Wayne, Clint Eastwood or "Gunsmoke".