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Here Come the Munsters
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Wikipedia article
'Here Come the Munsters' is a television film that aired on Fox October 31, 1995. It stars Edward Herrmann, Christine Taylor and Veronica Hamel. The film tells the story of the Munster family's arrival in the US from Transylvania. This is an adaptation/update to the main characters of the US TV series from the 1960s, 'The Munsters'.
Plot
The Munster family is tired of being persecuted back in Transylvania, and on finding part of a letter from cousin Marilyn in California, decides to head to the United States. On arrival they find that Marilyn's father, Norman Hyde, is missing, and her mother (Herman's sister) Elsa Hyde is in a coma. Marilyn details this in the letter but Spot burned the mail (and the letter carrier) so this comes as a surprise to the Munsters.
The family must find out what has happened to Marilyn's father, and find a way to revive Elsa. They also have to try to live in new surroundings as they try to "fit in" in America.
It turns out that Norman was trying to find a way to make his "peaches and cream" daughter, Marilyn, look a little more like the rest of the clan, but somehow the experiment backfired and Norman Hyde became Brent Jekyll. (This is a take on 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' by Robert Louis Stevenson.)
Brent Jekyll is running for Congress. A plank of his campaign platform is trying to get foreigners out of America (this includes the Munsters). In a more sinister part of the story, it seems that Hyde was sabotaged and transformed into Jekyll purposely, to bring forward a politician without a past to whom people would listen.
As the story unfolds, the family tries to save the day. With Herman arrested and placed in jail, Grandpa creates a replica of him from spare parts and uses it to help him escape. They flee from the scene in the Munster Koach.
Cast
Main cast
*Edward Herrmann as Herman Munster*Veronica Hamel as Lily Munster
*Robert Morse as Grandpa
*Christine Taylor as Marilyn Hyde
*Mathew Botuchis as Eddie Munster
Guest cast
*Troy Evans as Detective Warshowski
*Joel Brooks as Larry Walker
*Sean O'Bryan as Detective Cartwell
*Mary Woronov as Mrs. Edna Dimwitty
*Jeff Trachta as Brent Jekyll
*Max Grodnchik as Norman Hyde
*Judy Gold as Elsa Munster Hyde
*Amanda Bearse as Mrs. Pearl
* Irwin Keyes as One-eyed man
* Jim Fisher as Villager
* Scotch Ellis Loring as Flight Attendant
* Brian George as Immigration Official
* Robertson Dean as Angry Dog Owner
* Jim Staahl as Quaranteen Official
* Keone Young as Ralph, the limo driver
* Kellen Hathaway as Trick-or-Treater
* Bill Prady as Paramedic
* T.J. McInturff as Stanley
* Francesca Smith as Monique
* Jane Carr as Cassie O'Leary
* James Keane as Maitre d'
* James Basile as Waiter
* Lynne Marie Stewart as Mrs. Waffer
* Judy Kain as Mrs. Hersby
* Tommy Bertelsen as Ted Walker
* Ralph P. Martin as Sergeant
* Jim Jackman as Front Desk Officer
* Christina Venuti as Woman at Fundraiser
* Aaron Paris as Transformed Band Leader
* Dee Wallace as Mrs. Walker (uncredited)
Cameos
Four of the original 'Munsters' surviving cast members in that time - Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick and Pat Priest - appeared in a short cameo scene in an Italian restaurant as a bickering family, with Herman (Edward Herrmann) acting as their waiter. The original Herman from the TV series, Fred Gwynne, had died two years before.Production
Writing
While the movie draws on many elements of the original series, it departs from the established "Munsters" canon. In this version Marilyn's last name is given as Hyde and she is the daughter of Herman's sister, not Lily's (as she is in the original series and in "The Munsters Today"). Also, in this film Marilyn is the same age as she is in the series, however Marilyn has said in the original series that Herman and Lily have raised her since she was a baby. In terms of the Munster's house, the ownership was changed. In the original series and "The Munsters Today", the Munsters owned the house but in this version they are just house-sitting for Herman's sister. Grandpa's lab is shown to be under the stairs (where "Spot" lived) instead of under a trap door in the living room as in the original series and in "The Munsters Today". Finally, in this version, Grandpa uses a spell to create The Munster Koach by transforming a hearse. This is in contradiction to the original series and "The Munsters Today" where Lily buys it as a gift for Herman.See also
* 'Mockingbird Lane', a 2012 TV special originally intended as a pilot for a reimagined 'Munsters' series.
References
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