The Munsters: The Complete Series [12 Discs] [DVD]

Those creepy-but-lovable residents of 1313 Mockingbird Lane are on deck for 38 hilarious half-hours during season one of The Munsters. Seen throughout the season are Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster, a softhearted replica of the Frankenstein monster; Yvonne de Carlo as Herman's voluptuously vampirish wife, Lily; Al Lewis as Grandpa Munster, a 350-year-old Dracula clone who spends most of his time cooking up mischief in his laboratory; and Butch Patrick as Herman and Lily's young son, Eddie, a budding werewolf. During the season's first 13 episodes, Beverly Owen appears as the Munsters' beautiful niece Marilyn, the only normal-looking member of the family (though she thinks she's a homely freak). Thereafter, and throughout the rest of the series' run, Pat Priest is seen as Marilyn. Some of the season's funniest entries include "Pink's Pique," in which the gas company is in for quite a shock when they accidentally build a pipeline in the Munsters' dungeon -- er, basement; "Low-Cal Munster," featuring Paul Lynde as a nearsighted doctor who puts Herman on a diet (and who, fortunately for his own sanity, can't see what Herman really looks like!); "Autumn Croakus," wherein Grandpa's nearly four-century lifespan may come to an end at the hands of a murderous widow; "Herman the Great," with Herman becoming a pro wrestler to pay for Eddie's education; "Eddie's Nickname," featuring a magical milk shake which, thanks to Grandpa's bungling, grows a thick beard; "Far Out Munsters," a spoof of "bizarre" '60s rock & roll groups featuring future softcore film producer Zalman King and The Standells; and "Herman the Rookie," the one in which Herman gets a tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers as manager Leo Durocher and former football star Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch look on with mouths agape. Two of the more fascinating first-season Munsters episodes are "Love Comes to Mockingbird Heights," featuring a cameo appearance by another of Universal's copyrighted monsters, the Creature from the Black Lagoon (aka the Munsters' "Cousin Gilbert"); and "Come Back Little Googie," guest starring child actor Bill Mumy, who had been the series producers' first choice for the role of Eddie Munster -- but whose mother did not like the idea of subjecting her boy to a daily two-hour makeup session.~Hal Erickson