Mockingbird Lane - It didn't suck!

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Admiral2, Oct 27, 2012.

  1. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Eddie Izzard was as fabulous as you'd expect. Jerry O'Connell nearly gave the pilot some heart.

    The hour format was too bloated. Like No Ordinary Family, dramedy really calls for a half hour format, the tension in moods is too draining to sustain for that long.

    But the women, except for the neighbor, were dull. (Some of us are too jaded to get romantic over our TV sets.) The kid's unhappiness wasn't amusing but is too far fetched to actually feel any sympathy for. Only the wheelchair bound neighbor showed any signs of genuinely comedic conflict, however dark.

    Glad to see it, but no loss for not getting picked up I suspect.
     
  2. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I forgot to set the DVR. Dang.

    From what I've read it sounds like it should have been a movie. The performances were good, the visuals interesting but it would have been hard to keep up the plots (Grandpa killing people, Herman getting his heart replaced on a regular basis) on a weekly basis without going stale.
     
  3. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  4. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Just finished watching it on Hulu.

    I think Fuller lost the network in the first three minutes when
    a group of kids got “eaten” by a werewolf. Yes, I realize they were just “ravaged” and “left naked,” but I think that scene alone was a lot darker than what the network wanted for a primetime TV show. And when you consider it got darker from there (the gory heart scene, Grandpa’s blood cookies, a scoutmaster’s corpse with his chest wide open while grandpa drank his blood) , the network bailed.
    Don’t get me wrong. I thought some of it was fun for us geeks but I think the network, given the brand, wanted something a little more “family friendly” than a TV-14 show.

    O’Connell’s Herman was likeable but, for lack of better term, too intelligent and “deep.” Herman doesn’t need to be a complete dullard with bolts in his neck, but I think it needed more of a good natured, slightly awkward, father...more of gentle giant than zombified male model. I understand having Herman looking like the Universal Frankenstein monster wouldn't work in today's world but Herman should still be a big lunky guy that is a bit like a big child. In many ways, Cheyenne Jackson (the scoutmaster) would have been a better Herman. Patrick Warbuton, even with O’Connell’s subdued makeup, would have killed in this role (no pun intended).

    My favorite moment with Herman was when
    he had to admit to Lily he and Grandpa played to kill the scoutmaster, and-respectively-take his heart and drink his blood
    . That echoed back to the original series and how Herman and Grandpa would come up with some wacky scheme and Lily would chastise them both.

    Izzard was good. He’s always good. Clearly, the highlight of the show.

    I appreciated the fact that Fuller didn’t go for the easy joke of having
    Marie’s dog bark its head off at Grandpa. As soon as I saw the Corgi I thought “oh no, here THAT cliche comes.”
    Happily though he was above that.

    I was a bit disappointed with Del Rossi. She’s proven on other shows, including “Better Off Ted” and “Arrested Development” that she can deftly balance being likeable and vampish. Yet, ironically enough, here she played an actual vampire and she made her character extremely sweet and actually a little bland.

    I liked the kid that played Eddie. He did a good job playing normal, but self aware.

    I didn’t care for Marilyn at all. She was much a caricature of a 1950s ingenue. Why would they spend so much time supposedly ‘updating’ the show and then have someone who looks and acts like she’s from five decades earlier as a major part of the family?

    Herman in the scoutmaster uniform
    at the end was a nice touch.

    Overall, I think it would have worked better as a movie and/or a recast/slightly rewritten Herman.
     
  5. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    I had some mixed reactions to it. Overall I liked it. Sometimes it was a bit too dark and graphic. I agree that Herman should be a little more different in looks and actions. In many ways he seemed more "normal" and less like a typical Munster. I did like the story itself and the special effects were great and as a lover of monsters I was happy that after almost 50 years we finally saw Spot the dragon!!!
     
  6. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    Just for clarification. Is this not going to be a series and is this all we'll get?
     
  7. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Fuller insists it might still go to series, but I just don't see it happening unless the pilot turns out to have been the most watched thing on TV this week. And I really, really, doubt it was.
     
  8. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    If it doesn't go to series I hope they release the pilot on DVD it would be fun to watch each Halloween.
     
  9. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    You liked it a lot more than I did, then. I didn't hate it, even kind of liked it, but I can't see watching it again, especially when you've got so many other classics to watch on any given Halloween.
     
  10. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    So, so far here the general feeling is the show's not perfect but okay, Herman could have been cast better, it probably wouldn't have made it as a series and Eddie Izzard - unsurprisingly - owned it. And there's one absolute 'No.' Sounds about right.

    Personally, I think it could do well with one of those 6-episode deals. I doubt you could sustain what was in the pilot for 22 or 13 eps, but it shouldn't be that hard to make it work for five more shows.
     
  11. Dark Gilligan

    Dark Gilligan Writer Fleet Captain

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    Herman had a throwaway line that I think was rather important. He didn't want to replace his heart because it was his "last original part". I took that to mean his various body parts had been replaced over ther years one by one. He might very well have begun his "life" looking exactly like the Frankenstein Monster, but was updated through the centuries. It gives a rational logic to his very contemporary look today.
     
  12. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    U.S. network TV doesn't do six-episode shows. At least not intentionally.
     
  13. TIN_MAN

    TIN_MAN Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    About Herman; maybe something more along the lines of "Young Frankenstein", maybe not bolts in the neck and all, but a more human looking Munster/monster, Yet still with enough presence to pull off the whole "this guys not quite normal" vibe?
     
  14. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    That makes perfect sense.

    Ashley Judd's "Missing" was six episodes. Seemed pretty intentional to me.

    Ages ago CBS gave the original "Police Squad" six episodes, as well as Norman Lear's "704 Houser Street." Obviously, it's not a common occurrence, but it's not unheard of.
     
  15. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Nope. It was intended as an ongoing series. After it was cancelled, Judd's people retroactively decreed it a mini-series so she could get nominated in the 'best actress in a minseries or movie' Emmy category.

    Neither "Police Squad" (which was actually on ABC, BTW) or "Houser Street" were intended as anything other than ongoing series. They both got six episodes (actually, "Houser" only got five) simply because that is how long the networks decided to wait before cancelling them due to low ratings. In fact, in the case of "Houser," the network didn't even bother to air all the episodes filmed.
     
  16. Kelso

    Kelso Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Fantastic. I loved every minute.
     
  17. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    Network TV in the U.S. used to do lots of 6 episode stuff. You just mentioned it, "mini-series". Some of them even got sequels. The best example that comes to mind is "North and South". It got what, 2 sequels?
     
  18. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yeah, they USED to do it. They don't anymore. In fact, I suspect it's no longer cost effective. Unlike the 1970s or 80s the audiences are too fragmented by cable, etc., to get the big viewership that justifies the budget and, further, too many people would DVR it and FF through the commercials. They don't do very many (if any) "made for TV" movies any more either.
     
  19. nvek86

    nvek86 Commander Red Shirt

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  20. Gojira

    Gojira Commodore Commodore

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    I devote the entire month of October to Halloween movies so I could easily fit this in.