You know, people who liked this should probably track down SPIDER BABY, which is this weird cult movie from 1964. Imagine the Addams Family if the Addamses actually killed and ate their visitors . . . .
It is always remarkable how people who insist that rules and definitions don't apply and it's all a matter of taste so often are the first to be so abusive when someone else's taste doesn't match theirs. The show was in many respects spastic, pointless and confused. Add the unarguable feeling that it was tasteless, then deeming it stupid and moronic, is understandable. Well, I don't feel it was in bad taste. Fundamentally, humor is conflict, and in its essence conflict isn't tasteful. Herman fucking so hard his old heart is "broken" aims straight at the conflict between love and sex, not to mention self-image and reality. But, surely anyone with any judgment at all should be able to see why that might felt to be breaking the bounds of good taste? Also, a pilot should know better than to have a man go into cardiac arrest, then have Grandpa call that a perfectly good heart. Shit like that really is just stupid. How could they have left that in there after all the time they took in putting their best foot forward?
I understand criticism and people having different opinions but in what way was this spastic? I just don't get that one. Any examples? And pointless? Maybe you didn't like it or it didn't work for you but that's a rather shaky point to stand on (for any show).
The sudden tonal shift between the massacre in the opener and the non-massacre in dialogue is a nice example of spastic. You are allowed to quibble about the particular adjective "spastic" but that's all it would be: A quibble. As for pointless: Why have Marilyn try to save Eagle Scout just to kill him herself? To cutely say "Oops!" in a Betty Boop voice? Or to show Herman fretting over losing his heart and then conveniently throwing in another heart besotted with Lily? Why was the denouement of the pilot episode devoted to showing us Spot? I rather enjoyed some one liners. But there were quite enough problems even in the pilot that it is unlikely we're missing out much because it wasn't greenlit.
Were you watching a different show than us? Because Marilyn didn't kill the scout master; it was an accident, albeit one caused by being distracted by a monstrous man-bat stalking towards him. Marilyn could have easily fallen to her death, too, but she was a step or two in front of him.
^^Actually I'm inclined to agree with you. But in the discussion above the hints toward an evil Marilyn (who would have done this on purpose) were stretched to interpret Marilyn as a consistent character. I thought she was not, partly because like you I thought she was supposed to have killed the scoutmaster by accident. I was phrasing things with this context in mind. I think where we differ is that the hints about an evil Marilyn versus this scene (and Lily/Herman's discussion) of her, left Marilyn unfocused. For me, that meant dull, because it had no point. I think your real argument is with the people who thought Marilyn was the creepiest one of all and had conflict with Granpa (over what? not said, I think.) As I say, there were good one-liners etc. but the whole thing was just kind of off-kilter, and it seemed that NBC made a good call, all things considered.
I think Marilyn was worried about getting Steve out to fulfill Herman/Lily's wishes ("No one is getting eaten tonight.") which are ultimately to protect Eddie. I don't know that she shows any concern for the scoutmaster for the scoutmaster's sake. Her admonishments to Grandpa are "This is not how we treat company." and "Aunt Lily has expressly forbidden eating anyone in the house."
I believe it was his very last film, released after his death. A hell of a lot better than Bela's last movie!
I thought Herman ("her man") was the weakest role. Not sure if that was due to writing, acting, or directing. Grandpa? A scenery-shewing role that was very well chewed and enjoyable. Marilyn was perfect. Looks sweet on the outside, but inside, she's just as much a monster/Munster. I miss Eddie's widow's peak. I suppose, if they make it a series, Paul Ryan might be available after Tuesday (if things go as I hope).
Or "hu man"? (Or the name of the guy in the original ) He kind of grew on me, he was the glue of the family and the twisted moral compass, I liked how he could roll with both sides of his nature as if they were equally natural.
Exactly so. The notion that she was complicit in deliberately killing Steve is preposterously unobservant.
Not having been a watcher of the original series, what exactly is Marilyn's relation to the rest of the family? Is she a niece? Is there any back story on that?
Exactly the same as here. The unaired pilot that someone else linked to earlier even made reference to her being the daughter of Lily's sister.
The reference to the sister made it into the aired pilot too. If the show by some miracle gets picked up, the sister shold be played by Justine Bateman.
If Marilyn's motivation was concern for Eddie's welfare and Lily's orders, where did it go when the guy goes down? "Oops!" doesn't fit that scene either. Either it's just a cute one liner, which undermines (makes boring) the Marilyn character. Or it was supposed to be a hint of evil Marilyn, except as I complained earlier, if that was what it was supposed to be, it failed miserably. "Oops!" is too cutesy, either way.