''The Munsters Today'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

and a revival of the original 1964–66 sitcom '' The Munsters'' that aired in syndication from October 8, 1988, to May 25, 1991.

Plot

The series concerns the day-to-day life of a family of benign monsters, with married couple Herman Munster and vampire Lily Munster. Lily's Father Grandpa, who is also a vampire, lives with the family. Herman and Lily have a son named Eddie, who is a werewolf, and their niece, Marilyn, whom the family deems as strange, but is the only “normal” member of the family, also lives with them. This sequel series starts with Grandpa creates "Sleeping Chambers," coffins which make the user fall asleep for a selected amount of time, and insists the entire family try them out. After Grandpa sets the dial for 30 minutes and shuts the door, a flash of light and a falling beam change the dial to "Forever." 22 years later, a man named Mr. Prescott and his assistant explore the Munsters' house with plans to turn it into a parking lot when they unknowingly awaken the Munsters from their Sleeping Chambers. Finding themselves in the 1980s, the Munsters work to adjust themselves to the current time period.

Cast

Main cast

* John Schuck as Herman Munster *

Lee Meriwether Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935) is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss America 1955 pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daught ...

as Lily Munster * Jason Marsden as Edward "Eddie" Wolfgang Munster *

Hilary Van Dyke Hilary Van Dyke (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress and singer who began her career in TV advertisements before landing the role of Marilyn Munster in ''The Munsters Today ''The Munsters Today'' is an American sitcom and a revival of ...

as Marilyn Munster * Howard Morton as "Grandpa" Vladimir Dracula

Recurring cast

* Mary Cadorette as Dee Dee Nelson * Richard Steven Horvitz as Howie Buchanan * Greg Mullavey as Roger Nelson *

Scott Reeves Gregory Scott Reeves (born May 16, 1966) is an American actor and country music singer. His best known roles include Noel Laughlin on ABC's '' Nashville'', Ryan McNeil on ''The Young and the Restless'', and Steven Webber on '' General Hospi ...

as Dustin Nelson

Special guest stars

* Kaye Ballard as

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess * Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature * "Mother Ea ...

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti, October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast ...

as Genie *

Shelley Berman Sheldon Leonard Berman (February 3, 1925 – September 1, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, writer, teacher, and lecturer. In his comedic career, he was awarded three gold records and he won the first Grammy Award for a spoken comedy reco ...

as Sam Hawkins * Jonathan Brandis as Matt Glover * Dr. Joyce Brothers as Mrs. Cousins *

Ruth Buzzi Ruth Ann Buzzi ( ; born July 24, 1936) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She has appeared on stage, in films, and on television. She is best known for her performances on the comedy-variety show '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 196 ...

as Dracula's Mother * Gordon Cooper as Himself *

Bill Daily William Edward Daily (August 30, 1927 – September 4, 2018) was an American actor and comedian known for his sitcom work as Major Roger Healey on ''I Dream of Jeannie'', and Howard Borden on '' The Bob Newhart Show''. Early life and earl ...

as Count Strimpkin * Dustin Diamond as Rob * Moosie Drier as Andy Graves * Nancy Dussault as Dr. Sandra Brown * Nanette Fabray as Dottie * Norman Fell as Mr. Maurice * Christopher Fielder as Damien * Lucy Lee Flippin as Natasha Jones * Kathleen Freeman as Grandma * George Furth as Dr. Carver * Zsa Zsa Gabor as Herself *

Kip King Kip King (born Jerome Charles Kattan; August 11, 1937 – July 15, 2010) was an American film, television and voice actor. He was the father of American television sketch comedian Chris Kattan. Life and career King was born Jerome Charles Kat ...

as Burt Fearman *

Dave Madden David Joseph Madden (December 17, 1931 – January 16, 2014) was a Canadian-born American actor. His most famous role came on the 1970s sitcom ''The Partridge Family'', in which he played the group's manager, Reuben Kincaid, opposite Shirley J ...

as Mr. Preston *

Eddie Mekka Edward Rudolph Mekjian (June 14, 1952 – November 27, 2021), known professionally as Eddie Mekka, was an American actor, best known for his role as Carmine Ragusa on the hit television sitcom ''Laverne & Shirley''. Early life Mekka was born in ...

as Mr. Sweetzer * Richard Moll as

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...

Pat Morita Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on '' Happy Days'', Mr. Miyagi in ''The Karate Kid'' film series, Captain Sam Pak on the sitc ...

as Mr. Watanabe * Don Most as Barney Morley *

Lois Nettleton Lois June Nettleton (August 16, 1927 – January 18, 2008) was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress. She received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards. Early life Lois Nettleton was born on Aug ...

as Jessica Brown *

Daniel Riordan Daniel Riordan is an American actor. He is best known for providing the voice of Alduin, the main antagonist of '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''. Filmography Film Television Video games References External links * * {{DEFAULTSO ...

as Headlock Henderson *

Marcia Wallace Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) was an American actress and comedian, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies. She is best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitc ...

as Dr. Susan Evans *

Jo De Winter Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy * ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series *"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from '' Tales of Us'' *"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from ''Lambs Anger'' * Jo a ficti ...

as Katja Dracula * Yetta as Shirley

Production

Development

This color revival of '' The Munsters'' starred John Schuck (Herman),

(Lily), Howard Morton (Grandpa),

(Marilyn) and Jason Marsden (Eddie), and broadcast 73 episodes from October 8, 1988, to May 25, 1991, giving it more first-run episodes than the original series. The pilot explained the 22-year gap following the original series by showing the family as they were in 1966. They were testing out a machine that Grandpa had created. The machine allows someone to sleep for ages without aging. But then an accident took place; the family then proceeds to sleep for years, only to wake up in 1988. It was created following a failed attempt to revive the show with most of the original cast ( Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis and

Yvonne De Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and later ...

) in the 1981 NBC telefilm ''

The Munsters' Revenge ''The Munsters' Revenge'' is a 1981 American made-for-television science fiction comedy film based on the 1964–1966 sitcom ''The Munsters'' which reunited original cast members Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo and Al Lewis. It was the last film ...

''.

Episodes

Pilot

Season 1 (1988–89)

Season 2 (1989–90)

Season 3 (1990–91)

Reception

The series lasted three seasons in syndication, and proved popular with international audiences. The series proved to be very popular in the United Kingdom where the ITV channel started to air it from 1990, scheduling it in the Saturday lunchtime slot (usually 12.30pm) which attracted a younger family audience and proved very popular, however some ITV regions choose to air it in on Saturday early evenings (around 5.30pm), providing a decent family-friendly lead-in for their important Saturday prime time schedule.

Awards and nominations

Stations

References

External links

*
The Munsters Today Information Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munsters Today, The 1988 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms 1990s American sitcoms American fantasy television series American sequel television series English-language television shows Fantasy comedy television series First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television series about families Television series by Universal Television The Munsters