![]() What a shame he's tied up with Sons of Anarchy because this would have been perfect for him. Imagine how much better Mockingbird Lane would have been if an actor like Ron Perlman had been given the role. ![]() There wasn't even any enjoyable chemistry between himself and de Rossi. A few scars on his neck and chest just don't cut it, and O'Connell just melted off the screen. ![]() He's just an affable sitcom-style dad, and that's monumentally boring for a show of this nature. The biggest issue I have is with Jerry O'Connell as Herman-who understandably has been toned down from Fred Gwynne's in terms of make-up, but doesn't compensate with a beefy personality. Mason Cook ( Spy Kids 4) was also really good as little Eddie Munster, the boy scout yet to be told he'll transform into a bloodthirsty wolf every Full Moon now he's hit puberty. Charity Wakefield actually had a meatier role as Marilyn, a character you'd imagine would be shoved into the background because she represents normality, so that was good to see. In comparison, Portia de Rossi was practically reduced to a few sequences walking into an off-camera wind machine in various dresses. The cast were the best thing about it-although it was noticeable how much was put on the shoulders of Eddie Izzard, who plays the only character with any notable desire to frighten the neighbours and get up to mischief. I enjoyed much of Mockingbird Lane, although not as much as I expected to. Onset reports suggest the real issue was between the show's two Bryan's-as the pilot's director Bryan Singer ( X-Men, Superman Returns) had a different approach to what Fuller had intended with the script, and the clout as co-executive producer to push his ideas through. Maybe the reason Mockingbird Lane didn't get picked up is because NBC were surprised by the level of gore and scary prosthetics of the show, although surely a compromise could have been reached between network and showrunner about adjusting the tone. A sequence with Herman undergoing a heart transplant was pretty disgusting, while a late appearance of Grandpa as a hairless albino man-bat was probably too much for most under-10s. It's quirky and dark, but mostly in a cartoonish way-although there were a few sequences and moments that felt surprisingly hardcore for a show you imagine would be aimed at families. If you've enjoyed Bryan Fuller's previous shows ( Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies) then you'll know what to expect from his take on The Munsters' brand. ![]() In case you don't know, Mockingbird Lane sets up the original premise of The Munsters during its pilot-as a family of monsters move into a dilapidated suburban house on the titular street: father Herman Munster, a Frankenstein's Monster now re-imagined sans the original's Boris Karloff look (Jerry O'Connell) his beautiful vampire wife Lily (Portia de Rossi) murderous vampire father-in-law Grandpa (Eddie Izzard) young son and unknowing werewolf Eddie (Mason Cook) and blonde teenage daughter Marilyn (Charity Wakefield), who's perfectly normal. Unfortunately, NBC decided against turning Mockingbird Lane into a full-blown TV series, but have instead re-marketed its pilot as a Halloween special-most likely to recoup some of the $10 million development cost. Ironically, Sonnenfeld would later become a producer of Bryan Fuller's Pushing Daisies television series, and Fuller was recently given the chance to update The Munsters for a new generation. The Munsters was always trapped in the shadow of The Addams Family during its original TV broadcast in the 1960s, and hasn't enjoyed its rival's continuing pop-culture interest-which received a substantial rejuvenation thanks to two witty movies in the 1990s from director Barry Sonnenfeld. Written by Bryan Fuller / directed by Bryan Singer
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