Classic Rant #621 (November 18, 2011): The World HAS Gone Crazy

I look at the calendar, and it says November 18.

It's a mere six days before Thanksgiving, and a week until Black Friday.

But when I saw this news item, I could have sworn it had April 1, April Fool's Day, written all over it.

NBC and the people that did the failed show "Pushing Daisies" are reportedly teaming up to create a revival of the classic CBS sitcom "The Munsters."

That in itself is an insipid thing to do, but they are really throwing themselves into the dumpster by what they plan to do with the show.

They are planning on making it into an hour long drama.

That's right, an hour long drama.

How can you make a situation comedy featuring a family of oddball characters like this into a drama?

Remember, "The Munsters" was originally a takeoff/satire on one of the creators' original shows.

Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher were the talent involved in the creation of "Leave It To Beaver," one of TV's most beloved sitcoms. The family was perfect--although Beaver was not, which is where most of the comedy came from--but they lived in a perfect city, had a perfect mom, a perfect dad, Wally was the perfect brother, and even Eddie Haskell was the perfect instigator.

A few years later, Connelly and Mosher came up with "The Munsters" as a perfect counterpoint to their earlier show. Here, you had a family of what most of us would call monsters, but they also had the "perfect" family. The only "imperfect" one was Marilyn, because she ... well, she stuck out like a sore thumb.

How can you make this show into a drama? Just the sight of the hulking Herman, the gorgeous but ghoulish Lily, the smart but vampiric Grandpa, and the mite Eddie would have to put a smile on your face.

How can they make this into a drama?

Will Herman be having affairs with the women he works with at the parlor, because his hulking stature also brings with it some other unforeseen prowesses?

Will Lily actually be having an affair with the milkman, because, like her husband, she has certain prowesses too?

How about Grandpa? Will he create a device so he can be a peeping tom on the rest of Mockingbird Heights?

And little Eddie ... is he really a drug dealer/user, and that's why his skin is so green?

Let's not forget Marilyn ... heaven knows what they have in store for this character.

Look, it's not like "The Munsters" haven't been revived several times already.

Not only did some of the original cast appear in the theatrical "Munster, Go Home" (which actually was supposed to herald the show's third season, which never happened) and a TV movie here or there, but other actors have portrayed the family in several TV movies and one absolutely dreadful 1980s show "The New Munsters."

Several years ago, the Wayan Brothers were supposed to be involved with a revival of the show--with an all-black cast.

But to actually make such a comedic situation into a drama ... well, that's why network television is so bad nowadays.

I guarantee they will have a "Charlie's Angels" situation on their hands if this thing ever sees the light of day.

I give it one or two episodes, tops.

And while they're at it, why not make "I Love Lucy" into a drama too. Heck, I always wondered what Ethel saw in the much older Fred ...

Maybe there's a premise here for something really, really big.