Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ April 6 2012, 3:31 PM BSTYes, as you say, it would be a realist version of a quite bizarre sitcom idea, that somehow worked brilliantly. Think a dark revision of it would be great.
The Jim Carrey film 'Cable Guy' is almost like the take I mentioned above; though it's obviously still a comedy.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ April 6 2012, 1:29 PM BSTIt's not as though The Munsters owns the rights to 'monster family in a house' idea.
No, but they do own the rights to the names Herman Munster, Lily Munster, Marilyn Munster... They're just - apparently - playing the characters more for drama than for straight-up laughs, so it is entirely right that it's not called The Munsters, as it's not in any way a remake or revisit to the exact same show.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ April 6 2012, 1:29 PM BSTIt's like doing a remake of 'Some Mothers Do Ave Em'; but instead of a comic farce, it's a dark psycho horror about this mental manchild in a beret who comes into someones life and destroys it piece by piece, sending them mad.
Quote: Aaron @ April 6 2012, 4:19 PM BSTNo, but they do own the rights to the names Herman Munster, Lily Munster, Marilyn Munster... They're just - apparently - playing the characters more for drama than for straight-up laughs, so it is entirely right that it's not called The Munsters, as it's not in any way a remake or revisit to the exact same show.
Well exactly; if it's not The Munsters, just give them different names. Harold Monstroso.
But it is the Munsters, presumably. The family, the characters. Changing the precise format of the show doesn't mean that the characters have to differ, but it's good of them to avoid the additional confusion and comparison by changing the name.
It's just called the Munsters to get buzz off the idea... we wouldn't be talking about it for one thing if it were Monster Family X. Also it prob' helps it dodge the very obvious fact that they're just remaking Grimm.
A show that doesn't seem to get a lot of mentions is Bored To Death. I really identified with it, and the way the show is shot and looks, wow. The gist of the show is that Jonathan (Jason Schwartzman) is a struggling novelist, who puts an ad out on Craiglist offering his services as an unlicensed private detective. It's really sensitively told, and witty.
Jonathan Ames: "I'm not good with anger, I go straight to depression."
Eastbound & Down is another fantastic one, completely on the other end of the spectrum from Bored To Death, just endlessly quotable. It's about an amazing asshole baseball player, and his journey back into the major league.
Kenny Powers: "Sure, I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is, I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism."
I find it a bit of a slog to watch. Danson's great as always, and there's nothing wrong with Schwartzman's performance per se, but I often find him rather Timothy Lumsden-like in being a trodden-on underdog even when he's in the right, something that's both frustrating to me as a viewer and unbelievable as the actions of a real person.
I know it's old but, I'm really getting into Seinfield at the moment as they are running it on Sky Atlantic. I like the little snippets of stand-up that are in the show and also the characters are really funny and work well together.
These next two might be Canadian but, I also liked Trailer Park Boys when it was on as the storylines were outrageous (check out the conky episode) and Kenny Vs Spenny. K Vs S was a show about two friends who would each week come up with a new challenge where one had to beat the other, with the loser having to complete a forefit however, Kenny would always cheat to win. There was one episode I remember he didn't cheat but, he still won.
I'm quite fond of Archer.
Started watching a family sitcom called 'The Middle', starring Ray's wife in 'Everybody Loves Raymond' and the Janitor from 'Scrubs'. It's indebted to 'Malcolm In The Middle', but a few episodes in it's a nice watch and pretty funny. Think it's into its third season now, worth a look.
Although I am not a fan of US humour , I must confess that one of my all-time favourite comedy TV shows was M*A*S*H.
I found the film weak by comparison.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ April 15 2012, 2:34 PM BSTStarted watching a family sitcom called 'The Middle', starring Ray's wife in 'Everybody Loves Raymond' and the Janitor from 'Scrubs'. It's indebted to 'Malcolm In The Middle', but a few episodes in it's a nice watch and pretty funny. Think it's into its third season now, worth a look.
I admit I got bored after the first two episodes. Not that it was in any way bad per se, but I didn't find it all that funny and failed to grab me. Does it bed in as it goes on?
I gave The Middle a chance for the first few episodes but what a boring show, I had no interest in the characters at all, I can't imagine I would ever no matter how much.
Regarding the topic I watch, so prefer, American shows to British, and am such a fan of so many American sitcoms like Cheers and Dick Van Dyke, and Arrested Development.
Quote: Aaron @ April 15 2012, 4:18 PM BSTI admit I got bored after the first two episodes. Not that it was in any way bad per se, but I didn't find it all that funny and failed to grab me. Does it bed in as it goes on?
Bored? Huh, I didn't feel that way at all. I've only seen about five episodes, so don't know how it settles in long term. It's not top drawer so far, but I've enjoyed it.