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It’s Halloween week, so why not bring a little light-hearted spookiness to Nerds United?

This week’s #ToughCallTuesday comes our way from longtime supporter Josh, who said this week’s column should be:

The Munsters versus The Addams Family.*

(Note – To prevent any unnecessary arguments, we’re only talking about the classic television shows. This discussion does not include the movies of the 1990’s.)

The Munsters a group of monsters who are either oblivious to their differences or hope the rest of the community overlooks them as well. They just seem to want to fit in. The Addams Family is relatively normal from a genetic standpoint (no Frankenstein’s monster, vampire, or wolf boy) who are just…odd.

John Astin (previously mentioned in #ToughCallTuesday 4 – Batman ’66 Villains) played a witty, if not charming, Gomez Addams. There was something cool about Gomez. Maybe it was the cigars. But I always thought Astin’s Gomez was smooth, yet comical.

Morticia Addams kept it simple with that slinky black dress and minimal jewelry. Carolyn Jones made a better Morticia than her big-screen counterpart Anjelica Huston (purely opinion). I mean, if you look past her obsession with cyanide and other components used for “flavoring,” she seemed almost normal.

Wednesday and Pugsley were far more innocent and well-meaning in the show than they were in the cinematic version. Wednesday just wanted to raise her pet black widow (you can have all my “NOPE’s” right there) and decapitating dolls. Pugsley was an intelligent lad who at times even tried to “fit in.” He spent time engineering an abundance of gadgets and machines, bonded with dear old dad, and had a pet octopus.

Uncle Fester was an oddball. He likes to blow stuff up and can illuminate a light bulb just by putting it in his mouth. My clearest memories of Uncle Fester are the bed of nails and the head in a vice. Lurch was the butler and could easily be summoned when Gomez or Morticia yanked on the noose (seriously…a noose. I just learned that. I always thought it was just a fancy rope). Lurch’s famous words “You rang” are still echoed through the halls of the Casa de Mehochko, and have been for several years. And then there’s Thing – the helpful hand around the house. A longtime companion of Gomez, Thing’s skill set includes getting the mail, answering the phone, lighting cigars, and…I’m guessing other tasks one does with their hands.

As for the Munsters – a smaller troupe, but unique in their own way.

Herman Munster was a blue-collar worker and the sole bread winner for his 1960’s family. He went out and tried to have a normal, suburban life. Before all that, he traversed Europe, where he met and eventually married Lily. Then he moved with Lily and her father to America, joining the US Army and fighting in World War II.

Lily (nee Dracula) is a vampire, hence the maiden name. This was one of the first shows that featured a strong matriarch and a somewhat bumbling male figure who gets “the look” from his wife. OH MAN! This might have been the show that originated “the look.” Lily also keeps an eye on her son Eddie, and pities her niece Marilyn because she was “hideous” in her normality. And being the smart woman she is, when Herman and Grandpa are fighting, she typically sits it out.

Eddie was a young werewolf boy who attended grade school, had friends, fangs, a wicked widow’s peak, pointy ears, and the worst outfit ever. But he had a sweet little stuffed werewolf. Young Eddie was quite proud of his father, even if he embellished some of Herman’s heroics.

Marilyn was the normal member of the family…which meant she was ostracized be her loved ones. Lily’s niece had nothing “wrong” with her, loved her family, and thought they were the normal ones. It was said that her father was a werewolf, but it was never confirmed what her mother was.

Grandpa “Sam Dracula” was an in-home geriatric (or beyond, seeing as he was hundreds of years old). Unlike vampires of today, there was no sparkling. Grandpa could change into a bat or a werewolf. He spent a lot of time in his cellar-based laboratory. And he often worked some schemes with Herman…to varying degrees of success. But he had a sweet car:

These shows also had incredibly memorable and lasting theme songs (*snap snap*). While I think The Addams Family theme stands out a bit more, when researching for this column, I listened to both, and I was shocked with just how memorable The Munsters’ theme song is. I mean, it absolutely fits the mid-1960’s. It is a little dated, but still, having not heard it for years, I was surprised with how quickly I jumped back in and knew the melody in my head.

The verdict:

There are reasons to love both of these shows. They are iconic and while one has been transferred to the big screen and the other had an attempted reboot for today’s television audience, these are two franchises who hit their high marks with their original content. It is for that reason that I choose……

The Munsters.

It was, by many accounts, the first show that showed a more dim-witted, oafish husband/father-figure. But Herman was that inept and still scored a gorgeous vampiress. It doesn’t take Gomez much effort to exude confidence and bring about that well-polished exterior. I just like to think that Herman had to work a little harder for it. PLUS, Herman was a WWII vet.

Furthermore, The Munsters were cancelled in 1966 and replaced with Batman the Series. And I don’t have to explain to you all of the benefits of that particular show.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments, and if you have a topic idea like Josh did, let me know.

Batman ’66…the colorful, campy version that pre-dated the Dark Knight.

Batman was on twice a week when it aired originally, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Now I won’t pretend that I watched it when it aired originally. Obviously, I wasn’t even born yet. But I did watch a lot of this show in syndication years later.

The Bill Dozier/Adam West Batman was my first introduction to Batman, as I’m certain it was for many in my generation. I didn’t actually watch the 1989 Michael Keaton Batman movie until a few years later, watching it at my friend Andy’s house on video cassette (kids, you can learn more about the ancient technology known as the VHS here).

There are a few things I remember vividly about the show. First and foremost, I think, is the legendary Batmobile.

Second is the bust of William Shakespeare that, when you pop the top and push the red button, you Bat Cave. It was something that the designers of the last Rocksteady installment of the Batman series, “Arkham Knight,” borrowed for their own purposes.

There was the plethora of Bat-gadgets. My favorite was the ever-popular Bat-Shark-Repellent.

But there were villains. SO MANY VILLAINS! In 120 episodes, there were 34 different villains. Villains who were smart, cunning, or alluring. And villains who were goofy and wouldn’t be taken seriously in today’s hyper-realistic, overly serious television programming. And yet, these villains were portrayed by some of the biggest names of the day. Vincent Price as Egghead, Milton Berle as Louie the Lilac, Art Carney (of The Honeymooners fame) as the Archer, and Zsa Zsa Gabor as Minerva. Also, and this is true…you can tell people that Liberace was a Batman villain.

But for the sake of time, let’s just stick with some of the more familiar characters.

The Joker – Cesar Romero was already well-known in Hollywood when producer Bill Dozier called him to the studio to play the Crown Prince of Crime. The Joker debuted and was as riotous as always, with his boisterous laugh, his gag weapons, and his dim-witted henchmen.

Romero’s Joker only appeared in nineteen of the 120 episodes of the series.

Burgess Meredith was the infamous villain known as The Penguin, a tuxedo he donned just nineteen times himself. The long-stemmed cigarette, the top hat. The Penguin had the iconic look. While this was a decade before Rocky, Burgess had been an actor since the mid-1930s, just another testament to the fearless aspirations of Dozier and Co. They weren’t going after small potatoes to fill roles on some goofy television show for kids. They took this seriously. Well, as seriously as they could for the late 1960s.

Catwoman was played by three actresses. Julie Newmar suited up the most times, playing the feline twelve times. Eartha Kitt portrayed Catwoman three times, and Lee Meriwether twice. In fact, finding the number of times Meriwether appeared as Catwoman meant a lot of scrolling down on the IMDb page, with the total cast of 630. Yvonne Craig, who played Batgirl/Barbara Gordon, was my first tv crush before I knew what that even meant. But right behind her was the lovely Newmar, who exuded appeal. Eartha Kitt brought a whole new element to the character, as I believe she was the only one of the three to actually purr. I’d never be so bold as to tell Eartha Kitt to do something different. She rocked it as Catwoman, though Newmar is still my preferred Catwoman.

Frank Gorshin’s Riddler character only appeared in ten episodes, but left an indelible mark on my memory. He had that “smarter-than-you” cackle and over-animated jumping and kicking. Plus, the way he chose to attack Batman’s brain power rather than his physical strength meant that The Riddler could have been anyone, not necessarily someone in top physical shape. In fact, in Season 2, The Riddler was played by Gomez Addams, John Astin. But Gorshin’s my guy.

Of course, I guess that could be said about any of Batman’s rogue gallery mentioned here.

Then again, it was the 60’s, and in a time when Batman’s own physique wasn’t well-defined, and Robin wore hot pants, anything was possible. It truly was the golden age of television.

But this is called #ToughCallTuesday for a reason, meaning I have to play favorites. And wouldn’t you know – it is perhaps my toughest call to date. All have their merits, and they were all played by actors or actresses who seemed to thoroughly enjoy their time on this hero show.

BATMAN, Frank Gorshin, 1966. TM and Copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved, Courtesy: Everett Collection

Plus, one of my favorite sayings is “Riddle me this, Batman.”

Thanks, Frank Gorshin’s Riddler, for being me favorite Batman ’66 villain.

Agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments. And leave a suggestion for next week’s #ToughCallTuesday!

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Tag Archives: john astin

#ToughCallTuesday 8 – Freaky Families

The Munsters versus The Addams Family.*

#ToughCallTuesday 4 – Batman ’66 Villains

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