In the show, the Munster family move to the iconic house after their son, Eddie, turns into a werewolf during a camping trip with his Boy Scout troop. Meanwhile, Herman is having heart problems and in desperate need for a new heart.
The series stars Jerry O'Connell as Herman, Portia de Rossi as Lily, Eddie Izzard as Grandpa, Mason Cook as Eddie, and Charity Wakefield as Marilyn.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Herman Munster no longer looks like a Frankenstein monster and instead looks more like a regular human being. It helps that his scars are mostly covered up by his clothing.
- Adaptational Villainy: Grandpa is far more villainous and devious than he was in the original show.
- Alternate Identity Amnesia: Eddie has no recollection of his lycanthropic actions, thus it's easy for him to be Locked Out of the Loop and use a "baby bear" (which he doesn't blame, thinking it was just a hungry misplaced animal) as a cover-up.
- Art Evolution: In a sense. The monster like appearances of the original Munsters were done away with, making them look more like humans... Sort of.
- Black Dude Dies First: First to go in the "bear" attack is the black kid, second is the black camp leader, third is the Asian kid, and then it turns out that they survived after all.
- Bloodier and Gorier: Contains a lot more violence than any previous incarnation of the franchise.
- Blood Magic: Grandpa can use his vampiric blood to make "blood slaves," and make them do anything, even off themselves.
- Creepy Family: A family of monsters. With a twist, as the main characters look normal most of the time. They only became "creepy" if you get to know them.
- Darker and Edgier: Notably more so than The Munsters. For reference, the opening sequence involves a werewolf attacking a Boy Scout troop, much of which happens onscreen.
- Evil Patriarch: Gone is the chuckling old mad scientist with a taste for silly inventions. Grandpa is a complete bastard this time around.
- Godiva Hair / Toplessness from the Back: When Lilly materializes, she is naked, but facing away from the camera with her hair hanging down in front. She looks up to a colony of spiders, who proceed to dress her in webbing, a possible Shout-Out to the gossamer dress Yvonne de Carlo wore in the original.
- Hollywood Heart Attack: Averted. Herman suffers from a more realistic heart attack. Mutters "Oh, no..." before collapsing onto the ground.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Eddie is aware there's something off about his family, but doesn't know what. Marilyn knows full well what her family is, and is upset that she isn't one of them.
- Locked Out of the Loop: For the most part of the episode, Eddie's parents don't let him know he's a werewolf.
- Mythology Gag:
- Our first view of Herman is of him standing in front of a lantern, that makes it look like he's got a flat head, and bolts coming out of his neck. A shout-out to his original incarnation which looked much more Frankenstein-ish.
- Grandpa says he's been widowed many times, but still keeps in touch with his old wives, a reference to the original series.
- Spot the Dragon is invisible when he first shows up. This would seem to be a reference to the original version, in which he was never actually seen.
- Naked on Arrival: Grandpa and Lily, albeit briefly.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While trying to keep her cousin's new troop leader from Grandpa Munster, Marilyn accidentally sends him down the basement's stairs, breaking his neck.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Inverted. Grandpa (Sam Dracula) can be a swarm of rats, while Lily can become a smoky mist, Grandpa can appear in sunlight (although he uses a parasol), and Grandpa must be explicitly invited into the neighbors' house. Grandpa and Lily were brought to the house in boxes of earth (native soil?). All classic vampire traits from literature (not the movies).
- Scout-Out: Eddie is a part of a troop... Then a "baby bear" attacks. Apparently, that's the cover story for Eddie during their moves. Later, when they settle in on Mockingbird Lane, Herman is now a scout leader after getting the heart of Eddie's new scout leader.
- Shout-Out:
- During the opening sequence, a boy in his sleeping bag is slammed into a tree, causing the sleeping bag to explode into feathers, very much like a sequence in the film Prophecy.
- Grandpa briefly wears a red robe with a long train, and turns into a giant bat... Thing... just like a certain film vampire...
- When Herman is uh... Recharged / rebooted, the sound he makes is the same sound as an Apple. And Grandpa is holding an iPad. Which he uses with a quill.
- The Un-Favourite: Poor Marilyn. When she was born, her mother had trouble deciding whether to keep her or eat her. Grandpa managed to convince her not to, but is still rather blunt with Marilyn regarding her "condition."
