The Forgotten MANIAC MANSION Sitcom
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- Lucasfilm's Maniac Mansion is one of the most iconic graphic adventure games ever made, but did you know there was a TV show (loosely) based on it?
#Lucasfilm #ManiacMansion #sitcom
Not only did I expect this to not be real, when you said the show ran for THREE seasons, I started to doubt the very fabric of reality
😂😂😂
Even though this wasn't a proper adapation, I think an animated series based on on Maniac Mansion would have the potential to be pretty good. Some episodes could be about one of Dr. Fred's inventions going haywire and becoming a threat to mankind. Others could be more character-driven and focus on individual Edisons or kids. The whole thing could be animated in a style close to Day of the Tentacle.
I agree a cartoon would have been awesome for this, and still would be, but cheaply made live action sitcoms of the 80's and 90's do hold a special charm that can't be duplicated these days, and I find myself from time to time when flipping through free streaming services like PlutoTV on my Roku stopping, and binge watching some of them since they are just playing them in mass.
Would love a DOTT animated series!
That would be great. They could even make the 1st season pre-meteor, then have the meteor hit at the end of season 1. Season 2 could show Fred's descent into madness. Season 3 all about the kids/teens/young adults w/e. Season 4 starts with Sandy out and about partying it up. On her way home she's snagged up by Fred and... que the awesome theme music.. go right to where the game started
I remember finding out there was a game and being like "you mean, based on the show?"
Oh wow!
Same. We used to watch the show. I decided to look it up one day and found out about the game. Lol
@@MrsAckerman104 The NES verison's box even said "Watch the TV show on the Family Channel!"
Same here.
@@haileyshannon7548 Damn, I should've mentioned that in the video! /s
Joe Flaherty just passed away on April 1st of this year (2024). He also played the Western Union guy at the end of "Back to the Future, Part II" who delivers the letter to Marty that Doc Brown has safely arrived in the Old West in 1885 and is living out the remainder of his days as a blacksmith! 😊👍
RIP
This was something I always heard about but never saw. It’s so weird that it even exists.
Very weird.
I was only five years old when this show came out. It truly was like a fever dream to me. I remember the theme song so well. I don't know how many episodes I had watched.
One weird show!
100% remember this as a kid in the 90's, YTV was everything. Didn't even know there was a video game
Hahaha.
Maniac Mansion was my first favorite show when I was a kid. I would drop literally everything to go watch an episode, and I would just be as happy as a clam. I knew the show parodied a lot of things, but at that point in my life I did not know too much of any of the source materials being parodied. I watched the series again after Joe Flaherty died and I still enjoy a large chunk of it. The stuff that hasn't aged well is truly a bad time.
I thought Turner was funny when i was a kid but as an adult I am like, what even brought this idea on. I do like George Buza and I think he's a great actor. Thankfully Maniac Mansion had him play many more characters than just Turner.
Harry the fly was a favorite when I was a kid. As one of the most mutated characters on the show, Harry constantly talked to the audience and played the straight man. I still think Harry the fly was one of the highlights of the show, but I had no idea how they painted Harry as a truly bad person who constantly cheated on Idella and kept Idella and himself poor through his bad money management skills, thus making him deserving of his fate.
Idella was another favorite character. Mary Charlotte Wilcox had a way of delivering lines that was just so funny.
Ike, Tina, and Casey kind of felt like their characters got washed out as the series went on. Casey and Tina were usually the go-tos when they needed characters to parody movies, TV, and pop culture. Tina, for the most part, stopped even having high school stories since Kathleen Robertson clearly looked like she was in her 20s but they never just graduated Tina out of high school. It seems like that could have been an easy episode.
Fred, of course, was the best. Joe Flaherty was one of the funniest people and liked to showcase a wide range of acting abilities. A highlight was Fred doing a very long Jack Nicholson impression whining about a trip to the mall only to have the family write him off entirely and he had to re-tell the story to get his point across about how much he dislikes going to the mall.
Recurring characters Ed Edison, Fred's father, and Lenny Orca, Harry's twin brother, and the Pratt family were also highlights.
The show had truly brilliant episodes, like A Streetcar Named Idella, which was a parody of A Streetcar Named Desire, Idella recounted the story of how she met Harry. The show had a nice message about family at the end too. Idella's Breakdown was also a great episode where Idella goes to a therapist about her situation of being married to a fly with a man's head and Andrea Marin and David Cronenberg guest starred. Atoms Gone Wild was a favorite as the show parodied 50s sci-fi movies. Good Cheer On Ya was a weird and heartwarming Christmas episode where Lenny gets lost in a blizzard and Turner makes a plea to Santa to help him find Lenny in time for Christmas. Lenny...One Amour Time was extremely funny they had a guest star actor from soap operas then the show proceeded to parody soap operas with all of the gusto of a disinterested local theater group. And the show ended with The Way We Was where two TV writers try to get a job working on a show based on the TV executive's life and the show was...Maniac Mansion
Included in the good episodes was It Ain't Over Until Uncle Joe sings which was an odd episode where Uncle Joe visits the family and dies one night. Not sure why they wanted to do an episode about death, but here it was. And the odd part was the actors on the show playing Uncle Joe's music box as he recalls his life just before death. Cape Scary was a good Cape Fear parody. Tina was playing Juliette Lewis's character in this episode and the final scenes are very funny. The Prince's Broad where Ed Edison visits a sick Fred to read Fred a book which turns into a Princess Bride parody. The Long Hot Mansion had Fred take on the meteor in the basement after it messed with the family a lot. Luck Be a Lady This Season had both a parody of Married With Children and Twin Peaks
And the questionable to bad episodes include Freddie Had a Little Lamb, which was a parody of Silence of the Lambs. This one was just a bad idea even though Joe Flaherty and Kathleen Robertson do good acting as parodies of characters from Silence of the Lambs. Maniac Mansion was a sci-fi family comedy and Silence of the Lambs is far from that. Love: Turner Style had 4 year old Turner fall in love with an adult until the adult finally found out the truth that Turner was not an adult and that episode was so, so, so very bad and icky and aged terribly. Wrestling With the Truth had Turner take his turn at wrestling and this was also a bad episode. The Live Show had the cast do an episode of Maniac Mansion on stage in front of an audience and the episode goes as poorly as anyone can imagine.
I loved the Season 3 opening credits the most. The theme song was great. The show's title screen was fantastic. The instrumental song over the end credits was also a favorite. I don't know if this show could have done a fourth season because it was pretty clear in the third season that the show was running out of steam. I enjoyed the meta episodes where the actors were aware they were playing characters on a sitcom. For me, this would be my first foray into a sitcom parodying other media, and while a lot of the parodies were very light, they seemed to be able to do it without slathering on the irony
Thanks for the detailed rundown. It's rare to hear from someone who actually watched it as a kid AND enjoyed it.
They obviously parodied a lot of films! I love the meta/4th wall bits.
I remember watching the series in Canada on YTV and I loved the quirkiness. There were some real comedic gems sprinkled thoughout... I especially loved the interplay between Fred and Casey (portrayed by the wonderful Deb Theaker, who starred in most of the Christopher Guest mocumentaries and was the main "Lucy" in "Rat Race"). One stands out... it's a B&W Casablancaesque airport farewell spoof with Joe and Deb playing Bogie and Ingrid (although Joe's character is more Clark Gable and Deb's more Marlene Dietrich). The improvisational sparring is magic. Thanks for rekindling fond memories and leading me down memory lane.
Yes, the spoofs seem to be a really fun aspect of the show, especially between those two. Thanks for sharing :)
Three seasons? I vaguely remember hearing about this years ago, but I was sure it'd be one of those series that was cancelled after a handful of episodes.
I couldn't believe it ran for 66 episodes either!
@@onaretrotip I think it did decently here in canada, this was a gather around the TV when its on kinda show in my house when it was airing at least.
Filming in Canada is ridiculously cheap, especially at the time and the government would give huge tax cuts.
That's how you get so many shows from the 80's and 90's produced in Canada with longer productions than you would figure.
I remember watching this as a kid in Canada on YTV. This is where i first took notice of Joe Flaherty.
Nice!
This was one of my favorite TV shows at the time. I found it channel surfing one Sunday morning before work. I was in my early 20s and thought it was a really cleverly written show from the people from SCTV. These included the people you mentioned as well as the brothers of Martin Short and Joe Flaherty. It's like a very surreal, extended SCTV sketch that pushed the boundaries of sitcoms which is why I liked it and I had no idea it was a video game. it's also very Canadian: the actors and producers and writers were veterans of Canadian TV and the theme song was from Canadian singer Jane Siberry (who I actually saw in concert). It's also very hard to figure out who the intended audience was: it's too ironic for kids, but too weird for adults. I guess since I was in college I was in between and I found it appealing. Kathleen Robertson went on to Hollywood and was on Beverly Hills 90210 and more recently The Expanse and the rest of the cast has been on Canadian TV in smaller roles.
Also I was really into architecture and loved the mansion! It's a prime example of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie style (the molded wall tiles are a common feature). You can find similar homes IRL in the suburbs around Chicago
Thanks for the info! I think you're absolutely right; it was in no man's land in terms of its target demographic.
To be honest the orginal idea more of Adams family or the munster make more sense to me.
Me too!
I remember watching this on TV at my grandmother's apartment back in 1990 before we moved away. I don't think I realized it was on a US channel Crazy to think how many episodes I missed!
Very odd show!
The theme song and Harry the fly were the only aspects of this show that I remembered.
Probably for the best...
I just remembered the theme song! I live in Canada so I remember watching this and thinking wtf am I watching? I must watch some more! It was awesome in all the right ways as you didn’t know what was going to happen next. Thanks for the memories!
My pleasure!
Laying in bed at 11:30pm and I randomly remember watching a show when I was like 4 (so like 1993) with a guy that was a fly. Lead me to this. I am not crazy
Hahaha. Glad I could vindicate you!
I watched it regularly for about two seasons until I just got fatigued with all the general weirdness. Just recently remembered it and found this video. Thanks for posting this!
Glad I could jog your memory!
I loved this show. The theme song caught my attention and Joe Flaherty had me hooked, since I was a huge SCTV fan!
Yeah I actually really like the theme.
I never played the video game but I distinctly remember this show when I was a child and I couldn't get it out of my head as to what show it was where the man was a fly buzzing around the house. I think I found it finally lol
Hahaha there you go.
I was 15 when this debuted, and had already been a fan of SCTV for some time, so the show was right up my alley. The postmodern angle to the show also appealed to me. Recently I befriended a member of the cast who had some interesting things to say about why the show was "actually" cancelled, but I will refrain from going into that here...
Ooh, what a tease!
I remember watching this show as a kid and having fun with it.It’s also funny that the guy playing the 4 year old will play Beast on X-Men around the same time.
Yes indeed!
I remember seeing the advertisements for this show on the family channel as a child and being creeped out and scared of the big little kid guy
Yeah, he's very unnerving.
So this was the TV sitcom that Dr. Fred mentioned!
Yes!!! I always wondered what he meant.
i remember that in '91, i used to think that if bernard would appear in the show, bernard would be played by the actor that played as jerry in parker lewis can't lose.
Never heard of that show, but just looked it up. Yes, he'd make a good Bernard! Also, hey, it's the guy from SG-1!
So as a teenager in the 90s living in Canada, YTV was a juggernaut for youth television in this country. However while I certainly remember the show airing on the channel, being a narrow minded video game nerd who only enjoyed platformers and RPGs, both the game and the show did not interest me at all. However, now I'm extremely interested in point and click adventures would definitely watch the show out of nationalistic pride hahaha.
I remember the NES port of MM getting a cover story in Nintendo Power in 1990, it was the first issue to officially mention the Super Famicom in Japan which Nintendo didn't talk about much during that year.
Absolutely great idea for a video, as usual, you are the best, cheers!!
Haha it's worth watching one or two just to see how bizarre and surreal it is. Thanks, Kevin!
Yeah but i bet you loved Video and Arcade Top 10.
I'm still wondering why this has never been released on DVD. I remember seeing some episodes on the Family Channel while at my grandparents, but I never got to watch more than a few. I'd love to see the whole series.
Yeah, weird that it's never come to VHS, DVD, or streaming at all.
I just found out this show existed because Kathleen Robertson is in The Expanse. I used to play this game on my 286 computer in the late 80's. Crazy! How did I not hear about this before?
Oh, I had no idea she was in that!
@@onaretrotip yeah, she’s in the last season
I thought it was going to be a lost pilot. 66 episodes? Dang.
Hahaha I know, right.
Disney + should make an animated movie that follows the game as closely as possible. And if that is good they should do a Zombie Ate My Neighbors next.
I'd watch that!
My childhood friends and I were huge fans of the game. One of them brought over the newspaper TV listings on a random afternoon all excited because he saw Maniac Mansion playing at midnight. For some reason it never aired and was never seen in the listings again. So crazy to see it actually existed.
That's weird!
I definitely remember this Comedy-Drama which aired on Pat Robertson's Family Channel back in the 90's, even being paired up with Big Brother Jake
Never heard of Big Brother Jake either!
The 80s just had to have sitcom versions of literally everything lol
LOL
Here in Canada this show aired on the then new YTV channel (which I think is Treehouse now, exclusively child programming, pun intended). Because I loved the game that I had borrowed repeatedly from a friend, I got into the show. This is recalling from childhood so it's a bit foggy, but I think it seemed to have nothing to do with the game other than the show's name. But, I watched it anyway even though I think I didn't really care for it.
SCTV on the other hand, is Canadian comedy gold. And Joe Flaherty was unforgettable in Happy Gilmore.
Very weird show. But yes, SCTV spawned some amazing comedic actors.
Jesus Christ! That's some brand new info for me! Never heard of it before.
Crazy isn't it!
Great timing we were just talking about this at work!
I know it’s unrelated to video games but I also loved the Weird Science tv show. There is, however, an episode where they play what’s considered the best video game ever made.
I've never seen that! Although I love the film.
@@onaretrotip It’s totally worth checking out if you liked the movie.
Wow that title song and animation... Hahah!
Never knew this existed.. Thanks so much for this video!
Glad I could shed some light on this obscure show LOL
@@onaretrotip Please continue shredding away the darkness!
I'm a long time adventure fan, so came across your channel years back.. Just recently been starting to leaving my print.. Just wanted to say thanks for your awesome work!
I watched the entire series back in the day
Oh wow. Glutton for punishment?
@@onaretrotip For a kid? No.
I knew about this show, but only because my friend was rich and had Family Channel. I had no idea it lasted for three seasons though, I thought it was only one!
Ah, The Family Channel - the hallmark of wealth and luxury.
6:22 Larry Bundy jr
I was waiting for someone to make that joke.
It's weird how certain things stick in your memory like gum in your hair.... i definitely remember this show. I was around 9 or 10 when it came out.
I always felt bad for the "kid" and his mom, thinking how awkward that would have been.. but... then i thought about it. Some kids DON'T mentally mature. I knew about these kids since there were about five who attended my school at that time.
So that puzzle was solved rather quickly. I liked that his mother still loved him but also still wanted her "little boy" back but was still steadfast in loving him.
The fly guy was gross. I puzzled over how he lived so long because even at that age i knew flies had short lifespans. I guessed he had enough humanity still left to prolong the misery.
I knew I would have disliked him just as much if he'd been human.
I don't remember the rest of the cast.. always thought the dad was well meaning but he just needed to stop.
The only other character that briefly stood out was the flys wife. She was chopping veggies and got carried away, chopped the cutting board to pieces and blamed the knife manufacturers for it. At that time there tons of commercials selling these knives. I always kinda chuckled to myself ever after when they came on because of her incident)
The theme song still haunts my memory.
Which brings me to what I remember most.
The entire intro was just so ... err.... scifi?
The pictures MOVED!!
At that time as i watched it i kept wondering HOW this guy managed to do it. It wasn't a show about magic... tiny tv sets? Tv sets were pretty bulky then.. holographic images? No... they had too much action...
a while later harry potter came out and just confounded me all over again. Harry Potter was magic... so how on earth did this meganerd do it?
Time marched on a bit and suddenly we have digital picture frames. You can even add short videos to them. When they first hit the market you know i bought one.... just because of this danged obscure tv show.
"So that's how he did it!!"
As i was saying, it's weird how some things stick in your mind. All these years later i will still randomly remember this goofy show. Usually when I'm exhausted and my brain is determined to dredge up the past rather than resting.
I don't mind this memory so much. It was weird but definitely not the worst thing on at the time. Harkens back to more innocent times when people were less rude and cynical.
Haha brilliant. Thanks for sharing :)
RIP Joe Flaherty 😢
😢
I sing this theme song in my head once a week
😂
Didn't know that this existed, the game is a personal favourite.
Oooh the theme music was dreadful 😆.
I need to watch this now 🥰
It's just so surreal, David. Def worth watching one or two just to see what it's like.
I am legitimately surprised that the theme song alone didn't end up tanking the show from the very first episode.
It was aired on the Family Channel and I think ComedyCentral would air the reruns; I remember CC being the network I would watch it on at the time; probably as far back when the network was still called HA! I knew about the NES game never have played it at the time. Just looking at the artwork of the box I could tell that the premise of the tv show was different even wondering at the time if the series had nothing to do with the game and coincidently was just under the same name.
Haha. It's so weird how little it has in common with the game.
That was amazing! Your Video! Not the show 😅 Never knew about this 👍 😃
Thank you!
I watched this show as a kid because I loved the nes game. I was disappointed that it was so different but still watched I guess because there was nothing else on at the time. I do remember a Christmas episode with Santa being able to make Turner into his normal 4 year old boy size for a minute. It’s kind of heartwarming looking back on it now as a bitter old man.
Weird how little it had to do with the game.
What the... THIS HAPPENED? Now I've seen everything
😂
The theme song sounds it was written and performed by the McGarrigle Sisters...not what I was expecting given the source material for the show!!!
Nothing about this is expected TBH 😂
i used to watch this whenever id find it on, it wasnt until years later i found out it was based on the game.
😲
I didn't forget it, although I really wish I could've. As a huge fan of the original game I was INCREDIBLY disappointed when this premiered. I didn't watch it for long. In fact I thought it was cancelled after the first season. Hell I didn't think it even MADE it to one full season before being canned.
That first sentence made me laugh 🤣
That's crazy. Looks such a random concept to take from the game but make them so disconnected.
Great insight again. 👍
So random!
It's kind of like the Little Shop of Horrors animated series, where Junior was a friendly talking plant who comes to Earth to help Seymour and give him advice on how to be cool or something.
Well that's just great, as if I don't have enough UA-cam to watch, now I've got to watch this 🤣🤣
Sorry mate 😂
I've never seen it but still to this day I can't belive this is a thing
Me neither mate!
How could a TV show with such a catchy theme tune, ever be forgotten 🤷♂️🤷♂️
Glad to see that mini game in Day of The Tentacle got some love... fingers crossed we can finally get a sequel
Hahaha! What a tune.
Can't tell if ironic or not
Wasn't forget by me. It was on family channel
I remember my family would play this game when i was little. It scared the crap outta me. Lol. Them i found out about the show... it was off putting cause it seems so happy in comparison. Ill take the game(cause the music was dope). But thank you for the breakdown!! ❤
Yeah, it has weirdly little in common with the game.
Yep, friends and I were big fans of Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, having played them on the school Apple ][s. Word went round (somehow) that there was a MM show. Some of us watched the first episode, and very quickly it got out that the show had basically nothing to do with the game. I don't remember anyone sticking with it after that.
I don't blame you!
What’s funny is that, if you had asked me 12 minutes ago if there was ever a show based on Maniac Mansion, I would have said no, but within 10 seconds of starting this video, I had a flash of memories of seeing trailers for it in my youth.
Also, I will never understand how a game with some of the best, funniest music of that generation spawned a show with music that awful 😅
Funny what we forget.
Super interesting! Great video idea.
Thanks mate!
i read about it in a magazine in the 90s but never had a chance to watch it. probably never will?
You're not missing much.
I actually remember this show!
I only learned of it recently.
I think I might have saw this once, or twice flipping through channels as a kid, but at least here in the US if your house had cable/Satellite TV the "Family Channel" was one of those networks that unless you had really strict parents who would not let you watch much of anything, you did not want to get caught watching by your friends, or even let them know you did as it was considered lame, and uncool, when you could be watching MTV, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, or just about anything else.
Having said that as an adult this looks wild, and I'm gonna have to watch the whole dang thing. 👍
It's pretty surreal. Definitely worth watching one or two for novelty's sake.
Turner is basically a live-action Baby Huey. Maybe, Disney+ should bring it back
Who's Baby huey?
@@onaretrotip a character created by Harvey Toons (the same company that made Richie Rich and Casper). He's a baby duckling who's like 300 pounds and 6ft tall and he gets into trouble and stuff.
I remember renting the NES version as a kid and I could barely get past the first screen.
Ouch LOL
You got me straight tripping, boo.
👀
Didn't even know this was a series!!!
Me neither until recently!
This is actually mad!
Crazy, right!
I hated it when it first aired and I was 9 years old, but I'd probably like it now. Is it available anywhere?
Yeah, they're all on UA-cam.
Family Channel in my area. I really liked the show, forget the year though. 1994...????
🤷♀️
First I’ve heard of this! Shame it’s so loosely based on the game though! Don’t think I’ll bother watching it.
Now…if it was Monkey Island… 😉
Now we're talking.
So it sounds like the TV-series is supposed to be a sequel to the original game?
In a way, yes. Very odd.
I loved this show when I was a kid cos I loved the game. It was totally cheesy and nuts.
Definitely nuts!
I don't really gave that much of an interest in the show despite me being a fan of both games. If I made a show, here's how I'd do it:
It would stay more true to the games with the four Edison family members (including Dead Cousin Ted) as well as the tentacles. The ideal plot of most episodes woyld be Dr. Fred trying to find a way to make money in order to fix the family's financial issues or tryong to invent something appealing so that he would get recognition.
One episode idea I had was Dr. Fred at something called "the mad scientists convention" where all the unhinged, destructively creative mad scientists go once a year, this idea has been from the quote said by Fred "You can't have a high-tech laboratory like this and not spew poisonous filth - all the other mad scientists would laugh". The designs of the other mad scientists will probably be either easy or tough but there was an idea of Fred having a rival in mad science (kinda like Red Edison vs. Ben Franklyn but Franklyn's ancestor is a cigar salesman so I guess somebody else would cover for him).
And speaking of mad scientists, there would be other tentacles. I was thinking for any Tentacles as part of major plot points, there would be designed in a way where it's simple yet fits with their character instead of an simple recolour and hat (I'm looking for a challenge), I was thikking of also changing the shapes and sizes of the other Tentacles so they would stand more from eachother.
With Purple Tentacle's personality (outside of being mutated by the sludge), I was thinking he would be the opposite of Green (obviously). Green is caring, somewhat free-spirited but suffers from low self-esteem issues at times and tends to stress eat, Purple is power-hungry but slow-witted, he could also be snarky, arrogant, hypercritical, egotystical and cowardly if he meets a force Greater than him (like the Meteor Police for example), my version of Purple is pretty much inspired by Rimmer from Red Dwarf.
You've clearly given this a lot of thought 🤣
@@onaretrotip Thanks.
What a strange show. Never knew this existed, probably never reached Australia.
Very strange. No, from what I read it never left North America, apart from the VHS in Japan.
I know the dude who played the annoying kid that lived next door
😂
I remember being extremely annoyed and disappointed with the show whenever it was on. For the noted reasons of annoyance, as well as the show straying so far from the source material. I loved the nes port as a kid, and put the show on the same grade of not caring about the game as the smb movie. Now, learning it was Flaherty and Levy doing it, I want to go back and give it another watch.
Yes, must've been very weird for any Maniac Mansion fans watching.
Some memories are best forgotten, or just regressed. I remember finding few episodes from the interwebs when _legally_ _searching_ for copy of DoTT from the webs, oh the bandwidth wasted at those speeds... Bartender, bleach please.
True.
Was this on ytv as well?
Yes, it was.
point´nclickPete..........ure new name;)
LOL Raz.
I remember being gladly surprised whem the show 1st aired but was confused that it didnt follow the game. So I was immediately let down and conflicted. I watched a couple episodes to see if it would eventually make a turn towards the game. But it didnt so i stopped watching. It was sad. If it followed the game i think it would have been better.
Yes, very odd that it had almost nothing to do with the game.
So weird. No idea it existed.
Very weird indeed.
Wait what!!!
😲
What the model name of this Sony CRT TV?
No idea, it's just an image I found years ago online that I often use.
how come it not on disney plus
It's possible they don't own the rights to the show, and likely that they don't have any interest in acquiring it either. LOL
I did a failed review of this series I am a huge critic of it as it was based on a video games. I was not fond the sitcom. I never could understand it entirely other than the uncle was turned into a fly and the youngest child was grown into a 40 year old
It's very odd, and generally not very funny.
Yes it wasn't yet on Reddit I got pretty much told to keep that opinion to myself. The actor who plays Ed was in Police Academy the Series which by far was better written
I dunno. It's full of funny inside jokes like the kids names: Ike, Tina and Turner. And the home movies of the grassy knoll on Dealy plaza with JFK's assassins in the background 😛
I remember being a kid playing the game, but never being able to catch an episode of the show. I'm glad I didn't because it looked like it sucked. Lmao
LOL
Using the name of an existing game as a movie or TV series inspiration, and then let turn it into something completely different, was kind of a normal thing to happen back in the 80's and 90's. It brought us one of the worst movie adaptations of all time, called Super Mario Bros. Unfortunately for us fans, sending these producers to Guantanamo bay wasn't an option for us yet until 20 years later. And that resulted in this kind of criminally bad material we were forced to look at and be punished with for quite some time. I also suspect this junk to have laid the foundation for all the other junk that we've come to appreciate later in life because of it. This was one of those times in history where we have completely thrown aside our principles and standards, just trick our minds into believing that this was actually any good. I see it like a man being locked up between ugly woman for about 20 years. At some point you will start to like everything.
Surprising how fast and loose people played with their IPs really. These days they would have consultants reviewing everything and making sure it fit in with the established "universe".
How did this make it to three seasons lol
IKR 😂
Tried to watch this after recently learning about the show and it just wasn't something I found interesting of funny.
Yeah, generally not a funny show.
paint ed red
😎👍
When I was a kid I was excited to watch this show….. When I did I was deeply disappointed and bored. I watched it as much as I could but since it had almost nothing to do with the game I lost interest and waited patiently for the Double Dragon movie. 😉
Very weird show. I didn't really find it had much going for it in terms of humour.
Never heard of that Pete……looked awful 😂😂
LOL
Grown men talking like babies are the height of comedy.
LOL
Untentacled maniac mansion.... kinda sad
Yup 😢
I'm an old man. I remember when this came on. I remember it wasnt good.
😂
Look... I totally get that some things need to be changed when you adapt one type of media to another... But that excuse can only get you so far.
Of course you can't make every episode of the show about Dave and his friends rescuing Sandy, but there's plenty of other stuff from the game you could work with.
I mean it's not like the changes they made were out of necessity. They just replaced one type of weirdness with another type. They can have a guy in a fly costume with green screen effects, but not a puppet of a talking tentacle?
It's obvious that the showrunners simply didn't care about the game. It's not that they COULDN'T write good jokes or stories involving a talking tentacle, it's just that they wanted to write jokes and stories about a fly man instead.
It's not that a military obsessed man living with his crazy parents while cherishing his pet hamster wouldn't have worked in a sitcom.... it's just that... I guess they preferred a straight-up man baby instead?
But at that point, why not just change the last few details as well and make it its own thing?
Either properly respect the source material or make your own thing from scratch!
It's a shame, because I can totally see a lot of characters from the game working well in a light-hearted sitcom setting with macabre undertones.
Dead Cousin Ted randomly being in the most ridiculous places, seemingly without anyone in particular putting him there? The jokes practically write themselves!
Weird Ed being torn between his violent side and his soft side, being an unpredictable frenemy? Come on, there's so much you could do with him!
Green Tentacle becoming friends with Razor, them playing music together, Bernard being dragged along against his will... all while Fred and Edna either reluctantly tolerate their presence in their mansion, or try to get rid of them through various creative means?
Bernard trying to get over his fears so he can talk to Dr. Fred about science? But he ends up messing up Dr. Fred's experiments?
Purple Tentacle manipulating the other characters for his own nefarious goals, while lamenting his lack of arms?
You could totally write a good show around this if you just wanted to. But they just didn't. And I guess Lucasfilm didn't want them to either.
Yes, some very bizarre creative choices here.
I remember this show as a kid. I watched it a few times erroneously believing that it had anything to do with the game. Didn't like the show very much as a kid because I was 8 and I didn't really "get it" and because it had nothing to do with the game. Only consolation was super hot Kathleen Robertson.
Haha. I still don't get it!
OMG haha
I know, right! 😂
Forgotten? 😅😅😅
Also, RIP Joe Flaherty
Yes, forgotten, as in it's not on any streaming services or ever repeated on TV. Only available on UA-cam.