怪怪家庭 Mockingbird Lane

NBC决定将耗时三年、花费千万美元的《怪怪家庭》试映集当作今年万圣节的特别节目播出，这等于判了该剧死刑。无论如何，我们总算有机会看到该剧的庐山真面目。

该剧根据著名灵异电视剧《怪怪家庭》（The Munsters）改编，故事描述一个由怪物组成的家庭的日常生活。外祖父Sam Dracula（Eddie Izzard）就是著名的吸血鬼之王德古拉，他的女儿Lily（Portia de Rossi）是一个性感的吸血鬼，Dracula总感觉世界上没有男人配得上她。虽然Lily嫁给了弗兰肯斯坦式的怪物Herman Munster（Jerry O’Connell），但Dracula对Herman有很多意见。Lily和Herman唯一的儿子Eddie（Mason Cook）是个狼人，狼性随着青春期的到来逐渐显现，迫使全家人搬到较为偏远的鸣鸟大街1313号居住。Lily的表妹Marilyn（Charity Wakefield）是家中唯一的普通人类，但这反而让她成了家中的一个另类。

首集剧情概述

下面的文字我本来打算在该剧正式播出时进行翻译，现在已经没有必要了。

It’s a scout camp, and the scout master has just rounded up the scouts in an effort to find out who has eaten all the boxes of food. While the token fat kid is being eyeballed, a ravaging wolf is about to crash the party…

…. next morning, a young boy wakes up naked in the woods.

After the credits…

Marilyn, the human amongst the family, stops a construction crew from taking a wrecking ball to a decrepit old mansion in Mockingbird Heights. Within moments she’s negotiated with an estate agent to buy the property – which, she’s informed, formerly housed a serial killer who poisoned hobos (the agent warns her that she might even come across a body or two).

We discover that the Munster’s have had to move to Mockingbird Heights because of what young Eddie did in the teaser. That “baby bear” attacking the scout camp was a sign that the Munster’s needed a new address before anyone realized who was really behind all those scratches and bruises that the scouts received.

Anyway…

Appropriately, the Munsters arrive via crate to their new address.  And they spend the first hour getting to know the locals (Grandpa licking his lips as he’s taken from house to house),  hunting down a replacement ‘heart’ for the ailing Herman and largely, helping Eddie realize that he’s not a monster.

Here’s a look at the characters :

Herman Munster

Think Dawson Leery’s compassionate, all-supportive dad (from ”Dawson’s Creek”) crossed with Frankenstein’s monster.

Was created by Grandpa; no other man, besides one he puts together, would of course be good enough for his daughter Lily.

Doesn’t much look like Fred Gwynne’s Frankenstein-looking fellow from the original. This Herman is more of a stud – albeit one with scars. He’s a skinny, but rather attractive man in his ’30s – though he’s stitched together from the body parts of other men and has a mechanical steampunk heart – one that is breaking down.

Though Herman does get a heart replacement –  thankfully a few of those ‘dead hobo’s’ turn up under the swimming pool – he’s not doing well (he loves too much and it’s killing him). Believing he has no choice if he wants Herman to live, Grandpa  finds a nice man with a “good heart” for Herman (if you get my drift).

A big old softie that adores his family, Herman is his son’s best friend and has a passionate relationship with the Mrs.

Eddie Munster

Think Ricky Schroder in “The Champ” – with sharper teeth.

The first – and he’s seemingly the most central character – of the Munsters we’re introduced to.  Much like Michael J.Fox’s character in ”Teen Wolf” he’s about to discover he’s got quite the howl- – only he’s terrified beyond belief at what that means (he’s frightened enough of puberty!).  Though the Munsters have moved to Mockingbird Heights because Eddie attacked his fellow boy scouts at a camp, he doesn’t have any recollection of the event and has been told a  baby bear attacked his friends. Eventually Herman is forced to tell Eddie what he does, as the request of Grandpa but dad’s determined to remind him – just as his mother will – that he’s not a monster.  Young Eddie ultimately decides to be a vegetarian monster when he can help it, and when he can’t… his dad says they’ll figure it out together. Awww.

Grandpa Munster

Think ‘Grandpa’ from “The Lost Boys” mixed with Lestat.

Scary son of a gun.  A I said, he, and the rest of the clan, arrive by delivery truck.  His crate topples over, a mass of rats spill out and join to form. An old-codger vampire that, for the past ten years, has been feeding on animals so young that Eddie doesn’t think anything’s ‘different’ about his family. This scary old fellow feeds on animals like Lions but, not surprisingly, is starting to hunger human blood.  And with Eddie now “in the family way”, he feels okay about that.  Grandpa knows he’s going to start eating humans again, suggesting he’s gobbled his way through a few in the past, and has enough love for Marilyn (who he saved from her mother, he says) to recommend she go to college on the other side of America. She’s safer there.

Has quite a few special powers – like the ability to send new neighbour Tim into a deep sleep by simply waving his hand in front of him

Lily Munster

Think the mysterious Selina Kyle meets “Friday Night Lights” momma Julie Taylor.

Perpetually beautiful. Pale. Sweet. Her crate begins as a pool of spiders before transforming into the tall, slender matriarch of the family.  Like his father, Eddie’s mum ultimately teaches him the “difference between being a Munster and being a Monster”.

She works at a pet store where she uses her magic to, for instance, trick the dogs into cleaning their own cages.

Loves her family dearly, and doesn’t want Herman to find a new heart because his current one belonged to Eddie’s biological father.

Marilyn Munster

Think hotness.  Is Adrianne Palicki busy!?

The human component of the family. Sweet, attractive young girl who – for obvious reasons – is pretty much the face of the family. Seems completely OK with Grandpa eating animals and people, recognizing his vampirism as a curse not something he chose, and is keen to help werewolf Eddie realize he’s not a bad person for having to feed off animals.