Color???

[Barnabas1]

Did the Munsters ever air in color??????????????

[lukes42]

Nope, the original Munsters never aired in color, but there was an '80's revival of the show done in, of course, color, but that show was short lived. I believe there was one, if not more, Munster movie specials that were also in color. You'll have to look them up, if interested. :)

[JWood201]

The original pilot was done in color, I believe. It also had some different cast members. They put it out on tape -- I got it at Sam Goody a few years ago, but it was the only one there. If you're that interested, I'd try checking eBay.
Hope I helped.

[lukes42]

The original pilot was in color, really??? :confused: Wow, is that cool. Wonder why the whole series wasn't in color then? I think it had to do with ABC, though, as they were the last network to colorize their shows. Very interesting fact JWood201. :)

[TV Guy]

They did several 15 minute "presentation" pilots in 1964, and one of them was in color, because the producers and network wanted to see how the makeup would look in color. Guess they didn't like how it looked, or felt that it would inflate the budget too much. Supposedly, part of the color print of that color presentation is lost, although the entire print exists in black-and-white.

"The Munsters" originally aired on CBS, BTW.

[JWood201]

I also think that color would take away from the feeling of the show. The Munsters is one of the few shows that I think is actually better in black and white. I didn't think it looked right in color for a few reasons -- the makeup looked kinda weird, and black and white added to the dreary kinda effect.

[lukes42]

The Munsters" originally aired on CBS, BTW.

Then the original Munster's series was on CBS then, hey? I figured it was on ABC because ABC was the last network to colorize their shows. But since the make-up didn't look right on camera, I understand why it was done in black and white. :)

[Tom Munster]

:lightb:
An interesting tidbit relating to the "color" issue of the series was in an interview I read with either Al Lewis or Butch Patrick some years ago:
They said "The Munsters" could have been renewed for a third season had a squabble between CBS and Universal been settled.
Seems both wanted the show to be in color for it's third season but neither would cough up the money to do it.
Just think, if Universal had paid the extra money to produce "The Munsters in color, we could be enjoying another years worth of episodes now in syndication. (I'm sure Universal is kicking themselves over this dumb decision now!)
I believe the interview also said that the movie, "Munster, Go Home" was the compromise solution. In fact, had the feature film made more money at the box office, more movies would have followed soon after.

[Barnabas1]

I didn't know that about CBS!!!

[Rob J]

The original was NOT in color. Every episode was done in black and white. If you saw a color epidode then it was colored recently. They now have the technology to go back and do this

[TV Guy]

Originally posted by Tom Munster
:lightb:
An interesting tidbit relating to the "color" issue of the series was in an interview I read with either Al Lewis or Butch Patrick some years ago:
They said "The Munsters" could have been renewed for a third season had a squabble between CBS and Universal been settled.
Seems both wanted the show to be in color for it's third season but neither would cough up the money to do it.
Just think, if Universal had paid the extra money to produce "The Munsters in color, we could be enjoying another years worth of episodes now in syndication. (I'm sure Universal is kicking themselves over this dumb decision now!)
I believe the interview also said that the movie, "Munster, Go Home" was the compromise solution. In fact, had the feature film made more money at the box office, more movies would have followed soon after.

The same thing happened with ABC and "The Patty Duke Show". United Artists didn't want to pay to do a fourth season in color, so ABC dropped it.

"Munster, Go Home" was originally supposed to be a TV-movie, but when CBS cancelled the regular series, Universal decided to release it theatrically. I think one of the reasons some people think there are color "Munsters" episodes is because of this movie.

[Rockapella722]

Also, when I've seen pictures of them in color, the makeup still looked black and white-ish... and Marilyn stuck out like a sore thumb.