As far as I'm concerned, THE MUNSTERS featured the quintessential American family: eccentric, perhaps, but quintessentially American. That they all looked like they'd just stepped straight out of a classic Universal horror movie (with the notable exception of Marilyn, who actually turned out to be a shape-shifter of sorts...) only added to their many charms. Though the level-headed head of the household, Herman was often just a great big kid at heart, with an infectious laugh and boyish charm; Lily Munster, if not THE sexiest woman to ever ramrod a telefamily, was certainly Number Two- and I never laid eyes on Number One; and Grandpa was that iconic family elder who dispensed the Wisdom of the Ages with a mad cackle and an abra cadabra. Eddie was lucky, indeed, to have been surrounded by such a loving family unit. Santa Claws dropped off THE MUNSTERS: A TRIP DOWN MOCKINGBIRD LANE by Stephen Cox just a few days ago, and I've been immersing myself in all things Munster ever since. None of the subsequent attempts to revive the show ever came close to the charm of the original (the MOCKINGBIRD LANE debacle of just a month or so ago has to be by far the worst of the worst); but, as long as Home Video exists, THE MUNSTERS will live on (and on, and on).