Robert E. Wronski Jr.'s Blog, page 15

The Munsters

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December 15, 37 to June 9, 1968--Life of Nero.  Grandpa claims to have known him, even though he wasn't born (according to his tombstone) until 1367.



Late 5th to Early 6th centuries--Life of King Arthur.  Grandpa claims to have known him, even though he wasn't born (according to his tombstone) until 1367.

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September 8, 1157 to April 6, 1199--Life of Richard the Lionheart.  Grandpa claims to have known him, even though he wasn't born (according to his tombstone) until 1367.



1162 to August 18, 1227--Life of Genghis Khan.  Grandpa claims to have known him, even though he wasn't born (according to his tombstone) until 1367.  It was revealed later that Grandpa had a time machine, so he likely used it often to go back in time and meet his "heroes".



1367--Birth of Vladimir "Sam" Dracula, Count of Transylvania, better known as Grandpa.  He is born in Romania.

1385 to 1389--MUNSTERS TODAY--"Never Day Die"--Grandpa goes to college in Transylvania, where he first meets his college roommate, Leonard the skeleton.



1588--Grandpa claims to be 378 years old in Munsters episode "Grandpa's Lost Wife", which aired in 1966.  But his tombstone claims he was born in 1367.  Could be he's a liar.  Could be he's a time traveler, explaining how he met some of those folks who lived before he was born (or again, liar.)  Could be he was born in 1367, then became undead in 1588, but that still wouldn't explain how he lived for 221 years before being turned.  In the 1991 episode of Munsters Today, "It's My Party and I'll Die if I Want To", he claims to be 402, which would sync with this date of birth.  In that episode, the family does indeed also have a time machine, which they use to bring Grandpa's friends from the past to the party, so that helps explain some things.  Grandpa and others often reference directly or allude to that he is THE Dracula.  Probably isn't, for TVCU purposes.  But he probably was a soul clone, and probably one of "Dracula-Prime"'s worst soul clones.  See my blog posts on the Universal and Hammer Dracula, or my book, the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia, for more on the soul clone theory as it works in the Horror Universe and TVCU.  The soul clone theory was created by Chuck Loridans for the MONSTAAH website.  Grandpa can turn himself into wolves, bats, and the usual things that Dracula can do.  At one point, he required pills for such transformations, but other times he was able to do so at will.  Grandpa sometimes casts a reflection and sometimes doesn't.  The Universal Dracula, Armand Tesla, had the same problem.

1815--Creation of Herman's brother Johann, in Germany.



1815 to around 1850--Creation of Herman Munster at the University of Heidelberg.  He was created by Doctor Victor Frankenstein, who of course also created the original monster.  His twin brother Charlie was created at the same time.



1827--Birth of Lily Munster, daughter of Sam "Grandpa" Munster and his 166th wife, Grandma.  Lily has a brother Lester, who is a werewolf.

Sometimes not long after 1850--Herman leaves Germany for England.  He is adopted by the Munsters of Munsters Hall, a noble family of Shroudshire, England.

Also after 1850--Herman's younger brother Frank is created.  This of course is not the original Frankenstein monster, despite the implication.  Herman also has a sister Elsa, who resembles Universal's Bride of Frankenstein.  Her age is unknown.  She later married Mr. Hyde.

Before 1865--Herman leaves England and moves to Transylvania.

1865--Lily marries Herman.



1888 to 1891--The reported crimes of Jack the Ripper.  Grandpa claims to have known him.



THE WOLF MAN (FILM)Release Date: 1941 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Wolf Man (Universal)The Story: After his brother dies, Lawrence Talbot returns to his family home where he has a strained relationship with his father. Larry saves a girl in the forest and finds himself bitten by something, to which later he finds himself transforming into a werewolf. Talbot is seemingly killed by his own father when he attacks the very girl he had saved prior and had become romantically involved.
Notes: However, as most reading this likely know, you can’t keep a good werewolf down. Talbot will find he can’t die, and will spend several continuing films and novels trying to end his curse and find a way to die. This film follows Son of Frankenstein and is followed by The Ghost of Frankenstein. This film was remade in 2010. This film has been “non-cross” referenced in such films as The Castle of the Monsters, The House of Terror, and Munster, Go Home! It has also been spoofed in such shows and films as Scooby-Doo Where Are You, The Ghost Busters, and The Halloween that Almost Wasn’t.

Sometimes before the mid-1940s and prior to the end of World War II--Grandpa, Herman and Lily move to America and adopt Lily's sister's daughter, Marilyn. Herman and Lily become U.S. citizens, but Grandpa is there illegally. Herman enlists in the U.S. Army, fighting in WWII. Despite being illegal, Grandpa finds a way to vote in elections. He votes Republican. This may be part of his soul clone traits, as, according to the Simpsons, at least one other version of Dracula is also a Republican.



Sometimes after the war--Herman is hired as a box boy at Gateman, Goodbury and Graves funeral home in Mockingbird Heights.



Around 1946--Marilyn Munster is born. She is in college when the Munsters aired. Marilyn is the daughter of Mister Hyde and Elsa, Herman's sister. She has her mother's last name, implying that Elsa was also adopted by the Munsters as was Herman, and that Marilyn was born out of wedlock. At a very early age, Marilyn left Transylvania where she was born, and sent to the Munsters in America. Though her parents were allegedly the Hyde monster (who is the transformed Jekyll) and an undead reanimated Frankenstein monster, Marilyn kept in her room the picture of an Eastern European peasant woman. I believe that Elsa must have used this peasant as a surrogate, since she couldn't have a child, or, Hyde, being who he was, had an affair, and the peasant is Marilyn's real mother, explaining her normalness and beauty. In the early stages of the show's development, Marilyn's last name was Mundane. I like to think that was the last name of the peasant. It should be noted that Marilyn's father is not the original Hyde. He is Norman Hyde, alter ego of politician Brent Jekyll. As described in the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia, there have been many members of the Jekyll family who have taken the Hyde formula.



Mid-1950s--Lily gives birth to Eddie. Herman is the father!





1964 to 1966--THE MUNSTERS--The story of an unusual family of monsters living in an American suburb.
September 1964--MUNSTERS--"Munster Masquerade"--Not an actual appearance.  There is a man dressed as George Washington as a costume party.

December 1964--MUNSTERS--"Sleeping Cutie"--Marilyn is placed under the same spell as Sleeping Beauty.

December 1964--MUNSTERS--"Family Portrait"--A reporter and a photographer are sent by a magazine to take a photo of the average American family, the Munsters. They arrive while only Marilyn is home. The fat jumpy one continues to spot weird activity, but the thin arrogant one seems to miss it each time, as he's too busy putting the moves on Marilyn.



April 1965--THE RED SKELTON HOUR--"Freddie Meets the Munster"--Hobo Freddie the Freeloader meets Herman Munster.  

November 1965--SALUTE TO STAN LAUREL--Fred Gwynn appears as Herman Munster.  Every other celebrity appears as themselves.  Herman is the only crossover.  This is a tribute to the real Stan Laurel, not the fictional character discussed in Television Crossover Universe:  Worlds and Mythology Volume I, "Flintstones Forever: The Bedrock Anomaly".  

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June 1966--MUNSTER, GO HOME!--Herman calls for help from Batman.

1966--MUNSTERS TODAY--Point of divergence. In Munsters Today, the Munsters end up in suspended animation from 1966 to 1988, so all the stuff between then on this timeline shouldn't have happened. It's my theory that because Grandpa is a time traveler who mixes science and magic, somehow to divergent paths both took place in the same timeline, so while the Munsters' lives continued, their doppelgangers were dormant in the basement until 1988.




February 1970--BEWITCHED--"George Washington Zapped Here"--Esmerelda pulls George Washington from the past.  President Washington also appears in THE MUNSTERS, THE MUPPET SHOW:  SEX AND VIOLENCE, VOYAGERS, WILD WILD WEST, FUTURAMA, TIME SQUAD, and AN AMERICAN CAROL.

October 1973--THE ABC SATURDAY SUPERSTAR MOVIE--"The Mini-Munsters"--Eddie, now a teenager, forms a rock band with his younger cousins from Transylvania, Igor and Lucretia.  



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SCOOBY’S ALL-STAR LAFF-A-LYMPICS (ANIMATED SERIES)Release Date: September 10, 1977 - September 8, 1979Series: Laff-A-LympicsAnimated Series Crosses: Scooby-Doo!; Yogi Bear; The Mumbly Cartoon Show; Dynomutt; Captain Caveman; Speed Buggy; Jeannie; Hong Kong Phooey; Huckleberry Hound; Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks; Hokey Wolf; Yakky Doodle; Quick Draw McGraw; Snooper and Blabber; Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy; Wally Gator; Grape Ape; Snagglepuss; It’s the Wolf!; Jabberjaw; Peter Potamus; FlintstonesThe Story: The Hanna-Barbera characters compete regularly in various sporting events. Notes: Every episode of the series was a crossover between all the major series owned by Hanna-Barbera. The three teams that compete are the Scooby-Doobies, the Yogi Yahooeys and the Really Rottens. Scooby-Doo is the team captain of the Scooby-Doobies. Scooby-Doo first appeared in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, which began in 1969. The Scooby-Doobies consisted mostly of characters from Hanna-Barbera’s mystery solving teen group of cartoons. The team roster was Scooby-Doo, Shaggy Rogers, Scooby-Dum, Dynomutt, the Blue Falcon, Captain Caveman, Brenda Chance, Taffy Dare, Dee Dee Skyes, Speed Buggy, Tinker, Babu and Hong Kong Phooey. Shaggy Rogers also debuted in 1969 in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? He is Scooby’s owner. Scooby-Dum is Scooby-Doo’s cousin, who first appeared in the Scooby-Doo Show in the 1976 episode “The Gruesome Game of the Gator Ghoul”. Dynomutt and the Blue Falcon originated from Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, which debuted in 1976. Captain Caveman, Brenda, Taffy, and Dee Dee originated in Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, starting in 1977. Speed Buggy and Tinker originate from Speed Buggy, that first aired in 1973. Babu is from Jeannie, which began airing in 1973. Finally, Hong Kong Phooey is from the cartoon of the same name that began in 1974. Some of the members of this team have met before this series and some would meet again after this series ended, but for the most part, the series that combined to make the Scooby-Doobies continued to stay separate for the most part, thus it still makes sense to count them as crossovers whenever they interact with each other. Yogi Bear is the team captain of the Yogi Yahooeys. Yogi Bear first appeared in his own segment in The Huckleberry Hound Show in 1958. The Yogi Yahooeys consisted of characters from Hanna-Barbera’s anthropomorphic funny talking animals group of cartoons. The team roster was Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo Bear, Cindy Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Pixie, Dixie, Mr. Jinks, Hokey Wolf, Yakky Doodle, Quick Draw McGraw, Snooper, Blabber, Augie Doggie, Doggie Daddy, Wally Gator and Grape Ape. Boo-Boo Bear also debuted in also debuted in 1958 in the Yogi Bear segment of The Huckleberry Hound Show. Cindy Bear first appeared in the Yogi Bear Show in the 1961 episode “Acrobatty Bear”. Huckleberry Hound originated from The Huckleberry Hound Show, which debuted in 1958. Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks originated in their own segment in The Huckleberry Hound Show, starting in 1958. Hokey Wolf originates from his own segment in The Huckleberry Hound Show, that first aired in 1960. Yakky Doodle is from the Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy segments of the Huckleberry Hound Show, debuting in the 1960 episode “Gone to the Ducks”. He would later spin-off into his own segments on the Yogi Bear Show. Quick Draw McGraw originated from The Quick Draw McGraw Show, which debuted in 1959. Snooper and Blabber originated in their own segment in The Quick Draw McGraw Show, starting in 1959. Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy originated in their own segment in The Quick Draw McGraw Show, starting in 1959. Wally Gator originated from his own segments of The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series, starting in 1962. Finally, Grape Ape is from The Great Grape Ape Show that began in 1975. Unlike the Scooby-Doobies, the members of the Yogi Yahooeys would regularly appear together even beyond this series. From this point on, the members of this team would become supporting cast members in cartoons that feature Yogi Bear. For that reason, any crossovers after this point between members of the Yogi Yahooeys will not be listed, just as I do not consider crosses between members of Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Universe” after the debut of Disneyland and the Mickey Mouse Club, or between Looney Tunes characters after the debut of the Bugs Bunny Show. Mumbly is the team captain of the Really Rottens. Mumbly first appeared in The Mumbly Cartoon Show in 1976. The Really Rottens consisted of original characters (except for Mumbly), though most of the roster were based on other villains that had previously appeared in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. The team roster was Mumbly, Dread Baron, Dinky Dalton, Dirty Dalton, Dastardly Dalton, Mr. Creepley, Mrs. Creepley, Junior Creepley, Orful Octopus, the Great Fondoo, Magic Rabbit, Daisy Mayhem and Sooey. Mumbly is almost identical to Muttley, who first appeared in 1968’s Wacky Races. Dread Baron is identical to Dick Dastardly, who also debuted in 1968’s Wacky Races. In the Marvel Comics’ continuation of Laff-A-Lympics, it’s said that Dick and Dread Baron are twin brothers. Using this logic, it could be that Muttley and Mumbly are also twin brothers. The Dalton Gang are original characters based on real life brothers of the 19th century who were infamous bank and train robbers. The Creepleys were a family modeled after the Gruesomes, who were neighbors of the Flintstones. The Creepleys were modeled after the previous Hanna-Barbera creations, Mr. & Mrs. J. Evil Scientist, as well as live-action series, the Addams Family and the Munsters. The Great Fondoo was an evil stage magician. Finally, Daisy Mayhem is a bad girl redneck, who seems to be modeled after Moonbeam McShine from Li’l Abner, and also seems to be a bad guy counterpart of the Teen Angels and the Pussycats. Most of these villains would show up in later Hanna-Barbera cartoons as bad guys. The show’s hosts were Snagglepuss and Mildew Wolf. Snagglepuss is from his own segments of the Quick Draw McGraw Show, starting in 1959, while Mildew is from the It’s the Wolf! segments of the Cattanooga Cats, which began airing in 1969. Jabberjaw and Peter Potamus were frequent guest judges. Jabberjaw is from his own series that debuted in 1976. Jabberjaw takes place in the future, but based on how time works in the Cartoon Universe, he seems to easily visit the 20th century. Peter Potamus also comes from his own show that debuted in 1964. Fred and Barney from the Flintstones also show up from time to time as guest commentators. See my comments for the Flintstones for how Fred and Barney often show up in the 20th century.

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October to November 1979--THE HALLOWEEN THAT ALMOST WASN'T--John Schuck plays the Frankenstein Monster. He later plays Herman in the Munsters Today. This can't be Herman since Herman-1 is still played by Fred Gwynn, and Herman-2 is in suspended animation. But it's well known by this point that Herman had lots of brothers and cousins, many who looked just like him, and this is probably one of them.



1981--THE MUNSTERS' REVENGE--When a wax museum owner attempts to frame the Munsters for pulling a jewelry heist, they must both prove their innocence and find out the true thieves.
May 1986--THE A-TEAM--"The Little Town with an Accent"--Murdoch is posing as a gas station attendant when a customer comes in asking for directions to Mockingbird Lane, which of course is where the Munsters live. 
October 1987 to Fall 1989--SUPER SCARY SATURDAY--Grandpa gets a job hosting a show on TBS as a horror host.
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1988 to 1991--THE MUNSTERS TODAY--This show actually lasted a year longer than the classic it was based on.  So basically, in 1966, the Munsters went into suspended animation when Grandpa's spell goes wrong.  This contradicts all the stuff seen on this timeline from 1966 to 1988.  However, since Grandpa used science and magic, and because he was also a time traveler, I theorize that though the Munsters Today would have been on TVCU-2, somehow, both versions coexisted in the same main TVCU timeline.  While they were slumbering in suspended animation, somehow they also didn't do that, and continued their lives!!!
1989--MCDONALD'S--A whole bunch of characters show up at the fast food restaurant, including Grandpa Munster, Ed Clampett (Beverly Hillbillies), Maxwell Smart (Get Smart), Eddie Haskell and June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver), and Gilligan (Gilligan's Island).
1991 to 1992--HI HONEY, I'M HOME--This series involves a family moving to a new town where only a child neighbor realizes this family was featured on an old TV show.  In fact (from the TVCU point of view), this family had been the focus of an early reality show, and were now trying to live a quiet life.  June Clever and Eddie Haskell have made appearance on this show.  Other former reality show stars appear on this series, including Alice and Trixie of THE HONEYMOONERS, Granpa of THE MUNSTERS, Alice the maid from THE BRADY BUNCH, Sally Rogers of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, Mr. Mooney of THE LUCY SHOW, and GOMER PYLE of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW (and his own series.)
April 5, 1992--WRESTLEMANIA VIII--According to Bobby "the Brain" Hennan, the Undertaker and Paul Bearer vacation at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, the home of the Munsters.



1992--MY GRANDPA IS A VAMPIRE--Lonny is a boy from California who visits his grandpa in New Zealand, and learns that he is a good vampire.  The vampire is Vernon Cooger, played by Al Lewis, and pretty much the same exact character.  So here's the thing.  Grandpa was a time traveler.  In 1966, there was a point of divergence, in which, according to Munsters Today, the Munsters went into suspended animation, reviving in 1988.  But of course, the Munsters had other stories following the original series, including movies, beyond 1966.  I think that somehow, both things happened in the same timeline, due to Grandpa's mix of science and magic.  I think that they went into suspended animation, and didn't, in the same timeline.  I think Grandpa somehow created time duplicates that coexisted in the same timeline.  So since this was a point where the sleeping Munsters had come back, the version of Grandpa who didn't go into suspended animation and the other family members had to go into hiding, with assumed names.  So I think Vernon Cooger of New Zealand was Grandpa Munster hiding out.  Lonny probably was his nephew, probably the son of the Marilyn who also didn't fall into suspended animation.  



October 31 to November 1, 1992--MIDNIGHT MUTANTS--Grandpa Munster is kidnapped by Doctor Evil (!) and turned into a pumpkin.  It's up to his grandson Jimmy Harkman to save him.  Likely Jimmy is also Marilyn's son, and Lonny's brother.  Marilyn must have married a man named Harkman in the timeline in which she wasn't placed in suspended animation.  



December 1996--THE MUNSTERS' SCARY LITTLE CHRISTMAS--Based on the ages, particularly Eddie, this would be the Munsters Today, despite having a new cast playing the characters.  
December 1998--THE NEW ADDAMS FAMILY--"Christmas with the Addams Family"--Santa appears.  See my Addams Family blog for how this series fits in the TVCU.  Santa also appeared in a Munsters Christmas special.

2001--ABLAZE--According to a dispatcher, some boys playing with matches started a fire at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.  

2002 to 2012--MACABRE THEATRE--The older version of Eddie Munster becomes a horror host.  

2004--BIKINI A GO GO--Two characters are now living at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.  

February 2005--DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES--"Oprah Winfrey is the New Neighbor"--Wisteria Lane was once Mockingbird Lane!!!  New neighbors move into the house at 1313 formerly owned by the Munsters!
2005
Ivan in the Addams backyard Chester and Wedneday AddamsJUN - SPLITTING ADDAMS- Ivan travels to Belfry, New Jersey to investigate some weird sightings, and comes across the home of the Addams Family. He seems to fit in well with them, even helping them play a prank on Sam Dracula, an inventor from California that had developed a rivalry with Gomez Addams some years earlier. When Sam's son in law arrives from Mockingbird Heights CA to retrieve him, a feud starts which culminates in the Addamses learning that Ivan is the host to the Anti-Logic, and threaten to have him cremated to prevent him from tainting "legitimate witchcraft".
Herman and the Drag-U-La Cousin IttThe Addams Family originated in comic strips by Charles S Addams in THE NEW YORKER Magazine in 1938, made their way to television in 1964, and began appearing in feature films in 1991, along with books, cartoons, specials, and other tie-in media and merchandise. Sam Dracula was better known as Grampa onTHE MUNSTERS, a show that first aired in 1964, and was also the source of the son-in-law, aka Herman Munster (though some sources claim Herman in the same monster created in the film YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN).



2007--SHADOW PUPPETS--In the personal files, some characters are said to have lived on Mockingbird Lane.  

May 2010--WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE--"The Good, the Bad, and the Alex"--The City Hall of the Wizarding World is at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.  Though Mockingbird Lane is now Wisteria Lane, I'm sure some still call it by its original name.  Sense the wizarding world isn't really a geographical place, but rather a pocket realm that exists on a separate plane, it could be that in the same place, but not physically in the mortal world, the former home of the Munsters is indeed city hall for at least the American wizards.  

2010--TWILIGHT VAMPS--A character is told the person he is looking for is at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.  

October 2015--THE TODAY SHOW--Herman and Lily show up on the Today Show to tell Al Roker about their show's reruns, which for TVCU purposes usually defaults to the Munsters being a reality/documentary series of some sort probably.





ALTERNATE REALITIES:

MONSTAAH--MONSTAAH uses a theory that discards most of the in-story continuity to place the Munsters within the Wold Newton Universe (or Crossover Universe). In their version, well, let me just post their entry: 1964--USA, The League of Anti-Diabolists makes its first attempt at rehabilitating the creatures we observe. They did so by choosing a few ideal candidates amongst the ranks of the world's classic monsters. The League makes a family unit of monsters headed by one of Dr. Peter rederick Frankenstein’s Monsters (possibly distinct from the one whom Frederick Frankenstein initially created, as chronicled in Mel Brooks' and Gene Wilder's report YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN), who is given the forename Herman, and the surname Munster (reflecting the wry humor of some of the League members). Herman acts as kindly and buffoonish as Frederick Frankenstein's first Monster, due to having received the same loving acceptance during the formative portion of his life, and learns to speak clearly and read competently, though he isn't exactly the sharpest knife in the kitchen, to use an apt metaphor. He also has a tendency to inadvertently misuse his superhuman strength in often embarrassingly destructive ways.* The rest of the Munster household consists of the following individuals: Herman's wife Lilith, usually referred to by her nickname "Lily," is the dhampiric daughter of the failed, eccentric soul-clone Dracula-Grimpod; Lilith’s father, Dracula-Grimpod himself, who is affectionately referred to as "Grandpa"; an orphaned boy by the name of Edmond Glendon, usually called "Eddie" by the family, who has inherited a perpetual form of lycanthropy from his cursed lineage;** and young League member Marilyn Krogh, a social worker who lives with the Munster family under the guise of Herman and Lily's "niece," in order to secretly keep tabs on their progress and preserve them from the clutches of Dracula-Prime or any other unsavory elements from the usually dangerous world of monsters. Dr. Marylin Krogh is eventually accepted as a loved member of the family. Adopted as a pet by the family is a fire-breathing dragon partially tamed by the League, whom the Munsters name Spot. With financial resources donated from various orgs associated with the League, a large house on the appropriately Gothic Mockingbird Lane is purchased for the Munster family to live in. This project was deemed successful by most standards. Grandpa is given a laboratory in the home's ample basement area to conduct his various loony experiments so as to keep him occupied (under the watchful eye of Ms. Krogh, who doesn't always do the best job of keeping things from getting out of hand); Herman is given a decent but typical blue-collar job under the auspices of supervisor Clyde Thornton (also secretly a rather churlish associate of the League) to earn a legitimate living for the family; and Eddie is enrolled in a local public school to receive a conventional education. Though the family often causes inadvertent scares wherever they go, their non-threatening disposition, assisted by covert handling of the local government and business district by influential members of the League, enables them to live as normal a life as a family of monsters could be expected to have in modern society.*** Other occasional reformed or harmless monsters of various sorts are treated as "family" by the Munsters from time to time, since they are a novel example of the League's success in this area. This includes a civilized and articulate member of the extremely rare Gill Man family of monstrous amphibious humanoids; and an apparent descendant of Erik, the original Phantom of the Opera, who is afflicted with a similar form of congenital deformity but is apparently more eccentric than truly dangerous to humans. Regarding the creation of Herman Munster, Grandpa has made certain claims that he constructed his man-made son-in-law. Another recorded account, however, has Herman actually communicating with a member of the Frankenstein clan, who described creating him. Most likely, this individual whom Herman was speaking with was Dr. Frederick Frankenstein. It's quite possible, however, that Dracula-Grimpod aided and abetted Frankenstein's work, and his claims of having constructed Herman entirely himself are nothing more than narcissistic exaggerations. On some occasions in the late 1980s, the Munsters were visited by a vampiric crone who presented herself as Grandpa Munster's "Mother." It's unlikely that this was the real mother of the elderly scientist/inventor who became Dracula-Grimpod, but more likely an old woman who was vampirized and later reformed by the League of Anti-Diabolists, who presented her to the Munsters to become an occasional but still treasured part of their extended family unit. Interestingly, Grandpa also spent some time working as a horror host during the years he was supposed to have been in suspended animation. However, he may have been briefly and temporarily released from his suspended state by the Powers That Be, and then returned to it when his purpose as a horror host was fulfilled. * It should be noted that Prof. Chuck Loridans conjectured that Dr. Frederick Frankenstein's Monster from Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks' report and Herman Munster are one and the same; similarly, he concluded that the woman called Elizabeth in Brooks' report who fell in love with this particular Monster was one and the same as Lily Munster. This may certainly be possible, though Prof. Nero proposes an alternate theory based on his own viewing of the evidence, i.e., that Frederick Frankenstein may have actually created two separate Monsters who have a significant degree of both similarities and differences. The differences in appearance between the Monster depicted in the screen version of Brooks' report and Herman Munster (who much more resembled Henry Frankenstein's Monster)--including a zipper (!) on the former's throat that was nowhere in evidence on the latter--could be attributed to descriptive error on the part of either report, of course. However, other differences between the two man-made monsters are quite notable, which would require the argument that one or both reports are heavily flawed to reconcile them as the same Monster. The most glaring bit of evidence in the opinion of Prof. Nero to suggest the theory that Dr. Frederick Frankenstein may have created at least two, rather than one, Monster is the fact that Brooks' report alleges that Frederick conducted a procedure that utilized his own brain chemistry to somehow cure his first (suggested) Monster of his brain damage, thus greatly enhancing his intelligence. Hence, this Monster's new impressive intellect and articulate mien is certainly not in evidence in any definitively verified report of Herman Munster, who has no more than average human intelligence, and in fact is quite buffoonish and absent-minded. More research should be conducted, of course, and researchers and MONSTAAH agents are certainly more than free to draw their individual conclusions until when or if this matter is ever fully resolved. ** Perpetual Lycanthropy Disorder is a rather rare variant of the cursed affliction coined by Prof. Steven Pertwillaby, in which the afflicted typically remains in a permanent state of transformation into one of the four major lycanthrope phenotypes, regardless of the phases of the Moon or time of day. They may be born in such a condition, or they may belong to a particular breed of lycan where they start out as a human but suffer a permanent metamorphosis once the transformation is complete, whether this completion takes mere minutes, or occurs much more gradually, e.g., over the course of weeks or even months. These individuals may maintain their full human intellect and personality, with their bestial side usually subsumed (unless they lose their temper or are subject to certain mystical or chemical stimuli), or their bestial side may be fully dominant. Also, there are some lycanthropes of various breeds that may normally switch between human and lupine forms who later, for various reasons, eventually develop Perpetual Lycanthropy Disorder by becoming trapped in one of their lupine phenotypes. A few notable examples of this unusual lycanthropic condition other than Eddie Munster includes Tara Talbot, whose story was told in Lori Lansens' report WOLF GIRL (a.k.a., BLOOD MOON), and likely other individuals who were alleged to be afflicted with the genetic disorder hypertrichosis; Louie Talbot of the Monster Cops, whose exploits are chronicled in the ongoing series of online reports by Chip Zdarsky; and Canadian sisters Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald, whose tragic story was told in John Fawcett and Karen Walton's file GINGER SNAPS. The lycan phenotype exhibited by Tara Talbot was, like Eddie Munster, of the Glabro variety, though Eddie's form seemed almost entirely non-hirsuite, and more like those exhibited by some primals while in the midst of rage. The phenotype taken on by the Fitzgerald sisters was of the Hispo variety, but evidently this entire breed of werewolf exhibits a gradual transformation into a perpetual form of entirely bestial lycanthropy; this breed is evidently well established in the far northern regions of the North American continent, which includes several specimens located throughout Canada, and possibly having made its way into some of the northernmost areas of the United States by the present time. For a professional illustration depicting the five different forms that lycanthropes typically appear in, courtesy of White Wolf, go here. Further research needs to be conducted on the perpetual form of lycanthropy, and the staff of MONSTAAH is expecting our resident werewolf expert, Prof. Pertwillaby, to take up the task in the future. *** The Munster family's misadventures during the 1960s have been chronicled in the series of reports titled THE MUNSTERS by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, as well as the single report, MUNSTER, GO HOME!, where they meet some unscrupulous members of Grandpa's original family from England (whose surnames were mistakenly given in the report as "Munster"). Another alleged report of the family, this one by Norm Liebmann and Ed Haas, that occurred at an unknown date, is entitled THE MUNSTERS' REVENGE. At some point in the late 1960s, an experiment by Grandpa in cellular suspension went wrong and the entire family were placed into suspended animation for two decades, after which they awakened in the late 1980s. They then resumed what passes for their normal lives with the assistance of the version of the League of Anti-Diabolists that existed then (obviously, a new job had to be found for Herman), and their newer exploits were chronicled by Liebmann and Haas in a series of reports entitled THE MUNSTERS TODAY. Liebmann and Haas have subsequently compiled two other reports, entitled HERE COME THE MUNSTERS and THE MUNSTERS' SCARY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, but their level of veracity is currently unknown. As yet, the crew at MONSTAAH hasn't figured out the strange report chronicled by Norm Liebmann and Bryan Singer entitled MOCKINGBIRD LANE. However, the present theory is that this version of the Munsters wasn't the Munsters at all, but a bogus family of impersonators brought together by the soul-clone Dracula-Valberg, who gave himself the alias of "Sam Dracula" and took up residence in the Munsters' home during one of their extended absences circa 2012. See entry for 2012 for more on this.


Dracula-Grimpod (better known as Grandpa Munster). Photo courtesy of League of Anti-Diabolist Archives.

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TVCU-2--HERE COME THE MUNSTERS.  In this reboot, the Munsters first come to America from Transylvania in 1995.



TVCU-3:  Technically Munsters Today would have been in the TVCU-2, if not for the weird time glitch theory.  But I have to place the recent reboot, which is such a very different interpretation, in the Threebootiverse, also known as the Smallville Universe or the West Wing Dimension.  (And soon, Smallville will officially join the DC TV Multiverse in next year's Supergirl/Flash second crossover event!!!)

TVCU-69--Events of THIS AIN'T THE MUNSTERS XXX take place here.



TOOBWORLD (AKA EARTH-PRIME TIME)--CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER ALTERNATE TAKE ON THE MUNSTERS.  



UNAIRED PILOTS--In the original pilot, Herman is married to Phoebe, not Lily.  Phoebe is more of a goth girl, who too closely resembled Morticia Addams.

 

MURRAY EWING and PETER RAWLIK

Next Saturday, April 2, the TVCU Crew will be recording episodes 17 and 18 of the Television Crossover Universe podcast from Castle Wolfenstein on the Grand Guignol Network. 


In Episode 17, Robert, Ivan, Chris and James will be talking with Murray Ewing, author, poet, blogger, podcaster, and musician.  
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In Episode 18, Robert, Ivan, Chris and James will be talking with author Peter Rawlik, author of such Lovecraftian works as Reanimators and the Weird Company.

New episodes of the show are released every Tuesday.  You can check out the latest episode at the link provided in the upper right hand corner of this page.
And please join us on Facebook to discuss the episodes.  Feel free to join us before the show to post any questions you have for our guests, and then feel free to join us after the shows to provide feedback.

Hammer Frankenstein

Admittedly, this isn't crossover heavy, but since I covered Hammer Dracula, I felt this deserved a post too.  I thought it wasn't in the TVCU/Horror Universe, but I found a way in.  And so, I have to assume that this series features a relative of the original Victor who may share the same name.

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1857--THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN--Victor Frankenstein builds a creature and brings it to life. But his creature behaves not as he intended.

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1858--THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN--We watch Baron Frankenstein escaping from the guillotine and going to Germany. There, he names himself Dr. Stein and plans to restart his experiments by using parts of dead bodies.

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1864--THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN--Penniless, Baron Frankenstein, accompanied by his eager assistant Hans, arrives at his family castle near the town of Karlstaad, vowing to continue his experiments in the creation of life. Fortuitously finding the creature he was previously working on, he brings it back to a semblance of life but requires the services of a mesmerist, Zoltan, to successfully animate it. The greedy and vengeful Zoltan secretly sends the monster into town to steal gold and 'punish' the burgomaster and the chief of police, which acts lead to a violent confrontation between the baron and the townspeople.

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1867--FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN--A dead and frozen Baron Frankenstein is re-animated by his colleague Dr. Hertz proving to him that the soul does not leave the body on the instant of death. His lab assistant, young Hans, is found guilty of murdering the local pub owner with whom he had an argument where he foolishly swore to kill the man and Frankenstein acquires his body immediately after the execution. Hans had been quite friendly with the dead man's daughter Christina who returns just in time to see him guillotined. Distraught, she commits suicide and is brought back to life by the good Doctor but with Hans' brain replacing her own. As memories return to her - Hans' memories in fact - she sets out to pursue and kill those responsible for having sent him to his death.

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1869--FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED--Baron Frankenstein is once again working with illegal medical experiments. Together with a young doctor, Karl and his fiancée Anna, they kidnap the mentally sick Dr. Brandt, to perform the first brain transplantation ever.

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1874--FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL--Baron Frankenstein works with a mental patient to reanimate the dead.

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1975--THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW--The tank used for Rocky is the same used for the monster in the Hammer Revenge of Frankenstein.  Since I previously used the same lab and equipment from Universal's Frankenstein and Young Frankenstein, it seems I've created a precedent that allows this crossover to bring the Hammer Frankenstein in.  Rocky Horror is in via a Simon R. Green Nightside novel.

Reboot Hammer Frankenstein (perhaps Horror Remake Universe or TVCU2)

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1857--THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN--Scientist Victor Frankenstein builds a man from spare body parts; the monster comes alive and wreaks havoc.

How You Can Support the TVCU!

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The TVCU is a franchise. We are this website, a series of books through two publishers, and a podcast.

If you enjoy what we produce, there's a few ways you can help keep it all going.

First, there's of course, monetary donations.  There are a few ways you can contribute money, and to which project you will support.

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At the top of our sidebar, there is a donate button.  The money donated there goes towards funding the website.

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We also have crowdfunding for the podcast.  You can contribute to the podcast here.

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And we have a kickstarter for my latest book project, the Cartoon Crossover Encyclopedia, a follow-up to the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia.  You can check that out here.  

But if you can't support us financially, there are other ways in which you can support what we do here.

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One thing you can do is share, share, share.  Share the crowdfunding links.  Share this website link.  Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

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Finally, you can contribute through your knowledge.  You can join us at our TVCU Facebook Forum and share with us any crossover finds you uncover.  And if you have specific crossover finds that may be of use for the Cartoon Crossover Encyclopedia, you can send them directly to my e-mail at RobertEWronskiJr@gmail.com.

We appreciate your support, in any way that you give it.

Plan 9

Every Thursday (or so I try), I post excerpts from the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia, related to a particular series from film or television.  I'm running out of subjects.

However, watching Bride of the Monster tonight (for the first time!) inspired me to do a little research.  First, I want to say, Ed Wood gets a lot of flack, but I really enjoyed Bride of the Monster.  Lugosi was excellent.  What prompted my research was that Lugosi's character seemed a bit too close to the Universal Dracula, and I thought there may be an intentional connection, but sadly, no.  Just an homage of sorts.  But in that research, I discovered a shared reality (actually two).  Sometimes I post here TV or film crossover connections that create a shared realty that isn't TVCU related, and I started this research thinking that's what I'd be doing, but as seen below, these are indeed in the Horror Universe/TVCU.

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1955--BRIDE OF THE MONSTER--A mad scientist who resembles a certain Doctor Leighos but is not attempts to create an army of atomic supermen.  This film features recurring characters Lobo (played by Tor Johnson) and Patrolman Kelton (played by Paul Marco).  Available on Hulu.

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1957--THE UNEARTHLY--Mad scientist hoping to find a way to extend life spans experiments on patients with lesser maladies.  While the other films listed here are Ed Wood films, this one is not.  However, this film also features Tor Johnson as Lobo, once more the lead villain's henchman.  Lobo just seems to have a knack for serving evil masters.

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1959--PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE--When Earth scientists come close to creating a terrible weapon of destruction, aliens raise the dead to stop the bomb's completion.  This film features Paul Marco as Patrolman Kelton.  Bela Lugosi appears in the film, despite being dead.  (Well, the movie is about raising the dead).  He plays a man who dies, and is resurrected by aliens, to become "Ghoul Man" according to the credits, but he's clearly Dracula.  Since the plot synopsis calls the raised dead both zombies and vampires, it's tempting to say that this was actually the Universal Dracula soul clone, Armand Telsa, aka Doctor Leighos.  Very tempting, indeed.  Tor Johnson is not Lobo in this film.  He plays Inspector Clay, who dies and becomes a zombie.  Vampira plays "Vampire Girl", and I'm pretty sure since the character of Vampira (actually played by Maila Nurmi) is already a fictional vampire, this may be Vampira, being controlled by the aliens.  Vampira has played Vampira, a vampire of another name, or an unnamed vampire type also in IF WINTER COMES, ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS, MY HERO, THE RED SKELTON HOUR, THE VAMPIRA SHOW, VAMPIRA RETURNS, VAMPIRA, PLAYHOUSE 90, TOO MUCH, TOO SOON, THE BEAT GENERATION, THE BIG OPERATOR, I PASSED FOR WHITE, SEX KITTENS GO TO COLLEGE, THE MAGIC SWORD, POPULATION: 1, DRY, I WOKE UP EARLY THE DAY I DIED, and NO WAY IN.  Available in RiffTrax version on Hulu.  Note that the aliens' speech about their motivations is very similar to that of Klaatu from THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL.  Both instances involve alien intervention to stop the Earth from becoming a threat to itself and the universe, and these aliens are representatives of a larger galactic government.  Was Klaatu's plan called Plan 1 perhaps?

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1959--NIGHT OF THE GHOULS--A phony spiritualist raised the dead.  This film features Lobo (Tor Johnson) and Patrolman Kelton (Paul Marco).  The lead villain is Dr. Acula, yes, meant to be Dracula, but sadly was not played by Bela Lugosi, who unfortunately passed at this point.  I suspect that Lugosi would have been cast, and if that had happened, I probably would have had a stronger case to presume Dr. Acula was the Universal Dracula.  This Dr. Acula should not be confused with the fictional character created by Doctor John Dorian on SCRUBS.

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1960--THE NAKED MONSTER--A prehistoric monster escapes from a glacier.  This film was made on a bet.  It was a 21 year long project finally released in 2005.  It' was made to parody old 1950s B movies, and featured characters from other films that were spliced into this original story.  This includes Patrolman Kelton (Paul Marco) from PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, Col Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Toby) and Dr. Carrington (Robert O. Cornthwaite) from THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, Major Allison (Robert Clarke) from BEYOND THE TIME BARRIER, Professor Bradshaw (Robert Shayne) from INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN, Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson) from REVENGE OF THE CREATURE, Dr. Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) and General Mann (Les Tremayne) from WAR OF THE WORLDS.  The connections to War of the Worlds and Revenge of the Creature pull all the films in this chronology into the Horror Universe/TVCU.  This raises a problem with bringing in the Thing from Another World, a film adaptation of a story that already exists in the TVCU (Horror Universe) but took place about two decades before the film version.  However, it seems that the characters from the 1950s film have different names than those in the original story, so this could have been similar events that took place in the same timeline.  (The TVCU has been known to have such coincidences.)

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1964--CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY--Actually, in the 2005 remake, the Oompa Loompas salute Wonka in the same manner as the alien salute from Plan 9.  I haven't seen any crossover links to the original story in the TVCU, but I'm going to assume that they exist, and thus presume that the original story from 1964 is in the TVCU, but I'm assuming that the Oompa Loompas of all the divergent timelines probably have a similar origin still, and we might presume that the Oompa Loompas may originate from outer space.

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1985--DEAD END--A director learns of a town currently overrun by zombies and chooses to film his next movie there.  Two of the undead are Inspector Clay and Vampira from Plan 9.

1993--PLAN 69 FROM OUTER SPACE--So apparently Plan 69 was for the aliens to kidnap sexy female rocket scientists for sexy stuff.

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1994--THE X-FILES--"E.B.E."--A witness describes a UFO as being cigar shaped.  This is a common description by real world witnesses as well, but I believe this to be a reference to the eye witness account given in Plan 9 from Outer Space.

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1995--PLAN 10 FROM OUTER SPACE--A woman uncovers an alien plot for world domination.

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1995--THE CRITIC--"All the Duke's Men"--One of the zombies in this episode is Inspector Clay from Plan 9.

1996--PLAN X--Presumably Plan 10, another alien invasion on a pacific island.

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1999--WILD ZERO--In Japan, aliens use zombies to mount an invasion.

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2004--PAPER MARIO:  THE THOUSAND-YEAR DOOR--Peach sends Mario on a quest to find the thousand year door.  The "X-Naughts" of this game use the same alien salute from Plan 9.

2012--SLAYGROUND--Two witches, mother and daughter, who must have longer lifespans, have killed one victim every decade since the 1920s, and have trapped their souls inside their home, so they can apparently kill their souls and then feed off of the souls.  John Johnson directs and plays Officer Kelton.  Watch it here.  



2015--PLAN 9--Remake of Ed Wood's film by John Johnson, who also reprises the role of Officer Kelton.  This film is different enough to be in the same timeline.  Basically, in the original Plan 9, aliens were just trying to stop humans from being destructive with the use of three undead vampires/zombies/ghouls.  This time, it's an alien invasion in the same time, with a much larger scale zombie army raised.  Since the army contains this invasion like in the original film, to the one town, I'll accept it in the main TVCU/Horror Universe.

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2015--INSECTULA!---A giant alien mosquito comes to Earth.  Lobo returns, now played by Joel Thingvall but intended to be the same character.  Seemingly long lived or immortal, one must wonder if one of his previous masters had given him eternal life?

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2042--UNDER A KILLING MOON--P.I. Tex Murphy faces off against a religious cult.  Plan 9 type spaceships are referenced.

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31st Century--FUTURAMA--"A Fishful of Dollars"--Professor Farnsworth had the same plan as Professor Vornoff from BRIDE OF THE MONSTER.

A History of Shared Cinematic Universes and JERRE WINSBORROW

Next Saturday, March 19, the TVCU Crew will be recording episodes 15 and 16 of the Television Crossover Universe podcast from Castle Wolfenstein on the Grand Guignol Network. 
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In episode 14, we announced our guest for episode 15 would be JESS THOMAS COOK. But life events came up, and he had to reschedule.  We will be having him on in May.  So instead, in Episode 15, Robert, Ivan, Chris and James will be talking amongst themselves without a guest, in the first in what will be a regular recurring alternate format, in which the crew will have an entire show devoted to talking about the history of shared cinematic universes.  
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In Episode 16, Robert, Ivan, Chris and James will be talking with author JERRE WINSBORROW, CEO of Pyramid Graphic Novels and creator of Natalia Hyde.

New episodes of the show are released every Tuesday.  You can check out the latest episode at the link provided in the upper right hand corner of this page.
And please join us on Facebook to discuss the episodes.  Feel free to join us before the show to post any questions you have for our guests, and then feel free to join us after the shows to provide feedback.

Children of the Corn

I was working on a Stephen King post, which Ivan is now finishing for me, because he's really the go-to guy for King. But I'm going to focus here on a sub-set of the King Cinematic Universe, which is the Children of the Corn film series.
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IT (NOVEL BY STEPHEN KING)
Release Date: September 15, 1986 (Setting is 1957 - 1958 and 1984 - 1985)
Series: Stephen King Universe (the works of Stephen King)
Horror Crosses: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos
The Story: In the town of Derry, in the 1950s, a supernatural entity terrorizes until a group of children band together to defeat it. In the 1980s, those former children must again stop the entity.
Notes: This story has references that link it to Lovecraft’s Pickman’s Model. It also has references to The Stand, Children of the Corn, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, The Dead Zone, The Tommyknockers, the Dark Tower, and Christine.
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NIGHT SHIFT “CHILDREN OF THE CORN” (SHORT STORY BY STEPHEN KING)
Release Date: February 1978 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Stephen King Universe (the works of Stephen King)
The Story: A couple find themselves in a seeming ghost town and soon find it inhabited by a cult that worships a demonic being who demands all those who have reached their 19th birthdays or older be sacrificed.
Notes: The story actually was first published in a 1977 issue of Penthouse, but since I listed all the other Night Shift stories, I felt it better to place this here. This story was adapted to screen in 1983 (in the short, DISCIPLES OF THE CROW). DISCIPLES OF THE CROW can be found on video as part of THE NIGHTSHIFT COLLECTION. The film was remade again in 1984 and 2009. The more famous adaptation is the 1984 film, CHILDREN OF THE CORN. The 1984 remake better fits in the main TVCU, as the same events as the short story from a different perspective, as it has had several sequels, starting with Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice in 1992, and most recently Children of the Corn: Genesis (2011). There is also a reference to The Shining (1980), which is a valid crossover within the TVCU. The 1984 film has also been referenced in The Night Flier (1997) and Haven, and those are valid crossovers within the TVCU. 
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PRIME EVIL: NEW STORIES BY THE MASTERS OF MODERN HORROR “THE NIGHT ,
The Story: Reporter Richard Dees of the Inside View is investigating a serial killer who turns out to be a vampire.
Notes: Dees had appeared in the Dead Zone previously. The vampire of this story is the grandfather from Popsy. He also appears, named Andrews, in Kim Newman’s You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings, working for the Shop and teamed with Rainbird from Firestarter. The Inside View is a rag that appears often in King’s works. The small, mostly deserted town of Jerusalem’s Lot is also mentioned in this story. This story was adapted to screen in 1997, with the spelling changed to THE NIGHT FLIER. While the story is in the Horror Universe/TVCU, the 1997 film is also considered to be in the TVCU as the same story told from a different perspective. The 1997 film has references to Children of the Corn (1984), The Lawnmower Man (1992), Needful Things (1993), and Thinner (1996), which are valid crossovers within the TVCU. 
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CHILDREN OF THE CORN II: THE FINAL SACRIFICE (FILM)
Release Date: January 29, 1993 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Stephen King Universe (the works of Stephen King)
The Story: A journalist takes his son along for a road trip to investigate the mysterious town of Gaitlin.
Notes: This is a sequel to the film which takes place in the Horror Universe/TVCU. It follows Children of the Corn (1984), and is followed by Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995). 
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CHILDREN OF THE CORN III: URBAN HARVEST (FILM)
Release Date: September 12, 1995 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Stephen King Universe (the works of Stephen King)
The Story: Two of the young cult members are adopted by a family.
Notes: This is a sequel to the film which takes place in the Horror Universe/TVCU. It follows Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992), and is followed by Children of the Corn: The Gathering (1996). 
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CHILDREN OF THE CORN: THE GATHERING (FILM)
Release Date: October 8, 1996 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Stephen King Universe (the works of Stephen King)
The Story: Kids in town are possessed by the now deceased members of the original cult.
Notes: "Do you have any quarters?" I've seen this movie, and all the others of this series, numerous times. I love them. I can't help myself. They are all on Netflix, and SyFy plays them often as well. This is a sequel to the film which takes place in the Horror Universe/TVCU. It follows Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995), and is followed by Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998). 
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CHILDREN OF THE CORN V: FIELDS OF TERROR (FILM)
Release Date: June 21, 1998 (Setting should be prior to the events of the next film, which is set in 1997)
Series: Stephen King Universe (the works of Stephen King)
The Story: A group of college students uncover the cult of children. They risk their lives to try to rescue the children.
Notes: I've seen this movie, and all the others of this series, numerous times. I love them. I can't help myself. They are all on Netflix, and SyFy plays them often as well. This is a sequel to the film which takes place in the Horror Universe/TVCU. It follows Children of the Corn: The Gathering (1996), and is followed by Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return (1999).
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CHILDREN OF THE CORN 666: ISAAC'S RETURN (FILM)
Release Date: October 19, 1999 (Set 19 years after the events of Children of the Corn, so 1997)
Series: Stephen King Universe (the works of Stephen King)
The Story: Hannah returns to Gatlin and awakens Isaac from a 19 year coma.
Notes: Isaac was in a coma for 19 years, since the events of the original film. Since the film that this is a sequel to came out in 1984, which would have been only 15 years ago, but the original short story was published in 1978, which was 21 years ago, it seems to me that the writers were basing the dates of the original story on the literary release, confirming that the film series is meant to be part of the same universe as the literary versions. This is a sequel to the film which takes place in the Horror Universe/TVCU. It follows Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998), and is followed by Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001). 
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CHILDREN OF THE CORN: REVELATION (FILM)
Release Date: October 9, 2001 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Stephen King Universe (the works of Stephen King)
The Story: Jamie goes to visit her grandmother in Omaha, to find her grandma's home occupied by possessed children who summon a demon to kill Jamie.
Notes: This film follows Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return (1999) and is followed by Children of the Corn: Genesis (2011). 
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CHILDREN OF THE CORN: GENESIS (FILM)
Release Date: March 17, 2012 (Contemporary Setting)
Series: Stephen King Universe (the works of Stephen King)
The Story: A young couple try to free a captive child with disastrous results.
Notes: This is a sequel, not a remake, even if the plot is the same as the original story. That's why it's called Genesis. It's in a way going back to the beginning, as in where it all started and the original premise. This film follows Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001) and is the final film in the series. It's interesting to note also that the original film was remade in 2009, and yet, this is a sequel to the 1984 film, not to the 2009 film that came out three years prior to this film.

Saved by the Bell

Because nobody demanded it, this is a spin-off of my recent Disney post.  It's alright 'cause I'm saved by the bell

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1939--SAVED BY THE BELLE--The trio has taken jobs selling fur coats and are sent to the tropical nation of Valeska. Of course, they aren't successful in selling warm clothing in a hot environment. When they get a telegram from their supervisor saying "to get rid of present wardrobe" the local authorities mistakenly thinking it is saying to get rid of President Ward Robey. Thus they face the firing squad. Though they wouldn't die, it would of course hurt a lot and they would be found out as immortals. Fortunately, a revolutionary rescues them. They join the revolution, and deliver secret documents to the revolution leader, but it turns out they were only carrying a rolled up calendar. Again, they face a firing squad but are again rescued when the same revolutionary shows up with the correct documents. [OK, this really had nothing to do with Saved by the Bell, other than the title. I just included it for fun.]

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1986--SHADOEVISION--There is an alien talk show host and shapeshifter named Johnny Dakota. Later, on Saved by the Bell, the kids will encounter an actor named Johnny Dakota.

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1987 to 1988--GOOD MORNING, MISS BLISS--There is a great synopsis of Saved by the Bell and it's spin-offs, as well as this precursor. It's by Thom Holbrook. Read it here.

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Fall 1989--WHO SHRUNK SATURDAY MORNING?--The kids from Bayside, John Candy from CAMP CANDY, and ALF meet to discuss the new NBC Saturday morning line-up.

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1989 to 1993--SAVED BY THE BELL--A TV show centered on six students and their years at Bayside High School in Palisades, California.

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1990--TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES--In the TVCU, the 80s animated Turtles are canon according to James Bojaciuk, but this live action film exists as a divergent timeline within the greater multiverse.  A very specific statue of Elvis that is owned by Screech's parents in the main TVCU timeline appears in this film, instead owned by April O'Neal.  

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February 1992--TONIGHT SHOW--Jimmy Fallon attended Bayside High. This episode seems to foreshadow the film SHOWGIRLS as though Jesse may have been the main character of that film despite a different character name. It also seems to imply that A.C. will change his name to Mario Lopez and have his celebrity career. Kelley is pregnant in this skit, which must have not carried to term, and was never spoken of again. There is foreshadowing of moving to 90210. Another episode of the TONIGHT SHOW reveals that Zack later changes his name to Mark-Paul Gosselaar and has his celebrity career and that Kelley will go on to change her name to Valerie Malone and will move to 90210. Valerie was supposed to have grown up in Minnesota with the Walshes, but since Kelley wasn't in the Disney version of Saved by the Bell, Good Morning Miss Bliss, perhaps Valerie moved to California her freshman year, and started calling herself by a new name. Witness protection? Then after a brief marriage to Zack, moved to 90210, returning to her real name.

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Spring 1992--FRIENDS OF THE PEOPLE--"Black Kids of Bayside"--is about just that.

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November 1992--SAVED BY THE BELL: HAWAIIAN STYLE--Kelly's grandfather, Harry, invites the gang for a vacation at his hotel, the Hawaiian Hideaway, in Honolulu, but they soon discover that a rival threatens to put Harry out of business and scheme to help save the Hideaway.

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1993 to 1994--SAVED BY THE BELL: THE COLLEGE YEARS--The kids from Bayside attend California University, which is also the setting for the college years of 90210.

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1993 to 2000--SAVED BY THE BELL: THE NEW CLASS--Belding (later joined by Screech) deal with a new batch of kids.

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October 1994--SAVED BY THE BELL: WEDDING IN LAS VEGAS--Zack marries Kelley.
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January 2003 to November 2007--THAT'S SO RAVEN--Raven attends Bayside High School in San Francisco.  Greg (of Dharma and Greg) also attended this high school, as seen in a class reunion episode of DHARMA AND GREG.  Bayside High was also the setting of SAVED BY THE BELL, and the same sets are used on That's So Raven.  An oddity regarding Bayside High on Saved by the Bell is that the school moves.  Perhaps some sort of witchcraft is involved to explain this.  When Saved by the Bell went by its original name of Good Morning Miss Bliss (when it was on the Disney Channel, thus linking another Disney Channel show), the setting was John F. Kennedy Middle School in Indianapolis.  When the show was retooled by NBC as Saved by the Bell, it now took place at Bayside High in Palisades, California.  Did Zack, Screech, and Lisa all move?  Also, Principle Belding would have also had to have moved with them.  And Jessie on Saved by the Bell was established to have been friends with Zack since they were little kids.  It's a strange mystery of the TVCU how these kids and their principle ended up all moving together (with their families as well, of course.)  And then another mystery how the school itself later moved across state.  Though Good Morning Miss Bliss was on the Disney Channel, and links to That's So Raven, I will later cover the Saved by the Bell franchise in a future blog post.  Click here for Thom Holbrook's view on the migration of Bayside High.

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April 2006--ROBOT CHICKEN--"Federated Resources"--Screech shows up to rescue "the Coreys".

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September 2008--ROBOT CHICKEN--"Boo Cocky"--This one must only exist in the alternate Robot Chicken Universe, since it involves the kids from Bayside being tortured by Jigsaw from SAW.



Fall 2009 to Spring 2010--AMERICAN PIE PRESENTS:  THE BOOK OF LOVE--Meanwhile, back in East Great Falls High, where it all begins, three teen virgins seek out the infamous Book of Love that Kevin consulted in the original film after his older brother revealed it to him.  But they accidentally start a fire that destroys the book, which is revealed to have been created by Jim's dad.  They decide they must then recreate the book, and sexual misadventures abound.  This is said to take place eleven years after American Pie.  Though American Pie took place in the spring of 1999, their school year would have been 1998 - 1999, so that would place this in 2009 - 2010.  This film was released in 2009.  In order to recreate the book, the original creator Noah Levenstein (Jim's Dad) calls up some contributors from over the years, including Dustin Diamond, C. Thomas Howell, Robert Romanus, Tim Matheson, and Christopher Knight. Since they're not named, we can assume they're older versions of their characters from Saved by the Bell, Secret Admirer, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Animal House and the Brady Bunch.



October 2007--IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA--"Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire"--Charlie is wearing a Bayside Tigers shirt.  This is the first time.  He'll wear it again in later episodes.  

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March 2009--MUCHACHADANUI--There is a magical being called Kelikapouski, which is kind of interesting based on my theory earlier that Kelly Kapowski was only an alias used by Valerie Malone.  

2009--THE KILLING ROOM--A character is wearing a Bayside Tigers shirt.  

2010--THE OTHER GUYS--A character is wearing a Bayside Tigers shirt.

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October 2011--RAISING HOPE--"Henderson, Nevada-Adjacent, Baby!  Henderson, Nevada-Adjacent!"--Jimmy wears a Bayside Tigers shirt.

January 16, 2012--WWE RAW--Mr. Belding attending a wrestling match.

 

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March 2012--VICTORIOUS--"April Fools Blank"--Mr. Belding appears, thus creating a solid link between the Disney shows and the Nick shows.  Victorious, as I'll cover in a later blog, of course connects to iCarley and Sam & Cat.

Spring 2012--GIRLS GONE DEAD--In what must be an alternate universe, several characters have the same names as characters from SAVED BY THE BELL.

August 29, 2014--THE JBL & COLE SHOW--Two bad wrestlers are called to Mr. Belding's office, and another wrestler shared Zack Morris' abilities to freeze time and talk to the audience.  Watch here.

2015--MEDIAS RES--Johnny Dakota, shapeshifting alien celebrity, once more appears.

The Stepford Wives

THE STEPFORD WIVES (NOVEL BY IRA LEVIN)Release Date: September 1972 (Contemporary Setting)Series: Stepford WivesThe Story: A family moves into a new neighborhood where all the wives seem extremely submissive.
Notes: This book is brought in via The Eugenics Wars, which implies that Seven and Lincoln were involved in this story, at least postscript. That crossover brings in this book, but not necessarily the film based on this book, its sequels, or the later remake. However, for the purposes of the TVCU, I think it may be safer to assume that the film, which was released just three years later, is likely the same events as the book. While the script emphasis is on gender conflict and the sterility of suburban living, and thus the science fiction elements are only lightly explored, the movie still makes it much clearer than the book that the women are being replaced by some form of robot. Goldman's treatment of the book differed from that of Forbes, with the robots closer to an idealized "Playboy Bunny"; it has been claimed that the look was scrapped when Forbes' actress wife Nanette Newman was cast as one of the town residents.  The term "Stepford wife," which is often used in popular culture, stems from the novel and is usually a reference to a submissive and docile wife. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, it was sometimes used in reference to any woman, even an accomplished professional woman, who had subordinated her life and/or career to her husband's interests and who affected submission and devotion to him even in the face of the husband's public problems and disgrace.  So there are many characters in fiction who use the term "Stepford Wife", and those don't count as crossovers because they are usually said sarcastically in using the slang term in reference to the film.  
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THE EUGENICS WARS: THE RISE AND FALL OF KHAN NOONIEN SINGH, VOLUME ONE (NOVEL BY GREG COX)Release Date: 2001 (Setting is March 14, 1974 - November 9, 1989)Series: Star TrekHorror Crosses: Stepford Wives; Young Frankenstein; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Frankenstein (novel)Non-Horror Crosses: Avengers (TV), Six Million Dollar Man; The Pretender; Beauty and the Beast (80s TV); Bionic Woman; Star Trek: The Next Generation; Modesty Blaise; Knight Rider; The EqualizerThe Story: Gary Seven is a human agent of aliens with an interest in protecting Earth from itself and Roberta Lincoln is his human assistant. A secret project has been created to engineer supermen. One particular product, Khan Noonien Singh, rises above the rest, and makes an attempt at world conquest.Notes: Gary Seven and Khan were both introduced in separate episodes of Star Trek, both having originated in the 20th century. Gary Seven’s appearance was meant to be a pilot for his own series which sadly never came to be. Khan was said to have conquered a quarter of the planet by the 1990s in the Eugenics Wars, an event that eventually of course never came to pass in the real world, so this is a wonderful story reconciling how it could have still happened without drastically altering the real world timeline from Star Trek’s history of our time period. In the story, Roberta refers to an encounter with robot housewives in Connecticut, a reference to the events of the Stepford Wives. One of the workers at the Eugenics Project is a sallow bug-eyed man called Mr. Eyegor. This is the same Igor (pronounced Eyegor) from Young Frankenstein. Another worker is Maggie Erickson, engaged to a man named Walsh, which means eventually she would take his name and become Maggie Walsh. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Maggie Walsh is the head of a project that creates super soldiers to capture demons, which she uses to create her ultimate super-soldier, Adam. There is also a reference to Frankenstein, as in the original version. Other crossovers in the book bring in the above mentioned non-horror crosses. One final issue to bring up is regarding future stories. There are several stories linked to the Horror Universe that take place in the future. Doctor Who is in and this story brings in Star Trek. Alien is another linked future. Plus, there are plenty of others. But DW, ST, and Alien are the main three. And they are all pretty different in portraying how events of the future unfold. (Most of the other stories can easily fit in one of those main three timelines). I like to think of a timeline as one in which at any point, there is always a now. Looking backwards, there’s only one history. But looking forward, there is an infinite number of possibilities and thus an infinite number of future timelines, all that branch off of the present day Horror Universe.
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THE DICTIONARY OF IMAGINARY PLACES (REFERENCE GUIDE BY ALBERTO MANGUEL AND GIANNA GUADALUPI)Release Date: January 1, 1980 [expanded in 1999] (Setting is 1980 and 1999 in expansion)Horror Crosses: King Kong; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; The Siege of the Red House; The Stepford Wives; The Masque of the Red Death; Shadow: A Parable; Silence: A Parable; Jurassic Park; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu MythosNon-Horror Crosses: The book has 730 entries, all crossovers. Buy the book.The Story: This is a reference guide to places that people who live within this shared fictional reality could visit.Notes: This list of fictional settings is written under the premise that they are all real places that people could visit. Considering the above crosses, it clearly fits in the Horror Universe. Note that this brings J. Sheridan le Fanu’s The Siege of the Red House, and three works of Poe (The Masque of the Red Death, Shadow: A Parable and Silence: A Parable) into the Horror Universe.
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1980--REVENGE OF THE STEPFORD WIVES--Instead of being androids, the wives undergo a brainwashing procedure and then take pills that keep them hypnotized. As suggested by the title, in the end the wives are broken free of their conditioning and a mob of them kill the mastermind behind the conspiracy.

1987--THE STEPFORD CHILDREN--Both the wives and the children of the male residents were replaced by drones. It again ends with the members of the conspiracy being killed.

1996--THE STEPFORD HUSBANDS--The men in the town are being brainwashed by a female clinic director into being perfect husbands.

2004--THE STEPFORD WIVES--It is the powerful woman (played by Glenn Close) who is the evil mastermind of the injustice perpetrated on other women and featuring a Stepford-drone replacement for the male partner of a gay town resident.  Though I'd like to place this in the main timeline, this likely takes place in the TVCU2 because it features the same characters in a modernized retelling of the same story.

MICAH HARRIS (our first returing guest!) and M.H. NORRIS

Next Saturday, March 5, the TVCU Crew will be recording episodes 13 and 14 of the Television Crossover Universe podcast from Castle Wolfenstein on the Grand Guignol Network. 
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In Episode 13, Robert, Ivan, Chris and James will be talking with MICAH HARRIS, author of several novels and short stories for Part II of our interview, because we had a lot more questions and not enough time.  You can find Part I over in the sidebar to the right, TVCU Podcast episode 6, from January 19.

In Episode 14, Robert, Ivan, Chris and James will be talking with author M.H. Norris, whose body of work includes The Lemon Herberts, Badge City:  Notches, and Doc Claus.  She also co-writes an excellent blog at 18thWall.com, where she also works.  

New episodes of the show are released every Tuesday.  You can check out the latest episode at the link provided in the upper right hand corner of this page.
And please join us on Facebook to discuss the episodes.  Feel free to join us before the show to post any questions you have for our guests, and then feel free to join us after the shows to provide feedback.