THE GHOST AND MOLLY McGEE

 WARNING: This is about a recently-cancelled series. Some spoilers may follow.

THE GHOST AND MOLLY McGEE
(Disney Channel, Disney+, October 1, 2021-January 13, 2024)
 
Disney Television Animation

 

MAIN CAST:
Ashly Burch – Molly McGee
Dana Snyder – Scratch
Jordan Klepper – Pete McGee
Sumalee Montano – Sharon McGee, Nin Suksai
Michaela Dietz – Darryl McGee
Lara Jill Miller – Libby Stein-Torres

  

This is the story about a young girl and her best friend. …Who happens to be a ghost.

Molly and Scratch.

The Ghost and Molly McGee was created by Bill Motz and Bob Roth. It centered on the titular Molly McGee (Ashly Burch), an extremely optimistic 13-year-old Thai-American who moved with her family to the town of Brighton; a downtrodden town whose chief export were turnips, since it was founded by turnip farmers. She was pleasantly surprised to discover their new house came with a live-in best friend: a grumpy lazy ghost named Scratch (Dana Snyder), whose only desire was to spend his afterlife relaxing and pigging out in solitude. Scratch was initially less-enthusiastic about his new roommates and attempted to scare them out; both for his own peace and to remove the curse he accidentally placed on Molly that bound them together until she moved out. Reluctantly, Scratch warmed up to Molly and found himself reciprocating her friendship and becoming a welcomed part of her family.

The McGees: Darryl, Molly, Pete and Sharon.

Molly’s family was comprised of Pete McGee (Jordan Klepper), her Irish father who worked as a civil engineer and City Council member. He often meant well, but could be a little dimwitted and accident prone. Sharon McGee (Sumalee Montano) was her Thai mother who once abandoned her dreams of becoming an artist. She made a living by doing odd jobs found through an app called Gig Pig (a play on Task Rabbit), and could be very competitive—especially with board games. Darryl McGee (Michaela Dietz) was her mischievous younger brother who was always running some kind of scheme and claimed to many connections that allowed him to get whatever he needed. He had a pet tarantula named Heidi Hairylegs (of which Molly was afraid). Occasionally they would facetime with or be visited by Sharon’s headstrong mother, Nin (also Montano), who was very wise but a poor communicator—especially where Sharon was concerned. Her culture made her very familiar with the concept of living with a ghost and therefore nonplussed by their new family member. Scratch became very enamored by the kind of food Nin could cook, since she was once a restauranteur, and they developed a very strong bond (Scratch would call Nin his “favorite McGee”).

A slumber party with Libby and Andrea.

Molly was on a mission to “enhappify” the world, making Brighton the perfect place for her as it was deemed one of the most miserable areas in the country. This often put her into contact (or at odds) with many of Brighton’s citizenry. At Brighton Middle School, she met her human best friend Libby Stein-Torres (Lara Jill Miller), a book and turtle-loving introvert with a deeply-hidden inner confidence that often had bad luck, clumsy tendencies, a strong conspiracy theorist streak that had her digging into all of the town’s dirty secrets; Andrea Davenport (pronounced AHN-dree-uh if you want to stay off her bad side, voiced by Jules Medcraft), the most popular and richest girl at school whose absentee parents owned the profitable Davenport’s department store (the name came from Davenport, Iowa where producer Britta Reitman grew up); Sheela (Aparna Nancherla), once a contender for Molly’s best friend who had an abrasive but ultimately good-natured personality; and Kat (Eden Riegel), Molly’s helpful and kind pink-haired friend. The Brighton Hills Retirement Home where the McGees often volunteered saw Molly befriend one of its residents, Patty (Jenifer Lewis), who led a long and interesting life and was in love with one-time bad boy Bobby Daniels (Danny Trejo).

Molly with Mayor Brunson and Patty.

Other characters in the human world included Principal O’Connor (Eugene Byrd), Brighton Middle School’s uptight principal that was often targeted by Darryl’s pranks; Miss Lightfoot (Julia Jones), a science teacher who was always worried she’d offend Andrea and had the annoying tendency to microwave fish in the teacher’s lounge; Mrs. Roop (Jane Lynch), a history teacher with such a passion for the subject that she’d consider flunking anyone for merely making fun of it; Mr. Pham (Andrew Phung), a drama teacher who lost his love of life and teaching to stress and fatigue; Mayor Stu Brunson (Patton Oswalt), the often inept Mayor of Brighton who came from a long line of politicians and was always looking for ways to outdo aptly-named rival town Perfektborg; Weird Larry (Trevor Devall), the eccentric pawn shop owner with a pet skunk who tended to ask for help with the most uncomfortable of favors; Irving the Illusionist (Devall), a street magician who got a thrill out of bewildering passersby with his tricks (as bad as they were); Leah Stein-Torres (Pamela Adlon), Libby’s mother who owned the Book Marks the Spot bookstore; and the Davenports Maxwell (Thomas Lennon) and Dorothea (never revealed on the show but instead via a now-deleted tweet by Roth, voiced by Jessica Keenan Wynn). Film director Greta Gerwig made a cameo appearance in “Hooray for Mollywood!” as the director Andrea hired to direct the film she hijacked from Molly and her friends.

The Chairman and the Ghost Council: Lucretia, Sir Alister, Grimbella and Bartholomew

As much as he wished it was, the afterlife wasn’t all fun and games for Scratch. He, like other ghosts, were charged with maintaining their designated haunting’s misery levels through scares in order to feed their boss: a tall, looming grim reaper-like being known as The Chairman. Failure to do so would result in banishment to the Flow of Failed Phantoms. Ensuring his will was carried out was The Ghost Council, comprised of the Barrister Ghosts Lucretia (Grey Griffin, Greg Baldwin in the pilot), Sir Alister (John DiMaggio), Grimbella (Kari Wahlgren using a British accent), and Bartholomew (Baldwin). They resided in the Ghost World, which was accessed by a ghost conjuring a swirling vortex. Scratch was often put into a position where he had to choose preventing his banishment by doing his required scares or preserving his budding friendship with Molly as she actively caused Brighton’s misery numbers to fall.

Scratch flanked by Geoff and Jeff with Abraham Lincoln, Grimbella, Barthrolomew and some other ghosts.

Other ghostly characters included Geoff (originally named Kevin, voiced by Eric Edelstein), a goofy and dimwitted spook that considered Scratch his best friend and who had been in a 100-year relationship with a buff ghost also named Jeff (albeit with a different spelling, voiced by Vincent Rodriguez III); Ghost Bouncer (DiMaggio), the bouncer of the Haughty Haunts Club responsible for keeping the riffraff out; Abraham Lincoln (Kelsey Grammer), the 16^th President of the United States; Ezekiel “Tug” Tugbottom (Chris Diamantopoulos), once believed to have been the great hero of Brighton until it was revealed he had just stolen the credit from his sister, Sally (Kerri Kenney-Silver); Franklin Roosevelt (DiMaggio), the 32^nd President of the United States; Jinx (Liza Koshy), a joy hunter dispatched by the Ghost Council to eliminate Molly; and Sobgoblins (Griffin), tiny ghosts that feed on misery and sadness and make it hard for those feelings to disappear.

Early concept art of Molly facing off against the Ghost Council on Scartch's behalf surrounded by the Flow of Failed Phantoms.

The series was first conceived back in 2007, then known as The Curse of Piper McGee. It would have focused Piper McGee going to Transylvania on a family vacation where she would be cursed by a vampiric ghoul called the Count for accidentally disturbing him. The series would have played out the same way: with the gloomy Count bound to the eternal sunshine of Molly and being forced to partake in her adventures. Motz and Roth pitched it to Nickelodeon, but they passed on it. After being signed to an overall deal with Disney, they pitched the series again; this time titled The Curse of Molly McGee, which received a much better reception. The series was greenlit by Disney Channel in July of 2019 to be produced by Disney Television Animation under the title it would eventually air; which was felt better reflected the relationship between Molly and Scratch. Molly was originally conceived as being half-Black, but ultimately became half-Thai; making her the second Disney Thai-American protagonist after Anne Boonchuy in Amphibia. The setting was also relocated to a town inspired by Motz’s childhood home in the Quad Cities region of Illinois and Iowa after it suffered an economic downturn when International Harvester’s Farmall Works Plant in Rock Island closed in 1985.

Jinx and the Sobgoblins.

Following a first-look during a panel at 2020’s New York Comic Con, The Ghost and Molly McGee debuted almost a year later on Disney Channel on October 1, 2021; with the first 5 episodes being added to Disney+ on October 6^th and further episodes being added to the service in batches after or preceding their televised airings. The series was written by Motz and Roth with Charley Feldman, Sammie Crowley, Katie Greenway, Paul Chang, Peter Limm, Maiya Williams, Madison Bateman, Cynthia Furey, Peri Segel, Jase Ricci, Ricky Roxburgh, Mia Resella, Brandon Hoàng, Sam Cherington, Gloria Shen, Jenava Mie and Mariam Girgis. Justin Rodrigues was the lead character designer, working with Karl Cruz, Claire Nero, Elsa Chang, Ham Firouzan, Harley Huang, Baptiste Rogron, Kali Cruz, and Phillip Light. Some members of the crew were very active on social media and often posted behind the scenes information about the episodes they worked on after they aired. The series’ theme was written by Motz, Roth, Allie Feder and Mike Kramer and performed by Burch and Snyder. Along with the score by Kramer, each episode contained a 1-minute humorous song number tied into the plot written by Rob Cantor. Those songs were performed by the characters involved. 

Molly on her mission to enhappify the world.

The first season largely followed Molly and Scratch as the former explored and sought to make positive changes in Brighton where she could, while the latter dealt with his growing affection for Molly and place within the McGee family that put him at odds with his job and the threat of banishment by the Chairman. Ahead of its premier, the series was renewed for a 2^nd season which saw a bit of a shift in the status quo. The Chairman ended up being destroyed, with Scratch appointed to reluctantly take his place. The naturally lazy Scratch decided to abolish the old Chairman’s rules and only donned the cloak to bark out an order or use its special powers when it served his purposes—which often ended up backfiring spectacularly. A mystery began unfolding as Molly took an interest in uncovering Scratch’s forgotten past. A discontinued strawberry soda unlocked a flash of his adventurous best friend, Adia Williams (Kimberly Brooks), who had moved away when they were children and gave him that soda to always remember her by.

The Ghost Chaser Chens: Ollie, Ruben, Esther and June.

The McGees also gained new neighbors in the Chens, who seemed to be a perfect match for the McGees. Unfortunately, there was one problem: they were ghost hunters. Patriarch Ruben (Leonard Wu) was scared by a ghost as a kid, and dedicated his life to studying and eradicating the supernatural when he wasn’t brewing his own root beer. He was joined by his wife, Esther (Stephanie Sheh), and his children Juniper (Sue Ann Pien, who was autistic like her character), an inventor responsible for much of their gear, and Oliver (Alan Lee), their research specialist. They documented their exploits and posted them online as The Ghost Chaser Chens. It also didn’t help matters that Ollie was Molly’s ideal boyfriend while she was best friends with a ghost.

Molly as a wraith with her soulless body.

Disney had commissioned the writing of 10 scripts for season 3 in anticipation of the series continuing to be a success; bolstered by the response the first batch of season 1 episodes received on Disney+. Season 3 would have seen Ollie become the Chairman after Scratch gave up the cloak and struggling to balance between the worlds. As a result, he was beginning to forget about his life due to all his time spent in wraith form; a ghost-like form a living person could assume to travel to the Ghost World while their body continued performing basic tasks and functions sans personality. Other stories would have seen Libby struggling with writer’s block; Ruben Chen becoming a full-time brewmaster after backing from Dorothea Davenport; Andrea would have had a relationship with her crush, Alina Webster (although this did make it into the Chibi Tiny Tales short “Scratch, Molly’s Third Wheel”); a Purim holiday special; a revolt against the recorder; and Molly attempting to rekindle Mr. Pham’s love of teaching.

Saying goodbye.

However, without the same marketing support of the first episode drop onto Disney+, the second in December didn’t perform as well. Despite the next drop improving, Disney had decided to cancel the 3^rd season by June of 2022. A glimmer of hope for a decision reversal came during the internal upheaval that would see studio head Bob Iger return to replace the embattled Bob Chapek, but that required an even higher threshold of viewership that the series just could not meet. Motz and Roth always had a clear ending in mind for the series, but now lacked the space in which to tell that story. They were surprised when their request for an additional episode to wrap everything up was granted. Before the official word of the cancellation came down, social media posts by Motz on Instagram with the cast wrap party and on Twitter gave all indication that this was the ultimately the series’ fate.

The mysteriously cancelled book.

A book adapting “First Day Frights” had appeared on online retail sites for pre-orders, but ended up cancelled for unspecified reasons by Disney Books. Disney slapped a promotional image on t-shirts, totes and pillows for sale in the Disney Channel Fan Shop on Amazon in 2021. DisneyNOW hosted a game called Bandshell Boo-Nanza on its website, where Molly was in charge of keeping the crowds happy during a week-long talent show. Tasks included making coupons, clearing customer lines, serving ice cream, fixing faders, plugging in plugs, and cleaning up litter. Scratch could help with some of these tasks provided Molly collected enough food. Molly and Scratch were also included in the 2019 game Disney All-Star Racers until the DisneyNOW app was shut down in 2024.

Molly and Scratch amongst other Chibified Disney characters from DuckTales, Big City Greens, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Amphibia, Phineas and Ferb and The Owl House.

Along with appearing in several Chibi Tiny Tales shorts, Molly and Scratch have starred in new segments of the anthology series Chibiverse. They and other characters have also participated in the Disney Channel short segments Broken Karaoke, Theme Song Takeover, How NOT to Draw and Random Rings that aired during commercial breaks. A collection of these from other programs were presented in a half-hour special called Spring Shorts-Tacular with the Ghost and Molly McGee, with Molly and Scratch featured in new hosting segments at various intervals. Along with being on Disney+, several episodes and various clips have been uploaded to the official Disney Channel YouTube.

  

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“The Curse / First Day Frights” (10/1/21) – Scratch unintentionally curses himself and Molly to be bound together until they move out of the house. / Scratch tries to make matters worse for Molly at school when she ends up angering popular influencer Andrea Davenport.

 

“Howlin’ Harriet / The (Un)natural” (10/2/21) – Molly goes camping with the Wilder-Scouts to pick out her human best friend, and Libby’s ghost story ends up becoming a reality. / Molly joins the school’s terrible baseball team and Scratch ends up using his powers to cheat so they can win.

 

“Getting the Band(shell) Back Together / The Greatest Concert Ever” (10/6/21 D+, 10/9/21 DC) – Volunteering at a retirement home inspires Molly to try and resurrect the town’s bandshell, long destroyed by a hurricane. / Needing a performer for the restored bandshell, Molly meticulously plans to get country superstar Kenny Star.

 

“Mama’s Gotta Hustle / Hooray for Mollywood!” (10/6/21 D+, 10/16/21 DC) – When the McGees are unable to afford to fix their van, Sharon begins taking odd jobs through the Gig Pig app. / Molly and her friends get squeezed out of their own horror movie when Andrea gets involved.

 

“Not So Honest Abe / The Best of Nin-tensions” (10/6/21 D+, 10/23/21 DC) – Scratch has Geoff pretend to be Abraham Lincoln so Molly thinks he knows him, but Geoff’s faulty information causes Molly to fail her report. / Molly and Scratch attempt to fix the rift between Sharon and her mother.

 

“Mazel Tov, Libby! / No Good Deed” (10/30/21) – Molly attempts to jazz up Libby’s Bat Mitzvah, but it ends up just giving her a panic attack. / Molly, Darryl and Scratch must spring their teachers from prison after Darryl uses the nice lesson Molly gave him to get them incarcerated.

 

“The Trump Twist / All Systems No” (11/6/21) – To outdo Perfektborg for next month’s issue of Midwest Monthly, the Mayor places Pete and Molly in charge of the Turnip Festival—which Scratch must ruin or face banishment. / Molly and Scratch challenge each other to only say “yes” or “no” respectively for an entire day while the McGees try to get a bee out of their house.

 

“Monumental Disaster / Talent Show” (11/13/21) – After meeting the ghost of the legendary town hero, Molly and Libby are determined to expose him as the fraud he is. / Libby accidentally signs up to be in the talent show and Molly encourages her to do it—until she learns that Libby can’t sing.

 

“Scratch the Surface / Friend-Off” (11/20/21) – Molly tries to create an alter-ego to tell Libby anything since she can’t relay her adventures with Scratch, but Libby just thinks Molly doesn’t want to be friends anymore. / Molly sets up a scavenger hunt to try and bring Libby and Scratch together, but they end up turning it into a competition to see who Molly’s best friend is.

 

“Festival of Lights / Saving Christmas” (11/27/21) – The McGees spend their first Hannukah with the Stein-Torres family as a blackout hits Brighton. / Molly takes inspiration from A Christmas Carol to try and get Mr. Davenport in the holiday spirit and save the town’s Christmas celebration.

 

“Ice Princess / Read, Set, Snow!” (2/12/22) – The spirit of a failed ice skater brings major snow storms with her as she tries to perfect her routine, and Pete reveals himself to be a former ice skater as he steps up to be her partner. / Molly desperately wants someone to play in the snow with her, but everyone just wants to try hygge.

 

“Game Night / The Don’t-Gooder” (2/19/22) – Scratch uses the McGees’ love of board games to cheat his way out of cleaning the downstairs bathroom. / Molly gets tired of being outdone in charity work by Andrea when she does practically nothing and stumbles upon a secret that could expose Andrea once and for all.

 

“Innocent Until Proven Ghostly / Twin Trouble” (2/26/22) – Scratch is accused of eating the anniversary cake Pete baked, but Molly holds a trial to prove his innocence. / The arrival of Pete’s bullying twin siblings causes the depression-feeding Sobgoblins to come to the McGee household.

 

“Goat Your Own Way / A Very Hungry Ghost” (3/5/22) – Molly tries to prove her way of training a goat for the country fair is better than the prescribed way while Scratch trains Pete to get him a fried food platter. / Nin visits to celebrate Sart Duan Sib (a feast for ghosts) which excites Scratch—until Geoff ends up inviting every ghost including the Ghost Council.

 

“Scare Tactics / The Bad Boy Bobby Daniels” (3/12/22) – While Molly nervously searches for Heidi after she gets loose in the house, Scratch and Geoff ditch their yearly scaring seminar. / Molly and Scratch attempt to reunite Patty with her long-lost love.

 

“Citizen McGee / The Internship” (6/11/22) – Molly volunteers to be “Mayor for a Day”, but ends up with the job permanently as Brunson finds it too stressful. / Molly is disappointingly assigned to be Weird Larry’s intern while Scratch gets an intern of his own.

 

“The Lucky Penny / Lock, Stock, and Peril” (6/18/22) – Disasters occur when the already-lucky Andrea ends up possessing a luck-infused penny. / When the others get trapped in the basement, Molly and Scratch go to get Weird Larry to get them out but keep getting distracted along the way and missing him.

 

“Out of House and Home / Home is Where the Haunt Is” (6/25/22) – The McGees all chip in when Pete gets himself hurt, but along the way end up evicted after forgetting to pay the mortgage. / The McGees live in their van in the woods while Scratch tries to scare away any potential buyers for the house.

 

“The Jig is Up / Molly vs. the Ghost World” (7/9/22) – The Ghost Council sends Jinx to find out why Brighton’s joy is going up, and Scratch learns the truth about why ghosts are required to do scares. / Molly becomes a wraith and heads to the Ghost World with Geoff to rescue Scratch from his trial with the Ghost Council.

 

Season 2:

“The New (Para)Normal” (4/1/23) – Scratch reluctantly becomes the new Chariman while the McGees make friends with their new neighbors, the Chens—who happen to be ghost hunters.

 

“Book Marks the Sprite / Dobule, Double, Darryl & Trouble” (4/2/23 D+, 4/8/23 DC) – Molly keeps Ollie busy while Libby and Scratch deal with a story sprite that’s consuming all the stories in the book store. / Darryl becomes a wraith to have fun while his body does all the work, and comes to think everyone prefers his well-behaving body to his true self.

 

“Faint of Art / A Soda to Remember” (4/2/23 D+, 4/15/23 DC) – Sharon becomes intended by the blank canvas when she sets out to do some painting in the basement. / Molly and Libby attempt to obtain a discontinued brand of strawberry soda to help Scratch retrieve memories of his past life.

 

“A Period Piece / It’s Always Sunny in Sunnyland” (4/2/23 D+, 4/22/23 DC) – Molly becomes jealous of the new bond Andrea and Libby form after Libby gets her first period. / Molly creates a theme park experience in their home when their vacation plans get cancelled, but quickly grows tired of planning things out as the week goes on.

 

“I Wanna Dance with Some-Ollie / Davenport’s on Demand” (4/2/23 D+, 4/29/23 DC) – When Molly confesses that she has a crush on Ollie, an upset Scratch ends up finding himself in one of the Chens’ traps. / Andrea’s new app for her store is such a hit that it ends up threatening all the small businesses in the town.

 

“A Doll to Die For / The (After)life of the Party” (5/6/23) – Scratch traps a troublemaker named Lord Doom in a baby doll and Molly attempts to teach him how to be nice. / Scratch plans to ditch Geoff’s party to go to the one being held by the much cooler Jeff.

 

“Frightmares on Main Street” (5/13/23) – When Scratch enlists the aid of other ghosts to turn Molly’s charity haunted house into a success, it attracts the attention of the Ghost Chaser Chens.

 

“The Unhaunting of Brighton Video / 100% Molly McGee” (5/20/23) – Molly, Libby, Scratch and Ollie attempt to get a ghost out of the old video store so that it can become a new community center. / A visit from relatives leaves Molly feeling inadequately connected to her culture and hunkers down to make herself more Thai.

 

“All Shark No Bite / Nin-dependence” (6/28/23 D+, 7/8/23 DC) – Attempting to prove ghost sharks aren’t real, Scratch ends up summoning one that prowls the McGee household. / The McGees become overprotective and smothering of Nin after she hurts herself.

 

“Like Father Like Libby / Dance Dad Revolution” (6/28/23 D+, 7/15/23 DC) – Libby gets a chance to see her dad and is excited about all the things they could do together only to learn he’ll be extending his book-writing tour. / Molly helps Pete get his messages across with viral dance videos, but internet fame goes to his head and he begins to forget his original intent.

 

“Jinx! / Let’s Play Turnipball!” (7/22/23) – Jinx curses Scratch with bad luck until he gets her to say his name three times. / Ollie becomes the star player of the Turnipball team by pure luck, however his misinterpretation of the rules benches him and allows Perfektborg to pull ahead.

 

“The Ghost IS Molly McGee / All in the Mind” (7/29/23) – Molly and Scratch decide to switch bodies to fix Molly’s problem with the school play and Scratch’s problem with the Ghost Council. / Molly and Scratch head into Scratch’s mind to find out the cause of the bubbles developing on his body.

 

“Carbon Zero Heroes / Davenport’s in Demise” (8/5/23) – Molly and Ollie dedicate themselves to a carbon-neutral lifestyle while Libby drags Scratch into her bunker to prepare for the climate apocalypse. / When a new mega-store outside of town drives Davenport’s out of business, Molly must help Andrea rebrand herself online and stop losing followers.

 

“Web of Lies / Kenny’s Falling Star” (8/12/23) – Molly and Scratch believe they accidentally killed Darryl’s spider and are wracked with guilt when they hide the evidence. / Kenny Star is hiding out in Brighton after being branded a sell-out, and Molly tries to help him rediscover his country roots.

 

“Welcome to NecroComic-Con / Fit to Print” (10/28/23) – Molly, Ollie and Scratch must attempt to get the ghost canister back from the Chens before they inadvertently open it and release the Failed Phantoms inside. / Molly becomes editor of the broke school paper and secures major sponsorship from Flavor Burger, only to uncover the scandal that their Turnip Burgers are actually made of Perfektborg parsnips.

 

“Smile Valley Farm / The Grand Gesture” (11/4/23) – The McGees become addicted to a new farming simulation game. / Molly’s attempts to ask Ollie to be her boyfriend are repeatedly interrupted—especially by a piece of Scratch’s ectoplasm that Darryl and June accidentally brought to life.

 

“The Many Lives of Scratch / Alaka-Sham!” (11/11/23) – Scratch’s friends throw him a “death day party” and share far-fetched stories about his death, since he can’t remember it. / Irving challenges Darryl to a magic competition when Darryl and Scratch start performing to sucker money from people.

 

“F.O.N.A.A.! / Game On” (11/15/23 D+, 11/18/23 DC) – Scratch curses Molly to be fear-free for 24 hours so she can go to the dentist, but she spends the day doing reckless things. / Principal O’Connor wants Darryl to join a team sport, but Darryl talks him into forming an e-sports team and bets him he can win on the first try.

 

“White Christmases / Perfect Day” (12/1/23) – As Molly prepares the perfect Christmas for the town seniors, Scratch stresses about finding her the perfect gift. / Molly asks Scratch to create a time loop so she can fix every mistake she makes on New Year’s Day.

 

“Jinx vs. the Human World” (1/13/24) – Jinx steals the Chairman’s cloak and uses it to conquer the Ghost World and restore misery to the Human World.

 

“The End” (1/13/24) – Molly, Geoff, Libby and Ollie discover that Scratch is actually the wraith of a very-much alive man, and Molly convinces him to take his old life back.

 

Special:

“Spring Shorts-Tacular”(5/21/22) – Molly drags Scratch into helping her show off a series of Disney shorts to mark the start of the Spring season.

 

Shorts:

Chibi Tiny-Tales:

“Scratch Haunts the Chibiverse” (10/3/21) – Scratch haunts other Disney Channel characters to raise his scare chart.

 

“Mansion Madness” (10/8/21) – Molly and Scratch make themselves unwelcome at the Haunted Mansion.

 

“Scratch’s Sugar Rush” (10/17/21) – Scratch goes candy-crazy on Halloween.

 

“The War of Décor” (4/3/22) – Molly and Scratch have a disagreement over how their room should look.

 

“Springtime for Mama Scratch” (5/1/22) – Baby animals mistake Scratch for their mothers.

 

“Scratch, Molly’s Third Wheel” (4/15/23) – Scratch looks for someplace else to sit at a concert when Molly sits next to Ollie.

 

Broken Karaoke:

“Broken Scary-oke” (12/5/21) – Scratch sings about haunting people during the holidays.

 

“I Just Wanna Eat Bread” (8/13/22) – Scratch and Molly sing an ode to bread and salad.

 

“Ways We Feel Anxious” (10/10/22) – Libby forms The Stress Girlz with Candace Flynn (Phineas and Ferb), Marcy Wu (Amphibia) and Gloria (Big City Greens) to sing about what makes them anxious.

 

Theme Song Takeover:

“Andrea Theme Song Takeover” (6/12/22) – Molly and Scratch must deal with Andrea’s theme for The Most Fab Andrea Show.

 

“Libby Theme Song Takeover” (5/3/23) – Libby belts out how she’s unable to do a much-requested theme song takeover.

 

“Darryl Theme Song Takeover” (6/24/23) – Darryl’s theme song takeover highlights his many business schemes.

 

Disney Random Rings:

“Scratch Calls the Haunted Mansion” (9/25/03) – Scratch tries to wrangle a referral from one of the other residents so he can move into the Haunted Mansion.

 

How NOT to Draw:

“Scratch Comes to Life” (2/24/24) – Scratch tries several different schemes to get his hands on the animator’s lunch.

BOB FOSTER DEAD AT 81

 

You can read the full story here.

He co-developed Road Rovers; did layouts for Yogi’s Gang, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, CB Bears, Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics, Yogi’s Space Race, Jana of the Jungle, The New Shmoo, Godzilla (1978), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Meatballs and Spaghetti, The Incredible Hulk (1982), Dragon’s Lair and Garfield and Friends; storyboards for Little Muppet Monsters, The New Archies, Camp Candy, Little Shop, Garfield and Friends, Superman: The Animated Series, Freakazoid!, Hercules: The Animated Series, Mickey Mouseworks, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Xiaolin Showdown, Tutenstein, Tom and Jerry Tales, and Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates; was story director for The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley; and did models for Garfield and Friends.

KEN PAGE DEAD AT 70

 

You can read the full story here.

Best known as the voice of Oogie Boogie in the Nightmare Before Christmas franchise, he provided narration and voiced a man in an episode of All Grown Up!

THE MUNSTERS TODAY

 

THE MUNSTERS TODAY
(Syndication, October 8, 1988-May 25, 1991)
 
The Arthur Company, MCA TV

 

 

MAIN CAST:

John Schuck – Herman Munster

Lee Meriwether – Lily Munster

Jason Marsden – Edward “Eddie” Wolfgang Munster

Mary-Ellen Dunbar (pilot) & Hilary Van Dyke – Marilyn Munster

Howard Morton – “Grandpa” Vladmir Dracula

 

 

 The Munsters franchise was built on the premise of a sitcom starring some of Universal’s famous monsters. The gag? They didn’t know they were any different from the ordinary human beings that inhabited the world around them.

The Munsters: Grandpa, Herman, Marilyn, Lily and Eddie.

The notion was first suggested to Universal Studios by animator Bob Clampett as a series of cartoons. He worked on concepts from 1943-45, but the project ended up stalling. In 1963, a similar idea was submitted by writers Allan Burns and Chris Hayward and given to writers Norm Liebman and Ed Haas for further development, writing a pilot titled Love Thy Monster. The original idea took great inspiration from The Addams Family cartoons by Charles Addams, but because Universal owned the rights to Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula, they decided to inject them into the idea. A push was made for it to be animated, but ultimately it was decided to proceed with live-action.

"Happy" Derman as Eddie and Joan Marshall as Phoebe.

Fred Gwynne was cast as Herman Munster, who was basically a goofy and lovable version of the Frankenstein monster. Cast alongside him was his Car 54, Where Are You? co-star Al Lewis as Count Dracula, Herman’s father-in-law who was irritable, sarcastic and often antagonistic towards Herman, but doted on his daughter when not working on crazy inventions in his basement dungeon. Joan Marshall was cast as Herman’s wife, Phoebe, who had a gothic look to her and a very abrasive and tense relationship with Herman while also being seductively lovey with him. “Happy” Nate Derman was cast as their son Eddie, who displayed werewolf-like qualities such as a floofy widow’s peak hairstyle and pointy ears. Beverly Owen rounded out the cast as Marilyn, Phoebe’s niece who stayed with them while she attended a local college. The gag with Marilyn is that she appeared as a normal human girl. While this made her attractive to outsiders, she was considered hideous by her own family and often drew their sympathies. It was this inherent “ugliness” that was often believed to drive off Marilyn’s suitors, rather than the shock of meeting the other members of her family. Together they lived in a decaying Victorian Gothic-style mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Mockingbird Heights--complete with all the dust and cobwebs you could ask for, as well as a pet dragon named Spot living under their stairs--after having immigrated from Transylvania.

A full-color pilot was filmed titled “My Fair Munster”, running 16 minutes (later cut to just over 13), and was used to sell the series to CBS. A second pilot was also filmed; this time in black-and-white and with some tweaks to the final make-up designs for the characters; particularly Herman, who was given more padding to hide Gwynne’s naturally thin frame. Realizing Phoebe was just a carbon copy of Morticia Addams in her appearance and mannerisms, the producers decided to revamp and recast the character as Lily Munster with Yvonne DeCarlo, who used Donna Reed as an inspiration for her performance. Lily had more of a bat motif in her wardrobe and was a lot gentler towards Herman; however, she was capable of displaying a fiery temper when pushed. Derman was also replaced as Eddie by Butch Patrick. Eddie’s personality was initially more feral like his wolf brethren and in general fairly awful, but was adjusted to make him more respectful. Owen would end up replaced by Pat Priest after 13 episodes as she was miserable being away from her boyfriend in New York due to contractual obligations.

The Munsters debuted on CBS on September 24, 1964, running for two seasons and 70 episodes. Bud Westmore was responsible for the show’s make-up design, and the theme song was composed by Jack Marshall. Its first season scored high in the ratings, easily besting the television version of its inspiration The Addams Family on ABC, and earning itself a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Television Series. Unfortunately, its second season was thoroughly trounced by Batman and was cancelled by its conclusion. A spin-off film, Munster, Go Home! was produced and released immediately following the series’ end—with Debbie Watson replacing Priest as Marilyn—as a means to introduce international audiences to the characters ahead of international syndication. It followed the clan as they journeyed to England to take possession of an inherited English manor called Munster Hall; however, their British cousins wanted it for themselves and sought to get rid of their American counterparts. The film was presented in color.

Grandpa and Herman from The Mini-Munsters.

Munster, Go Home! wasn’t a commercial success on its release, but the series certainly was in syndication; finding a whole new audience and popularity in the following decades. 1973 saw the first attempts at a revival, returning to the animated form originally desired. The Mini-Munsters saw the Munsters visited by Transylvania cousins who start the titular band with Eddie (Bobby Diamond). Meanwhile, Grandpa (Lewis, the only one to reprise his role) makes it so that a haunted hearse Herman (Richard Long) bought for the band could run on music when it ran out of gas. That ended up putting them directly at odds with gangsters who recently took over a gasoline company. The special was aired as an installment of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, but wasn’t picked up for a series.

A second revival attempt came in 1981 with the telefilm The Munsters’ Revenge, which aired on NBC. The original cast was reunited, with Jo McDonnell taking over Marilyn and K.C. Martel taking over Eddie since Patrick had aged out of the role. It dealt with Herman and Grandpa having to clear their names when a pair of robots resembling them was used by a mad scientist to commit robberies. CBS was so convinced that it would be a hit for NBC that they posted an airing of The Wizard of Oz against it. However, it ended up being a dud and was quickly forgotten.

The Munsters Today cast.

In 1987 another revival attempt had begun development. The idea would take the form of a sequel series to the original, using one of Grandpa’s experiments to put the family in suspended animation for 22 years and have them awaken in the present day. Lewis attempted to reprise his role but he was either insulted by being asked to audition or the producers just decided to start fresh with an all-new cast, and Gwynne was asked to reprise the role of Herman but he outright refused. The cast would end up including John Schuck as Herman (who only took the job for the money), Lee Meriwether as Lily (who starred as Catwoman in the film for Batman, the original Munster-killer), Jason Marsden as Eddie, Hilary Van Dyke as Marilyn (replacing Mary-Ellen Dunbar from the pilot), and Howard Morton as Grandpa. While many of the original Munsters props were recycled, a whole new set needed to be designed to accommodate a multi-camera set-up and a studio audience. The series was also shot on videotape rather than film, giving it a different look from the original.

Pat Morita stops by.

The Munsters Today debuted on October 8, 1988 in syndication. A pilot depicting the suspended animation story was shot but never aired. Instead, that plot device was relegated to the intro and explained in the lyrics over an arrangement of Marshall’s original theme. It was written by Haas, Liebmann, Burns, Steven Baum, Ted Bergman, Barbara Berkowitz, Donna Blinder, Andrew Borakove, Marc Brown, David Carren, J. Larry Carroll, Mark Cassutt, William Cyr, Michael Davidoff, Lisa DeBenedictis, Lisa Eberhard, Howard Friedlander, James Gates, Ann Gibbs, Laura Glendinning, Patty Gordon, Joy Grdnic, Carol Hatfield, Chris Hayward, Bob Destri Hilgenberg, Barbara Hobart, Ron Jarvis, Bryan Joseph, Kathy Joseph, Hope Juber, Craig Kellem, Joel Kimmel, Paul Lander, Neil Alan Levy, Michael Lyons, Mark C. Miller, Danny Morris, Kim Mortensen, Alan Moskowitz, Ken Peragine, Janice Pieroni, Scott Redman, Billy Riback, Neil Rosen, Bill Rosenthal, Daryl Rowland, Jeffrey Russel, Jeffrey J. Sachs, Lane Sarasohn, Robert Schechter, Elroy Schwartz, Lloyd J. Schwartz, Philip A. Scorza, Adele Styler, Burt Styler, Noah Taft, Bruce Teicher, George Tricker and Kimberly Wells, with Rosenthal, Gibbs and Kimmel serving as story editors. David Abbot served as the head make-up artist with Gilbert A. Mosko, and Jody Lawrence was the key hair stylist. Bill Fulton and Lisa Brochet handled the series’ score.

Lily and Herman getting with the times.

For the first season, Today largely emulated the original series with the added “fish out of water” element. Despite some questionable quality in the final presentation that made it to screens, Today ended up finding a large pre-teen audience. The producers decided to better connect with that demographic and made some changes going forward. Beginning with the second season, the out-of-time element was dropped and the family was allowed to join everyone else in the 80s. Their appearances were slowly updated beginning with Eddie’s hair and attire, and then-current pop culture references found their way into their dialogue. For a period, the Munsters even moved into a modern apartment after their house was destroyed by a storm, although this ended up being short-lived. Celebrity guest stars would be brought in for occasional appearances, such as Zsa Zsa Gabor, Pat Morita, Eddie Mekka, and Marcia Wallace, and new characters were introduced such as Grandpa’s favorite ex-wife, Katja (Jo de Winter), and brother, Yorga (Sandy Baron). By the third season, it was clear that ideas were getting harder to come by as they started recycling storylines from the original series, such as Herman being turned into a regular human in “Just Another Pretty Face”, or engaging in outlandish plots, like Marilyn finding a shifty genie (Billy Barty). Ratings declined as a result and it was cancelled; having run 1 season and 2 episodes (not counting the unaired pilot) longer than the original.

The Munsters Today largely faded into obscurity, having seen no home media releases and only being re-aired from 2008-11 on digital subchannel Retro Television Network. But Universal wasn’t done with the Munsters yet—although none of their attempts manage to garner or duplicate the acclaim of the original. In 1995, a new telefilm was released on FOX as a Halloween special called Here Come the Munsters; a prequel of sorts that depicted how the Munsters came to America from Transylvania. De Carlo, Lewis, Patrick and Priest all made a cameo as restaurant patrons. The next year, FOX aired the The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas, which featured an entirely different cast that included Baron as Grandpa. ABC Family (now Freeform) would add Scary Little Christmas to their 25 Days of Christmas marathon line-up in 2009. In 2012, a new attempt at a television series was produced called Mockingbird Lane, which skewed the franchise into darker territory and shied away from the classic Universal Monsters depictions of the characters. The pilot aired on NBC in October, but it was never picked up as a series. The most recent attempt was a 2022 Netflix film written and directed by Rob Zombie, a self-professed lifelong fan of the series. Produced by Universal’s direct-to-video division Universal 1440 Entertainment, the film was again a prequel showing how Herman (Jeff Daniel Phillips) met Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie). Priest again cameoed as a Transylvania Airlines announcer. The film received mixed to negative reviews.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Still the Munsters After All These Years” (N/A) – After getting into Grandpa’s sleeping machine, a malfunction causes the Munsters to sleep for 22 years and awaken in the 1980s.

 

“Vampire Pie” (10/8/88) – Herman decides to win a cooking contest, but Grandpa discovers one of his ingredients causes something in ordinary people.

 

“A Little Russian Dressing” (10/15/88) – Grandpa is awarded 3 wishes in a Transylvanian sweepstakes and ends up wasting 2 of them.

 

“Flyweight Champion of the World” (10/22/88) – Grandpa gives Eddie a strongman formula to help him deal with videos, but it inflates his ego as well as his muscles.

 

“Magna Cum Munsters” (10/29/88) – Herman goes back to school so that Eddie will want to ask him questions when he needs help and ends up in Eddie’s class.

 

“Designing Munsters” (11/5/88) – Lily enters the world of fashion, leaving Herman and Grandpa to do all the housework.

 

“Farewell, Grandpa” (11/12/88) – Grandpa ends up in trouble when its revealed he never got his Green Card when he came to America.

 

“Corporate Munsters” (11/19/88) – Herman’s stocks have led to him getting a position in the company, but he must juggle his new job with being a good dad.

 

“Herman the Astronaut” (11/26/88) – Grandpa and Lily aren’t as thrilled as Herman is that he’s going to Venus as a civilian astronaut.

 

“Rock Fever” (12/3/88) – One of Marilyn’s favorite bands, the Lizards, are turned into real lizards the day before their TV debut by one of Grandpa’s inventions.

 

“Professor Grandpa” (12/10/88) – Grandpa takes a chemistry class to improve his skills after his latest formula destroys his lab.

 

“Say Ah!” (12/17/88) – Herman takes a sick Eddie to the doctor, but all the doctor can focus on is Herman’s appearance.

 

“A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Cereal” (1/28/89) – Herman gets a cereal endorsement deal when he becomes a hero, but wonders if he should do it when he discovers the cereal isn’t any good.

 

“Computer Mating” (2/4/89) – Grandpa uses a computer dating service and ends up with a lady who may be a black widow.

 

“McMunsters” (2/11/89) – The Munsters turn their house into a bed and breakfast to bring in some extra money when times are tough at the funeral parlor.

 

“One Flu Over the Munsters’ Nest” (2/18/89) – Marilyn runs away when she’s forced to break a date to babysit Eddie for a sick Lily.

 

“Green Eyed Munsters” (2/25/89) – Herman gets jealous when Lily spends all her time with her instructor preparing to enter the Mrs. Transylvania contest.

 

“The Not So Great Escape” (3/4/89) – Grandpa wants to enter an escape-artist competition, but Herman and Lily aren’t supportive of his hobby.

 

“Two Left Feet” (3/11/89) – The family of Marilyn’s crush try to break them up after meeting the Munsters.

 

“Lights, Camera, Munsters” (4/29/89) – The Munsters debate on what kind of film Marilyn should do for her project while Eddie’s teacher dreads the need for a meeting with his parents.

 

“Neighborly Munstrers” (5/6/89) – The Munsters’ new neighbors do everything they can to dig a pool into the Munsters’ property—except talk to them.

 

“Munster’s Hoopsters” (5/13/89) – Eddie takes up basketball so that Herman can brag about him…unfortunately, he’s terrible at it.

 

“Don’t Cry Wolfman” (5/20/89) – Two burglars decide to infiltrate the Munster family in order to get to the stolen loot they buried in their house while they were in stasis.

 

“The Howling” (5/27/89) – Grandpa devises a solution to help temper Eddie’s howl so that he can join the glee club.

 

“Eau de Munster” (6/3/89) – Herman tries to keep their house from being torn down for a museum, but Grandpa accidentally douses him with a love potion that makes the councilwoman in charge fall for Herman.

 

Season 2:

“Threehundredsomething” (10/7/89) – Lily attempts to put some romance back into her marriage, but it just leads to a fight with Herman.

 

“There’s No Place Like Home” (10/14/89) – Herman and Lily embrace modern living when storm damage forces them to move into an upscale apartment complex.

 

“Raging Hormones” (10/21/89) – Eddie decides to adopt a new look as he struggles with being a teenaged werewolf.

 

“Murder in Munsterland” (10/28/89) – Losing their invitation causes the neighbors to believe a murder party at the Munsters’ is an actual murder.

 

“The Trial” (11/4/89) – Herman ends up in court after saving a choking man’s life.

 

“It’s A Wonderful Afterlife” (11/11/89) – Grandpa shows Herman what life would have been like if he was never built.

 

“The Eyes Have It” (11/18/89) – Grandpa shows Eddie how to use the “evil eye” to deal with a bully, but it working ends up causing Eddie’s ego to go out of control.

 

“It’s a Sad, Sad World” (11/25/89) – Misfortune causes Herman’s downer of a co-worker to move in with them.

 

“The Melting Pot” (12/2/89) – A bored Grandpa ends up gambling with more than his soul when he plays with the Devil.

 

“Once in a Blue Moon” (12/9/89) – Grandpa’s favorite ex-wife returns to make amends.

 

“Drac the Ripper” (12/16/89) – When murders occur during Grandpa’s absences, Herman suspects he’s the culprit and reports him to the police.

 

“Gateman and Son” (1/27/90) – Chaos ensues when Herman lets his boss’ son stay with the family.

 

“Reunion” (2/3/90) – A wedding leads to a family reunion—which includes Herman’s hated brother Frank.

 

“Pants on Fire” (2/10/90) – The family tells lie on top of lie to get out of helping Lily clean the house.

 

“Munstergest” (2/17/90) – Grandpa’s device to get Eddie to stop watching TV ends up zapping him into it and becoming part of the family of his dreams.

 

“Never Say Die” (2/24/90) – A group of poodles attacks Grandpa’s pet skeleton.

 

“It’s A Baby” (3/3/90) – Herman and Grandpa reminisce about the day Eddie was born when they think Spot is pregnant.

 

“Tell ‘em Herman Sent You” (4/28/90) – A fight with his boss leads to Herman deciding to open his own funeral parlor.

 

“Thicker Than Water” (5/5/90) – Grandpa threatens to rat out a fellow vampire that writes a novel that goes against the vampire code.

 

“Misadventures in Time” (5/12/90) – Herman and Grandpa end up in a future only inhabited by children.

 

“Will the Real Herman Munster Please Stand Up?” (5/19/90) – Lily and Grandpa call on one of Dr. Frankenstein’s descendants to find out why Herman’s been acting strangely.

 

“Deadlock” (5/26/90) – Herman must convince his fellow jurors that his verdict is the right one when he and Grandpa get jury duty.

 

“Take This Job and Shovel It” (6/2/90) – Herman becomes a TV addict when the gravediggers go on strike, and Grandpa ends up taking a job as a shoe salesman.

 

“That’s Gratitude” (6/9/90) – The family must keep Herman from being taken advantage of by a grieving widow.

 

Season 3:

“The Silver Bullet” (10/6/90) – Eddie goes up against his kindergarten rival in a rock video competition.

 

“The Reel Munsters” (10/13/90) – The Munsters take the director of a home-video show to court over his depiction of them as an abnormal family.

 

“Wishing You Were Here” (10/20/90) – Grandpa gives Eddie a magical shamrock for his birthday and he wishes for the love of a supermodel with it.

 

“Three Munsters and a Baby” (10/27/90) – Herman, Grandpa and Eddie end up babysitting while trying to watch a football game.

 

“It’s My Party and I’ll Die if I Want To” (11/3/90) – A party to raise Grandpa’s spirits ends up going south when the guests overstay their welcome.

 

“Makin’ Waves” (11/10/90) – A brush with death causes Grandpa to try and change his ways with the help of a surfer dude angel.

 

“Just Another Pretty Face” (11/17/90) – Grandpa’s new invention accidentally changes Herman into a “normal” human.

 

“Kiss Kiss” (11/24/90) – Grandpa whips up Marilyn’s perfect boyfriend.

 

“Mind Reader” (12/1/90) – Eddie accidentally drinks a mind-reading potion and decides to use his new abilities to his advantage.

 

“No More Mr. Nice Guy” (12/8/90) – Tired of being pushed around, Herman decides to shed his nice guy image.

 

“A House Divided” (1/19/91) – The Munsters end up having to share their house with its new owners after Herman’s promotion falls through.

 

“A Matter of Trust” (1/26/91) – Herman and Lily give Eddie a credit card to show that they trust him, but he ends up bitten by the shopping bug.

 

“Large” (2/2/91) – Grandpa’s experiment accidentally ages up Herman’s boss’ son.

 

“Genie from Hell” (2/9/91) – Marilyn frees a genie and the family competes to get his final wish.

 

“Lotsa Luck” (2/16/91) – Eddie gets good luck from Grandpa’s magic coin, but the curse on it could destroy the neighborhood.

 

“If I Only Knew Now” (2/23/91) – Herman and Eddie go into the music business when Eddie demonstrates the ability to predict a hit song.

 

“Beating of Your Heart” (3/2/91) – Eddie and Marilyn go into the future to see if their guidance counselor’s grim predictions would come true.

 

“Parenthood vs. Childhood” (3/9/91) – Herman and Lily trade roles with Eddie and Marlyn to see how the other half lives.

 

“Das Trunk” (3/16/91) – The Munsters inherit a mysterious trunk from their fun-loving aunt.

 

“A Camping We Will Go” (4/27/91) – Mother Earth convinces Herman to go with the family on an environmentally conscious camping trip.

 

“Breaking the Chain” (5/4/91) – Herman ends up causing the family bad luck when he throws away some chain letters.

 

“Diary of a Mad Munster Wife” (5/11/91) – Lily’s sorority sister writes a book on unfulfilled homemakers that hits a little too close to home for Lily.

 

“The Bet” (5/19/91) – An old vampire buddy of Grandpa’s tries to help him make Herman commit a dishonest act.

 

“Family Night” (5/25/91) – Honesty may not be the best policy when a counselor advises the family to be more honest with each other.