Mansion Site

In 1987, a video game was released which would go on to change the face of Canadian television. That game was Maniac Mansion. The game satirized classic ’50s horror films and was rife with sexual innuendos, classic movie monsters, surfer dudes, and punk-rock wannabes. Sounds like the perfect television show to me! However, the final result was something no one could expect.George Lucas was the one who spearheaded the development (Lucasarts ported the game to the NES in 1990). LucasFilm teamed with the Toronto-based Atlantis Films to expand the idea. Eugene Levy of SCTV brought it to life.The show was inspired by the game, but was not a direct adaptation. For instance, the Edison family were the enemies in the game, but were transformed into the main characters of the show. There’s patriarch Fred Edison, a mad scientist, his wife Casey, and three children: from oldest to youngest, Tina, Ike, and Turner. Casey’s brother Harry Orca and his wife Idella Muckle-Orca also live in the mansionas does an evil meteor which “lives” in the mansion’s basement.A typical episode would start with some sort of havoc being wreaked by the meteor, such as the transformation of Harry into a bizarre creature with a human head and fly’s body. Fred Edison would then have to rush to his laboratory to set things right again.The style of humor often relied on pop culture references and movie and television parodies, similar to the game itself. However, the show also frequently stretched its metafictional wings, letting characters talk to the camera, discuss the quality of the episode, and even revealing that the Edisons were actually actors in a television show about their lives. The series finale of the show presented young Turner as a full-grown man who pitches and ultimately creates the show.The show was well-received by critics, both Canadian and American. Tim called it one of 1990′s 10 best shows, while Entertainment Weekly declared it “100-proof hilarious.” The Los Angeles Times, however, said it best:”Stylized, sharp-edged comedy that’s a bit like David Lynch on helium.”