Maniac Mansion (1990–1993) User Reviews

Sometimes stupid, sometimes funny...there is nothing like it!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 5 October 2021]

"Maniac Mansion" is one of the goofiest TV shows I've ever seen. The plot is insane, the characters are insane and the show simply defies description...though I'll try.

A nice mad scientist (Joe Flaherty) lives with his family in a house built atop a weird meteorite. The scientist apparently turned his four year-old into a 275 pound man with a receding hairline as well as his uncle into a human fly who buzzes about in the episodes and talks. The wife and three kids and aunt (the human fly's wife) all live with him and the show is surreal to say the least....with plots coming from out of left field. For example, the very first episode is the 10th Anniversary Episode...and they have some flashback scenes to early episodes that never actually occurred!

My only complaint about the show is that sometimes the plots look more like it was designed as a kids show (sort of like "Eerie, Indiana") and the humor can be a bit juvenile. I like the strange...but episodes involving the kids acting like kids don't excite me all that much. Well worth seeing...and nothing...I repeat...nothing else is like it on TV.

Funny Show

[timtex · 6 July 2005]

Man, you have to go through a lot if you've never posted comments here before. Anyway, Maniac Mansion was a charming, original and funny show that aired on the Family Channel in the early 1990's. I haven't watched it since then, so some of the details are lost on me, but it was mainly about a family headed by a kooky inventor/scientist (Joe Flaherty) who had a lab in the basement of his home (which looked a lot like Wright's Ennis-Brown house). One day, his son was accidentally transformed into a full-grown man with the mind of a toddler, but the family carries on like it's "just one of those things." And that's just the beginning. Uncle Harry has been transformed into a fly (only his head stayed the same), there's an errant meteor on the property, and almost every episode contains a dreamy fantasy sequence. The acting is over the top--basically, it's wacky, wacky fun. If this series were on DVD, I wouldn't hesitate to own it.

Has potential but failed to keep me engaged

[ThunderKing6 · 10/10 · 5 June 2022]

Maniac Mansion was a mellow 90s sitcom that revolved around a Caucasian family.

I thought it was dark how the baby was stuck as a fat man and the older guy was stuck as a family.

It had some elements like comedy, groundness and good acting, but overall it was a show that was too slow and lacked a bit more energy.

It was a good production, just a bland overall show.

Hilarious.

[Quint-6 · 21 May 1999]

Simply put, a cult series that was never given a chance. Loosely picking up where the wildly popular cult games "Maniac Mansion" and "Day of the Tentacle" left off, the series takes place about 20 years after the events of those games. We find Fred Edison II inheriting a house from his father, Ed (the character in the games). Unfortunately for Fred, a piece of Meteor with a mind of its own is living in the basement, which accidentally mutates his brother into a fly and his toddler into a giant. From there the series follows the family's attempts at re-entering normal society, and the trials of real life that come with it. Overall the show good, but not living up to the legacy left behind by the video games was its ultimate downfall.

Not that great but a decent family series

[Kai-18 · 11 January 2000]

Though it definately has some great moments this series is mostly so-so. It is a good series but it could be better. It definately has a great cast though, especially Joe Flarety as Fred Edison. Fun for the whole family.