Season 3 • Episode 22
LatestSometime in the future, Turner ends up as an owner of a television station. He wants to create a show about a family exactly like the one he's had. The two writers he's hired try to make a common show, which Turner doesn't want. He then tells them about events that happened to his family, which gets them to write what he originally had in mind.
Maniac Mansion was a Canadian sitcom created by Eugene Levy, which aired concurrently on YTV in Canada and The Family Channel in the United States for three seasons from September 17, 1990 to April 4, 1993. The series is very loosely based on the popular 1987 LucasArts video game of the same name. While LucasFilm served as co-producers on the series, the show thematically shares little in common with its source material. The series followed the adventures of the Edison family, who lived in a large mansion in an upper-class suburban neighborhood. Fred, the father of the family, was an eccentric scientist, and many of the plots revolved around his wacky experiments. One of these experiments caused his toddler son, Turner, to transform into a large adult man and his brother-in-law, Harry, to be turned into a fly with a human head! They both remained this way for the entire run of the series.
Acting
Joe Flaherty's unhinged mad scientist energy carries every scene.
Practical Effects
Turner the giant baby and Harry the fly-head are gloriously unconvincing.
Writing
Eugene Levy squeezes genuine heart into pure nonsense premises.
Creators
Eugene Levy, John Hemphill, Paul Flaherty, Michael Short
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This represents peak early-90s 'video game adaptation panic'—LucasArts approved a sitcom that shares only a title and mansion with its horror-comedy source.
The show was developed after George Lucas himself suggested a family-friendly take; original game creator Ron Gilbert has called it 'very, very loosely based' with visible pain.
CA
US
