Maniac Mansion 

Sitcom about an amiable mad scientist who moves his family into a home inhabited by a sentient meteor.

Creators:

Bob Carrau, Paul Flaherty, John Hemphill

Stars:

Joe Flaherty, Deborah Theaker, Kathleen Robertson

2 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Joe Flaherty	...	Dr. Fred Edison 65 episodes, 1990-1993
Deborah Theaker	...	Casey Edison 65 episodes, 1990-1993
Kathleen Robertson	...	Tina Edison 65 episodes, 1990-1993
Avi Phillips	...	Ike Edison 65 episodes, 1990-1993
George Buza	...	Turner Edison 65 episodes, 1990-1993
Mary Charlotte Wilcox	...	Idella Muckle Orca 65 episodes, 1990-1993
John Hemphill	...	Harry the Fly 65 episodes, 1990-1993

Storyline

Maniac Mansion features the lives of the Edisons; a family living in a mansion in an upscale American suburban neighborhood. Fred (Joe Flaherty) is the father, husband, scientist and inventor. Casey (Deborah Theaker) is the pragmatic mother and wife. Teenage genius, Tina (Kathleen Robertson), juvenile Ike (Avi Phillips) and toddler Turner (George Buza) are their three children. Also inhabiting the mansion are Casey's brother Harry Orca (John Hemphill), Harry's wife Idella Muckle-Orca (Mary Charlotte-Wilcox) and a sentient meteor. Fred conducts many experiments ranging from cloud seeding to saving the environment with worms to creating giant mutated weeds. Most of the experiments have unintended outcomes. One mishap, for the complete run of the series, results in Turner being turned into an adult with the mind of a child and Harry being changed into a fly with a human head.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic series | canadian humor | sitcom | based on video game | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on a popular "point and click adventure" computer game with the same name although, besides the character Fred Edison, the game and the TV series doesn't have any connection between them. They don't even share the same plot or storyline.

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Connections

Featured in Videofobia: Caótica Ana (2014)

User Reviews

Funny Show

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.

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Maniac Mansion

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlantis Films, Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (66 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1