Maniac Mansion (TV Series) - Differences From The Game

Differences From The Game

Although the series and game share several superficial similarities, they are vastly different in terms of plot and characterization.

In the original game, an homage to B-grade horror movies, the plot centered around a group of teenagers who venture into a dilapidated mansion to rescue their kidnapped friend. The mansion is inhabited by the quirky yet murderous Edison family: Dr. Fred, an insane scientist who is possessed by an evil meteor from outer space; his wife Edna, a grotesque, sex-starved nurse who is into BDSM; their son Weird Ed, a paranoid paramilitary survivalist; and their pets, a pair of talking, ambulatory tentacles.

In order to conform to the show's family-friendly status, the game's trademark risqué black comedy and violence had to be omitted and the plot was modified to the point where there was only a vague connection to its source, the primary links being that the show is set within a mansion that houses an extraterrestrial meteor, and the character of Dr. Fred Edison.

In the show, Dr. Fred is portrayed as a goodhearted though clumsy family man rather than the possessed mad scientist shown in the game. The other members of the Edison family were completely changed in name, appearance and demeanor, and additional original characters were added.

The meteor is seldom referenced in the show, although it's prominently featured in the opening credits of the first season via an expository newspaper clipping, explaining that Dr. Fred's grandfather Louis Edison discovered it under his mansion. Throughout the series, Dr. Fred can be seen conducting various experiments either harnessing the meteor's supernatural powers, or experimenting on the meteor itself.

In Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle, the 1993 sequel to Maniac Mansion, the TV show is briefly mentioned, serving as one of the plot points in which the game's protagonist must collect the royalties that Dr. Fred was promised from the creation of the TV series based on the original game (which, in the fiction of the game, was wildly successful and made millions of dollars).