The BEST episodes of The Munsters

Every episode of The Munsters ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Munsters!

At 1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mockingbird Heights, lived one of America's strangest sitcom families, The Munsters. Strangest looking, that is, for beneath Herman's Frankensteinian facial features, Lily's vampiric visage, Grandpa's Dracula countenance and Eddie's Wolfman looks, lurked possibly the sweetest and most sensitive sitcom family ever to grace the small-screen. This, of course, was the nub of the series: that a family so weird could overcome the everyday problems of modern living - and the fact that people ran away from them, screaming - by their generosity, gentleness and belief in traditional American values.

Last Updated: 12/28/2023Network: CBSStatus: Ended
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Pike's Pique
star
8.28
198 votes

#1 - Pike's Pique

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/22/1964

The gas company wants to run a pipeline 25 feet under the Munsters' house. At that height is would run through Grandpa's dungeon lab. When the workers are digging they get extremely frightened by Herman and Grandpa's appearance. Mr. Pike, the manager of the Gas Company, thinks that the Munsters are trying to scare the workers to drive up the cost of construction on the Munster Property. He thinks its a good idea to visit with The Munsters to see what's going on...

Directors: Seymour Berns
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Prehistoric Munster
star
8.18
33 votes

#2 - Prehistoric Munster

Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/10/1966

Herman has his ego flattered twice by his family. First, Eddie wants to enter him in the Father of the Year Contest. Next, Marilyn wants to sculpt a clay bust in his likeness. When she tells her art professor that the sculpture represents a living person, he plans to make a bundle from his discovery of a missing link. Herman is summoned to his office for an examination, but he's under the impression he's about to receive an award and a bunch of neat prizes.

Directors: Joseph Pevney
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The Treasure of Mockingbird Heights
star
8.00
66 votes

#3 - The Treasure of Mockingbird Heights

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/23/1965

While searching for a fuse box in the dungeon, Herman and Grandpa discover a secret chamber and a clue to the pirate treasure hidden on the Munsters' property.

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Big Heap Herman
star
7.96
26 votes

#4 - Big Heap Herman

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/20/1966

The Munsters are heading for a vacation in Buffalo Valley when Herman gets off for a rest stop at Indian Flats. He wanders into the village of an Indian tribe that specializes in luring the tourist trade. The tribe's eldest member mistakes Herman for an ancient spirit leader.

Directors: Ezra Stone
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Herman's Driving Test
star
7.94
71 votes

#5 - Herman's Driving Test

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/25/1965

Herman gets promoted to hearse driver and has to renew his driver's license. This requires him to take a road test, which he fails. Grandpa convinces him that he'd have better luck taking the test in a one-horse town. He turns out to be extremely correct.

Directors: Ezra Stone
Writer: Dick Conway
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A House Divided
star
7.93
29 votes

#6 - A House Divided

Season 2 - Episode 29 - Aired 4/7/1966

A massive argument erupts between Grandpa and Herman after Herman accidentally destroys a go-cart the two of them constructed for Eddie. Since Grandpa claims to own half of the house, Herman draws a white line down its center and insists that Grandpa remain on his side of the line.

Writer: Dick Conway
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Underground Munster
star
7.88
67 votes

#7 - Underground Munster

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/9/1965

The Munsters' pet Spot runs away from home and is mistaken for a dangerous monster when he is sighted in the sewer. When Herman goes down the manhole to search for Spot, he too is mistaken for a dangerous monster. The Mayor vows to rid the city of these menaces by using TNT.

Directors: Don Richardson
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Zombo
star
7.84
32 votes

#8 - Zombo

Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/17/1966

Eddie, an avid fan of ghoulish TV host Zombo, becomes the winner of the ""Why I Like Zombo Contest"" and gets to be on the Zombo show. Herman becomes jealous of Eddie's new hero and wants to appear equally outlandish. But his efforts to impress his son fail. Eddie eventually learns that Zombo is not a real person but a phony character played by an actor.

Directors: Ezra Stone
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Herman, the Master Spy
star
7.83
78 votes

#9 - Herman, the Master Spy

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/23/1965

In this Cold War episode, a Russian fishing trawler picks up a scuba-diving Herman in its haul of fish and mistakes him for the missing link. The crew members report their find to Moscow, claiming it puts the Soviets ahead in the ""missing link race."" The response from the Commissar is that Herman is an American spy.

Directors: Ezra Stone
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Munster Masquerade
star
7.82
525 votes

#10 - Munster Masquerade

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/24/1964

Marilyn's boyfriend invites Marilyn and her family to a masquerade party. Marilyn goes as Priscilla her boyfriend as John Alden. Lily is Little Bo Peep, Grandpa is Napoleon, and Herman is King Arthur dressed in armor. Marilyn's boyfriend's father (Dressed As Frankenstein) is insulted when Herman compliments him for not wearing a costume :). At the end of the night Herman with a prize for wearing a Frankenstein costume under his suit of armor. Lily and Grandpa feel insulted because that is Herman's real face! However, Herman doesn't realize that he is being insulted.

Directors: Lawrence Dobkin
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Eddie's Nickname
star
7.81
79 votes

#11 - Eddie's Nickname

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 1/28/1965

Eddie wants to quit school because all the kids there call him Shorty. Grandpa helps by fixing a potion to make Eddie grow six inches overnight. Instead, the potion causes the young Munster to grow a full beard and mustache.

Directors: Joseph Pevney
Writer: Richard Baer
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Family Portrait
star
7.79
91 votes

#12 - Family Portrait

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/17/1964

The Munsters have been chosen by Event Magazine as the average American family. Grandpa is insulted by being labeled ""average."" He disappears, jeopardizing the family's photo opportunity and the large amount of prize money that came with it. When a journalist and photographer arrive at the Munster home, Herman and Lily think they are burglars.

Directors: Lawrence Dobkin
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John Doe Munster
star
7.79
70 votes

#13 - John Doe Munster

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/11/1965

A 300-pound safe drops on Herman's head, causing him to develop amnesia. In order to get him released into her custody, Lily petitions the court to adopt Herman as her son. Until he restores his memory, he is treated as Eddie's brother John.

Directors: Earl Bellamy
Writer: Richard Baer
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Herman's Peace Offensive
star
7.73
33 votes

#14 - Herman's Peace Offensive

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/30/1965

Herman advises Eddie to turn the other cheek when he gets pushed around by a bully. Shortly thereafter, Herman is the victim of a practical joke at work. Grandpa takes the situation in hand by teaching both Eddie and Herman how to box.

Directors: Ezra Stone
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Don't Bank on Herman
star
7.71
80 votes

#15 - Don't Bank on Herman

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/11/1965

When Herman and Grandpa go to the bank to make a withdrawal, they are mistaken for bank robbers and handed eighteen thousand dollars in cash. When Herman gets home and realizes the wrong he's done wrong, he can't rest until he returns the money. When trying to bring it back in the middle of the night, Herman and Grandpa wind up locked in the bank's vault.

Directors: Ezra Stone
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Autumn Croakus
star
7.70
162 votes

#16 - Autumn Croakus

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/26/1964

Grandpa is feeling lonely and depressed so he contacts a matrimonial agency to find a mate. The agency sends over a nice looking elderly woman who find Grandpa to be delightful. She turns out to be the Black Widow: she makes her living by marrying her suitors, getting them to sign a life insurance policy naming her as beneficiary, and then murdering them.

Directors: Lawrence Dobkin
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Rock-a-Bye Munster
star
7.68
241 votes

#17 - Rock-a-Bye Munster

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/1964

Herman and Grandpa overhear Lily and Marilyn talking and somehow get the idea that Lily is pregnant. What's really happening is Dr. Dudley's son, Elmer, is coming to stay with the Munsters while Dr. Dudley and his wife are on vacation.

Directors: Norman Abbott
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Happy 100th Anniversary
star
7.66
101 votes

#18 - Happy 100th Anniversary

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/21/1965

Herman and Lily want to buy each other an elaborate gift for their 100th Anniversary. Without telling each other, they both take night jobs as ship welders. Since the job requires them to wear protective helmets that conceal their faces, they don't realize whom they're dealing with when they start flirting with each other.

Directors: Ezra Stone
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Just Another Pretty Face
star
7.65
66 votes

#19 - Just Another Pretty Face

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/13/1966

Herman is struck in the head by a bolt of lightning from one of Grandpa's experiments. It causes him to become so disfigured that he ends up resembling officer Francis Muldoon from CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU? (or how Fred Gywnne looks without makeup). Lily hopes to restore Herman's old face with plastic surgery.

Directors: Gene Reynolds
Writer: Richard Baer
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Herman's Child Psychology
star
7.65
124 votes

#20 - Herman's Child Psychology

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/16/1965

Eddie is upset that his family does not treat him cruelly because he thinks this means they don't care about him. When Eddie decides to run away from home, Herman employs a little child psychology, which naturally backfires. Various circumstances eventually lead to Herman's getting involved with a dancing bear.

Directors: Ezra Stone
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Eddie's Brother
star
7.65
31 votes

#21 - Eddie's Brother

Season 2 - Episode 27 - Aired 3/24/1966

Eddie longs for the companionship of a younger brother, so Grandpa builds him a robot named Boris. Eddie becomes resentful of this silent, mechanical boy who is so considerate and well-behaved that he garners all of Herman's attention and admiration.

Directors: Ezra Stone
Writer: Dick Conway
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Will Success Spoil Herman Munster?
star
7.64
36 votes

#22 - Will Success Spoil Herman Munster?

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/2/1965

Eddie borrows a tape recorder belonging to the disc-jockey father of one of his friends. Herman records a version of DRY BONES, accompanying himself on the guitar. The following day, the disc jockey plays the song on his radio show - and it becomes an instant hit. Herman identifies himself as the mystery singer and quickly turns into an egomaniacal would-be celebrity. Grandpa comes to the rescue with his Nothin' Muffins.

Directors: Ezra Stone
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Follow That Munster
star
7.63
105 votes

#23 - Follow That Munster

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 2/25/1965

Herman goes out each night in order to practice becoming a real detective. Lily thinks he's having an affair with another woman and hires the same detective agency Herman is working for to have Herman followed. In a Plot twist Herman gets the assignment to follow himself.

Directors: Joseph Pevney
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A Man for Marilyn
star
7.63
35 votes

#24 - A Man for Marilyn

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/18/1965

To provide poor unfortunate Marilyn with a future husband, Grandpa tries to turn a frog into a prince. Conveniently, he chooses a nearsighted frog who won't be put off by Marilyn's hideous looks. Not realizing that the potion has failed, Grandpa and Herman mistake a passing stranger for their princely frog.

Directors: Ezra Stone
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Herman Munster, Shutter Bug
star
7.63
99 votes

#25 - Herman Munster, Shutter Bug

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/7/1965

Herman takes up amateur photography and accidentally snaps a picture of two men making their escape from a bank robbery. Herman has visions of getting a big reward for his evidence, but the bank robbers track him down and decide to hold up with the Munsters until the heat is off. This episode revisits the show's recurrent fascination with criminality, especially bank robberies.

Directors: Earl Bellamy
Writer: Dick Conway
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