''Struck by Lightning'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

about

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

, which aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

from September 19 until October 3, 1979. This show was cancelled after three out of 11 episodes were aired in the United States, although all 11 completed episodes did end up being shown in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in 1980 and six out of the 11 episodes were screened on ATN-7 Sydney in Australia from 26 December 1980 to 1 March 1981.

Premise

Ted Stein (

Jeffrey Kramer Jeffrey Kramer (born July 15, 1945) is an American film and television actor and producer. Life and career Kramer was born in New York City and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, graduating from Teaneck High School with the Class of 1963, before ...

) is a science teacher who inherits a spooky old

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

inn inhabited by its hulking, good-naturedly homicidal caretaker Frank (

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainou ...

). It turns out that Ted is the descendant of the original

Dr. Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character and the main protagonist and title character in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''.. He is an Italians, Italian-Swiss scientist (born in Naples, Italy ...

and Frank is the

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

who needs a special serum every 50 years to stay alive, and he wants Ted to recreate it for him ("If you don't, I'll die," he explains, "Let me put it another way, if you don't, ''you'll'' die"). Ted agrees to stay and continue his ancestor's experiments while keeping Frank's identity a secret.

Cast

as Frank *

as Ted Stein *Millie Slavin as Nora *

Bill Erwin William Lindsey Erwin (December 2, 1914 – December 29, 2010) was an American film, stage and television actor and cartoonist with over 250 television and film credits. A veteran character actor, he is widely known for his 1993 Emmy Award-nomi ...

as Glenn Diamond *Jeff Colter as Brian *

Richard Stahl Richard Stahl (January 4, 1932 – June 18, 2006) was an American actor who mostly appeared in comic roles on television and in films. Early life Born in Detroit, he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. In the 1950 ...

as Walt Calvin

Episode list

11 episodes were made, but only the first three were aired in America.

Production

Elam claimed in an interview in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' that he accepted the role of Frank after being told by the producers that he would not have to wear monster make-up because his naturally gnarled and bulgy-eyed appearance was already perfect for the part.

Availability

As of 2010, ''Struck by Lightning'' had not been released on

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

References