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The Addams Family (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Addams Family | |
|---|---|
 Title card from the series |
|
| Format | Situation comedy |
| Created by | Charles Addams |
| Developed by | David Levy |
| Starring | Carolyn Jones John Astin Jackie Coogan Ted Cassidy Blossom Rock Ken Weatherwax Lisa Loring |
| Opening theme | Vic Mizzy |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 64 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | David Levy |
| Producer(s) | Nat Perrin |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | mono |
| Original run | September 18, 1964 – April 8, 1966 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Addams Family is an American television series based on the characters in Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The 30 minute series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 installments on ABC from September 18, 1964 to April 8, 1966. It is often compared to its working-class rival, The Munsters, which ran for the same two seasons and achieved somewhat higher Nielsen Ratings.
It was originally produced by Filmways, Inc. at General Service Studios in Hollywood, California. Successor company MGM Television (via The Program Exchange for broadcast syndication, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for home video/DVD) owns the rights to the show.
Contents |
The Addamses are a close-knit extended family with decidedly macabre interests. They all have supernatural abilities, although no rationale for their powers is ever explicitly given.
The very wealthy, endlessly enthusiastic Gomez Addams is madly in love with his refined wife Morticia. Along with their two children, Wednesday and Pugsley, Uncle Fester and Grandmama, they reside in an ornate, gloomy mansion, attended by their servants, Lurch, the towering butler, and Thing, a hand that usually appears out of a small wooden box. Occasionally, episodes would feature relatives or other members of their weird subculture, such as Cousin Itt or Morticia's older sister Ophelia.
Much of the humor derives from their "culture clash" with the rest of the world. They invariably treat normal visitors with great warmth and courtesy, even though their guests often have evil intentions. They are puzzled by the horrified reactions to their good-natured, if extremely bizarre behavior. Contrarily, they view the tastes of the normal world with generally tolerant suspicion. For example, Fester once cites a neighboring family's meticulously maintained petunia patches as evidence that they are "nothing but riff-raff."
- Gomez Addams (John Astin). Gomez is passionately in love with his wife. His ardor is greatly intensified when she speaks French (a quirk that first appears in the eleventh episode, "The Addams Family Meet the V.I.P.s"). He is wealthy and charming, but doesn't seem to have money as a priority in life; indeed, he tends to squander his fortune quite cavalierly, yet somehow manages to remain wealthy. He does however spend a great deal of time with his family. His family background is referenced as "Castilian" and he occasionally uses Spanish words or phrases.
- Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones). The cultivated and beautiful Morticia dabbles in art, raises man-eating plants, and trims her roses by clipping off the buds and saving the stems in a vase ("Oh, the thorns are lovely this year"). With her aristocratic detachment, she remains the cool, calm center in the middle of the chaotic events that continually swirl around the family. She is the one most readily offended when outsiders are taken aback by their lifestyle.
- Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan), Morticia's kind and eccentric uncle. His standard gag is to place a lightbulb in his mouth, where it lights up. When angered by outsiders, he may grab for a blunderbuss and announce that he will shoot the offender in the back.
- Lurch (Ted Cassidy). Morticia and Gomez summon him by means of a bell pull in the form of a hangman's noose, which produces a crashing gong that shakes the house. When Lurch appears (usually immediately thereafter), he responds with a deep-voiced "You rang?" According to IMDb, Lurch was intended to be a nonspeaking part, as the Charles Addams cartoon character was silent; however, Cassidy improvised the line during his audition, and it was so well-received that it became a feature of the character. When questions are posed to him, Lurch's primary response is a throaty rumbling sound. Lurch occasionally plays the harpsichord (the music is actually played by Addams Family composer Vic Mizzy).
- Grandmama Addams (Blossom Rock), Gomez's mother. She is a witch who conjures up potions, spells and hexes. She also dabbles in fortune-telling, though it is obvious she is a charlatan.
- Wednesday Addams (Lisa Loring), Gomez and Morticia's daughter - who has the middle name of Friday. The youngest member of the family, she is a strange yet sweet-natured little girl who pursues such hobbies as raising spiders, beheading dolls, and practicing ballet in a black tutu
- Pugsley Addams (Ken Weatherwax), Gomez and Morticia' son and Wednesday's older brother. Kind-hearted and smart, he shares a close bond with his parents and sister, the latter whom he often plays with. He also enjoys engineering various machines (sometimes with Gomez), playing with blasting caps, and his pet octopus, Aristotle.
- Thing (Ted Cassidy, except in scenes where both Thing and Lurch appear), a disembodied hand that appears out of boxes and other conveniently placed containers.
- Cousin Itt (Felix Silla), a short creature completely hidden by his hair (according to Felix Silla's commentary on the DVD release, the voice for Cousin Itt was recorded by a member of the crew in post-production). Gomez once asks him what is under it all; Itt answers, "Roots."
- Ophelia, Morticia's sister. Gomez was originally engaged to her in an arranged marriage, but when he saw Morticia (dressed in a grown-up version of Wednesday's clothing), he fell in love with her. Played by Carolyn Jones in a blonde wig (a staple of 1960's sitcom twins). One quirk of Ophelia's is that the flower growing in her hair had roots that travelled down into her foot.
A reunion film, Halloween with the New Addams Family[1], aired on CBS in October of 1977 and starred most of the original cast, except for Blossom Rock (Grandmama), who was very ill at the time and was replaced by Phyllis actress Jane Rose. The picture also featured extended family members who were created specifically for the production and never appeared in the television series, such as Gomez's brother, Pancho (played by Henry Darrow), a female version of Thing named Ladyfingers, and two additional children, Wednesday Junior and Pugsley Junior.
The interior set of the Addams mansion had previously been used for the 1972 film Ben.
The two shows might seem similar on the surface, but actually have different premises. The Addams Family is about a family of wealthy recluses, who only meet strangers on their own terms. The Munsters are a working-class clan, odd in their own right, but generally friendly and open to outsiders.
In the television series, the Addamses rarely leave their mansion, although both children attend school. They actively discourage their kids from interacting with other children, deeming "normal" kids a bad influence (In the movies, however, it indicates from the school performance that Gomez and Morticia look upon "normal" children with pity rather than disdain). Gomez works from home, where he has a ticker tape machine and seemingly keeps track of his various stocks and other investments via telephone. They eat strange foods that Morticia admits have to be obtained from "specialty shops." Regular people come to their world, and are generally scared by it. Given that most visitors are greeted by Lurch, their hulking butler, or Thing, a disembodied hand, doesn't help matters. The Addamses do not understand that the rest of society doesn't live like them.
The Munsters, on the other hand, consider themselves to be well-integrated members of the broader society. Their son, Eddie, attends public school and has a few friends. Herman has an hourly-wage job at a funeral parlor, but thinks of himself as a regular working stiff. Lily shops at regular grocery stores, and assumes the stares she receives from the locals are due to her great beauty and taste in fashion. Their home life is different that other people, but they don't believe it to necessarily be superior.
MGM Home Entertainment is releasing The Addams Family on DVD in Region 1 for the first time. Thus far, it has released all three volumes, featuring all 64 episodes.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 | 22 | August 10, 2006 |
|
| Volume 2 | 21 | March 27, 2007 |
|
| Volume 3 | 21 | September 11, 2007 |
|
| The Complete Series | 64 | November 13, 2007 |
|
| The Addams Family |
|---|
| Characters |
| Gomez Addams | Morticia Addams | Pugsley Addams | Wednesday Addams | Uncle Fester | Grandmama | Lurch | Thing | Cousin Itt |
| TV |
| The Addams Family | 1972 animated series | 1992 animated series | The New Addams Family |
| Films |
| The Addams Family (1991) | Addams Family Values (1993) | Addams Family Reunion (1998) |
| Games |
| Fester's Quest (1989) | The Addams Family (pinball) (1991) | The Addams Family (1992) | The Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt (1993) | Addams Family Values (1994) | Addams Family (1994) |