The Addams Family Debuts with Quips
and Quirky Good Fun
by Kristin Battestella
Neat.
Sweet.
Petite.
Thirty-four half hour black and white
episodes from the 1964-65 television season introduce audiences to
The Addams Family – Charles
Addams' lovable cartoons made flesh thanks to cigar loving Gomez
(John Astin), his literally smoking wife Morticia (Carolyn Jones),
their macabre children Wednesday (Lisa Loring) and Pugsley (Ken
Weatherwax), electric Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan), spunky Grandmama
(Blossom Rock), and deadpan butler Lurch (Ted Cassidy). Of course,
that's not to mention Thing, Cousin Itt, Cleopatra, and many more
quirky pets, relatives, and memorable circumstances brimming with
quips, catchphrases, and ghastly good times. Snap your fingers now!
The
Addams Family gets
right to the spooky fun as Thing reaches from the mailbox in the “The
Addams Family Goes to School” premiere. Truant officers knocking on
the door are met with a roaring rug, a two headed tortoise statue,
and more “we like it, it's so nice and gloomy” décor –
providing the viewer a shrewd tour of who is who or what, as it were.
Fortunately, The Addamses are the ones who find the freaked school
board members “weird.” Initially, they encourage the idea of a
regular school. However, The Addamses become appalled by the violent
Grimm's Fairy Tales being read in the classroom and try to make the
school officials see the light with a stretch on the rack to calm
some nerves. While this macabre but wholesome charm is expected
today, The
Addams Family subtly
makes its moral question of the establishment early in the series.
The Addamses pick losing candidates like Adlai Stevenson, and Gomez
goes overboard with family posters and campaign songs in
“Gomez the Politician.” He's completely unaware the supposedly
respectable nominee doesn't want their warped help, yet The Addamses
are willing to tolerate their white picket fence neighbors in “The
Addams Family Tree.” They assure the children remain modest, don't
flaunt their wealth, and have tarantula gifts on hand when Wednesday
and Pugsley attend a birthday party. The
Addams Family may
ponder them writing rebuttal letter or turning the other cheek, but
make no mistake, this family is ready to defend their honor when
called “kooks.” Rather than outsider plots taking over, it's more
fun to see The Addams gang face normal confrontations or everyday
worries with their own
peculiar elan for the twist
– with talk of duels, Aunt Blemish, Grandpa Slurp, Salem family
history, and your otherwise average skulduggery.
“Halloween
with the Addams Family” brings the whole clan out with sharp
pumpkin carving knives, bubbling potion punches, and worm cookies –
even the kids are dressed in apparently normal costumes to “scare
the wits out of people.” Of course, the innocent, bobbing for crabs
family thinks that bank robbers are just getting money for trick or
treat instead of apples. They are going all out for their favorite
holiday, but The Addamses have never heard of hide and seek and find
it too strange a game. Gomez and Morticia spa Pugsley's pet octopus
in the bird bath and hope an outdoor introduction happens in “The
New Neighbors Meet the Addams Family.” The newlyweds next door
could be imaginative Addams folk thanks to their giant cedar chest,
but when they turn out to be straight laced and high strung, The
Addamses are still willing to be friendly. Inexplicably, that two
headed turtle as a housewarming gift and Uncle Fester popping up from
a trap door in the floor just to say hello don't go over too well,
leaving our eponymous family once again confused as to why their good
deeds and generous intentions go awry. Fortunately, Grandmama's love
dust and Morticia's makeover do aide the jilted Cousin Melancholia in
“Morticia the Matchmaker.” Rather than a fun name reference or
preposterous ancestral quip, it's great to see another family member
come to the welcoming Addamses for a little romantic help – a guest
who's one of their own for Gomez to snag an unwitting business
contact or reluctant local lawyer. Pugsley's super antenna and radio
gizmos, however, attract the authorities for “The Addams Family
Meets the Undercover Man” when overheard references to a roaring
lion and a man eating houseplant are mistaken for suspicious code
talk. Reluctant postman decoys and frightened undercover plumbers may
seem cliché, but it's bemusing to see how the information on The
Addams Family comes
from listening to the radio or waiting for the snail mail. Each
episode always ends with a post-Addams flown the coop letter or a
gone crazy mention which the family always takes as a delightful
vacation or adventure.
Unfortunately,
things aren't so rosy when Morticia and Fester think Gomez's business
has gone belly up in
“Morticia, the Breadwinner.” Grandmama strikes out working at a
beauty salon, the children's “Henbane on the Rocks” drink stand
gets sued, and Fester shockingly becomes an escort for rich widows.
Morticia tries to give tango and fencing lessons without any
students, and Thing pitches in selling pencils for five cents a piece
– accumulating a whopping $1.30 wages among them.
Naturally,
the local bazaar fears receiving shrunken heads and headless dolls in
“Morticia's Favorite Charity.” However, the titular clan finds it
tough to part with their treasures, and Fester's reluctance versus
Morticia's enthusiasm make for some interesting debates. They want to
give something important rather than get rid of things, but their
sentiments backfire in an ironic bidding war for their beloved
donations. Upside down gags accent the pros and cons as Gomez
dictates a harsh letter, Morticia tries for diplomacy, and Fester
threatens voodoo doll violence when the city evicts them to build a
freeway in “Progress and the Addams Family.” There's no caves,
swamps, or quicksand on the new lot where the family intends to move
their entire house, but they agree to be fair neighbors regardless of
who those next door are. Of course, it is the city commissioner who's
willing to have the freeway rerouted if it means The Addamses won't
be his
new neighbors. Fester also fears the worst when a magazine article in
“Winning of Morticia Addams” says that couples who are too happy
must really be miserable – so he enlists the entire family to make
the couple fight “for their own good.” The
Addams Family should
have had more Grandmama and Uncle Fester led episodes, but this
opposite focus with duels and dilemmas is a fun bonus to end the
season.
Though
much beloved, The
Addams Family is
of its time and may not always be friendly for any super young
impressionable viewers thanks to talk of dynamite, hangings, cannons,
and gunfire as games. The adults smoke a hookah and use inappropriate
terms such as spook and midget alongside gypsy masquerades, American
Indian racism, and Eskimo giver jokes mentioning a totem pole gift
from Cousin Nanook. The
Addams Family meanders
in the first half of the season with run of the mill
misunderstandings, leaving the you've seen one, you've seen them all
plots over-reliant on The Addamses quirky chemistry. So many cool
name dropped family members and cartoon references get lost amid
conflicting anecdotes and too many clichés in a row, and derivative
sitcom plots or thin television stock tropes clutter the family
charm. Instead of the local ladies invited to tea clutching their
pearls at haunted house compliments, “Morticia Joins the Ladies
League” wastes time over a gorilla on the loose. Pedestrian clichés
and put on Eastern European accents in “The Addams Family Meets the
VIPs” hamper the zany Addams display, and “The Addams Family
Meets a Beatnik” looses its cool between The Addamses being
unfamiliar with the dated slang and serious moments about yet another
misunderstood stranger kindly accepted. You expect offbeat humor with
The
Addams Family, but
the interesting lessons on gambling
versus investing in “The Addams Family Splurges,” are riddled
with off-putting talk of going to the dark side of the moon, using a
super computer named Wizzo to beat the system, and casual mentions of
suicide or shooting oneself. Likewise, trite insurance scams in
“Crisis in the Addams Family” dampen quality Uncle Fester
mentions of hearty Buzzard broth and gopherloaf. I'd like to have
seen those!
John
Astin (Night
Court)
receives second billing on The
Addams Family as
the cigar smoking, suavely dressed, head
of the house, sword swallower, stock ticker extraordinaire
Gomez
Addams. This Zen yogi society member often stands on his head to read
the paper and the born with a mustache, fiery Castilian loves
crashing his train sets – but he'll lay down the law with his wild
eyed crazy when he must. His ultimate business dream would be to
invent something costing ten cents to make, sells for a dollar, and
is habit forming. Gomez's favorite lunch may be broiled eye of newt
but he's revolted by daisies and fears his frightening effect on
women. Despite sword play and whip practice, Gomez
still carries his wife Morticia across the threshold. They had their
honeymoon in a cave under Niagara Falls and can't resist a good tune
– pacing quickly turns to dancing thanks to every Spanish quip or
French reference.
In “Green-Eyed Gomez,” he's happy the guest room has a homey mace
hanging on the sconce and a hardwood mattress for a visiting former
suitor but hires a frumpy maid to woo the rival away from their
money. Of course, the most endearing part of The
Addams Family is
the then-surprising innuendo between Gomez and his “Tish.” This
was still television's separate beds infancy yet everything from her
touching his cheek to helping put on his coat sets horny old Gomez
aflame. It's amazing the series got away with what they did – such
as actually saying “make love” in this era of whoopee. While all
lovably innocent querida
now, the banter remains sophisticated and witty rather than today's
crass. Unfortunately, this husband and wife never kiss onscreen the
entire season, and poor Gomez is always put off until “later, dear,
later.” No wonder he is so crazy eyed and standing on his head!
Then again, when Gomez hits his head in “Amnesia
in the Addams Family,” he forgets Morticia is his wife, doesn't
want her wearing all black, and thinks their home is a depressing,
condemned museum with Lurch as its gargoyle. It's delightful to see
one of their own be normal for a little while, and
the entire family pitches in to get Gomez back on the rack.
Top billed Carolyn Jones (King
Creole) wears a tight black dress and shimmies with her arms
crossed as Morticia Addams – née
Frump. There's a black handkerchief up her sleeve and she won't stand
for bloodshed in her living room yet Morticia insists black curtains
are cheerful and that “friend” looks better without the “r.”
Whether it is in the playroom knitting three armed sweaters or the
conservatory chopping the roses off the vase of thorns and feeding
strangling plants, Morticia's wicker peacock chair is always nearby
for her to opine on the matters at hand – everything from her
hemlock drooping because it needs more moonlight to reminding her
family “a watched cauldron never bubbles.” The maverick Morticia
paints, uses baking powder make up on her face, and wants to build an
unwanted bats haven, but she always makes sure her children have
clean, sharp nails as well as love and family time instead of harsh
discipline. In addition to her renowned dwarf's hair cobbler or eye
of tadpole and yak casserole, Morticia's giant black ring is filled
with poison and her wolfsbane tea comes with salt, pepper, or
cyanide. Fortunately, her delightful larks, deadpan delivery, and
wholesome zingers are so sincere you simply must concur. She can
light candles with her fingertips and has absolutely stunning eyes to
contrast her demure voice of reason – Morticia always asks if
anyone minds if she smokes and then...smokes. Although previously
engaged to the beady eyed, curled lipped, long fingernailed Rupert
Styx, Morticia says being married to Gomez makes her the world's most
fortunate woman. She gifts her husband with his and hers beds of
nails and does animal imitations that send him a flutter. Morticia
finds it impossible that blondes have more fun, and tells her
“bubele” Gomez that every night is Halloween when they're
together. While her name appears in many of the somewhat misleading
The Addams Family's
episode titles, not many
storylines are truly Morticia-centric. However, this matriarch
remains the star of every episode nonetheless, anchoring each
dilemma or misunderstanding with a morose, moral core.
Silent
film pioneer Jackie Coogan's Uncle Fester likes to remind everyone
that looks, charm, and personality aren't everything when compared to
carrying 110 volts or blinking a light bulb in your mouth. Fester
plays cards and cooks with Grandmama, has a tree house where he likes
to view the lightning, and enjoys cracking the family safe just to
make something mundane an adventure. Though too proud to beg, too
lazy to work, and extremely trigger happy and ready to shoot anyone
in the back, he's generous in spoiling the children with fresh Gila
monsters. Green tongued Uncle Fester prefers science and electricity
to mumbo jumbo, but he can chill a thermometer with his temperature
and uses spray preservatives “just to keep.” Once, he fell asleep
on a park bench and the police carried him to the morgue, but he
prefers his homey bed of spikes. The
Addams Family under
utilizes Uncle Fester's comic
relief to start, reserving him for third wheel foil to Gomez and
Morticia or standard illness and romantic plots as in “Uncle
Fester's Toupee.” Fester has been a little misleading in his
letters to his French pen pal visiting from Paris, Illinois with
embellishments about Cary Grant hair and athleticism necessitating a
series of trial and error wigs for the wooing. While this is a very
simple, stock sitcom premise, there's enough charm, character
personality, and even a whiff of scandalous as Fester adopts Gomez's
arm kissing flair. When Fester objects to the idea that his electric
power is run down in “Fester's Punctured Romance,” he mistakes
the Avon lady as an answer to his personal ad and gets carried away
with the potential for cobras and shrunken heads as wedding gifts.
Gomez must call an electrician to fix a “devolting” in “Uncle
Fester's Illness.” Fester feels rejected for not being able to go
neon or light his light bulb, and sour milk diets or inhaling smog
are to no avail. Fortunately, this is another solid episode with the
whole family getting in on the retro bathing suits, sunglasses at
night, and mercury for the cure – because “a good moonbath is
just the tonic you need.”
The
song says “petite” but Ted Cassidy's Lurch is difficult to refuse
thanks to his imposing height and somber appearance. The Addamses'
butler drives their car, carries the kids, catches guest when they
faint, and uses a mace to tenderize the meat for the sword shish
kabobs. When not relaxing on the rack, he plays the harpsichord while
Thing turns his pages. Lurch may only speak a line or two beyond his
usual “You rang?” however his playing of the theme tune and
incidental musics creates offbeat diegetic scene transitions. The
family wants wallflower Lurch to accept his annual butler's ball
invitation for “Lurch Learns to Dance” and call on the local
dance studio before Gomez teaches Lurch in some wonderful physical
comedy moments. Pep talks from little Wednesday and some goofy ballet
twirls exemplify
how every family member helps each other in their own special way,
making
this one of the best episodes of The
Addams Family.
Lurch has written to his mother that he is head of the manor, setting
up another most memorable entry in
“Mother Lurch Visits the Addams Family.” The Addamses want him to
be happy, and debate on Lurch playing dead or electrocuting his
mother with the doorbell before ultimately pretending to be his
servants for a charming, running the staff ragged role reversal. They
also give themselves two “maybe three” days to build a
replacement harpsichord after Lurch threatens to quit over his 1503
Krupnik being donated to a fishy museum curator in “Lurch and His
Harpsichord.” He prefers Mozart to Fester's up tempo requests, and
emotional pantomiming and attempts at other instruments invoke more
laughs until recording contracts and screaming crowds go to his head
in the terrific “Lurch the Teenage Idol.” The normally shy Lurch
gets really into his singing and harpsichord grooves while Wednesday
does the Watusi!
Well
versed in art, bagpipes, ballet, the occult, and arm wrestling Thing,
Blossom Rock's (Dr.
Kildare)
Grandmama Addams tutors Wednesday and Pugsley, plays darts, and
sharpens her ax for when the taxman comes. She
crochets a tea cozy from the hair off one of her shrunken heads, too.
Unfortunately,
this potentially richly storied character who voted in 1906
pre-sufferagettes because no women allowed wasn't going to stop her
is often referred to but seen the least on The
Addams Family.
If not for their original cartoon appearances, one could dare say
Grandmama and one of the children aren't even needed on the
television series – Fester is already the zany relative and Lurch a
child-like figure for sitcom lessons. Thankfully, Grandmama is happy
to make candied porcupine but won't get dish hands for anyone, and
Fester thinks she's getting selfish in her old age because she hogs
the stocks in the dungeon when she wants to relax. She's mentioned as
off visiting relatives such as Grandpa
Squint and Aunt Vendetta or being on spider hunts, and the children
help her sort the toadstools from the mushrooms for her toadstool
souffle. Grandmama also sets up a fortune telling scheme while the
family is themselves away bat hunting in “The Addams Family in
Court,” and her carnival tent in the living room complete with
incense, hidden foot pedal tricks, a crystal ball taken from the
chandelier, and $84 in tips leads to jail time and some courtroom
antics from her son, Gomez “Loophole” Addams. When she needs help
with her unique brand of painting in “Art and the Addams Family,”
Grandmama calls their ancestral Spain to find Picasso – descendant
Sam Picasso, a babysitting gigolo gardener with an unfortunately
stereotypical, limp wristed gay inflection. This somewhat flawed
entry ends up more about their guest than Grandmama, saved only by
her bemusing Addams notion on how the torture room and suffering for
one's art are one and the same.
Ironically,
the first Addams we meet is the well behaved, mannerly, and sweet
little Lisa Loring as Wednesday Friday Addams. She cries when the
knight in shining armor kills the dragon and looses her front tooth
but loves spiders and gets spunky, punching a bigger boy who insults
the family honor. Wednesday has no time for anyone getting sissy and
plays autopsy with headless dolls. The character is very mature for
her age, at times breaking the fourth wall to shrug at the audience
or sitting in the tree to great visitors with strange little
questions – fully aware of the twisted humor and demented quips at
work. Wednesday has a tiny black tutu for ballet, plays chess with
Thing, and Lurch teaches her piano. She may also have a boyfriend,
but he's the Invisible Man's son Woodrow. When forbidden to play with
her spider Homer in “Wednesday Leaves Home,” she runs away by
hiding in Pugsley's room so she can still be nearby and watch her
parents suffer. It sounds diabolic but the delivery among the
children is so cute you can't help but chuckle. Her mother fears she
will end up with the Brownies and a crabby police officer plot
hampers the kids' storyline, but Wednesday ultimately caves when a
social worker promises to give her apple pie and read her fairy
tales. Both children seem to alternate or appear in one scene each
per episode more times then they are together, but they are always
there for a lesson on not lying and knowing right from wrong. Dear
Ken Weatherwax's ten year old Pugsley fixes his sister's doll by
chopping off its head, and the baby vultures painted on his bedroom
door match his dungeon-style playroom. His piggy bank is shockingly
somehow a real pig that squeals away when it is time to retrieve
money, and though smart with an awareness for parental psychology,
Pugsley experiments with regular kid things – much to his parents
chagrin. There's little focus on the children, and The
Addams Family has
Pugsley go normal too soon in the second episode “Morticia
and the Psychiatrist.” His parents wonder if they've pampered and
spoiled him with too many readings of The
Raven when
Pugsley join the Boy Scouts, carries a baseball bat, and plays with a
puppy in the sunshine. “My Son the Chimp” likewise ends up being
more about everyone else than Pugsley. Thanks to one too many
primates and a magical snafu, the family spends a convoluted, trite
episode trying to fix what isn't broken while Pugsley is actually
content in a secret room reading comic books.
Billed
as “Itself,”
Thing
T. Thing actually seems to appear more than some of the full bodied
family thanks to its getting the mail, serving tea, turning down the
volume on the television, and answering the phone. Despite the
“Beware of the Thing” sign and a sometimes temperamental, tattle
tale disposition; Gomez says it keeps the whole house together. When
not traveling in the glove compartment of the car, Thing writes with
a quill, uses Morse Code to talk, types for Gomez, and apparently
loves music – it plays finger cymbals, tambourine, and flips the
record yet isn't interested in holding hands with anyone and is more
than happy to hand guests their hats to leave. The Addamses realize
how much they can't do without Thing passing the salt in “Thing Is
Missing,” leading to some finger pointing accusations and an ad in
the paper seeking “their Thing.” Though a famed Addams character,
Felix Silla's (Buck
Rogers in the 25th
Century)
all hair, derby wearing, pip squeaking Cousin Itt doesn't appear
until more than halfway through the season in “Cousin Itt Visits
the Addams Family.” He's a layman magician who likes to play the
field but knows how to turn a colorful phrase, for “It's not the
joke, it's the way he tells it.” Itt stays in a tiny attic room
when seeking a new job in “Cousin Itt and the Vocational
Counselor,” but his IQ of 320 and attempt at being a marriage
counselor lands Gomez on the courting chair alone. While the rest of
family moonbathes, Itt is also mistaken for a martian in “The
Addams Family and the Spacemen.” The fifties G-men are somewhat
trite, but The Addamses otherworldly oddness is surmised here with
witty, tongue in cheek fun. Despite numerous guests, incidental
coppers, and typical crooks, it feels like there are less famous
guest stars visiting The
Addams Family this
season save for comedian
Don Rickles as a bumbling robber and the wonderful Grandma Walton
Ellen Corby as Lurch's sassy little mother – who should have been a
regular grumpy antagonist perpetually under the impression that her
“sonny” is head of the house. Though oft mentioned, pets such as
Aristotle the octopus, Kitty Kat the lion, Zelda the vulture, Homer
the spider, Lucifer the lizard, and Tristan and Isolde the piranha
couple are perhaps understandably more often unseen than the burger
eating Cleopatra strangler plant – although anyone who doesn't love
an octopus is inhuman, and Kitty Kat dislikes the taste of people.
Now
you know you know the song, whether the lyrics really rhyme or not,
and the famous finger snapping rhythm sets The
Addams Family's
quirky
mood immediately. Lighthearted family clips anchor the opening
titles, but only Jones and Astin receive star billing while the rest
of the cast comes in the closing credits. The episode titles also
never appear alongside cartoon creator Charles Addams, developer
David Levy (Sarge),
oft director Sidney Lanfield (McHale's
Navy)
or regular writers Harry Winkler (The
George Gobel Show) and
Hannibal Coons and Phil Leslie (Dennis
the Menace).
Although sped up action or rewind speed are used sparingly in the
twenty-six minute runtime, there is an occasional, stilted, slow
motion effect. The canned laughter is totally unnecessary, and bells
or whistle sounds are overused as if the audience wouldn't notice any
slight of hand or sight gags without an accompanying noise. Bemusing
incidental music, a roaring cuckoo clock, a growling rug named Bruno,
the foghorn doorbell, and the house rattling gong/bell pull noose are
more whimsically in tune, and The
Addams Family is
better
when less reliant on special effects and spectacles overtaking the
offbeat charisma. We only see the Addams car a few times and the
repeat footage of the live piggy bank is tiresome alongside gorilla
circus hams, but the reused lion tape is understandable and more fun.
Candlestick and sultan phones, retro pop cameras, the giant stuffed
bear, suits of armor, and Gothic decor make 0001 Cemetery Lane look
more old fashioned upscale than haunted house. Despite the self
opening gate, the bedrooms and briefly seen kitchen are surprisingly
normal. It does, however, seem like we see too little of what should
be a vast house, not to mention that shabby Tudor in the backyard
that's big enough for the whole family yet is referred to as a “play
cottage.” So what if they wear top hats and tiaras to the concert –
with $10 court fees and $18 for the plumber, they can afford it!
At times watching too many of The
Addams Family episodes in a row
becomes annoying thanks to derivative sitcom fodder. It takes
half the season for the series to hit its stride, however the
family-centric bottle episodes get better as the debut progresses.
Parents may need to warn partial young viewers about the fantastic
violence not for imitation yet the fun atmosphere and overall
innocent macabre is perfect for a spooky sleepover marathon. Bonus
cheeky charm for adults, quirky cartoon carryovers, and memorable
personalities make up for any dated humor or standard mid century
trappings with built in nostalgic parody. For all their morbid
veneer, this is a sentimental family treating everyone with kindness
whether they are received in turn or belittled for their kooky style
– reminding us that we can and should all be a bit more ooky with
the first season of The Addams Family.
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