"The Addams Family" (1964) TV series 1964-1966

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Directors:

Stanley Z. Cherry
Arthur Hiller

Writers:

Hannibal Coons (writer) (25 episodes)
Harry Winkler (writer) (25 episodes)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

18 September 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Horror

Plot:

The misadventures of a blissfully macabre family.

Plot Keywords:

Addams Family | Macabre | Butler | Disembodied Hand | Family Relationships

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Carolyn Jones	...	Morticia Frump Addams / ... (64 episodes, 1964-1966)
John Astin	...	Gomez Addams (64 episodes, 1964-1966)
Ted Cassidy	...	Lurch / ... (64 episodes, 1964-1966)
Jackie Coogan	...	Uncle Fester Frump (61 episodes, 1964-1966)
Ken Weatherwax	...	Pugsley Addams (41 episodes, 1964-1966)
Lisa Loring	...	Wednesday Addams (37 episodes, 1964-1966)
Marie Blake	...	Grandmama Addams (34 episodes, 1964-1966)

Runtime:

30 min (64 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (DVD) (2007) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

This show and its rival series, "The Munsters" (1964), both debuted within a week of one another in September 1964. At the end of that year's TV season, The Munsters ranked #18 in the Nielsens, with a rating of 24.7, while this show came in at #23, with a 23.9 rating. At the time, Nielsens indicated what percentage of American TV households tuned in to any given program. By the end of the following year, both series were canceled.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Uncle Fester: Shoot 'em in the back!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Martin Sheen/David Bowie (#5.7)" (1979)

Gomez Addams was my childhood hero!

Believe it or not, as I watched this show in syndication when I was a tyke, I wanted to be Gomez Addams. Gomez was rich, happily married, dripping with Old World charm, had loving children, kind relatives, a devoted butler, lived in a great house, and the whole family did everything THEIR way, convention be damned!

He made wild, passionate love to his wife (and could turn his libido on and off like a light...yet all Morticia had to do was speak French!), and instead of drinking with the boys, he'd unwind with either yoga, juggling Indian clubs, bouncing on his trampoline, or blowing up his train set. His only vices were smoking cigars and drinking brandy, yet he seemed to do both in moderation.

I loved the little touches the show had. The coffee table with bundles of $100 bills in the drawer ("Petty cash, my good man!"), Lurch's Basso Profundo groan, the Butler's Chime that shook the entire house (with the pull cord a full-sized hangman's noose), the torture chamber turned into a "play room", the quirky decor of the house and the family taking in the moon while others took in the sun.

Gomez and Morticia were the first TV sitcom couple to have an implied sex life (a rather kinky one at that!), and the whole family was healthy and happy...if rather detached from established norms. It was a cleverly subversive program that shows one could be happy without fitting into society's standards. It was so touching to have the family thinking of OTHERS as being troubled and confused, while their own world was so blissful and joyous...even if everything around them was either Gothic or draped in black.

A show like this deserves to be re-issued onto DVD...and if possible, with the laughtrack removed (That would make it even MORE surreal!).