They weren't creepy, but they were kooky. They were the Addams Family. An iconic and classical sitcom from the mid-1960s, this show was probably the last hurrah for black and white television, and also for the domestic comedy. Airing in the same years as 'The Munsters', 'The Addams Family' took the phenomenal illustrations of Charles Addams and twisted them to television uniquely well.
Any discussion of 'The Addams Family' television show needs to have the influence of Carolyn Jones' Morticia disentangled from the conversation. Yes, Morticia is central to the show, but she's also the ultimate intoxicant for many male eyes. This is one of the rare examples for me, where the rest of the show is overshadowed by the lady, despite the great performances being given by the ever wacky John Astin, crazed Jackie Coogan, titanic Ted Cassidy, the child performers Lisa Loring and Ken Weatherwax, and Blossom Rock. It's a fantastic cast, and one that should be appreciated at any age, but Carolyn Jones steals every scene as the refined, loving, feminine and superb Morticia in 'that dress'. Even the shuffling is funny. Jones has a wonderful time, and is perfectly cast, with that wild eyed look both as the lady of the house and her recurring sister Ophelia. Now, let's put Jones and her talents aside, and think about the show in general.
'The Addams Family' is a gem of 1960s genre television. Despite the supposed perverseness of the characters, the Addams clan have been widely accepted as one of the most functional and loving families in television history, while Gomez and Morticia were the first married couple in a comedy to actually be seen as affectionate, loving and passionate toward each other. Imagine that! A married couple with children, who actually still love each other! It's actually hard to think of couples in comedies where the husband isn't simply henpecked into oblivion by domineering wives who are always right. This is a marvel in comparison!
The production value of the series is awesome, where so much care has been lavished on the Addams mansion that there are curiosities and wonderful artifacts in every corner, looking truly authentic even at close range. It's fortunate that the show was cancelled rather than continued into the colour age, as it wouldn't have transferred well or cheaply, and looks utterly awesome in monochrome. Despite it being a true and representative show of the era, which does suffer a little in the DVD age, from a more frequent repetition of gags than you would like, those jokes and performances are excellent. John Astin, especially, is a crazed wonder as Gomez. Never was anyone fitted so wonderfully to a character as Astin in his signature role, which draws on the manic energy of Groucho Marx, who the actor admired, and with whom the producer Nat Perrin worked with and shared happy times. Yes, there is Groucho in Gomez, crossed with a loving family man, a barmy millionaire, and a latin lover. There's far less of the more macabre Charles Addams source material than you would think in the show, which is good. Later versions have suffered from there being too much ghoulishness.
This is a series set in the episodic format, where far more than half of the episodes fit a standard pattern, wherein a member of the 'normal outside world' comes into the Addams mansion, seeking to better themselves and exploit the Addams clan, and ends up confounded by either the family's kindness or cluelessness. Yes, the Addams family may have believed in some strange things, and been somewhat ghoulish, but they were always the nicest and most tolerant people in the show. As a result of this sticking to template, it doesn't hold up to binge-watching as well as some others, but it is excellent nevertheless, and the family is a model for how people really should be: True to themselves, and tolerant of that freedom in other people.
'The Addams Family' is a true single-camera comedy of the golden age of television. Oh, and it has the best Morticia. Oh, Morticia...
O.
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