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Just as connoisseurs of '60s rock have always enjoyed the cultural rivalry of "Beatles vs. Stones," fans of '60s sitcom television (truly the first golden age), like to weigh the merits of The Munsters vs. The Addams Family. But other than the macabre settings, there's really no comparison. The Munsters were goofy satire; The Addams Family were far more sinister and sophisticated. Even 40 years later, the latter still stands among the most subversive (even Dadaist!) "mainstream" television shows.
After all, how many sitcoms would host a plot where a circus gorilla moves in with a family and (in all "seriousness") threatens the butler by doing a better job with the laundry?
Born from the wry New Yorker magazine cartoons by Charles Addams, the "Family" (which never actually had names previously) was conceived as a show by Young & Rubicam ad exec David Levy, who saw it as an anti-Father Knows Best just in time for the rise of the counterculture. Smartly, Levy and the Filmways producers (who also made hits Beverly Hillbillies, Mr. Ed, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres) kept Addams himself involved in the development, and drafted Levy's jingle-writer pal Vic Mizzy to pen the finger-snapping theme and other quixotic cues.
Casting was equally inspired: John Astin played Gomez as a sort of demented, gentile Groucho; maturing ingénue Carolyn Jones (Mrs. Aaron Spelling at the time) brought new meaning to the term "matriarch" in Morticia's skintight, tentacle-trained dress; legendary child star Jackie Coogan made Uncle Fester one of the small screen's most original characters; as well as Blossom Rock (sister of Jeannette Macdonald) as Grandmama, Ted Cassidy as the ever-faithful Lurch, Lisa Loring (Wednesday) and Ken Weatherwax (Pugsley).
This 3-disc first season set shows that the formula was almost entirely in place from the beginning, including Morticia's fascination with her carnivorous plants, Gomez's obsession with zenyogi exercize, props like a tank of pirhanas (Tristan and Isolde), Fester's lightbulb and musket, a train set with explosive charges, a playroom full of torture equipment, and running gags about (mostly off-screen) bizarre relatives wth names like "Aunt Blemish," "Grandpa Slurp" and "Cousin Clot" (not to mention Thing). Gomez and Morticia also got away with being one of the most overtly libidinous couples—ever—on network TV.
They even managed to uphold and embellish the original cartoons' social commentary, criticizing the violence, for example, in seemingly benign Grimm's Fairy Tales, and riffing on modern psychiatry, international politics, espionage, "beatniks" (a bit dated in 1965) and ultimately the value of character over appearances. The "Sam" Picasso episode is up there in the sitcom hall of fame with Lucy's candy factory farce.
It's almost inconceivable that it's taken this long for the classic series to appear on DVD, but now that it has, luckily it's been treated with just enough reverence. Included with the initial 22 episodes (of the first season's 32) are three "featurette" documentaries, on cartoonist Addams, composer Mizzy, and one with surviving cast members Astin, Weatherwax (whose original character name was Pubert, fyi), Loring, and Felix "Cousin Itt" Silla, The latter three also provide commentary on three episodes, revealing nuggets like the fact that all the Filmways shows were made on the same lot (Hollywood Center studios), allowing Weatherwax and Max Baer (Beverly Hillbillies' Jethro Bodeen) to make regular lunchtime forays—in character—to the nearby Shakey's Pizza on Santa Monica Blvd.
A theme song karaoke option and galleries of original drawings and pics of Chas. Addams complete the package, which is faulted only by a lack of more goodies from the show itself and some clunky menu navigation. It seems safe to assume that the remaining 40 episodes (including the second season's 30) are forthcoming, hopefully with additional treats.
According to the commentary, there was actually a plan to continue the series in color after two well-received seasons in black and white, but it was abruptly cancelled instead. In a way, that's a blessing. The Addams Family is the rare show which would only be lessened in color. Shot on film in four-wall sets, its respectable production values hold up against time.
But the synopsis of one episode really sums up the whole experience. In "The Addams Famiily Splurges" (originally broadcast January, 1965), it says here: "The family's new computer suggests that they take a vacation to the moon, so they decide to bet on horses to finance the trip."
That's just not gonna happen on King Of Queens, now, is it?
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