La nouvelle famille Addams

The Addams Family charisma, was first dreamed up under the pin of Charles Addams and had been a part of American art culture long before the original Addams Family television show was first aired in the 60's. In his cartoons, seen for over 60 years in the "New Yorker" and many other fine magazines, Americans saw a different side of life. His themes showed the unnatural in its natural setting, being taken for granted and in some strange way always making perfect sense.

In September 1964 we gathered around our TV's and watched this weird new show called "the Addams Family". No one thought it would work, how could they take live actors and recreate that special Addams charm? We decided to watch it. Suddenly it turned out to be good, and each show it got better. Age didn't seem to matter everyone in the family loved it. As we watched week after week, we saw the cast expand their characters, gain confedence and present a trully magical show about a loving family....

Time passed...

It is Oct 1998. The family gathers together again to see this, so called, "New Addams Family" show. As we wait for it to start everybody has an opinion. "Never heard of these actors, why not just bring back some of the movies actors?"...."Why not just create new Addams characters and leave the original names alone"..."there was only one Gomez"...."name the father Repelli, the wife Prunella, the son Pubert, the..."..."can't be done again"..."Mama, are they going to do it like the movies or like the original show?". Most of the people who watched that first show expected to be disappointed. Now 65 shows later, families all over the world still crowd infront of their TV's to watch Gomez, Morticia, Fester, Mama, Wednesday, Pugsley, Lurch, the ever faithful Thing, Cousin Itt, a whole cemetery full of cousins and special guests recreate the wonderful world of Addams for us. Yes, there are weak moments, yes there are strong moments, but when it comes right down to it each one is a pure Addams moment. The cast, crew and writers of the New Addams Family show, have worked hard to bring the Addams Family into the 90's. They accomplished that with out losing the special magic and family love that was a trade mark of the first show. They also managed to do honor to the Addams Family Movies without losing the original show's certian something.

The humor and insight of Charles Addams has been an important part of American culture for over 80 years. The New Addams Family television show has survived it's trial by fire and can take it's place in Addams Family history. Who know 25 years from now we may gather around the WebTV to watch the all new Addams Family of 2025. I bet you it will be a blast too. Especially if Uncle Fester has anything to say about it.

Happy viewing! :)

The New Addams Family provides a refreshing look at our old friends Gomez, Morticia, Fester, Wednesday, Pugsley, Lurch, Grandmama, and of course, Thing. This new series is quite recognizable to veteran Addams fans as a continuation of the amazingly popular 60's show, but with more of the feel of the Addams movies. The writers do, on occasion, show a lack of originality in the plot-lines, which are, four-out-of-five, re-wordings of the original episodes, but the feeling is preserved, and the plots and character development thus far have shown that the developers are resisting the temptation to bring the family all the way into the 90's. The family has a wonderful old-fashioned naivete about them, which has always been one of the main elements of the Addams Family. The original plotlines remain the best, and most interesting. If the script-writers use enough original material and avoid the cartoon-ish humor of Addams Family Reunion and the Munsters, the show may prove a success. The players all fill their roles quite well, living up to the expectations set by their predecessors. Taranto is amazingly reminiscent of John Astin, who he obviously studied in great detail, so as to recreate the work of the master. The other characters are likewise well studied and well executed. Overall, the show lacks originality, but is a good, logical step in the evolution of The Addams Family.

Having watched "The Addams Family" when it originally ran and having seen the Addams Family movies, I'd have to say the New Addams Family series on FoxFamily is incredibly more pleasing and entertaining to me than I found the movies to be. I felt the casting of the original movie ruined its playfulness and really didn't have the same flavor as the 60's series. Glenn Taranto is eerily much more reminiscent of John Ashton and seems much happier and outgoing than Raul Julio was. He and Ellie Harvie portray the Addam's passions more frequently, but in such a carefree way it makes physical touch seem like a normal happy occurrence of two people in love instead of a segway to adult entertainment. Nicole Fugere is an excellent Wednesday and steals the show. Both she and Brody Smith as Pugsly really bring out the children's parts (it is on a children's network) as two average children with just some seriously odd family values. The show is incredibly cast, better written than the movies I saw, and very entertaining; both my son and I love to watch it! It's one of the few 60's revivals that is actually a treat to watch. I just wish the production company would put up a web site for the show as the FoxFamily site is very limited.

I remember the original The Addams Family. It came to the air when I was 8. The humor of those shows stands up even today. The New Addams Family makes a great attempt at returning to those "original" values and humor. Certainly it isn't the first movie (but it is sure a heck of a lot better than the 3rd one!!!) which strove to bring a more modern feel to the franchise. But this new incarnation is actually rather clever. Instead of having a bunch of "names" with new faces to associate with the characters, the producers found relative unknowns that have some amazing resemblances (take a look at Michael Roberds as Uncle Fester) and some very similar vocal characteristics. Close you eyes when Gomez and Fester are talking and you can almost hear John Astin and Jackie Coogan. And Ellie Hervie is a great Morticia. I like this series. It is, of course, only in reruns now. Watch a few of them with an open mind. I think you will enjoy them as well.

How could you ever hope to re-make this classic TV masterpiece? And do it well??? Just look at the dismal failures trying to re-create "the Munsters", or the "cheesy" reunions of the Addams Family. Yecchh!!! This project seemed doomed to failure too. Somehow, it's been updated and updated well. It's not really true to the Charles Addam's original, but is more true to the old TV series. Same stories, but in color, with added touches, like, a Judge Judy character, the internet, swing music, guest stars of note, and the occasional appearance of John Astin as grandpapa. The stories seem fresh.

Of course, the ingredient that keeps it all together is the fine characterization of Morticia by Canadian actress/comedienne, ELLIE HARVIE. She does this with a great look, great intonation, and wonderful facial gestures. The expressiveness may be a bit overdone at times, but c'est la vie (oooooh, that's French!!!), I find myself waiting for her "Jack Benny-esque" contributions.

During the original run of the show, I wasn't yet a teen, but I was totally in love/lust for the sexy Carolyn Jones (Morticia). Does it show? But now, ELLIE HARVIE is the ultimate Morticia and has replaced Ms. Jones in my heart. BRAVO MS. HARVIE !!!

PS... the guestbook isn't working, so it's okay if you email me, ELLIE...LOL