Fall TV in 1964 had two interesting shows premiere at only a few days apart from each other. They both had the same basic concept, but with different execution. Starting with September 18, 1964, that's when this sitcom "The Addams Family" first premiered on ABC. The episode was "The Addams Family Goes to School".
This is not going to be a post about the entire series, as there are reasons I couldn't do that in time, but I wanted to do something for the anniversary of the series. So a look at the very first episode but with some more added in to talk about the series as a whole.
Adaptation
This series was an adaptation of a single panel comic series by Charles Addams for The New Yorker. Addams began working at the magazine in 1932, the first Addams Family cartoon came out in 1938. He introduced characters one by one, starting with Morticia, then Gomez, Pugsley, Wednesday, and finally Uncle Fester. The Addams family is rich family with old money that delight in the things we find disturbing and grotesque. They have an unawareness that people find them strange or scary. I will mention that the names didn't really exist at first either. Morticia and Wednesday were named thanks to a doll collection. Gomez and Pugsley were named thanks to the 1964 series. Originally, Pugsley was called Pubert but network people didn't like the name and yeah Pugsley is better.
Television executive for NBC saw one of Addams' books at a bookstore and thought that be great for TV. Addams liked the idea and they thought up names for the characters. The comics were a little dark and the TV series decided to not take that approach, went for a sitcom with comedy and lighter elements. The series was developed by David Levy. The series also ended up airing on ABC.
Meet the Family
My first introduction to the Addams Family would have to be reruns of the cartoon series, though I either remember first seeing the 1973 animated series or the one that aired later. I also remember when they met Scooby Doo and the gang. A crossover that blew my mind. I didn't see the 1964 series until a little later when those reruns showed up again.
I feel that this series was probably a bigger introduction the characters for many before the 1990's movies came out. But does seem to get a little over shadowed thanks to those movies. Originally the series aired on ABC Friday night line up. Also a big night, where Jonny Quest also premiered. Then after that it was The Famer's Daughter, which had its second season premiere. A short 3 season run series, a short 3 run series with 101 episodes. (because TV was better then) After The Addams Family , ABC premiered a new series called Valentine's Day (not the best title)
I don't know if networks thought of flow scheduling then, but that's an awkward line up. I might be implying something here.
Let's talk about something that is really well known thanks to this series- the theme song. The song was written and arranged by Vic Mizzy. He also wrote the score for the The Green Acres theme. (New York is where I'd rather stay)
The First Episode
Let's dig into the first episode of the series, again called "The Addams Family Goes to School". It was co written by Seaman Jacobs and Ed James. This is the only episode Jacobs wrote, but he worked on other sitcoms.
The episode starts and throws the viewer right into the absurdity. Mailman comes by to deliver the mail into the mail box and gets greeted by a dethatched hand-that's Thing. Anyway a truant officer asks the mailman if the house belongs to the Addams family. The mailman says yes and things are going to happen.
Stupid self closing gates/ copyright MGM
I am using the first episode as a way to talk about the series. This is also very fits in with the 60's sitcom era. An era of sitcom that hasn't been matched since. A lot of 60's sitcoms, especially around this point, start to not reject, but move away from a more ridged 50's style of show. Sitcoms where the premise takes something a little off and runs with it. "My Favorite Martian" , a sitcom about a Martian who has come to Earth and that's not the strangest thing about that show. Coming out the same season, about 9 days after this show is "My Living Doll" a show about a guy helping a Julie Newmar robot help become more human.
The other kinds of shows that would exist in this era are shows that take a strange and pit them with a straight man or a force that'd we consider the normal going against the abnormal. Bewitched , which premiered one day before this show, takes the idea of the American married couple and decides to go what if one was a witch? It also takes the idea of a fighting contrast of the husband wanting his wife to do things and be "normal" against the force of her own family and even kind of her, to want to still do and be witch, which she is. The Addams Family are family that are strange to our ideals, but they see themselves as normal.
This episode has the truant officer encounter the house first. The viewer doesn't even see any of the Addams family characters, besides Thing, after the theme song for about 2 minutes. We see the funny things that happen around his encounters with the gate, and the funny doorknob. (Also laugh track, because 1960's sitcom) Then Wednesday answers the door . Wednesday is an interesting character mostly because the well noted depictions of her are from the 1990's movies and then the Netflix show that bares her name. She is more a cynical person and more emotionally disconnected. Shown to be more sadistic and embraces a darker edge of the darkness part of her family's enjoyment. That is not how she is in this series. Also, she's younger than later depictions.
Hello, are you a door to door salesman? / Copyright MGM
Here she answers the door, and there's not much that would give away the strangeness of the Addams Family- other than the funny gags that happened before- as besides having some outdated clothing, even for the 1960's children, she acts with warm and good nature to the guest at the door. Lisa Loring's Wednesday is still a great depiction. She lets him in and she doesn't do anything that makes it seem strange. That's the house's role where the man being our eyes sees the strange decorations of the house.
Knowing the show later usually opts for Lurch to answer the door and bring people in, I like how it's Wednesday letting Sam Hillard in. He's relies on her for ease since the house's strangeness is putting him at unease. While, I won't deny that the Lurch interactions are funnier, because of how the guest(s) are reacting to him and his reactions to them are just as funny. The interaction with Wednesday also gives a great hint to how the Addams's are as people with being warm and welcoming.
This is a man who is wondering how many minutes he has left to live/Copyright MGM
