THE ADDAMS FAMILY is one of the most requested series to come to DVD. It lasted only two years on TV, but it's impact has
lead to two feature films and another TV series just a few years ago. However, the original series is the best and it leads
to so much complexity while saying so much about family and how eccentric they can be. I loved Lurch the butler, the hairball
known as Cousin Itt, the very strangeUncle Fester (who could light up a light bulb whenever he put one in his mouth), and
Gomez (the eccentric rich guy who drove each of his business ventures into the ground). You should never forget Morticia (the
wife of Gomez), Thing (the mysterious hand that appears out of a box), Grandmama, and the two kids (Pugsley and Wednesday).
Their house was a rundown Victorian mansion with the trap doors in well-repair. The family loved the gloom and yet they had
much love for each other. They stick together and support each other. THE MUNSTERS aired around the same time, but I still
like this strange family known as THE ADDAMS FAMILY the best. So enjoy the first 22 episodes.
VIDEO: 1.33:1 (Full Frame)
The episodes look great. The grey and white values are nice. Image detail is good. Just the one thing that bothers me is
why they used 3 double sided single layer discs when they could have fit the contents of each disc easily on a dual layered
DVD-9.
AUDIO: English Mono, Spanis Mon
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Dialogue is easy to undersatnd and the sound elements come out sounding good without much background hiss.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Audio commentaries were recorded for three episdoes with author Steven Cox (of The Addams Family Chronicles) and the actors
who played Wednesday, Pugsley, and Cousin It:
THE ADDAMS FAMILY GOES TO SCHOOL
MORTICIA, THE MATCHMAKER
COUSIN ITT VISITS THE ADDAMS FAMILY
They reveal what it was like to be on the show in addition to few tidbits like season 3 would have been in color, someone
stole everything from the set after the series ended production, Jackie Coogan snoring on set, Cousin Itt stories, and more.
Three featurettes are on side B of disc 3:
YOU RANG, MR.ADDAMS- a look at the cartons of Charles Addams and how the TV show came about (and that is when the characters
were named for the first time)
SNAP, SNAP- composer Vic Mizzy talks about the theme song and the music of the TV show.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY PORTRAIT- surviving actors from the cast talk about their experiences on the show and their characters
(Gomez, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Cousin It) and the ones that aren't living anymore.
Rounding out side B extras on disc 3 are two still galleries: some of the original cartoons of Charles Addams and family
pictures of Charles and his family.
FINAL ANALYSIS: THE ADDAMS FAMILY makes a great debut to DVD. Hopefully, the next 20 or so episodes will be on DVD-9s instead
of double sided discs. It is a series that will make the whole family laugh and be amazed at the things in the house (and
the odd habits of the family).
this review is (c)10-22-2006 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission (except for excerpts and a link
to the review). Look for additional content at http://enterlinemedia.livejournal.com and send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
