CS Weekly Archive > DVD of the Day > 11/17/06

A Family Portrait, Hung Crooked

by scott castle

The Addams Family: Volume One

Jameson Brewer, Hannibal Coons, Jay Dratler, Keith Fowler, Maury Geraghty, George Haight, Lou Houston, Seaman Jacobs, Ed James, Phil Leslie, Bill Lutz, Charles Marion, Sloan Nibley, Jack Raymond, Jerry Seelen, Henry Sharp, Tony Wilson, and Harry Winkler

Cartoonist Charles Addams' morbid satire of the American family arrives on DVD for the first time in its live-action television incarnation.  The series derived much of its comedy from the reaction of outsiders to the family's more eccentric pastimes—whether it be Gomez (John Astin) and Morticia's (Carolyn Jones) spirited fencing matches, Uncle Fester's (Jackie Coogan) propensity for illuminating light bulbs, or the cadaverous butler Lurch's (Ted Cassidey) sepulchral demeanor, peculiarity abounds and no guest star is spared the inevitable wide-eyed gawk.  Strangeness aside, the Addams family offers no less loving a unit than any other family sitcom, and indeed presents easily one of the best-adjusted groups in TV history.  MGM pulls out all the stops in the extras department, with commentaries from the surviving cast and historian Stephen Cox discussing the show's sense of humor, which is characterized as being to the Marx Brothers what The Munsters was to the Three Stooges.  A brief documentary focuses on Charles Addams and the comics strips’ adaptation to television.

The Addams Family: Volume One

MGM Home Video

Not Rated; 572 min.

$29.98

Buy it now

Scott Castle is one thesis shy of a master’s degree in film.  He’s written two short films, four television scripts, and a handful of short stories. He lives in Los Angeles.

The Addams Family: Volume One courtesy MGM Home Video

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