The New Addams Family

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The New Addams Family
New Addams Family.png
Promotional poster
GenreSitcom
StarringGlenn Taranto
Ellie Harvie
Brody Smith
Nicole Fugere
Betty Phillips
Michael Roberds
John DeSantis
Steven Fox
ComposersBarron Abramovitch
Jeremy Sweet
Michael Whittaker
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes65
Production
Executive producersLance H. Robbins
James Shavick
ProducerVictoria Woods
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companiesFilm Incentive B.C.
Fox Family Worldwide
Shavick Entertainment
Saban Entertainment
DistributorSaban International
Release
Original networkYTV (Canada)
Fox Family Channel (United States)
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseOctober 19, 1998 (1998-10-19) –
August 28, 1999 (1999-08-28)
Chronology
Preceded byThe Addams Family

The New Addams Family is a sitcom that aired from October 1998 to August 2001 on YTV in Canada and Fox Family in the United States and CITV in the United Kingdom on weekends. It was produced by Shavick Entertainment and Saban Entertainment as a revival of the 1960s series The Addams Family.[1] To date, it remains the final Addams Family television series, with only a computer-animated feature succeeding it twenty years later. The series was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Plot[]

The Addams Family consists of husband and wife, Gomez and Morticia Addams, their children, Wednesday and Pugsley, as well as Grandmama, Uncle Fester, and their butler, Lurch. The Addams' are a close-knit extended family with decidedly macabre interests and supernatural abilities. No explanation for their powers is explicitly given in the series. Some of the episodes in this series are remakes of the original TV series' episodes with some episodes being exclusive to this show.

Later episodes introduce a relative named Grandpapa Addams who had similar traits to Gomez. Grandpapa Addams was played by John Astin, who had played Gomez in the original series.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Guest cast[]

Production[]

Development[]

The series—shot in Vancouver—featured a new cast and was well received by viewers. Gomez Addams was played by Glenn Taranto, and Morticia by Ellie Harvie. The show reworked several storylines from the original series while incorporating modern elements, jokes, and references to episodes from the original series. John Astin, who played Gomez in the original series, appeared in a recurring role as Grandpapa Addams; Taranto patterned his performance after Astin's original version of Gomez.

Writing[]

One of the notable differences between the original show and the new series was that Wednesday and Pugsley (Nicole Fugere and Brody Smith respectively – the former reprising her role from Addams Family Reunion) were given expanded roles that highlighted their violent and sadistic personalities, made popular by the Addams Family film. Another element carried over from the films was Fester being Gomez's brother, whereas in the original show he had been Morticia's uncle.

Theme music[]

The new theme music, performed by the cast, was a departure from the familiar tune that had served most previous adaptations of the series. The familiar finger-snapping was present, albeit at a faster pace, accompanied by two different characters (first Lurch, then Gomez) saying the word "snappy" twice in rapid succession to match the beat. It was written by Barron Abramovitch, Jeremy Sweet, and Michael Whittaker.

Syndication[]

The series currently[when?] airs on Canadian television channel OutTV.[2]

Episodes[]

There were 65 episodes in the series.

No. Title Directed By Written By Original air date
1"Halloween with the Addams Family"Mark JeanStory by : Keith Fowler & Phil Leslie
Teleplay by : Robert Baird & Kelly Senecal
October 19, 1998 (1998-10-19)
Mistaking two robbers for trick-or-treaters, the Addams Family takes them in for a Halloween celebration. Meanwhile, Wednesday and Pugsley go trick-or-treating as Siskel and Ebert.
2"Deadbeat Relatives"Ron OliverRobert Baird & Kelly SenecalOctober 20, 1998 (1998-10-20)
At the time when the Addams Family are moonbathing, Wednesday recites an incantation that brings Cousin Vlad back to life. He wants to kill Gomez and marry Morticia.
3"The Addams Family Goes to School"Ron OliverStory by : Seaman Jacobs & Ed James
Teleplay by : Peggy Nicoll
October 21, 1998 (1998-10-21)

The school board finds out that Wednesday and Pugsley have never been to school due to Grandmama being the one who educated them and sends a written order to Gomez and Morticia to enroll them at once. Gomez later gets a reaction when he hears that Grimm's Fairy Tales has a dragon getting killed.

Family mentioned: Cousin Imar (who has three arms; Morticia knits a sweater for him where the purple brings out the color in his eye)
4"Fester's Punctured Romance"Harvey FrostStory by : Jameson Brewer
Teleplay by : Peggy Nicoll
October 22, 1998 (1998-10-22)

Uncle Fester's prison girlfriend Cruella breaks up with him upon making parole. Uncle Fester uses a dating service catalogue to hook up with a hateful woman named Lucretia. Uncle Fester mistakes a woman named Melinda Carver for her. Wednesday secretly administers a prick that contains a love potion that Grandmama brewed which works too well. When Gomez and Morticia find out, they instruct her to make an antidote at once.

Family mentioned: Grandpa Squid and Aunt Vendetta (who are in the attic as Gomez goes to check if they are still alive), Great-Uncle Zee (who was affected by Love Potion 666 and kept digging up Cassandra)
5"New Neighbors Meet the Addams Family"Randy BradshawStory by : Hannibal Coons & Harry Winkler
Teleplay by : Peggy Nicoll
October 23, 1998 (1998-10-23)

Newleyweds Hubert and Amanda Patterson move into the neighborhood and learn that the Addams Family are their next door neighbors and landlords. Gomez is more than willing to let the Pattersons out of their contract if they change their minds, but the realtor he hired to manage the house lies to both parties out of greed (as Gomez pays well); he claims the Petersons like the house, while lying Gomez will not let them out of the contract. After days of putting up with the Addams' unwanted visits, the Petersons head into WITSEC to get away; turns out this was the fourth time it's happened.

Family mentioned: Aunt Blemish, Cousin Farouk (whose leg is sticking out of the shark on the Addams Family's wall)
6"Grandpapa Addams Comes to Visit"George EschbaumerStory by : Byron Twiggs
Teleplay by : Peggy Nicoll
October 26, 1998 (1998-10-26)

While his neighborhood is being rebuilt, Gomez' grandfather Grandpapa Addams comes to visit the family and live with them for awhile. While Grandpapa Addams still misses his late wife Delilah, Gomez and Morticia arrange for him to be sent to Club Dead. Grandpapa fears that they are going to send him to a retirement home. His attempts to convince them of his sanity backfire, so they send him anyway. Grandpapa falls for woman at the home, who burned the place down; she oddly resembles Moritica.

Family mentioned: Cousin Winkle (who often gets out of his coffin and sleepwalks, A parody of Rip Van Winkle with R.I.P. as an unspoken joke).
7"Gomez, the Reluctant Lover"Peter RoweStory by : Charles Marrion
Teleplay by : Peggy Niccol
October 27, 1998 (1998-10-27)
Puglsey has developed a crush on his teacher and copies one of Gomez' love letters to Morticia. This causes her to think that Gomez wrote the letter.
8"Morticia the Matchmaker"Gary HarveyStory by : Maury Geraghty & Hannibal Coons & Harry Winkler
Teleplay by : Peggy Niccol
October 28, 1998 (1998-10-28)

Cousin Melancholia's fiancé ran off and she shows up at the Addams Family Mansion in a despondent state. Morticia hooks her up with a law firm owner named Ralph Harvey when nobody else wanted the job.

Family mentioned: Cousin Tracheal (who can smoke through her neck)
9"The Addams Family Tree"Harvey FrostStory by : Lou Huston & Hannibal Coons & Harry Winkler
Teleplay by : Peggy Nicoll
October 29, 1998 (1998-10-29)

After Wednesday gives Harold Pomeroy a black eye, his smug father Cecil shows up at the Addams Family mansion demanding an apology. Both Harold and Cecil have their different ooky experiences with the Addams Family members. Meanwhile, Professor Simms is hired to help research the Addams Family tree when they get interested in their genealogy.

Family mentioned: Uncle Slackjaw (who is buried in the cemetery, though even Gomez is unsure if he is dead or not), Great-Grandpa Sludge (who had eight toes), Cousin Odd (whose photograph is next to Cousin Itt's photograph), Aunt Blemish (who Morticia mistook as a barn in an old photograph), Grandpa Slurp (who had a bucktooth on one head and a receding chin on another), Great-Uncle Matthews (who was the white sheep of the family for working as an accountant), the Nesbitt branch of the Addams Family who started a revolution and were beheaded
10"Cousin Itt Visits the Addams Family"Don ShebibStory by : Tony Bilson
Teleplay by : Peggy Nicoll
October 30, 1998 (1998-10-30)
Cousin Itt stays at the Addams Family after his girlfriend Contessa found out about his other girlfriends Eudora, Simone, and Lucinda and that he is now broke. After attempts at different jobs, he gets one at the zoo...as an exhibit.
11"Art and the Addams Family"Harvey FrostStory by : Harry Winkler & Hannibal Coons
Teleplay by : Peggy Nicoll
October 30, 1998 (1998-10-30)
Wednesday comes back from school after getting an F for painting a black rainbow. Her teacher, Miss Crank, says she may fail art if she doesn't use color. Gomez tries to hire the world famous artist Leopold DaMinci as an art tutor, but gets Leo DaMinci, an Italian Pizza delivery man instead. Meanwhile, Mama falls in love with the postman, and Fester helps her try to trap him.
12"Thing is Missing"Don ShebibStory by : Lorraine Edwards
Teleplay by : Peggy Nicoll
November 2, 1998 (1998-11-02)

It's Thing's birthday. Thing opens Fester's mail and Fester and the family yell at him for releasing Fester's bees and none of them remember his birthday, so Thing runs away. The stress of fighting with Thing causes Fester to start growing hair on his head.

Note: The episode is based on a teleplay of the same name by Bill Lutz, which was written by Lorraine Edwards to The Addams Family.

Family mentioned: Aunt Hatchet (who the state ordered to have confined to her room)
13"Fester Goes on a Diet"TBATBANovember 3, 1998 (1998-11-03)

Uncle Fester's internet girlfriend Yvette is coming to town. Feeling out of shape, Uncle Fester enlists the family into helping him lose weight. Meanwhile, Wednesday finds a magic kit owned by Uncle Ripper and plans to use Pugsley as her "magic assistant".

Family mentioned: Uncle Ripper (who was a great magician), Cousin Phlegm (a deceased relative that was cremated and who Morticia spent weeks sweeping up after the urn was knocked down during a raid by the National Guard)
14"Morticia's Romance: Part 1"TBATBANovember 4, 1998 (1998-11-04)

On their 13th anniversary, Gomez and Morticia tell the kids about the time when Grandmama and Granny Frump wanted Gomez to marry Morticia's sister Ophelia while Morticia was to be married to Cousin Vlad.

Family mentioned: Cousins Otis and Redding (Conjoined twins whose portraits are on the wall of the Addams Family mansion; they fought like cats and dogs where Otis wanted to work on his tan and Redding would only go outside when it is raining)
15"Morticia's Romance: Part 2"TBATBANovember 5, 1998 (1998-11-05)
Continuing with the story, Morticia, Gomez, and Uncle Fester summon Cousin Itt to woo Ophelia. After Cousin Itt gets coldd feet upon being married, the wedding is back on where Morticia's wedding is rendered moot when Cousin Vlad dies from choking on a toothpick.
16"Wednesday Leaves Home"TBATBANovember 6, 1998 (1998-11-06)

Wednesday gets in trouble with her parents for unleashing starving baby alligators into the sewer causing them to send Lurch to remedy to situation. Upon being grounded for animal cruelty where she is not allowed to play with her weapons, start any fires, and torture her brother, Wednesday runs away from home. When the family notices that she is missing, they enlist the police to help find her.

Family mentioned: Grandpa Skank (Uncle Fester had a hard time finding where he buried him so that he can give him his medicine)
17"My Fair Cousin Itt"TBATBANovember 9, 1998 (1998-11-09)
18"The Winning of Morticia Addams"TBATBANovember 10, 1998 (1998-11-10)
19"Uncle Fester's Toupee"TBATBANovember 11, 1998 (1998-11-11)
20"Lurch Learns to Dance"TBATBANovember 12, 1998 (1998-11-12)
21"Morticia and the Psychiatrist"TBATBANovember 13, 1998 (1998-11-13)
22"Melancholia Finds Romance"TBATBANovember 16, 1998 (1998-11-16)
23"Morticia's Favorite Charity"TBATBANovember 17, 1998 (1998-11-17)
24"Morticia Joins the Ladies League"TBATBANovember 18, 1998 (1998-11-18)
25"Morticia the Breadwinner"TBATBANovember 23, 1998 (1998-11-23)
26"Morticia's Dilemma"TBATBANovember 30, 1998 (1998-11-30)
27"Christmas with the Addams Family"TBATBADecember 7, 1998 (1998-12-07)
Contrary to what would be believed, the Addams do celebrate Christmas, with slightly normal decor.
28"Crisis in the Addams Family"TBATBAJanuary 4, 1999 (1999-01-04)
29"Gomez, the Cat Burglar"TBATBAJanuary 8, 1999 (1999-01-08)
30"Uncle Fester's Illness"TBATBAJanuary 11, 1999 (1999-01-11)
31"Green-Eyed Gomez"TBATBAJanuary 15, 1999 (1999-01-15)
32"Thing's Romance"TBATBAJanuary 18, 1999 (1999-01-18)
33"Morticia, the Decorator"TBATBAJanuary 22, 1999 (1999-01-22)
34"Close Encounters of the Addams Kind"TBATBAJanuary 25, 1999 (1999-01-25)
35"Amnesia in the Addams Family"TBATBAFebruary 1, 1999 (1999-02-01)
36"Wednesday's Crush"TBATBAFebruary 8, 1999 (1999-02-08)
37"Morticia, the Sculptress"TBATBAFebruary 15, 1999 (1999-02-15)
38"Gomez, the People's Choice"TBATBAFebruary 22, 1999 (1999-02-22)
39"Lurch, the Teen-Age Idol"TBATBAMarch 1, 1999 (1999-03-01)
40"Fester and Granny vs. Grandpapa Addams"TBATBAMarch 8, 1999 (1999-03-08)
41"Saving Private Addams"TBATBAMarch 15, 1999 (1999-03-15)
42"My Son, the Chimp"TBATBAMarch 22, 1999 (1999-03-22)
43"Horseplay"TBATBAMarch 29, 1999 (1999-03-29)
44"Lurch's Grand Romance"TBATBAApril 5, 1999 (1999-04-05)
45"Fester Joins the Global Mercenaries"TBATBAApril 9, 1999 (1999-04-09)
46"Catastrophia's Career"TBATBAApril 12, 1999 (1999-04-12)
The Addams are visited by their perpetually unlucky cousin, Catastrophia (whom they never realize caused misfortune with her mere presence) after she loses another job.
47"Addams Family in Court"TBATBAApril 19, 1999 (1999-04-19)
48"Cousin Itt's Problem"TBATBAMay 7, 1999 (1999-05-07)
Cousin Itt is going bald.
49"Morticia, the Playwright"TBATBAMay 14, 1999 (1999-05-14)
50"Lurch, Man of Leisure"TBATBAMay 21, 1999 (1999-05-21)
Lurch lied to his long-distance girlfriend that he was a millionaire. Impressed, Gomez and Moritica agree to play the part of his servants along with Uncle Fester and Grandmama. However, the woman turns out to be a golddigger, whom leaves once the ruse falls apart.
51"Progress in the Addams Family"TBATBAMay 28, 1999 (1999-05-28)
52"The Undercover Man"TBATBAMay 29, 1999 (1999-05-29)
53"Lurch and His Piano"TBATBAMay 31, 1999 (1999-05-31)
Lurch tries to find a new instrument to play after his piano breaks.
54"Fester the Marriage Counselor"TBATBAJune 4, 1999 (1999-06-04)
Fester tries his hand at helping couples fix their marriages.
55"Cleopatra, Green of the Nile"TBATBAJune 11, 1999 (1999-06-11)
56"Granny, the Happy Medium"TBATBAJune 18, 1999 (1999-06-18)
57"Lurch's Little Helper"TBATBAJune 25, 1999 (1999-06-25)
58"Addams Family Feud"TBATBAJuly 10, 1999 (1999-07-10)
The Addams Family's hillbilly cousins called the McAddams (consisting of Pa McAddams, Ma McAddams, Peewee McAddams, and Geezer McAddams) show up to settle the score of an old feud. Things go well until Uncle Fester takes Pa McAddams hunting and a gold nugget is discovered. The Addams are more than willing to give the nugget to their cousins, but have trouble doing so thanks to the McAddams being stubborn and poorly educated
59"Fester, the Tycoon"TBATBAJuly 17, 1999 (1999-07-17)
60"Lights, Camera, Addams!"TBATBAJuly 24, 1999 (1999-07-24)
61"The Addams Policy"TBATBAJuly 31, 1999 (1999-07-31)
62"Fester, World Leader"TBATBAAugust 7, 1999 (1999-08-07)
63"The Tale of Long John Addams"TBATBAAugust 14, 1999 (1999-08-14)
64"Keeping Up with the Joneses"TBATBAAugust 21, 1999 (1999-08-21)
65"Death Visits the Addams Family"TBATBAAugust 28, 1999 (1999-08-28)
Death comes to collect Gomez, despite his good health. The Addams have to outwit Death to keep the family together.

Video games[]

7th Sense developed a Game Boy Color game based on the series, which was released in 2001 by Microids exclusively in Europe. Titus Interactive was going to release the game in America with the title The New Addams Family, but the American version was cancelled. Nova Productions released an electric shock machine based on the series in 1999, which was distributed by H. Betti Industries in America.

Reception[]

Awards and nominations[]

  • Leo Awards for Best Overall Sound in a Dramatic Series - Tony Gronick (Nominated)
  • Leo Award for Best Production Design in a Dramatic Series - Cathy Robertson (Nominated)
  • Leo Award for Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series - Ellie Harvie (1999) (Nominated)
  • Canadian Comedy Awards for Television - Performance - Female - Ellie Harvie (2000) (Nominated)
  • Leo Award for Best Editing - Picture of a Music, Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Michele Conroy For episode "Tale of Long John Addams" (Won)
  • Leo Award for Best Overall Sound in a Music, Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Rick Bal, Chester Biolowas, Vince Renaud, and Jo Rossi (Won)
  • Leo Award for Best Screenwriter of a Music, Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Rich Hosek and Arnold Rudnick For episode "Tale Of Long John Addams" (Won)
  • Leo Award for Best Performance or Host in a Music, Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Ellie Harvie (Won)
  • Leo Award for Best Sound - Greg Stewart (Won)

References[]

  1. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 Through 2010. McFarland & Co. p. 750. ISBN 9780786486410.
  2. ^ "Schedule". OUTtv. Retrieved 2020-07-15.

External links[]

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