Every version of The Addams Family ranked from worst to best

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/170894/every-...worst-to-best/

Debuting in 1938 as nameless characters in a New Yorker comic strip by cartoonist Charles Addams, the Addams Family went on to become an unlikely pop culture mainstay. They're just your regular family unit with two parents (Gomez and Morticia), two kids (Wednesday and Pugsley), plus monstrous Uncle Fester, witchy Grandmama, towering butler Lurch, and a helpful disembodied hand named Thing.

But despite their distinctive characters, the vibe of the Addams Family is a little tricky to nail down. Are they dead people? Murderers? Ageless ghouls? It's all up for interpretation, which is probably why there have been so many adaptations of the Addams Family over the years. (That, and the fact that they're well-known, well-liked, marketable characters with a distinctive look that prove perpetually popular.) Different TV producers and filmmakers have offered up their own takes on the family — and some have worked a lot better than others. Here, then, is every major Addams Family movie and TV series iteration, ranked in order from worst to best.

The Addams Family (1964-1966 live-action TV series)

There were a lot of weird sitcoms in the '60s, many of them built around fish-out-of-water scenarios like The Beverly Hillbillies and My Favorite Martian. The Addams Family took a different approach — let the water come to the fish. The Addams lived and hung out all day in their gigantic, well-appointed 19th century mansion full of sentient plants, suits of armor, a lion and more, enjoying each other's company and occasionally dealing with the stuffy local conservative figures who populated the generic town outside its doors. (Plus they casually tossed off references to death, darkness, and the macabre, which certainly wasn't happening on Gilligan's Island.) John Astin has a constant glint in his eye as Gomez, who is just so into his wife, Morticia, kissing her arms ferociously whenever she tosses off a French phrase. She knits or paints, he fences and checks his stocks, and deals mildly in the dark arts. It's all to a satirical end: It's a transgressive rejection of the stuffy 1960s rat race. If Charles Addams' original creations were meant to be a thorough contrast to the strictures of modern life, the TV series helped get the point across.

[CosmicCharlie]

Who was the breakout star of the original Addams Family TV show? Vampy, alluring Carolyn Jones, who starred as Morticia? Wisecracking and amiable John Astin, as Gomez? No, it was the hulking, 6'5", deep-voiced Ted Cassidy, who played the Addams' butler, Lurch. He rarely spoke, but when he did, it was a earthquakingly low "you rang?"—a line he improvised during his audition. It became a popular catchphrase, and Lurch grew so popular that Cassidy, as Lurch, cut a pop record. "The Lurch" was a minor hit, as was its accompanying dance craze in 1965. Cassidy even performed the song on the teen music TV series Shindig. That's not all Cassidy contributed: Thing, the Addams' pet disembodied hand who lived in a box, was also played by Cassidy (or at least by his hand, and occasionally arm).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCAU...ature=emb_logo