Tim Burton's Wednesday Show.

[Haunted hearse]

Release date will be November 23rd........



Because it makes perfect sense to release it after Halloween..

Well, it's definitely from the imagination of Tim Burton. Outside of the name of the character (which originated in 1962 with the Aboriginal dolls) there will be little to do with Charles Addams works in the upcoming series. I will admit the rest of the family, which only appear in the first episode, do remind me a little of the characters from the New Yorker Cartoons.

[Doh!]

Interesting take on Thing. I don't mind it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCL_dp8YRtA

[MikeSTZillak]

Yeah, not digging the whole "problems the Addams have with each other" storyline.............

Still, I'll give it a shot.

[marsattacks666]

Hopefully, this series is better than the Munsters that is on Netflix

[zombiehorror]

Hopefully, this series is better than the Munsters that is on Netflix

We won't find out for sure about RZ's Munsters until Tuesday, although it does look dreadful...and not in a Munsters "good" Dreadful kind of way.

[MikeSTZillak]

Well, heard some things about this show and....................yeah, this is gonna make even the most adamant hater of Zombie's Munsters think it's better than this.

[Haunted hearse]

Well, heard some things about this show and....................yeah, this is gonna make even the most adamant hater of Zombie's Munsters think it's better than this.

I guess it's going to depend on how big a fan you are of the character Wednesday as redone by Christina Ricci in the 1990s films. I was already disappointed that the rest of the family is going to be pushed into the back, to center on mostly Wednesday. I lost any interest in seeing the series when they showed the student being castrated in the pool by Wednesday's piranhas. If you like the idea of a Christina Ricci type Wednesday on steroids going to a Hogswart type school, you'll probably enjoy it.

[MikeSTZillak]

New trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q73UhUTs6y0

Slightly better, seems like she'll still be a "freak" even in a school of freaks. But still keeping expectations low.

[MikeSTZillak]

Well comes out tomorrow. Hope it's good but my hopes are not that high.

[Haunted hearse]

I haven't seen the show, but this review seems a fair appraisal of the new Wednesday show, and what to expect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRh_OQ4kjps&

[aura of foreboding]

Finished Episode 1.  I am a much bigger fan of The Munsters than the Addams Family, so I come at this from a much more open perspective than some of you might.  And I'm going to be a lot more lenient on it as a result.  This isn't Dark Shadows, so it's not "my baby."  But it might be some of yours, so bear that in mind as you read this:

Thoughts on Episode 1: 

It never ceases to amaze me that rights holders to some of the most brilliant music ever written do not employ said music in their remakes.  This is an MGM TV series.  They own the original's theme song!  I understand that this is not The Addams Family, but a fantasia on the original theme would have been perfect.  Here we are given something that sounds inspired by it, but that doesn't cut it.  You have to wait until the end credits to hear the four notes and the snaps.  Come on, guys.  This could have been in the opening or used as a sting throughout.  Disappointing.  Other than the lack of theme song, the music is pretty good.  There is some snapping to Roy Orbison in the car ride to Nevermore.  And there's one really beautiful cue that transitions us into town about halfway through the episode.   

The aesthetic is GREAT.  It is not overly Tim Burton, which I don't particularly care for outside of Tim Burton original works.  It looks like you'd expect an Addams Family show to look and doesn't look anything like you'd expect a Tim Burton show to look like.  Bravo.  It's also very true to form as an adaptation of Charles Addams's designs.  The Addams House is straight out of the cartoon.

The plotting, editing, and the pacing of the show are all well done.  There was never a moment I was bored or wanted to check out.  It was engaging through and through. 

The characters are super well-written, and Wednesday's jokes were delivered beautifully.  The humor lands well.  Wednesday is cast perfectly.  I also loved the little we see of Pugsley and Lurch, my two favorite characters in the whole thing besides Wednesday.  Thing is well-designed and written, but there was one scene that I didn't care for him, and I felt it was disservice to the character to go there with him.  Maybe I'm just a prude, but I really thought it was in poor-taste, even though it's perfectly harmless by 2022 standards.  These characters are kind of sacred to generations (if anything can be anymore), so when they do something out of character (a la rude) it doesn't sit well with me.  Leave that for newer characters.

Either Morticia and Gomez are just horribly cast or they were horribly directed.  The dialogue they had was great, and I could hear Carolyn Jones and John Aston saying all of those lines in my head...  But these two actors... they just butchered the delivery every. single. time.  I couldn't even understand them most of the time.  It was not good.  Fortunately, we're going to see a younger Gomez at some point.  We'll see if he's any better.  But, man oh man, the less we see of these two the better.  Keep the focus on Nevermore.

Here's the big issue.  This show is not an Addams Family show set in an Addams Family universe, at least any we've seen.  It doesn't even appear to exist in the same universe as any incarnation of The Addams Family.  There are monsters, supernatural creatures, magic...  There's so much cool stuff.  But why is this with the Addams Family and not The Munsters or some other supernatural property? This is a weird thing for me to say, because this is what I always wanted the Addams Family to be when I was younger.  I wanted them to be monsters and have supernatural powers.  Because it's cool.  So purists will probably hate this project for putting the Addams in a supernatural world.  But I kinda really like it.  I just don't know if it was the right choice for the property, and that's where I'm conflicted.  I don't quite get why you'd take the Addams property to this place.  I can totally see a little supernatural in the Addams Family, but we're full-on Dungeons, Dragons, and Dracula here.  I wouldn't be watching this show if it weren't for the Addams connection, so I guess it works... but it feels wrong.

Student characters are likable/relatable/well-acted.  I may tire of this YA theme after a few episodes, but it was done well in the introduction, so I will probably stick with it.  I'm not a fan of this sort of story style, focusing on young people and their drama in school settings, unless it's really twisted like Halloween or Twin Peaks.  Stranger Things is the single exception I have to this rule, but it's a totally different beast.  Wednesday is typical Harry Potter rehash, and I don't usually like that.  But the Addams connection has sucked me in for now.

I'm not a fan of CGI monsters, and I think the one here doesn't look that great... like at all.  But the initial kill is brutal and really well done.  We could definitely have benefited from a lot more of seeing less.  The initial kill is really horrifying and the aftermath is super gross and well done.  TANGENT:  I just don't get why the cops investigating it were directed to stand and have a conversation in the pouring rain.  That doesn't happen in real life.  Like, step under a tree.  That was the most awkward thing I've seen ever on screen.  Unless this was intended as a joke, why would Tim Burton direct this scene like that?!?  The woman officer looked miserable.  Burton must have it in for them.  End Tangent.

The other part that isn't sitting well with me is hearing things like "murder" being thrown about in connection with members of our beloved Addams Family.  It just has a real world grittiness to it here that makes it not sit well.  We'll see if it gets any better...  Death and killing in the original series, film, and even things like the Munsters were just presented very differently, so it worked.  But here, it feels "real," different.  Can't explain it. 

Overall, I'm going to keep watching.  This isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea.  This will probably end up being a series I forget about as soon as it's over, but I have to say it's well done... for what it is.  Is it the Addams Family?  No.  Is it nice to see Lurch, Wednesday, and Pugsley?  Yes.  Is this the Addams Family series I would have made?  No.   

           

[judd]

Phantom of Opera:. I terrified audiences when I was unmasked on screen.  I'm still scary decades later.
Alien: that's nothing, audience members threw up and passed out when my first movie was released.  I'm the scariest monster of all time.
Terrifier: that was years ago people are desensitized to horror now.  In my latest movie people threw up and emergency services were called in.  I'm the scariest.
Little Girl: hold my beer.

[aura of foreboding]

Finished Episode 2.  This is definitely turning into Goth Harry Potter with some commentary on modern society, which I find surprising they'd go there in 2022, and, more surprisingly yet, I am not annoyed with said commentary.  So far, it's pretty spot-on, much like how it always was in The Addams Family and The Munsters.  I just hope it doesn't get turned on its head in an effort to make Wednesday more tolerant/less hostile to the social forces around her.


They did the thing with Thing again.  Really?  Why?  But he gets some of the best scenes in this episode, and I enjoy his character.  I really just wish they kept him more in line with his original personality.  I'm actually fearful something might happen to him.  So if they can make you feel for a hand, they're doing something right.

A potential problem for this series might be that there is a little too much Wednesday.  Her lines are good, but is her humor not best in small doses?  It's getting a bit tedious, which is why we need the rest of the family for balance.  Just not this Gomez or Morticia, please.   

Speaking of which, no Gomez or Morticia in this episode!  Thank God.  But no other members of the family appeared either. 

They incorporated the snap into the story itself, which was creative. 

I didn't like this episode's main storyline.  Too Harry Potter.  But it was well done. 

[John Pertwee]

Some of the reveals have been predictable but we are enjoying the show. Only 2 episodes in, and still no sign of Fester? I expected the show to focus on Wednesday because of the title, but when you have an embarrassment of riches with the characters involved they could have been better utilized.
This could all fall apart if Fred plays Fester wrong. Fred is a hit and miss kind of guy, but when he nails something it is magic. We are watching one a day so episode 3 tonight. Fingers crossed, Thing.

[aura of foreboding]

Finished Episode 3.  This episode isn't so much Addams, but is really just typical Tim Burton.  It's like the most Tim Burton thing Tim Burton has done in awhile actually...  haha  He should have spent much more of his career directing television.  He's very good at it.  This series is super well directed.  Either the lower budget cuts back on his gratuitous style or he's finally returned to the more down-to-earth artistry of his earlier years, but with all the trademark Tim Burton elements. 

Wednesday's roommate is finally starting to annoy me, as a lot of teenage characters do.  It was bound to happen.  The "normie" characters are actually far more interesting than any of the Nevermore ones, aside from Wednesday. 

There was a great reference to the OG Addams Family in the coffee shop.  Only thing that really made me laugh this time.  Also, Vivaldi's "Winter" was incorporated into a phenomenal scene in a phenomenal way. 

Social commentary was much more "2022" this episode, but the final conversation Wendesday has makes it work for the character, but I fear she's going to become less of a "live and let live" traditional Addams type and more of a "warrior," which kind of goes against a lot of what the whole original family stood for.  The Addams Family has always just been okay being themselves.  No regrets.  No need to interject themselves into larger society or go to war with others.  But that might be changing here...  I hope not.