SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 25:00 Min. (Black & White)
ABC-TV first broadcast the series premiere (directed by Arthur Hiller) on September 18, 1964. The local school district attempts to persuade Morticia & Gomez Addams to enroll their young children, Pugsley and Wednesday, in school. Suffice to say, the truant officer’s two bewildering visits inside the Addams home is cause for second thoughts … especially when Morticia & Gomez offer suggestions to improve learning.
Morticia Addams: Carolyn Jones
Gomez Addams: John Astin
Wednesday Addams: Lisa Loring
Pugsley Addams: Ken Weatherwax
Lurch: Ted Cassidy
Thing: Jack Voglin
Grandmama: Blossom Rock (aka Marie Blake)
Uncle Fester: Jackie Coogan
Sam Hilliard: Allyn Joslyn
Miss Comstock: Madge Blake
Miss Morrison: Nydia Westman
Mailman: Rolfe Sedan
Trivia Notes: Two years later, Madge Blake acquired her best-known role: portraying Dick Grayson’s live-in Aunt Harriet on Batman. Speaking of Batman connections, Astin would briefly replace Frank Gorshin as Season 2’s Riddler. After playing a Batman villainess, Jones was one of three actresses later cast as Wonder Woman’s mom, Queen Hippolyta, for Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman TV series. Not to be outdone, Cassidy served as the opening credits narrator (and the Hulk’s voice) on TV’s The Incredible Hulk.
REVIEW:
With the regular cast in vintage form, the show’s macabre humor exudes not only in the terrific visual gags, but the nonchalant dialogue as well. While there’s nothing remarkable about “The Addams Family Goes to School” (it’s just a standard episode), this installment still holds up well nearly sixty years later. The only parental note is that the show’s quirky brand of comedy skews to slightly older children than The Munsters typically do.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6 Stars
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