They're Altogether Ooky

You can scratch another title off the "why isn't this on DVD yet" list: "The Addams Family" comes out on October 24. Mildly annoying is the fact that they're releasing it in "volumes" rather than complete seasons -- the first volume has 22 episodes out of the first season's 34 episodes, meaning that the 60+ episodes of the complete series will take three volumes. Still, it's coming, and the first episode has commentary by director Arthur "Love Story" Hiller.

I'm not quite as sold on "Addams Family" as some are, though I certainly can't find any fault with the casting. Its New Yorker origins and openly subversive sensibilities make it sort of the '60s sitcom for people who hate '60s sitcoms -- it doesn't have the corny jokes or broad slapstick that make people recoil from, say "The Beverly Hillbillies." But I have to admit I find it a bit repetitive, and it (of necessity) sacrifices Charles Addams' super-dark humour without finding a lot of really strong jokes to replace Addams's sensibility; hence the repetitiveness, because they kept going back to the fairly limited range of jokes available with this setup and these characters.

Now you're expecting me to get counter-intuitive and say that "The Munsters" was better. But no, I like "Addams" better than "Munsters."