Wednesday Season 1 Review
Song of the day: “808s and Goth Bitches” by KIRAW. Wednesday isn’t a goth bitch. I am, though.
It took me a while to finish all eight episodes. And even longer to get around to posting a review. Let’s start off by saying Wednesday surpassed expectations! Not that I thought it would suck.
People are okay with the original Addams Family comics being adult-oriented. (Not as in X-rated. Being published in The New Yorker.) They’re okay with the kid-friendly adaptations. But a spinoff primarily for teenage girls? Stop the presses!
I was first acquainted with the Addamses through The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries. Might post a Scooby-Review someday.
The PG-13 film duology was watched in preparation, so I was expecting some exemplar dark comedy. And Wednesday was full of it! Wednesday made me want to give The Addams Family 2019 another chance, too.
I took notes while watching, then went back and added some thoughts afterwards.
Wednesday’s Child Is Full of Woe
Another show where adults play teenagers. Tyler Galpin’s actor Hunter Doohan is like twenty-nine now.
Already it has some great lines (e.g., “Like electroshock therapy without the satisfying burn”). It’s more inspired by the aforementioned live-action films than the comic or other adaptations. Or so I assume, based on my limited knowledge of them.
I know fans say the Addamses aren’t technically supernatural, “goths are just like that,” but it actually explains a lot. Cousin Itt, Thing, possibly Calpurnia… their extended family in general.
The duology with Christina Ricci didn’t have Wednesday’s narration. It’s nice to see her uniquely creepy and kooky perspective. Her exile to Nevermore Academy reminds me of how Gomez and Fester went to that camp for juvenile offenders.
Wednesday is sassy to her parents, which some reviewers complained about, but it makes sense. She’s a teenager. Although there still is some Dawson casting. Ricci!Wednesday is a preteen.
Adaptations, spinoffs, etc. don’t have to be for every fan of a franchise’s previous works. Again, the comics were published in The New Yorker. Which, while “sophisticated,” isn’t family-oriented.