# Question about The Addams Family TV Series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, comic-strips\ **Created:** [October 18, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957 "2026-10-18T22:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/21 "2026-10-21T19:38:55Z")
> [@De\_La\_Rue](#): > > - I’ve read Ted Cassidy used to switch what hand he used as Thing to see if anyone noticed, and here he does it within the same episode. _Is_ Thing just a hand, and not a multi-limbed being using tunnels throughout the mansion? Gomez implies that he is, observing that he can’t smoke, but do we ever see his box lifted or carried anywhere? You do see Thing in the round in the movies made in the 1990s. Although they were considered fairly average at the time, I think these remakes do hold up very well and are faithful to the verve of the original TV show. Some of the actors - esp. Raul Julia as Gomez, and Christine Ricci as Wednesday - nailed it, and some of the gags still make me laugh. [Example](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Ww1crg078) ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/22 "2026-10-21T19:47:59Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > You do see Thing in the round in the movies made in the 1990s Well, yeah, I originally had a sentence about how the general consensus in the following iterations of the franchise is that he’s a hand, but I couldn’t work it in. I’m now wondering about the 1960s TV show specifically. Also the 1970s TV cartoon. (Not the the Sonnenfeld movies, recent CG movies, and _Wednesday_, we know he’s disembodied in those.). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/23 "2026-10-21T20:10:49Z")
I enjoyed both motion pictures, but with some reservations. F’rinstance: - I thought letting Thing out of his box undermined the whole concept of the character. - I found it a bit unsettling when Fester asked “With a woman, you mean?” in response to “Have you ever had sex?” (I can’t imagine Jackie Coogan’s Fester ever saying such a thing.) - Canonically, Fester was Morticia’s uncle and not Gomez’s brother. On the other hand, the actors did a good job interpreting the characters in their own way, especially Angelica Huston and Christina Ricci. Christina’s creepy portrayal of Wednesday had me in stitches. My 30-year-old daughter can imitate her perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/24 "2026-10-21T22:37:21Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > - I thought letting Thing out of his box undermined the whole concept of the character. This, especially the one with stitches in Netflix’s _Wednesday_. > [@solost](#): > > other than being able to make a light bulb glow in his hand (magic trick?) I don’t remember if he displayed any supernatural ‘powers’. Mouth. There were a couple episodes where he’d power something external, like a radio. [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/X5QAAOSwgJ5mEWy3/s-l1600.png) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/X5QAAOSwgJ5mEWy3/s-l1600.png) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/25 "2026-10-21T23:55:56Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Mouth. He could do both, I think. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/26 "2026-10-22T23:16:29Z")
> [@robby](#): > > _Amazingly, [John Astin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Astin) is still alive (at last report) at age 96._ For many years following his acting career he was a prof at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and quite well regarded. Can you imagine having Gomez Addams as a teacher? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/27 "2026-10-22T23:34:26Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > Can you imagine having Gomez Addams as a teacher? Actually, I can. I see him using a cigar to punctuate different points in a lecture he’s delivering in his own inimitable way. What subject did he teach IRL? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/28 "2026-10-22T23:38:31Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > What subject did he teach IRL? Basically theatre. BTW: Did you know Peter Jackson seriously considered John Astin for Gandalf, long before Sean Astin was thought about for Samwise. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/29 "2026-10-23T00:29:38Z")
Makes sense. They had worked together on The Frighteners. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/30 "2026-10-23T01:40:31Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Did you know Peter Jackson seriously considered John Astin for Gandalf “I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin. Then darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads that I will not tell. But I’m feeling much better now!” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/31 "2026-10-23T02:03:30Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > BTW: Did you know Peter Jackson seriously considered John Astin for Gandalf, long before Sean Astin was thought about for Samwise. Huh, I never made the connection between their names. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/32 "2026-10-23T02:31:08Z")
> [@De\_La\_Rue](#): > > _Is_ Thing just a hand, and not a multi-limbed being using tunnels throughout the mansion?..do we ever see his box lifted or carried anywhere? > [@De\_La\_Rue](#): > > I’m now wondering about the 1960s TV show specifically. OK, I have a Thing-centric episode of the 1960s show cued up to figure this out. Will report back. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/33 "2026-10-23T02:36:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@What\_Exit](#): > > > > BTW: Did you know Peter Jackson seriously considered John Astin for Gandalf, long before Sean Astin was thought about for Samwise. > > Huh, I never made the connection between their names. Me either (although he is apparently not his biological father). Nor did I realize that Sean Astin’s mother is Patty Duke. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/34 "2026-10-23T03:15:42Z")
> [@solost](#): > > ‘Thing’ was probably the most unambiguously supernatural part of the show. I don’t remember where I read it, but ‘Thing’ wasn’t actually a disembodied hand (as depicted in the movies). It was a ‘Thing’ that lived within the house presumably in the walls, floors, etc., and the hand we see is just one part of a much larger creature. ---
**Author:** ![CobaltBlade75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@CobaltBlade75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CobaltBlade75)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/35 "2026-10-23T03:16:39Z")
My understanding is that it came through a third party: producer David Levy and Filmways secured the TV rights and developed the series for ABC, rather than Addams pitching it himself or a network exec discovering the cartoons. Addams was consulted and helped name the characters, but the television initiative was Levy’s. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/36 "2026-10-23T03:18:47Z")
> [@De\_La\_Rue](#): > > Will report back. I have now seen the episode (“Morticia Meets Royalty”) and while we don’t see Thing’s box moved, we see similar characters (Lady Fingers and Esmeralda) and their boxes ARE carried around. Which strongly implies that (in the show) Thing was always intended to be just a hand (well, hand and forearm). Apparently there’s another episode in which Gomez goes to court and Thing pops out of his briefcase; I may watch that to solve this once and for all. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/37 "2026-10-23T05:50:55Z")
I can’t resist asking this any longer: When you were a kid, did you sing The Addams Family theme with the lyrics _The Addams Family started_ _when Uncle Fester farted,_ _and now they’re all retarded._ _The Ad-dams Fam-i-ly._ Accompanied by “Doodly-do-de-doodly-do-de-doodly-do” and lots of gross farting noises instead of finger snaps, of course! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/38 "2026-10-23T10:52:03Z")
No, never heard it. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/39 "2026-10-23T11:10:54Z")
I have definitely heard > [@](#): > > _The Addams Family started_ > _when Uncle Fester farted,_ But I don’t recall the rest Brian ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957/40 "2026-10-23T11:57:02Z")
Yep, heard it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-addams-family-tv-series/1033957.md?page=3)