Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (March 24, 2024)
Charles Addams created his humorously macabre Addams Family cartoons back in 1938. That property leapt to the TV screen via a popular series in 1964, and we’ve gotten various additional Addams Family shows and movies since then.
Not until 2022 did we find an Addams spin-off, however. Netflix’s Wednesday still involved the entire family, but as implied by the title, it made teenaged eldest child Wednesday the primary focus.
This two-Blu-ray set includes all eight of the episodes from Season One of Wednesday. The plot synopses come from IMDB.
Wednesday’s Child Is Full of Woe: “When a deliciously wicked prank gets Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) expelled, her parents Gomez (Luis Guzmán) and Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) ship her off to Nevermore Academy, the boarding school where they fell in love.”
Normally the first episode of a series would offer legwork to introduce its characters, and we get some of that from “Woe”. It explains the kids and staff Wednesday meets at Nevermore.
However, the audience needs no real discussion of Wednesday or her clan, as viewers likely will come with an awareness of them already. Even younger folks unfamiliar with the 1960s TV show or the 1991 movie seem likely to know the 2019 animated flick and its 2021 sequel.
Though we already come with knowledge of Wednesday and kin, “Woe” does expand those roles, mainly via the title character’s burgeoning psychic skills and other complications. While I can’t claim “Woe” turns into an enthralling episode, it sets up the situations and themes well enough.
Footnote: the others relentlessly regard Wednesday as deathly pale, but the show’s visuals don’t make her seem white-skinned at all. This doesn’t become a real issue but it means the remarks about Wednesday’s pallor don’t make much sense.
Woe Is the Loneliest Number: “Sheriff Galpin (Jamie McShane) questions Wednesday about the night's strange happenings. Later, Wednesday faces off against a fierce rival in the cutthroat Poe Cup race.”
Though they bore a very Tim Burton vibe, that filmmaker boasted no involvement in the 1991 movie or its 1993 sequel. Wednesday becomes Burton’s initial stab at the property, as he directed the series’ first four episodes.
Oddly, neither “Number” nor the other three Burton-led shows come across as truly “Burton-esque”. While we get some of the director’s frisky sense of darkness, the Burton episodes play it much more straight than I’d expect.
This makes “Number” more serious than I anticipated both from Burton --- and from Addams Family period, at least so far. We do get some of the franchise’s trademark black humor, but two programs into the season, Wednesday feels more concerned with its mystery plot than the macabre wit typical for the characters.
Of course, just because prior Addams Family efforts focused on laughs doesn’t mean Wednesday must as well, and I actually appreciate that it wants to do something different with these oft-explored characters. Still, I admit that the series feels more Harry Potter than Addams Family to date, and I hope becomes a bit spicier as it goes.
Friend or Woe: “Wednesday stumbles on a secret society. During Outreach Day, Nevermore's outcasts mingle with Jericho's normies in Pilgrim World. Fudge, anyone?”
While still more Scooby-Doo than I might like, “Friend” leans more Addams Family than its two predecessors. With a stronger orientation toward the weird and the comedic, it becomes the best show to date.
Woe What a Night: “Wednesday asks Xavier (Percy Hynes White) to the Rave'N dance, sparking Tyler's (Hunter Doohan) jealousy - but Thing's (Victor Dorobantu) got something up his sleeve. Meanwhile, Eugene (Moosa Mostafa) stakes out the cave.”
One of the more intriguing aspects of the series comes from Wednesday’s gradual push toward semi-normalcy. I admit I don’t know if I love this conceit, as part of the Addams Family charm comes from their obliviousness toward social norms.
As such, the sight of a Wednesday who starts to bond with other kids and kinda sorta veer normal seems like an interesting twist but not one I’m sure really works. Well, perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself, as “Night” continues to demonstrate how Wednesday fails to fit in, even in a school of outcasts. And we get the famous “Wednesday Dance”!
You Reap What You Woe: “During Parents Weekend, Wednesday digs into her family's past - and accidentally gets her dad arrested. Enid (Emma Myers) feels the pressure to "wolf out’.”
The trend to make the Addams clan more emotional than in prior endeavors comes to the fore here, mainly because Zeta-Jones’ Morticia seems much less calm and serene than expected. That said, at least Zeta-Jones makes sense in terms of casting, whereas Guzmán becomes a terrible fit for Gomez. I feel Gomez needs to be suave and charming, but Guzmán couldn’t pull off suave and/or charming if his life depended on it.
Iffy casting choices aside, “Reap” offers pretty good intrigue in terms of the season’s thriller plot. The episode leans a bit more melodramatic than I might prefer, but it advances matters in reasonably positive manner.
Quid Pro Woe: “Wednesday's friends throw her a surprise birthday party. They mean well - but she'd much rather mark the miserable occasion by solving the murders.”
75 percent into S1 of Wednesday and I must admit it: I really don’t care about the overriding murder investigation narrative. While S1 manages to move these topics in a mostly enjoyable way, the deeper we go, the less interest I take.
But it seems like no TV series can deliver good old-fashioned standalone programs anymore, so we’re stuck with a Wednesday that involves an overall plot across the whole season. “Quid” doesn’t flop as an episode, but it leans a lot more on the series’ soap opera side than I’d like.
If You Don’t Woe Me By Now: “Kooky Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) pays a visit and shares his theory about the monster. Wednesday begrudgingly agrees to a date with Tyler at Crackstone's crypt.”
Though I quibbled with the casting of the two adult members of the Addams clan seen to date, Armisen proves more than nimble as Fenster. Of course, the SNL vet comes with ample experience as goofy characters, and he provides a delightful take on Wednesday’s wacky uncle.
That gives “Now” a needed jolt of energy. The main story offers more of the same old same old, but Armisen’s appearance at least allows the episode more charm.
A Murder of Woes: “Wednesday lands in trouble with Principal Weems (Gwendoline Christie), but that's just the start of her problems. To fight an ancient evil, she'll need all her friends' help.”
“Murder” brings us the resolution to S1’s overarching plot, and I can’t claim it rocks my proverbial world. As already noted, I found Wednesday’s investigation to seem less than enthralling, and “Murder” relies on so many twists that it becomes borderline silly.
Although “Murder” delivers a semi-disappointing finale for S1, I did mostly enjoy this collection of shows. Ortega became a star as Wednesday, and she deserved that career boost, as she brought a strong take on the character.
Even when the narrative and themes semi-sputtered, Ortega encapsulated our lead so well that the series remained entertaining. While S1 come with ups and downs, it still proves largely positive.
