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"Morticia's a way bigger babe than I am," commented
Ellie Harvie. "I see the cameramen when I've taken off
my makeup and I'm going home. They kind of look at me and I
have to go, 'It's me. Hi.' And their little faces drop
a bit. I think I've got that kind of Goth thing going. All the
little guys who like Marilyn Manson will probably be looking twice
at Morticia."
Executive Producer James Shavick commented: "The response to the show has been phenomenal. 'Morticia' was even mobbed at Yankee Stadium during The World Series. Good thing the actress is a stand-up comedienne and was good humoured about it," he laughs. "I am very proud of this cast and crew... They are another example of the quality work coming out of Vancouver."
An early seal of approval was found in the form of an inspired guest
appearance by original Gomez, John Astin, in the role of Great Grandpapa
Addams. Both Astin and the regular cast enjoyed the experience immensely,
as Ellie Harvie recalled: "There was one scene where I was
speaking French and he runs in and says, 'Tish, that's French!'
and starts kissing my arm and then Gomez walks in and says, 'Grandpapa,
what are you doing?' There was a second there when he was kissing
my arm and I thought, 'This is too weird. I'm Morticia'!"
Astin reprised Great Grandpapa for a further two episodes of the
series.
Broadcast
The New Addams Family premiered on the Fox Family Channel on October 19th 1998, following a huge publicity drive. Fox Family used the series as the cornerstone for their 13 Days of Halloween special, and followed soon after with The Addams Family Scareathon, a day of stripped repeats linked with specially filmed promotional spots by the characters.
In print, posters advertising the show appeared throughout the New York Subway system whilst TV-Guide magazine featured prominent advertisements for the show. A number of items were produced purely for promotional purposes. These included engraved cigar boxes, complete with a preview videotape, New Addams Family picture frames (filled with plastic bugs and bones) along with t-shirts, rucksacks and other sundries.
Concurrently, Cool-Whip dessert topping was showcasing a major promotion for Addams Family Reunion. The network aired huge numbers of specially shot promotional spots, whilst the characters themselves were featured as part of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. Critical reaction was conservative, but generally positive.
Barry Garron, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, enthused: "This new series is every bit as outlandishly funny and over-the-top as the original. All of the [cast] capture the heart and soul of their all-too-familiar characters... The sets are more horrific and the special effects more spectacular. Even the writing is sharper." Variety offered: "This sassy new weeknight strip featuring the creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky clan serves up heaping helpings of pun-filled spooky clan serves up heaping helpings of pun-filled dialogue and surprisingly cool special effects." The 'Hits and Misses' section of TV-Guide was slightly more reserved: "Like the original, this incarnation is totally silly and predictably absurd, as good and evil are ironically redefined in every punch line. How many times can you laugh at the same joke? An infinite number of times, evidently."
Fox Family's massive publicity drive paid off. In a press release issued shortly after the premiere, the network reported that: "Highlighting the prime time line-up was the debut episode of The New Addams Family, the highest-rated first-run series in Fox Family Channel history. Addams proved a particularly strong attraction to Kids 6-11, with the debut delivering a Fox Family Channel prime time series record 2.04 rating in that demographic."
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