Wednesday - General Discussion

[BetterButter]

[BetterButter]

Meet the New Addams Family From Tim Burton’s Wednesday

[paulvdb]

New teaser:

"The series is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams' years as a student at Nevermore Academy, where she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the murder mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago - all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore."

I think it's going take me some time to get used to Luiz Guzman as Gomez. He looks very different than Raul Julia.

[giovannif7]

As Gomez, both John Astin (from the 60s TV series) and Raul Julia (from the 90s movies) were more classic "Hollywood attractive" than the character was originally drawn. It appears Luis Guzmán's Gomez will be closer to the original Charles Addams version, at least looks-wise.

[rollacoaster]

I feel that Catherine Zeta-Jones somehow misses the mark as Morticia. My daughter referred to her as a MILF doing a Morticia cosplay. She just doesn't feel right. It will always be Carolyn Jones and Angelica Huston for me. Angelica Huston especially favored regal angularity of the drawings, and Carolyn was so gorgeous and had such vibrant personality. 

I do like the new Gomez. He matches the original drawings very well. I'm not feeling the wig on Luis, though I get what they are trying for. 

[MissAlmond]

Happy to know Luis Guzman is still putting that Greendale diploma to good use! 😉 

I'm tuning in.

[Trini]

On 8/17/2022 at 2:03 PM, paulvdb said:

I think it's going take me some time to get used to Luiz Guzman as Gomez. He looks very different than Raul Julia.

The only problem I have is the terrible job they did with his wig.

[SVNBob]

On 8/17/2022 at 1:03 PM, paulvdb said:

New teaser:

Seems to be striking the right mix of macabre and wholesome tones.  Should be a good one.

[Spartan Girl]

This looks way better than Rob Zombie’s Munsters movie. I’m in.

[AnimeMania]

[Morrigan2575]

Looks interesting.  Can't say I like Luis Guzman as Gomez. I know he's closer to the original comics (and even the Scooby-Doo version) but, I never liked the look. 

I always preferred The Addams Family ton The Munsters so I will give it a try. However, they have some stiff competition both the old show and the 90s movies were very well done.

[Trini]

EW article where they talk a bit about set design and Wednesday's roommate: 'Wednesday creators take us inside Nevermore Academy'

[AnimeMania]

Visit      www.NevermoreAcademy.com       Apply Today

[paulvdb]

Date Announcement - Netflix's "Wednesday" Premieres November 23

[AnimeMania]

[SVNBob]

And to confirm, November 23 is indeed a Wednesday.

In fact, it's the day before Thanksgiving Thursday.

[BetterButter]

[peachmangosteen]

It annoys me that they seem to be using both 'Wednesday' and 'Wednesday Addams' as the title. Like, just pick one lol.

[AnimeMania]

[AnimeMania]

George Burcea as Lurch

[AnimeMania]

Wednesday, a coming-of-age comedy, is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy, her parents’ mysterious alma mater, in the small town of Jericho, which is plagued by murders. This is where she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago - all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships. This version is more closely related to its 1938 cartoon origins.

Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, mother of Wednesday

Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, patriarch of the Addams family and father of Wednesday

Lucius Hoyos as Young Gomez Addams

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams

Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley, Wednesday’s brother 

Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester

Victor Dorobantu as Thing, the family’s non-verbal disembodied hand

George Burcea as Lurch, the family's servant

Gwendoline Christie as Principal Larissa Weems, the principal of Nevermore Academy who still has an axe to grind with her former classmate Morticia Addams.

Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill, a teacher at Nevermore. 

Thora Birch as Tamara Novak. Wednesday’s dorm mother and the only “Normie” on staff at Nevermore Academy with a focus on all things botanical. Thora Birch left before filming was completed to take care of a personal matter. She may or may not still be in the series.


Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair. She is Wednesday’s sunny and colorful Californian roommate at Nevermore Academy. Enid hails from a pack of San Francisco Werewolves.

Moosa Mostafa as Eugene Otinger. One of Nevermore Academy’s quirkiest students and president of the school’s bee-keeping club.

Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe. A charismatic and supernaturally artistic Nevermore Academy student, who comes from wealth thanks to his celebrity psychic father.

(L-R) Johnna Dias-Watson as Divina, Naomi J. Ogawa as Yoko Tanaka, Georgie Farmer as Ajax Petropolus, Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay, Oliver Watson as Kent

Naomi J. Ogawa as Yoko Tanaka. A vampire with Harajuku-inspired Goth flair and one of the cool kids at Nevermore Academy.

Georgie Farmer as Ajax Petropolus. A student at Nevermore Academy who also happens to be a Gorgon. Awkward and shy, Ajax is anxious about looking anyone in the eye.

Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay. One of Nevermore Academy’s most popular students, Bianca descends from a long line of Sirens with a mesmerizing power to persuade.

Oliver Watson as Kent

Riki Lindhome as Dr. Valerie Kinbott. A local therapist in the sleepy town of Jericho who takes a particular interest in her newest patient Wednesday Addams.

Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin. A townie who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Wednesday Addams. Tyler has a troubled relationship with his father, the local sheriff.

Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin. Born and bred in Jericho, this Sheriff has always had an issue with Nevermore Academy and a vendetta against former student Gomez Addams.

Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo as Deputy Rita Santiago

Tommie Earl Jenkins as Mayor Walker

Iman Marson as Lucas Walker

William Houston as Joseph Crackstone

Calum Ross as Rowan Laslow

Daniel Himschoot as Hyde Monster

[AnimeMania]

[Trini]

I'm sure there are more photos in other places, but here's one slideshow of the cast at the premeire red black carpet: https://www.gofugyourself.com/the-wednesday-premiere-was-also-very-costume-y-11-2022

[AnimeMania]

Wednesday      November 23        Netflix

Episodes 1-8    Titles and Descriptions

Spoiler

S01.E01: Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe 

When a deliciously wicked prank gets Wednesday expelled, her parents ship her off to Nevermore Academy, the boarding school where they fell in love.


S01.E02: Woe is the Loneliest Number 

The sheriff questions Wednesday about the night's strange happenings. Later, Wednesday faces off against a fierce rival in the cutthroat Poe Cup race.



S01.E03: 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?

S01.E04: Woe What a Night 

Wednesday asks Xavier to the Rave'N dance, sparking Tyler's jealousy — but Thing's got something up his sleeve. Meanwhile, Eugene stakes out the cave.

S01.E05: You Reap What You Woe 

During Parents Weekend, Wednesday digs into her family's past — and accidentally gets her dad arrested. Enid feels the pressure to "wolf out."

S01.E06: 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.

S01.E07: If You Don't Woe Me By Now 

Kooky Uncle Fester pays a visit and shares his theory about the monster. Wednesday begrudgingly agrees to a date with Tyler at Crackstone's crypt.


S01.E08: A Murder of Woes 
(Season Finale)

Wednesday lands in trouble with Principal Weems, but that's just the start of her problems. To fight an ancient evil, she'll need all her friends’ help.

[Keywestclubkid]

up to episode 6 ..its just giving off Sabrina vibes all over I dunno if thats a good or bad thing ... 

[Sakura12]

It does remind me of Sabrina, but I like it. I hope if they get more seasons they can keep it together, Sabrina fell way off the rails. 

Christina was basically playing her Yellowjackets character. I kind of wish she took off the terrible wig and had black hair just for aesthetics at the end. 

Tyler reminded me of Evan Peters, then he was playing an Evan Peters character. Lol

I vote for Angelica Houston to be the new headmistress if they get a season 2. 

[Keywestclubkid]

a brand-new cell phone that no one knew about gets a text from a stalker .. I mean how who else had the number but Vincent? im a bit confused 

[cuppasun]

2 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

.. I mean how who else had the number but Vincent? im a bit confused 

oh crap, now I'm confused too... wasn't that Xavier?

As for the stalker access... I'm just gonna roll with it, assuming the supernatural and/or supergenius/villian (super hacker?) abilities. If we get a season 2, we'll either find out...or deal with the disappointment <insert Wednesday glare here>

[Anela]

I’m only on episode two, but I’m thinking the boy in town is also the monster.  Unless that’s too obvious, and it’s someone else.  
 

Wednesday reminds me of my sister.  She would have been mortified if a boy doing that thing with the charcoal spider, bringing attention to the fact that he likes her, and she probably would have had the same response.  

Edited November 24, 2022 by Anela

[hiisa]

I'm going to finish this but....I don't think I like it. This feels like a mashup of every YA supernatural boarding school book that was popular 15ish years ago with a dash of Veronica Mars (but less smart and less sarcastic?). The only Addams family I grew up with was the movies from the 90s and maybe I'm blinded by nostalgia but legit the only thing I like about this are 1. Christina Riccis glasses and Jenna Ortega's lipstick. 

[cdnalor]

One episode and I'm done.  One reviewer called it a generic supernatural teen drama and I agree.  Wednesday and Thing alone don't make it an Addams Family show.  I expected more of a comedy like the movies and series, not a CW type product.

[starri]

I'm up to episode 4 and enjoying it, although I agree that there's not much here that seems like the Addams Family, although Jenny Ortega is great.

For the love of God, if you're going to have Christina Ricci in your cast, SHE should be Morticia.

[mustbekarma]

I fell in love with this series when Wednesday dumped the piranhas into the swimming pool to chomp on the bullies. I love Wednesday. 

[starri]

I definitely didn't love the show, but given that I ended up binging it despite not having much more than a morbid (so to speak) curiosity says they were doing something right.  Mostly, that was Jenny Ortega.  And really, all of the kids, especially Enid.

I like Catherine Zeta-Jones a lot, and while she physically made a great Morticia, the performance just didn't work for me.  I'd put a lot of that on the writing, and look, no one is ever going to measure up against Carolyn Jones or Angelica Huston, but she didn't really seem to understand who Morticia is.

I was also a little surprised that they kept the movie's backstory that Fester was Gomez's brother, since originally he was Morticia's uncle.

[Chaos Theory]

While not perfect this was an enjoyable watch.  I like the new incarnation of Wednesday as a budding sociopath who manages to make friends despite her best intentions but is also loyal to the ones she inadvertently makes.   I missed watching Wednesday interact with her family but alienating her from them due to teenage angst is probably for  the best as this is supposed to focus on Wednesday not the rest of the clan but I did enjoy the insight of how the same but different Wednesday and Morticia are and how Wednesday thinks she can never live up to her mother especially at the school her mother thrived in.     I actually think the best relationship was between Wednesday and Enid.   If there is a second season (with Netflix you never can tell) I would love to see more of that.   Maybe have some repercussions to having Enid’s first wolfing out during a blood moon mean something.     I was pretty sure that the Hyde was the guy in the coffee shop whose father was a cop but I was 50/50 on who was the daughter of the head Pilgrim family.    Still fun enough show.

Edited November 26, 2022 by Chaos Theory

[shipmate]

I enjoyed the show for what it was, and really hope there is a season two. The actress who played Wednesday is a star, and I also enjoyed the relationships between Wednesday and all the students. The only miscast I found was Gomez. I don’t know, I just didn’t find him to be a good actor for this role.

[Sarahsmile416]

I really enjoyed this, but did not enjoy Fred Armison as Uncle Fester.  I normally like Fred Armison, but he didn’t work for me.  Luckily he was only in one episode 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Lady Calypso]

So, I finished watching. I enjoyed most of it, but I feel like the finale was one of its weakest aspects. I felt like the reveals didn't have that pay-off, and I felt like I had more questions than answers.

Jenna Ortega is a star, point blank. She made this entire series work. Her supporting cast could be a hit or miss, honestly. Many of them worked well (Enid, Xavier, Eugene, Bianca) and then others did not. 

The build-up to the finale was great. A lot of twists and turns, many which felt natural, especially for Wednesday's budding curiosity and need for the truth. I really appreciated many of the character arcs as well. However, the major reveals with Tyler and Thornhill seemed to fizzle out by the second half of the finale. I found a lot of questionable things happening in the finale (Tyler's very abrupt change to being fully evil, Sheriff Donovan knowing about his son this entire time, Enid's transformation) and I think I was more annoyed with the ending than anything.

I am also questioning Enid's transformation. They really should have not shown Enid transform in the end; they should have let her just show up on wolf form, surprising the audience. Plus, the transformation scenes in this series are not good...like, at all. Tyler as the Hyde was downright cartoony and laughable. I couldn't take a monster like that seriously; if I was Wednesday, I'd be cracking jokes about his cartoon eyes. And the werewolf transformation looked bad too. It they're dedicating themselves to CGI monsters, they need to dedicate more of their budget to it.

Joseph Crackstone showing up was a complete waste of time. If they were building to that, it should have happened way earlier, not ten minutes before he's back to being dead.

Goody was also a serious disappointment. She shows up three times, being cryptic twice and then randomly healing Wednesday while still being cryptic. Thanks for the help, Goody!

Honestly, though, besides the crappy finale, everything else wasn't half bad. Even the minimal Morticia and Gomez worked alright (a bit rough in characterization, though I chalk that up to poor dialogue; the lines they spouted didn't feel very Morticia or Gomez-like) , though I hope we see a bit more of them should the show be renewed. Thing was great, at least. 

Overall, a decent series, I'd be fine with a second season, but they have some kinks to work out.

[CletusMusashi]

17 hours ago, starri said:

I was also a little surprised that they kept the movie's backstory that Fester was Gomez's brother, since originally he was Morticia's uncle.

It's not either/or. A big point of the original comics was how weird and, yes, inbred, certain rich families had gotten.

And the 60s show stayed true to that, with almost every single relative from either side of the family being an Addams. 

Morticia being a Frump simply means that her mother or grandmother married one of the cousins who was not surnamed Addams.

[Chaos Theory]

Gearing this more towards the movie then the series makes a certain amount of sense.  I have watched a few episodes of the series but that does focus mostly on Gomez and Morticia and their relationship Wednesday and Puglsey are window dressing.  It wasn’t until the movies that Wednesday became such a fascinating fixture so aging her to an angst teenager feuding with her mother just makes sense and it also makes sense to make uncle Fester “her” uncle instead of some distant relation who happens to darken the family doorstep.    Someone Wednesday has a kinship with because he is an outsider in an alway outsider Family.  Just like her.

[PurpleTentacle]

S01E05:

So what Gomez told Wednesday was supposed to be a confession? That story was a classic case of self defence. Even Mortitia killing the guy was self defence. That whole thing is just dumb.

Also the normie teacher is the little sister of the dead guy, isn't she?

Edited November 27, 2022 by PurpleTentacle

[AntFTW]

On 11/26/2022 at 6:58 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

Also the normie teacher is the little sister of the dead guy, isn't she?

That is also my guess.

[AntFTW]

Ummm… I looked forward to watching this. I just finished. I’m feeling very neutral on this show. It was okay. I’m not hating it but I didn’t overly enjoy it. I thought Jenna Ortega was great. I thought the character of Enid being opposite of Wednesday was good.

On 11/25/2022 at 9:40 PM, Lady Calypso said:

Joseph Crackstone showing up was a complete waste of time. If they were building to that, it should have happened way earlier, not ten minutes before he's back to being dead.

I didn’t quite understand this unless I missed something. Crackstone hated the outcast so I assumed he was a normie. Or does he just have powers or abilities in the afterlife?

On 11/25/2022 at 9:40 PM, Lady Calypso said:

Even the minimal Morticia and Gomez worked alright (a bit rough in characterization, though I chalk that up to poor dialogue; the lines they spouted didn't feel very Morticia or Gomez-like)

Agreed. For me, it worked because it was minimal.

On 11/25/2022 at 9:40 PM, Lady Calypso said:

Thing was great, at least. 

Thing was amazing. The interactions between Thing and all of the other characters were great.

[SVNBob]

On 11/24/2022 at 9:11 PM, starri said:

For the love of God, if you're going to have Christina Ricci in your cast, SHE should be Morticia.

Sorry, but no.  Morticia is a statuesque beauty.  (Hence the 5' 10" Anjelica Huston in the role, and Catherine Zeta-Jones at 5' 7" and heels (compared to Guzman's 5' 5".)  Even the 5' 6" Carolyn Jones is taller than the average American woman's height of 5' 4".)  Ricci, while indeed a talented actress and beautiful lady, is quite petite at 5' 1".  For Christina to be Morticia, you'd have to cast someone like Peter Dinklage as Gomez.  (Which is a cool concept, but doesn't feel quite right.) 

Plus, Jenna Ortega is also 5' 1".  With Ricci as Morticia, she and Wednesday would be looking each other in the eyes.  And that doesn't fit with one of the show's themes of Wednesday trying to get out of the large shadow cast by Morticia.  (Seriously, imagine the scene from the first episode where Morticia gives Wednesday the amulet before leaving her at Nevermore but with Ricci in place of Zeta-Jones.  That doesn't work near as well with them on the same plane.  Morticia needs to be "towering" over Wednesday for the scene to play out with the right feeling.)

However, Ricci could play Lily Munster with no problem.  And her small stature would make whomever was cast as Herman look that much more of a giant.

[rwlevin]

Did Pilgrim Land (or world or whatever it was) remind anybody else of Old Sturbridge Village or was that just me?

For people not originally from New England, Old Sturbridge Village is a town in Massachusetts that recreates New England life in the 1700s. I have many memories of going there on school trips and eating rock candy.

[Anela]

I didn't know it was only eight episodes, so I was surprised when they had the showdown, and that one person was killed. 

[CletusMusashi]

Initially, I didn't quite like Fester as much as I wanted to. His classic TV-character voice didn't seem to match anything else about him at all.

But as I've had time to think about it, I sort of get him.

He's a slightly different version of Wedenesday. Older instead of younger, because that's just how birth dates work.

Male instead of female, because that's how the genetic coin flip went.

And, for whatever reason, cheerful in his demeanor instead of snarky. Maybe because he grew up watching Three Stooges instead of Beetlejuice. But, he knows what he wants to do, and he does it.

And if he needs to learn something new, he leans in and does so. And he has a history of terrifying his wimpy younger brother at least partially as a strength building exercise, kind of like Wednesday waterboarding Pugsley.

Edited November 29, 2022 by CletusMusashi

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 11/26/2022 at 5:58 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

S01E05:

So what Gomez told Wednesday was supposed to be a confession? That story was a classic case of self defence. Even Mortitia killing the guy was self defence. That whole thing is just dumb.

Also the normie teacher is the little sister of the dead guy, isn't she?

If you take the story as literally true, yes, it's self-defense. If you take it as a case where Gomez was admitting what he had to (that he was involved in the death) but lying about exactly what happened, then you could very well see it as murder. I am sure a lot of actual killers give statements where they admit that they killed the person but claim it was self-defense.

An issue with this show is that casting Christina Ricci and Gwendolyn Christie almost certainly meant one of them was going to be the season's Big Bad, and it was clear (to me, anyway) early on that it wasn't going to be Christie.

[tennisgurl]

I thought that was a lot of fun, Jenna Ortega is an absolute star. I wish we saw more of the Addams family and less of the teen drama, but what we got was pretty good, especially when they really leaned into the Addams-ness of them and not so much the mystery stuff. The show struggled at times to mix the dark Addams humor with the tropes of a supernatural teen soap, but it was an easy binge and I would absolutely watch a second season. 

We should have known Christina Ricci was the homicidal maniac, they look just like everyone else :) 

[MAK]

I loved this series! Jenna Ortega is chef’s kiss!

I was a fan of the old sitcom. Astin and Jones are the quintessential Mortitia and Gomez for me. I thought Angelica Huston and Raul Julia and Christina Ricci were great casting, but I never got into those movies. The movies were too over the top, too slapstick, and too much like the cartoon version. The TV series wasn’t pretending to be a cartoon, they were just a weird family that thought they were the “normal” ones.

Wednesday took us back to that. I liked that the Mary Sue aspects were actually a part of Wednesday’s character. The mystery was interesting too. I kept switching between who the monster was, and guessed who the controller was right away (mostly because of the actor).

I don’t actually like teenage dramas, but this one wasn’t so bad. At least the characters weren’t all caricatures of stereotypes. Loved the snippets of backstory that the show gave the supporting characters. I’m also glad that they had them be individuals and not just the eventual “Scooby Gang.”

Zeta-Jones and Guzman were ok, but they seemed more like cosplayers.