Yes, I’m late to this game, primarily because we don’t have a Netflix subscription. I’m a bit too young to have been original audience for the first Addams Family TV show in the 1960s and far too young for the debut of the standalone single-panel comics – started in the late 1930s – that inspired that show. My introduction to The Addams Family came through the movie in the early 1990s, when a group of friends walked from campus to a nearby movie theatre in that day or two between the ending of finals and everyone heading home for the holidays. Based on IMDB’s search results, I’ve apparently missed some iterations since then. But I heard of Wednesday when it aired and recently checked the library to see if the DVDs were available.
Wednesday Addams is the quintessential macabre goth girl, both in appearance and her general approach to life, clearly highlighted in the opening scenes where she walks into a normal school in her usual attire and through a quick sequence of events, proceeds to drop piranhas in a pool where the boys who were bullying her brother are swimming. As she proceeds with her family to Nevermore, the boarding school her parents attended, her regret regarding the piranhas is that she will be seen as a failure, having been expelled for attempted murder. (Rumors, of course, are flying regarding the new student, and nobody there realizes she failed in her murder attempt.)
While that sets the mood, Wednesday is about more than just some macabre goth jokes. Clearly intelligent and curious, she immediately becomes embroiled investigating what appear to be serial killings in the area, as well as a long-dormant murder accusation against her father. She notices minute details overlooked by others, assembling the pieces together while adjusting to her new school and the possibility of actual friendships. Ultimately, the first season is just as much about found family as it is about the mysteries she is trying to solve.
I look forward to Season 2… you know, some day, when it reaches DVD or we pick up a Netflix subscription.