The Addams Family

Geared towards children, much of the family's macabre nature was toned down; although, Fester retained his love of explosives and light bulbs. In order for the series to fit with other Saturday morning cartoons, plot lines were geared around the family living in Happy Dale Heights and facing some kind of threat from a series of recurring villains—individuals who either wanted to force the Addams' from their home or capture one of them (usually Fester) for nefarious purposes. The first episode to air involved a plot against Fester by his "arch nemesis," a faceless gangster; the episode was aired out of production order, however, and relied on the viewer's having seen previous episodes for context, thus leaving the audience in the dark as to why Fester had an arch nemesis. Later episodes would introduce the series' most common recurring villains, a yuppie family named the Normanmeyers that lived next door to the Addams and despised them for their lifestyle being an affront to typical suburban living. Episodes dealing with the Normanmeyers usually involved the father, Norman, trying to either convince Gomez to move away or force him to sell the home; the family's adolescent son, NJ, was friends with Puggsley and Wednesday, inevitably leading to interfamilial conflict. At the end of several episodes, when the conflict was resolved, Gomez usually suggested a family dance. The first suggestion for the dance was usually thrown out because of some weird requirement. Fester is usually the one to point out the reason the first suggestion shouldn't be accepted albeit sometimes Gomez and Fester found themselves in a role reversal (with Fester making the suggestion and Gomez pointing out the reason not to follow it). The second suggestion was accepted and there was usually a requirement for that dance too. The show's theme song, which was similar to that of the original live-action series, was slightly different and was sung by a single baritone voice. New artistic models of the characters were used for this series, though still having a passing resemblance to the original comics. Lurch, for instance, has blue skin in the animated series. The Addams Family Theme, re-recorded with a basso profondo lead vocal, was reused as the theme for the series.