What a fascinating and strange mishmash of ideas this "Wednesday" show is. For me, it was forever teetering on the brink of collapse, but just about managed to walk the strange line of different genres. I'm not exactly sure who the target audience is though.
Having been expelled from a number of schools Wednesday Addams (Jenny Ortega) is forced to go to Nevermore academy, where her mother was once a student. Even with Nevermore' s unusual mix of supernatural students Wednesday's attitude makes her an outcast and her roommate Enid (Emma Myers) could not be more different to her. To make matters worse, Wednesday is developing a precognition power, which forces her to try and act when she foresees the murder of one of her fellow students.
So, there's a great central performance from Jenny Ortega in "Wednesday" and there's some great supporting turns for Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome and, in a nice bit of full circle casting, Christina Ricci. The rest of the Addam's family are well cast too, with Luiz Guzman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Fred Armisen as Gomez, Morticia and Uncle Fester respectively. The show often looks really good, as you might anticipate with Tim Burton directing half of it and with some decent money spent on effects, particularly the "Hyde" monster. I liked the way the series worked some elements of wider Addams's lore, such as the finger click, into the story.
It's all a bit weird though. The Addams family was, I feel, supposed to be subversive. They are the odd family and everyone else is "normal" and it takes place in the real world. That's juxtaposition is what makes the situation funny and drives the narrative. Here at Nevermore, everyone is a werewolf, vampire or siren, and the police and locals are aware that they exist. In many ways, Wednesday is the most normal, by just being a bit morbid. You combine that with the mix of genre's that I mentioned earlier. The show is a murder mystery, set in a high school situation, though occasionally with a bit of swearing, violence and horror elements. It's a bit much for younger teenagers, but the plot is too basic for anyone older. You'll almost certainly guess who is behind the murders, and why, well before the show's final episode.
It's good enough that I'll be back for the second season, but I never got beyond admire to love and I do think there's room for improvement.
Having been expelled from a number of schools Wednesday Addams (Jenny Ortega) is forced to go to Nevermore academy, where her mother was once a student. Even with Nevermore' s unusual mix of supernatural students Wednesday's attitude makes her an outcast and her roommate Enid (Emma Myers) could not be more different to her. To make matters worse, Wednesday is developing a precognition power, which forces her to try and act when she foresees the murder of one of her fellow students.
So, there's a great central performance from Jenny Ortega in "Wednesday" and there's some great supporting turns for Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome and, in a nice bit of full circle casting, Christina Ricci. The rest of the Addam's family are well cast too, with Luiz Guzman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Fred Armisen as Gomez, Morticia and Uncle Fester respectively. The show often looks really good, as you might anticipate with Tim Burton directing half of it and with some decent money spent on effects, particularly the "Hyde" monster. I liked the way the series worked some elements of wider Addams's lore, such as the finger click, into the story.
It's all a bit weird though. The Addams family was, I feel, supposed to be subversive. They are the odd family and everyone else is "normal" and it takes place in the real world. That's juxtaposition is what makes the situation funny and drives the narrative. Here at Nevermore, everyone is a werewolf, vampire or siren, and the police and locals are aware that they exist. In many ways, Wednesday is the most normal, by just being a bit morbid. You combine that with the mix of genre's that I mentioned earlier. The show is a murder mystery, set in a high school situation, though occasionally with a bit of swearing, violence and horror elements. It's a bit much for younger teenagers, but the plot is too basic for anyone older. You'll almost certainly guess who is behind the murders, and why, well before the show's final episode.
It's good enough that I'll be back for the second season, but I never got beyond admire to love and I do think there's room for improvement.