"Sweet old Uncle Fester. He used to write an "advice to the lovelorn" column. He'd still be doing it, too, if everybody hadn't started suing him." - Carolyn Jones as Morticia Addams
The Addams Family: Volume 2 Quick Take
Just Like Our Regular Reviews. Only Smurf-sized.
By Jude Clement
With the release of The Addams Family: Volume 2, the next twenty-one episodes from seasons one and two of the series that follows the misadventures of the oddball Addams family arrive on DVD. During its two season run, The Addams Family didn't change much. Unlucky Cousin Oliver didn't join the cast, little Pugsley and Wednesday didn't suddenly become cute teenagers (although Pugsley does turn into a chimp for a while), and no babies were brought in to "freshen up" the series. Since The Addams Family was relatively consistent, read our review of Volume 1 for our take on this sweet, kooky family. But don't worry - we've exhumed Volume 2's extra features and detailed them below, so put down that shovel and enjoy The Addams Family.
Video and Audio
The Addams again look crisp and clean.
The English mono audio is fine, too. A handful of the episodes also include Spanish and/or French mono audio tracks.
Subtitles are available in English and Spanish, and the episodes are closed captioned.
Extras
Cousin Itt and Thing team up for commentary tracks on selected scenes in several episodes: "Thing is Missing," "My Son, The Chimp," "Cousin Itt and the Vocational Counselor," and "My Fair Cousin Itt." This is a funny idea that unfortunately suffers in its execution. As the scene being commented upon plays in a large window in the center of the screen, Cousin Itt and Thing are shown in two separate, smaller windows in the top left and right corners of the screen. Cousin Itt provides commentary in his unintelligible voice while Thing gesticulates wildly. A scroll at the bottom of the screen translates Cousin Itt's comments. This may have been funny (and more in keeping with the tone of the show) if Cousin Itt nattered away and we had no idea what he was saying. As it is, his translated musings are lame. Anyone who thinks that "Can you hear me now?" jokes are still funny, for example, should be locked in the Addams' iron maiden.
Author Stephen Cox (The Addams Chronicles: An Altogether Ooky Look at the Addams Family) provides a commentary tracks on "Morticia Meets Royalty." This commentary track is interesting, but diehard Addams fans - and people who viewed the extras in Volume 1 - will probably find most of the information very familiar.
"Morticia's Romance (Part I)" includes "Tombstone Trivia," a pop-up trivia track. This is a neat idea, but not enough trivia is included.
The remaining extras are found on disc 3, side b. The featurette "Mad About the Addams" (13:05) includes interviews with star John Astin, TV archivist Bob Burns, author Stephen Cox, and an assortment of Addams fans and TV experts. Astin recalls that several psychiatrists "proclaimed The Addams Family the healthiest show on the air and one of the things they pointed out is that these people are strange on the outside but on the inside they're solid human beings who care about other human beings."
The "Guest Star Séance" is an interactive feature that allows viewers to learn more about several guest stars: Vito Scotti, Peter Bonerz, Parley Baer, Milton Frome, Margaret Hamilton, Sig Ruman, Elvia Allman, Eddie Qillan, Elisabeth Fraser, and Richard Deacon. Included is information about other roles, bits of trivia, and the date that they "passed into the spirit world" - if indeed they have.
Summary
The Addams Family: Volume 2 is so entertaining it's downright spooky.
) provides a commentary tracks on "Morticia Meets Royalty." This commentary track is interesting, but diehard Addams fans - and people who viewed the extras in 
