The star of the show was undoubtedly Glenn Taranto. Taking over from John Astin as Gomez, the patriarch of the Addams family, Taranto managed to add a unique brand of charm to the role. Most welcome, though, was the way Taranto did his best to make the new Gomez still similar to the old Gomez. Viewers won't see Raul Julia's Gomez in Taranto, but many of the movements and expressions are very characteristic of John Astin. The New Jersey native is no newcomer to the television scene -- vigilante viewers of Law & Order re-runs will spot him off and on playing cop Manetti on occasion, and soap fans recently saw him as a strip club manager on another NBC product, Days of Our Lives.
A star in her own right on the show is Canada's own Ellie Harvey as the revamped Morticia for the 1990s. Gomez' Tish is smart, sexy, and unflappable. She started her career in minor guest appearances on The Commish and The X Files, but leapt right into starring roles with The New Addams Family. She even went on to star in the (thankfully) short-lived CBC series P.R. during the 2000-2001 television season. She's most recently been seen in car commercials.
It's often hard to cast child actors for roles, but The New Addams Family lucked out with both their child stars. Nicole Marie Fugere proved herself more than capable of handling the role of slightly psychotic Wednesday Addams, by far the creepiest adaptation of the role. She's also the only main family member to previously star as Wednesday Addams, in the straight-to-video release of Addams Family Reunion with Tim Curry, Jerry Messing, and Daryl Hannah. Canadian newcomer Brody Smith proves himself equally adept at handling the role of Pugsley.
Rounding out the cast is John DeSantis as Lurch, Michael Roberds as Uncle Fester, and Betty Phillips as Granny.
The show is by no means the best show ever produced, but it's a humorous half-hour's worth of material. Currently re-running on YTV in Canada, and even popping up on CBC from time to time, there are some real gems to be found, especially in the early episodes of the series.
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