The Addams Family (TV Series) Morticia and the Psychiatrist (1964) User Reviews

The Addams Family - Morticia and the Psychiatrist

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 29 July 2019]

Gomez, Morticia, and Fester are mortified when they discover that Pugsley is wearing a boy scout's uniform, is out playing baseball, and has taken to a pet dog! Yes, he has abandoned feeding his pet octopus, blowing up trains/sets with his father, playing down in the torture chamber of horrors (Fester takes Gomez to task for spoiling Pugsley too soon with a battle axe!), and avoiding his daily trips to the mineshaft! What else can they do when one of Pugsley's favorite bedtime stories, Poe's The Raven (!), read to him by Morticia in the hopes that she "gets her son back" but look in the phone book pages for a psychologist?! This is very much classic formula "Addams Family" with the psychiatrist, Dr. Harold Black (George Petrie) believing one thing while the Addams are oblivious to his naiveté regarding their lifestyle and different understanding to what is "normal" than him. Black advises them to "encourage" Pugsley's newfound interests in the hopes that it eventually leads him back to the way he was prior to this "change". Eventually Black arrives at the mansion at Morticia's urging, hoping firsthand that face-to-face conversation can help motivate Pugsley towards returning to his normal self...wearing a werewolf mask and barking at the moon. Black believing that the typical macabre Addams mansion décor and how the family dresses everyday is part of the therapy to urge Pugsley's change in interest is essential to the episode's main punchline...what is normal for the Addams' Family is quite the opposite for someone like Black, who actually believes that a giant stuffed bear near the stairs, a giant moose with antlers on the wall, or even the two-headed turtle and statues of villainy throughout the manor are temporary shock devices hoping to help their son not what they actually are: intentioned items meant as interior design for the house on purpose. Morticia unable to barely stomach that her son wants to "play catch" or coddle with a poodle as Gomez helplessly dotters about looking for a solution that seems elusive is part of the enjoyment...it is the direct reverse reaction of how any other family would respond, which is why this series worked so well. I can't say I necessarily ever laughed out loud but the dialogue and absurdity of what the Addams consider troubling in Pugsley's change in behavior, especially Morticia, who I just love to pieces, pleased that dark sense of humor I have. Other memorable scenes involve Lurch lifting up Pugsley to bring him inside, Black getting back story from Pugsley regarding his unique childhood which includes a bomb that seems to go off as evidence of the peculiar upbringing, Morticia feeding her monster plant (Cleopatra!), and a look into the dungeon with torture chamber devices and tools.