Although this episode is titled "feud," it really is about little Wednesday and her first beau, and features one of the cutest sequences I've seen in TV or movies.
The story, in brief: prominent socialite Abigail Addams is in a feud with the Gomez Addams branch of the family, and is threatening to sue Gomez for his millions. Meanwhile, little Wednesday has met a boy her age, Robespierre Courtney, and wants him to be her boyfriend. The boy's mother, Mrs. Courtney, a social climber who knows nothing of the Abigail-Gomez feud, thinks that Wednesday is Abigail's granddaughter, and is eager to have tea with the Addams family, expecting to meet Abigail. When the Addams family invites Robespierre and parents to tea so that Wednesday can play with Robespierre, she eagerly accepts.
Then comes the best part of the episode, as each member of the Addams family, in the morning before the scheduled tea with the Courtneys, takes turns coaching Wednesday in how to catch Robespierre's heart. First we see little Wednesday fitted out in her own miniature version of Morticia's slinky black dress, with tendrils for feet, and her mother Morticia tells Wednesday that to catch Robespierre, Wednesday must learn how to curtsy. "In this dress??" responds Wednesday, for of course, curtsying is impossible in the tight dress. "I see your point," says Morticia, who then says, "if that doesn't work, try this," and gives Wednesday a bear-trap. Next, Wednesday is with her father Gomez, who dances the tango with her. The image of suave John Astin dancing the tango with this little girl, as his daughter, to teach her to dance, is priceless. Then he says, "if that doesn't work, try this," and gives her a big coiled bull-whip. Loaded down with the trap and the bull-whip, Wednesday shuffles off in the Morticia dress, dutifully going to the next family member for advice. After sequences with Uncle Fester and Grandmama that leave her loaded down with even more odd items, she goes to Lurch and asks him if he has any advice -- to which Lurch offers only his patented groan, Urrrg. Wednesday drops everything and hugs him, in gratitude that he hasn't given her yet another item to lug around.
Then Robespierre and his parents arrive, and after Wednesday's startling greeting the two children go off to play while the adult Addamses and Courtneys socialize, with the usual disastrous (for the Courtneys) results. The Addamses think that the Courtneys are spies for Abigail in connection with the feud, and suddenly become very suspicious of the Courtneys. The Courtneys, discovering that they are not going to meet Abigail, leave, and Wednesday reports that she has lost interest in Robespierre, because he refused to play with Pugsley's octopus.
This episode is special for the prominent role given to Wedneday, who must be only about 8 years old, and the marvelously serious way the actress (Lisa Loring) carries it off, and the love shown her by all the other members of the Addams family as they give her tips on how to win a man. In the DVD copies of the show, in commentary to a different episode ("Morticia, the Matchmaker," DVD volume 1, disk 2, side A), Lisa Loring talks about wearing her child-size "Morticia dress" and other memories of this episode. A real treat.
The story, in brief: prominent socialite Abigail Addams is in a feud with the Gomez Addams branch of the family, and is threatening to sue Gomez for his millions. Meanwhile, little Wednesday has met a boy her age, Robespierre Courtney, and wants him to be her boyfriend. The boy's mother, Mrs. Courtney, a social climber who knows nothing of the Abigail-Gomez feud, thinks that Wednesday is Abigail's granddaughter, and is eager to have tea with the Addams family, expecting to meet Abigail. When the Addams family invites Robespierre and parents to tea so that Wednesday can play with Robespierre, she eagerly accepts.
Then comes the best part of the episode, as each member of the Addams family, in the morning before the scheduled tea with the Courtneys, takes turns coaching Wednesday in how to catch Robespierre's heart. First we see little Wednesday fitted out in her own miniature version of Morticia's slinky black dress, with tendrils for feet, and her mother Morticia tells Wednesday that to catch Robespierre, Wednesday must learn how to curtsy. "In this dress??" responds Wednesday, for of course, curtsying is impossible in the tight dress. "I see your point," says Morticia, who then says, "if that doesn't work, try this," and gives Wednesday a bear-trap. Next, Wednesday is with her father Gomez, who dances the tango with her. The image of suave John Astin dancing the tango with this little girl, as his daughter, to teach her to dance, is priceless. Then he says, "if that doesn't work, try this," and gives her a big coiled bull-whip. Loaded down with the trap and the bull-whip, Wednesday shuffles off in the Morticia dress, dutifully going to the next family member for advice. After sequences with Uncle Fester and Grandmama that leave her loaded down with even more odd items, she goes to Lurch and asks him if he has any advice -- to which Lurch offers only his patented groan, Urrrg. Wednesday drops everything and hugs him, in gratitude that he hasn't given her yet another item to lug around.
Then Robespierre and his parents arrive, and after Wednesday's startling greeting the two children go off to play while the adult Addamses and Courtneys socialize, with the usual disastrous (for the Courtneys) results. The Addamses think that the Courtneys are spies for Abigail in connection with the feud, and suddenly become very suspicious of the Courtneys. The Courtneys, discovering that they are not going to meet Abigail, leave, and Wednesday reports that she has lost interest in Robespierre, because he refused to play with Pugsley's octopus.
This episode is special for the prominent role given to Wedneday, who must be only about 8 years old, and the marvelously serious way the actress (Lisa Loring) carries it off, and the love shown her by all the other members of the Addams family as they give her tips on how to win a man. In the DVD copies of the show, in commentary to a different episode ("Morticia, the Matchmaker," DVD volume 1, disk 2, side A), Lisa Loring talks about wearing her child-size "Morticia dress" and other memories of this episode. A real treat.
