THE BEST FICTIONAL FAMILY TO EVER EXIST | THE ADDAMS FAMILY

The American TV series, The Addams Family, was first aired in 1964 and was based on characters from Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons.

The 30-minute episodes, shot in black and white, went on for two short seasons with a total of 64 episodes. The Addams are a close-knit extended family with decidedly macabre interests and supernatural abilities, though no explanation for their powers is explicitly given in the series. If you can't remember who all the characters are I'll give you a bit of a refresher.

Morticia Addams – Wife of Gomez Addams, she is often the calm centre of the chaotic events of the household.

Gomez Addams – A retired Lawyer, who is passionately in love with his wife Morticia Addams, often referring to her in Spanish pet names such as "Querida" and "Cara Mía".

Wednesday Addams – Gomez and Morticia's daughter and the youngest member of the family.

Pugly Addams – Gomez's and Morticia's son, and Wednesday's older brother.

Ophelia Frump – Morticia's flighty flower-child sister who is the "white sheep of the family."

Uncle Fester – Morticia's exuberant uncle, who is completely bald and dressed in a floor-length, fur-collared coat. Fester is quite fond of dynamite and blasting caps.

Lurch – The Addams' loyal butler, who mainly speaks in grunts or groans.

Grandma Addams – Gomez's mother, a witch who conjures potions and spells, and dabbles in fortune telling and knife throwing.

Thing – A disembodied hand that appears out of boxes and other conveniently placed containers. Gomez's constant "companion" since childhood, Thing is always ready to assist family members with minor daily services and diversions, such as lifting the receiver on telephones, retrieving the mail, lighting cigars, pouring tea and playing chess.

Cousin It – Gomez's cousin, It is a diminutive character composed entirely of floor-length hair accompanied by a bowler hat and sunglasses

Did you know, the idea to bring back The Addams Family for a movie came from a car ride? Scott Rudin, head of the production at 20th Century Fox, was riding in a van with other company executives one day after a movie screening. "Everyone was there – (studio chiefs) Barry Diller and Leonard Goldberg and (marketing chief) Tom Sherak – when Tom's kid started singing The Addams Family theme," Rudin told the LA Times.

"And suddenly everyone in the van was singing the theme, letter-perfect, note for note."

The next day, Rudin proposed to Diller and Goldberg that they make an Addams Family movie and they went for it.