Wednesday’s Child is Full of Woe

I wanted to hate Netflix’s “Wednesday.” I wanted to hate it so much that I refused to publicly discuss it until now. Truth be told, I didn’t hate it. In fact, the show inspired me to get off my ass and get my fingers back on the keyboard. What a kick in the groin that is—wanting to hate a show, only to be moved to continue honing your craft. That’s like being taught how to love by your school bully.

I’m sure I wanted to hate “Wednesday” for the same reason the fans of the 60’s series wanted to hate the 90’s Addams Family movies: it was a vast departure from the property they’d been endeared to. I can still remember plopping my happy ass on my living room floor after Trick-or-Treating to watch the Addams Family movie; the movie was the purest representation of the characterization I had. As an adult, I can recognize how narrow-minded that was of me. Beginning “Wednesday,” I had the same defeatist expectations the fans of the 60’s show had in the 90’s, the same as the fans of the cartoon strip had when the 60’s show hit the air.

There is an fascinating trend in popular television, especially when it comes to the interpretations of antique properties. “Riverdale” is essentially if the cast of “Archie” found themselves in the “Supernatural” universe. “Teen Wolf” was a fun Michael J. Fox movie, but then got the edgy paranormal interpretation. Honestly, I don’t hate it. As a writer, I’m always taking normal things, and twisting it to the whims of my psyche. When I wrote “A Law of Constants,” I wanted to open up the Millerverse to any kind of story, just like when I was a kid playing with my action figures. I wanted Superman to cross paths with the X-Men. It’s a fun thought, thinking of Wolverine investigating some X-Files kind of happenings. If anything, the Addams Family getting that kind of interpretation makes the most sense, given their aesthetic.

Getting through the series, seeing Christina Ricci appear in “Wednesday,” did make the show much easier for me to consume. I’m still not happy that a show I wanted to hate has motivated me to go write, but there are worst things I could have taken from the show, I guess.

Thank you for joining me on this trip across the Millerverse; I’ll see you next time!

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Songs Listened to While Writing This Blog:

1. “Latchkey Kids” – Silversun Pickups
2. “Meet Me on the Equinox” – Death Cab for Cutie
3. “Guns + Ammunition” – July Talk
4. “First” – Cold War Kids