Why is Morticia overdubbed in this episode of The Addams Family, and what does she originally say?

Why is Morticia overdubbed in this episode of The Addams Family, and what does she originally say? - Cottage exterior near garden with plants and pathways

I'm watching the original The Addams Family, specifically episode 31 from season 1, named Uncle Fester's Toupee which aired 30 April 1965 according to IMDb.

I have uploaded a short clip to youtube for convenient reference:

For some reason, the voice of Morticia is overdubbed. Her line is:

A woman with just your kind of tastes, just your kind of interests, and just your kind of head!

However, it is obvious that her lips are not saying just your, and that the voice is added later, likely by the same actress. What's the original line, and why is it replaced?



Best Answer

Not an actual answer, but my speculation is too long for a comment.

The voice is an excellent match, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that it's just a good imitation and the replacement is recent. From the video quality and the fact that there's no logo in the corner, I guess that this must be a recent re-release, not just a home recording of the same version of the episode that's been in reruns forever.

We usually think of censorship as running the other direction, but sometimes when an old show is repackaged the new distributors decide that what was acceptable in the original broadcast isn't acceptable now.

For example, jokes involving racial stereotypes might be removed to save us from being uncomfortable, or something that used to be just a normal phrase is now a well-known slang term with a meaning that's "not appropriate for all viewers". I don't think either of those applies here.

There's another kind of censorship that's done not to "protect" the audience but to protect the distributors: removal of names. If a person is named in a sitcom joke and threatens or files a lawsuit about it, they might censor the name in reruns. That's probably not the case here either.

The possibility that I think is most likely is that a name that was removed, but rather than the name of a person it's the name of a company or product. Furthermore, I guess that "[something] kind of tastes, [something] kind of interests" is a reference to an advertising slogan, and the addition of "[something] kind of head" worked as a joke because the [something] had some resemblance or relationship to a bald head.

The conclusion to my guess is that when the episode was being repackaged for release on DVD or Netflix or wherever you got it, it got passed by a fresh batch of lawyers, and one of them decided that without the permission of the [something] company (which still exists, although the referenced product may not), it was not acceptable to use the name. (Also the joke no longer works because the audience has forgotten the reference anyway so not much was lost by removing it.)




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How old was Morticia Addams when she met Gomez?

Gomez and Morticia were 22 years old when they met and married and Gomez becomes aroused whenever Morticia speaks French. She calls him \u201cBubala\u201d, \u201ccara mia\u201d and \u201cquerido\u201d (sweetheart) while he lovingly refers to her as \u201cquerida\u201d (darling), \u201cTish\u201d and \u201ccara bella\u201d.

What does Morticia call Gomez?

Morticia's pet names for Gomez generally meaning "Darling"/"My Darling" are "Bubeleh" (Yiddish), "Mon Cher" (French), "Mon Amour" (French), Querido (Spanish).

Is Fester really Gomez brother?

In the original sitcom of the 1960s, Fester is said to be Morticia's maternal uncle (his name rhymes with Morticia's mother Hester's), but from the 1970s onward, he is Gomez's brother. In all adaptations, he is either uncle or great-uncle to Wednesday and Pugsley.

Is Fester really Gomez Brother 1991?

In the 1991 movie, The Addams Family, Uncle Fester (played by Christopher Lloyd) is the long-lost big brother of Gomez Addams. He was believed to have been lost in the Bermuda Triangle for twenty-five years.



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