Tag Archive for: TV series

Shop Your Series

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by Paula Gail Benson

I was so happy to see the return of Ted Lasso because I had missed the characters, storylines, and vicarious visit to the British football (soccer) world. But, I must admit another joy of watching the series is the fashion. People who know me well recognize my obsession with purses and handbags. When Pippa Middleton carried a Modalu satchel the day after her sister’s royal wedding, I tracked it down and shamefully spent to acquire one. I love it.

Rebecca Welton, played by Hannah Waddingham on Ted Lasso, has carried many bags I find very appealing. In Episode 1 of Season 4, she arrives in Kansas City to visit Ted carrying a stunning white tote. After viewing the show a second time, I took to the Internet to find that tote.

What I discovered was even more interesting.

There is a website where you can find items featured on TV shows. Here’s the link: https://www.shopyourtv.com/

According to the website, it was created in 2011 by Chloe Bell, an Australian TV enthusiast and blogger, who left the university for a semester and felt “incredibly bored.” Working with her sister Kirsty, at first they covered only five shows, but now have a staff of ten that covers 2,800 shows and lists over 350,000 items on the site.

You can search by show, character, or type of item. For instance, items listed from Ted Lasso’s Episode 1 of Season 4 include handbags, shoes, jewelry, specialized tees and shirts from Kansas City museums, and a baby’s onesie. Once you have found the item you are seeking, you can click on a link to buy it new (sends directly to the store carrying it) or second hand (Ebay, Poshmark, others).

Rebecca’s white tote that drew my attention was a Christian Louboutin Large Cabata Soft Leather Tote Bag. Only $1,790 new. I have not purchased but continue to admire from afar.

A little more research revealed a site that located fashions and other items from movies: Homepage | Shopyourmovies.

This site features fashion from both films and TV: Filmgarb – Clothes from movies n’ shows

Several sites indicate where to buy clothes from TV shows: Worn On TV | Where to buy clothes on TV Shows, soap operas, and talk shows, Spotern | Watch it, Get it, and Look the Part ® | Shop TV Shows.

One site, Home — Femestella, provides information about outfits seen on Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Bravo, and Netflix.

Cinema Spells is an online shop that helps recreate vintage looks from films and TV. It offers some paid services but has a disclaimer that it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the brands or productions referenced.

From what I could tell, these platforms are not subsidized by the fashion industry. When I posed the question on Google, it indicated no direct subsidies but there might be potential for an affiliate commission if a person clicks on a product, is directed to a seller, then purchases the item.

Are you ever captivated by something you’ve seen in a movie or on TV?

The Many Versions of the Addams Family

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by Paula Gail Benson

Mural with Charles Addams from: The Addams Family Secret | The New Yorker

According to Wikipedia, Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912-September 29, 1988) made a career as a cartoonist, first for his high school yearbook, then as a free-lancer for The New Yorker as well as a stint creating animated training films for the Army during World War II. He had a macabre outlook, was drawn to a Presbyterian Cemetery as a child, and, as inspiration for the Addams home, explored mansions in the town where he grew up (one of which he was accused of breaking and entering) and buildings at the colleges he attended.

From the 1964-66 ABC TV series

The cartoon characters with which he is most often identified remained nameless in the New Yorker until they became the basis of a situation comedy, The Addams Family, a television program filmed in black-and-white that initially aired from 1964-66. John Astin played the effusive Gomez Addams who passionately adored his beloved wife Morticia (Carolyn Jones), always moving incrementally in a black, tight-fitting, V-necked gown. Their butler, the deep-voiced, tall, and intimidating Lurch (Ted Cassidy) was originally written to be mute, but when Cassidy ad-libbed “You rang?”, the phrase was immediately adopted as the character’s signature line. Bald Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan) was identified as Morticia’s uncle and Grandmama Addams (Blossom Rock) as Gomez’ mother. Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax) and Wednesday (Lisa Loring) were the two children. Charles Addams originally wanted to call Pugsley “Pubert,” but that name was rejected as being too sexual. Later, in the film Addams Family Values, the new baby and third child was called Pubert.

Several animated and live action series featured the family in the 1970s and 1990s. One of the animated series had Jodie Foster voicing Pugsley. In 2022, Netflix presented Wednesday, a supernatural coming of age series that had a teen aged Wednesday Addams solving a murder at her school.

From Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family movie (1991)

A number of films, both live action and animated, have focused on the family’s adventures. In 1991 and 1993, Barry Sonnenfeld directed The Addams Family and Addams Family Values. (Barry Sonnenfeld also appeared in Addams Family Values, as the father of Joel Glicker, Wednesday’s boyfriend at Camp Chippewa.) Raul Julia played Gomez Addams with Anjelica Huston as Morticia. Christopher Lloyd is Fester, who was identified as Gomez’ brother. Morticia referred to Grandmama (Judith Malina in the first film and Carol Kane in the second) as her mother (with a mention in the first film that Gomez’ parents were dead). Interestingly, in the Broadway musical, The Addams Family (2010), when Morticia said Grandmama was Gomez and Fester’s mother, Gomez (played by Nathan Lane) was surprised, saying he thought she was Morticia’s mother. Morticia (played by Bebe Neuwirth) later admitted that Grandmama might not be a member of the family. (Note, Nathan Lane appeared in the movie Addams Family Values, as a beleaguered police officer listening to Gomez demand an investigation of Debbie Jellinsky (played by Joan Cusack), who married Fester and established their home in the suburbs.)

Poster for Broadway musical The Addams Family

In the Sonnenfeld films, while Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) might be older, Wednesday (Christina Ricci) definitely showed greater malevolent initiative. In The Addams Family, when a Girl Scout (Mercedes McNab) asked if their lemonade was made with real lemons, Wednesday inquired if her cookies were made with real Girl Scouts. McNab returned in the role of Amanda Buckman in Addams Family Values, a camper who ridiculed and later was tormented by Wednesday and Joel Glicker (played by David Krumholtz, who went on to star in the TV show Numb3rs).

For the 2010 Broadway musical, The Addams Family, Wednesday (Krysta Rodriguez) is the older of the two siblings, pleading with her parents for “One Normal Night” for the family to meet her boyfriend (Wesley Taylor) and his parents (Terence Mann and Carolee Carmello).

The Penn State Library now displays a mural painted by Charles Addams for a Hamptons hotel. The mural was donated to the college when the hotel property changed hands. Entitled “An Addams Family Holiday,” it features the group at the beach, enjoying the waves that other vacationers are fleeing. Meanwhile, Lurch and Grandmama prepare a picnic lunch of bats and a mixed drink made with poison. All very appropriate for a Halloween celebration!

BTW, did you know that Charles Addams received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America?

Mural from: The Addams Family Secret | The New Yorker

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