 John Astin, who played Gomez in the original series, appeared in a recurring role as Grandpapa Addams; Taranto patterned his performance after Astin's original version of Gomez.One of the notable differences between the original show and the new series was that Wednesday and Pugsley (Nicole Fugere and Brody Smith respectively – the former reprising her role from "Addams Family Reunion") were given expanded roles that highlighted their violent and sadistic personalities, made popular by the Addams Family film.Another element carried over from the films was Fester being Gomez's brother, whereas in the original show he had been Morticia's uncle.