Bewitched

Related Topics:
Bewitched

For the film, see Bewitched (film). For other meanings, see Bewitched (disambiguation)

Bewitched was an American situation comedy starring actress Elizabeth Montgomery, broadcast on ABC from 1964 to 1972.

Background

The show's focus was the mixed marriage of a nose-twitching witch, Samantha Stephens, and her mortal husband, Darrin. Samantha's mother, Endora (played by Agnes Moorehead), disapproves of Darrin, and many episodes revolve around her using magic to make life difficult for her non-magical son-in-law, whose name she invariably mispronounces as "Durwood," "Darwin," and other variations even less complimentary.

The only member of Samantha's family that Darrin really likes is the lovable and forgetful Aunt Clara (played by Marion Lorne — who won a posthumous Emmy in 1968 for the role), an aged witch whose powers have begun to wane. Almost all of her spells end in disasters. She was in 27 episodes and was not replaced when Lorne died during the fourth season. Darrin works for an advertising company — McMann and Tate — and his boss, Larry Tate, never learns that Samantha is a witch, despite the strange events that take place on a weekly basis. The Stephenses live at 1164 Morning Glory Circle, Westport, Connecticut. Across the road lives nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz (played first by Alice Pearce, who won a posthumous 1966 Emmy for the role; following Pearce's death in 1966, the character was played by Sandra Gould).

Adding to the fun was the Stephens' witch daughter Tabitha, and the later-added baby boy Adam, and various witches, warlocks, and mere mortals. The program made use of clever-for-its-time special effects to work its magic, and the story lines were imaginative and good-natured. Most episodes ended with Darrin, having been the victim of witchcraft throughout the episode (often with a spell put upon him by Endora), affirming his love for Samantha and acknowledging that, like it or not, he would have to accept witchcraft in his life.

The show was an immediate hit and was second only to Bonanza in its first season. It continued to perform well for five seasons, but it dropped in popularity when Dick York (who played Darrin) left the series in 1969, owing to health problems, and was replaced by Dick Sargent. Sargent's version of Darrin was a more acidic, disagreeable character, in contrast to York's nervous, frantic portrayal. The drop in ratings was ironic in light of the fact that Sargent had been the original choice to play Darrin, but had been unavailable in 1964; however, it should be noted that Dick Sargent was first considered for the role of Darrin only when actress Tammy Grimes was first offered the role of Samantha, before William Asher and Elizabeth Montgomery became involved with the show. Asher's first and only choice was Dick York since "He was too perfect for the role".

In 1966, the show saw Samantha give birth to daughter Tabitha, played by fraternal twins Erin and Diane Murphy. Tabitha took after her mother with her witch abilities, adding to Darrin's worries. In 1968, Diane Murphy was dropped as the sisters began looking less and less alike.

In 1969, Adam was introduced. He was played by Greg and David Lawrence. Many saw this new addition as another reason for the continued decline. Adam initially didn't display any powers, but started to do so in the last few episodes of the series.

Montgomery wanted to end the series at the conclusion of the fifth season, not only because of Dick York's departure, but because both she and her husband, the show's producer William Asher, were getting tired of the series and wanted to move on to other projects, but ABC did not want to drop one of its top-grossers. Since the series was one of the network's few hits, they offered Montgomery and Asher significant pay raises for another three seasons plus part ownership of the series (the last season was produced by Ashmont, a production company owned by Asher and Montgomery). By the seventh season, the story ideas had started to run dry, with many older episodes being remade. By the last season (1971–1972), episodes were being remade almost word for word.

ABC cancelled Bewitched at the end of the 1971-72 season. It had finished the year at no. 72 in the ratings (Variety, May 24th, 1972 pg. 35). ABC had planned a ninth season according the network's contract with Montgomery and Asher but with the ratings so low, Asher offered to produce another series in place of a ninth season.

Bewitched continues to be seen throughout the world in syndication. TV Guide recently listed Bewitched as the 50th Greatest Television Program of All Time.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first two seasons of Bewitched on DVD in 2005, with the third season released in 2006. Due to the fact the first two seasons were produced in black and white, Sony released two versions of the sets in region 1: one with the episodes as originally broadcast and a second with the episodes colorized. The color sets outsold the black and white sets by a substantial margin. The colorized editions were the only ones released in region 2 and region 4. The photo above of George Tobias and Alice Pearce is from the colorized version, as Pearce only appeared in the episodes filmed in black and white.

Controversy

The show's witchcraft-related subject matter initially infuriated some evangelical and fundamentalist Christian organizations, which claimed that the show displayed the playful use of ungodly powers in a context that characterized them as good rather than evil as some Christians believed them to be.
Montgomery had an affair with Richard Michaels, a director of the show, during the filming of the eighth season. They finally revealed their relationship after the finish of the season. Her marriage to producer William Asher ended and so did the series. Asher may have had affairs of his own. She moved out of their house and in with Michaels. They lived together for two and a half years before they parted.

Regular and recurring characters

Samantha Stephens - Elizabeth Montgomery
Darrin Stephens - Dick York 1964-69, Dick Sargent 1969-72
Endora - Agnes Moorehead
Tabitha Stephens - Erin & Diane Murphy
Adam Stephens - Greg and David Lawrence
Abner Kravitz - George Tobias
Gladys Kravitz - Alice Pearce 1964-66, Sandra Gould 1966-71
Larry Tate - David White
Louise Tate - Irene Vernon 1964-66, Kasey Rogers 1966-72
Aunt Clara - Marion Lorne
Esmeralda - Alice Ghostley
Dr. Bombay - Bernard Fox
Serena - Pandora Spocks (a pseudonym for Elizabeth Montgomery, a play on Pandora's Box)
Uncle Arthur - Paul Lynde
Maurice (Samantha's father) - Maurice Evans
Phyllis Stephens (Darrin's mother) - Mabel Albertson
Frank Stephens (Darrin's father) - Roy Roberts

Episode List

Season One (36 episodes)

1. I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha
2. Be It Ever So Mortgaged
3. It Shouldn't Happen To A Dog
4. Mother Meets What's His Name
5. Help, Help, Don't Save Me
6. Little Ptchers Have Big Fears
7. The Witches Are Out
8. Witch Or Wife
9. The Girl Reporter
10. Just One Happy Family
11. It Takes One To Know One
12. ...And Something Makes Three
13. Love Is Blind
14. Samantha Meets The Folks
15. A Vision Of Sugar Plums
16. It's Magic
17. A Is For Aardvark
18. The Cat's Meow
19. A Nice Little Dinner Party
20. Your Witch Is Showing
21. Ling Ling
22. Eye Of The Beholder
23. Red Light, Green Light
24. Which Witch Is Which?
25. Pleasure O'Riley
26. Driving Is THe Only Way To Fly
27. There's No Witch Like An Old Witch
28. Open The Door, Witchcraft
29. Abner Kadabra
30. George The Warlock
31. That Was My Wife
32. Illegal Separation
33. A Change Of Face
34. Remember The Main
35. Eat At Mario's
36. Cousin Edgar

Season Two (38 episodes)

37. Alias Darrin Stephens
38. A Very Special Delivery
39. We're In For A Bad Spell
40. My Grandson The Warlock
41. The Joker Is A Card
42. Take Two Aspirins And Half A Pint Of Porpoise Milk
43. Trick Or Treat
44. The Very Informal Dress
45. And Then I Wrote
46. Junior Executive
47. Aunt Clara's Old Flame
48. A Strange Little Visitor
49. My Boss, The Teddy Bear
50. Speak The Truth
51. A Vision Of Sugar Plums
52. The Magic Cabin
53. Maid To Order
54. And Then There Were Three
55. My baby The Tycoon
56. Samantha Meets The Folks
57. Fastest Gun On Madison Avenue
58. The Dancing Bear
59. Double Tate
60. Samantha The Dressmaker
61. The Horse's Mouth
62. Baby's First Paragraph
63. The Leprechaun
64. Double Split
65. Disappearing Samantha
66. Follow That Witch: Part One
67. Follow That Witch: Part Two
68. A Bum Raps
69. Divided He Falls
70. Man's Best Friend
71. The Catnapper
72. What Every Young Man Should Know
73. The Girl With The Golden Nose
74. Prodigy

Season Three (33 episodes)

75. Nobody's Perfect
76. The Moment Of Truth
77. Witches And Warlocks Are My Favourite Things
78. Accidental Twins
79. A Most Unusual Wood Nymph
80. Endora Moves In For A Spell
81. Twitch Or Treat
82. Dangerous Diaper Dan
83. The Short Happy Circuit Of Aunt Clara
84. I'd Rather Twitch Than Fight
85. Oedipus Hex
86. Sam's Spooky Chair
87. My Friend Ben
88. Samantha For The Defense
89. A Gazebo Never Forgets
90. Soapbox Derby
91. Sam In The Moon
92. Hoho The Clown
93. Super Car
94. The Corn Is As High As A Guernsey's Eye
95. Trial And Error Of Aunt Clara
96. Three Wishes
97. I Remember You... Sometimes
98. Art For Sam's Sake
99. Charlie Harper, Winner
100. Aunt Clara's Victoria Victory
101. The Crone Of Cawdor
102. No More Mr. Nice Guy
103. It's Wishcraft
104. How To Fail In Business With All Kinds Of Help
105. Bewitched, Bothered And Infuriated
106. Nobody But A Frog Knows How To Live
107. There's Gold In Them Thar Pills

Spin-offs

Comic Book

Dell Comics published a short-lived comic book for 14 issues starting in 1965. Most issues had photo covers.

Tabitha and Adam and the Clown Family

An animated cartoon made in 1972 by Hanna-Barbera Productions for the ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, this featured a teenage version of Tabitha and Adam visiting their aunt and her family who travel with a circus.

Tabitha

In 1977, a spin-off show entitled Tabitha aired on the ABC network. The show, which ran for less than a season, starred Lisa Hartman as an adult Tabitha working, along with Adam, at television station KXLA. The show had several continuity issues including the ages of the lead characters (who should have been 11 and 8 years of age in 1977!), the introduction of their previously unknown Aunt Minerva, and Adam being a mortal instead of a warlock. Samantha and Darrin never appeared in the spin-off, though Bernard Fox and Sandra Gould made separate guest appearances as Dr. Bombay and Gladys Kravitz.

Bewitched movie

Bewitched is a 2005 movie re-imagining starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. When Jack Wyatt (Ferrell), a failing Hollywood actor, is offered the chance of a career comeback playing Darrin in a remake of Bewitched, all he has to do is find the perfect girl to play Samantha. He finds Isabel Bigelow (Kidman), who really is a witch. It is set in Los Angeles rather than Connecticut.

Bewitched mobile game

Sony Pictures Digital mobile Game.

Remakes

Argentina

In 2006, the local remake of Bewitched, Hechizada, will be made by Telefé and is slated to be aired in April. Florencia Peña will play the role of "Samantha".

India

In 2002, Sony Entertainment Television (India) began airing Meri Biwi Wonderful, a local adaptation of Bewitched.

Japan

The Japanese TBS network, in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment, produced a remake called 奥さまは魔女 (Oku-sama wa majō) (My wife is a witch) . Eleven episodes were broadcast on Friday nights at 22:00, from January 16 to March 26, 2004, with a special extra episode broadcast on December 21, 2004. The main character, Arisa Matsui, was performed by Ryōko Yonekura. 奥さまは魔女 (Oku-sama wa majō) is also the Japanese title for the original American series.

Chile

The Chilean television channel Mega, in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment, will produce a remake called La Hechizada.^*

Bewitched in other languages

Catalan: Embruixada
Chinese: 神仙家庭 (literally, "the family of 神仙")
- NOTE: 神仙 means a supernatural or immortal being (i.e. fairy, elf, leprechaun)
Finnish: Vaimoni on noita (My Wife is a Witch)
French: Ma sorcière bien-aimée (My beloved witch)
German: Verliebt in eine Hexe (In Love With a Witch)
Greek: Η μάγισσα ("I mághissa", The Witch)
Hebrew: סמנת'ה (Samantha)
Italian: Vita da Strega (Life as a Witch)
Japanese: 奥さまは魔女 (Oku-sama wa majō)
Korean: 아내는 요술쟁이 (R.R.: a-nae-neun yosuljaeng-i; My wife is witch)
- NOTE: Because of storyline of theatrical film, the film titled 그녀는 요술쟁이 (R.R.: geu-nyeo-neun yosuljaeng-i; She is a witch).
Portuguese
- Brazil: A Feiticeira
- Portugal: Casei com uma feiticeira
Spanish
- Spain: Embrujada
- Latin America: Hechizada, aka as La Brujita
  - NOTE: The Chilean remake is called La hechizada.
  - NOTE: In some countries like Ecuador or Venezuela and Colombia Bewitched is called La Brujita, which means The Little Witch
Turkish: Tatlı Cadı (Sweet Witch)

Trivia

The show was featured in a Jack Chick tract.
Australia's first winner of Nine Network's 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' quiz show correctly answered a) Bewitched, to the million dollar question: Which, of these four '60s television show, premiered first: a) Bewitched, b) Get Smart, c) Hogan's Heroes or d) I Dream of Jeannie.
Darrin Stephens is named James Stephens in Brazil and Jean-Pierre Stephens in France.
Samantha and Darrin Stephens made a cameo in The Flintstones (see above).
Samantha and Darrin Stephens were the first live-action TV couple, with the actors not married to each other in "real life," to sleep in a double bed (not counting Mary Kay and Johnny, who were married). The episode in question, "Little Pitchers Have Big Fears," aired on October 22, 1964. Despite popular belief, it was not The Munsters (which showed Herman and Lily first sharing a bed in the episode "Autumn Croakus" on November 26, 1964) or The Brady Bunch, which didn't air until 1969. ^*
Bewitched proved very popular with young girls when it first aired in Japan, and is considered to be the inspiration for the Magical girl genre of anime.

Darrin Stephens' Wardrobe

Dick York's Wardrobe: The Hit Parade Videos was a video collection from British indie band The Wedding Present, whilst on the show Dick Sargent's Wardrobe was provided by Botany 500, the name of which influenced 1990s Scottish pop band Botany 5.

External links

Encyclopedia of Television
Harpies Bizarre The definitive Bewitched website, with extensive information on the show and the people who made it.
The Bewitched and Elizabeth Montgomery Web Site
Vic's Bewitched Page

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