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.
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 Aunt Clara character was not replaced when Lorne died during the fourth season. A similar character, Esmeralda played by
Alice Ghostley would make appearances for the rest of the show's run.
|
Dick York and Elizabeth Montgomery from a 1964 episode. |
Darrin works for
McMann and Tate, an advertising company, 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).
|
Montgomery and "The Second Darrin" " Dick Sargent. |
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.
|
Agnes Moorehead as Endora. |
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.
|
George Tobias and Alice Pearce as Abner and Gladys Kravitz. |
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.
|
"Bewitched" Cartoon characters of Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York on the Flintstones. |
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.
* 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.
*The marriage between Samantha's father and mother was an open one with both Samantha's mother and father dating others at will, but this never caused any issues, with Samantha saying "Mother and Father decided to each go their own way." In one episode Endora did file for an interlocutory divorce but changed her mind.
*The key for dealing with the controversial issues was to avoid it. Religion was virtually never mentioned and Christmas was completely secular.
* 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. She moved out of their house and in with Michaels, with whom she spent two and a half years before they parted.
*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 RobertsSeason 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
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.
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"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"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.[
1]
*
Catalan:
Embruixada (Bewitched)
*
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'" (Samantha)
*
Italian:
Vita da Strega (Life as a Witch)
*
Japanese: 奥さまは"女 (Oku-sama wa majō, My Wife is a Witch)
*
Korean: 아내" "술쟁이 (
R.R.: a-nae-neun yosuljaeng-i; My wife is a witch)
** NOTE: Because of storyline of
theatrical film, the film titled 그녀" "술쟁이 (R.R.: geu-nyeo-neun yosuljaeng-i; She is a witch).
*
Portuguese**
Brazil:
A Feiticeira (The Witch)
**
Portugal:
Casei com uma feiticeira (Married to a Witch)
*
Spanish**
Spain:
Embrujada (Bewitched)
**
Latin America:
Hechizada (Bewitched), also
La Brujita (The Little Witch)
*** 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)
* In the
USA bewitched can be seen on
TV Land* In the
UK Bewitched is sometimes aired on
Living TVI Dream of JeannieMy Favorite MartianMy HeroOku-sama wa Maho Shojo*
List of television series that include time travel*The show was featured in a
Jack Chick tract, which portrays it as Satan's favorite television show.
*
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. [
2]
*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. The opening credits of one episode of
Futurama stated
Bender's Wardrobe by Robotany 500.
*
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
