Bewitched is an American
situation comedy originally broadcast for
eight seasons on
ABC
from
1964 to
1972, starring
Elizabeth Montgomery,
Dick York (1964–1969),
Dick Sargent (1969–1972),
Agnes Moorehead and
David White. It is about a witch who
marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban
housewife.
Bewitched continues to be seen throughout the
world in
syndication and on
DVD and was the longest running
supernatural themed sitcom of the 1960s–1970s
era.
Premise and characters
Plot summary
A young-looking
witch named
Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) meets and marries
a mortal named
Darrin Stephens (originally Dick
York, later Dick Sargent). While Samantha pledges to forsake her
powers and become a typical suburban housewife, her magical family
disapproves of the mixed marriage and frequently interferes in the
couple's lives. Episodes often begin with Darrin becoming the
victim of a spell, the effects of which wreak havoc with mortals
such as his boss, clients, parents, and neighbors. By the epilogue,
however, Darrin and Samantha most often embrace and confound the
devious elements that failed to separate them.
Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York as
Samantha and Darrin Stephens, from a 1967 promo.
Most female witches in the series have names ending with the soft
"-a" sound (one exception is the witch "Elspeth" who plays
Tabitha's baby sitter in season 4 episode 15). Their male
counterparts are known as "
warlocks." The
witches and warlocks are very long lived; while Samantha appears to
be in her twenties, many episodes suggest she is actually hundreds
of years old. To keep their society secret, witches avoid showing
their powers in front of mortals other than Darrin (and sometimes,
unintentionally in the presence of neighbor Mrs. Kravitz).
Nevertheless, the perplexing unexplainable effects of their spells
and Samantha's attempts to hide their supernatural origin from
mortals drive the plot of most episodes. Witches and warlocks
usually use physical gestures along with their magical spells, and
sometimes spoken incantations. Most notably, Samantha often
"twitches" her nose to perform a spell. Modest but effective
special visual effects are accompanied by music to highlight the
magic.
Setting
The series
is set in an upper middle class suburb in New York State
or Westport, Connecticut
as indicated by conflicting dialogue and car
license plates throughout the series. The main setting for
most scenes is the Stephenses' house at 1164 Morning Glory Circle
(although in
"How
Green Was My Grass" house number 162 is used as a plot device).
Many
scenes also take place at the advertising agency in Manhattan
for which Darrin works.
Characters
Samantha's mother,
Endora (Agnes Moorehead) is the
chief antagonist. Like all witches, she never reveals her surname,
indicating to Darrin that he would be unable to pronounce it.
Endora loathes mortals, and disapproves of Darrin, as do many of
Samantha's family. Endora refuses to even use Darrin's name,
alternatively calling him "Derwood," "What's-his-name," "Darwin,"
"Dum-Dum,"
etc., all much to his annoyance. She refers to
him as "Darrin" only eight times during the entire series. Many
stories revolve around Endora, or another of Darrin's in-laws,
using magic to undermine the union. Endora casts countless farcical
spells on Darrin, but never attempts to outright destroy him.
Endora's ploys to provoke a breakup always fail as their love
overcomes every obstacle. When High Priestess Hepzibah expresses
surprise that Darrin has withstood years of harassment from his
mother-in-law, Endora can only shrug and admit, "He loves my
daughter."
Agnes Moorehead as Endora.
Darrin works as an executive at the McMann and Tate advertising
agency. His profit-obsessed boss
Larry Tate (David
White) is a regular character, but Tate's partner, Mr. McMann,
appears only twice during the series. Tate's opinions turn on a
dime to appease a client in an attempt to land a deal. Though he
appreciates Darrin's talent and dedication, Larry, will often
criticize him in front of clients, disavowing Darrin's ideas when
clients seem not to like them. (Conversely, Larry will frequently
try to take more credit than is due him when Darrin's ideas prove
popular with a client.) Many episodes culminate in a dinner party
with clients at the Stephenses' or Tates' home, and is humorously
affected by magic. Samantha usually figures out a clever way to
save the day, and the account.
Louise Tate,
Larry's wife, becomes Samantha's closest mortal friend and, like
Samantha, often plays hostess to clients. The Tates have a son
Jonathon (named after White's real life son), who is slightly older
than Tabitha Stephens.
Across the street from Darrin and Samantha lives a retired couple,
the nosy and tactless
Gladys
Kravitz (
Alice Pearce,
then
Sandra Gould) and her husband
Abner (
George
Tobias). Gladys constantly tries to prove that there's
"something funny" about Samantha, only to be branded delusional by
Abner. Though the Kravitzes and the Stephenses are usually
friendly, in some episodes Gladys seems out to get Samantha.
Samantha's father,
Maurice (
Maurice Evans), is an urbane thespian
much like Elizabeth Montgomery's father,
Robert Montgomery. Maurice often
embellishes his entrances and exits with strained Shakespearean
verse.
Bewitched is unique for mid-1960s sitcoms in that
it portrays Endora and Maurice as an estranged married couple,
their separation being implied and subtextual. Endora once
introduced Maurice as “my daughter's father,” and another time
Endora threatens to “move in” with Maurice. In the episode
"Samantha's Good News," Endora threatens to file for an
“ectoplasmic interlocutory” (
i.e. divorce), only to
wrangle Maurice's affection. Maurice also refers to Darrin with
incorrect names, including "Duncan" and "Dustbin," with Endora
going so far as to "correct" him, saying “That’s
Derwood.”
Darrin's parents, the straight-laced
Phyllis and
laid-back
Frank Stephens, visit occasionally but
never learn of Samantha's supernatural powers. Phyllis (
Mabel Albertson) makes inopportune surprise
visits, and often complains of "a sick headache" after accidentally
witnessing a spell in motion.
Samantha's far-out, egocentric lookalike cousin
Serena first appears in season 2 at a hospital
when Samantha gives birth to Tabitha. Serena, also played by
Elizabeth Montgomery, is credited as "Pandora Spocks" (a spin on
the phrase "
Pandora's box") from 1969
to 1972. She is from Samantha's paternal family (episode "Mrs.
Stephens, Where Are You?"). Serena is the antithesis of Samantha,
sporting a heart-shaped beauty mark on her cheek, raven-black hair,
and mod mini-skirts. Ever mischievous, Serena often chases after
Darrin and Larry Tate (calling the white-haired Tate "Cotton-Top"),
just for sport. More progressive than typical witches or warlocks,
who generally abhor mortals, Samantha's counter-culture cousin
occasionally dates some (including characters played by
Jack Cassidy and
Peter
Lawford). Despite her wild behavior and frequent co-plotting
with Endora, Serena ultimately supports Samantha and Darrin, even
though she finds them both a bit "
square."
Uncle Arthur (
Paul
Lynde), Endora's prank-loving brother, makes several memorable
appearances. Despite many practical jokes at Darrin's expense,
Uncle Arthur seems to like him. In one episode, both Serena and
Uncle Arthur go head-to-head with the Witch's Council to support
the Stephenses' union, only to have their own powers
suspended.
The only one of Samantha's relatives for whom Darrin regularly
shows affection is the bumbling, absent-minded but lovable
Aunt Clara (
Marion
Lorne). Though well-intentioned, Clara's spells usually
backfire, and her entrances and exits are often a grand fumble,
such as entering via a chimney or colliding with a wall. She has a
collection of over a thousand doorknobs (inspired by Lorne's
real-life collection). Despite her fumbling nature, when pushed
hard enough, she proves that she can be as powerful as Endora in
defense of her niece's marriage. The character was not recast when
Lorne died toward the end of the fourth season in 1968. A similar
witch, the anxiety-ridden and magically inept housekeeper
Esmeralda (
Alice
Ghostley), is introduced as a
de facto replacement for
Clara in 1969.
During the series Samantha gives birth to a daughter,
Tabitha (spelled
Tabatha in production
credits until season 5) and then a son,
Adam. Both
eventually prove to have supernatural powers.
A strange occurrence or condition caused by a supernatural illness
is often used as a plot device. Assistance is often sought from the
warlock
Dr. Bombay
(
Bernard Fox) who is summoned by
the phrase “Dr. Bombay, Dr. Bombay, emergency, come right away,”
and occasionally from the unnamed witches’ apothecary (
Bernie Kopell). Dr. Bombay is a womanizer who
often has a buxom assistant, and constantly cracks bad jokes. The
amorous old apothecary chases witches, including Esmeralda and
Samantha.
Other recurring characters
- Aunt Enchantra and Aunt Hagatha, Samantha's aunts. They
occasionally ride in an antique car
called "Macbeth" (sometimes driven by chauffeur Rasputin, other
times operating sans driver) which enters the Stephens
home through the wall. Enchantra was played by three different
actresses, while Hagatha was played by five, including Reta Shaw and Ysabel
MacCloskey. Starting at the end of season 4, Hagatha sometimes
appears to babysit Tabitha, and later Adam.
- The "drunk guy" (Dick Wilson) shows
up in various bars, jail cells and sidewalks to witness acts of
witchcraft.
- Betty, the secretary at McMann and Tate, played by various
actresses.
- Dave (Gene Blakely), Darrin's "best friend" and a Morning Glory
Circle councilman in the first two seasons.
- Howard McMann, Larry Tate's business partner, played by Roland
Winters in "Man of the Year" (139) and Leon Ames in "What Makes
Darrin Run" (191).
- Ms. Peabody, Tabitha's 2nd grade teacher (Maudie Prickett), appears in two episodes of
season 8, "Tabitha's First Day of School" (248) and "School Days,
School Daze" (251).
Historical, fictional, and contemporary characters
Thanks to witchcraft, a number of interesting characters were seen,
including
Benjamin Franklin,
Franklin Pierce,
George and
Martha Washington,
Paul Revere,
Sigmund
Freud,
Julius Caesar,
Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert,
Leonardo da Vinci,
Napoleon,
King Henry
VIII,
Cleopatra,
Santa Claus, Jack of
Jack and the Beanstalk,
Mother Goose,
The
Artful Dodger,
Hansel and
Gretel, The
Tooth Fairy, the
Loch Ness Monster, a
Leprechaun,
Prince
Charming,
Sleeping Beauty,
Willie Mays (playing himself), and
Boyce and Hart (playing
themselves).
Cast
The series is noted for having a number of major cast changes,
often due to illness or death of the actors. Most notably, the
actor playing Darrin was quietly replaced mid-series. The various
changes during the series, and untimely deaths of several of the
regular actors in the decades following, produced a mythology that
the series was cursed. However, a study of the average age of death
of the actors, many of whom were past middle aged during the show,
reveals no unusual pattern. However, the only surviving members of
the regular cast are Bernard Fox and the actors who played the
Stephens' children.
Dick York was unable to continue his role as Darrin due to a severe
back condition (the result of an accident during the filming of
They Came To Cordura
in 1959). York's disability caused ongoing shooting delays and
script rewrites. After collapsing on the set and being rushed to
the hospital in January 1969, York left the show and the role went
to Dick Sargent that same month.
Marion Lorne appeared in 28 episodes as Aunt Clara and won a
posthumous
Emmy Award in
1968. Essentially replacing this
character was the similarly magic-disabled Esmeralda (Alice
Ghostley) in season 6. Coincidentally, Lorne and Ghostley had
appeared side by side in the hotel scene of Mike Nichols' film
version of
The Graduate in
1967.
Also winning a posthumous Emmy award in 1966 for her role, Alice
Pearce was the first to play the character of Gladys Kravitz. After
Pearce's death from
ovarian cancer,
Mary Grace Canfield played
Harriet Kravitz, Abner's sister, in four episodes during the spring
of 1966, and is said to be taking care of the Kravitz house while
they are out of town. Sandra Gould assumed the role of Gladys
Kravitz beginning in season 3.
Tabitha Stephens' birth in the season 2 episode "And then there
were three" featured infant Cynthia Black in the role. For the
remainder of the season, Tabitha was played by twins Heidi and
Laura Gentry, followed by twins Tamar and Julie Young. Fraternal
twin toddlers Diane and Erin Murphy were cast for the role at the
beginning of season 3. In time, they began to look less alike, so
Diane was dropped during season 4. Diane made several guest
appearances in other roles, and filled in as Tabitha one last time
in season five's "Samantha Fights City Hall," due to Erin's
mumps.
Alice Ghostley (Esmeralda), Paul Lynde (Uncle Arthur), and Bernard
Fox (Dr. Bombay) all had guest roles during the first two seasons
as mortal characters before being cast as magical regulars.
Production
Ratings
| Season |
Rank |
| 1) 1964-1965 |
# 2 |
| 2) 1965-1966 |
# 7 |
| 3) 1966-1967 |
# 8 |
| 4) 1967-1968 |
# 11 |
| 5) 1968-1969 |
# 12 |
| 6) 1969-1970 |
# 25 |
| 7) 1970-1971 |
# 34 |
| 8) 1971-1972 |
# 72 |
Two of the film antecedents for this series were the 1942 film
I Married a Witch (from
Thorne Smith's unfinished novel
The
Passionate Witch and Me), and the John Van Druten play that
was eventually adapted as
Bell, Book and Candle
(1958).
Sol Saks, who received credit as the creator of the show, wrote the
pilot of
Bewitched, although he was not involved with the
show after the pilot. Initially,
Danny
Arnold, who helped develop the style and tone of the series as
well as some of the supporting characters who did not appear in the
pilot, like Larry Tate and the Kravitzes, produced and headed
writing of the series. Arnold, who wrote on
McHale's Navy and other shows, thought of
Bewitched as being essentially a romantic comedy about a
mixed marriage; his episodes kept the magic element to a minimum,
with one or two magical acts to drive the plot but Samantha usually
solving problems without using magic. Also, many of the first
season's episodes were
allegorical,
using supernatural situations as clear metaphors for the real-life
problems a young couple would face. Arnold stated that the two main
themes of the series were the conflict between a powerful woman
(Samantha) and a husband who cannot deal with that power (Darrin),
and the anger of the bride's mother (Endora) at seeing her daughter
marry beneath her. Though the show was a hit right from the
beginning, Arnold battled with ABC, which wanted more magic and
more farcical plots.
Arnold left the show after the first season (he would later
co-create
Barney Miller with
Theodore J. Flicker), leaving producing duties to
his friend Jerry Davis, who had already produced some of the first
season's episodes (though Arnold was still supervising the
writing). The second season was produced by Davis and with
Bernard Slade as head writer, with mistaken
identity and farce becoming a more prevalent element, but still
included a number of more low-key episodes where the magic element
was not front and center.
With the third season and the switch to color, Davis left the show,
and was replaced as producer by
William
Froug. Slade also left after the second season (he would later
create another popular
Screen Gems
series,
The Partridge
Family, which, like
Bewitched, went through a
recasting of a role). According to William Froug's autobiography,
William Asher (who had directed many episodes) wanted to take over
as producer when Jerry Davis left, but the production company was
not yet ready to approve the idea. Froug, a former producer of
Gilligan's Island, was
brought in as a compromise. By his own admission, Froug was not
very familiar with
Bewitched and found himself in the
uncomfortable position of being the official producer even though
Asher was making most of the creative decisions. After a year,
Froug left the show, and Asher took over as full-time producer of
the series for the rest of its run.
Along with Dick Sargent now playing Darrin, the 1969-1970 season
also saw a significant decline in ratings. Viewership continued to
dwindle the following season, and in the fall of 1971 ABC switched
Bewitched from its Thursday 8:30 time slot to Wednesdays at 8:00.
The schedule change did not help ratings as the show was now pitted
against CBS's popular
Carol Burnett Show. In January of
1972 the show was moved to Saturday nights at 8:00 and was now
opposite the number one show on television,
All In The Family. The ratings went
from bad to worse, the show finishing the year in 72nd place.
Montgomery and Asher were contractually obligated to film another
season of Bewitched for ABC. Despite the network's encouragement
and support for the show, Montgomery did not want to continue the
series, and by the summer of 1972, Bewitched left the air after
eight years. That fall, Asher created
The Paul Lynde Show to fulfill the
contract.
Storylines repeated from I Love Lucy
In the episode "Samantha's Power Failure," Serena's and Uncle
Arthur's powers are removed by the Witches' Council, and they get
jobs in a confectionery factory, with Serena and Arthur tossing and
hiding an onslaught of bananas from a conveyor belt which are to be
dipped in chocolate and nuts, then packaged. This episode mimics
the famous chocolate assembly-line episode of
I Love Lucy ("Job Switching"), which was
directed by
Bewitched producer/director William Asher.
Serena's and Arthur's jokes and physical antics are taken from
Lucy's (
Lucille Ball) and Ethel's
(
Vivian Vance) playbook.
In another episode Samantha interviews a maid, and the scene is
almost identical to one in
Lucy. Season 8 featured a
European vacation, but was filmed in Hollywood using stock footage,
like the "European" episodes of
Lucy. Similar to Endora's
refusal to pronounce Darrin's name correctly, Lucy's mother always
referred to son-in-law Ricky with an incorrect name
("Mickey").
Timely topics
Some episodes take a backdoor approach to such topics as
racism, as seen in the first season episode, "The
Witches Are Out," in which Samantha objects to Darrin's demeaning
ad portrayal of witches as ugly and deformed. Such
stereotypical imagery often causes Endora and
other witches to flee the country until November. Another episode,
"Sisters at Heart" (season 7), whose story was submitted by a
tenth-grade English class, involved Tabitha altering the skin tone
of herself and a black friend with coordinating polka-dots, so that
people would treat them alike.
Sets and locations
The 1959 Columbia Pictures
Gidget movie was filmed on location at a
real home in Santa Monica (at 267 18th Street). The blueprint
design of this home was later reversed and replicated as a house
facade attached to an existing garage on the backlot of Columbia's
Ranch. This was the house seen on
Bewitched. The patio and
living room sets seen in Columbia's
Gidget Goes to Rome (1963) were
soon adapted for the permanent
Bewitched set for
1964.
In June
1970, Bewitched filmed on location in Salem
, Magnolia and Gloucester, Massachusetts
. These location shoots marked the only time
the show would film away from their Hollywood studio set, which was
being rebuilt due to a fire. The eight so-called "Salem Saga"
episodes helped the show's ratings. On June 15 2005, TV Land
unveiled a Samantha statue in Salem Massachusetts, to mark the
show's 40th anniversary. On hand were stars, Bernard Fox, Erin
Murphy and Kasey Rogers.
On the Columbia studio backlot, the Kravitzes' house was actually
down the street from the Stephenses' house exterior. Both homes'
exterior doors opened to an unfinished eighteen-by-fifteen foot
entry, as the interiors were shot elsewhere. The exterior of the
Kravitzes' house later became the home of
The Partridge Family.
In popular culture
The magical powers of the characters on the show and the sudden
switch of actors playing Darrin at the start of the 1969 season
without explanation have both been sources of many popular culture
references to the show, such as on sitcoms like
Roseanne and
The Nanny.
In the episode "Trouble with the Rubbles" of
Roseanne, new neighbors move in
and Jackie asks Roseanne, staring attentively through the window,
if she knows anything about them. Roseanne jokingly replies, "Well,
okay, the husband, Darrin, he's in advertising, and they have this
cute little daughter named Tabitha. But the wife, I don't know,
something's wrong with her. I think she's a witch."
In the supernatural child sitcom,
Wizards of Waverly Place, the
principal of the title characters' prep school is named Mr.
Laritate, an obvious reference to David White's character. The
series has also featured a similar reference to Major Roger Healey
of
I Dream of Jeannie,
another sitcom featuring supernatural characters.
In the
That '70s Show
episode, "Class Picture," one basement scene shows the characters
at different ages as they debate the merits of Samantha and
Jeannie. Once the characters are shown in their proper ages, Hyde
comments, "Guys, it feels like we've been talking about this for a
really long time."
In the "
Charmed" fourth season episode,
"Lost and Bound", Phoebe worries about her ability to be a good
wife and notes the only married witch she can think of as a model
is Samantha Stephens. Subsequently, Cole gives her a ring which
causes Phoebe to start behaving like Samantha, spending all her
time in the kitchen, while alternating between color and black and
white.
Episode availability
Syndication history
After completing its original run,
ABC
Daytime and ABC Saturday Morning continued to show the series
until 1973.
Bewitched has since been syndicated on many
local US broadcast stations. Cable television syndication had been
on
WTBS throughout the 1980s and
1990s. The first two seasons, which were available only in black
and white at the time, were rarely seen in reruns from the late
1970s to the late 1980s, until Nick at Nite began syndication of
the series in the 1990s. The
Hallmark
Channel aired the show from 2001 to 2003, and
TV Land from 2003 to 2006. In October 2008, the show
began to air in the US on
WGN America.
Channel 9 Australia airs the
series on its digital channel
GO!
On the internet, episodes can be viewed on
iTunes,
YouTube,
IMDB,
Hulu,
The Minisode Network, and
Crackle.
DVD releases
Beginning in 2005,
Sony
Pictures Home Entertainment released all eight seasons of
Bewitched. In regions 1 and 4, seasons 1 and 2 were each
released in two versions—one as originally broadcast in
black-and-white, and one
colorized. Only the colorized editions
were released in regions 2 and 3.
Spin-offs and remakes
Comic book
Dell Comics published a short-lived
comic book for 14 issues starting in
1965. Most comics 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 teenage versions
of Tabitha and Adam visiting their aunt and her family who travel
with a
circus.
See Also
List of Animated
Spinoffs from Prime Time Shows
Tabitha
In
1977, a short-lived spin-off
entitled
Tabitha aired
on
ABC. The show stars
Lisa Hartman as an adult Tabitha
working, along with her brother Adam, at television station KXLA.
There were several continuity differences with the original series,
including Adam having inherited none of his mother's abilities.
Adam and Tabitha had also aged far more than the intervening years
between the two series would have allowed. Supporting witch
character Aunt Minerva (
Karen Morrow)
is said to be like a mother to Tabitha, though she had never been
mentioned in
Bewitched. Samantha and Darrin never appear
in
Tabitha, though Bernard Fox, Sandra Gould, George
Tobias and Dick Wilson make guest appearances as, respectively, Dr.
Bombay, Gladys Kravitz, Abner Kravitz and the "drunk guy."
Movie
Bewitched inspired 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 that
perfect girl in Isabel Bigelow (Kidman), who, it turns out, really
is a witch. The storyline bears some similarities to that
of the movie
Bell, Book and
Candle, which had often been cited as one of the primary
inspirations for the original series. The film also stars
Shirley MacLaine as an actress playing
Endora, and
Michael Caine as Isabel's
father.
The film was poorly received by most critics and was a financial
disappointment, earning $22 million less than the production cost
domestically. However it earned an additional $68 million
internationally. The New York Times called the film "an unmitigated
disaster."
International remakes
- Argentina — A remake called
Hechizada, produced by Telefé,
aired in early 2007. It starred Florencia Peña as Samantha,
Gustavo Garzón as her husband,
Eduardo, and Georgina Barbarrosa as Endora. This show adapted
original scripts to an Argentinian context, with local humor and a
contemporary setting. The show was cancelled due to low ratings
after a few weeks.
- Japan — TBS
, a flagship
station of Japan News
Network, produced a remake called Okusama wa majo
(奥さまは魔女), also known as Bewitched in Tokyo. Eleven
episodes were broadcast on JNN stations Fridays at 10 p.m., from
January 16, 2004 to March 26,
2004, and a special on December 21, 2004. The main character, Arisa
Matsui, was portrayed by Ryōko Yonekura. Okusama wa majo
is also the Japanese title for the original American series.
- Russia — In 2009, TV3 broadcast a remake entitled " Моя любимая ведьма" ("My Favorite Witch"),
starring Anna Zdor as Nadia (Samantha), Ivan Grishanov, as Ivan
(Darrin) and Marina Esepenko as Nadia's mother. The series is very
similar to the original, with most episodes based on those from the
original series. American comedy writer/producer Norm Gunzenhauser
oversaw the writing and directing of the series.
- United Kingdom — In 2008, the BBC made a pilot episode of a British version, with
Sheridan Smith as Samantha, Tom Price as Darrin, and veteran actress
Frances de la Tour as Endora. A
series has not yet been commissioned.
See also
Further reading
External links
Similar supernatural television series of the era
Contemporary supernatural television shows
References
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