Sony Pictures | 1971 | 677 mins | Not Rated
Bewitched first aired on ABC September 17, 1964, and the series became an instant hit with critics and audiences, lasting for eight seasons and 256 episodes. After 22 Emmy nominations in its first seven seasons, the eighth season turned out to be the aeries last, even though the network was already planning a ninth year. The marriage between series star Elizabeth Montgomery and show producer William Asher was ending and Montgomery announced she wouldn’t return for another season. Montgomery likely made the right choice, because while the eighth season still has some good episodes, the series was clearly running out of steam. In its first season Bewitched finished second in the Nielsens and continued to be among the top 11 most-watched TV shows in America through its fifth season. But it slipped to #24 the following year and fell out of the Nielsen Top-30 its seventh and eighth seasons.
When the show debuted in 1964, the then strange concept of a witch named Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) negotiating her supernatural powers and her role as the suburban housewife of advertising executive Darrin Stephens (Dick York, replaced by Dick Sargent after the fifth season), fit right into a television landscape populated by shows like My Favorite Martian, The Munsters and The Addams Family. During the mid 1960’s, viewers seemed intrigued by families with special powers and/or unique characteristics. While shows like My Favorite Martian and The Addams Family were popular, neither had the long run or received the critical acclaim that Bewitched experienced.
One of the biggest reasons for Bewitched’s success was that Samantha’s powers weren’t the only element driving the show. While the crazy situations her supernatural powers created was at the center of much of the series humor, the heart of the show was really Samantha and Darrin’s attempt to have a successful marriage and raise children, despite the meddlesome Endora (Agnes Moorehead) and the other members of Samantha’s supernaturally gifted family. Of course, when a little girl and then a boy, were born to the Stephens, everyone wondered if they would take after their mortal dad or immortal mom.
During the eighth season, Tabitha (Erin Murphy), is featured more often and young Adam start to show he has powers; the entire Stephens clan takes a tour of historical Europe and Samantha finds herself in trouble with King Henry VIII; Darrin is zapped to the top of the Eiffel Tower and Tabitha zaps herself into the Punch and Judy TV show to chastise Punch. As with previous seasons, the twenty-six episodes are housed in two slim, clear plastic keep-cases and tucked inside a sturdy cardboard slipcase. The titles and a one-sentence description of each episode appear on the back of each keep-case.
1-2) “How Not to Lose Your Head to King Henry VIII,” Pts. 1&2. On a tour of the Tower of London, Samantha gets mixed up with a hateful witch who sends her back in time to the court of King Henry VIII. Endora sends Darrin back to rescue Samantha before King Henry VIII adds her to his list of late wives. Montgomery actually gets to sing here and she’s rather good.
3) “Samantha and the Loch Ness Monster.” In Scotland, Sam and Darrin encounter the Loch Ness Monster, who turns out to be a warlock Serena transformed a couple decades ago. Serena decides to set him free, but the monster has other ideas. Really bad special effects here.
4) “Samantha’s Not-So-Leaning Tower of Pisa.” Esmerelda reveals that she made the tower lean by mistake when she was engaged to the builder and decides to correct her folly.
5) “Bewitched, Bothered, and Baldoni.” In Rome, Endora’s spell brings the statue of Venus to life in order to test Darrin’s fidelity.
6) “Paris, Witches Style.” Samantha’s father is furious when he learns that she and Darrin have failed to pay him a visit while on their European tour. Endora makes a duplicate “Durwood” for this one.
7) “The Ghost Who Made a Spectre of Himself.” A lovesick ghost longing to be near Samantha takes up residence in Darrin’s body and refuses to leave. The final European themed episode.
8) “TV or Not TV.” Tabitha speaks out about violence on TV. She pops on a TV show to reprimand two aggressive puppets. Darrin happens to be watching the show and tells Sam to get Tabitha off the TV. The sponsors say otherwise and Tabitha becomes a TV star. A retread from last season but still one of this season’s best episodes.
9) “A Plague on Maurice and Samantha.” Maurice decides that he would like to sample mortal life after he temporarily loses his powers from a virus he caught from Samantha.
10) “Hansel and Gretel in Samanthaland.” Tabitha zaps Hansel and Gretel out of their storybook so they can have a home cooked meal. Oddly enjoyable.
11) “The Warlock in the Gray Flannel Suit.” Endora enlists the help of a hippie warlock named Alonzo to do away with Darrin’s job so that he is free to attend a family wedding with Samantha.
12) “The Eight-Year Itch Witch.” In another retread, Endora employs a beautiful named Ophelia to woo Darrin.
13) “3 Men and a Witch on a Horse.” Endora casts a spell that sends Darrin off to the horse races, hoping that his newly inspired gambling bug will make him a better provider for Samantha.
14) “Adam, Warlock, or Washout.” Adam’s powers need to be tested but not before he gets some coaching from his grandfather. A fun one.
15) “Samantha’s Magic Sitter.” Esmeralda’s babysitting skills are a big hit with the kids but not with Darrin’s client, whose son will not give up the notion that he was entertained by witchcraft.
16) “Samantha is Earthbound.” Samantha gets a condition which makes her 500 pounds heavier. Dr. Bombay comes and gives her an antidote that makes her lighter…a little too light as she floats to the air. One of the more bizarre episodes.
17) “Serena’s Richcraft.” After losing her powers, Serena flirts with a wealthy and attractive client of Darrin’s, hoping to prove that “richcraft” can be just as powerful as witchcraft.
18) “Samantha on Thin Ice.” Tabitha can go to a skating party only if she can learn to skate the mortal way. However, Endora has other plans and turns Tabitha into a champion. One of the better episodes.
19) “Serena’s Youth Pill.” Serena gives Larry Tate a dose of Vitamin V hoping to turn back the clock by a couple of years, but the pill has an unexpected effect and takes him back to his childhood. Very funny.
20) “Tabitha’s First Day in School.” Tabitha changes the class bully into a frog on her very first day, then runs into trouble as she later tries to reverse the spell.
21-22) “George Washington Zapped Here,” Pts. 1&2. Esmeralda accidentally brings George Washington into the 20th century but he finds it difficult to adjust to modern times. In part two, the first President remains stuck, awaiting a hearing for threatening a police officer and speaking out publicly about the Constitution. In-between, he messes things up for one of Darrin’s accounts, because he cannot tell a lie.
23) “School Days, School Daze.” Tabitha is worried about being smart enough to skip the second grade. With Endora’s help she exceeds the expectations of her teacher.
24) “A Good Turn Never Goes Unpunished.” Darrin thinks that Samused witchcraft for the ideas she gave him for and advertising campaign and decides not to use her ideas. Darrin comes up with some ideas of his own and are rejected by the client Mr. Benson. He thinks witchcraft was used in that decision, too.
25) “Samantha’s Witchcraft Blows a Fuse.” Samantha’s face is covered with red stripes. Dr. Bombay’s cure requires two important ingredients: a Himalayan cinnamon stick and the tail feather of a dodo bird.
26) “The Truth, Nothing but the Truth, so Help Me Sam.” A dinner party for a prospective client ends in disaster after Endora casts a spell on Samantha’s unicorn pin that causes every mortal that comes near it to tell the absolute truth.
As I said earlier, by season eight, Bewitched was clearly running out of steam. This season has more weak episodes than strong ones but fans of the show will want to buy this set to complete their collections and check out the strong Tabitha centered episodes.
The video is presented in 1.33:1. Nearly grain free, the colors are bright and Endora’s flaming red hair looks better than ever. There is no fading.
The audio is a bit uneven. The music is louder than the dialogue and so you have to turn it up to hear. There’s a flatness to the sound as well. The audio comes in English, Spanish, or Portuguese Dolby Digital Mono, with English closed captions and Spanish or Portuguese subtitles.
There are no special features.
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