Let's discuss "Bewitched" inconsistencies.

The husband looked different at the end of the series.

Black and White to Color, without Munchkins?

The rules of magic were never consistent.

In the opening, everyone is a cartoon but then they're not. Wtf?

We have a new one, folks: the Inconsistencies Troll.

Annoying.

Was it 'Darren' or 'Derwood'? It's as if the writers couldn't make up their mind.

I agree with the witchcraft rules, they were too inconsistent.

It seemed that witches had levels of power at first. As referenced that Uncle Arthur and Endorra had a battle over placing a house. Sam states, they have equal power and this could go on forever.

Then it seemed to be, one witch could undo another witch's spell if s/he knew the exact spell.

Then one witch could zap another witch if s/he took him/her by surprise.

Then you had the fact Endorra could take away Samantha's ability to perform magic, but for some odd reason, Sam couldn't take away Tabitha's ability, which of course would kill the comedy.

Too often Samantha could've used a "forget spell" or like a love spell, something Samantha said, "witches simply don't have that kind of power."

R7 is right.

Let's not, and say we did.

OK, I'll play...

Besides the witchcraft stuff, it was the upstairs of the house that made no sense. Darrin and Samantha's bedroom was at the top of the landing on the right, but it was never clear where the nursery would be (it had a wall outside the door that didn't make sense with the floor plan). And the "spare" bedroom (which was only seen in an episode or two) bore no relation to the other rooms.

In the last seasons, they remodeled the kitchen and put in fake stairs to the second floor, which were never used because they obviously were just a perspective trick.

They gave up entirely when Tabitha moved out of the nursery and got her own bedroom; when it had to be used, the producers just used the Darrin and Samantha bedroom and put in little girl's furniture.

Sick headaches. Are there any other kind of headaches? "I have a perfectly MARVELOUS migraine!"

The whole set got a major overhaul during the Salem episodes. The reason for the Salem episodes, in fact, was that the set had been damaged in a studio fire which necessitated production going away for awhile. The location shoot gave the crew time to repair the fire damage. Studio shots were cut in later.

The damage was mostly to the kitchen and back hallway. The McMann and Tate sets were destroyed, too.

Those back stairs in the kitchen were added as part of that remodel. The actors could only stand on the landing as the treads past that were, as r10 said, a perspective trick--just nailed to the wall.

Tabitha's original nursery set was always built in the den when needed. Her later bedroom was indeed a corner of Darrin and Sam's room (as was the Tate's bedroom, and the Kravitz's living room in later years). There was no sense at all to the upstairs floorplan.

The inconsistencies are the Samantha and her family have those powers and I don't.

Serena. Yet another identical cousin.

Few if any sitcom interiors match the façade shots. So think we can forgive Bewitched on that score. I mean if you look at the exterior shots of Blanche's house in the Golden Girls there is no way it has five bedrooms, but yet it does because the girls all have their own rooms.

In the lore of witchcraft, evil and or whatever love is one force they cannot control. Love is the most powerful force in the universe, where it exists and is strong evil cannot enter or break it apart. In the sitcom "Sabrina the Teenaged Witch" Sabrina's aunts inform her in response to a query by the girl for a love potion/spell that witches have no power over love. In fact the witches convened a coven and made a pack not to interfere with same.

That being said the rules regarding Samantha's powers and indeed witchcraft in general shifted on Bewitched and were rather vague. However you have to consider this was a time when witchcraft was still very much associated with Satan worship and the country was far more religious than today. Indeed the original idea for Bewitched was hard sell because of the associations (and objections) to witchcraft.

Mrs. Darrin Stephens apparently had no problems going to and or volunteering at the local church along with other suburban wives/mothers.

That Endora was more powerful than Samantha is not surprising, after all she was not only older but the woman's mother. One assumes even among witches that counted for something. Maurice as a warlock was more powerful than either.

The thing about undoing other witches spells seems to vary by what sort they were. Often Sam, Serena, Aunt Clara or whomever would consult a huge book (of spells and incantations?) to sort out how to reverse what someone else did.

Then there were spells that had a "cure" built in, such as when Sam was sent back in time (once to Salem the other to the Old South) and Darrin was sent back (along with instructions) on how to break the spell.

Sam also turned two former suitors (one played by Richard Dreyfuss) back from a dog and inimate object (chair) to warlocks. But she could only turn them back again if they consented (both did).

Witches powers were supposed to wane as they aged but the warlocks (Maurice and even uncle Arthur) seemed immune. OTOH Esmeralda and aunt Clara clearly were past their prime. Samantha's other aunts such as Hagatha seemed to be on the ball though.

Also IIRC Darin finds a portrait of Sam "A Salem Maid" (planted by Endora) that would seem to indicate she was alive during the 1600's. Yet when sent back to old Salem by a spell Endora tells Darrin she has no memory because she wasn't born yet.

Time was the biggest inconsistency as has been pointed out...how old Samantha, Endora, Maurice, Arthura, Serena, etc. were and how they aged changed over the seasons. Endora's age varied most of all. Yet, we always knew Endora was Arthur's older sister and Serena was Samantha's older cousin (on Maurice's side).

As to the rules of magic, I think the writers had a very good sense of what the rules were. They were, in fact, quite complex. The failing was that the writers intentionally never shared the intimacies of the rules with us. We only got vagueries. Especially near the final seasons.

Even at its worst, it's always 100 times better than I Dream of Jeannie which rarely made any sense except Dr. Bellows really wanted to fuck Major Nelson.

What I never understood was the witches could make themselves look like anyone or anything, even objects, so why did the older ones not always make themselves look young?

Also they could bring back the dead, like Ben Franklin, so why was it when Aunt Clara died, she died?

"Aunt Clara" didn't die. Marion Lorne died. Aunt Clara just went away and was not really mentioned again. They could have recast the part, because witches don't die, but Montgomery and Asher, out of respect for Lorne opted not to. Instead, they created bumbling Esmeralda, for Alice Ghostley, who had played a clutzy human maid, Naomi, in any earlier season. Esmeralda filled that bumbling part left by Clara.

The early years of the show was definitely an allegory about racism and the uptight culture of the world. Endora and Maurice were still clearly married, but had an arrangement. Serena was a slut. Arthur was gay. While the Kravitzes represented the repressed old way of thinking.

Mr. Kravitz was nice -- he just wanted to be left alone.

He reminded me of my Dad.

Blanche's house has 4 bedrooms, R15. 4. It's hard to take anything you say seriously after a mistake like that.

Yeah I think only 4 because didn't Sophia always have to stay in Dorothy's room when they had overnight guests?

What I want to know is how did the way they ate not cause all of them to die of some kind of cardiovascular event by season 3?

Regarding Golden Girls.

Sorry for a moment counted five of them instead of four. Wasn't until I glanced over at the DVD box saw my mistake.

Bulk of my post stands, seems very unlikely from the outside that Blanche's house has four very decent sized bedrooms.

But who am I to judge?

Must you Golden Girls queens come in and ruin every television thread. It was a fun little show 30 years ago. Let's move on.

While the subject of witches and warlocks dying was never mentioned what happens when they become very old and or have become "past it" was; they are given an option to turn themselves into an inanimate object or (I think) earth bound (mortal) in which case they would die.

This came out in one episode where Endora informs Samantha the Witches Council was convening a coven to decide what to do about aunt Clara; her forgetfulness, inability to exercise her powers correctly and or waning of such, that sort of thing. Endora lays out one of the options and Samantha is horrified and sad. Endora then says AC will be offered the traditional alternative, to turn herself into an object.

It was also never really addressed though brought up what would happen as Darrin aged and Sam did not. She could age herself by magic but that wouldn't change the fact her husband is mortal and sooner or later would die. OTOH same and perhaps her half mortal children could live on for centuries.

Also never understood how Sam and Darrin came to meet. They bumped into each other IIRC coming out of a store. What was Sam shopping for? Why would a witch buy clothing when Endora and the rest wore "flying suits". When any of them needed "mortal" fashions they zapped themselves into them.

They didn't bring Ben Franklin or George Washington back from the dead. They were taken out of their time. Witches could travel through time and bring mortals with them.

@R26

Correct.

Whenever Sam, Aunt Clara, or whoever brought back a historical figure they always appeared "startled" and asked how they got where they were. When GW was first sent back and then both he and Martha Washington were conjured up Mrs. Washington said something about forgiving her husband for telling "such fanciful tales". This meaning he told her about where he had been and seen in the Stephen's household etc...

Aunt Clara IIRC was a lady in waiting to Queen Victoria. When she zapped her up and explained she was a "witch" QV wanted to have her jailed.

There is a theory about time that it exists on a continuum. Thus time travel is nothing more than unlocking the secret to moving about from different parts. Sam and her family can only go back in time far as they were born and have a memory of who they are and or things that have happened. Whenever Darrin is sent back into time Sam does not know who he is because he wasn't born yet.

I just bought the box set. I think the only person who is still alive from the original cast is Erin Moran who played Tabitha. Bewitched is up there with my top ten favorites of comedies.

Erin Moran played Joannie Cunningham. Erin MURPHY played the young Tabitha. Geez

Tabitha was played by twins Erin and Diane Murphy. Btw, Diane Murphy is a lesbian.

Bernard Fox (Dr. Bombay) is still alive.

Dr. Bombay is still alive? What a reunion show that would be...

Is his name Dr Mumbai now?

[quote]That Endora was more powerful than Samantha is not surprising, after all she was not only older but the woman's mother. One assumes even among witches that counted for something. Maurice as a warlock was more powerful than either.

Incorrect, Endora was equal to Maurice and Endora and Uncle Arthur were stated to be equal.

Remember Endora saying,"You may frighten Samantha, but you certainly don't frighten me." Or when Maurice tries to pull magic on Endora he says "You're getting stronger," and Endora says "You're getting older."

The big inconsistency was making Samantha "Queen of the Witches." The former queen was clearly the most powerful but Sam still seemed to be subordinate to other witches.

Interestingly enough the writers always tried to portray Samantha as one who'd use her mind (or body) instead of her powers.

Like when Endora says Samantha will mary Rhoda's boyfriend and Mercedes McCambridge (a powwerful witch even Endora steers clear of), Sam simply implies she doesn't have to use witchcraft as she can outwit her.

Or when another witch sent by Endora to test Darrin won't go away, and threatens Samantha with magic, Samantha says "I'd say we're pretty evenly match, that reduces us to the human level. How'd you like a poke in the nose?"

One day I peeked through my curtains and it appeared that Mrs. Stephens wiggled her nose and changed Dicks to be her husband.

Was the actor who played Mr> Kravitz gay? I have seen him in several old movies on TCM; when I looked him up, it did not say anything about him being married.

Also, Darren #1 looked pretty hot in one or two early eps where he was swimming.

Another also, why didn't they use the great woman who played Darren's former girlfriend more? Nancy somebody? She was great in that role.

You mean Sheila, r36?

Not only did they not use her enough, but they recycled the early episode where she invites Sam and Darren to her house just to be mean to Sam later in the series.

It was almost the same script.

@R34

Still think Maurice had more pull than the ladies, it may not have been much but still.

There was an episode where the aunts and Endora came to test the kid (Adam's) powers as a baby warlock (or to see if he was mortal). Young Adam passed (unknown to anyone with help from Maurice which IIRC turns out not to have been needed), and the coven decided the infant was to be removed from Sam in order to be properly educated. Sam called for her dad who promptly arrived and packed the witches off including Endora.

If the witches were equal or could have "out voted" Maurice they would have as a group or a single (Endora) done something.

Imagine if Tammy Grimes had played Samantha. It would have been quite different.

One assumes that once becoming "queen of the witches" powers go with the office not necessarily because the one chosen was the most powerful in their own right.

It did seem odd to choose Samantha as the new queen since up until then the Witches Council was not happy with her "mixed-marriage" and was doing everything it could to put an end to it or at least keep it under wraps. However one assumes after that body grounded Sam, Uncle Arthur and Tabitha which caused the former to take her case directly to the WC and thus was reinstated they left her alone.

In theory the WC or any of Sam's family or other witches could have turned Darrin into anything or simply zapped him off the face of the earth (as Maurice did), but as one stated previously love is a powerful emotion that even witches aren't immune. Each time any witch or warlock did anything to Darrin Sam would plead, get teary eyed or simply very angry about the treatment of her man and the thing was reversed.

It is odd that despite Samantha wanting to live life as a "normal mortal housewife" she became very upset whenever her powers failed or were taken away. You'd think she would be happy as that is what she wanted wasn't it? I mean to live as a mortal. Sam was also very happy when both Tabitha and later Adam displayed signs of not being wholly mortal.

Yes, that would have been a whole other show as oroginally planned with Grimes playing "Tamantha" and Dick Sargent as the Darrin equivalent, or Richard Crenna. There had been a third well-known actor also considered before Dick York, but, i don't recall the name. Grimes and Sargent had previously worked together. When she dropped out, his name was still attached, but, his contract with Universal prevented him from being the first Darrin. The honor, as we know went to Dick York, when Elizabeth Montgomery and William Asher took over the show. Legend has it, though she was very professional, Lizzie never warmed up to Dick York, and much preferred Dick Sargent with whom she remained friends until her death. Conversely, Agnes Moorehead adored York, but could never warm up to Dick Sargent. Sargent stated that during his first days of filming, Moorehead reduced him to tears with her glib comments.

Related; When they tried the "Tabitha" spinoff with Lisa Hartman (aging Tabitha about a decade in real time), Adam became a mortal and the Endora sort of role was played by Karen Morrow as "Aunt Minerva," who was never mentioned in the original series.

EM tried for years to get Dick York off Bewitched. Some say it was because of his chronic absences (due to that back injury), other gossip says DY was just a bit too familiar with EM and was lusting after her even though both were married.

For whatever reasons as Dick York's absences became more frequent and or otherwise affecting filming EM got her way and he was gone.

The two never really spoke again. When Dick York was down in his cups cleaning houses and doing what he could to support his family EM was not one of the cast members who offered financial support. Louise Tate and others did, but not EM.

Dick York telephoned EM a few days before he died and she would not take the call.

Always preferred DY to DS as Darrin. Dick Sargent seemed to always have a stick up his behind or otherwise seemed stiff.

Not exactly an inconsistency but have always wondered about Sam's and the other witches physiology.

Whenever Sam or the other witches were ill they sent for Dr. Bombay. Sam also hinted there was also a wide array of specialists that served the community, fine enough. So how come Sam goes through two pregnancies and uses a normal mortal OB/GYN?

Given some of Sam's abilities (flying, being able to "breathe" underwater, flaunt the laws of gravity, live above or in clouds, etc...) she and the other witches must be different from mortals somehow.

Dr. Bombay once said in response to Sam being ill that a witches nature is to thumb her nose at the laws of gravity. Sam became ill because she was living a "grounded" existence if you will.

How could a man with a bad back problem clean houses for a living?

R43, you're accurate in many ways. Mr. York was given the choice to leave the show after suffering a seizure and 15 foot fall on set due to the pain-killer addiction/back problems which had pained him for years. Joey York, Dick's wife, had asked William Asher to release Dick from his contract. Asher asked York if that's what he wanted, and, York said it was. Regardless of his wife's personal feelings, Asher (and Montgomery) knew the loss of York was a blow to the show. He had irked Liz since his audition when he jumped in her lap and said something akin to, "aren't we cute together?"

I worked with Miss Montgomery around the time of York's death. She was a lovely, charming person. She didn't speak much of Bewitched, and said nothing of Dick York, but, had much good to say of Dick Sargent and Agnes Moorehead, among others. I knew well enough to keep my fan boy mouth shut and not press my luck with too many questions. I'll always wonder about her true feelings for her first Darrin.

@R45

I wasn't there sweetie and don't know, am only relating what is posted in the media.

Housework even in the 1970's did not involve fetching buckets of water from a well, scrubbing floors on hands and knees and doing laundry with scrub board and mangle. If you can push a vacuum, swing a dust cloth, put things away etc... you can "clean houses". Since Mrs. York worked as part of the team one supposes she would do anything heavy her husband couldn't or shouldn't.

Even operating a vaccuum cleaner would be hard for someone with a bad back. I guess he did a bit of french polishing. Poor Mrs. York.

I've always liked Dick Sargent better and the chemistry he had with Elizabeth Montogomery is obvious. It's unfortunate that it came during the worst years of Bewitched. I think Sargent gets a bad rap. It's not like he got Dick York fired. I know I'm in the minority (or alone) though.

You definitely are, Cindy. Sargent is bland as Darrin. York is hilarious, a great counterpoint to Montgomery's acting style, and he and Montgomery have sparks.

Agreed. York was the best Darrin. Best reactions to the craziness in the household. Sargent just came off as a pissy queen. Plus no romance between them at all. With York, you believed that Darrin and Samantha "did it" in that double bed.

R-29 R30 my bad! I got the last names mixed up. am sorry about that so shoot me!

[quote]Even operating a vaccuum cleaner would be hard for someone with a bad back.

You clearly don't know much about back injuries.

There are back injuries where certain physical activity makes the pain worse - but don't actually make the injury worse.

Once he stopped using pain killers he probably learned to tolerate his back pain. It's not that unusual.

In the Salem episodes Serena went back to old Salem and was able to perform witchcraft and look like herself. Again the age thing.

Darren # 1 was the better actor and comedian.

Darren # 2 had a great line. In one episode, he tells Samantha, "You witches have such dumb rules."

If you watch the first 5 or 6 episodes, they seem much more sophisticated than what the show evolved into.

And I also loved Nancy Kovacs as Darren's former girlfriend.

Marion Lorne, Mabel Albertson, Agnes Moorehead, Mrs. Kravitz # 1--what a dream cast.

I also found Darren's father # 1 kind of handsome and hot, maybe it was his eyes and smile.

My inconsistency is the Stephens' street looked a lot like Hazel's. All on that old Warner lot?

Nancy Kovack (Sheila Sommers) gave up acting for life as Mrs. Zuben Mehta in 1969. Things were quiet until she sued her former personal assistant Susan MacDougal (yes, *that* Susan MacDougal) for embezzlement. Mrs. Metha lost that case and then had to pay a settlement end legal proceedings brought by Ms. MacDougal.

As we all know trouble soon the MacDougal woman again, but that is another story.

Unlike Dick Sargent who seemed to react to his domestic situation and or experiences with the "other side" as if he had been poked up he butt with a steel rod, Dick York brought a wide variety of acting skills to the character

In the early series you cannot but feel that DY's Darrin really is in love with Samantha. His reactions to various supernatural events and or Sam's family however are priceless. Anger, bewilderment, resignation, shock, horror, confusion, they are all there.

On their wedding night when Darrin is attempting to get Sam "in the mood" and she is trying to sit him down and tell him her story is wonderful. Cannot see Dick Sargent pulling that off.

DS always seemed just angry or at least mildly annoyed.

Sargent was largely one-note. York's talent could range from puppy-eyed love to flustered to sharp to self-pitying and even humble within a scene. Even with his facile, rubber face, York was quite sexy especially in the earlier years.

What Sargent did offer was an ability to be an affable prop. He delivered his lines, served his purpose and presented a boyish enthusiasm at times between moments of growingly resigned annoyance. He, in essence, showcased the more talented female stars and was a pleasant set piece.

York was a true character. Sargent was a piece of scenery.

Dick York did often wonder if his contribution to the show was noticed and publicly stated as such. Agnes Moorehead leapt to his defense. Liz cordially dismissed York's concerns when he said in an interview that the only way to see if his work on the show was being noticed was to kill Darrin and "give the witch another husband." Of course his complaint would prove prophetic almost five years later.

When Sargent took over and ratings plummeted, York got his answer, but, by then it was too late.

Sargent would later claim that he was told to play Darrin in various notes of detached anger and frustration. Just before his death, Sargent said in an interview that it saddened him to watch some episodes in retrospect because it seemed as if his Darrin "wanted to punch Sam." He stated that there was little room for interpretation.

Personally, based on everything else I ever saw Dick Sargent in, I've seen him play the same one-note character. He just wasn't a good actor. Pleasant, charming and agreeable, yes. By all accounts, a lovely person, but, just a flat actor.

"Darrin "wanted to punch Sam."

That is it! In a nutshell that is it!

Was racking my brains trying to describe how Dick Sargent's Darrin interacted with Samantha and "wanting to hit her" fits perfectly.

His "Sammmmm" just oozed "one of these days Alice, ... right in the kisser".

Thin DS receives more sympathy (if that is the proper word) because of his coming out and such. That was huge deal for gay actor then, but otherwise....

Saw Dick York in a few "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" episodes and the man was great. Rubber does describe his facial expressions very well. That is his boyish good looks.

Will give Dick Sargent some play in that he did come along towards the time Bewitched was running out of steam. It was not long after his arrival they began to reused old scripts for plot ideas. There was the frequent use of different characters from outside the Stephen's home instead of the focus on Darrin and Sam.

On a side note wonder if Paul Lynde and Dick Sargent traded gossip and stories about "gay Hollywood". I mean they must have run in sort of the same crowd or at least knew each other's number so to speak.

I always thought Nancy Kovacs was one of the most beautiful actresses ever. Her dinner party episode was the series best. When it was in B&W it was just about my favorite show ever. In color it started to suck. The second Darren was awful. Even as a little kid watching after school repeats I knew this.

The last season I think they showed Serena more than Sam. That groovy baby schtick sucked ass. This must be the most recast show in history. Gladys, Darren, Louise...

Though I Dream of Jeannie at it's best doesn't come close to Bewitched at it's best; I Dream of Jeannie was more consistently funny and original throughout it's run.

Bewitched was on three more years than I Dream of Jeannie. I think if you would have ended Bewitched after year five, you could have said it was more consistently funny throughout its run (although it was getting tired by York's last year).

That said, I got to give Barbara Eden some credit. The fact that Jeannie was likable had a lot to do with her charisma and personality, because Jeannie really could have been tiresome with a different actress. The character was kind of a sadistic spoiled brat. Larry Hagman also did a good job giving what could have been a Ken Doll some personality.

You got it right R62. Whenever I watch I Dream of Jeannie on one of the vaginal mesh stations the thing I always end up thinkingg at the end is "That Barbara Eden was just so damn cute".

Still laughing over reading that Milton Berle announced the man being roasted at the Friers Club by saying; "He's been looking forward to this night, like a blow job from Agnes Moorehead."

When Danny Arnold left the series in 1966, Irene Vernon (his wife) was pressured to hit the bricks by EM and WA.

Other than the other "forced out" actor most cast changes were because of a demise.

Alice Pearce, the original Mrs. Kravitz was diagnosed with cancer before being cast and shooting of the first season of Bewitched began. She kept it a secret until the weight loss and so forth became evident that something was wrong. When she died in 1966 we got a new Mrs. Kravitz.

As noted above when Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara) died Alice Ghostley was brought in as a replacement for the bumbling witch type (Esmeralda).

Other than that the major ensemble remained pretty stable until production ended in 1972.

R59, according to interviews Sargent gave after coming out, he and Lynde enjoyed a friendly working relationship, but it was difficult to get close to Lynde. Liz Montgomery often said that Lynde was all charm with her when she played Samantha, but, the moment the Serena wig and mini-skirts went on, his attitude toward her changed and he'd become bitchy, catty and competitive. She found this enormously funny.

Oddly enough, Paul Lynde and Richard Deacon (Dick Van Dyke, Leave it to Beaver, every Screen Gems show in a cameo, etc.) were very good friends and spent a great deal of time together. Now, there's a dinner party invitation, I'd have enjoyed--at my present age, not as a child as I was when they were alive. I know Lynde could be a bastard, but, one dinner would have been fun.

As a kid, I could sense Darrin #2 was different, somehow. More like me. He was more Sam's annoyed friend than Darrin #1 was. I could also tell Mr. Brady was different and he was not in love with Mrs. Brady. I wonder if Sargent and Robert Reed ever met for some "development" meetings.

Barbara Eden was a poor man's Dolores Gray.

By all accounts Irene Vernon was a bitch, too. Liz and Bill were glad to be rid of her and Arnold. Kasey Rogers was a vast improvement as Louise, and, a delight to work with. She was great to fans as wll, until her 2006 death.

r62, as for IDOJ, Eden saves the show. Jeannie could have been a terror as played by anyone else. A selfish, simpleton was made charming by Eden who really walked a line between cute and dangerous.

I will confess, Hagman was so hot as Major Nelson. I understood why Dr. Bellows was obsessed with him. Young me was wild over him. Of course, in real life, he was a nightmare who would regularly piss all over the set and almost ended up being replaced with Darren McGaven.

I worked with Larry Hagman years later on Dallas. He'd mellowed a bit by that point and was on a second liver. He was still batshit crazy. Though bald and bloated, he still had that twinkle in his eye and I could see Major Nelson in there.

Even in the Dallas reboot, he still had some Major Nelson behnd the bushy eyebrows.

Who was Aunt Clara related to? They never specify that she is Endora's older sister or Maurice's. Yet when Endora loses her powers they shift to a family member who's own powers are dwindling. How old was Clara supposed to be? If the others were 2 or 4 thousand years old the Clara had to be over ten thousand tears old.

York was far and away the superior Durwood. He hit all the notes so well and made the character more than just a comical foil. The way he played his relationship to Marion Lorne's Aunt Clara, for instance, was so caring and sweet. I can't see Sargent pulling off the same thing.

I could be wrong, but I thought Clara was Endora's sister, although I think they were definitely more clear that Arthur and Endora had a sibling relationship.

Esmeralda was not as endearing as Aunt Clara, but I really cannot see Dick Sargent's Darrin have any sweet moments like York did with Clara. He did not even seem to like his kids.

I know this has been mentioned before, but the same can be said for Gladys 1 vs. Gladys 2. The second Gladys was always shrill, whereas the first Gladys had a child like vulnerability and could be goofy and likable. Gladys 2 always seemed to have evil intent.

R69, there is no solid answer as to which side Clara belongs. You're right. Maurice treats her with such tenderness and chivary that we might think they are brother and sister. But, when Endora becomes ill and her powers are diminshed, it is Clara who absorbs Endora's power. Furthermore, Endora and other "aunts" are tasked with deciding what to do with Clara when Clara is deemed to feeble--implying a familial connection.

I concluded, because I clearly care too much, that Clara might have been Endora's older sister, or, even an older aunt or cousin of Endora's.

Though Serena was Sam's cousin, Tabitha and Adam called her "Auntie Serena." It could have been Clara had a similar cousin relationship to Endora or, even, Maurice, and Sam grew up calling her "Aunt Clara." "Aunt" seemed to be an affectionate, but, respectful term used by Sam or Endora for a variety of other witches.

I know. I've thought about it too much. But, watching Bewitched actually had a lot of influence on my life in unexpected ways.

Just a parting quotation before I say good night...

This is my favorite line from the show, from the second episode of the first season as Endora tries to reason with Sam after Sam's marriage to the mortal. It sums up the beautiful writing of those first 2 b&w years:

Endora:

(about being a witch)

We are quicksilver, a fleeting shadow, a distant sound... our home has no boundaries beyond which we cannot pass. We live in music, in a flash of color... we live on the wind and in the sparkle of a star!

Bewitched was great until Dick York left the show.After the 4th. or 5th season the show had lost two of its shinning stars in Marion Lorne and Dick York. I seemed to me that they were just mailing in their performances after that. Ols scripts were recycled (poorly). Dick Sargeant SUCKED that's all. You can;t switch Dicks in the middle of the game!

That is a cool quote R73. I think I remember Sam giving toddler Tabatha a similar speech about what it is to be a witch when she discovers she has powers.

(R72), tell us more about how watching Bewitched had unexpected influence on your life. I'm intrigued! Come on, get with it, Cuz!

Well, to answer briefly (sort of) and vaguely, I was a shy kid. We moved a lot, and, being "different" didn't help me make friends with confidence. So, in the 80s and until I was graduated from high school in '92, I watched a lot of tv. I could always find comfort in the familiar shows from "before my time." I made a study of them. I especially loved Father Knows Best, Hazel...the Sceeen Gems shows in general, but especially Bewitched. They felt safe and comfortable. In college, this hobby paid off. I double majored in art and production. My first major installation was a painting series of Elizabeth Montgomery. I wrote extensively about Bewitched in production. In grad school, my scholarship was based on my knowledge of classic sitcom tropes and techniques. It led me to LA, to the former Columbia Ranch (now Warner Brothers) and to 1164 Morning Glory Circle. I've written of my experiences here before. I worked in TV for many years before taking a slight detour. I no longer base in LA, but, return for work often and visit 1164 when able because what I've done in my life can really be traced to a love a lonely, little gay boy had for this show. I'm glad I had a chance to tell that to Miss Montgomery before she died. By no means is mine a glamorous life, but, it's interesting, and, its due to the inspiring hard work of people like Liz, Agnes Moorehead, Bill Asher, etc.

So, when we have these classic tv threads, I get excited and metaphorically spooge all over them as I have this one. I'm glad to see others still remember and enjoy these programs because, to me, they really were the key to open a door to a world of exceptional people and experiences which I'd never have known otherwise.

1...2...3...

Oh my stars! Mary!

Black man, black man was not the only song Alice Ghostley sang.

This was her signature song:

I love the story of the show - and Elizabeth Montgomery in particular- giving Aunt Clara the idiosyncrasy of collecting doorknobs because Marion Lorne collected them in real life. In fact, in one episode where Aunt Clara proudly showed off one of her prized doorknobs, it was actually one of Lorne's favorites from her collection.

Do not think it was ever made clear whose side of Sam's family the various aunts including Clara came from.

Arthur was Endora's younger brother.

Serena was from Maurice's side of the family.

"Although Aunt Clara was Samantha's favorite aunt, we never find out how the two are related -- on Endora's side or Maurice's. The major problem is that the writers never decided how Clara was related to Samantha. The only relatives of Samantha that is known for certain are: her mother, Endora; her father, Maurice, her Uncle Arthur (Endora's younger brother); her daughter, Tabitha; and her son, Adam. Other relatives are Bertha, Aunt Hagatha, Aunt Enchantra. But like Aunt Clara, we don't know how these aunts are related to Samantha. "

Thanks (R72)! I bet Elizabeth Montgomery liked your story. I envy you getting to meet her!

@R72

Aunt Clara got Endora's powers not because of a family relationship but due to an illness.

Endora is allergic to Dodo birds and unbeknownst to anyone Tabitha zapped one out of her story books to play with. Endora visiting her daughter suddenly cannot zap herself out of the Stephen's house. As it becomes clear her powers are gone Sam calls Dr. Bombay. He explains that due to the illness Endora's powers have left her and "attached" themselves to any witch whose powers are waning. That would be Clara....

R77, were you disappointed when you finally saw 1164 morning Glory Circle? I know I was, with the kind of disappointment a child feels, when I saw pictures that showed the back of it.

Yes and no, r83. Even knowing what to expect, I have to admit, for a moment there was a fleeting tingle of, "it's not real!" More disappointing were the changes to the structure over time. As I have written on other posts at boring length, I worked on the ranch and would often sneak off to 1164 to hide out and poke around when I could. I contend, however that Warners has done a better job maintaining that lot than most others do. Even all timber and mess inside, and, exposed to the elements, it's still a thrill to think of Liz, her two Dicks, and that great cast trotting in and out of that shell of a house.

A shout out to Mabel Albertson. She was great. Another great, touching episode was when her and Frank were fighting and Sam and Endora teamed up to have them meet again where they first met. Even though Endora was usually a monster to Phyllis Stevens. The interaction between Endora and Phyllis was some of the funniest stuff. Especially when Endora flirted with Frank.

I just never understood why they tortured Phyllis and didn't just tell her about Sam

I remember one time Aunt Clara bumbled and wound up in the cellar. She came up and the cellar door, was before and after the broom closet. I don't recall ever seeing or anyone else mentioning a cellar.

You're right, r86. Just once, that same door was a "laundry room" from which Clara entered despite the washer and dryer being in the nook directly across from it. The flat staircase to nowhere later killed that closet entirely, after the fire damage in season 6-7.

Was Elizabeth Montgomery pursued for the Golden Girls? Would she have been a Dorothy?

I would have liked her to do another TV series.

Sargent sucked the meat, literally and acting-wise.

In any show he was in, he sucked. He had that constipated look with mild anger.

Darrin was mentioned to have a sister, but she was never written into the series or mentioned. Serena was from Maurice's side of the family.

I always get the idea that Aunt Clara is from Endora's side. Everyone seems charmed by Clara's goofiness. Indeed, she's the only relative of Samantha's that Darrin truly likes.

Endora seems not to hate, but to be embarrassed by Clara, as a true relation would, while Maurice treats her like an amusement, like most of the mortals do. Something that is likable and charming in small doses do to her weirdness.

I agree, Endora always seemed to be embarrassed by Uncle Arthur too.

In PARTS: The Clonus Horror, Sargent demonstrates the same low hum of detached, bored anger which typified his work. The film was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 to great effect.

[quote]Darrin was mentioned to have a sister, but she was never written into the series or mentioned.

Well, there's an inconsistency right there. How could she be mentioned yet never mentioned?

r82

I just viewed that episode and Endora says, "You mean a complete stranger has my powers?" And Dr Bombay says, "No it' would have to be a relative."

Neither Endora or Maurice call Clara, "Aunt Clara" but on "Petticoat Junction," Kate didn't call "Uncle Joe", "uncle" either.

I always got the feeling Clara was Endora's Aunt.

You should do inconsistencies on "Petticoat Junction" "Green Acres" and "Beverly Hillbillies."

The Hooterville of "Green Acres," was much different from the Hooterville of "Petticoat Junction."

Aunt Clara was in Strangers on a Train.

One thing I hated about Bewitched was it was supposed to be suburban New York City, but you could see things like palm trees, in the background, and other non-native things, that clearly shouldn't be there.

"No it' would have to be a relative"

That still does not clear up whose "sister" or "aunt" Aunt Clara was to my mind. She could be related to Endora by blood or marriage

Loved Phyllis

And I loved how Endora flirted with Mr. Stevens.

"Endora seems not to hate, but to be embarrassed by Clara"

Endora always stuck me as someone who was on top of her game and had little patience for those whom were not.

Aside from her grandchildren who of course due to their youth were not expected to have full command of their powers, Endora seemed to always prefer witches that weren't sloppy in their use of magic.

The first time Endora and Darrin meet at the new Stephen's house the former asks for an ashtray or something and is mortified that Sam hands it to her instead of using levitation.

Aunt Clara though well intentioned and loving was probably seen as a loose cannon by her family and maybe even other witches. Her inability to cast spells correctly, fly/land properly and so forth could in theory expose her as a witch to mortals and or the very existence of them all for that matter. Sort of like that couple in "Bettlejuice" that are warned about exposing proof of life after death to the living.

Taking this conversation to the extreme there had to be some place or remedy for aged witches and warlocks. That is where the choice of Aunt Clara becoming earth bound or an object came in. Her boyfriend "Ockey" simply decided to live as a mortal (or close enough as he could) by purchasing a castle in Scotland and running it as a hotel.

It does seem as with humans witches and warlocks can become infirm with age and suffer loss of their abilities. Endora, Maurice,,Aunt Hagatha and Aunt Enchantra all seem to be either not that much younger or even the same age as Aunt Clara but they are all in full possession of their powers.

Clara couldn't have been that *weak* when you think about it. She was summoned to participate in the coven to determine Tabitha's powers. Then there was that fantastic feat of bravado when a coven was called to determine her powers where she made the entire group of witches vanish. Clara later *hinted* to Sam that when you love someone very much anything was possible.

I can't be the only person who didn't realize that Serena was Elizabeth Montgomery in a wig. Same thing for Jeannie and her bitch sister.

Why they went along with that farce even to the extent of giving Serena a name under the screen credits is a mystery to us all.

As for IDOJ always preferred the brunette sister to Jennie. She seemed so much more "fun" than goody two-shoes Jeannie.

Both Serena and Jennie's sister you can picture in some bar in Paris smoking Gauloises, dressed to the nines and having scandalous affairs.

Indeed Serena never looked better than her first appearance in hospital when Sam just delivered Tabitha. That fur coat, gloves, handbag, all pure Upper Eastside Manhattan super bitch chic.

I like to imagine young Clara was a big-hearted, eccentric bohemian type who lived exactly as she pleased with no regard to the mores of witch society, and was great friends with every type of mortal and mystical being. This would be a partial motivation for both Clara's easy acceptance of Sam and Darrin's marriage, and the exasperation the older witches showed in dealing with her in her dotage.

The most surprising "inconsistency" for me didn't even happen in a Bewitched episode. The first time I watched "Brian's Song" I flipped out at the first scene of Gale Sayers at home and realizing they lived in Sam and Darrin's house. Someone should splice in footage of Gladys Kravitz peeking in the window, then screaming, "Abner! There are black people living in the Stevens house!"

R101 - "Endora always stuck me as someone who was on top of her game and had little patience for those whom were not."

Same here.

It almost seems the first year is a totally different show than subsequent years, much like the show with the most unrealized potential, Lost in Space (ruined b/c of a mincing queen and a case of the cheaps following the first season.) Early Bewitched is sexy and adult like, later Bewitched, while still good, is campy and technicolor.

Nancy Kovacs would have been a fantastic "irregular" cast member to annoy both Darren and Samantha, maybe even uniting with Endora to try and break them up. She was very attractive and exotic looking, and could also have figured into an ad campaign. A shame they did not keep her in the cast.

This series had a totally amazing cast all around--no wonder so many gay kids identified with it--the "secret life" of the witches and the nice, friendly and/or magical people. And Uncle Arthur made us all feel better about our little gay selves.

LOVED Kasey Rogers, so cute, and she seemed to fit in with Larry more than Louise #1.

Someone find those scenes with Darren diving from year one and post them--I don't know how.

Jeannie was NOT a goody two-shoes. She was kind, fun, spoiled, and very naive, but not a goody two-shoes.

I grew up watching Bewitched in repeats after school and I had no idea Serena was played by EM. It really rocked my young fucking mind when they wound up on The Flinstones. Now THAT'S an inconsistency.

Glad to see the hatred for Dick Sargent. He sucked the life right out of the show. Looked like even Erin Murphy hated him. Even worse it looked like he hated Erin Murphy.

Speaking of Erin Murphy, whoever found her was a fucking genius. She was the cutest thing ever. They were only giggles and mommy and daddies, and a twitch of the nose when she first started but damn if the little witch didn't hit her mark every time. During the last season she even lead in three or four shows. For those old to have watched it when it aired did the audience really fall for Tabitha? Was her birth a big deal?

A young Aunt Clara

Look how Adam turned out.

(R104), I noticed the house too last week when I saw Brian's Song on GET TV. Love your splicing idea! Aunt Clara as a free spirited bohemian made me imagine a time travel story back to the Roaring 20s. Can't you see Serena as a flapper and Endora and the aunts as Mame-esque bohemians? Sam, Darrin and Uncle Arthur could get mixed up with gangsters and bootleggers. Larry would be the mob kingpin and Abner would be his flunky. Gladys would be, well, Gladys.

Dick York was insufferable as Darrin. He played "exasperated," and that's it. It was so much better when Sargent came in.

[quote]Barbara Eden was a poor man's Dolores Gray

But without the horse face.

Regarding The Flintstones.

Many period shows or actors appeared or rather were represented in that cartoon series. Ann Margaret, The Addams Family, and of course Samantha Stephens to name a few.

Jackie Gleason was advised at the time by many to sue the creators of The Flintstones as it was an obvious rip off of "The Honeymooners". But the man always declined saying he didn't want to be known as a man who took something away from children.

The actors who provided voices for the Flintstone characters where offered standard flat rate pay or a smaller amount plus a percentage of residuals. They all turned down the latter taking the money and running. According to an interview with the actress who supplied Wilma's voice "we all thought the thing would last one year, who knew it would be running twenty years from then all over the world?".

Any ideas on what were some of the higher rated episodes of Bewitched? How well did it do in the ratings overall?

Not sure of episode, but here is a season by season ranking.

It was the number 2 show its first year (I think Bonanza was number 1. I believe it was ABC's first big hit. The Darrin switch did come with a big drop, although part of that was also probably increasingly stale and repetitive writing and changing times.

October 1964–April 1965: #2/31.0

October 1965–April 1966: #7/25.9 (tied with The Beverly Hillbillies)

October 1966–April 1967: #7/23.4 (tied with Daktari and The Beverly Hillbillies)

October 1967–April 1968: #11/23.5

October 1968–April 1969: #11/23.3 (tied with Mission: Impossible and The Red Skelton Hour)

October 1969–April 1970: #24/20.6 (tied with The NBC Saturday Night Movie and The F.B.I.)

October 1970–April 1971: Not in the Top 30

October 1971–April 1972: Not in the Top 30

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Finally, trivia:

Ratings

season 1 #2

Season 2 #7

Season 3 #7

Season 4 #11

Season 5 #11

Season 6 #24

Season 7 not in top 30

Season 8 not in top 30

Switch to Dick Sargent as Darrin sent Bewitched down 13 points in ratings at first.

Maybe if the transition was handled differently that is explaining why "Darrin" had suddenly changed thing would have been different. But then again what could they say? However by not saying anything and merely introducing a new Darrin it seemed to have made things worse.

The house that was used in the exterior shots of Bewitched was actually "Blown Up" in an episode of Tim Allen's Home Improvement.Tim and Al and The sexy girl were trying to fix the house for Tim's friend Benny and show the process on the show. Naturally Tim leaves the gas on inside the house and eventually "BOOOOOM"

No one was hurt of course, but I'm sure a lot of hearts were broken.

They should have given York a lighter schedule, some sitting down, trying anything to work with him. Maybe a Brian Kieth or Fred MacMurray type shooting schedule. A reduced role, record his shit first for the episodes, then he's gone for 8 months.... It fucking killed the ratings and the character of Darrin Stevens became a back burner anyone. With Serena, Endora, Esmeralda, fuck even Larry and Tabitha did more than Darrin. "Sam where IS Darrin?"

The link at R115 has some interesting stats. The displays of affection definitely dropped off (which might be consistent with a marriage) and the bedroom scenes with Dick York were non-existent (she was in bed with York a fair amount.

One thing I noticed watching the black and white episodes recently, is while inn 1964 they could not say "lets go have sex", the show did a good job implying they had an active sex life. When York would ask her to come upstairs it was clear he did not want to read poetry, and her sleep attire was not exactly flannel night gowns.

In the first (or second?) episode where Darrin and Sam move into their new home and Sam wants to put everything away in the kitchen before going to bed, Darrin was all over Sam.

He starts feeling his oats and says something about "come upstairs.... you can do that tomorrow". To which Sam replies "you said that last night.....".

In the end Darrin gives some sort of gesture and tells Sam "not to take to long" or some such. Sam glances around the kitchen at all the boxes and then "bam" zaps everything away. With a smile and slight laugh says "maybe I can taper off.." *LOL*

The first two seasons it really was a sophisticated, adult comedy. The style was still classic too. She was always a beautiful women. Even as she went into middle age she still had it. But those first couple of years she was just over the fucking top. She couldn't look bad if she tried.

Just think she basically had two babies the first two seasons. They had to shoot around her the first season and do as much as they could without her until she had the baby (she became pregnant after the pilot), and the second baby was written in as Tabitha.

It is too bad they could not have gone one more year without a baby, because that did change the show a bit.

Absolutely GORGEOUS here

Rumor has it that the twins who played Adam were Tony Curtis's "love children" and put up for adoption.

I think she actually looked better in the mid to late seasons than earlier on.

Wow. I just read that article. She was a smart cookie not a lot of people did it back then but she maintained 20% ownership of Bewitched. Can you imagine how much money that made her through the years?

Blonde or brunette EM had it going on in spades.

As a blonde you can just see her fitting into Westport, Darin, Greenwich; waiting at the station for Darrin to get home on the 5:45 in a Land Rover. Or, maybe a BMW.

Dick York vs. Dick Sargent:

Can anyone really imagine DS chanting "Yaga suzi, yaga suzi, yaga suzi, zim"? With a kazoo!

Her daughter works on Mad Men behind the camera.

The arrangements made for Fred MacMurray and Brian Keith were unusual and required a lot of time, effort, and planning. It was hard on the producers, writers, and the other actors.

Dick York was not the star of Bewitched, Elizabeth Montgomery was. Plus, she didn't care all that much for him (read the article in the Daily Mail). There is no way they would have made such an difficult arrangement for him.

And they did explain "health reasons" when he left. But Mary Grace Canfield (who guested for a few episodes after Alice Pearce died and before they got Sandra Gould) said his drug problems (the painkillers) were out of control almost from the beginning. He should have sued the producers of Inherit the Wind when he could have.

Dick York was permanently injured on the set of the 1959 Western, They Came to Cordura.

In York's own words: "Gary Cooper and I were propelling a handcar carrying several 'wounded' men down [the] railroad track. I was on the bottom stroke of this sort of teeter-totter mechanism that made the handcar run. I was just lifting the handle up as the director yelled 'cut!' and one of the "wounded" cast members reached up and grabbed the handle. I was suddenly, jarringly, lifting his entire weight off the flatbed—one hundred and eighty pounds or so. The muscles along the right side of my back tore. They just snapped and let loose. And that was the start of it all: the pain, the painkillers, the addiction, the lost career."

"My Sister Eileen," featuring Dick York, is on TCM right now!

[quote] The arrangements made for Fred MacMurray and Brian Keith were unusual and required a lot of time, effort, and planning. It was hard on the producers, writers, and the other actors.

According to Herbie J. Pilato in his biography of Elizabeth Montgomery, the same kind of allowances were made for Agnes Moorehead after Dick York left, causing a lot of friction between her and EM, who was nominally (by that time) the star of the show.

Here's a quote from Montgomery re Moorehead in the later years of Bewitched:

[italic] We'd do the schedule around her and everything. And she was cranky. I used to think, "I can't believe this. Why are we accommodating this woman?! If I'd try to do this, everybody would say, 'What?! Get your ass on the set and stop behaving like an ass!' Right? And of course I wouldn't have done it anyway, but that used to bother me (that Moorehead did it)." [/italic]

I think they missed an opportunity to recapture some fresh angles and a bit of depth about "difference" (as in the first couple of years) by not making Adam a mortal. That always bothered me. I remember hoping he would fail the magic test. Then Endora, Maurice & Co. would have had to unconditionally love a mortal and it might have led to a wittier relationship between Darren and the "witches" or even Sam and Darren that just the repetition of formula.

For those of you that see how I Dream of Jeannie attempted to both match and outdo Bewitched at its own game, apparently had Jeannie not been cancelled the season after the marriage, it would have delivered on one of the major teases that Bewitched never fulfilled: Mrs Bellows was to have discovered Jeannie's powers and origin, and would have been convinced to keep it a secret.

Hey, let's never mention the Bewitched (uh, gulp, hmmm) movie, ok?

I'm in the minority, but I never could stand EM's "hippie chick" makeover of later seasons. She was beautiful and appealing up until then. As to Nancy Kovacks---wow! What a stunner. I do remember being somewhat confused when she showed up as an Italian client of Darrin's, Clio Venita, who Serena turns into a monkey.

Adam and Tabitha....The Cartoon....They grow up and go to live with their mother's relatives who run a circus. eeeekkkkkk

So am watching Bewitched on television last night. It was the episode from the last Dick York as Darrin days when the Stephens were supposed to be in Chicago meeting clients with Aunt Clara home baby sitting Tabitha. Tabs changes her stuffed monkey into a real one and Sam pops back to sort things out but is seen by Louise Tate.

Anyway at the end Sam along with Tabitha go with Darrin to his office in town to help clear out his desk as he's been fired (again) from McMann and Tate.

It is obvious the downtown is a back lot set but at the end as the family is getting back into their car the camera pans out and you can see *huge* mountains on the horizon. Don't think you can see the Palisades from Madison Avenue. *LOL*

The whole premise of the episode was silly. If Sam didn't want anyone to see her she could have popped out when the doorbell rang. Why would a card carrying witch go and hide behind a staircase? Especially when she was not supposed to be home in the first place. Telling Aunt Clara "remember I am *not* here" doesn't cut it.

I preferred the Dick York episodes, but his last season or last half season was pretty weak -- in part due to working around his absence due to his health issues (Sam told and unseen Darrin she was pregnant over the phone) and in part because the writing was becoming a bit stale.

It should have ended when the real Darrin had to leave. The money offered to keep going was just to irresistible. Even for an already loaded Montgomery.

Wonder if Elizabeth Montgomery got to keep some of the outfits she wore on Betwitched. Some of that now vintage Pucci, Gucci, Louis Vuitton etc... is worth money to those who collect such things.

Also those sleeveless A-Line shifts really suited Sam.

Yeah I hated her hippie look. Classic couture was what her looks were most suited for.

Even when she was looking a hot mess she was gorgeous.

I liked the hippie look.

Was not a great fan of Sam's "hippie" look. Less so when she played Serena and sang that horrible song "If in". It was like watching a middle-aged suburban housewife having a mid-life crisis.

AntennaTV is showing the last episodes before Dick York got the push. You can tell now what we didn't know then something is going on; Darrin's screen time is so minimal. When he is around it's sitting down, laying down or briefly standing before leaving the room (often in a huff).

To balance this out we are getting more Endora, Aunt Clara, Larry and Louise Tate along with assorted clients.

Last night Gladys was outside being nosey and then ran to Abner. In the background could swear the house seen next door was the one used for Major Anthony Nelson in I Dream of Genie.

She wasn't a hippie, she just parted her hair down the middle. That was the same as "That Girl" the last season when Ann lost the trademark bangs and parted her hair midsection.

Dick York was not pushed out of the role. He became too physically debilitated to do it. He stuck it out for as long as he could.

[quote]The most surprising "inconsistency" for me didn't even happen in a Bewitched episode. The first time I watched "Brian's Song" I flipped out at the first scene of Gale Sayers at home and realizing they lived in Sam and Darrin's house. Someone should splice in footage of Gladys Kravitz peeking in the window, then screaming, "Abner! There are black people living in the Stevens house!"

They used that interior for an episode of "Circle of Fear" (aka "Ghost Story," the Sebastian Cabot takeoff of "Night Gallery"). Since it was the 1970s, the living room had been "updated" in brown paneling, urine yellow and rust tones. It was like Sam and Darrin had hired the worst decorator ever, and I kept expecting Elizabeth Montgomery to come down the stairs.

The exterior of the house is still there on the lot. I watch "The Middle" (I know, you all hate Patricia Heaton) and in some scenes of their street the Stephens' house is right there in the background. I also remember seeing it on the street where the Partriges lived on "The Partrige Family."

IDunno, for such an "expert," you really "don't know." The Bewitched facade, built in 1959, is on the former Columbia Ranch where the Screen Gems shows were all filmed. It remains there next to the former Hazel house from the first few seasons, later used on Gidget. The house from Father Knows Best/I Dream of Jeannie/Wilson house from Dennis The Menace (built in the 30s for Blondie) is across the street next to The Partridge Family/Kravitz house. These structures surround the park with the fountain which, sixty years after it was built, was used for the intro of Friends. The lot remains, 60% unchanged as The Warner Brothers Ranch, and, as another poster mentioned is used for filming today. I work there from time to time and made a study of its long history. This site has some good information.

This was the site I meant, not the Wikipedia link. Sorry.

I looked up the ranch on Google maps. It'd be fun if someone marked up a map to show which houses served in which shows/movies.

I can do that r156. It won't be today, but this weekend. It'd be easy enough to do.

I like the swimming pool.

I loved EM's classic mid-'60s look, but I loved her contemporary '70s look just as well. Made her look younger IMHO.

I always wished I had their powers. Turn into a beautiful blonde, have the power to see through men's clothles..mainly their crotch area. Travel back in time, Roman Empire..get the big lottery numbers. Such powers indeed.

Why did the I Dream of Jeannie house only have one bedroom? I have never heard of a house having one bedroom.

Especially since the same "house" facade enclosed a four bedroom house when the Andersons lived there in Father Knows Best.

The Jeannie interior set, in its many forms (about six variations), was alwwys weird. Even as a kid I found it odd that there was only one bedroom and the upstairs was just Tony's little den,

Mrs. Stevens had the better hippie look.

I still want to know that since the witches could make themselves look like anyone or anything why Endora and the other aging witches didn't make themselves young and beautiful.

Can you imagine anyone today not taking advantage of those powers to become rich and powerful. Say what you will about Darrin, he wasn't greedy.

One of their powers I most wish for is the ability to go back in time or bring those that have passed away to the present and of course the making yourself younger thing that like I said, for some reason the older witches and warlocks didn't take advantage of.

[quote]why Endora and the other aging witches didn't make themselves young and beautiful.

You missed the point, that was in the series the first two years then lost.

Witches COULD make themselves younger and prettier but why bother? They liked themselves as they are.

As Endorra told Darrin, "What to you is normal, is to us asinine."

A witch doesn't turn herself young. She casts a spell that makes other see her as young. It takes a lot of energy to maintain. At least that's my theory.

R164

Sam and the other witches did not possess the power of resurrection, rather they are able to move persons back and forth though the continuum of time.

When a spell brings George Washington into the Stephen's home then another sends him back he apparently told Martha Washington about the "future". We know this because they both are zapped back and Mrs. Washington begs her husband's forgiveness about doubting his "fanciful tales".

Bewitched was careful to steer away from the more black arts questions of witchcraft. Remember the United States then was still a very religious nation. As it was the creators of the show thought the concept would be a hard sell to American audiences.

Sam does everything a normal well off suburban wife and mother does including volunteering at their local church. That implies like most other families of the 1970's the Stephens were members of and active in their local congregation. Nothing is ever mentioned about what would happen if a witch entered consecrated ground. We also never hear a peep about Tabitha or Adam being christened.

As for changing themselves into a younger version apparently other witches can "tell" who is "in there". When Endora changes herself into a Pelican to spy on Darrin Sam tells her she never looked better. So the point would only be to fool humans a group that most witches seem not to bother much with if they can.

Witches can change themselves into inanimate objects and remain that way for years. As Sam found out by encountering a bed warmer and chair that are witches. Aunt Clara is threatened with such a choice because of her waning powers.

Thank you R12 and R68. Has anyone worked on the show from when they did the Salem episodes? I have the hots for the sailor from the fisherman statue that Serena brings to life. I understand that he was a Salem local actor.

Aunt Clara rocked. She was my favorite.

An unofficial tour of the Columbia Ranch/Warner Ranch.

Uncle Arthur gay or not? In one episode he has a son, Samantha's cousin Henry. In another episode Uncle Arthur introduces a witch who is going to be"the next Mrs.Uncle Arthur."

His character was supposed to be a prankster. not a gay warlock

Whose sister was Aunt Clara supposed to be? They never clarify that. Clearly Endora hates her, while Maurice treats her kindly. Yet one never gets the impression that Clara is Maurice's older sister.

R161

Well Major Nelson was a bachelor thus perhaps the suits didn't see the need for a house with more than one bedroom. Jeannie lived in her bottle.

On a more serious note another bedroom would invite some tongue wagging about Major Nelson and Jeannie "living" in the same house unmarried.

R 165, R166 and R167, really excellent posts. Seriously, if someone were to do a thesis on this show this would be the kind of carefully thought out and logical paper I would want to read. Kudos!

The fact that Blair had an artsy streak was carried throughout the entire series. She painted the palm trees for "South Pacific" and was the only one carving pumpkins for the Halloween episode where everyone believed Mrs. Garrett is possessed.

Go home Tootsie you're drunk.

In at least 2 episodes you are contradicted R166 and R167. Both episodes involve Aunt Clara. In one episode Sam casts a spell on Aunt Clara making her 10 years younger so that she may remember how to reverse her spell creating 2 Jonathans. In the Ben Franklin episode Samantha clearly states to Aunt Clara that she has brought back Ben Franklin. It seemed to mean resurrection of the dead to me, as it had never been done before.

R173

While maybe not on Bewitched per se, there have been some studies/papers done on the number of such shows during that period and their cultural relevance.

Both Samantha and Jeannie are powerful women (or whatever) that easily could do without men for most things. But yet both yearn for domesticity and to live normal mortal female lives.

This occurring against the background of what was going on in the 1970's with the liberation movement and women's roles in American society beginning to change.

Darrin and Major Nelson raging against their wives using their powers can be seen as husbands of the period tried to assert dominance over their wives. That is even if a wife was smart and could easily get work that paid more than he earned her place was in the home subservient to her husband.

If you replaced "no witchcraft" with "no wife of mine is going to get a job" or "I wear the pants in this family" you'd get the same thing heard in many American homes at that time.

More good points R177.

Funny I was watching the old Make Room for Daddy and OMG what a sexist show that was but it was typical for its time. Man, even the mother Kathy tells her little girl Linda how she has to behave in a Stepford wife kind of way and one of the wives, Bunny, has to beg her husband for a chance to go back to work even though her husband Charlie is a kind of wimp of a guy, he was still in charge.

Darren was kind of what in the 70s they called a male chauvinist.

It's scary that so many women today aren't up in arms about the way the right wants to take things back to how they were for women. Shocking to me the way this past November's election went. If I, being a man, feel this way I have a problem imagining how every woman in this country doesn't feel the need to fight.

Even as a kid I often wanted Sam and Jennie to tell their husbands to shove it and do what the hell they wanted. Then again my grandmother was a Suffragette. I grew up around strong women who did what they wanted despite the times they lived in.

Thanks again for your well though out posts.

"I have the hots for the sailor from the fisherman statue that Serena brings to life."

And here is his wiki entry...

Ahhhh! Robert Brown of HERE COME THE BRIDES. Love him--and such a wonderful voice!

The one thing I never like about JEANNIE was the set for Maj. Nelson's house. It always seemed so cheap. The Stevens' home, on the other hand, is one of my favorite sets of all time. I would love to live in a replica of it.

Why was Dr.Bellows so gung ho on "catching" Maj. Nelson? Did he suspect Maj. Nelson was up to some nefarious activities?

[quote]Even as a kid I often wanted Sam and Jennie to tell their husbands to shove it and do what the hell they wanted.

But part of the fun was that, although the husbands fancied themselves "in charge," they really weren't and even as they barked orders, these orders were always wrong.

When the male intoned, "I'm the man of the house!" it was clear he would soon suffer a pratfall.

R176

Except that when Sam and her relatives conjure up historical persons they are not *dead*, at least no to themselves.

Resurrection by common meaning returning life to a corpse. Queen Victoria, Ben Franklin, George and Martha Washington, along with the rest do not look as they did when they died, but at some other point in their lives. The fact they all seem to have been doing something before being "disturbed" to me reinforces the theory of time being on a continuum.

If anything it seems witches can bring back the spirits of these persons.

Also Sam and the other witches speak of "sending back" those they have conjured up. Not putting them back into their graves as with a reanimated corpse or resurrected person.

In the film Warlock to avoid execution Julian Sand's character is sent forward in time via a portal opened by Satan. His hunter Giles Redferne follows through same in effort to catch. When the Warlock is destroyed he goes up in flames; Redferne goes back to his own time, but does leave a touching note on his tombstone IIRC.

If you believe the concept the past and future are part of a parallel universe. Witches have powers to go back and forth between said universe and or bring others from the past into the present.

YOU'RE OVERTHINKING IT!

Yeah I know, but since am up waiting for Bewitched to come on television.......

Fredd Wayne, who played Ben Franklin on Bewitched is gay and alive at age 90.

He first gained notice playing the leading lady and title role in the WWII Army show, G.I. CARMEN. In the early 50s he played Luther Billis, another role involving comic drag, alongside Mary Martin (and son Larry Hagman) in the London production of South Pacific. Ben Franklin became a specialty role for him, he was a professional go-to man when a Franklin impersonator was desired.

lol I love this thread. Nitpicking Golden Girls inconsistencies is ridiculoua enough (in a fun, entertainting way!), but at least they don't generally bend the laws of physics to further plot lines. Keep at it, bitches! Looking forward to reading more.

I believe that Fredd Wayne who played Ben Franklin also played Santa Claus in the episode "Humbug not to be spoken here".

[quote]The rules of magic were never consistent.

That's why it's called "magic" and not "science," sweetums.

Point taken, R189, however, it is a hallmark of good writing to adhere to internal logic once it is established. It is a hard-and-fast rule in some episodes that witches can't undo each other's spells but they do override each other's spells in other episodes. The limits of witchcraft seem to change depending on which way they need the plot to turn this week.

Remove the spell...

From dreary Dum-Dum...

Enough is enough!

It's getting... hum-drum!

I know Agnes Moorehead was ambivalent about the role, but by God did she ever commit 100 percent to it. Her seriousness as Endora really elevated the show beyond what it could have been with a lesser actor playing it for jokes.

"Aunt Minerva" in the terrible "Tabitha" spinoff is an example of what it could have been.

Re: Endora's age inconsistencies. Perhaps when she admitted to being 1000 years old, she meant that in witch years. Since witches aren't mortals, they aren't bound by human convention or earthly laws, and therefore, do not measure time based on earth's rotation around the sun. 1000 witch years might be 42.575 earth years, and advancing at an undetermined rate.

And when you think about it, since "Bewitched" witches can traverse space and time, traveling to distant worlds and going back in time, Endora would have no use for earth time and likely wouldn't even know her age in earth years.

Don't think it was the number but how witches age that caused so much angst; well at least for Darrin.

After the whole "Salem Maid" bit when Endora forced the issue Darrin realized (surprise) Sam was different in that respect as well.

According to Endora aging for witches is a process that take centuries not years. If Sam was "young" in the 1600's and still so in the 1970's Darrin and every mortal she knows in that show would be dust before she looked like her mother.

R193 In how old must Aunt Clara have been to be teetering on the verge of senility?

Clara never resurrected anyone. She brought them over from the period from when they were living.

For instance, when she brought over George Washington, she brought him from the 1700s, not resurrected dead corpse.

Endora only 1000? She's 2500 if she's a day!

R191

Agnes Moorehead was a true professional actor down to her bones. Regardless of how she may have felt about something, once accepting a part she did her best to live give a great performance.

Personally give the lady credit for sticking it out until the end even with her reservations. Dick York leaving was bad enough, but can you imagine what would have happened without AM as Endora? No one else could pull it off IMHO. Especially during the periods where Darrin (Dick York) was often absent so the scripts had to focus more on other characters.

One of the few good things one likes about Dick Sargent's "Derwood" is that you truly got the impression he and Endora couldn't stand each other. In real life AM and DS got along great however.

Endora would have lied about her age, her being around for the Tudors, her being this number of thousands or that.

I agree that the show didn't take its "world" as seriously as it might - but it had enough of a madcap spirit at its base that it didn't matter all that much.

What I liked best about the show, really, was the very adult, very modern approach taken with Endora's and Maurice's marital separation.

And what was worst was the Darrin character's horrid, stupid attitude about the wonders of witchcraft and its potential for fun and prosperity. Depressing. I know it was necessary, but the approach taken by Dick York and the producers in setting up the character ended up leaving him a haranguing, whiny, shallow twit. Surely a better alternative that could have gotten the necessary friction into place was possible.

Darrin's attitude fit perfectly with a typical White Protestant male of the period or even today.

Imagine finding out everything you had been taught was rubbish and didn't exist (witches, elves, etc... ) and all that went with it actually does. Your wife's family if not herself could zap you off the face of earth, control the forces of nature, move about in time, shape shift, and so forth. Think most of us would be freaked out and probably run miles.

As for Darrin not wanting to avail himself to the "fortunes" of witchcraft, well again that is that mortal/Protestant ethic kicking in. The guy simply believes persons should achieve things based upon hard word, nose to the grindstone as Endora would say. That is one of the reasons Sam loves and remains with Darrin; she wants or at least believes the same.

As Endora and the other witches constantly remind Samantha things/values mortals hold dear have no meaning in their world.

Gg: house had 4 bedrooms but partitioned lanai for Sophia shared ensuite with Dorothy

B: Endora was most powerful witch known but spells were individualized, even Sam couldn't undo Tabatha book creatures.

Charmed: Allisa milanos powers were useless, her brother grew up on whos boss looking to hook allegedly

[quote]how old must Aunt Clara have been to be teetering on the verge of senility?

A-huh, a-huh, a-how, a-how old? a-how old must Aunt-uh, Aunt-uh, Aunt-uh Clara be uh-be, uh-be, uh-be? Oh, oh, oh, uh, old, very old, yes, very, uh-very old, mm-hmmm.

Endora was not the most powerful witch on the show. There was one witch she was deathly afraid of. The one that was going to make Sam marry her son. I could look it up for names but I'm too lazy.

Agnes Moorehead was a lot like Shirley Booth. Both had to be talked into TV, took the role for a quick buck, never thinking it would last. Then when it lasted and they grasped how famous they were because of TV they both ended up loving it.

Agnes was what held the show together. As much as I loved Montgomery it wouldn't have worked with anyone else in the role of Endora. I also loved Endora and Maurice's relationship. Though they looked nothing alike Agnes and Elizabeth were completely believable as mother and daughter. It really seemed like they cared about each other. My other favorite relation ship was Endora as Grandmama. She really played being completely besotted by Tabitha well. Especially the tender moment with Darrin after Tabitha was born. That's my favorite scene.

If we are using the generic *witch* to include warlocks as well Maurice was more powerful than Endora IIRC.

What Endora had going for her was not so much being on top of her game, but that she was older than Samantha (longer time span to develop her powers), and unlike her daughter having no qualms about using same.

When Samantha first fesses up to Darrin about being a witch she says she is "still learning" and "not very good" IIRC. Now again if we are to believe she was alive in the 1600's (Salem Maid) and she is still learning in the 1970's ....

Now am going to contradict myself because don't understand something. When was that "Salem Maid" picture supposedly done? If it was in the 1600's then why was it when Sam was sent back to old Salem in another episode she had no memory. Endora says "how could she? She wasn't born yet" or something. Darrin has to go back and get Sam to place a coin on her head and bow several times (to the East?) etc... for her to get her memory and powers back.

A witch could undo another witch's spells. The issue seemed to be they had to know the exact spell to undo it.

Endorra had equal power with Uncle Arthur, even Samantha stated that.

Maurcie and Endorra were equal, though there were episodes where either one could get the drop on the other one.

Endorra: You may scare Samantha but you certainly don't frighten me

Maurice: You're getting stronger Endorra

Endorra: You're getting older Maurice

[quote]how old must Aunt Clara have been to be teetering on the verge of senility?

She was just drunk constantly

It was never established one way or anther if that really was same in the Salem painting.

It amazes me that, considering the impact he had on the show, that uncle Arthur was only in 11 of 254 episodes. Darren' mother played by Mable Anderson, with her sick headaches was also a scream.

R203 and R207, Endora zapped up that Salem Maid picture. Sam was not around during the original Salem witch trials.

@ 202, I believe the powerful witch Doctor f which you speak is Hepzibah

R210, wrong. It is Carlotta, played by Mercedes McCambridge, who would later voice the demon in "The Exorcist."

Paul Lynde was very busy it seems during the early 1970's which were the final years of Bewitched.

His last appearance in Bewitched was in 1971. However he was also doing "Love American Style" from 1970-1971. Gidget Gets Married came out in 1972. That was just television.

In memory of Paul Lynde's death day 10 January, his least appearance on Bewitched

Uncle Arthur also taught Sam how to drive.

Both Paul Lynde and Alice Ghostley appeared on Bewitched before being brought back to play regular characters.

PL yes, played a driving instructor but was not yet a warlock. Alice Ghostley played a maid (mortal).

Here is yet another inconsistency:

In several episodes Samantha was elected Queen of the Witches. After 2 or 3 episodes it was never mentioned again.

Fast forward to the Dick Sargeant era and Hepzibah is the Queen of the Witches and always has been. No mention is made about Samantha being Queen at all.

Of all the t.v. sitcom houses I always loved the "Bewitched" house the best. Just beautiful!

Wasn't there a spin-off show where Tabitha was a grown up hot teenager?

They did have a Tabitha spin off. The only thing I remember about it was a very young, very gorgeous Robert Urich

You can watch Tabitha on YouTube. Lisa Hartman and Robert Urich are very good. The rest is shit. Especially her brother Adam who takes on the Darrin role of getting his sister a job but she has to promise not to use witchcraft on it. They also mess with Bewitched lore. Adam becomes older and is a mortal. But Lisa Hartman was really good as Tabitha. The rest shit.

L O V E Uncle Arthur and Darrin's mother! And I think the man who played Darren's father--the first actor--was quite handsome for an older guy. This series had one of TV's all time great casts. I met Paul Lynde in a bar, walked up to him and said, "Hi Uncle Arthur," and he laughed and laughed. He was a very nice, modest man. He had a hot Hispanic man as arm candy. Obviously, long time ago.

The Bewitched kitchen is so modern looking it would still be a great kitchen today.

Does anyone remember the pilot with Liberty Williams as a sort of Toni Tennille–looking Tabitha (spelled "Tabatha" in the credits)?

What did Lynde die of? I think it was a heart attack but I don't really remember. He was my grandfather's favorite on Hollywood Squares. My grandfather watched just for him.

The first season was produced by Danny Arnold who was both a perfectionist and a holy terror. On Barney Miller, he would shoot until 3 am. Jerry Davis produced the second season and went on to "That Girl". EM and Asher had more and more control after that and their company was credited as the production company during the last few seasons. Arnold had a particular vision for the series, highlighting underlying themes like prejudice and acceptance. The scripts that year probably were the best. Later on, they relied more on gimmicks related to the magic and the performances were more one note--Dick Sargent fit in perfectly. They also recycled plots endlessly.

William Asher made low budget beach blanket movies during hiatus. The schlockmeister sensibility definitely crept into the show as he and EM had more control.

Moorehead made her displeasure with the show evident in interviews from the beginning. She only wanted to do a limited number of episodes each year from the start. She saw it as a sitcom and a pay check. Given that she was reduced to playing a grotesque in "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" by the time Bewitched came along, she probably was a bit too much the grand lady with her attitude.

York was a better actor than Sargent (just look at his other work). He also had much better scripts. Crenna also was much better actor than Sargent, but he'd crossed over from comedy to drama and had started appearing in films by the time York left, so he probably wouldn't have been available. Whatever chemistry Sargent had with EM wasn't evident in the Samantha-Darrin relationship at the end.

I just fucking hated Sargent as Darrin. Unwatchable. Fortunately they kept him in the den with a headache quite a lot. Erin Murphy carried the show more than he did towards the end. They sure got their money's worth out of that little girl.

R223

Paul Lynde died of a heart attack. A long time smoker and drinker he suffered from coronary disease.

Depending upon which story you believe Mr. Lynde died while having a tryst with a young hustler and the use of poppers (amyl nitrate) brought on or made the heart attack worse. The same young trick also split the scene without calling 911 or otherwise summoning assistance when Mr. Lynde began having the attack, basically leaving him to die.

Debates have raged about that story and IIRC the identity of the man in question has never been found out. Considering the attitudes towards gays even then and considering Mr. Lynde was a celebrity am guessing the young man high tailed it out of there for not wanting to become "involved".

Dick Sargent always looked like someone pissed him off as Darrin. In fact his Darrin reminds me of some old Mary's on this chat; bitter and angry.

Sargent's Darrin always seemed to be barking at Samantha most of time. That or giving glowering looks at whoever was ticking him off at that particular moment (Sam, Endora, Uncle Arthur, etc...). Know some say otherwise but don't see the same sort of affection vibe between Dick Sargent's Darrin as opposed to Dick York.

Am sure Mr. Sargent was totally different off screen, and as a gay man working in Hollywood he had his share of problems. Losing his first lover and not being able to publically grieve didn't help either.

Thanks IDunno. Sad if he was left to die alone, especially if he was conscious but not physically able to call for help.

At the link a nice (audio only )interview with Liz. Especially touching is her memory of Marion Lorne.

Tabitha had more first days at school than any other TV character.

The series should have ended in 1968. That was the year Marion Lorne died and Dick York left because he was too sick to work any longer.

Dick Sargeant was terrible in the part of Darrin. He and EM had no chemistry what so ever.

They should have ended when they were on top. The last 4 years of Bewitched were dreadful.

Like a lot of young gay boys of the '60s I adored Bewitched. But I really must've been instilled with a pop culture sensibility. I always felt whatever was new was "better". Maybe all those "new and improved" products they always advertised back then?

This applied to Bewitched as well. ABC ran reruns of the show Monday through Friday mornings at 11:30 and although I liked them, I remember thinking they weren't as good as the new episodes on Thursday nights. Then the following year, those would be on in the morning and they too didn't seem as good as the Thursday night ones. I know this is dumb, but this is the way my brain worked.

I also thought new actors in old roles were better. I loved new Darren much more than old Darren. First of all, he seemed more age appropriate for Samantha. First Darren was a cranky, bossy old man. In my young brain, I grouped him with scowling characters who yelled a lot like Moe of The Three Stooges, Granny Clampett, and Lucy van Pelt.

Dick Sargent was a younger and softer man. I thought he was just fine and one time when he appeared toweling himself off after a shower while wearing a robe, and we got to see a dark thatch of chest hair, I developed one of my earliest crushes on a TV character.

I always liked him a lot and remember when he came out, wondering if I had somehow sensed something about him. I also remember how GREAT Elizabeth Montgomery was, I feel like some entertainment show asked her for a comment about Sargent and she said something like, "I'll tell you, he sure was a great kisser!". This was such a rad thing to say at the time, not too far from the Enquirer era wondering if Rock Hudson had given Linda Evans AIDS when he kissed her on Dynasty.

Then Sargent was the Grand Marshal of LA Pride and Elizabeth rode in the car with him and you know, I'm sorry, I just can't get on the bandwagon that he sucked that bad.

He was fine. Bewitched was not a particularly respected show. It's not like it was ever seen as "important" TV, and I even seem to recall ABC throwing it up against All in the Family in Bewitched's final season.

There was a moment in the '80s when those of us around my age realized we all had a love and devotion to Bewitched in common. I remember seeing Jaffe Cohen of Funny Gay Males do a Bewitched bit and I remember guys in the audience laughing so hard because it had been such a great thing for us growing up in the '60s.

Oh, and what the fuck is WRONG with the queen or two in this thread who didn't LOVE the Serena episodes. (Except for the one where she and Uncle Arthur got jobs and they totally ripped off Lucy and Ethel at the candy factory.)

Did you all know that Elizabeth Montgomery resented the popularity of I Dream Of Jeanie? She felt it was a rip-off of Bewitched and would bristle at the mere mention of the show. (True story!!)

On this date in 1966, Samantha gave birth to Tabitha on the "And Then We Were Three" episode.

Paul Lynde died of AIDS. Of course they say it's something else, because no one technically dies of AIDS, but to say he died of heart problems is like shooting someone and saying they died because their heart stopped.

Well technically.

I thought he fell out of a window or something.

That was a bf of his. Happened at the Saint Francis in SF when both were staying there.

R224

From what one understands if you valued your life fans didn't approach Agnes Moorehead and ask about Bewitched in later years. Apparently she did not like being known or wish to be remembered for playing a witch on television. Something about her upbringing. That and AM had an extensive body of work ranging from radio to stage and screen

How did she feel about Genghis Khan, r238, the movie that ultimately killed her?

Considering AM died barely 2 years after BEWITCHED went off the air, there weren't many "later years."

I have to be honest, if I'd ever met her when I was a child I would not have known her from anything other than Bewitched. There was no Google or imdb back in the day. I wonder if she made allowances for kids or did she give their parents a dirty look for not teaching them her filmography? Even though I did watch Twilight Zone as a kid I wouldn't have recognized her because she looked so different as Endora.

I think I did see some movie she was in, maybe something with Betty Davis. Maybe that Baby Jane one. I'm not sure. I would have been very young. My parents had no qualms about me watching horror movies or TV shows even though they did sometimes give me nightmares. I guess they thought nothing could be worse than what I saw on TV happening to little black children in the south or to young men in Viet Nam by just watching the 6pm news.

She didn't exactly look all Endora-ish when she wasn't on Bewitched. I can't see any kids calling her out in public.

Moorehead was some sort of Christian. Her father was a Presbyterian minister and she developed a relationship with Muskingum College which has Presbyterian heritage. She also had a relationship with Bob Jones University, which is interesting when you consider the lesbian rumors about her. I wouldn't be surprised if she was an old school Presbyterian--no commerce or reading comics on the Lords Day, that kind of thing, along with a lot of Calvinist smugness and rectitude.

R236 One of Lynde's "friends" died by "accidentally" falling out of window.

I guess it was always suspected that Lynde pushed him out. As a result people in Hollywood developed a philosophy, if you get on the wrong side Paul Lynde stay away from open windows.

The main inference about the falling was drugs.

Lynde surrounded himself with people like Paul Baressi (?sp), the guy who outed and then un-outed Travolta. He didn't bother bouncing a hooker like that out a window.

Lynde mostly was a danger to himself--talking back to cops, being a racists in line at a Burger King near Evanston, that kind of thing.

Endora schools Samantha and us all:

Am watching Bewitched and it is the episode where Tabitha has zapped "Prince Charming" out of her Sleeping Beauty story book.

Cousin Charlie of course charms every woman he meets and Larry Tate wants to use him in a television commercial for a cosmetic account.

Sam tells this to Endora and she replies she would love to be there when "it happens" or rather "doesn't happen". Sam asks her meaning and Endora replies "what have I always told you?" " Prince Charlie is a projection, a product of witchcraft, he has no substance." Endora goes on to make Samantha understand that a camera can capture no image because "nothing" is there.

We also learn later via Endora that it isn't because Tabitha isn't casting her spell correctly to send "Prince Charming" back, but that he doesn't want to go. The guy confirms this and it forces Sam to come up with an idea.

This should settle the whole resurrection debate. As one explained before Ben Franklin and the lot aren't raised from the dead, but moved from one time into another.

One great thing about this episode it was one of those without Darrin (Dick York out sick) and Endora is in the entire thing. Nice to see Sam and her mother doing teamwork witchcraft. *LOL* Without Darrin to provoke and or annoy Endora she was positively lovely.

[quote]This should settle the whole resurrection debate. As one explained before Ben Franklin and the lot aren't raised from the dead, but moved from one time into another.

No, because Prince Charming wasn't a real person but rather a character someone made up. Ben Franklin actually existed.

But the camera thing is like "I Dream of Jeannie" when she gets married and can't be filmed, but of course there are previous episodes where Jeannie is photographed and filmed.

Moorehead's father was a Presbyterian minister. We think of the Presbyterians nas liberal now, but they used to people who wouldn't read the comics in the Sunday paper or do anything else to disrupt the Lord's day. They still tend to have a lot of Calvinist smugness. The ones in Northern Ireland are the Unionists--real backward fundies.Moorehead easily could have reverted to the older style of Presbyterian dogma.

I had a very old woman on my paper route who wouldn't open her door to pay her bill on a Sunday. I still remember her closing the door in my 10 year-old face saying "not on a Sunday, not on a Sunday". She was a nut in many ways, but she just really wanted someone to pay attention to her.

Was there ever a black witch?

Yes, R250, according to Bewitched, Willie Mays is a warlock.

Here's Agnes making some extracurricular Bewitched money. Doing a commercial for Kodak. She probably made more money on this than all her movies put together. Elizabeth making the money to. She's been rather blunt in interviews about loving every cent Bewitched and Sam Stevens brought her.

Paul Lynde:

Last night was the episode where Uncle Arthur gives Darrin a "lucky charm" against witchcraft/bad luck. It was one of the few that gave him prolonged screen time and for the first time really took long looks at PL.

Paul Lynde wasn't that bad looking. Yeah he was no Rock Hudson or Steve McQueen, but never the less he wasn't a total fug.

As for the bitchy/queeny behavior, well you can find plenty of daddies like that at the Clown House any night of the week.

Montgomery ran off with Richard Michaels who had been a writer/script doctor on Bewitched at the end of the show. Her kids with Asher would have been quite young.

She ran off with someone whenever she was bored. A great lady but she was also a hot mess.

r249. the reason that she wouldnt pay on a sunday. is because your not supposed to conduct business on the Sabbath. She was a religious oldwoman. please don't taint her memory with your stupity. my momwot let me buy anythung on sunday accept something to ate.

It'a well known that Liz was a "Lez."

She was pretty stuck up about her father. Childhood friends of hers say she was always throwing her daddy's celebrity in their faces.

I heard that about Liz too. She was definitely a spoiled deb.

Watching back to back episodes on television last night. Is it just me or did "Uncle Arthur" get more screen time during the last Dick York days?

Last night was one of the episodes where Paul Lynde didn't just pop in and out, but stayed around for most of the show. It was the one where Uncle Arthur zaps up Napoleon but then has an "Aunt Clara" moment and cannot reverse the spell.

On a fashion note UC comes back late in the episode to gate crash Sam and Darrin having dinner. He's wearing a dinner jacket with a turtle neck. Was that "cool" informal dinner attire for the late 1960's?

Lynde got less time as the show went on because his alcoholism got worse. And Sargent disliked Lynde always making passes, direct passes like trying to suck his nasty through his pants, in front of the child actors.

R249

Many conservative states or local governments including those run by Protestants long have had "Blue Laws" that prohibit all sorts of retail commerce and other activities down on "the Sabbath"

All the negative things being posted about Montgomery are all things she easily copped to in after Bewitched interviews. I learned most of them listening to her. I like that. I like hearing her talk about hanging out with Bette Davis and how Davis was the only one she let call her Betty. She has a lot of good interviews on YouTube. A pretty honest celebrity. Especially when it comes to talking about the greed of big Bewitched bucks that kept her doing the show long after she wanted to stop.

She grew up a spoiled, little rich girls with lots of daddy issues and she easily admits to it and laughs about it.

Love this picture of her. Hot. Mess.

Was it ever explained why or how Esmeralda "lost" most of her powers? It certainly couldn't be age as she is younger than either Endora or Aunt Clara.

On another note AntennaTV has been showing the color episodes and noticed Ms. Montgomery's teeth, did she have caps or something? The upper front teeth look a different color (grayish tinge) from the rest.

I don't believe Esmeralda lost her powers per se. She just had major insecurity issues.

Not really an inconsistency but just noticed in the color versions you can tell Elizabeth Montgomery had dental work done. Whenever Sam smiles or otherwise exposes her teeth the uppers are a different color than the rest. Would say from Caine to Canine seems about correct.

Looked up pictures of Miss. Montgomery in her youth/early modeling and acting days and almost never does she smile.

Elizabeth M's teeth were brown, by today's standards, for the run of the series. It's just that we are now so used to seeing such cosmetically-enhanced teeth that anything looking like normal teeth looks freaky.

Or the fact that people today brush their teeth and don't smoke.

Ok, AntennaTV is getting towards the final episodes of Bewitched and truly writers were all over the place by then.

Esmeralda is at least 400 according to the episode where she enlists Sam's help when seeing an old flame. This episode was a rehash of the same script except using Aunt Clara.

Endora is not as old as we think. In the episode where Sam is sent back to Henry VIII's court she tells Darrin "This is the sixteenth century, I wasn't born yet...". However in an other episode Sam threatens to tell her father about an affair Endora had with Sir Walter Raleigh.

Reversing of spells: Sam does this at least twice. In the bed warmer episode she changes a warlock back (reversing Serena's spell). In the Henry VIII episode she reverses a curse/spell that placed a warlock in a picture.

Have never seen the Henry VIII episode before and it was one of the few Endora was *nice* to Darrin. You can tell even under the heavy make-up Agnes Moorehead was getting older by then.

I'll say it again; Dick Sargent's Darrin had a range of two emotions, pissed off and angry. He must have been totally different in real life as cannot picture such an anally retentive white gay guy into black men.

The whole world hated Dick Sargent's Darrin. Even Dick Sargent.

The last season not only repeated plots (Tabitha's first day at school etc.) the unicorn truth pin not only repeated an earlier plot, it basically reused the script of a black and white episode. They actually reused scenes fairly early on. I saw an episode from the third of fourth season, and Sam leaves Darrin in a similar fashion to an early first season episode (being invisible the suitcases splitting up to go around him.

As much as it was played out by the final season, as a kid I loved the Henry the VIII episodes.

R269 - Endora's age varies from episode to episode.

How many fucking first days of school did Tabitha have? How many bratty kids did she turn into animals?

I think just two -- one might have been pre-school where she turned someone into a butterfly, the other was the last season and she turned the kid into a bullfrog. She did have about twenty incidents with turning a toy to life or bringing a character out of a book.

Like I said before they sure did get their moneys worth out of the actress who played Tabitha. The cheapskate Montgomery was they probably payed her $50.00 and episode. Her cuteness was the only reason to stick around the last two seasons.

This is a great thread, so I'm bumping it up.

One thing that should be remembered is that it's not really Dick Sargent's fault the show got so weak towards the end. By he last two seasons the writers were entirely recycling old plots (and "Bewitched" had already the most formulaic of all sitcom storylines from weak to weak: one of Sam's relatives casts a spell on Darrin, which almost ruins a pitch for McMann & Tate until Sam at the last minute saves things by pretending it's all a stun for an advertising pitch).

Also, Dick Sargent perfectly delivered the all-time best Darrin line from the Loch Ness episode: when he sees Serena swimming at top speed on the surface of the lake (not realizing the warlock whom Serena has turned into Loch Ness Monster has turned her into a mermaid), he tells Sam, "There's one thing I'll say for your cousin. She swims like a fish."

Dick York did seem more in love with Sam, but it always seemed natural to me that after a few years of marriage (and two children) Darrin and Sam would have a less erotically charged relationship. Also, Sargent's Darrin was less volatile than York's, which also seemed to make sense--it always seemed odd Darrin would be so consistently explosive towards Sam's relatives when it always meant he would have a spell cast on him in revenge (he never seemed to learn).

The whole show to me was Elizabeth Montgomery and her marvelous comic timing and reactions. She was really one of a kind. "I Dream of Jeannie" was carried by Barbara Eden's sexiness and Larry Hagman's great physical comedy, but "Bewitched" was all about Montgomery's timing and believability. No one was funnier being shocked than she was ("Oh my STARS...").

WhyTF would sam. a powerful witch, want to be in a mortal marriage with that derwood. The series finale should have been her leaving him.

r277

You missed the whole point. Bewitched is about someone who CAN have anything yet wants something she can't get through witchcraft.