The Pilot Episode of "BEWITCHED"

Too bad it’s colorized, instead of being in the original black & white.

For R1

Thanks so much!

Love it! My partner was asking me what I was laughing at in bed. The dinner party scene was hilarious.

Endora and Samantha were two of the best characters ever on TV.

The reason Bewitched holds up so well was its' perfect casting.

Like MTM, Bob Newhart and All in the Family, each character is very well written and they have great chemistry with each other.

EM was, by all accounts, was warm and open, The opposite of MTM.

Endora, Aunt Clara, Maurice , Gladys Kravitz and even Uncle Aurthur were great.

Love this show. Especially Serena.

Thanks so much OP. I’ve wanted to rewatch that pilot episode for years. My memory is that Elizabeth Montgomery was so sexy and funny in that episode. I can’t wait to see it again.

Thanks, OP. That was fun. It's so weird watching that, and seeing that weird "the husband is the master of the domain" type energy. It wasn't anything mean, just a sign of the times back then!

Related - if I was married to someone who could do real witchcraft, I'd encourage it heavily!

Elizabeth Montgomery was the most adorable woman ever! What a great show and a great cast. Just pure fun and warmth.

The fountain when they're in the park listening to the radio at 00:41 is the Friends fountain.

I looove this show so much. But only with the first Darrin. Esp. the episode where he can only speak Italian. Haha.

Did Darin Stephens and Larry Tate know Don Draper and Roger Sterling?

The thing I like most about the the witches in the world of Bewitched is how they have different strength levels. Samantha is a powerful witch, which is genetic, but Endora is a super powerful witch, more powerful than Samantha. Endora is like a cat 5, Samantha a cat 3 or 4, and most witches are probably a cat 1 or just a tropical storm. In the pilot you can see how Samantha's spell is ineffective against Endora.

I assume Maurice and Endora are evenly matched in power or else one would have fried the other one by now. Aunt Clara is dangerous because even though her powers have waned considerably, being from a powerful family, her mixed-up spells still have a lot of energy.

R13 You have thought about this a lot, haven't you?

"Many have speculated through the years that Dick York's departure from the show had to do with either a dispute with the network or show executives or a clash with the cast, but nothing could be further from the truth. The actor loved his job so much he stuck it out far longer than he should have given the numerous health problems that plagued him on set.

A few years prior to production on the first season of Bewitched, Dick had suffered a debilitating and permanent back injury on the set of the film They Came to Cordura. The chronic pain from the injury made standing for long periods of time difficult and also caused the actor to become dependent on painkillers to get through the day.

"To provide some accommodation for Dick's pain, a slanted wall was built backstage for him to lean on between takes, which helped for a time, but midway through the third season, his pain worsened and would cause frequent shooting delays. Eventually, Dick was given more scenes where Darrin was either lying in bed or seated on the couch. Later in his run, Darrin was written out of episodes with the explanation that he was away on business or by focusing on Samantha visiting with her warlock kin.

"An illness during filming of the fifth season finally benched York for good. Despite being sick and feverish, York reported to work and, while filming a special effects scene on a scaffolding, Dick collapsed. While in the hospital recovering, he was visited by director William Asher asked if he wanted to quit, and York answered, "If it's all right with you, Billy," according to his own account in his final interview before his death in 1992.

"When the show returned for its sixth season, Darrin was portrayed by Dick Sargent. Bewitched only filmed two seasons with Sargent as Darrin before the show was canceled due to fallen ratings as well as star Elizabeth Montgomery's wish to move on."

Dick Sargent was family. There were rumors floating around that he died of AIDS, but he actually died of prostate cancer.

Part of the reason I like Bewitched so much more than I Dream Of Jeannie is its wonderful supporting cast. Larry Tate, the Kravitz neighbors, Endora, Uncle Arthur, Aunt Clara, Darrin's mother, etc were great in small doses. IDOJ had a winner in Bill Daily's Major Healey, but not much else.

Bewitched was so much better in the early years. Recasting hurt (the awful Darrin and Gladys replacements!), but the biggest difference was the tone. The first few seasons had a lot of heart to them (remember when Darrin realized Samantha would stay young while he grew old?), while the later seasons were all about repeat plots and special effects.

I liked Gladys 2.0 even more than 1.0. Same with Louise 2.0 vs. 1.0.

Growing up I just assumed the show was set in LA. Along the lines of R12, I so wish Mad Men would’ve made a nod to the competitive ad men at McMann & Tate, & perhaps the dishy wife of Darren Stephens, who seemed to possess something extra that couldn’t be explained.

R18, you have some interesting taste.

I would totally go for a Bewitched-Mad Men crossover. Maybe Endora floating above Peggy's desk and giving her inspiration for Aquanet! Or Sam hosting a dinner party with Don and Betty Draper and Roger and Mona Sterling. Triple martinis all around? Even for Sam at 7 mos pregnant!

[quote]the later seasons were all about repeat plots

Wasn't there just 2 or 3 plots used throughout the entire life of the show?

No, R20, there were not. At least not the first few seasons. The last couple did get a bit repetitive.

Loved this show. R18, I preferred Gladys and Louise 1.0. And Darrin 1.0.

Darrin was a jerk, but he had a soft spot for Aunt Clara.

I always thought Darin 1.0 was kinda hot.

The Louise Tate replacement was good (surprised to learn she was the bitch/victim in "Strangers On A Train"), but the second Gladys Kravitz was just shrill. Dick Sargent would've been okay as Samantha's gay, bitchy brother, but there was just NO romantic chemistry between them.

[quote]No, [R20], there were not. At least not the first few seasons.

The plot was that magic or magical relatives caused a problem, Sam and Darren had to deal with the consequences and then find a way to fix the problem that the magic or relative had caused. There wasn't a lot of deviation.

Sam had a great kitchen for 1960s!

OP - great thread, thanks. Has anyone seen "Bell, Book an Candle", with Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon?

Thanks for posting! I loved watching this!

Mad Men often referenced 60s pop culture. They never mentioned Bewitched. But I was always hoping that somewhere in season 5, (which took place in the mid-60s), there might have been a scene where Don Draper and Roger Sterling walked into some party, and some drunk would have introduced them as Darrin Stephens and Larry Tate.

I could NEVER understand what Samantha saw in Darren. He wasn’t attractive, he was controlling, and he was just plain stupid. He never learned that he would never win against Endora. What did she see in him?

Big mortal cock, R32

I hated when 60s sitcoms tried to "get hip", like with Serena in Bewitched or Mike Brady's perm.

marvelous mrs mail could take some tips from EM

[quote]I assume Maurice and Endora are evenly matched in power or else one would have fried the other one by now. Aunt Clara is dangerous because even though her powers have waned considerably, being from a powerful family, her mixed-up spells still have a lot of energy.

In the episode where Maurice meets Darren, Maurice and Endora have a brief confrontation and when Maurice can't best her, Maurice remarks that Endora has gotten stronger and Endora says that Maurice has gotten older. This indicates that the witches get stronger with age up to a point and then decline. So eventually, Samantha would probably become as powerful as her parents.

[quote]The Pilot Episode of "BEWITCHED"

There were no pilots in Bewitched, silly! You must be thinking of "I Dream of Jeannie."

It’s funny how Bewitched was my favorite show when I was a child, but I couldn’t stand I Dream of Jeannie.

Jeanie is too submissive and Hagman is controlling and treats her like shit but she is still in live with him. Theres a good reason not to like the show. Darrin stomping around was nothing compared to Maj Whatever his name was.

Samantha was head of the Witches Council so she def was a most powerful witch! And her green council robe was the best!

Hearing Darren boss around Samantha, and her accepting it, bothers me. He was a real prick to Endora too. A real person in his position would have accepted the benefits of his relationship and lived in luxury.

There was a whole episode with "Cousin Henry," who was never seen before or since, where he played pranks in a department store while Samantha was trying to shop. Was that written for Paul Lynde and he was unavailable or something?

Sadly they’ve geo blocked it in New Zealand.

[quote]Mad Men often referenced 60s pop culture. They never mentioned Bewitched.

Harry Crane actually did make a reference to "Bewitched" in Season 5, Episode 10 - Christmas Waltz - set in the Fall of 1966

Paul Kinsey has become a Hare Krishna and approached Harry, who is head of TV advertising, about helping his shop a freelance script to the producers of "Star Trek".

Harry reads the script, which is predictably awful, and meet Paul to talk about it. Harry mentions that "Star Trek" is struggling in the ratings and may not get renewed. He says something like, "It's up against "Bewitched" - do you know how strong the ratings are for "Bewitched" - that show is a juggernaut."

But it was a kind of oblique reference, and they didn't make reference to Darrin working in the Advertising industry.

Bewitched had more than one plot!

1) McMahon & Tate were trying to woo/keep a client and witchcraft would cause problems then Samantha fixed them.

2) Samantha's family vs Durwood

3) Witchcraft went kerflooey (Tabitha practiced "wish craft"; senile Aunt Clara; someone lost their powers) and it caused problems

4) Danger of mortals finding out about the Witch World

5) Historical figures/fiction characters entered the real world

6) They went to the real Salem because the set burned down and they needed to film out of town while they rebuilt it

7) Witch World Turmoil/Witches Council

Note: 2 through 5 would frequently intertwine with Plot 1

I Dream of Jeanie was so boring. I half-heartedly watched it as a kid but I don't really remember specific episodes or any one thing that made it stand out for me other than Barbara Eden being charming and wearing cute outfits and her fantastic bottle. Larry Hagman wasn't likeable (he's only good as a villain) and the show was just dull.

Ugh! They've removed the ending Screen Gems logo ('Dancing Sticks') and replaced it with that goddamned modern Sony logo. That ruins it for me.

I'm very OCD about such things. I've been known to remaster entire series sets for my own collection, just to put the correct ending logos back.

R45, as R19 correctly noted, the spelling of the first-named, never seen (as I recall, at least), ad partner was indeed McMann.

I wasn't crazy about Bewitched as a kid, but I watched it because I thought Samantha was hot. I was quite the precocious lesbian!

Don't post illegalities to Datalounge. Only show link to items you own.

In another Mad Men episode Harry Crane mentions Bill Asher. And says he probably will try to cast Don. I have no idea what episode. Maybe right before Don and Pete Campbell go to California.

R48 I don't really care.

I was in love with the beautiful Elizabeth Montgomery and her little house with its mid 60s decor. I wanted to be her but without Durwood. I would have turned into a rock and gone down on any of the numerous warlocks that were always trying to romance her away to the south of France of the bullfights in Spain.

For anyone interested, Antenna TV will be showing the pilot episode of "Bewitched" today at 2:30pm ET.

By the way, it will be preceded by the final episode (original broadcast date March 25, 1972) at 2pm ET.

r48=Vairst Letty

I always thought Endora was so cool popping in with her copious blue eye paste and purple caftan being all irritated and shit. I also loooved Aunt Clara. Dr. Bombay was a prat but Bernie Kopel as the witch pharmacist was fun!

I loved Dr. Bombay. He used to crack me up.

[quote] Bewitched only filmed two seasons with Sargent as Darrin before the show was canceled due to fallen ratings as well as star Elizabeth Montgomery's wish to move on.

Three seasons, actually. The last 3. (it was on for 8)

R59 You're right, actually

I have forgotten so many things about Bewitched...like Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur!!!!!

She was only on twice, but I adored Nancy Kovack as Darrin's old girlfriend, the cunty Sheila. Flips and wiglets galore!

I just watched most of the first season on Crackle (before it got removed - seasons 2 and 3 are there now). Endora was not on as much and was much more tame in what she did to Darin -- more dropping passive-aggressive jibes to make him feel insecure -- less casting spells on him. It was more subtle and made it more realistic that she was somewhat welcomed in the house.

Darin did not want Sam using magic, but did not freak out every time she did and often seemed understanding about it and even at times amused by it. He was much more charming and you could see why Samantha fell for him (and they definitely had countries and the show made clear that they had an active sex life). Sam also did not get apologetic every time she used magic and was a bit more mischievous.

The plots were also a bit more diverse. A number of them could really be done without any witchcraft and focus on the ups and downs of newlyweds or the quirks of suburban life (you see more people from the neighborhood).

In addition to the moment mentioned about Darin realizing Sam would not age, there was a very heartfelt moment when Darin is given powers and she tells him she loved him the way she was. Darin realizes she is right, but knows he is too weak to not be changed by this, and that he must not know he ever had these powers and the feelings that came with them. I am not sure you would have gotten that sort of scene after season 3 or 4, although I think they reused Darin getting powers once if not twice (the writing on the show got very lazy).

To be fair, they made a ridiculous number of episodes in a year, way more than shows do now.

They ran out of episode ideas early on but they were doing 30-35 eps a year, sometimes almost double what shows do now.

Nancy Kovak is still with us. She married well. To Zubin Mehta. Quit acting and lives a lifestyle an acting career could never have afforded her.

I never cared for either of the Darins. It seemed to me that Samantha could have done much better. The role needed someone as handsome as she was beautiful.

And there just wasn't much chemistry. You could believe Rob and Laura Petrie were fucking, but not Darin and Samantha.

Hey - at least they shared a bed unlike Rob and Laura (who did have good chemistry and should not have had twin beds in the bedroom).

I thought York and Montgomery had good chemistry, esp. early on when the show was about a young couple adjusting to married life as much as it was a show about witchcraft. Once Darin was being put in a spell on a regular basis they spent more time with Darin being in a tizzy when interacting with his wife. I am not sure if it would have worked with someone as handsome as Montgomery was pretty, esp. if he was just handsome and not good with comedic timing or be able to do the reaction shots that York could do.

I just saw the episode where Samantha “tests” Darrin’s fidelity by changing herself into flirtatious woman in a bar. Darrin realizes it was her and the next scene shows Darrin meeting a new secretary who he assumes is also his wife in disguise. Dick York is so funny in this scene, as he blatantly flirts with the horrified secretary. His facial expressions are priceless. Truly he and Elizabeth Montgomery are perfect comic foils for each other. This show is the perfect escape from 2020 reality.

There's sooooo many episodes in those eight seasons. Can anyone direct me to some of your absolute favorites?

How did Elizabeth Montgomery NEVER win an Emmy???? And to keep losing to Lucy, who was well past her prime.

Dick York was in 'Inherit the Wind' as the schoolteacher who was on trial for teaching evolution. Having already seen him as Darren by the time I saw 'Inherit', he just seemed out of place. Similar to seeing George 'Superman' Reeves in 'From Here to Eternity'.

R70, the only two people to win Emmys from Bewitched were Alice Pearce (Gladys Kravitz) and Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara) ... both after they died. Elizabeth accepted the awards for both of them.

I don't know how many nominations (if any) the leads (Montgomery, York, Moorehead, White) ever received. I'm sure Sargent never got any.

[quote]here was a very heartfelt moment when Darin is given powers and she tells him she loved him the way he was

But you know deep down, Samantha wished Darrin's ears were smaller

"Bewitched" was the first TV show ABC produced that made it into the Top Ten ratings

I believe it was ranked the 2nd most popular show in the first couple of years - and stayed in the Top Ten for the first 5 seasons

ABC had never had a show as successful as "Bewitched"

ABC was considered a third-rate network in the 1950s and 1960s - "Bewitched" helped to change that

Bill Asher was the regular director with a lot of power over the show - Elizabeth gave birth to their 3 children during the run of the show - Asher worked the shooting schedule to give Elizabeth more time with their children than she would've had otherwise

Also, Elizabeth was a private person - she just didn't do interviews - it was not her priority during those years.

To my knowledge, Elizabeth gave one interview to an magazine in support of breast feeding (a radical idea in the 1960s) - and she made one appearance on the Mike Douglas Show in the first or second year of the show.

All of those things worked against Elizabeth in the Emmy awards - she didn't have a powerful network behind her and she just didn't play the publicity game

Marion Lorne was delightful and stole the two brief scenes she was in in The Graduate. Notice the look to the camera at the very end. All attention is drawn to her for a brief moment. The Graduate is not a comedy but she plays it as such in both these comedic scenes. Aunt Clara was masterfully done. Btw there's always been a bit of Aunt Clara about me and as I get older there is more. Getting in touch with your inner Aunt Clara can be liberating.

The first time I saw The Graduate I thought it was funny that Esmerelda and Aunt Clara were in it. I was waiting for Uncle Arthur to show up!

R13

There are so many inconsistencies in Bewitched you could write a book (or create a board game..), but a few things stand out.

Samantha tells Darrin on their wedding night she "wasn't very good" yet at witchcraft, sort of just starting out. She looks about in her twenties, but could be well over 200 years old.

Endora, Hagatha, Enchantra, and many of the other witches are far older than Samantha thus that could factor into strength of their powers. We know after a certain period witches/warlocks go "senile" or whatever and their powers begin to wane (Aunt Clara and her bf Ocky)

Endora is quite powerful, the warlock she dregs up (one of Sam's ex flames) tell Sam this (she's more powerful than the both of us) when yet another attempt to break up Sam's marriage backfires.

Warlocks are always more powerful than witches, hence Maurice being able to out rank and over power Endora and Sam's aunts.

In a way as Bewitched was written witches/warlocks are just like humans; their powers/strengths vary from "person to person" as it were. Esmeralda is hopeless, Uncle Arthur and Serena seem about middling. The witches who send Sam back in time (one for zapping her husband out of a picture, the other who mistakes Sam for Serena who was fooling around with her husband), were quite powerful.

All these inconsistencies stem (IMHO) from the tight rope show walked in not getting too bogged down in "black arts" or whatever you want to call it.

America was a far more religious country back in 1970's with witches and warlocks lumped in with Satan and devil worship. Not something you'd want on prime time television. So Sam and her family were neutered so to speak. Sam and her family have more in common with the other kooky supernatural beings from television like the Munsters than Roman and Minnie Castevet

I looked up the emmy nominations -- It looks she might have just lost to Lucy just once and MTM in her Dick Van Dyke show a couple of times and then Hope Lange for Ghost and Mr. Muir. I was surprised about that - thought maybe she would have lost to Barbara Feldon when Get Smart was the big show. I know Lange is not a bad actress, but nothing from that show has stuck with me from when I saw repeats as a kid (granted - Bewitched has been shown exponentially more than the Ghost and Mrs. Muir. She was not nominated the last couple of years (and while she was still watchable she was more going through the motions by then), but most likely she would not have beat Jean Stapleton in the first couple of years of All in the Family. Shows how long the show was on the air - Dick Van Dyke was in its prime when it started and All in the Family was hitting the air waves when it ended.

York seems like he was only nominated in '68. As big as the show was and how good he was it is hard to believe there was five other nominees better than him in 64 to 67.

Moorehead did win for a guest appearance as a villain in the Wild Wild West, but hard to believe she never won for Endora. She and Montgomery have a large collective amount of losses - Moorehead for some Oscar nominations and well and I think Montgomery lost some drama emmys later when she was doing the TV movies. I have heard she is very good in Case of Rape. She worked a fair amount after Bewitched ended, but don't think she ever did anything comedic again. Not a lot of sitcom actresses are successful at that kind of transition, although she did mainly drama before Bewitched. Still as identified as she was as Samantha in 1972, she did a good job having a different career after leaving the role.

[quote] Uncle Arthur and Serena seem about middling.

Uncle Arthur was equal to Endora in power. That’s why he could stand up to her since she couldn’t outpower him.

IMDB mentions for the episode Endora Moves in for a Spell:

To be able to keep an eye on Arthur, Endora, using a little witchcraft, decides to erect a house on the vacant lot across the street, the house where she plans to live. Endora's move is too much for Arthur to take, he who will do whatever he needs to get rid of Endora. Caught in the middle are Samantha and Darrin, the former who realizes that their standoff can last forever as each has equal power.

What was the situation with Maurice and Endora - married but estranged, married but open marriage, divorced, never in a traditional marriage etc. Were they together a number of years (centuries) while Samantha was growing up, or was it more of a brief dalliance.

Speaking of Maurice, I totally forgot Maurice Evans played the witch sleuth in Rosemary's Baby that leaves Rosemary the book. What a great film! Just watched last night.

I always loved Imogene Coca as the Good Fairy but those were later season episodes. And the beautiful actress who played the Siamese cat in one of the early episodes...

I have not watched many of the later episodes in awhile, but as a kid, I did like the Old Salem episode and the Henry VIII episodes.

Divorce was still somewhat a touchy subject in most of USA during 1970's; so Endora and Maurice though obviously living apart were just "separated" That was pretty ground breaking for a sitcom of 1970's.

Endora and Maurice must have been "married" for centuries (or at least a long time) before Sam was born, then at some point her parents split leaving Endora as the girl's primary care taker/parent. We know this because when Endora tells Sam her father is coming to visit her she says something about not having seen him in a very long time. This is the episode where Maurice disintergates Darrin (after finding out he's mortal), and Endora threatens to move back in with him and make his life miserable if he cannot (or will not) put Darrin back together again.

In that same episode Maurice rants at Endora about how he left Sam with her and look what happened, she married a mortal. "A witch with her background and breeding.....".

Sam's father seems to have been a skirt chaser, but when he becomes truly smitten with a young witch Endora threatens to go to witches council and get an "ectoplasmic interlocutory" (divorce).

Still think Maurice was slightly more powerful than Endora on some level. Again when Endora and Sam's aunts try to "witchnap" Tabitha after verifying the child was truly a witch Sam calls her father; Maurice banishes his wife and her sisters to a mountain top until they see sense, then brings them back. He further summons their car/driver and tells them to hit the bricks and leave Darrin, Samantha and Tabitha alone.

[quote]Divorce was still somewhat a touchy subject in most of USA during 1970's

Divorce a touchy subject in the 1970s? That is so not true.

BTW: Viv on the The Lucy Show was a divorcee. And that was 1962.

And "Divorce Court" premiered in 1957.

It obviously was still a touchy subject otherwise Endora and Maurice would have been divorced and that would have been that. There was no need for them to be still married (as a plot device or otherwise), and indeed they often behaved as if they weren't

R88 If it were a touchy subject then the character of Vivian Bagely...on one of the highest rated TV shows of 1962...would have been a widow and not a divorcee.

If it were a touchy subject then there would not have been a popular TV show entirely devoted to it in 1957.

You obviously weren't around in the 1970s.

It was touchy enough that they bailed on the idea of having MTM be a divorcée. But some people say it was because people might have thought she'd divorced Dick Van Dyke.

Gladys Kravitz , the character,was a nosy busybody who caused nothing but trouble for the Stephens family. But Alice Pearce made her so lovable , you almost rooted for her to prove to everybody what she was always seeing. I believe the actress had cancer for most of the time she was on the show, but never told anyone. They really went in a totally different direction with her replacement. Sandra Gould was about as unsympathetic a character as you could get.

The original Gladys was on fairly frequently and was featured in at a couple of episodes, one where she and Abner broke up and one where she things she has powers herself. She could still be shrewish, but had a bit of a child like wonder and like York had some great reaction shots. She also generally seemed to like the Stephens much of the time and could be friendly.

EM was a huge fan of Alice Pierce as Gladys. She was heartbroken when Alice had ovarian cancer. She also really loved Marion Lorne. A previous post was correct. Elizabeth hated interviews and Hollywood parties, etc. she’d rather stay home with her family. That hurt her in terms of Emmys. Also Hollywood tended to turn their collective noses up at shows like Bewitched and I dream of Jeanie, The Munsters, etc.

AND, she was Lucy Shmeeler, r92!

There's a great, funny clip where Alice Pierce's Gladys goes over to the Stevens' house to investigate the strange goings-on (as usual) and, I forget who, magically zaps a large martini glass in her hand. Instead of her usual panicking shouts and running away, she simply shrugs and swigs the drink.

R95 I believe it was Maurice. He and Endora should have had their own spinoff show.

Tjere was a great Halloween party episode. Except I believe ot was Serena's party so everyone was a magic person haha. And I think this involved tje Kravitzes too somehow.

I remember Room 222 and Love American Style as repeats in the summer in the morning. I think you used to see more of the recently cancelled shows in syndication on the networks, because they had more time to fill since the morning news programs - both local and national did not go on and on for hours. Although course there were more soaps and game shows back then as well. There was also more room in the UHF and basic cable channels for reruns before the rise of the infomercial.

Season 1 is now back on one of the free Roku channel so I can now finish it out the last 5 to 10 episodes.

Sam just helped a neurotic non-Uncle Arthur Paul Lynde and Aunt Clara was a popular baby sitter.

Darrin had a few exasperated moments, but really was not as tightly wound in this season and really was caring about Clara in the babysitting episode.

Damn, she such a hard-looking woman. Her acting must be top-notch cause she was a basic Betty.

The gay secrets behind the classic TV sitcom “Bewitched”:

What is that fascinating painting behind Endora at around 3:15?