| |
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972. The show starred Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York (1964–1969), Dick Sargent (1969–1972), Agnes Moorehead and David White. It continues to be seen throughout the world in syndication and it is the longest running supernatural themed sitcom of the 1960s–1970s. The show continues to have a cult following today.
of the film antecedents for this series were the 1942 film I Married a Witch (from Thorne Smith's unfinished novel The Passionate Witch), and the John Van Druten play that was eventually adapted as Bell, Book and Candle (1958).
focus of the show is on the mixed marriage of a witch, Samantha Stephens (Montgomery), and her mortal husband, Darrin (originally played by Dick York and later by Dick Sargent).
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Bewitched' Start a new discussion about 'Bewitched' Answer questions from other users |
Recent Posts
Quotations
Samantha:
Now, mother. I'm sorry to have to ask you to do this, but repeat after me ... Spiders that crawl, bats that fly, silence my tongue if I'm telling a lie.
Encyclopedia
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972. The show starred Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York (1964–1969), Dick Sargent (1969–1972), Agnes Moorehead and David White. It continues to be seen throughout the world in syndication and it is the longest running supernatural themed sitcom of the 1960s–1970s. The show continues to have a cult following today.
Overview of show
Progenitors
Two of the film antecedents for this series were the 1942 film I Married a Witch (from Thorne Smith's unfinished novel The Passionate Witch), and the John Van Druten play that was eventually adapted as Bell, Book and Candle (1958).
The series' premise and characters
The focus of the show is on the mixed marriage of a witch, Samantha Stephens (Montgomery), and her mortal husband, Darrin (originally played by Dick York and later by Dick Sargent). The series, a romantic comedy, shows how true love can endure the most vexing of situations, even between a witch and a human. The series is set in an upper middle class suburb in Westport Connecticut (with the Stephens' house at 1164 Morning Glory Circle), the main setting for most episodes. Darrin commutes daily to Manhattan for his job.
Darrin works for advertising agency McMann and Tate. Darrin's profit-obsessed boss Larry Tate (David White) is an almost constant presence on the show, even though Tate's partner, Mr. McMann, appears only twice during the series. Tate's opinions would turn on a dime to appease a client and land a deal. Larry was often the source of Darren's unhappiness, accidental misfortune and the like, although not deliberately.
Samantha's mother Endora (Agnes Moorehead) loathes mortals, and disapproves of Darrin, as do most of Samantha's family. Endora refuses to use Darrin's name, variously calling him "Derwood," "What's-his-name," "Darwin," "Dum-Dum," etc., all much to his annoyance (she refers to him as "Darrin" only eight times during the entire series).
Many episodes revolve around Endora, or another of Darrin's in-laws, using magic to undermine the union. Although Endora casts countless spells on Darrin, she never threatens to outright destroy him. Endora's ploy seems to be to provoke a breakup, but the mortal's love for his wife overcomes every obstacle. During a sequence when High Priestess Hepzibah (see below) expresses surprise that Darrin has withstood years of Endora's harassment, Endora can only shrug and admit, "He loves my daughter."
The pilot shows the two meeting and eloping. Endora is in the pilot but does not meet Darrin until early in the season. Later in the first season, Darrin meets Samantha's father, Maurice, and Samantha meets Darrin's parents, Phyllis and Frank Stephens. The second episode shows the couple buying their home.
Several episodes begin with an enraged Darrin becoming the victim of a spell, which would wreak havoc with other mortals such as Mother Stephens, neighbors or agency clientele. By the epilogue, however, Darrin and Samantha would embrace and confound the devious elements that failed to separate them.
Some storylines take a backdoor approach to such topics as racism, as seen in the first season episode, "The Witches Are Out." Samantha objects to Darrin's demeaning ad portrayal of witches as ugly and deformed. Such stereotypical imagery, she believes, ignites biases which have often caused Endora and her to flee the country until November. One episode, "Sisters At Heart" (season 7), was written and submitted by a tenth-grade class. It involved Tabitha altering her and her black friend's skin tones with coordinating polka-dots, so that people would treat them alike. (A similar white-with-black vs. black-with-white concept had been seen earlier in Star Trek:"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," in which Frank Gorshin had appeared versus Lou Antonio.)
Bewitched is unique for the mid-1960s in that it portrays an estranged married couple—Samantha's parents, Endora (Agnes Moorehead) and Maurice (Maurice Evans). Maurice was portrayed as an urbane thespian not unlike Elizabeth Montgomery's real father, Robert Montgomery. Maurice occasionally pops in with a young, attractive female escort. The couple's separation is implied and subtextual. In the episode "Samantha's Good News," Endora threatened to file for an "ectoplasmic interlocutory" (code for divorce), only to wrangle Maurice's affection. In another episode Endora threatens to live with Maurice, thus acknowledging a separation. Endora once introduced Maurice as "my daughter's father." Maurice often refers to Darrin as "Dustbin".
The only one of Samantha's relatives for whom Darrin shows any affection is the lovable but bumbling Aunt Clara (played by Marion Lorne). Her entrances and exits were often a grand fumble, such as entering via a chimney or colliding with a wall. Lorne won a posthumous Emmy in 1968 for the role of the senile witch, whose well-intended yet fractured spells ended in disaster. She appeared in 27 episodes. When Lorne died during the fourth season, the absence of Aunt Clara was left unexplained. Because the popular Lorne was so beloved by the cast, recasting the role was nixed. A similar character, the anxiety-ridden witch-nanny/maid Esmeralda, played by Alice Ghostley, would later make appearances starting during the 1969–1970 season. (Both Ghostley and comic actor Paul Lynde, who later played Samantha's Uncle Arthur, had guest roles the first season as mortal characters before being cast as magical semi-regulars.)
Samantha's far-out and egocentric lookalike cousin Serena is another important character, first appearing in season two. Serena was played by Elizabeth Montgomery, and was credited as "Pandora Spocks" between 1968 and 1972. Ever mischievous, Serena often chases after Darrin and Larry Tate (calling the white-haired Tate "Cotton-Top"), just for fun. Serena is the antithesis of Samantha, sporting a heart-shaped beauty mark on her cheek, raven black hair, and mod mini-skirts. More progressive than the typical witch or warlock, who generally abhor mortals, Samantha's counter-culture cousin occasionally dates some (including a character played by Jack Cassidy).
During the show's run, both Aunt Clara (to Louise Tate) and Serena (to Phyllis Stephens) state they are from Maurice's side of the family, though Serena sometimes plots with "Auntie" Endora. Despite her wild behavior, Serena ultimately supports Samantha and Darrin, even though she finds them both a bit "square."
Endora's prank-loving brother Arthur (Paul Lynde) makes several memorable appearances. In one episode, Arthur befriends Darrin and teaches him a phony ritual that will set Endora straight. Darrin performs the silly incantation to the outright bewilderment of his wife and mother-in-law. After Arthur erupts in rip-roaring laughter, it becomes clear that Darrin was set up. The trio get even with Arthur when Darrin's own practical joke seemingly obliterates Endora. Despite the hoax, Arthur genuinely likes Darrin. In another episode, Serena and Uncle Arthur go toe-to-toe with the Witch's Council to support the Stephens' union, only to have their own powers suspended.
Veteran actress Mabel Albertson, the sister of Jack Albertson, plays Darrin's straightlaced mother, Phyllis. The character often complains of "a sick headache" when she witnesses a magic spell in motion. Adding to the fun are the Stephens' witch daughter Tabitha (spelled Tabatha in production credits until season five) and her baby brother, Adam. Along the way are various witches, warlocks, and mere mortals, as well as an occasional elf, leprechaun, nymph, and other supernatural being. The program made full use of the period's modest but effective special effects wizardry.
Across the street lives a retired couple, Abner Kravitz (stage and movie actor George Tobias) and his nosy wife, Gladys, the latter of whom is always trying to prove that Samantha was a witch, only to have her husband brand her delusional. Gladys Kravitz was played first by Alice Pearce who won a posthumous 1966 Emmy for the role; following Pearce's death in 1966 from ovarian cancer, the character was played by Sandra Gould. On the studio backlot, the Kravitzes' house was actually near the Stephens' house exterior. Both homes' exterior doors opened to an unfinished eighteen-by-fifteen foot entry, as the interiors were shot elsewhere. The exterior of the Kravitz's house later became the home of The Partridge Family. In 2003, Kasey Rogers, Alice Ghostley and Bernard Fox visited the Stephens lot together to rekindle old memories.
Episode déjà vu
During the spring of 1969, several episodes had to be rewritten as the series was technically between the two Darrins. According to William Asher on E! Entertainment Television, York had collapsed on the set due to back pain and was hospitalized. One such episode, "Samantha's Power Failure," shows an asleep Darrin for the first ten seconds and no more. The plot had Serena and Uncle Arthur powerless at the hands of the Witches' Council, and subsequently working in a confectionery factory. This episode mimics the famous chocolate assembly-line episode of I Love Lucy in several ways; something not surprising, as William Asher had directed numerous I Love Lucy episodes (including the renowned "Job Switching" episode that inspired Bewitcheds version). With slight variations, Serena and Arthur's banana dipping jokes and physical antics are taken from Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel's (Vivian Vance) playbook. In short order, Serena and Arthur start hiding and tossing the onslaught of bananas to avoid being fired from their jobs.
The Gidget/Bewitched connection
The 1959 Columbia Pictures' Gidget was filmed on location at a real home in Santa Monica (at 267 18th Street). The blueprint design of this home was later reversed and replicated as a house facade attached to an existing garage on the backlot of Columbia's Ranch. The reversed Gidget house was primarily used on the Columbia/Screen Gems hit television show Bewitched which premiered in 1964. The patio and living room sets seen in Columbia's Gidget Goes to Rome (1963) were soon adapted for the permanent Bewitched set for 1964. In the TV series from 1965-66, Gidget (played by Sally Field) is often shown with a "Samantha" doll in her bedroom (a merchandise cross promotion for the other Columbia tv show), and in 1986's The New Gidget (produced by Columbia executive and producer Harry Ackerman) the facade used in shots for her home is the reversed Gidget house (better known by TV audiences from those subsequent decades of reruns as Samantha's home on Bewitched).
Changes
The show was a ratings success during its first five seasons, but it lost some viewers when Dick York, who had originated the role of Darrin Stephens, lost his ability to continue in the role due to a severe back condition. When he left the cast in 1969, Ray Fulmer of Hazel was mentioned as a possible replacement (as per an episode of The Virginia Graham Show, Fulmer's name was suggested to Agnes Moorehead by her friend and former co-star Shirley Booth). But the role went to Dick Sargent. He had been the original first choice for the role, to play opposite Tammy Grimes, the original choice for Samantha, but he was under contract elsewhere in 1964. Though he bore a certain physical resemblance to Dick York, Sargent's version of Darrin was a more acidic, smarmy character, in contrast to York's hyper, high octane portrayal.
On E! Entertainment Television, Erin Murphy (Tabitha) stated that Elizabeth Montgomery "probably preferred Dick Sargent's Darrin." York's disability caused ongoing shooting delays and script rewrites, which would have been a financial liability to the newly formed Ashmont Production Company (owned by Montgomery and then husband, William Asher). Kasey Rogers, Bernard Fox, and Sandra Gould said that Dick York's "mugging" or animated facial expressions were what really made the character. William Asher claimed that Dick York's screen kisses were more "passionate." The series also had two Gladys Kravitzes, two Louise Tates and two Frank Stephenses. However, the switch between the two Darrins has become the epitome of TV's major cast changes, far more so than such other recastings as the two John-Boy Waltons or the two Lionel Jeffersons, and others.
In 1966, the show saw Samantha give birth to daughter Tabitha, played by fraternal twins Diane and Erin Murphy. Tabitha's magical abilities began with "wishcraft", thus adding to Darrin's worries. In time, the Murphy twins began looking less alike, so Diane was dropped. The Tates' son Jonathan, who was 1 1/2 years older than Tabitha, was seldom seen or referenced after 1966, but made a final appearance in season 7. The character had been named Jonathan after David White's real-life son, whose 1988 plane death made headlines. In 1969, Bewitched introduced Adam Stephens, played by Greg and David Lawrence. The writers sought new familial challenges, but some skeptics saw the birth as an veiled attempt to retool past Tabitha plots. Adam initially didn't display any powers, but started to do so in the last few episodes of the series.
The death of actress Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara) in 1968 prompted the creation of a replacement character, actress Alice Ghostley as Esmeralda. Coincidentally, Lorne and Ghostley appeared side by side in the hotel scene of Mike Nichols's film version of The Graduate, which had been released in 1967.
The beginning of the seventh and eighth seasons the series takes place in Salem, Massachusetts and Europe respectively. The premise of the Salem episodes is that they are there for a witches convention, but this was done out of necessity, as part of the house set had burned and was being rebuilt. One may later notice a second floor staircase appearing in the kitchen, which appeared after the fire. The European locale was for McMann and Tate business.
End of the series
Montgomery wanted to end the series at the conclusion of the fifth season because both she and her husband, the show's producer William Asher, were getting tired of it and wanted to move on to other projects, but ABC did not want to drop one of its top-grossers. Since the series was one of the network's few hits, they offered Montgomery and Asher significant pay raises, plus part ownership of the series (via Ashmont, a production company owned by Asher and Montgomery), for another three seasons. By season eight, the story ideas had started to run dry – with some scripts from earlier seasons re-shot nearly verbatim. During the last season, (1971–1972) Abner and Gladys Kravitz were only referenced, and Uncle Arthur and Darrin's parents also did not appear. The series was moved to Saturday nights in January 1972 and was pitted against the hit show All in the Family, which proved to be a virtual death knell.
Bewitched finished the 1972 season at no. 72 in the ratings . ABC had planned a ninth season, according to the network's contract with Montgomery and Asher but Elizabeth Montgomery had fallen in love with director Richard Michaels and moved in with him at the end of Season 8, deciding not to come back for another season..
Cast
Main characters (opening credits)
Recurring Characters
- Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha's cousin, Serena. The character was credited as being played by "Pandora Spocks" in the closing credits of seasons 6-8, although the character first appeared in season 2.
- Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara, Samantha's aunt (1964–1968)
- As Tabitha Stephens, Darrin's and Samantha's daughter, "born" on January 13, 1966: Erin Murphy (1966–1972), Diane Murphy (1966–1968), and Tamar and Julie Young (1966) (as infant Tabitha).
- Greg and David Lawrence as Adam Stephens, son of Darrin and Samantha, "born" on October 16, 1969 (1970–1972)
- As Gladys Kravitz: Alice Pearce (1964–1966) and Sandra Gould (1966–1971)
- George Tobias as Abner Kravitz (1964–1971)
- Maurice Evans as Maurice, Samantha's father and Endora's estranged husband.
- Alice Ghostley as Esmeralda, Samantha's and Darrin's witch maid (1969–1972)
- As Louise Tate, Larry's wife: Irene Vernon (1964–1966), and Kasey Rogers (1966–1972).
- Bernard Fox as Dr. Bombay, the warlock family doctor (1967–1972)
- Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur, Samantha's uncle and Endora's brother (1965–1971).
- Mabel Albertson as Phyllis Stephens, Darrin's mother (1964–1971)
- As Frank Stephens, Darrin's father: Robert F. Simon (1964–1967 and 1971) and Roy Roberts (1967–1970).
- Bernie Kopell as the apothecary (1969-1972).
Characters less frequently seen
- Aunt Enchantra and Aunt Hagatha, Samantha's aunts and apparently sisters of Endora, with whom they side in any quarrel between her and Maurice, one of the few family members willing to stand up to them. The "holy terrors" of the family, they customarily ride in an antique car called "Macbeth" (sometimes driven by chauffeur Rasputin, other times operating sans driver) which, demonstrating the sisters' utter disdain for mortal conventions, enters the Stephens home through the wall. Enchantra was played by three different actresses, while Hagatha was played by five, including Reta Shaw and Ysabel MacCloskey. In later seasons, when Esmeralda was not available, Hagatha sometimes appeared as a babysitter to Tabitha and Adam.
- Aunt Bertha, another aunt of Samantha's.
- Cousin Edgar, Endora's nephew and an elf, implying that one of Endora's siblings is married to an elf. He is very protective of Samantha.
- Great-Aunt Cornelia, Maurice's aunt. She is a muse who resembled Samantha and the Mona Lisa.
- Cousin Henry, Samantha's cousin (and possibly Uncle Arthur's son; when Endora once calls Henry "the clown prince of the cosmos," she adds "Where's
King Arthur?"). Whether Arthur's son or not, Henry shares his love of practical jokes.
- Cousin Panda, Endora's niece. (Elizabeth Montgomery actually had a cousin named Panda.)
- The Witches Council, the ruling body of all witches and warlocks throughout the cosmos. Never actually seen but only heard as booming voices, they, like Endora, disapprove of Samantha's marriage to Darrin.
- Queen Ticheba, who made one appearance to pass the mantle of Queen to Samantha in season 4. Her name apparently derived from Tituba, although she was played by white actress Ruth McDevitt. In the Dick Sargent years, a High Priestess rather than a Queen was shown; she was Hepzibah, played by Jane Connell. There was one mention of Samantha being ex-queen. Her abdication was never brought up in the series, nor was her successor. Why the witches' ruler was changed to a High Priestess was never explained.
- Albert Stephens, the uncle of Darrin Stephens, only shown briefly in episode number 69, "'A Bum Raps".
- Darrin's Cousin Helen, appearing in episode 129, "A Prince of a Guy". She and Uncle Albert are Darrin's only relatives shown, other than his parents.
- Betty, the secretary at McMann and Tate, played by various actresses.
- Mr. McMann, Larry's partner, seen in episode 139, "Man of the Year" and again in episode 191, "What Makes Darrin Run".
- Harriet Kravitz, Abner's sister (Mary Grace Canfield), who takes care of the house for Abner and Gladys while they are out of town in season 2. This was after Alice Pearce had died and before the show had recast her role in season 3.
- Ms. Peabody, Tabitha's 2nd grade teacher (Maudie Prickett), appeared in two episodes of Season 8, "Tabitha's First Day of School" (248) and "School Days, School Daze" (251).
s Gunsmoke western series, made his television debut in the role of Marvin Grogan in the 1964 Bewitched episode entitled "The Girl Reporter".
A number of historical, contemporary, and fictional characters also made appearances, among them:
Ratings for Bewitched
Bewitched did very well the first six seasons it aired, but then the ratings began to drop off in the early 1970s.
The ratings for each season, at the end of the season, were:
| Season | Ratings Rank | | 1) 1964-1965 | # 2 | | 2) 1965-1966 | # 7 | | 3) 1966-1967 | # 8 | | 4) 1967-1968 | # 11 | | 5) 1968-1969 | # 12 | | 6) 1969-1970 | # 25 | | 7) 1970-1971 | # 34 | | 8) 1971-1972 | # 72 |
ABC had planned Season 9 for Bewitched which would have been the 1972–1973 season, but Elizabeth Montgomery had fallen in love with director Richard Michaels and moved in with him at the end of Season 8, deciding not to come back for another season. Season 9 was to begin filming in the Spring of 1972 and 26 more episodes would have been filmed, but then-husband William Asher told ABC that he would produce another series for them since Bewitched's ratings had dropped so low. He wound up producing two: The Paul Lynde Show, a sitcom starring the "Uncle Arthur" actor (and Hollywood Squares regular) Paul Lynde, which lasted only one season in 1972-73; and Temperatures Rising, a two-year comedy set in a hospital and starring James Whitmore in its first season. Because of the Lynde show's failure and contractual problems with Whitmore, Asher cast Paul Lynde as a manic, hospital chief in the 1973-74 season, and also signed Alice Ghostley as a hospital staff member. The show, absent of Whitmore's pragmatic, scholarly center was soon canceled.
Production
Sol Saks, who received credit as the creator of the show, wrote the pilot of Bewitched, although he was not involved with the show after the pilot. Initially, Danny Arnold, who helped develop the style and tone of the series as well as some of the supporting characters who did not appear in the pilot, like Larry Tate and the Kravitzes, produced and headed writing of the series. Arnold, who wrote on McHale's Navy and other shows, thought of Bewitched as being essentially a romantic comedy about a mixed marriage; his episodes kept the magic element to a minimum, with one or two magical acts to drive the plot but Samantha usually solving problems without using magic. Also, many of the first season's episodes were allegorical, using supernatural situations as clear metaphors for the real-life problems a young couple would face. Arnold stated that the two main themes of the series were the conflict between a powerful woman (Samantha) and a husband who cannot deal with that power (Darrin), and the anger of the bride's mother (Endora) at seeing her daughter marry beneath her. Though the show was a hit right from the beginning, Arnold battled with ABC, which wanted more magic and more farcical plots.
Arnold left the show after the first season (he would later co-create Barney Miller with Theodore J. Flicker), leaving producing duties to his friend Jerry Davis, who had already produced some of the first season's episodes (though Arnold was still supervising the writing). The second season was produced by Davis and with Bernard Slade as head writer, with mistaken identity and farce becoming a more prevalent element, but still included a number of more low-key episodes where the magic element was not front and center.
With the third season and the switch to color, Davis left the show, and was replaced as producer by William Froug. Slade also left after the second season (he would later create another popular Screen Gems series, The Partridge Family, which, like Bewitched, went through a recasting of a role). According to William Froug's autobiography, Asher himself wanted to take over as producer when Jerry Davis left, but the production company was not yet ready to approve the idea. Froug, a former producer of Gilligan's Island, was brought in as a compromise. By his own admission, Froug was not very familiar with Bewitched and found himself in the uncomfortable position of being the official producer even though Asher was making most of the creative decisions. After a year, Froug left the show, and Asher took over as full-time producer of the series for the rest of its run.
Samantha and Darrin Stephens were the first live-action TV couple, with the actors not married to each other in real life, to sleep in a double bed (a married couple, Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns, first shared a bed in the 1940s sitcom Mary Kay and Johnny).
In June 1970, Bewitched filmed on location in Salem, Magnolia and Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts locations shoots marked the only time the show would film away from their Hollywood studio set, which had burned down. The eight "Salem Saga" episodes, as they became known, helped improve the show's ratings. Season 8 featured a European vacation for the characters, but the episodes were filmed in Hollywood using stock footage.
DVD releases
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first two seasons of Bewitched on DVD in 2005, with the third and fourth seasons released in 2006, the fifth season in 2007 and the sixth season in 2008. Season Seven was released on 3 February 2009 in the United States, 2 March 2009 in the United Kingdom and 15 April 2009 in Australia. Season Eight is to be released by decade's end. Because the first two seasons were produced in black and white, Sony released two versions of the sets in region 1: one with the episodes as originally broadcast and a second with the episodes colorized. The color sets outsold the black and white sets by a substantial margin. The colorized editions were the only ones released in regions 2, 3 and 4.
Syndication
As of February 2009, the show can be viewed in the US on WGN America, downloaded on iTunes, or streamed for free in the US on IMDB, Hulu, and Minisodes are available on Crackle.
Spin-offs
Comic book
Dell Comics published a short-lived comic book for 14 issues starting in 1965. Most comics had photo covers.
Tabitha and Adam and the Clown Family
An animated cartoon made in 1972 by Hanna-Barbera Productions for The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, this featured teenage versions of Tabitha and Adam visiting their aunt and her family who travel with a circus.
See Also List of Animated Spinoffs from Prime Time Shows
Tabitha
In 1977, a spin-off show entitled Tabitha aired on the ABC network. The show, which ran for less than a season, starred Lisa Hartman as an adult Tabitha working, along with Adam, at television station KXLA. The show had several continuity issues. Tabitha and Adam should have been 11 and 8 years of age in 1977. Supporting witch character Aunt Minerva (Karen Morrow) was like a mother to Tabitha but had never been mentioned in the original series. Samantha and Darrin never appeared in the spin-off series, though Bernard Fox, Sandra Gould, George Tobias and Dick Wilson made separate guest appearances as Dr. Bombay, Gladys Kravitz, Abner Kravitz and the Drunk Guy, respectively.
The Bewitched movie
Bewitched inspired a 2005 movie re-imagining starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. When Jack Wyatt (Ferrell), a failing Hollywood actor, is offered the chance of a career comeback playing Darrin in a remake of Bewitched; all he has to do is find the perfect girl to play Samantha. He finds that perfect girl in Isabel Bigelow (Kidman), who, it turns out, really IS a witch. It is set in Los Angeles rather than New York. The storyline bears some similarities to that of the movie Bell, Book and Candle, which had often been cited as one of the primary inspirations for the original series. The film also stars Shirley MacLaine as an actress playing Endora, and Michael Caine as Isabel's father. But the film was not well received, and was rated poorly by many critics and did weak box-office business.
Remakes
Argentina
A local remake of Bewitched, called Hechizada, as the original series is locally known, was made by Telefé, and aired in early 2007. It starred Florencia Peña as Samantha, Gustavo Garzón as Eduardo (Darrin) and Georgina Barbarrosa as Endora. This show adapted original scripts to an Argentinian context, with local jokes, and a twenty-first century setting. However, after a few weeks the show was cancelled due to low ratings.
India
In 2002, Sony Entertainment Television began airing , a local adaptation of Bewitched.
Japan
The Japanese TBS network, in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment, produced a remake called Oku-sama wa majo (?????? The Wife is a Witch). Eleven episodes were broadcast on Friday nights at 10 p.m., from January 16, 2004 in television to March 26, 2004, with a special extra episode broadcast on December 21, 2004. The main character, Arisa Matsui, was portrayed by Ryoko Yonekura. Oku-sama wa majo is also the Japanese title for the original American series.
Chile
The Chilean television channel Mega, in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment, will produce a remake called La Hechizada.
United Kingdom
The BBC made a pilot episode of a British version of the series, with Sheridan Smith in the lead role of Samantha, Tom Price as Darrin Stevens and veteran actress Frances de la Tour as Endora. The series has been commissioned and will be filming at Teddington Studios from January 2009.
See also
List of supernatural television series of the same era
Contemporary supernatural shows
- My Hero
- Oku-sama wa Maho Shojo
Further reading
External links
|
