BEWITCHED: Seasons 1 and 2 Blu-ray (Screen Gems/Ashmont, 1964-65, ViaVision Entertainment)

In retrospect, certain TV shows seem so much a product of their time, and so right in the spur of their moment, that to consider how close we came to not having known them at all just seems ludicrous. Case in point: Bewitched, ABC’s runaway hit series. It ran from 1964 to 1972. With a twitch of her nose, Elizabeth Montgomery conquered prejudices about the supernatural as a viable entertainment, readjusting cultural cynicism brought on by the thought-numbing splendor of a Presidential assassination, an ever-growing disillusionment with American society in general, and, racial politics in particular. While Bewitched’s featherweight story lines, and memorable cacophony of reoccurring oddballs rarely touched upon the topical, the show’s fanciful flights into escapist fantasy proved precisely the elixir to offset this woeful reality. “The envelope didn’t need much pushing in those days,” producer, William Asher admitted, “…because the envelope was shut tight.” Indeed, Bewitched hit the air at a time when television situation comedies were homogenized to a finite precision, meant to cater to certain ‘family friendly’ clichés about life ‘with father’ in America. 

Bewitched was a refreshing departure from this status quo. If not entirely an original premise (there had been movies made before it about a mere mortal falling in love with a sorceress, from 1942’s I Married a Witch, costarring Veronica Lake and Fredric March, to 1958’s Bell, Book and Candle, with James Stewart and Kim Novak), Bewitched nevertheless tweaked the time-honored premise with a bon vivant’s charm for transforming the every-day suburban mundane into freshly inventive newlywed calamities, exacerbated by the intrusion of witchcraft…and, of course, a meddlesome mother-in-law (played to perfection by 66 yr.-old Agnes Moorehead). Moorehead, in fact, thought so little of the idea, she agreed to do it, simply on a whim.  Bewitched ought never to have clicked. TV Guide’s initial assessment was far from glowing. And bringing Bewitched to the airwaves was fraught with setbacks. ABC balked at commissioning the pilot, fearing the show would be boycotted in the American South and Midwest where witches and witchcraft were considered sinfully aligned with the devil. Corporate sponsorship from Quaker Oats and Chevrolet helped. And fans responded immediately to the show’s lithe blend of mirth and mayhem. Yet, behind the scenes, Bewitched clung together by only a few precarious threads.

Dick York nailed the audition, cast as Bewitched’s forever harried hubby - successful ad man, Darrin Stephens. Alas, York’s addiction to prescription pills (to numb chronic pain from an old back injury) and his steadily failing health (prematurely brought on by his conspicuous consumption of cigarettes) would result in his being forced to retire prematurely from the role. Ironically, York’s replacement was Dick Sargent – the actor originally offered the part by executive producer, Harry Ackerman in 1964 (Sargent, unable to accept, due to prior contractual obligations at Universal Studios). For the lead, producer William Asher had only one gal in mind – his wife, Elizabeth Montgomery. The actress, born to Hollywood royalty had appeared in a reoccurring cameo on her father’s series, Robert Montgomery Presents. But by 1964, young Elizabeth was far more infamous for two failed marriages in short succession; the first, lasting less than a year, to stage manager Frederick Gallatin Cammann; the second, to alcoholic actor, Gig Young. As they say – ‘third time is the charm’ and, by all accounts, Asher and Montgomery were a winning team both on and off the screen…at least, for the duration of Bewitched’s original run. But when the show ended, so did their life together.

Bewitched’s instant popularity with fans (it was ABC’s #1 show on Thursday nights) gave cause for NBC to commission their own ‘supernatural’ series from Asher, who dusted off a thinly premised sit-com that would prove almost as good, if as well-liked: I Dream of Jeannie (1965-70). As the sixties heated up a political hotbed of unsettling crises both at home and abroad, audiences abated their stress by tuning into primetime television and Bewitched fed this growing dependency to set aside the real world for something more fanciful and appealing. In direct reply, and for the most part, TV programming in the 1960's harked back to the more fresh-faced wholesomeness of the fifties – mythical in its clean-cut sterility for good ‘ole fashioned’ entertainment. The powerhouse behind such pop-u-tainments was Screen Gems – the television offshoot of Columbia Pictures, helmed by Harry Ackerman. It was, in fact, Ackerman who first pitched the idea to screenwriter, Sol Saks for a new sitcom based on the life of an ‘almost’ non-practicing witch living in the burbs with her mortal husband. Originally, the part was offered to Broadway star, Tammy Grimes, who reluctantly declined, owing to prior commitments on the stage version of The Unsinkable Molly Brown; in hindsight, a blessing, since today it is virtually impossible to imagine anyone except Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stevens.

The series also cast the perfect Darrin the first time out. Dick York had amassed impressive acting credits throughout the 1950’s in films and on television, appearing to good effect in support on such popular TV shows as Wagon Train, Rawhide, and, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, culminating in his high-profile big screen performance opposite Gene Kelly’s cynical reporter, in Stanley Kramer’s all-star, Inherit the Wind (1960). For the part of Endora, Samantha’s meddlesome mama, producers were genuinely stumped until Elizabeth Montgomery’s chance encounter with Agnes Moorehead inside a New York department store. The 4-time Oscar-nominated Moorehead, much admired for her acting skills was, at first, unimpressed by the offer. Still, between jobs and of the belief Bewitched would never last, Moorehead agreed to partake of its pilot and first season. For William Asher, the premise for the witchcraft needed a genuine feel. Thus, he landed upon the idea of using his wife’s nervous tick – a twitchy upper lip – as the trademarked catalyst for all the magical incantations to follow it. In later years, Elizabeth Montgomery would rue the day she ever agreed to this cue, tiresomely prodded by interviewers and fans alike to perform ‘the twitch’ in public, even some twenty odd years after Bewitched had gone off the air.

However, just as Bewitched’s pilot was set to begin shooting, the production was struck by a double whammy. The first obstacle was troubling only to immediate cast and crew. The second, alas, afflicted the entire nation. Asher informed Ackerman that his wife was pregnant. No stranger to ‘writing in’ such a development, as had been done on I Love Lucy, on Bewitched an executive decision was reached to work around Elizabeth’s silently expanding girth, situating the actress behind furniture or simply photographing her from the neck up, and using a stand-in from the back for long shots, to keep the pregnancy a secret. On Nov. 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. For the Ashers, the loss was personal as they had been very close friends of the Kennedys. Despite the strain and shock, as well as the pall it cast on the set, the decision was made to push forward.  Regrettably, Dick York’s pain medication caused the actor to slur his words and become slightly incoherent, creating costly delays. Ever the pro, York forged beyond the pain. And to their credit, producers and sponsors stood behind York rather than recast with another actor...for the moment.

Despite all odds, network affiliates in the South and Midwest boycotted the show sight unseen on its premise alone, and, decidedly mixed reviews from the critics (TV Guide famously trashed the pilot), Bewitched proved an instant and runaway smash. Virtually all of the show’s appeal was wrapped in Elizabeth Montgomery’s endearing portrait of a doting wife (and soon to be mother) who just happened to be a witch. Rewriting the mythology of witchcraft, Montgomery’s Samantha Stevens was the gal-pal every man wished as his own. And in viewing the first 2 seasons of Bewitched one is immediately struck, not only by the gentle and thoroughly engaging rom/com chemistry between Montgomery and York, but also the extremely clever writing that never allows any of the series’ subtextual silliness to devolve into just fluff and nonsense. Better still, Bewitched wastes no time expanding its roster with some enviable ‘crazies’ to flesh out Samantha’s side of this nutty family tree. The irrepressible Marion Lorne became dotty Aunt Clara, Bernard Fox (frequently convoluted, as Dr. Bombay), Alice Ghostley, as the scatterbrain, Esmerelda, and, finally, devilish Paul Lynde as sly, playful and witty, Uncle Arthur. Lynde actually began his stint on Bewitched as a one-off driving instructor, driven half-mad by Samantha’s ineptitude behind the wheel. The pair got on so famously between takes that when the episode wrapped, Elizabeth went to her husband with the request to find something ‘more permanent for Lynde’s florid talents. And thus, the character of Uncle Arthur was born. Interestingly, Lynde’s larger-than-life presence was so enigmatic, in only 11 episodes he managed to establish himself as a central performer, integral to the cast.

In Season Two, twins Erin and Diane Murphy were hired as Darrin and Samantha’s offspring, Tabatha (the part eventually played exclusively by Erin) with other roles going to David White (Darrin’s stodgy boss, Larry Tate) Kasey Rogers (his wife, Louise) and, George Tobias and Alice Pearce as the Stevens’ nosy neighbors, Abner and Gladys Kravitz. Aside: Pearce’s passing in 1966 also necessitated her role be recast – less successfully – with Sandra Gould from 1966 until the end of the show’s run in 1971. To say the instant fame of Bewitched caught ABC and the other networks off guard is an understatement. At the beginning of Bewitched’s second season, Asher announced Elizabeth was once again expecting. While producers had shied away from revealing the actress’ first pregnancy, this time they elected to do as Lucille Ball had, and a baby was written into the series, predictably, to become a focal point of the mid-season ratings when Sam and Darrin welcomed Tabatha into their fold. (In real life, the Ashers had two sons.)

In years yet to follow, Tabatha would slowly reveal dominant strains of her mother’s powers – another cause for concern among network affiliates, deftly handled by Asher, illustrating there was nothing sinful, wicked or evil – though occasionally, rather mischievous – about the art of casting spells. At the end of Season Two, Bewitched added another member to its cast; Samantha’s devious sister, Serena (also played by Montgomery as the mini-skirted antithesis her more wholesome sister, destined to toy with the perfect balance in this couple’s happy home). But the biggest adjustment was yet to follow when ABC announced during the summer hiatus all subsequent seasons of Bewitched would be photographed in color.

Bewitched today remains a fondly remembered cultural touchstone from America’s beloved television past, one of those perennially revived and parodied. Despite changing times, the show never fails to garner new fans when it is rerun on cable networks. It even endured the humiliation of a laborious big screen reboot in 2005, costarring Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman – a forgettable travesty by all accounts. Bewitched has been out on DVD for some years now, Sony Home Entertainment releasing competing editions that featured the first two seasons in either B&W (as they originally aired) or in colorized editions that do not look as terrible as one might first anticipate (given the limitations of colorization in general…although the B&W versions are still very much preferred). Ironically, when Sony elected to reissue all of Bewitched as a DVD box set, it only included the colorized versions. Odd…and dumb!

For two years now, it's been rumored Mill Creek would take on the challenge of bringing Bewitched to Blu-ray as a complete series. For whatever reason, release date announcements have been chronically pushed back for this set (it's now listing as a June 2025 release...we'll see), allowing indie ‘Aussie’ label, ViaVision to beat Mill Creek to the punch with its own competing Blu box set. Important to note: ViaVision’s set contains only the first two seasons of the show, presented in their original B&W in native 1080p, with the colorized editions transferred in standard def and also included, but looking much worse for the wear. This release is being marketed as Vol. 1. So, we might expect ViaVision to be feverishly working on Vol. 2 to include the first two, native color seasons from the rest of the show’s original run. Stay tuned.

So, how does Vol. 1 of this beloved series look? Fairly solid. Sony has restored each episode. The sources are occasionally suspect, with hints of softness and/or age-related artifacts creeping in. But virtually all of these B&W transfers deliver remarkable clarity, excellent contrast, and a light smattering of indigenous grain. There are 74 episodes included here, a handful featuring audio commentary tracks from historians, Herbie J. Pilato, Chris York (Dick’s son), David Mandel and, Robert S. Ray. There are also two notable extras to consider: Behind the Magic, hosted by David Mandel, and The Magic Unveiled – a two-part featurette produced in 2005 by Sony for the DVD set. It’s nice to see Bewitched getting the attention it justly deserves. ViaVision’s packaging is first rate, presented in a strong cardboard box with individual seasons in smartly packaged standard Blu digi-packs, plus a beautifully assembled ‘hard cover’ booklet containing the original press materials for Season 1, covering the first 38 episodes. Bottom line: binge-watching Bewitched’s early years is a real blast from the past and a wonderful reminder of a much simpler time in television history. It is small screen ‘feel good’ entertainment of the highest order. ViaVision’s release is a quality affair and comes VERY highly recommended.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

4.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4

EXTRAS

3