Elizabeth Montgomery stars as Samantha, a beautiful young witch who falls in love and marries an ad exec, trying her best to fit into the straight-laced suburbia. Dick York and, later, Dick Sargent star as her hapless husband Darrin Stephens, while Emmy Award winner Agnes Moorehead steals every scene she’s in as Endora. Samantha’s meddling mother. Rounding out the ensemble is Darrin’s boss, Larry Tate (David White), and the Stephens’ precocious daughter Tabitha. Join this unforgettable cast of characters in an enchanting 22-disc comedy collection, including the first two seasons in their original black & white presentation!
What We Thought:
Bewitched is iconic, classic television as far as I’m concerned. I watched it on reruns growing up and you probably did too through Nick at Nite, TV Land or something similar. With over 250 episodes, it was a TV mainstay for almost a decade.
Elizabeth Montgomery played Samantha, a witch who marries a regular man named Darrin and almost every episode is about the hijinks caused by a spell or Samantha’s abnormal abilities in a normal world. It’s a plot I Dream of Jeannie would follow a few years later and then shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch decades later. Add in a feisty mother character and then later on a daughter, and it’s TV sitcom 101 storytelling.
It’s also remembered for switching Darrins. Dick York originally played Samantha’s husband Darrin, but ailing health from back issues saw the character off screen for many episodes and then York was replaced with Dick Sargent. Many other side characters got replaced through the series, but having the lead actor get switched is memorable.
I believe Bewitched has been available as a complete series box set before, but this new 60th Anniversary Blu-ray edition is pretty nice. It has the first two seasons in its original black & white whereas other releases had them colorized. It also comes with a great documentary on the making of the show and commentary for multiple episodes. I love watching the old making of stuff for shows from this time period because of how much actually went into making them. TV making was so different back then and seeing the ins and outs is cool. If you are a fan of the show and don’t already own the series then this is the version to own.
Extra Features
- Bewitched: Behind the Magic – An all-new documentary about the making of Bewitched, featuring special guest appearances by actor David Mandel (Adam Stephens), Steve Olim (who worked in the Make-Up Department at Columbia), Bewitched historian Herbie J Pilato, film and television historian Robert S. Ray, Bewitched guest star Eric Scott (later of The Waltons), and Chris York, son of D. York (the first Darrin).
- 16 New Episodic Audio Commentaries: Herbie J Pilato serves as moderator during “behind-the-scenes” conversations with Peter Ackerman (son of Bewitched executive producer Harry Ackerman), David Mandel, Bewitched guest star Janee Michelle (from “Sisters at Heart”), Steve Olim, Robert S. Ray, former child TV actors and Bewitched guest stars Ricky Powell (The Smith Family), Eric Scott (The Waltons), and Johnny Whitaker (Family affair, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters), and Chris York (son of D. York).
- Exclusive 36-page Booklet featuring pieces by Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, as well as an episode guide.
The Nerds Templar 