Bewitched

For the Irish girl band see B*witched.

Bewitched was an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from 1964 to 1972. The show's focus was the mixed marriage of a nose-twitching witch, Samantha Stephens, and her mortal husband, Darrin. Samantha's mother, Endora, (played by Agnes Moorehead, who won an Emmy for her work in the role) disapproves of Darrin, and many episodes revolve around her using magic to make life difficult for her non-magical son-in-law, whom she calls "Durwood."

Darrin worked for an advertising company and his boss Larry Tate never learned that Samantha was a witch despite strange events taking place on a weekly basis. Across the road lived nosy neighbour Gladys Kravitz (played first by Alice Pearce, who won an Emmy for this role; following the death of Miss Pearce in 1966 the role was played by Sandra Gould). Adding to the fun was the Stephen's witch daughter Tabitha, and various witches, warlocks and mere mortals. The program made use of clever-for-the-time special effects to work its magic, and the storylines were imaginative and good-natured. Most episodes ended with Darrin, having been the victim of witchcraft throughout the episode (often with a spell put upon him by Endora), affirming his love for Samantha and acknowledging that, like it or not, he would have to accept witchcraft in his life.

The show was an immediate hit and was second only to Bonanza in its first season. It continued to rate well for another six years, but it lost some popularity when Dick York (who played Darrin) left the series in 1969 due to health problems and was replaced by Dick Sargent. The drop in popularity is ironic in light of the fact that Sargent had been the original choice to play Darrin but had been unavailable in 1964.

In 1966 the show saw Samantha and Darrin gave birth to daughter Tabitha, played by fraternal twins Erin and Diana Murphy. Tabitha took after her mother with her witch abilities, adding to Darrin's worries. In 1968 Diane Murphy was fired as the sisters began looking less and less alike.

1970 saw the birth of Adam, played by Greg and David Lawrence. Many see this as the other reason for the continued drop in popularity.

Characters

• Samantha Stephens - Elizabeth Montgomery
• Darrin Stephens - Dick York, Dick Sargent
• Tabitha Stephens - Erin & Diane Murphy
• Endora - Agnes Moorehead
• Dr. Bombay - Bernard Fox
• Larry Tate - David White
• Serena - Pandora Spocks (a pseudonym for Elizabeth Montgomery)
• Uncle Arthur - Paul Lynde
• Abner Kravitz - George Tobias
• Gladys Kravitz - Alice Pearce, Sandra Gould

Bewitched today

Bewitched continues to be seen throughout the world in syndication.

A movie re-imagining is planned for release in 2005 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 Isabel Bigelow (Kidman) who secretly really is a witch.

The screenplay has been written by Nora and Delia Ephron with Nora also directing the film. Other members of the cast include Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine.