A Feiticeira

A sweet premise, About a sweet witch(Elizabeth Montgomery) who marries a mortal(Dick York-Dick Sargent)much of the dismay of her witching mother(Agness Morehead). I love watching this show in reruns. It's a fun magic show. It also had meomerable characters like Uncle Arthur(The very funny Paul Lynde) Dr. Bombay(played very we'll by Bernard Fox). But when Dick York had to leave the show do to a serious back injury, and was replaced by Dick Sargent. It was not has funny anymore. The show's comic appeal was lost. Dick York was a comic genius. He had great comic timing. His comic reactions made the show. Besides Samantha's magic. I do not totally dislike Dick Sargent, I mean he was'nt that bad, he just was'nt has funny has Dick York. The only funny episode with Dick Sargent, is the Catch Phrase episode. But the show's appeal was'nt slowly falling only due to Dick York's departure. The show was wearing itself out. Maybe it should have quit while it was ahead.

Jeannie and Bewitched have to be two of the most formulaic and predictable shows ever aired on TV. Every episode of Bewitched had ,in different orders and combinations, the same formula of Endora zaps something to muck up Darrin, and it pays off in Darrin's favour; witchcraft of some sort interferes with Darrin's work and he gets fired, then re-hired, when the witchcraft again pays off, or is foiled. While in the meantime, Gladys Kravitz, Mrs Stavens, or some unsuspecting extra is baffled by it all, and theres always some unbelievable explanation at the end of it all which the long suffering cast members swallow. With that in mind, its bizarre that it still rates in re - runs, and its bizarre that I've taped about 7 blank tapes worth of the show from TV that I watch again and again. I can't get enough of it. So. obviously the show has a lot of appeal which allows viewers to look beyond, or perhaps enjoy the formula. I think the appeal lies in alot of things. First, the magic is a huge and fascinating drawcard. Wouldn't we all love to be able to make things appear and disappear with a twitched, and wouldn't we all love Barbara Eden as our Genie who's madly in love with us? We all would (males, anyway RE Barbara Eden), and thats what draws us to the shows. Its also brilliant and magical itself to see the special effects being done nearly forty years ago without computers or complex editing machines. That really put a smile on my face. The characters were all so far - out an exotic, all kind of like British aristocrats who had lost all air of conservatism, and lived carefree lives zapping from the Riviera to lunch in Shanghai. They were so funny, fantastic and appealing. I loved the conflict too; Endora and Darrin, Darrin and Larry; Darrin and Serena etc. And the actors of course were all brilliant, and having a tremendous time playing their roles, and fun roles they were. The chemistry on set between York and Montgomery was so believable and real, the flamboyance and gestures of Endora and Dr Bombay was loads of fun, and the comic timing of York was always perfect. Yes, Betwitched and Jeannie have to be my two favourite TV shows of all time, because they're just unpretentious, lightweight and appealing entertainment, and thats why they've lasted so long, because who would take a show about witches seriously anyway. And thats its charm.

The young executive of an advertisement agency, Darrin Stephens (Dick York) marries a beautiful woman, Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery). In their honeymoon, Sam discloses a secret to him: she is a witch with magic powers. He makes she promises him that she will live like a mortal, without using witchcraft and spells in their lives, but sometime she uses her magic to help Darrin and herself. Sam's mother, Endora (Agnes Moorehead) does not accept her mortal son-in-law, hates him and hardly can speak his name correctly. In the suburb of Morning Glory Circle, where they live, their snoopy next-door neighbor Gladys Kravitz (Alice Pearce) suspects of Samantha, but can never prove the weird situations she sees to her husband Abner Kravitz (George Tobias). Darrin works in the McMahon and Tate with Larry Tate (David White), who is married with Louise Tate. Samantha frequently receives her witches' aunts in her house, specially her sweet elder Aunt Clara.

With these simple elements, but in great stories, "Bewitched" is certainly one of the best feel-good shows of television ever. When I was a kid, I loved this series. Last month, Sony released a colorized four DVDs box with the complete first season (36 episodes) in Brazil. It is amazing how perfect the colors are. With the exception of Stephens' blue car that changes the tonality in accordance with the episode, the rest is amazingly perfect. There is the participation of the famous guest stars, such as Adam "Batman" West (episode 13), Billy "Lost in Space" Mumy (episode 15), June "Lost in Space" Lockhart (Episode 6) among others. We can see the back of Rachel Welch in the role of a stewardess in episode 8. Yesterday I saw the last episode, and I am anxiously waiting for the next season of this delightful magical journey to my childhood. My vote for the whole season is nine.

Title (Brazil): "A Feiticeira" (The Sorceress")

Bewitched was a great tv series. In my opinion, the best episodes were the black and white episodes with Dick York, the best Darrin. Elizabeth Montgomery did a great job on the series and so did Agnes Moorehead who played Samantha's mother, Endora. A series that will have a very long life in reruns.

Despite being a younger viewer of 'Bewitched', with the show being aired well before my time, one doesn't need to have been born in the 1960s or before to feel that the 60s was a great decade for television, 'The Munsters', 'The Addams Family', 'Doctor Who' and 'Bewitched' being just a few very good to classic shows.

'Bewitched' may not be a perfect or completely magical show, but at its best (with the early seasons being better than the later ones) it was utterly bewitching viewing that puts a spell on fans and doesn't make the mistake of trying to put too much into the cauldron. A mistake that the frustrating missed opportunity that was the 2005 film based on the show committed.

The later seasons did have some overripe acting (Alice Ghostley for example) and some of the story lines lack the freshness of those of the early seasons, some being lacking in variety and feeling a little stale.

However, 'Bewitched' has production values that were clearly made with love and affection and the slick photography complements them well. For the 60s, the show does still look pretty good. The effects are not always special (particularly early on) and there could have been more of them but most of the time they are hardly slapdash, make interesting use of film techniques and have a good deal of charm, putting some effects seen on television these days, and in the past 30 years or so, to shame.

When it comes to the music, 'Bewitched' is unique especially in, as has been picked up upon in its critical reception, the synthesised sound of nose twitching. The theme tune is memorable. The writing is very funny, touchingly charming, very snappy, provokes thought and is very true to life. The early episodes narration delivered by an uncredited Jose Ferrer gave a lot of sociological insight into a witch adapting to life in middle class suburbia and her role in society.

Most of the story lines have a real magical charm and have a huge amount of humour and truth. That they do these so well more than makes up for the formulaic nature of them that one is willing to overlook. The sociological insight is fascinating, though nowadays viewers may find what is said and the sociological insights very of the time.

Particularly successful are the large assortment of likable characters and the large cast clearly having the time of their lives. A large part of 'Bewitched's' charm is the peerless acting of lovely Elizabeth Montgomery. Likewise with Agnes Moorehead, one cannot imagine anybody else as Endora (certainly not equalling her if tried let alone outshining, Moorehead was one of a kind).

Her chemistry with a splendidly neurotic Dick York is one of the best in the history of television, though York and Montgomery aren't that far behind either. Dick Sargeant does a valiant effort filling big shoes replacing York and does a good job, though he lacks York's spark. In secondary roles, the hilarious turns from Bernard Fox and especially Paul Lynde stand out.

In summary, utterly bewitching. 8/10 Bethany Cox