Tucker's Witch

The cast list here couldn't be more wrong. Tucker's Witch was one of my favorite shows from the 80s and actually lasted for 12 episodes. The list says that Catherine Hicks and Tim Matheson were Rick and Amanda for only one episode. They were Rick and Amanda Tucker during the entire run, not only for one episode as listed here. Kim Cattrall and Art Hindle were originally cast, but they were never actually in an episode. I can't imagine this show with "Samantha Jones" in the title role! And who knows what happened to Art Hindle? For whatever reason the casting change was made, it was a good one as Hicks and Matheson worked very well together. The delightful Barbara Barrie played her mother, and the fabulous Alfre Woodard was their assistant.

Good show. Too bad it was canceled. Tucker's Witch was about a couple of private eyes. Rick and Amanda Tucker run a private detective agency in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles. Rick's wife, Amanda, has supernatural powers that sometimes get them into trouble. In the first episode, Amanda finds out from her mother, that she's a witch. However, in this show, unlike Charmed, skips a generation. Amanda has the powers her mother doesn't. Sometimes those powers get them into trouble so they're a mixed blessing. What happens next? I'm not telling. You'll have to find out for yourselves. No spoilers. No spoiler warnings. I'm still not telling.

It never stood a chance against Dynasty. We used to tape this show while watching Dynasty. Fantastic cast, fun premise, and the "witchcraft" didn't overpower the show. First time for me seeing Alfred Woodward and I've loved her ever since. Tim Matheson and Catharine Hicks were great together. Even more interesting was finding out that Ms Hicks was very allergic to cats, yet they made Tim's character the allergic one.

Barbara Barrie ends up being the most adorable character in this series as Amanda's mother.

If only CBS had moved this to a much better timeslot, this series might have stood a chance. Sort of a Murder She Wrote with a touch of ESP - quite a fun series!

Tucker's Witch is an impossibly dull show with little redeeming value. The marvelous if underused cast is relegated to a slow-moving vehicle in which you always know who did the dirty deed so you're merely waiting for him-her to be found out a-la Columbo, but even more mundane.

Considering all that, its twelve episodes are at least ten too many. And unlike the wonderful Bewitched where Samantha can conjure up just about anything, the "witch" aspect here is nearly non-existent, and when it does come into play, to call it subtle is to grossly understate. The results are minimal to nearly imperceptible, and never very amusing.

I loved this show. It was like Hart to Hart, with a younger, more attractive couple and the added attraction of witchcraft. It was lighthearted and fun, and should have been a big hit. Tim Matheson and Catherine Hicks were at their peak of cuteness, the cat Dickens was cute himself, and Barbra Barrie is always great.

I'm sure by today's standards the plots were more pedestrian than I remember. 80s and 70s dramas are often like that. But in its day, it was great. I think I saw every episode.

Someone ought to think about remaking this show. It really had potential.