Bewitched: Difference between revisions

''Bewitched'' experienced many casting changes during its long run. Kasey Rogers replaced Irene Vernon as Louise Tate in 1966, and Sandra Gould replaced Alice Pearce as Gladys Kravitz the same year. Tabitha was played by no fewer than three sets of twins: Heidi and Laura Gentry and Tamar and Julie Young all played Tabitha throughout much of 1966, but were replaced permanently by the duo of Erin and Diane Murphy. (Eventually Erin Murphy took over the role entirely.) But the most noticeable replacement (and one of the most famous in TV history) occurred in 1969 when [[The Other Darrin|Dick Sargent replaced an ailing Dick York as Darrin]]. Usually having multiple changes like these are detrimental to a show's quality, but ''Bewitched'' had a consistency of tone and style that allowed the show to overcome the changes.

 

 

In 2005 a [[The Film of the Series|movie]] [[Bewitched (Film)|adaptation]] hit the big screen, and approached the subject matter from a direction never before tried, as replicating the original would require either denying the existence of a seminal TV show or making Darrin an idiot. Instead, it was a comedy about a remake of the original series. Naturally, the twist was that a ''real'' witch of the ''Bewitched'' mold (Isabel, played by Nicole Kidman) was cast as Samantha. ("I wasn't allowed to watch ''Bewitched''. Daddy said it was racist.")

* [[The Other Darrin]]

* [[My Name Is Not Durwood]]

* [[Absentee Actor]]: Dick York missed several season 5 episodes, due to the chronic back pain that would lead to his retirement from the series and replacement by Dick Sargent in season 6.

* [[Animated Credits Opening]]

{{quote| Bewitched, bewitched, you've got me in your spell/Bewitched, bewitched, you know your craft so well/Before I knew what you were doing, I looked in your eyes/That brand of woo that you've been brewin' took me by surprise/You witch, you witch! One thing that is for sure/That stuff you pitch, Just hasn't got a cure/My heart was under lock and key, But somehow it got unhitched/I never thought my heart could be had/But now I'm caught and I'm kind of glad/To be -- bewitched!}}

* [[George Jetson Job Security]]

* [[Halloween Episode]]: Appropriately enough, the show had five of them. There were also five [[Christmas Episode|Christmas Episodes]], two St. Patrick's Day episodes, a Thanksgiving episode, a Valentine's Day episode, and even a Washington's Birthday episode. Apparently the producers really liked their holidays.

* [[Housewife]]

* [[Nosy Neighbor]]: While not a [[Trope Namer]], "Gladys Kravitz" is shorthand for a busy-body who gossips about their neighbors.

* [[Not Me This Time]]: Happens in quite a few episodes, as Darrin usually assumes that his troubles are being caused by Endora. Endora claims to be innocent, or doesn't show up in the episode at all, and later it turns out to be someone else screwing with Darrin -- or the problem was completely mundane with no magic involved.

{{quote| '''Dave:''' The sea of matrimony is beset with hidden shoals and reefs.<br />

'''Darrin:''' I just found out Samantha's a witch.<br />

* [[The Other Darrin]]: Not just [[Trope Namer|Darrin]], but Gladys Kravitz, Louise Tate and Darrin's father, not to mention two babies and three different sets of twins playing Tabitha.

** The trope namer has the bonus of both actors being named Dick, leading fans to affectionately call it "the Dick switch."

* [[Power Incontinence]]: Aunt Clara, and later on, Esmeralda.

* [[Pretty in Mink]]: A few episodes had furs, since for witches, it was just a matter of making one appear.

** The Stephens' living room set was itself recycled from the movie ''Gidget Goes to Rome''.

** The recycling continued for years after. The exterior of the Taylors' home in ''[[Home Improvement]]'' was a redecoration of the facade of the Stephens' home, and the fountain in the local park is most famous as the place the ''[[Friends]]'' play around during their theme song.

** Unlike ''Bewitched'', in ''I Married a Witch'' the 'shadow-horror' element is much closer to the surface, the witch in question really does have very bad intentions for Wallace Wooley (the hero) at first, and her warlock father is much worse. The protagonist comes out ahead in the end, partly by accident, but even at the end there's a hint that he might not be home free yet. The feel is similar to ''Bewitched'', but a step or two closer to reality and so a step or two scarier and more unnerving amid the comedy.

* [[Rerun]]

** Plus the very idea of an "invisible" subculture of unusual people, existing alongside the everyday world, encouraged gays (and others) to identify.

* [[Shout Out]]: Endora's name is a reference to the Witch of Endor in the [[The Bible (Literature)|The Bible]].

* [[Standardized Sitcom Housing]]: ''Bewitched'' is one of the most famous aversions.

* [[Stop Trick]]

* [[Trickster Archetype]]: Uncle Arthur.

* [[Trope Makers]]

* [[Uncanny Family Resemblance]]: Samantha's cousin Serena, also played by Elizabeth Montgomery.

* [[Useless Superpowers]]