Season Six has some entertaining shows, but a lot of dumb ones too.
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For the fans of "Bewitched" who watched from the very beginning and loved how the Sixties' sitcom shook suburbia with its playful combination of a housewife witch and average ad man, it seemed like a crime of the highest sort that one of the stars could be replaced. Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York had good chemistry as Samantha and Darrin Stephens, and so it's no wonder that fans felt as betrayed when a different Dick-Sargent-took over as Darrin in Season 6 as people did when that guy Roger Moore took over the Bond role from Sean Connery. But for generations who only saw "Bewitched" recycled in reruns that aired randomly in syndication, it was more a question of which Dick they preferred.
Sargent certainly isn't without appeal, though his reaction chops aren't quite as fun to watch as York's--whom you could swear was emitting steam, at times, when his wife pulled another nose-twitch on him or when his witchy mother-in-law, Endora (Agnes Moorehead) zapped him with another embarrassing spell. In fact, Sargent is more laid-back, more nice-guy, more Everyman than York, and that certainly makes him well-suited to play straight man in a domestic comedy.
But diehards registered their displeasure with the Nielsen folks, and after finishing as the number two-watched show in America its debut year and placing in the top 11 every other year York was onboard, the show slipped to number 24 this season, and dropped off the radar the other three years that Sargent played Darrin. In retrospect, though, you really can't put the blame on the genial replacement. There were other changes in the show. Gone was the original cranky neighbor, Gladys Kravitz (Alice Pearce), who was replaced by Sandra Gould in 1966. Gone was doddering-but-feisty Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne), who was replaced by Alice Ghostley and a new witchy incompetent named Esmeralda. And little Tabitha (Erin and Diane Murphy) was old enough now to be the focus of a number of shows, and with mommy pregnant this season there's yet another kid on the horizon.
New kids were the kiss of death for sitcoms, an admission that writers were running out of ideas. And that's certainly the case with this novelty show, which started to feel awfully familiar and closer to dinner-theater schtick by the sixth season. Kids will still find the show appealing, and those who grew up liking Sargent's Darrin will still have a soft spot for the show. But for general audiences, this classic sitcom had seen better days.
Here's how the 30 episodes play out:
1) "Samantha and the Beanstalk." Thinking her parents like boys better than girls, Tabitha switches places with Jack from her storybook, and mom has to zap herself into the book to fetch her back.
2) "Samantha's Yoo-Hoo Maid." Esmeralda is introduced as the painfully shy and bumbling witch who's lost her powers and needs a safe place to stay. And so she becomes the Stephens' maid and nanny.
3) "Samantha's Caesar Salad." A familiar formula is worked once more as Esmeralda conjures up the real Caesar instead of the salad. Jay Robinson plays a deliciously over-the-top Caesar, while Elizabeth Thompson guests as Cleopatra.
4) "Samantha's Curious Cravings." Every time Samantha has a pregnancy craving, the food magically appears in her hand . . . which can be socially awkward and hard to explain.
5) "And Something Makes Four." Samantha's father, Maurice (Maurice Evans) turns up on the day Sam's baby is born, and casts a spell so everyone at the hospital will fall in love with the boy.
6) "Naming Samantha's New Baby." Grandpa Frank (Roy Roberts) and Grandma Phyllis (Mabel Albertson) battle with Maurice over the baby's name.
7) "To Trick or Treat or Not to Trick or Treat." Okay but overused Halloween premise has Endora turning Darrin into a witch so he can appreciate what witches go through on Halloween.
8) "A Bunny for Tabitha." Uncle Arthur (Paul Lynde) produces a different kind of rabbit out of a hat (a Playboy bunny), and of course "Bunny" ends up being the life of Darrin's business party. A classic.
9) "Samantha's Secret Spell." Endora permanently fixes Darrin so he changes into a mouse at midnight, and it's up to Samantha to figure out a counter-spell.
10) "Daddy Comes for a Visit." Maurice insists that Darrin accept a watch that will allow him to perform magic, and the mortal soon realizes what a temptation such powers are.
11) "Darrin, the Warlock." The theme continues, with power going to Darrin's head, and Sam wondering if her father was sabotaging the two of them with his "gift."
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