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Recently stricken down for a few with a cold, I caught myself zoning out of cold medications and old TV. What a combination. I have to wonder what Timothy Leary would have thought. I love old TV shows and have quite the collection sitting in my video library. I am amazed that certain shows still entertain me and there is still magic in them. Speaking of magic, one that deals with magic was a real favorite of mine and it got me thinking…

What would old TV be without Elizabeth Montgomery who played a friendly witch in the comedy series Bewitched? How many of us wanted to twitch our noses and make magic happen or just make ourselves disappear? For me, it was a recurring daydream in my childhood. The antics of Samantha and Darrin Stephens, or Durwood as Endora would say.

This all time favorite sitcom started in 1964 and ended in 1972. It was considered the highest rated show in its very first year and it continued to hit the top of the charts throughout its eight year run. Why wouldn’t it? It was pure magic and fun. In fact, for its time, the technology was quite good. People disappearing and appearing, things floating, cars driving through walls and old ladies coming down chimneys. It was the mid 60′s and the technology was somewhat impressive, considering. In fact rarely did you see how they did the “special effects”.

This wonderful comedy was about the antics of a mortal marrying a witch and her vowing not to use her powers. Well of course, that rarely happened and with the help of her meddling mother, her crazy uncle Arthur, and her look alike cousin Sabrina, and her Doctor, Dr Bombay,  there was always trouble and spells.

Of course, the idea was for Samantha not to get caught but her nosey neighbor Gladys Kravitz was always trying to convince her husband Abner that something strange was happening in the house located Westport, Connecticut. To make matters worse, Darrin had to keep his magical household a secret to his nosey and somewhat passive aggressive boss Larry Tate who always showed up when he was not supposed to.

In doing my research for this article, I discovered some rather interesting trivia about Bewitched. The pilot show came out the Day JFK was assassinated. Elizabeth Montgomery’s husband was William Asher who not only directed Bewitched, he also directed I Love Lucy, The Danny Thomas Show, and The Patty Duke Show. Montgomery was not slated to play Samantha originally but ended up with the role when actress Tammy Grimes could not play the role.

This wonderful TV show will always have lasting power for those of us who grew up with Bewitched and if you have not watched the show, be sure to Hulu it or watch old TV Land reruns and be part of the magic the used to happen with television shows once upon a time ago.

My favorite episode of Bewitched was when Samantha talked in rhymes and could not stop herself. My other favorite episode is when they discover that Tabatha has powers and is a witch. So what do you recall about Bewitched? Do you have a favorite episode?