Bewitched: The Complete Sixth Season DVD Credits:

Region: 1

Bewitched: The Complete Sixth Season DVD Release Date: 5th May 2008

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Bewitched: The Complete Sixth Season DVD Review:

I was so excited this week when I heard that I was reviewing a season of Bewitched. That was, until I found out that it was the 6th season of Bewitched. This isn’t a case of not correctly remembering the quality of a show I enjoyed in childhood (thank you Nick at Nite). After reviewing several episodes from season 6th, I watched earlier episodes on TV to make sure I hadn’t remembered a bad show as a good one.. Nope, just season six and I presume later seasons suffer from a case of bad magic.

Season 6 starts off with Samantha Stephens, pregnant with her second child. Darren and Sam must deal with a jealous Tabitha (their first daughter), and Sam’s meddling parents (Endora and Maurice). Samantha gives birth to a baby boy, Adam, but soon after another new character arrives. Esmeralda becomes the Stephens’ witch maid who reeks havoc whenever she sneezes. Some special guests featured in the six season episodes include Jack Cassidy, Johnny Whitaker (“Family Affair”), Bernie Kopell (“The Love Boat”), Carol Wayne (“The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”), and Henry Gibson (“Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in”).

The 6th season is infamous for the replacement of Dick York as Darren Stephens with Dick Sargent in the same role. Along with the change in cast, there were other problems behind the scenes. Elizabeth Montgomery and her husband, William Asher (also the show’s producer) planned on ending the series after five seasons. ABC convinced them with a pay raise to go on for three more. As the writing quality declined so did the ratings.

It is also rather clear from the acting that several members of the cast and crew did not want the series to continue. Elizabeth Montgomery does not contain the charm and lovable qualities of earlier episodes. Dick Sargent is always trying to live up to his predecessor. Too many episodes focus on Tabatha (played by Erin Murphy) who runs through her lines without any sense of timing.

The only special features contained on disc four are two minisodes of other series of the same time period. The minisodes are actually full episodes cut down and edited rather crudely, sometimes within a scene. They only focus on the main plot line, cutting out any secondary or tangent storylines. The episode “Where’d You Go-Go” from “I Dream of Jeannie” is only four minutes long, which is about all I could take. “The Eleven Year Itch” from “The Partridge Family” features a very young Jodie Foster and is possibly the highlight of the entire collection.

It’s a pity there was so much tension on the set of Bewitched. The plot of several episodes had potential. Two episodes feature Darren as a warlock, and numerous others have Endora (played by the marvelous Agnes Moorehead) torturing him at whim. But the wit and magical charm of the show is clearly lost in the later seasons. My opinion: watch up to season five on TV.

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Bewitched: The Complete Sixth Season DVD review written by: Lyz Reblin