The ABC sitcom Bewitched ran for 8 seasons, from 1964 to 1972. The first two seasons were filmed in black & white (and later colorized), while the remaining 6 seasons were shot in color.

The series opens with a beautiful young witch named Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) falling in love with ad executive Darrin Stephens (Dick York). After a quick, whirlwind romance, the two are already on their honeymoon in the series pilot. Samantha decides to reveal to her new husband that she is “a real broom-riding, house-haunting, cauldron-stirring witch”. At first Darrin thinks she is joking, but after Samantha moves things around their hotel room using her powers, he believes her. However, Darrin still loves his wife, and just asks her to refrain from using magic—he just wants her to be a normal suburban housewife.

And so we follow the lives of this couple as Samantha struggles to be the perfect housewife without using her powers. However, she often caves in, and when she does, there are usually some unexpected side effects or consequences, leading to hilarious situations. Samantha’s spells often cause historical figures to pop up at their home, or change friends or family members into children, toads, dogs, or other forms. (The series feels very reminiscent of I Dream of Jeannie in some ways.) Meanwhile, Samantha’s witch mother, Endora (Agnes Moorehead), often pops in to tell her daughter that she disapproves of her taking a mortal husband. Endora can be a bit manipulative, often encouraging Samantha to use her magic, and never calling Darrin by his actual name.

While there may be some dated attitudes compared to today, despite the series being about a suburban housewife, I still found it quite funny and relatable today. I miss this kind of fun, family-friendly sitcom.

Montgomery and York have amazing chemistry and comedic timing. I was a little worried when I saw that Dick Sargent took over the role of Darrin for the final three seasons (due to York having some health issues). However, he has a very similar look, and Sargent is also great and funny in the role, so it was easy to imagine this being the same character. Agnes Moorehead is hilarious as Endora, with her wild costumes and mischievous nature, and often steals the scene. In addition to the main trio, there are many regular and recurring characters, including Darrin’s boss Larry Tate (David White), nosy/suspicious next door neighbor Gladys Kravitz (Alice Pearce & Sandra Gould) and her husband Abner (George Tobias), Samantha’s Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne), Samantha’s Uncle Arthur (Paul Lynde), Samantha’s father Maurice (Maurice Evans), Darrin parents Phyllis (Mabel Albertson) & Frank (Robert F. Simon and Roy Roberts), Dr. Bombay (Bernard Fox), and babysitter Esmeralda (Alice Ghostley).

As mentioned earlier, there are many historical figures that pop up over the course of the series, which makes for some nice history lessons built into the show. There are also some more serialized storylines, such as the eight Salem Saga episodes that open the seventh season and take the characters away from suburbia for a short time. The series also delves into some more serious topics, while still keeping things light, such as an episode that talks about race and prejudice—even before All in the Family tackled these themes head-on later that same year.

I had never watched Bewitched—I had only seen the Nicole Kidman feature film version—so I was excited to check it out on this Blu-ray release. I found it to be a fun, enjoyable sitcom, that still holds up quite well 60 years later. I found the series to be very fun, and it even had me laughing out loud at times. The series is a single camera show rather than a multi-cam sitcom shot in front of an audience. While it does have a laugh track (which I generally hate), it felt very measured and natural—not like the more oppressive canned laughter on modern shows like The Big Bang Theory that have “laughs” inserted after every other word to try to tell the audience what is supposed to be funny).

While the complete series of Bewitched had been released abroad on Blu-ray by Imprint Films, Mill Creek has now made it available to U.S. audiences in this new 60th Anniversary collection. Previous DVD releases had offered the first 2 seasons of the series in their colorized versions, but here the first two seasons are presented only in their original Black & White format, while the remaining seasons are presented in color. However, all episodes are presented in a 1.78:1 widescreen ratio, rather than in the show’s original 1.33:1 Full Frame ratio. I’m not sure if portions of the original picture were lost in this reframing, or if there was additional visible data added to the sides. But as I watched the episodes, it never felt like the picture had been oddly cropped or things were missing, and I found the presentation to be quite pleasing as it willed the screen.

The Blu-ray video presentation provides a generally solid but sometimes inconsistent picture. The Black & Wite episodes have a natural looking grain to them, and generally look clean and clear. There is some inconsistency, such as in episode 2, which keeps switching between two angles of same scene. In one angle things look crisp and clear, while the other looks more grainy less focused. There are also some second unit footage/establishing shots (such as the exterior of a plane or airport) in later seasons that aren’t as clean ad clear as the main shots. For the color seasons, the colors are rich and vibrant and really pop. In general the picture looks quite good, especially for a series that’s 60 years old! In fact, you can even see some of the strings when magic is being used to float or move objects across a room.

The audio is presented in English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, and I really have no complaints. Dialogue is clear throughout, and sounds quite full, despite not being a more modern surround track. Any effects, such as the sound that plays when Samantha does her magic twitch, blend in nicely with the rest of the audio.

The show’s 8 seasons/254 episodes are spread across 22 discs, with 3 discs each for seasons 1-6, and 2 discs each for seasons 7-8. The discs are stacked on overlapping pegs/trays in a thick DVD case. This is placed inside a cardboard slipcover along with a beautiful 40-page booklet containing photos, an episode guide, and an interesting look into the rich history of the series, written by Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato. There are 16 audio commentary tracks spread across the discs. These are primarily led by Pilato, who is joined by other historians and some original cast and crew from the series or their relatives. There is also a 30-minute documentary about the series on the final disc. All of the bonus material was originally created for Imprint Films’ Blu-ray releases of the series.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (107 hrs, 20 min)

• All 8 seasons of the series on 22 discs:
  • Season 1 (1964-65) – 36 episodes – 3 discs
    Disc 1: “I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha”, “Be It Ever So Mortgaged”, “It Shouldn’t Happen to a Dog”, “Mother Meets What’s-His-Name”, “Help, Help, Don’t Save Me”, “Little Pitchers Have Big Fears”, “The Witches Are Out”, “The Girl Reporter”, “Witch or Wife”, “Just One Happy Family”, “It Takes One to Know One”, “…And Something Makes Three”
    Disc 2: “Love Is Blind”, “Samantha Meets the Folks”, “A Vision of Sugar Plums”, “It’s Magic”, “A Is for Aardvark”, “The Cat’s Meow”, “A Nice Little Dinner Party”, “Your Witch Is Showing”, “Ling Ling”, “Eye of the Beholder”, “Red Light, Green Light”, “Which Witch Is Which?”
    Disc 3: “Pleasure O’Riley”, “Driving Is the Only Way to Fly”, “There’s No Witch Like an Old Witch”, “Open the Door, Witchcraft”, “Abner Kadabra”, “George, the Warlock”, “That Was My Wife”, “Illegal Separation”, “A Change of Face”, “Remember the Main”, “Eat at Mario’s”, “Cousin Edgar”
  • Season 2 (1965-66) – 38 episodes – 3 discs
    Disc 4: “Alias Darrin Stephens”, “A Very Special Delivery”, “We’re in for a Bad Spell”, “My Grandson, the Warlock”, “The Joker Is a Card”, “Take Two Aspirins and Half a Pint of Porpoise Milk”, “Trick or Treat”, “The Very Informal Dress”, “And Then I Wrote”, “Junior Executive”, “Aunt Clara’s Old Flame”, “A Strange Little Visitor”
    Disc 5: “My Boss, the Teddy Bear”, “Speak the Truth”, “A Vision of Sugar Plums” (repeat), “The Magic Cabin”, “Maid to Order”, “And Then There Were Three”, “My Baby, the Tycoon”, “Samantha Meets the Folks” (repeat), “Fastest Gun on Madison Avenue”, “The Dancing Bear”, “Double Tate”, “Samantha, the Dressmaker”, “The Horse’s Mouth”
    Disc 6: “Baby’s First Paragraph”, “The Leprechaun”, “Double Split”, “Disappearing Samantha”, “Follow That Witch (Part 1)”, “Follow That Witch (Part 2)”, “A Bum Raps”, “Divided He Falls”, “Man’s Best Friend”, “The Catnapper”, “What Every Young Man Should Know”, “The Girl With the Golden Nose”, “Prodigy”
  • Season 3 (1966-67) – 33 episodes – 3 discs
    Disc 7: “Nobody’s Perfect”, “The Moment of Truth”, “Witches and Warlocks Are My Favorite Things”, “Accidental Twins”, “A Most Unusual Wood Nymph”, “Endora Moves in for a Spell”, “Twitch or Treat”, “Dangerous Diaper Dan”, “The Short, Happy Circuit of Aunt Clara”, “I’d Rather Twitch Than Fight”, “Oedipus Hex”
    Disc 8: “Sam’s Spooky Chair”, “My Friend Ben”, “Samantha for the Defense”, “A Gazebo Never Forgets”, “Soapbox Derby”, “Sam in the Moon”, “Ho Ho the Clown”, “Super Car”, “The Corn Is as High as a Guernsey’s Eye”, “The Trial and Error of Aunt Clara”, “Three Wishes”
    Disc 9: “I Remember You…Sometimes”, “Art for Sam’s Sake”, “Charlie Harper, Winner”, “Aunt Clara’s Victoria Victory”, “The Crone of Cawdor”, “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, “It’s Wishcraft”, “How to Fail in Business With All Kinds of Help”, “Bewitched, Bothered and Infuriated”, “Nobody but a Frog Knows How to Live”, “There’s Gold in Them Thar Pills”
  • Season 4 (1967-68) – 33 episodes – 2 discs
    Disc 10: “Long Live the Queen”, “Toys in Babeland”, “Business, Italian Style”, “Double, Double, Toil and Trouble”, “Cheap, Cheap”, “No Zip in My Zap”, “Birdies, Bogeys and Baxter”, “A Safe and Sane Halloween”, “Out of Sync, Out of Mind”, “That Was No Chick, That Was My Wife”, “Allergic to Macedonian Dodo Birds”
    Disc 11: “Samantha’s Thanksgiving to Remember”, “Solid Gold Mother-in-Law”, “My, What Big Ears You Have”, “I Get Your Nannie, You Get My Goat”, “Humbug Not to Be Spoken Here”, “Samantha’s Da Vinci Dilemma”, “Once in a Vial”, “Snob in the Grass”, “If They Never Met”, “Hippie, Hippie, Hooray”, “A Prince of a Guy”
    Disc 12: “McTavish”, “How Green Was My Grass”, “To Twitch or Not to Twitch”, “Playmates”, “Tabatha’s Cranky Spell”, “I Confess”, “A Majority of Two”, “Samantha’s Secret Saucer”, “The No-Harm Charm”, “Man of the Year”, “Splitsville”
  • Season 5 (1968-69) – 30 episodes – 3 discs
    Disc 13: “Samantha’s Wedding Present”, “Samantha Goes South for a Spell”, “Samantha on the Keyboard”, “Darrin, Gone and Forgotten”, “It’s So Nice to Have a Spouse Around the House”, “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall”, “Samantha’s French Pastry”, “Is It Magic or Imagination?”, “Samantha Fights City Hall”, “Samantha Loses Her Voice”
    Disc 14: “I Don’t Want to Be a Toad, I Want to Be a Butterfly”, “Weep No More My Willow”, “Instant Courtesy”, “Samantha’s Super Maid”, “Cousin Serena Strikes Again (Part 1)”, “Cousin Serena Strikes Again (Part 2)”, “One Touch of Midas”, “Samantha the Bard”, “Samantha the Sculptress”, “Mrs. Stephens, Where Are You?”
    Disc 15: “Marriage, Witches’ Style”, “Going Ape”, “Tabitha’s Weekend”, “The Battle of Burning Oak”, “Samantha’s Power Failure”, “Samantha Twitches for UNICEF”, “Daddy Does His Thing”, “Samantha’s Good News”, “Samantha’s Shopping Spree”, “Samantha and Darrin in Mexico City”
  • Season 6 (1969-70) – 30 episodes – 3 discs
    Disc 16: “Samantha and the Beanstalk”, “Samantha’s Yoo-Hoo Maid”, “Samantha’s Caesar Salad”, “Samantha’s Curious Cravings”, “…And Something Makes Four”, “Naming Samantha’s New Baby”, “To Trick or Treat or Not to Trick or Treat”, “A Bunny for Tabitha”, “Samantha’s Secret Spell”, “Daddy Comes To Visit”
    Disc 17: “Darrin the Warlock”, “Samantha’s Double Mother Trouble”, “You’re So Agreeable”, “Santa Comes to Visit and Stays and Stays”, “Samantha’s Better Halves”, “Samantha’s Lost Weekend”, “The Phrase Is Familiar”, “Samantha’s Secret Is Discovered”, “Tabitha’s Very Own Samantha”, “Super Arthur”
    Disc 18: “What Makes Darrin Run?”, “Serena Stops the Show”, “Just a Kid Again”, “The Generation Zap”, “Okay, Who’s the Wise Witch?”, “A Chance on Love”, “If the Shoe Pinches”, “Mona Sammy”, “Turn on the Old Charm”, “Make Love, Not Hate”
  • Season 7 (1970-71) – 28 episodes – 2 discs
    Disc 19: “To Go or Not to Go, That Is the Question”, “Salem, Here We Come”, “The Salem Saga”, “Samantha’s Hot Bedwarmer”, “Darrin on a Pedestal”, “Paul Revere Rides Again”, “Samantha’s Bad Day in Salem”, “Samantha’s Old Salem Trip”, “Samantha’s Pet Warlock”, “Samantha’s Old Man”, “The Corsican Cousins”, “Samantha’s Magic Potion”, “Sisters at Heart”, “Mother-in-Law of the Year”
    Disc 20: “Mary the Good Fairy”, “The Good Fairy Strikes Again”, “The Return of Darrin the Bold”, “The House That Uncle Arthur Built”, “Samantha and the Troll”, “This Little Piggie”, “Mixed Doubles”, “Darrin Goes Ape”, “Money Happy Returns”, “Out of the Mouths of Babes”, “Samantha’s Psychic Pslip”, “Samantha’s Magic Mirror”, “Laugh, Clown, Laugh”, “Samantha and the Antique Doll”
  • Season 8 (1971-72) – 26 episodes – 2 discs
    Disc 21: “How Not to Lose Your Head to King Henry VIII (Part 1)”, “How Not to Lose Your Head to King Henry VIII (Part 2)”, “Samantha and the Loch Ness Monster”, “Samantha’s Not So Leaning Tower of Pisa”, “Bewitched, Bothered and Baldoni”, “Paris, Witches Style”, “The Ghost Who Made a Spectre of Himself”, “TV or Not TV”, “A Plague on Maurice and Samantha”, “Hansel and Gretel in Samanthaland”, “The Warlock in the Gray Flannel Suit”, “The Eight-Year Itch Witch”, “Three Men and a Witch on a Horse”
    Disc 22: “Adam, Warlock or Washout?”, “Samantha’s Magic Sitter”, “Samantha Is Earthbound”, “Serena’s Richcraft”, “Samantha on Thin Ice”, “Serena’s Youth Pill”, “Tabitha’s First Day in School”, “George Washington Zapped Here (Part 1)”, “George Washington Zapped Here (Part 2)”, “School Days, School Daze”, “A Good Turn Never Goes Unpunished”, “Samantha’s Witchcraft Blows a Fuse”, “The Truth, Nothing but the Truth, So Help Me Sam”
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
  (Note: the 1.33:1 aspect ratio listed on the packaging is incorrect)
• Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Color: Black & White (Seasons 1-2), Color (Seasons 3-8)

Extras:

• Audio Commentaries
  Sixteen audio commentary tracks can be found across 15 episodes (one seventh-season episode contains two tracks). These are led by Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, who is joined by other historians and original cast/crew from the series or their relatives.
  • Episode 101 – “I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha” (25:34) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, Chris York (son of actor Dick York), and film & television historian Rob Ray
  • Episode 104 – “Mother, Meet What’s-His-Name” (25:33) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, Chris York (son of actor Dick York), and film & television historian Rob Ray
  • Episode 117 – “A is for Aardvark” (25:36) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, Chris York (son of actor Dick York), and film & television historian Rob Ray
  • Episode 211 – “Aunt Clara’s Old Flame” (25:34) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, actor David Mandel (“Adam Stephens”) and film & television historian Rob Ray
  • Episode 218 – “And Then There Were Three” (25:34) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, actor David Mandel, and film & television historian Rob Ray
  • Episode 404 – “Double, Double, Toil and Trouble” (25:27) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, featuring Steve Olim (from the Columbia Make-Up Department), and Chris York (son of actor Dick York)
  • Episode 412 – “Samantha’s Thanksgiving to Remember” (25:28) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato and television historian Rob Ray
  • Episode 506 – “Mirror, Mirror On The Wall” (25:30) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, featuring Steve Olim (from the Columbia Make-Up Department), and Chris York (son of actor Dick York)
  • Episode 601 – “Samantha and the Beanstalk” (25:30) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato and guest star John Whitaker (“Jack”)
  • Episode 706 – “Paul Revere Rides Again” (25:22) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato and Peter Ackerman (son of executive producer Harry Ackerman)
  • Episode 713 – “Sisters at Heart” (25:44) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato and guest star Janee Michelle (“Dorothy Wilson”)
  • Episode 713 – “Sisters at Heart” (25:44) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato and film & television historian Rob Ray
  • Episode 724 – “Out of the Mouths of Babes” (25:24) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, Chris York (son of actor Dick York), and guest star Eric Scott (“Herbie”)
  • Episode 814 – “Adam, Warlock or Washout?” (25:51) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato and actor David Mandel-Bloch (“Adam”)
  • Episode 815 – “Samantha’s Magic Sitter” (25:50) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato and guest star Ricky Powell (“Ralph Norton”)
  • Episode 821 – “George Washington Zapped Here (Part 1)” (25:51) – Bewitched historian Herbie J. Pilato, film & television historian Rob Ray, and actor Eric Scott. Note, this commentary is more about The Waltons and working with actor Will Geer (who guested as “George Washington” in this episode) on that series.
• Bewitched: Behind the Magic (29:58)
  Author/historian Herbie J Pilato heads up this documentary that looks at how the series came about, the themes and appeal of the show, the actors, the characters, storylines, behind-the-scenes stories, the origin of the twitch, the guest stars, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes and production photos, and interviews with the same folks who appear on the commentary tracks, including guest Chris York (son of star Dick York), makeup department Steve Olim, historian Rob Ray, and guest stars Eric Scott & David Mandel.

Final Thoughts:

Bewitched is a really fun series the whole family can enjoy together. Even after 60 years, the series still holds up quite well. This 60th Anniversary Blu-ray set features solid picture and sound, though purists may be upset that Mill Creek has decided to offer this only in a widescreen format, rather than in the show’s original 4:3 aspect ratio. However, I found the picture to look quite beautiful and never oddly-cropped. The set is packed in a sturdy plastic case along with a slipcover and a very nice 40-page booklet that delves into the history of the series. The discs also contain a 30-minute look at the series and some entertaining and informative commentary tracks. This is certainly worth picking up for fans of the series, or those looking to add this classic sitcom to their collection.