frankenmyrrh
04-03-2006, 08:01 PM
A blogger has a bunch of posts arguing that the first season was the best because of the writer-producer Danny Arnold (http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2006/03/bewitched-year-of-danny-arnold.html), who left after the first season. (The second season was run by two people who had worked on the first season -- producer Jerry Davis and writer Bernard Slade -- and they both left after the second season, so by the time the show went to color all the original writers were gone.) Arnold went on to create "Barney Miller," and he wanted "Bewitched" to be less about magic and more about the romance of Sam and Darrin. Here's what he said:
Danny Arnold sees more profound implications than just entertainment in Bewitched. "With this show," he says, "I saw a great opportunity to accomplish something. Fantasy can always be a jumping-off place for more sophisticated work. We can make it identifiable with people and relate to problems that are everyday. What we do in this series doesn't happen to witches; it happens to people. But the messages are funnier when they happen to a witch - and therefore less offensive."
What sort of messages?
"Well, take the Halloween show. It pointed the finger at bigotry. Samantha's husband was prejudiced about witches - who are definitely a minority group. He thought they were all ugly old crones, and his wife had to break down this prejudice. It is a direct parallel to some of our social problems of today. But through fantasy, we can get a more vivid portrayal. Humor can then come out of touchy subjects."
And also from the blog (http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2006/03/danny-arnold-bewitched-addendum.html) a quote about Danny Arnold:
The only comment I ever heard Danny Arnold make about "Bewitched" is that his time on the show was a losing battle. He wanted to downplay the magic angle as much as possible, while ABC, from the beginning, was pushing hard for more magic. His feeling was that the magic would be more effective if it was used sparingly. I believe the strong foundation he established for "Bewitched" was largely responsible for the show's long run, even though, by the end, the series had become much more repitious and childlike than what Danny invented, with, it seemed like, every third episode involving Endora casting some sort of spell on or around Darrin.
The site also has a quote from Bernard Slade (who wrote 16 episodes in the first two seasons) talking about how much more sophisticated the show was early on:
I think some of the earlier Bewitched episodes – the ones in black & white – were quite sophisticated. When Danny Arnold was on the show, which was during the first year, he was difficult for a lot of writers to deal with, but he cast incredibly well and he would fight for people. He was the one that set that show up.
It would have been interesting to see what the show would have been like if it had continued down that path instead of going crazier. The third season has one episode (the one with Charlie Harper) that's like a first season episode, but most of the series after that is just wall-to-wall magic.
Danny Arnold sees more profound implications than just entertainment in Bewitched. "With this show," he says, "I saw a great opportunity to accomplish something. Fantasy can always be a jumping-off place for more sophisticated work. We can make it identifiable with people and relate to problems that are everyday. What we do in this series doesn't happen to witches; it happens to people. But the messages are funnier when they happen to a witch - and therefore less offensive."
What sort of messages?
"Well, take the Halloween show. It pointed the finger at bigotry. Samantha's husband was prejudiced about witches - who are definitely a minority group. He thought they were all ugly old crones, and his wife had to break down this prejudice. It is a direct parallel to some of our social problems of today. But through fantasy, we can get a more vivid portrayal. Humor can then come out of touchy subjects."
And also from the blog (http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2006/03/danny-arnold-bewitched-addendum.html) a quote about Danny Arnold:
The only comment I ever heard Danny Arnold make about "Bewitched" is that his time on the show was a losing battle. He wanted to downplay the magic angle as much as possible, while ABC, from the beginning, was pushing hard for more magic. His feeling was that the magic would be more effective if it was used sparingly. I believe the strong foundation he established for "Bewitched" was largely responsible for the show's long run, even though, by the end, the series had become much more repitious and childlike than what Danny invented, with, it seemed like, every third episode involving Endora casting some sort of spell on or around Darrin.
The site also has a quote from Bernard Slade (who wrote 16 episodes in the first two seasons) talking about how much more sophisticated the show was early on:
I think some of the earlier Bewitched episodes – the ones in black & white – were quite sophisticated. When Danny Arnold was on the show, which was during the first year, he was difficult for a lot of writers to deal with, but he cast incredibly well and he would fight for people. He was the one that set that show up.
It would have been interesting to see what the show would have been like if it had continued down that path instead of going crazier. The third season has one episode (the one with Charlie Harper) that's like a first season episode, but most of the series after that is just wall-to-wall magic.