Who among you ardent fans here feel that Bewitched should've ended its run in the 5th (Dick York's last season as Darrin) with a possible TV movie/s (ala Giligan's Island, I Dream of Jeanie) or a mini-series to give the show a conclusion? or whould you rather see it the way it went...the producers extending the series to 3 more seasons with a possible 9 or 10th?

I think it should have ended after Dick York couldn't do it anymore.Then it would gone out on top when it was still fresh and strong and Samantha hadn't turned into a doormat which she more or less became around the second Darrian and she was less fun later on York seem to make her a more interesting character by they way he played opposite her.Samantha seemed to become almost anti-witch later on and that made her rather dull.Marion Lorne(Clara) was gone by then.Endora never failed to entertain neither did Serna,Uncle Arthur or Tabitha too for the most part but with Dick Sargent's Darrian around I think that made Sam and Darrian a less likable couple -Darrin and Sam wore out their welcome I didn't care if they were together or not.So yes I think it should have ended before they ended on a rather dreary note.

I like it the way it ended up, it's still a classic with or without the second Darrin. I feel the show still had spunk in its Sixth and Seventh season, the Eighth is where you could tell it was sagging. My favorite episodes from the sixth season is when Samantha's cravings came to her, then thanks to Dr. Bombay she went to the food. I also liked the Henry the VIII episodes. I liked when Darrin accepted Maurice's gift and could use witchcraft. The Salem episodes were good and so was the introduction of Esmeralda. I liked the way the show turned out.

i think it should have ended. i think the later seasons are simply cheap repeats of the first seasons...and i cannot bear the second darrin. he in not amusing in the least...and i don't like all the "outside" witch crap...hepsibah, tituba, witches council, henry the eighth...i definitely think it should have ended with york.

Not me. Even though I didn't like the second Darrin much, I'm glad the show lasted a few more seasons.

I didn't care much for the second Darrin either but there were still some funny episodes in those remaining seasons. So I'm glad that it stayed on.

I would've ended the show after Season 5. Not only because DY was physically unable to do the show anymore, but even with him still in the role the plots were already getting stale. They already had 170 (!) shows filmed by that point, and five years is usually the point where a show goes into syndication and residuals kick in.

Nothing against DS (who I liked in other roles), but to me he was not Darrin Stephens. EM and DY had romantic chemistry of the first degree and even if an episode was a clunker, their scenes together were worth it. Once that element was gone, that was it. :(

I think it should have ended after Dick York couldn't do it anymore.Then it would gone out on top when it was still fresh and strong .

yes, i did not really like the 2nd Darin near as much.

I agree there were some good episodes in the later seasons but as some have mentioned they seemed to repeat storylines (or some were close to previous ones and they were losing their originality), and quite frankly, the storyline was getting old after awhile (I mean, how many times can Endora zap Darrin into some inanimate object, how many times can Larry Tate threaten to fire Darrin, etc), so definitely I think they should have stopped after DY left. But you can't blame them for wanting to continue, as the show was making them some great money (they were still under contract too, I believe) and I'm sure at the time DS seemed like a very viable replacement. I give him credit for trying and wanting to sort of reinvent the character, but in doing so he changed the character, at least in my mind, and that character was NOT the real Darrin Stephens.

I read somewhere that EM and her then-husband, Bewitched director/producer Bill Asher, also wanted to end the show after Season 5. They were getting bored and restless, and plus EM was pregnant with their third child. The schedule was grueling, and EM was the only cast member in every single episode. Who wouldn't be worn out after doing it for 5 years?

But Bewitched was one of the few hits ABC had at the time, and TPTB offered the Ashers significant pay raises plus part ownership of the show if they kept it going. They did keep it going, but like Lisa said, the magic was gone. The chemistry Liz had with DY was just not there with DS, and the plots had all but dried up. Marion Lorne had passed away, and Agnes Moorehead was making fewer and fewer appearances toward the end - she would pass away in 1974, less than two years after Bewitched left the air.

ABC had renewed Bewitched for the 1972-73 season but EM had finally decided to walk away - not only from the show but from her marriage to Bill Asher. Thus began the final chapter of her career - the deep and dark TV movies like A Case of Rape, Awakening Land, and everyone's favorite, Lizzie Borden.

EM passed on only 4 days after my grandmother did, on 5/18/1995. I will never forget hearing the news. It was the day after my grandma's funeral and I had taken another day off from school. My mom and I went to the supermarket and heard the news about EM's passing on the radio on the way home. Next week marks 12 years already...

Next week marks 12 years already...
Time really flies by...I wished the show would have went on to a 9th season, they could have focused on the kids and developed Adam a little more.