Get a load of this:

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Bewitched-Seasons-1-and-2/19157
http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Bewitched-Seasons-1-and-2/19176

Mill Creek Entertainment is re-releasing Seasons 1 and 2 in B&W and they are cramming each season into 3 DVDs. With that amount of compression, these will probably not look as good as the Sony discs. If anyone can explain the reason behind this re-release, please do. I don't get why they would do this when there are no known issues with the Sony DVDs.

Regardless of how ridiculous I think this is, I may bite since it's only $14.99 for the Seasons 1 and 2 combo. The reason I'm considering it is because I only own the color versions of Seasons 1 and 2 because I could never get a good deal on the B&W versions since most store either only sold the color versions or charged significantly more for the B&W versions. At $15, I may buy it. I'll see...

What I don't get is why the Bewitched, The Complete Series Set they released in Japan and the UK was never released in Region 1 for America. This set has extras, including commentaries from Erin Murphey.:confused:

Mill Creek did this re-release thing with Highway To Heaven, but that's understandable because the previous releases by A&E were edited, so Mill Creek corrected that by releasing the uncut versions. So, that was fine. But I don't get the reason for this Bewitched re-release as I don't think Sony released any edited episodes. I think I Dream of Jeannie they did, but as far as I know, all Bewitched episodes are uncut. I did hear some rumors that Sony didn't actually release the original B&W episodes of the first two seasons, but rather, just used the colorized version and removed the color. I can't verify if that rumor is true, but it's just something I heard. So, if it is true, maybe Mill Creek is going to release the original B&W versions and not the de-colorized versions. I guess that makes the most sense since on the link from TVShowsOnDVD, it says, "true to the original broadcast versions of these episodes."

But I have to say, I bought the first season of Mill Creek's Highway to Heaven and the quality leaves a lot of be desired. The motion was kind of choppy and makes me suspect that Mill Creek did some PAL to NTSC conversion instead of actually transferring these episodes from the original film elements. So, I'd be very surprised if these Bewitched re-releases look better than the Sony DVDs.

They're also cramming too many episodes on discs.

The first 2 seasons of Bewitched were released in B&W and colorized. I'm happy with my original sets and won't be buying anymore.

I have no plans to double dip...lol. The only way I would is if I knew the original openings to season 1 and seasons 2 were restored.

I got the first seasons from Sony in black and white. I dont need this.

Dont' care for this. I'll stick the Sony release EXCEPT I'll buy Mill Creek if Season 5 is remastered.

Ok, I just bought this Season 1 & 2 combo pack for $15. For those that already own the B&W versions from Sony, let me warn you now... DO NOT BUY THIS! It looks like the exact same prints that Sony used. Even the opening credits are not the original B&W versions. They're the same de-colorized versions that Sony used.

As for the cramming of 12-13 episodes per disc... to my amazement, these look pretty good considering how much cramming and compression was done. In fact, I don't notice any heavy compression... at least, on my TV, I didn't notice. However, the packaging is terrible, which is very typical of Mill Creek. It's six discs stacked on a spindle. Thankfully, all of my discs were in immaculate shape and didn't have any scratches.

I bought this because I only own the colorized versions of Seasons 1 and 2, so I used this opportunity to obtain a B&W version at a cheap price. So, I was very happy with my purchase.

If you don't own Seasons 1 or 2 at all or if you own the color versions and want a B&W copy, then this is a great purchase. But for those that already own the B&W versions by Sony, then there is no reason whatsoever to purchase this re-release.

Any notice the glitches on disc 1 in the first episode, right before the dinner scene? My disc 1 was pretty glitchy.

I didn't notice any glitch on my copy. I can try to re-watch the episode again to make sure.

Can you clarify what the glitch is? Is it a skip? A freeze? And did you check your discs for any scratches?

I didn't notice any glitch on my copy. I can try to re-watch the episode again to make sure.

Can you clarify what the glitch is? Is it a skip? A freeze? And did you check your discs for any scratches?

Watch the sequence when they're walking to dinner, their should be a freeze with a visible glitch on screen. Unless mine is the only one.

Watch the sequence when they're walking to dinner, their should be a freeze with a visible glitch on screen. Unless mine is the only one.

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. I actually didn't get a chance to watch episode 1 until today; I thought I did, but it turns out, it was one of the episodes I skipped. But yes, my episode 1 is glitchy too. It actually happens TWICE before entering the party and then during the dinner scene.

I doubt it's a disc issue. These discs are not encrypted so they can be copied. My DVD drive on my computer copied the whole disc without issues. Usually, my drive chokes up when there's a read error on the disc. But it copied successfully and it showing the same glitch when I play it from my computer. This looks like an encoding error on the video itself, so I'm pretty sure all discs out there will have the problem.... unless Mill Creek fixes this issue later on down the road.

I haven't had a chance to watch all the episodes on my set. To be honest, I may have only watched about 10 random episodes. Are there other episodes you caught with glitches? I really hope it's just that one episode.

I can't see buying the Mill Creek releases, for two reasons.

They're cramming too many episodes on each disc.

In addition, the individual, original, Sony releases are so cheap on Amazon. They go for $12-$18 each, with Seasons 3-8 usually under $15.50. These are all available at those prices straight from Amazon, so you don't have to take a risk and resort to the Marketplace sellers.

If you can put up with the terrible packaging that is nothing more than two stacks of discs, the complete series set goes for $38.

With those prices on the real releases, the Mill Creek releases just don't make a bit of sense to me.

I can't see buying the Mill Creek releases, for two reasons.

They're cramming too many episodes on each disc.

In addition, the individual, original, Sony releases are so cheap on Amazon. They go for $12-$18 each, with Seasons 3-8 usually under $15.50. These are all available at those prices straight from Amazon, so you don't have to take a risk and resort to the Marketplace sellers.

If you can put up with the terrible packaging that is nothing more than two stacks of discs, the complete series set goes for $38.

With those prices on the real releases, the Mill Creek releases just don't make a bit of sense to me.

You can buy the Seasons 1 & 2 Mill Creek two-pack for only $8 now on Amazon. Still much cheaper than buying the Sony set for more than double the price. And just as an FYI.... the complete series set from Sony includes the color versions of Seasons 1 and 2, NOT the B&W versions.

With that said, I take back what I said before and will not recommend this set because of that glitch on Episode 1. The Sony set does not have that kind of glitch, so Mill Creek obviously has quality control issues. I haven't watched the whole set yet, so there could be more glitches on the way that I'm not aware of. And since Mill Creek just used the same exact opening credits that Sony used, then there really is no reason to buy this version over Sony.... except, of course, to save some money.

You can buy the Seasons 1 & 2 Mill Creek two-pack for only $8 now on Amazon. Still much cheaper than buying the Sony set for more than double the price. And just as an FYI.... the complete series set from Sony includes the color versions of Seasons 1 and 2, NOT the B&W versions.

With that said, I take back what I said before and will not recommend this set because of that glitch on Episode 1. The Sony set does not have that kind of glitch, so Mill Creek obviously has quality control issues. I haven't watched the whole set yet, so there could be more glitches on the way that I'm not aware of. And since Mill Creek just used the same exact opening credits that Sony used, then there really is no reason to buy this version over Sony.... except, of course, to save some money.


Yes, you can buy the Mill Creek release cheap, that's for sure. However, the Mill Creek combo release for both seasons is a combined 6 discs, whereas the original Sony releases for those two seasons total 9 discs. Same amount of episodes with 3 less discs. That's asking for compression-related artifacts and issues.

I'm a big believer in 'you get what you pay for' and I'm always willing to spend more for quality. While it is more expensive to buy the original Sony releases for the first 2 black and white seasons, it totals out to $31.13 from Amazon and $25.84 from the Marketplace sellers, if you're willing to take the chance. I haven't even checked Ebay. It's more money, but not a bank account buster, in my opinion. If it's outside of someone's budget, I would suggest saving up until they could afford the better versions.

I knew the complete series contained the colorized episodes for Seasons 1 and 2 but with some expressing the need to stay within a budget, I suggested that as a cheaper, albeit riskier(with that packaging) solution, with the understanding that one could purchase the B&W seasons later, when budget allowed.

I'm a big believer in 'you get what you pay for' and I'm always willing to spend more for quality.

That is true. Mill Creek obviously has poor quality control.. hence the glitches that jade88 and myself have encountered. And poor quality control equals lower production cost.

I agree with you, the Sony set is a clear winner. Had Mill Creek fixed the opening credits issue, then that would've been a different story. But they didn't.

I've always wondered why Sony charged less for the colorized sets. Since colorization costs money, you would think that the colorized set would cost more. I always found that so ironic.

I've always wondered why Sony charged less for the colorized sets. Since colorization costs money, you would think that the colorized set would cost more. I always found that so ironic.

That's a good question. I've wondered the same thing. I've seen it suggested online(here and elsewhere) that the B&W sets are the color sets with the color just turned off, and not true masters of the original B&W episodes. The people stating this also claim that the greyscale and contrast is noticeably better on the VHS releases of the original B&W masters compared to the B&W DVDs. If that's true, that could explain the lower price. Less work involved for the studio in terms of making the B&W sets.


Before they were colorized, weren't the first two seasons absent from many syndication packages, or am I not remembering correctly? If true, the studio could have anticipated lower demand for the B&W versions. It also seems today that many young people hate B&W and maybe the studio feared lower demand.:(


I started watching the show as a child in the late 70's and I don't remember Alice Pearce as Gladys Kravitz back then. It was years later that I first saw her and thought "wow, this lady is so much better than the screechy, rude lady(Sandra Gould) I grew up with".

I'm just theorizing.

I remember Nick at Nite used to just show the B&W episodes. And I remember the episodes were the original B&W ones, not the de-colorized ones. Because I remember during the opening credits, the cat was light gray and the smoke that comes out of the pan was white. Now on these DVDs, the cat is dark gray and the smoke is black.

And yes, Alice Pearce was a much better Gladys. It's a shame she only lasted two seasons. They both brought a different Gladys to the table. Alice Pearce was the crazy Gladys. She was nice at heart, but just acted crazy. That's what made her so great! But Sandra Gould was more of a rude, obnoxious Gladys and wasn't as crazy.

I'm surprised I haven't seen these re-releases in stores yet! My local Walmart has the original releases for under $10...I have most of the series, but not the first two seasons. From reading here it seems like Mill Creek might not be the best way to go...I'm always debating whether to buy the b&w vs. color but I guess I'll stick to original release if I finally buy those seasons.

I believe you can find most Millcreek releases at Target and Best Buy.