Does anyone agree with me about this. I thought that Aunt Clara was responsible for all of the laughs that were said during 1964-1968.

------------------
Andrew Carden

You could be right.Marion Lorne won the Best Supporting Actress award for Bewitched in 1968-but since she had died two weeks before, Elizabeth Montgomery accepted it for her.

Aunt Clara was a loveable old lady who really did add a lot to the show,and her passing did leave a void...that Alice Ghostly as bumbling maid Esmeredla couldn't really fill.

------------------
Richard Ranke

Maybe. I liked Aunt Clara, but I didn't like Esmerelda. I think that ratings went downhill when Esmerelda joined the cast. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about her I didn't like.........

I don't know about being responsible for all the laughs - but she sure did play her part well. I really loved her character (along with Uncle Arthur). She seemed so sweet. Her ability to appear such a clutz and a ditherer was very amusing.
:)

I really liked Aunt Clara, and I think the show did start to fade when Marion Lorne died, but Aunt Clara's absence was only part of the problem. The biggest problem was that the show got away from its romantic comedy roots and started repeating itself. I mean, how many times did they do the plot where Samantha was caught by someone doing magic, and she explained it away as part of one of Darrin's advertising campaigns?

The show seemed to lose its spark about the time Dick York left. The next seasons Elizabeth Montgomery seemed tired of it all and was just going thru the motions. She seemed to be doing a parody of the character that seemed so loving and real in the first years.

Originally posted by cablejockey
The next seasons Elizabeth Montgomery seemed tired of it all and was just going thru the motions. She seemed to be doing a parody of the character that seemed so loving and real in the first years.
You know, someone pointed this out to me recently. I then watched one of the later episodes, and have to say that I couldn't agree more. The eighth season is particularly bad -- Sam comes off as almost nasty at times.

I loved Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara. Didn't much care for Esmeralda though. I love Alice Ghostley as an actress (in fact, if she's playing Bernice on Designing Women she usually walks away with the whole show). Great actress and comedienne with great comic timing. Just didn't care for the character of Esmeralda. Big shoes to fill after Aunt Clara.

Has anyone seen Marion in Mr Peepers? Mr Peepers, as 1950's show with Tony Randall, Wally Cox and Marion. I think it took place in a high school. I wonder what her character was like in that show.

I saw an episode of Mr Peepers on PBS years ago. The print was poor quality, might have been a kinescope. Marion Lorne played the English teacher. She was very much in the Aunt Clara mode. Being that she was 10 years younger, the character wasn't as muddled and confused, but it kind of gave you the idea that the teacher could have been Aunt Clara in disguise. Her powers were fading so she took a mortal job. The character reminded me of those old teachers we had in school that we knew were ready to retire soon. The type that basically let the kids run the class.

Anyone interested in seeing the genius of Marion Lorne on kinescope, contact me. I have two episodes of "Mr. Peepers" available for trade.

Originally posted by TV Guy
You know, someone pointed this out to me recently. I then watched one of the later episodes, and have to say that I couldn't agree more. The eighth season is particularly bad -- Sam comes off as almost nasty at times.

Three episodes come to mind in the final season when Samantha looked as though she wanted to do some bodily harm to the following people:

Episode #254 "A Good Turn Never Goes Unpunished". She looked as though she wanted to do some majorly bodily harm to Darrin for assuming she used witchcraft in helping Darrin with his campaign. She was livid. The old Samantha in the earlier seasons, the Dick York years, would not acted out like that towards Darrin.

Episode #251 "School Days, School Daze" Wow Samantha lit into Tabitha's teacher as though the woman kidnapped Tabitha.

Episode #240 "The Eight-Year Itch" Samantha telling Endora, her mother, that she was bugging her was out of character for the Samantha we all came to know and loved.

Again, as I stated in my previous postings on this subject matter, Liz was tired of the show and her feelings about it filtered into Samantha during the final season. Also, her martial problems with her husband William Asher intensified her issues even more. There was rumors that he was messing around with someone on the set.

I hope Liz's upcoming bio will give clarity to why she was unhappy during the final season of the show and what made her finally pulled the plug, when it should had been pulled after Dick York was unable to do the show. I hope it give clarity to what happened between her and Bill. They seemed like an idea couple.

Bewitched had all the potential of going down as a classic in the same league as I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show and other shows. But the show overstayed its welcome, too many major cast changes and recasting.

It is well-established that Liz thought about ending the show after York left, but that ABC made her such a great financial offer that she couldn't turn it down. She got very rich from Bewitched. The show was all set for a ninth season but Liz canceled during the summer because she could not reconcile with Bill after he was caught in an affair. (Good for Liz!) Bill Asher admitted all this in several interviews.

Originally posted by BWLuv
It is well-established that Liz thought about ending the show after York left, but that ABC made her such a great financial offer that she couldn't turn it down. She got very rich from Bewitched. The show was all set for a ninth season but Liz canceled during the summer because she could not reconcile with Bill after he was caught in an affair. (Good for Liz!) Bill Asher admitted all this in several interviews.

Considering that most of year 8's plots were retreads I can only imagine what a year 9 would have been like. What would they have done, take another road trip and spend the rest of the year remaking episodes?

I imagine they could have done a trip, but both Tabitha and Adam were older and they could have come up with original plots centering around them. Tabitha was in school, so that could have made for some fun and Adam was about five or so and could have contributed more. They could have also brought back Uncle Arthur, and other characters, Serena was in a lot during. They could have gone to a whole other extreme and did flashback episodes to when Samantha was a young witch, tying that in some way to the present day.

The thing was that the 1970s sitcoms were way different from what was in the 1960s and viewers were looking for something different.

Episode #254 "A Good Turn Never Goes Unpunished". She looked as though she wanted to do some majorly bodily harm to Darrin for assuming she used witchcraft in helping Darrin with his campaign. She was livid. The old Samantha in the earlier seasons, the Dick York years, would not acted out like that towards Darrin.

I think Sam had a lot of right to be so angry with him by this time. Darrin had already promised at least three times before he'd never accuse her of using witchcraft to help him (#5 "Help, Help, Don't Save Me", #73 "The Girl with the Golden Nose" and #148 "Is It Magic or Imagination?").

It was very odd watching the Season 5 DVDs and not seeing Aunt Clara. Sad, too!! Marion Lorne was just perfect as the sweet, kind and eternally confused Aunt Clara. God bless her! :D

I don't know if it faded but it certainly left a void.

Clara was the perfect character--bumbling and confused, but with such a sweet dispositon. Both sides of the family liked her--she was the only one of Sam's family that Darrin took kindly to. And oh the situations she got everyone into--like when Sam & Darrin needed an electrician and she conjures up Ben Franklin. Or when they sit down for Thanksgiving and she zaps everyone back to Plymouth Rock. Marion Lorne added so much to the show, and left such big shoes to follow.

I don't know if it faded but it certainly left a void.

Clara was the perfect character--bumbling and confused, but with such a sweet ndispositon. Both sides of the family liked her--she was the only one of Sam's family that Darrin took kindly too. And oh the situations she got everyone into--like when Sam & Darrin needed an electrician and she conjures up Ben Franklin. Or when they sit down for Thanksgiving and she zaps everyone back to Plymouth Rock. Marion Lorne added so much to the show, and left such big shoes to follow.
:yeahthat Well said, my friend. :nod:

Why thank you Catlover79. You're the cat's meow!

Now I'm craving an Aunt Clara episode. Time to get out the Bewitched DVDs. If Aunt Clara were still around, I'd go out and buy her a doorknob! Something missing from her collection.

Why thank you Catlover79. You're the cat's meow!

Now I'm craving an Aunt Clara episode. Time to get out the Bewitched DVDs. If Aunt Clara were still around, I'd go out and buy her a doorknob! Something missing from her collection.
Thanks for the kind words. :D