‘Bewitched’ S7: The season of Salem and Serena - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 03-06-2009, 08:04 PM

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Fans of the 1960s fantasy sitcom “Bewitched,” which largely revolved around the relatives of Samantha the witch tormenting her mortal husband Darrin Stephens the advertising executive, will remember season 7 of the show as the one that included the 8-part story that was set largely in Salem and Gloucester, Massachusetts. This 28-episode season was released on DVD earlier this month.

In addition to enjoying revisiting this childhood favorite, I liked viewing episodes that seemed several minutes longer and much more complete than the syndicated episodes that I watched growing up.

The “Salem” episodes were noteworthy as well for dealing with the prejudice of the witch community towards mortals generally and Samantha’s “mixed” marriage particularly. This topic was particularly timely during the civil rights unrest of the 1960s.

The seventh season also had an equally noteworthy Christmas episode that addressed racial prejudice more directly. The Stephens’ young daughter Tabitha, who was also a witch, cast a spell that placed black dots on her face and white dots on the face of a young black girl who was her friend.

Tabitha had done so because bigoted children at the park had told her that her being white and her friend being black prevented them from being sisters. I do not want to spoil the nice ending for those who have not seen the episode or do not recall how the conflict was resolved. The DVD also includes a nice introduction and closing remarks by series star Elizabeth Montgomery with this episode. Fans will recall as well that a 10th grade English class wrote the episode.

This season is also one in which Samantha’s twin free-spirited cousin Serena, who Montgomery also played, appeared in what seemed to be at least forty percent of the episodes. These episodes were particularly fun and Serena really reflected the groovy counterculture of the day.

An episode that involved Samantha, who was a good corporate wife, ruining a relationship with a stodgy client by involuntarily acting like Serena was another notable one in this season that had several “gems.” This is one of the few episodes in which the witchcraft-caused turmoil was not explained away and in which Darrin did not maintain the relationship with the client. This was a nice change from the 100s of still very amusing episodes in which this was the outcome.

“Bewitched” fans can also look forward to completing their sets of this great series when Season 8 is released on DVD. This will likely be sometime this fall.

Please feel free to share your comments as additions to this entry or as e-mail to tvdvdguy@gmail.com.

catlover79 · 03-06-2009, 09:42 PM

Great article!! The Salem episodes were pretty good, as I recall. One of the first times a series went on location, too.

MickeyMac · 03-07-2009, 02:02 PM

Its been a while since I got to view season 7 before the DVD came out. To be honest I was enjoying it before my DVD player decided to conk out on me.

Now I have to find another location to watch it.

AB · 03-07-2009, 06:09 PM

Nice article, love that picture too.

comedyfreak · 03-09-2009, 07:54 PM

Classic Endora! LOL.

stevea · 03-13-2009, 03:52 PM

That Christmas episode is SO cool. Apart from how well-written it is, and the inclusion of the intro/extro by EM, we also have that little animated sequence I remember from the original network shows, "Bewitched will be right back".

McGillicuddy · 03-13-2009, 07:09 PM

Ha! Love that picture of Endora!

catlover79 · 03-13-2009, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markway895

Ha! Love that picture of Endora!

So do I!!

comedyfreak · 03-14-2009, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

So do I!!

It would make a great avatar hint hint, wink wink.LOL

catlover79 · 03-14-2009, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comedyfreak

It would make a great avatar hint hint, wink wink.LOL

I'll keep that in mind.

03-06-2009, 08:04 PM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,386	‘Bewitched’ S7: The season of Salem and Serena Link Fans of the 1960s fantasy sitcom “Bewitched,” which largely revolved around the relatives of Samantha the witch tormenting her mortal husband Darrin Stephens the advertising executive, will remember season 7 of the show as the one that included the 8-part story that was set largely in Salem and Gloucester, Massachusetts. This 28-episode season was released on DVD earlier this month. In addition to enjoying revisiting this childhood favorite, I liked viewing episodes that seemed several minutes longer and much more complete than the syndicated episodes that I watched growing up. The “Salem” episodes were noteworthy as well for dealing with the prejudice of the witch community towards mortals generally and Samantha’s “mixed” marriage particularly. This topic was particularly timely during the civil rights unrest of the 1960s. The seventh season also had an equally noteworthy Christmas episode that addressed racial prejudice more directly. The Stephens’ young daughter Tabitha, who was also a witch, cast a spell that placed black dots on her face and white dots on the face of a young black girl who was her friend. Tabitha had done so because bigoted children at the park had told her that her being white and her friend being black prevented them from being sisters. I do not want to spoil the nice ending for those who have not seen the episode or do not recall how the conflict was resolved. The DVD also includes a nice introduction and closing remarks by series star Elizabeth Montgomery with this episode. Fans will recall as well that a 10th grade English class wrote the episode. This season is also one in which Samantha’s twin free-spirited cousin Serena, who Montgomery also played, appeared in what seemed to be at least forty percent of the episodes. These episodes were particularly fun and Serena really reflected the groovy counterculture of the day. An episode that involved Samantha, who was a good corporate wife, ruining a relationship with a stodgy client by involuntarily acting like Serena was another notable one in this season that had several “gems.” This is one of the few episodes in which the witchcraft-caused turmoil was not explained away and in which Darrin did not maintain the relationship with the client. This was a nice change from the 100s of still very amusing episodes in which this was the outcome. “Bewitched” fans can also look forward to completing their sets of this great series when Season 8 is released on DVD. This will likely be sometime this fall. Please feel free to share your comments as additions to this entry or as e-mail to tvdvdguy@gmail.com. Attached Images

03-06-2009, 09:42 PM	#2
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,382	Great article!! The Salem episodes were pretty good, as I recall. One of the first times a series went on location, too.
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

03-09-2009, 07:54 PM	#5
comedyfreak Cheers! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 11,060	Classic Endora! LOL.
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03-07-2009, 02:02 PM	#3
MickeyMac Member Forum Star Join Date: Jun 18, 2008 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Posts: 19,006	Its been a while since I got to view season 7 before the DVD came out. To be honest I was enjoying it before my DVD player decided to conk out on me. Now I have to find another location to watch it.

03-07-2009, 06:09 PM	#4
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,428	Nice article, love that picture too.

03-13-2009, 03:52 PM	#6
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,699	That Christmas episode is SO cool. Apart from how well-written it is, and the inclusion of the intro/extro by EM, we also have that little animated sequence I remember from the original network shows, "Bewitched will be right back".

03-13-2009, 07:09 PM	#7
McGillicuddy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 28, 2002 Posts: 5,179	Ha! Love that picture of Endora!