It’s time for another in our series looking at television broadcasts as they originally aired. This time, we’re featuring an episode of the classic sitcom “Bewitched” from January 5th, 1967. Here’s the video of the complete broadcast courtesy of The Museum of Classic Chicago Television. Below that will be screengrabs, trivia, and fun stuff like that.
For several years, color television was enough of a novelty to warrant special announcements before the show. NBC had its peacock, CBS, had its color announcement, and ABC seems to have asked each series to create their own “in color” billboard.
In the tease, Darrin is fascinated by TV coverage of NASA’s latest moon probe. Sam is more concerned with getting the house cleaned up, which leads Darwin (sorry, Darrin) to wonder if Samantha has actually visited the moon before.
This episode is from the third season of “Bewitched” and the first season to air in color. Of all the “gimmick” sitcoms of the 1960’s, “Bewitched” is easily my favorite. The writing, particularly in the earlier seasons, is better than the likes of “I Dream Of Jeannie” or “The Addams Family” or “My Favorite Martian.” The characters are great fun, both witch and mortal alike. There’s a lot of repetition–of basic setups like “Darrin has to have Larry and some clients for dinner while (Endora/Uncle Arthur/Aunt Clara) make things difficult”. But also repitition of entire plots, particularly after the Darrin switch. (Oh yes, we’ll get to that.)
“The Quaker Oats Company Presents….’Bewitched’!” Before cartoon Sam flies through the air, the sponsor gets a plug. One of many…
Darrin tries to give his wife a squeeze…but she’s about to turn into a box of Life Cereal.
I love 60’s design. I’d like to get a font like that Life Cereal logo. (The animated opening of Bewitched was produced by Hanna-Barbera…they went on to do a lot more animation of the Stephens when Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York were guest voices on “The Flintstones.” It was all in the family since both “Bewitched” and “The Flintstones” were properties of Screen Gems, the TV arm of Columbia Pictures.
Here’s a cute commercial for Life Cereal debating whether it’s a kids cereal or a grown-ups cereal. I love the stuff. Cinnamon particularly, which did not come along until 1978.
Paul Winchell, incidentally, is a fascinating figure. Legendary ventriloquist, voice actor noted for Tigger in Disney’s Pooh featurettes, Gargamel on “The Smurfs” and many more. Not to mention he was the first person granted a patent for an artificial heart!
Back to “Bewitched”. Durwood (sorry, Darrin) and his boss Larry Tate are watching TV. But Larry’s watching golf while Darrin can’t get the moon off his mind. Meanwhile, Endora has invited Sam to go on a shopping trip…
…to Japan!
Darwood (sorry, Darrin) returns home where Sam is rushing to clean house after a longer-than-expected shopping trip. Sam confesses that she and Endora crossed the international dateline for some tea. Darrin isn’t quite convinced. When he asks again where she was all day, Sam sarcastically replies, “TO THE MOON!”
Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? You are! You are! (This is a commercial for dog food. I find it weird that Quaker Oats makes food both for humans and dogs. Wonder if there’s any cross-contamination that happens.)
Back to Bewitched, and Durweed (sorry, Darrin) completely believes that Samantha and Endora spent their day on the moon. He even has a nightmare in which NASA demands that he reveal all about Sam and her interplanetary travels.
This seems like a good time to talk about the two Darrins. It’s not as simple as people sometimes make it out to be. Most prefer the first Darrin, Dick York, and so do I. His neurotic, edgy reactions to Sam and the other witches and warlocks seem exactly right. Dick Sargent, who took over in 1969 after serious back injuries forced York to retire from the series, gets a bum rap. His more low-key, dryly sarcastic portrayal of Darrin makes sense when you stop to think that this stuff has been happening to him for five years. Being turned into a frog or made to speak Italian isn’t going to freak you out in 1969 the same way it did in 1964. Sargent’s episodes, with some exceptions including the Salem trip arc, were repetitive and eventually totally uninspired…simply because the series had plowed through over 100 episodes by his arrival. If York had stayed on, the episodes would probably not be much better.
Sam’s famous twitch.
Burger for dogs. Cold cereal for humans.
In the tag, Dagwood (sorry, Darrin) asks Sam point-blank, if she’s ever been to the moon.” She replies, “There are some things a wife should not tell a husband…and, ah, whether or not she has been to the moon is one of them.”
One final commercial features Elizabeth Montgomery attempting to sell parents on Quisp and Quake cereals. Everybody wants to get into the act….
The animation for these and other Quaker Oats cereal commercials, most memorably the Cap’n Crunch spots, was produced by Jay Ward Productions, the same studio that brought Bullwinkle, Sherman and Peabody and George of the Jungle to life. Quake is voiced by WIlliam Conrad of “Cannon” and “Jake and the Fatman” fame. Quisp is voiced by cartoon voice legend Daws Butler. Both Conrad and Butler were frequent voices in Jay Ward series. Conrad was the bombastic, pun-spouting narrator of Rocky and Bullwinkle adventures. Butler was a variety of voices on “Fractured Fairy Tales.”
One more appearance by the Quaker Oats man. Most series in the 1950’s and 60’s placed sponsor logos in the closing credits. This required producers to create “generic” versions of each episode’s closing credits to be used in syndication.
