Bewitched
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“Bewitched” was first telecasted on September 17, 1964 and ran for eight seasons until March 25, 1972 (Hall). Originally, it was aired Thursdays at 9:00pm on ABC. I watched it on a Tuesday night at 2:30am on Nick at Nite.
“Bewitched” is a situational comedy about a witch named Samantha and her attempts to abandon her witchcraft to please her mortal husband, Darrin. The couple was married on the first telecast, but that was the last “normal” event in their marriage. Samantha was continually tempted to use her witchly powers, done by the twitching of her nose, to get her way around the house, and sometimes outside the house. During the course of the show, she has to hide her witchly powers from anyone outside her home, while attempting to lead a normal, suburban life.
Who was the likely target audience for this TV show when it first appeared and/or today?
On its original broadcasting time, Chevrolet was the shows biggest sponsor, and
during the first six years practically every car in sight was a Chevrolet. The theme music
to the show was a variation of the Chevrolet jingle, “See the USA in your Chevrolet ”
(Hall). There is a scene in the opening credits where Samanthas broom turns into the
Chevrolet logo. When I watched the show on Nick at Night, most of the advertisements
were for other shows that are on Nick at Night, as well as commercials for “Golds Bond”,
and other elderly-related paraphernalia. I think this is because Nick at Night is aimed at
the Generation Xers, those who used to watch these shows in its prime. During the day,
the network broadcasts shows aimed towards the Generation Xers children, and at night,
for them. This is an example of how networks dont design a particular show for a
particular audience, but design a whole network for them, as we learned about in class.
In its original telecast, Chevrolet advertised to suburbia, as did the sitcom. It was
initially aired on Thursdays from 9:00 – 9:30 on ABC, giving the family enough time to
unwind after dinner to sit in front of the television and watch a show about a white
suburban family, with a twist. More specifically, it was directed towards the women in
white suburbia, with the shows protagonist as the wife and the witch, and a supporting
actor as the husband and the one who is bewitched.
Why did you choose this particular TV show?
I chose this TV show because I like the idea that everybody has skeletons in their closet, and that its not the skeletons that matter, but how you deal with it. In this case, Darrin knew about Samanthas skeletons and decided to marry her anyway. Although she did promise to try to keep her witchery under control, she would more often than not, open the closet and use it to both her and Darrins advantage. It highlights the fact that every family has a secret, even a white family living in suburbia.
How does this show illustrate longstanding problems, or provide solutions or improvements to problems, regarding the medium of television?
The show centered on Samantha, a beautiful, good-hearted witch, a character rare in 1960s television. She was a strong, independent woman and had the world at her fingertips through her witchcraft. However, she enjoyed being a homemaker and raising a family without the urge to do more like get a job or station herself outside her home, which shows like “I Love Lucy” display. Her hardships dealt with living her life on her own terms, and dealing with an arrogant family who did not approve of the unison of witch and mortal. She was constantly under a watchful eye from Darrin, to whom she had promised to keep her witchcraft to a bare minimum, and Gladys their neighbor, who was positive that there was something “beyond this world” going on in their household (Hall).
The episode I watched was called “Sisters at Heart”. Darrins friends, Keith and Dorothy Wilson who happen to be black, invite their daughter Lisa to stay with Tabitha on Christmas Eve while they go away. Lisa and Tabitha want to be sisters because they get along so well with each other, but are discouraged when they realize they cant because Lisa is black and Tabitha is white. This racial problem is highlighted further when Darrins newest client, Mr. Brockaway, visits his home. Lisa is asked to answer the door, and Brockaway, thinking that she is their daughter, turns Darrin down. Tabitha lets Lisa in on her witchcraft and uses it to put polka dots on both her and Lisa so that they could look alike. Samantha then tells them that they dont have to look the same to be sisters because they are sisters at heart.
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