Bewitched The Complete Sixth Season (1969 1970/Sony DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: C-
It seems
like every classic show has a heyday, a golden age where it is at the peak of
its popularity. The writers are good,
the stars are iconic, and there's that one catch phrase or gesture that
everyone is practicing in front of their mirror. (Bang,
zoom, straight to the moon! Lucy,
I'm home! etc.) But shows don't get
canceled because they're at their peak of popularity. Inevitably there is a decline. Either the material gets old, the actors get
old, or the audience gets old. For Bewitched, Season Six, assembled on this four-disc collection, is the
beginning of that decline.
Dick
York, who originated the role of Darrin Stephens, left the series at the end of
season five due to chronic back pain. Replacing
him in Season Six is Dick Sargent
who is almost unilaterally considered to be the inferior Darrin. According to hearsay, when Dick Sargent took
over, the show's ratings dropped thirteen points. Dick York's Darrin was always confused and
nervous about Samantha's witchcraft, a much more affable reaction than Dick
Sargent's frustration and anger. Sargent's character is all around an angrier,
less likable guy, while Endora was always supposed to be every man's nightmare
of a mother-in-law, her confrontations with the new Darrin now belie an only
thinly-veiled animosity that seems contrary to the traditional values we
associate with classic sitcoms. But also
made apparent by Dick Sargent's Darrin, and more troubling for the modern
viewer, is the show's denouncement of anything that is non-normal.
It was
always there, but the anger and frustration with which the new Darrin regards
the witchcraft going on in his home really accentuates the message that this is
not normal and should not occur. A ready
example is the introduction of the character Esmeralda, the Stephens's meek new
maid, who tends to fade into invisibility when she's feeling shy or threatened,
a quirk that is harmless enough. Dick
York's Darrin would have done a double-take and looked bewildered; Dick
Sargent's Darrin wants her out of his house. There is a rigidity to the new Darrin, an
unquestioning devotion to the maintenance, and above all else the appearance, of
normalcy.
This
season also sees the arrival of the Stephens's second child, Adam, who at least
for this season doesn't display any powers. As it turns out, writing Elizabeth
Montgomery's actual pregnancy into the script, albeit only for the first few episodes,
turned into a decent ratings grab tactic. It also allowed for readily-available,
original episode plots, something the show notoriously lacks later in its run.
The
picture, of course in the 1,.33 X 1 full screen format, has very effectively
been remastered, maintaining a softness of skin tone that evokes the pristine
world of classic television while not sacrificing the vibrancy of color
elsewhere in the frame. The sound is
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono and there are no serious complaints. There is, however, the voice-over during the
opening credits of each episode saying, Elizabeth
Montgomery in Bewitched that
has sound quality so muffled and poor that in contrast with the rest of the
episode, it is almost comical. It is
possible this was processed once, then stuck onto the beginning of each of
these shows for consistency, but that was a big mistake.
The menus
are newly animated to copy the famous opening credit sequence and look so nice
as to almost put the original Hanna-Barbara animation to shame. The only special features on any of the discs
are two Minisodes, one from The
Partridge Family and one from I
Dream of Jeannie, that each take an episode from their respective series
and condense the plot down into about five minutes. When one considers the longevity and
popularity of Bewitched and the
potential for extra features in interviews, mini-documentaries, tributes, and
the like, getting only fragmented bits of other shows is really a let-down.
It is sad
to see a quality show, once so beloved, begin its inevitable downturn. If you're looking to get a single season of
the show to watch now and then, do yourself a favor and get one of the earlier
seasons, as reviewed elsewhere on this site, but if you're an avid fan of the
show, through thick and thin, and hell bent on owning the entire series, well
then you can't very well do without Season
Six now can you?
- Matthew Carrick
