The Good

The Bad

Bewitched - The Complete Second Season continues the story of Samantha and Darrin Stevens trying to make their marriage work amidst witchcraft, in-laws and the everyday things that happen to any couple in love. Things also escalate when Samantha gives birth to their daughter, Tabitha. So now on top of everything else, this family has got to deal with childcare as well as nagging voices about how they should raise their daughter. Some of the guest stars on this second season include Richard Dreyfuss (before he was Richard Dreyfuss) and Robert Strauss.

This is a show that I never really paid attention to or thought much about when I was younger. As I have gotten older, I still haven’t gone out of my way to watch it that much, but after screening these episodes on DVD, I can honestly say that I have become a fan. I think why this show works for me (other than the fact that I am big fan of black and white in general), is because it doesn’t get too fantastical. The “witchcraft” or “magic” component to the Samantha Stevens character isn’t something that I feel is in the forefront. We get to see everyday life, with this aspect of who she is mixed in. Also, her flamboyant family really helps to shake up the earnest but way too straight-laced Darrin.

On the whole, I think that Bewitched - The Complete Second Season is a fine example of a well written TV show.

Features

Bewitched, Bewildered, and Be-Bloopered

This a funny featurette looking at some of the lighter moments that happened on the set. I found this very interesting simply because we don’t usually see these types of things with older shows that are released on DVD. Everything about them is shown to be so perfect, that in an interesting way, this extra feature helped to sort of humanize the characters for me. I didn’t just see Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York as their characters, and in a way, it sort of bothered me because I really haven’t been able to see them as anybody else all these years.

Video

1.33:1 - Full Screen. I love the Black and White look of this show. There just seems to be something more solid about these shows. As if they were made at a time before everything got so diluted in our society. Obviously, I know that this isn’t true, and that those times were just as diluted and messed up as things are now. Still, these older, black and white shows have a look about them that I don’t get from much of today’s television. If TV really does reflect today’s society, then I think Bewitched really spoke to the way things were changing back then, as far as society becoming more open to different kinds relationships and ultimately the way things would go.

Audio

Dolby Digital. I have always gotten the impression that these older shows sound choppy. Not in a way that it affects the audio or the dialogue, but just how things sound. If nobody is talking, it seems as if you can hear the cameras and sound equipment buzzing a bit in the background. Yet, amidst this choppiness, there is something about when the characters are talking or the music is happening, makes things sound crisper. I can’t really put my finger on it, it’s just something that I have noticed watching Bewitched - The Complete Second Season. On the whole, I didn’t even have to turn up the sound of my TV that much.

Package

The cover features Samantha, Darrin and Samantha’s mother Endora. Purple is the dominant color used all over this DVD box. They also use the animated motif of Samantha flying around on her broom throughout the city. The back features some pictures from the episodes, a well written description of what is on this 5 disc set, a “Special Features” listing and a technical specs list. This purple box set also gets points for housing all the discs in the economical digipack style of DVD packaging. There is an index on the back of each of the three plastic cases (that are housed inside the main cardboard, vinyl cover), that lists out what episodes correspond to what disc and gives a minor description of each episode. With 38 episodes making up this second season, this DVD set is a collectors paradise.

Final Word

Watching these shows, I started seeing (or maybe I hoped I was seeing) some of myself in the Darrin Stevens character. I find that compared to a lot of people, I am pretty square. Give me some movies, either in the theater or on DVD and I am a happy man. My life doesn’t need to get any more excitement, simply because I am so excited by the things I am already doing. Darrin Stevens seems to have a lot of this quality. He just wants to be with his wife and daughter, and do the best he can providing for his family. There is something charming about this, and also something funny, about the problems that arise when this might be compromised.

Bewitched - The Complete Second Season had a very easy flow to it. This show seems like it worked from the very start. The characters were so well written and defined, that once the right actors were found, it seemed like this show would certainly be a hit and touch a nerve with viewers.

Bewitched was released .