Bewitched Season 8?

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

As I mentioned before, ABC renewing the show for a 9th season made sense -they were doing the daytime reruns (The show hadn't entered Syndication yet.) and an added 26 color episodes would offset the B&W episodes - I'm not sure if ABC were even running those in the daytime at this point.

Plus since the demograpics were good, ABC most likley would have moved the show to another night - I wonder where? Friday Nights?

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

If the show would have stayed for a 9th season, it probably would have been on Wednesday Nights, but since they put it on Saturday Nights in Jan. 1972, I am not sure... I love reading some of the Bewitched Fans plots for the 9th Season...it's kind of like Trekies the star Trek Fans... The writers would have had to come up with different Ideas though because the remakes were just getting old... If Season 9 aired, If I were a writer I would have done episodes with Tabs in School, Adam's Powers, and probably concluded the show with some big family thing with Darrin and Sam's parents with Darrin out in Limbo and Sam having to save him... and like I think David said earlier... having the original Narrator saying and they lived happily ever after... maybe adding something ironic... But by today's standards with only 22 episodes we got 254 of Bewitched that would equal around 11 seasons...

Any news about the release date yet? All this talk makes me antsy

Larry Tate thanks again for all the info... you know your stuff on the show...

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Very interesting info, Larry. Some of it I hadn't heard before.

On another note, EM's "Password Plus" appearances with Berty Convy (aka Paul Revere) are going to air this week on GSN in the afternoons. There are five episodes that originally aired on CBS February 26 - March 2, 1979. EM was on there promoting her new TV movie "Jennifer: A Woman's Story".

In one of these episodes Liz is given the clue "witch". You would think she would've immediately said, "Samantha!" Instead she hesitates to think about it and gives the clue "warlock". The contestant guesses "witch" and it's put up on the board with the previous clue given of "friendly". The contestant then guesses "Elizabeth Montgomery" for the answer to the puzzle, at which point EM smirks and looks like she's tasted something nasty, and it turns out that the contestant is right! Berty Convy then seems to say something to EM like, "you didn't think of that?" to which EM replies, "I was trying to think of another friendly witch" or something like because everyone is speaking over one another so it's hard to tell. Allen Ludden, the host, then tells EM he never thinks of her as a witch, to which she gratefully thanks him.

All that leads me to believe that EM hadn't come to terms with Samantha at that point, which was almost seven years after BW...but then again, maybe she was OK with Samantha just uncomfortable with everyone ALWAYS associating her with Samantha, when she had done so much since Samantha.

In another episode the puzzle is "Lizzie Borden" which excites EM and they all discuss how great she was in that movie.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

I think they would have moved it from Sat. to get it away from All in the Family, Wed. or back to Thur. would have made a lot of sense.

One only needs about 100 episodes of a show to put it into syndication so they would not really have had to do a season 9 for that purpose as they already had 180 color ones which was plenty.

Even after Bewitched ended ABC still held the sole rights to the show for a year on daytime TV & showed it as such 6 days a week for that year.

By the way an example of Ashmonts early emergence is the
July/1965 Jan & Dean Pilot that it produced with Elizabeth Montgomery doing a cameo in it as did Bill Asher as well.

Larry Tate

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Do you think it was possible that with six color seasons in the can and costs skyrocketing because so much of the cast and above-the-line crew were working with renewed contracts that ABC purposely moved the show to Saturday (a terrible slot for this show) as a way to plausibly cancel it? Once the network or series owner has a solid syndication package ready for sale, I think the numbers just don't support continuing on. For whatever reason, it was so obvious to me at the time that the show had run its course and everyone both at the network and with the show itself was ready to move on.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Well that wasn't the case as ABC did not cancel the show & even begged Liz to change her mind, so your theory holds no water, as well the move to Sat. night was strictly a counter programming ploy on their part.

Bewitched was still a cash cow at the time for ABC & their flagship Show.
The crew by the way work a flat union rate then & now, the show they are on has no effect on their salary.

Nobody on the show, Screen Gems or ABC were ready to move on except Liz as they all had resigned for season 9 & ABC & Screen Gems both had renewed the show as well, so i am afraid that Dog just Ain't gonna Hunt !!

If they wanted to cancel the show they just would have done so with no subterfuge.

I think Season 8 was excellent & as well i think it was just the right time to end the show, not too late or too soon, but just at the right time.

Larry Tate

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

I posted this in the Peyton Place thread, but it is somewhat Bewitched-related so I'll post it here, too.

I recently purchased Peyton Place: Part One, and I'm happy to report that actress Kasey Rogers is one of the stars featured predominately in these early episodes. She also played Louise Tate on "Bewitched" and I had the pleasure of meeting her on several occasions at different memorabilia shows throughout the years. I wish she was still alive so I could tell her about Peyton Place. She has a real "meaty" role and it is a delight to see her in a dramatic role as opposed to her comedic role on "Bewitched." She plays Julie Anderson. Her husband is a wife-beater, she's having an affair with her husband's boss, and her teenage daughter is pregnant! Kasey looks really different without her black wig. I'm really enjoying the series thus far! The writing is excellent, and the acting is top notch!

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Is Kasey being on Peyton Place the reason she was rarely seen on BW, esp in the post Dick York era?

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

I guess you can tell by my comments earlier that I have little use for season 8. And Jude's pointed out another reason why: Where's Louise? Abner and Gladys? Uncle Arthur? Mr. and Mrs. Stephens? I always assumed it was a case of cost-cutting on a show that had had its day. Larry Tate, what's the story? It pained me to suffer through that last season because Bewitched was my favorite show of the sixties. I still have vivid memories of watching that first season on Thursday nights, sponsored by Chevrolet and Quaker Oats.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Well, Louise DID appear in Season 8. In fact, it was in that season that she introduced to me to the cocktail called a "Bull Shot."

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

How many episodes was she in in those last two seasons? Even in season 7, when she and the Kravitzes showed up they seemed like long-lost friends returning from the dead.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

She only appeared in three eps in S8:

"The Ghost Who Made A Spectre of Himself"
"Hansel and Gretel in Samanthaland"**
"Serena's Youth Pill"

**LOUISE: "Do you have any bouillon? I'd love a Bull Shot!"

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

According to IMDb, she wasn't on Peyton Place after 1966 (although, that could obviously be wrong...its older TV listings are often a bit unreliable). Peyton Place didn't go past 1969, though, so I don't know why she only had three appearances in each of the last three seasons of Bewitched. In comparison, season three had 10 episodes with Louise, season four had 9 and season five had 5.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Thanks Joe.

I was just curious as to what Kasey was doing to prevent her from doing more Louise--was it perhaps just cost saving measures? In any case, I know she was busy whether on Bewitched or doing guest shots, such as the three she did on The Lucy Show, during the same time as Bewitched.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Abner and Gladys, Mr. and Mrs. Stephens & even Louise Tate were used
less & less each year the last 3 or 4 seasons of the show.

This was simply because they had done all they could with the characters & they did not want to be repetitive in there use of them, they simply wanted to explore other avenues, often with guest stars & other interplay with regular characters, otherwise they simply would have been doing the same old thing with them over & over again.

Kasey Rogers was no longer on Peyton Place when she joined the cast of Bewitched, so that show did not affect her rate of appearance's on Bewitched.

Personally i loved the last season & thought it was every bit as good as the 3 previous ones, so i suffered not & instead was enthralled.

Larry Tate

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

An additional season or two might have been interesting since Tabitha and Adam were growing up and there would be story possibilities with them

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

I just wanted to say that I think Sony may officially announce S.8 tomorrow (Monday, May 4) if they follow their usual pattern of announcing the releases approx. 70 days before their release.

I really hope so cause I'm DYING to see the cover art!! And to officially know that it will be released on July 14.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

.... and what goodies will be on those final disks...

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

It is official...

Bewitched DVD news: Announcement for Bewitched - The Complete 8th Season | TVShowsOnDVD.com

And I love the artwork. I hope it doesn't change.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Yeah, I really like that cover art as well...I would've liked to have seen orange hues, but at the same time I guess it goes along better with what they've all ready released.

I REALLY hope there are extras but I'm not going to get my hopes up at all.

I also love that the Europe episodes are all on one disc for a truly great marathon!

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

The Lavender hue is wonderful! Perfect to go along with Agnes' trademark!
and at last I will have another series complete....and fitting as other faves are just starting (at last!)

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Jude, there's a certain vintage mid-60's drama that's coming out this month I'd love to recommend to you......

BTW, I love the final season artwork- they even included the choker!! The change in Ms. Montgomery's appearance seems a bit symbolic as she reclaiming her life and career after playing such a wildly popular character for the past eight years. Soon both her sitcom and marriage to William Asher would end and she would embark on a new phase in her career as the Queen of Telefilm and as the soulmate of Robert Foxworth.

I have always wondered what would have happened if a ninth season had been filmed. Perhaps the scripts would have improved, and we would see more of Tabitha and Adam in the center stage to take the pressure off Elizabeth. But on the other hand, we would've witnessed firsthand the sad decline of Miss Moorehead's health, and at least we were spared that.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

oh, really, Charles?? And what would that be, hmmmmmmm?

I actually just watched the original movie a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. Haven't watched the sequel though.

I'm kinda scared of getting hooked on another show--it seems like there is just not time enough for everything I want to see and enjoy again.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

I noticed that they say it has an approximate total running time of 677 minutes. If you divide that by the 26 episodes it comes out to a little over 26 minutes each. But all the previous seasons, the episodes were about 25 minutes each. So unless there is actually just a little bit more time on the episodes, I'm thinking there maybe some sort of extra feature that is about 15 minutes long) Let's hope so

It makes me wonder how long the feature that Erin shot at the Ranch is? Hopefully that will be it! But even better, hoping that the extra minutes are from the sponsor openings)))

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

While it would be nice to finally have some sponsor openings, if Sony couldn't bother to even do that with the "Sisters at Heart" episode, we shouldn't count on them to even do that with season 8. That has been the biggest disappointment with the sets from Sony, imo.

Wanted: Bewitched Extras Non-Episode Footage

Bewitched Extras Non-Episode Footage:

I am looking for anything to do with Bewitched outside of the actual episode footage itself, such as Cast Commercials (i have 11), ABC Bewitched Promos (i have 34).
Liz Public service announcements (i have 2).

Bewitched & Elizabeth Montgomery Intros that led right into the start of the show prior to the first scene (i have 7).

The Bewitched Sponsor commercials such as from Quaker Oats,Chevrolet, Kodak (i have 2), Clairol (i have 4),
Ban (i have 2), Bufferin ( i have 2), Excedrin (i have 2), Oscar Meyer (i have 2) etc. that ran right after the animated opening & just before the end credits.

I have 7 Quaker Oats Sponsor commercials from the first 4 seasons & 14 Chevrolet Sponsor commercials from the first 4 seasons.

Original Animated Sponsor Openings
(i have the Quaker Oats & Chevrolet ones for the first 4 seasons & the Oscar Meyer one from Season 7).

Any Sponsor logo animated end credits
(i have the Chevrolet ones for the first 5 seasons & the
Quaker Oats ones for the first 4 seasons & the Kodak one from season 5 & the American Airlines one from Season 7).

And any other unique Bewitched footage such as the Liz introduction & ending that she did for
#213 "Sisters at Heart" in describing the episode (i have that one).

I am especially looking for these items from the last 4 seasons of Bewitched.

Larry Tate

LarrytateT@aol.com

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Season 8 is one of the best seasons of the Dick Sargent years... I love Liz's look and this season always was fascinating to me when I watched in the 90s and I think that's the last time I saw it...I love Serena and Loch Ness, Samantha on Thin Ice and the one where she is so heavy she sinks in the floor... The last episode I hope they have the vacuum cleaner dude... he wasn't in the syndicated ones, but Sam tells Darrin about the pest even in the syndicated version so if one hasn't seen the episode fully they probably wonder who she is speaking of...lol

I LOVE the artwork, however, I wish they would have done orange or yellow, but hey it's great because it features Adam and I am glad because he wasn't on the last two box covers and I hope Sony pays him homage and puts him on the Discs...since it's the last season Sam, Darrin on Discs 1 and 2 and Tabs and Adam on 3 and 4 would be appropriate!!

I wonder if the Tabitha series will be on the entire Box Set coming out this Christmas?

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Press release just went up.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

Thanks Ron.

No extras. Oh well. We were damn lucky to get the "Sisters at Heart" intro on S7, considering Sony's track record. I'm just glad to have them all out and looking so beautiful.

Re: Bewitched Season 8?

I love Bewitched! its top quality