Bewitched Season 8? (1 Viewer)

[DeWilson]

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?

 

[Jdcrackers]

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...

 

[David*P]

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.

 

[Larry Tate]

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?

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

 

[Rob_Ray]

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.

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.

 

[Larry Tate]

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.

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

 

[Ron Lee Green]

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!

 

[Jude86]

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

 

[Rob_Ray]

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

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.

 

[JohnMor]

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.

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."

 

[Rob_Ray]

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."

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.

 

[JohnMor]

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.

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!"

 

[Joseph_G]

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

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.

 

[Jude86]

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.

 

[Larry Tate]

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

 

[Michael Rogers]

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

 

[David*P]

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.

 

[MBrousseau]

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.

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

 

[JohnMor]

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.

 

[David*P]

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!