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"Bewitched" Being Rebooted As Hourlong Show

One thing I think you will notice is season 1 Darren is a little more into her not wanting to use her powers than later seasons. By then he has basically all but accepted she is going to use her powers and is at most kind of frustrated but even then lot of is playful frustration. I noticed that he even gets along pretty well with most of her family except Endora but of course that is part of the jokes. Not being able to get along with the in-laws.
 
Danja said:
It's one reason it was cancelled.

Audiences preferred edgier sitcoms like All in the Family, Maude, and Sanford and Son that dealt more with contemporary issues (i.e., divorce, abortion, women's liberation, civil rights). High-concept fantasy sitcoms like Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie were seen as being outdated.
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Imagine "Bewitched" (and IDoJ) as being edgy. Indeed, the latter's reunion movies went in that direction (e.g. Jeannie blinks and everyone's now nude, wheeeee!)

But the show invariably did run out of material.

Would a reboot be comedic or more serious drama? Or comedy with serious themes, since I recall a couple episodes that were good at mixing both.

Plus, who'd be Uncle Arthur? 10 episodes or not, his were the funniest that I recall.

Danja said:
Life imitates art ... :whistle:

Personally, I'm much more of an I Dream of Jeannie fan than a BW fan (I'm thinking Jeannie could be rebooted as something along the lines of Highlander where there's this subculture of seemingly "mythical" creatures existing on the fringes of our modern world).
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Jeannie had the better "lead actress in a dual role" regarding her sister, though overall I preferred Bewitched. Okay, mostly for Uncle Arthur, but still... loved 'em both. Like how I do DS9 and B5.

Hmmm, rebooted a la "Highlander" - now there's an interesting fever dream just waiting to happen.
 
There is another aspect of the old series that with modern eyes is a bit... problematic? Samantha falls in love with someone less than a tenth of her age. Minor age differences than this are (rightly) frowned upon IRL. If an 80 year old got together with a 16 year old (where this is legal of course) I wouldn't be sure it would be the healthiest of relationships.
 
Qonundrum said:
Imagine "Bewitched" (and IDoJ) as being edgy. Indeed, the latter's reunion movies went in that direction (e.g. Jeannie blinks and everyone's now nude, wheeeee!)

But the show invariably did run out of material.

Would a reboot be comedic or more serious drama? Or comedy with serious themes, since I recall a couple episodes that were good at mixing both.

Plus, who'd be Uncle Arthur? 10 episodes or not, his were the funniest that I recall.



Jeannie had the better "lead actress in a dual role" regarding her sister, though overall I preferred Bewitched. Okay, mostly for Uncle Arthur, but still... loved 'em both. Like how I do DS9 and B5.

Hmmm, rebooted a la "Highlander" - now there's an interesting fever dream just waiting to happen.
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I think the show should focus on humor but be something accessible. Something in the vein of Parks and Rec. As for Uncle Arthur I would go with Patton Oswalt. Trying to recreate Paul Lynde is impossible. He was one of a kind. So you I think want someone who is still a prankster but maybe a different kind. Oswalt's prankster would be more nerd like.
 
Jayson1 said:
One thing I think you will notice is season 1 Darren is a little more into her not wanting to use her powers than later seasons. By then he has basically all but accepted she is going to use her powers and is at most kind of frustrated but even then lot of is playful frustration.
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"Playful frustration?" During the York seasons, Darrin was never short on bug-eyed outrage at Sam using her powers, often demanding she live up to her agreement of being a "normal housewife". This is the Darrin who (during the color seasons) freaked out because he came home to learn Sam had used witchcraft to clean the house more efficiently than the mortal way. This is the same Darrin who incessantly gnashed his teeth in anger about being the breadwinner / buying anything they need, rather than Sam "zap" it up. Or the time he insulted Sam by suggesting she had no talent to come up with an ad campaign herself without the use of witchcraft. This was a common Darrin character trait / gimmick on Bewitched.

I noticed that he even gets along pretty well with most of her family except Endora but of course that is part of the jokes. Not being able to get along with the in-laws.
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He barely tolerated Dr. Bombay, often insulting him as a "witch doctor", "quack" or other slurs, never warmed up to Sam's aunts (with the exception of Clara), and was usually highly irritated by Uncle Arthur, while constantly dressed down (and threatened) by Maurice.
 
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Qonundrum said:
Hmmm, rebooted a la "Highlander" - now there's an interesting fever dream just waiting to happen.
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I was thinking more in terms of the show being fantasy/supernatural than ha-ha sitcom.

I prefer I Still Dream of Jeannie (the 1991 TV-movie). It was fun seeing Jeannie kick a*s. :)

The 1985 movie I Dream of Jeannie: Fifteen Years Later was almost a forerunner to Twilight, IMO (Jeannie's son Tony Jr. wants to be a genie just like his Mom. Jeannie is telling him, "No, you don't.")

Jeannie is standing in the doorway in this gif. One of the charms of the original series is that you'd never think that this petite little woman could pack such a wallop! :eek:

When push comes to shove, she can and WILL fight. :cool:

I-Still-Dream-of-Jeannie.gif



Jeannie went dark DECADES before Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
 
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Skipper said:
Well, yes, someone complained...
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For example

Pedophilia or Timeless Love?

So why does Twilight continue to foster a massive fanbase with a large population of teenage girls? The reason the obvious pedophilia and grooming is overlooked could largely be why pedophilia is subtly romanticized in other media. Being a younger girl and dating an older man is marketed as appealing; the girl is made to feel special, mature, and safe. This ties is directly with how heterosexual relationships are structured within the patriarchy anyways — women are supposed to want men who are stronger and more powerful than them, a dynamic that is still constantly romanticized in the media in ways that are sometimes heavily disguised.
 
TREK_GOD_1 said:
"Playful frustration?" During the York seasons, Darrin was never short on bug-eyed outrage at Sam using her powers, often demanding she live up to her agreement of being a "normal housewife". This is the Darrin who (during the color seasons) freaked out because he came home to learn Sam had used witchcraft to clean the house more efficiently than the mortal way. This is the same Darrin who incessantly gnashed his teeth in anger about being the breadwinner / buying anything they need, rather than Sam "zap" it up. Or the time he insulted Sam by suggesting she had no talent to come up with an ad campaign herself without the use of witchcraft. This was a common Darrin character trait / gimmick on Bewitched.



He barely tolerated Dr. Bombay, often insulting him as a "witch doctor", "quack" or other slurs, never warmed up to Sam's aunts (with the exception of Clara), and was usually highly irritated by Uncle Arthur, while constantly dressed down (and threatened) by Maurice.
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Lots of that is more in season 1. The show was also playing the setting a little less wacky in season 1. I think the show had a new showrunner staring in season 2 and they started to sort amp up the antics. Also he would tend to get more angry at Sam's family than Sam herself and lets face it some of them kind of had it coming with the antics. Still I think he got along pretty well with people who would keep doing magic tricks on him just to mock him.
 
Another interesting point is that Samantha is a powerful woman who has lived 400 years and who has met the greatest artists, philosophers and historical figures of the last centuries. She abandons this life, family and friends to fulfill a trad-wife wet dream for a man whose greatest dream and aspiration in life is the Christmas bonus. It would be like an intelligent, cultured modern woman leaving her life behind to become the wife of a man in a remote primitive tribe in Borneo who has never had contact with civilization.

What psychological mechanism can push a person to make such a choice?
 
Ovation said:
Pop psychology response: Effective immortality allows one to indulge in experiences that mere mortals might only vaguely contemplate in passing.
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This is interesting. For her this wedding would be like for me spending a weekend in the woods without a cell phone. I think it would be something intriguing to explore in a possible new show.
 
Skipper said:
For her this wedding would be like for me spending a weekend in the woods without a cell phone.
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Something like that.
Skipper said:
I think it would be something intriguing to explore in a possible new show.
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Would be a very different show, like an anthology. Maybe each season could be a different “life experience” for Samantha. Don’t know that it would find an audience, though.
 
Ovation said:
Something like that.

Would be a very different show, like an anthology. Maybe each season could be a different “life experience” for Samantha. Don’t know that it would find an audience, though.
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Or while the focus of the show would be on the wedding, we could have some episodes with flashbacks set in her past. I mean, we're talking about a person who saw the real Salem Witch Hunt, the French Revolution, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the two World Wars etc etc. There would be a lot to tell!
 
The immortal thing is intriging. What if the Sam in this show is the same Sam at the 60's sitcom. Darrin has died, Tabitha and Adam are grown up and doing their own things. Sam has moved on to, but in a fit of nostalgia she's once again involved with a mortal.
 
Nerys Myk said:
The immortal thing is intriging. What if the Sam in this show is the same Sam at the 60's sitcom. Darrin has died, Tabitha and Adam are grown up and doing their own things. Sam has moved on to, but in a fit of nostalgia she's once again involved with a mortal.
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"So, now you yell at me for using magic!"

"Why on Earth would I do that?"

"You said you wanted to Role Play, and this is how I want to Role play, now call Mother a wizened shrew and take your shirt off!"
 
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