As I recall (and it's been decades since I saw more than eight seconds of any incarnation of Bewitched; the most recent was turning OFF an inflight showing of the 2005 theatrical film, while flying home from a fall vacation, and I don't even remember where I was flying home from), Samantha's relatives were utterly contemptuous of "mortals" in general, and Darrin in particular. She was, as it were, the white sheep of the family. As to "dirty minx" being a compliment, well, I can think of some particularly misogynistic Tea Party politicians who might consider it that, but . . . .
Yeah, her family didn't much care for "mortals" or approve of Samantha's relationship with Darrin. There may have been a sister or a cousin or something like that who lusted after Darrin in a 60s sitcom sort of way, but, yeah, not many people liked Darrin. Which, again, if we're to take the feminism microcosm slant could be an example of Samantha's family (correctly) realizing that Darrin was restraining Samantha from being her own person, breaking out, and being an independent individual who did not need a man to hold her down.
The original idea behind Bewitched -- before it got dumbed down in season 2 to be just about magical antics and goofiness -- was more or less to be an allegory for class conflict, mixed marriages, and the like. Gender conflict may have been one of the themes as well, but it wasn't wholly about feminism. Sam didn't mind being a housewife and mother, she just wanted the freedom to do it in a way that fit her own heritage and identity. Her family was kind of like a traditionalist old-world family that didn't like seeing their daughter marry outside her native culture or religion, while Darrin represented a member of the dominant social group that was pressuring Sam to assimilate and give up her heritage. So neither side was truly in the right, except Sam, who was trying to bridge both worlds but was caught in the middle of their mutual intolerance.
If Samantha's family hated Darrin that much, could they have pooled their magical powers to actively try to break them up? Or was Samantha powerful enough to be a defense against that? I mean, we are talking magic vs. mortality here. I'm guessing that in the universe of this show, there's no defense against magic, at least nothing that Darrin could have come up with. So I am curious as to why the rest of Samantha's family didn't just cast a spell on him to get him to leave or something. Samantha must be more powerful than all of them put together...
So many dichotomies to comment on. Mary Anne over Ginger by a longshot. Mary Anne was just unbelievably beautiful and nice. Ginger was my least favorite castaway, although that opinion may be mostly about Tina Louise. Jeannie over Samantha. And, yes, Darren was an oppressive idiot and Samantha was a boring housewife; the only real reason to watch that show were the crazy relatives. As for Jeannie, Tony freed her in the first episode because he didn't want a slave. Even at seven years old, I understood the irony of the "Master" thing. Bailey over Jennifer. Bailey was adorable and very sexual-- I seem to remember her always going off to Johnny's boat or whatever (it was the 70s-- sex was considered a good thing). Jennifer just looked unreal and creepy. I think it was a case of "Happy Valley" syndrome or whatever you call that. And may I add: Hoshi over T'Pol. Oh, yes, indeed. And Uncle Arthur.
And Tony wasn't perturbed by a girlfriend having or using magical super powers, unlike Dustbin. Keep it off the radar so folks don't freak, but none of this 'no powers' stuff that Durbin kept on about.
I don't think the magic "worked that way." The only limitation it had was that the person who cast the spell was the only person who could UN-cast it. Which was a problem when Samantha's wacky Aunt Clara would visit. As for why her family didn't do something about Darrin themselves? Probably as a measure of "respect" to Samantha because they knew if they did something to him they would break her heart and/or upset her greatly.
You're seriously asking why Sam's family didn't do something dramatically permanent about Darrin on a light-hearted situation comedy whose very existence depended on Darrin and Sam staying in exactly the same situation forever?
You want a good class conflict show? Here's a better one from the same time period that was short-lived but better, IMHO, and had no magical hi-jinks of any kind: [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHuJxhP538[/yt] The Baileys of Balboa
I'd also like to add that Bailey Quarters was explicitly shown turning Johnny down, when he thought that they were going to have sex one night when he stayed over at her apartment. That doesn't mean that they never did it, because it's pretty clear that they acted like a couple on many occasions, but it also pretty much shoots down the notion that Bailey was into casual sex, just in case people have that idea about her.
Okay.... the more I watch of these reruns the more I might be going back into Mary Ann's camp. But, I dunno... there's just still something "about" Ginger.
Yeah, Dorkman was a big dope. Indeed, he was awesome. I was psyched when they released his Halloween Special on DVD.
Bingo. I doubt that Darrin's alcohol consumption was supposed to be at all excessive when the show is produced. The show was just reflecting the era, when every well-equipped suburban home had its own bar and Madison Avenue types like Darrin drank that way as a matter of course. Watch the original 1950s version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and notice just how much casual drinking is going on in the early scenes when everything is still "normal." You apparently couldn't drop in on a neighbor without being offered a stiff drink and then another drink "for the road." All of which is taken for granted by movie and its characters. It was just part of everyday life. Darrin Stevens would have felt right at home.
One thing I noticed is that those bouffant/beehive whatever hairdos on Gilligan's Island didn't always do Tina Louise justice. I've seen photos of her from other sources that I think are much more flattering (IMO) such as on her wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Louise.
Dare I admit that I had no idea who "Bailey" or "Jennifer" were? (Although I've since picked up from context that they were the female characters on WKRP, whose names I could not have remembered if my life depended on it.)
They changed the show's time slot on a weekly basis, it was hard to find back in the day. I'm sure a lot of people missed it.