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"Bewitched" Being Rebooted As Hourlong Show

Skipper said:
She doesn't age, he does. Sooner or later he would have noticed something strange, right?
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The aging business was a major inconsistency of Bewitched, since its clear her parents, Aunts Clara and Hagatha all were older individuals and aging as the series progressed. Maurice and Endora even took shots at each other for being too old to do certain things / being stuck in their ways, etc. All that to say, Samantha not aging was simply a plot device in the neverending attempt to separate her from Darrin.
 
Another shameless name grab. I just don't know who this is supposed to appeal to?
 
I am a big fan of the original Bewitched. I just don't see how you can make it work for a modern audience.

It was the 60s, so the husband telling the wife what to do isn't going to fly. The other dynamic is that Samantha wanted to live a 'normal' life, and it was portrayed at least as being encouraged by Darrin but something she was on board with. And of course Samantha was a housewife while Darrin went to work.

That in turn fuelled much of the humour. The crazy goings on, almost being discovered etc. The subversiveness of Samantha being the brains and often fuelling Darrin's campaigns.

Without that, what are you left with?

There is a strong narrative desire to change history, both fictional and non-fictional. And I fear that this will just be a hyper-correction of either feminism or sort of "being your real self in the face of oppression" etc. (I wouldn't be surprised if race plays a part). But that's not really Bewitched and if you have to take it so far off from the original intention that you may as well make a new show.

Sometimes it's best just to say it was of its time, and leave it be. And it's been so long now - about 60 years - that who does a reboot even have traction with?
 
AntonyF said:
I am a big fan of the original Bewitched. I just don't see how you can make it work for a modern audience.

It was the 60s, so the husband telling the wife what to do isn't going to fly. The other dynamic is that Samantha wanted to live a 'normal' life, and it was portrayed at least as being encouraged by Darrin but something she was on board with. And of course Samantha was a housewife while Darrin went to work.

That in turn fuelled much of the humour. The crazy goings on, almost being discovered etc. The subversiveness of Samantha being the brains and often fuelling Darrin's campaigns.

Without that, what are you left with?

There is a strong narrative desire to change history, both fictional and non-fictional. And I fear that this will just be a hyper-correction of either feminism or sort of "being your real self in the face of oppression" etc. (I wouldn't be surprised if race plays a part). But that's not really Bewitched and if you have to take it so far off from the original intention that you may as well make a new show.

Sometimes it's best just to say it was of its time, and leave it be. And it's been so long now - about 60 years - that who does a reboot even have traction with?
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It was a product of its time. It was still hilarious. Samantha used her witchcraft all the time when darrin wasnt around. Darrin also got less worried about it as time went on. But a reboot if it happens would be a modern retelling. Maybe it will have samantha wanting yo live a mortap life but darrin wanting her to use her magic to majlle life easier but she wont do it. Also samantha would have a job. Basically flip the concept. It would fit with todays wirkd to be honest. I would leave samanthas mother being racist toward darrin because hes a mortal though.
 
Will there even be a Darren? If it is set now, and is a continuation, he would likely be dead.
 
King Bob! said:
Will there even be a Darren? If it is set now, and is a continuation, he would likely be dead.
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I thought it was a reboot they said, but if not that's the angle to Picard-ify it.

Everyone is dead. Her husband. Her kids.Her neighbours. Samantha is an alcoholic, struggling with the past.
 
AntonyF said:
I thought it was a reboot they said, but if not that's the angle to Picard-ify it.

Everyone is dead. Her husband. Her kids.Her neighbours. Samantha is an alcoholic, struggling with the past.
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I would hope they skipped the alcoholic angle.
 
AntonyF said:
I am a big fan of the original Bewitched. I just don't see how you can make it work for a modern audience.

It was the 60s, so the husband telling the wife what to do isn't going to fly. The other dynamic is that Samantha wanted to live a 'normal' life, and it was portrayed at least as being encouraged by Darrin but something she was on board with. And of course Samantha was a housewife while Darrin went to work.

That in turn fuelled much of the humour. The crazy goings on, almost being discovered etc. The subversiveness of Samantha being the brains and often fuelling Darrin's campaigns.

Without that, what are you left with?

There is a strong narrative desire to change history, both fictional and non-fictional. And I fear that this will just be a hyper-correction of either feminism or sort of "being your real self in the face of oppression" etc. (I wouldn't be surprised if race plays a part). But that's not really Bewitched and if you have to take it so far off from the original intention that you may as well make a new show.

Sometimes it's best just to say it was of its time, and leave it be. And it's been so long now - about 60 years - that who does a reboot even have traction with?
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I think it can mostly be adapted. The idea of wanting to live a regular life seems fine. I do think the reason to discourage witchcraft would be more rooted in safety though than some desire to fit in. You would also scare strangers of what kind of spell you might put on them. Be kind of interesting if her powers developed after they were married. She got married assuming for whatever reason she would not be able access them like the rest of her family but one day they start working overnight.
 
She falls in love with him, he is a Conservative Christian who wants a trad wife. She goes on to be a trad wife influencer until her mother, a witch from the 60s, tries to pull her out of the life. Another series created for America, and once again you are welcome.
 
TRON JA307020 said:
It was a product of its time. It was still hilarious
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Some of the humor still holds up, such as the in-laws resentment dialogue / plots.

I would leave samanthas mother being racist toward darrin because hes a mortal though.
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If used today, someone would scream "woke", but the original had Endora, Maurice and others of their group being quite racist toward Darrin and mortals in general, while hypocritically accusing Darrin of being a "bigot". Some things in this regard have changed (for the better) over the past 60 years since Bewitched's debut, but racist in-laws is still alive, well and in some circles encouraged.

AntonyF said:
Samantha is an alcoholic, struggling with the past.
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AntonyF said:
It's the lazy writers' approach to let you know someone is troubledddddd.
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Yes, that is quite lazy. "Problem of the week" or "Problem arc of the season" before its all solved / wiped away.

Jaydolph a Red Nosed Ape said:
I do think the reason to discourage witchcraft would be more rooted in safety though than some desire to fit in.
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If I recall, that was the subject of a dream sequence where Samantha or Darrin ended up in prison.
 
AntonyF said:
I thought it was a reboot they said, but if not that's the angle to Picard-ify it.

Everyone is dead. Her husband. Her kids.Her neighbours. Samantha is an alcoholic, struggling with the past.
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If they were going the continuation route, I'd rather see them focus on Tabitha's daughter, that way they could acknowledge the history with appearances by Tabitha and Samantha, but wouldn't be reliant on it like they would if it focused on Sam. Erin Murphy isn't an actress anymore, but she has appeared quite a bit on reality TV lately, so they might even be able to convince her to come back. Or if not her, maybe they could get Lisa Hartman Black who played her in the Tabitha spin-off.
 
the G-man said:
I don't think we're really disagreeing much here. My point isn't that Sam was 100% in the right, simply that Darrin's ongoing behavior towards her as a result of finding out her secret after the fact was, at best, highly inappropriate.
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They burn witches and they'll vivisect Darrin to death trying to get him to admit that he's a witch too.

What if she's stripped of her powers for some reason, and needs Darrin, and needs to put up with Darrin's bigotry to stay above the poverty line.

What if Darrin is a curse inflicted on Samantha? She's forced against her will to fall in love with an asshole.
 
AntonyF said:
I thought it was a reboot they said, but if not that's the angle to Picard-ify it.

Everyone is dead. Her husband. Her kids.Her neighbours. Samantha is an alcoholic, struggling with the past.
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Why would her kids be dead? First off, Tabitha and Adam were a witch and a warlock, so they'd have insanely long lifespans, just like Samatha. But even if they were mortals, they were born in the late 60's and early 70's. So you're still well within normal human lifespans today. Even Darrin could still be alive. If Dick York were alive today, he'd be 96. Much less likely than the kids being alive, but still definitely possible.
 
CoveSanta said:
Why would her kids be dead? First off, Tabitha and Adam were a witch and a warlock, so they'd have insanely long lifespans, just like Samatha. But even if they were mortals, they were born in the late 60's and early 70's. So you're still well within normal human lifespans today. Even Darrin could still be alive. If Dick York were alive today, he'd be 96. Much less likely than the kids being alive, but still definitely possible.
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Have you seen the spin off show Tabitha?

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They all, the fictional characters, deserve a shallow grave.
 
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