I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha
"I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha" | |
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Bewitched episode | |
File:Bewitched cast 1964.jpg
A promotional photograph for the pilot (Left to right: Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha, Dick York as Darrin, Agnes Moorehead as Endora)
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Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
Directed by | William Asher |
Written by | Sol Saks |
Narrated by | José Ferrer |
Produced by | Harry Ackerman Danny Arnold Jerry Briskin |
Featured music | Warren Barker |
Editing by | Michael Luciano Gerard Wilson |
Original air date | September 17, 1964 |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Guest actors | |
Gene Blakely as Dave |
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"I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha" (also known simply as "I, Darrin")[1] is the pilot episode of American television series Bewitched.[2] The episode was produced three weeks after starring actress Elizabeth Montgomery gave birth to her first child with her husband, series director William Asher.[3] The episode was written by Sol Saks, the creator of the series, and initially aired on September 17, 1964.[4] José Ferrer served as the episode's narrator, starting with the words, "Once upon a time...".[5] Ferrer was not credited for this role.[6] In the episode, Samantha Stephens promises her new husband Darrin that she will not use magic, a promise that initiates a pattern that continues into each subsequent episode of the series; the conflict in each episode surrounds Samantha's failed attempts to keep her promise.[7]
The pilot is one of many episodes in the series that demonstrate that Samantha and Darrin have sexual desire for each other; as opposed to being depicted as sleeping in separate beds - like Rob and Laura Petrie in the concurrently running The Dick Van Dyke Show - Samantha and Darrin are depicted sleeping in the same bed and expressing eagerness to do so.[8] Julie D. O'Reilly writes in her book Bewitched Again: Supernaturally Powerful Women on Television, 1996-2011 that, in "I, Darrin" when Darrin says, "You're a what?" in response to Samantha's statement that she is a witch, this exchange initiated a narrative that would be regularly repeated in television series into the 21st century. O'Reilly argues that this narrative is one in which a sexualized female character demonstrates to a male character that she has superpowers and the male responds with incredulity and no longer thinks of her as a woman but instead as a freak.[9] In "I, Darrin", Nancy Kovack portrayed Darrin's ex-girlfriend Sheila Sommers, and the episode's popularity resulted in Kovack returning to make Sheila a recurring character in the series.[10]
References
- ↑ Moore et al. 2006, p. 130.
- ↑ Gibson 2007, p. 202.
- ↑ Newcomb 2014, p. 261.
- ↑ Pilato 2013, p. 43.
- ↑ Pilato 2012, p. 16.
- ↑ Metz 2007, p. 6.
- ↑ Breuer 2009, p. 151.
- ↑ Spangler 2003, p. 81.
- ↑ O'Reilly 2013, pp. 18-19.
- ↑ Weaver 2000, p. 248.
Bibliography
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