First, perspective. This was from the so-called "golden age" of TV comedy. Laugh tracks. Censors. Guys in suits approving everything, including the catering. Formulas pretending to be scripts. Three networks competing for timeslots (on a good day, two only on most days.) Against this backdrop: 1. The show was all about Montgomery. The daughter of a major actor, and the wife of a major director, she had been mainly under-exposed until Bewitched (see my review of Johnny Cool on IMDb, an exception to this rule). But all that changed with this show. The general view prior to BW was that sitcom wives should be pleasant but not stunning. The template was believed to be set by Lucille Ball who, despite being a chorus girl in her youth, was looking a little shopworn by the time the mid 50s rolled around. (And the wife of the second banana was always 10 notches below the star -- Ethel in Lucy, Millie in Dick Van Dyke). But this show broke the mold. Montgomery was stunning. An entire generation of young men grew up determined that they too would find a mate who was not only a good homemaker but looked like her. In fact, her popularity was so far off the charts, that the lacklustre TV movies she did in the 70s scored uniformly high, solely because audiences wanted to see her again. 2. The show proved conclusively that audiences were loyal only to the star, not the second stringers. Dick York, the husband, was replaced mid-season with another character (also played by a Dick -- this became fodder for jokes) and no one seemed to care. The same fate befell the actress playing the nosey neighbour. But the show moved on. 3. The idea of recycled major stars playing TV in retirement also came from BW. Agnes Moorehead, believe it or not, was once a major starlet, and considered glamorous. But work is work, and she was happy to take the role of Samantha's mother, essentially playing a harpie. 4. The notion of giving the star two parts, playing different characters, also started here. EM played herself and also her more extroverted cousin, with good results.
Review of Bewitched
