The storyline itself was a middling retread, a somewhat desperate attempt to remain relevant to the patchouli-&-reefer acidtripping crowd, but its "Filet of Leftovers" casting sinks that attempt like the Lusitania. That's always been one of the main flaws of "Bewitched" to begin with (e.g. Charles Lane, Sara Seegar & J. E. McKinley), but in this case pressing the aging Apothecary into service as a hippie warlock - like, had he stayed with us long enough, wedging Jerry Garcia in among the "Recess" kiddies - I count as the worst. Kopell had already been "Mr. Druggist" only 3 weeks beforehand (& last portrayed him 3½ months later), so this was plain idiotic as well; did they imagine that the audience would be too Bob Dylanized ("G(o)t Stoned," that is) to notice this stupid discrepancy? Like somehow in all Dollyweird, for the purposes of 1 single episode, they couldn't have just run out on the street - or to the lot next door - to find some more Delight To The Eye younger type instead of making him a creaky love-beaded Hells Angels-emeritus member? For all its perceived "inferiority" that never was the case on I Dream Of Jeannie, along with *far* fewer Warmed-Over Leftovers in the casting and writing - like the 3 "striking match" bits, all in which Serena co-starred, & in which 2 yet contained the "must be faulty" line. Sigh. I don't get fewer LOL moments or have less (equal) love for Samantha's Story, all of her retrospectively discovered stale aspects aside; but I ain't in such a forgiving mood as to praise, overly- or otherwise, such spots when they appear. That's why this outing gets from me only, as the Maestro dismissed Samantha's piano (1968) to be merely "Fair!", a 5 rating; it's also lacking as far as the "threat to Darrin's job" gambit goes. I don't know yet exactly how many "retreads" populate the "Bewitched" landscape (this flighty folderol one isn't among them), but that so many date from the "prehistoric" B&W episodes is both amazing and disappointing. Perhaps that beyond-bomb 2005 movie could have benefited, along with other than Kidman & Ferrell as the leads, from a straight-played mashup of a few of this series' best (& including even this here flower-powerless example); however, "we'll never know now," & are left to tirelessly enjoy what hilarity "Bewitched" has provided unbroken for 57 years. Because in the final accounting, the good comfortably outdistances the not-so-much - & I predict that for a long time yet to come.
