Tabitha

Having been a big fan of its parent show BEWITCHED, I really wanted this "spin-off" to work. I thought the idea of following the escapades of a now grown-up Tabitha was an interesting continuation of the BEWITCHED concept.

The first outing (with Liberty Williams as a very unlikely brunette Tabitha) bombed. I actually cringed while watching it. But ABC seemed determined to make it work (someone there was obviously just as big a fan of BEWITCHED) so they reworked the pilot episode by scrapping the entire original cast and crew.

Lisa Hartman was then cast as the lead and proved to be more charming and likeable. The rest of the cast and the writing however were no improvement over the first pilot. It was mainly a regurgitation of many of the familiar BEWITCHED plotlines and ideas, with mortal brother Adam chastising Tabitha every time she used her powers (as daddy Darrin did with Mom Samantha), and obnoxious, mischievous mortal-phobe Aunt Minerva filling in for Endora - causing problems for all the mortals in Tabitha's life. However, even with original characters from BEWITCHED turning up a few times (Dr. Bombay, Mrs. Kravitz) played by the actors who first originated them, the show seemed somehow detached and alien from the original show.

The whole thing was really not funny and only mildly entertaining, and it lasted only a handful of episodes.

Another nail in the show's coffin seemed to be that the sophisticated TV audiences of that era (the mid 70's), by then used to gritty and groundbreaking sitcoms like M*A*S*H, All In The Family, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, scoffed at such frothy nonsense. It would perhaps seem more fitting now in this current TV decade when audiences are more willing to accept such supernatural, effects-heavy shows as The X-Files, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Sabrina The Teenage Witch (which is in many ways the BEWITCHED of the 90's). With all the current nostalgia these days for the shows/music/movies of the 60's and 70's, it's only a matter of time before someone takes another crack at it...

Like a few others, I was disappointed with the series. I was hoping it would live up to "Bewitched" but there really wasn't anything to set it apart from the other bland sitcoms surrounding it. Aunt Minerva really seemed like a tired retread of Endora with a smattering of Aunt Clara or Esmerelda, and Adam substituting for Durweed...Dogwood...Darrin seemed pointless (apparently, continuity wasn't considered. Maybe they thought the younger audience they were shooting for wouldn't have noticed or watched the original series?) The only thing it had going for it was the theme song. While Lisa Hartman was a decent choice for the role physically, it looked like her main direction was "pretend you're Elizabeth Montgomery playing Samantha". Overall, the show didn't feel very original.

_Bewitched_ is probably in my top five favourite TV series of all time. The series went off when I was about three, but reruns were a staple in our house for years.

Trying to create a sequel just a few years after the parent show's demise would not have worked under the best of circumstances, starting with the point that, in 1977, Tabitha and Adam still would have been children. Also, late in the original series, it was revealed that Adam was, in fact, a warlock. This was reflected in the pilot of _Tabitha_ where he was an Uncle Arthur-type character. It is also rumoured that, in the pilot, Adam was intended to be gay. This may well be what led the powers that be to render him powerless once the series was picked up. Warlock Adam was the most entertaining part of the pilot. Without him, it was bland and boring. _Bewitched_ was always character-driven with outrageous witches (Endora, Maurice, Aunt Clara, Serena, Esmeralda, the aforementioned Uncle Arthur) and clueless, but entertaining mortals (Gladys Kravitz, Larry Tate and Phyllis Stephens--and their respective long-suffering spouses) and Sam and Darrin as the calm centre. This tension was not present in _Tabitha_, especially after the reworking.

Had the pilot been made 20 years later--about the time _Sabrina_ hit the air--it may well have worked. The characters would have had time to reach the ages at which they were presented. And, contemporary with _Ellen_ and _Will and Grace_, audiences may have been willing to accept a gay warlock Adam. Unfortunately, someone couldn't wait and a fabulous show has this sequel that is best forgotten.

I just finished watching all 12 episodes plus the original pilot with Liberty Williams (Jana of the Wonder Twins.) The writing is just awful. Really really bad. But I could not help myself. Checking out one episode turned into a insurmountable urge to watch the entire run.

Lisa Hartman (Pre-Movie-of-the-Week-Perma-Scowl) is absolutely adorable as Tabitha. She's cute, she's bouncy, and she does a pretty spot-on Elizabeth Montgomery impersonation, with the voice, the speech patterns, and that big shocked "O" she does with her mouth. And then there is the sexy outfits they rotate her through. Damn the 70's were sexy. Nothing now on Network TV comes close.

At the beginning Adam took on the Darwin role being disapproving of the magic. But the producers obviously saw the bit was a turkey and dropped it.

I didn't think that Tabitha and Robert Urich were a good romantic fit, she being smart, and him smarmy, but the producers were doing a good job of slowly getting them together.

Aunt Minerva started off as an Andora clone, but quickly found her own voice.

And we got 2 visits from the wonderful Dr. Bombay!!!

I think had the show been picked up for an entire season, they really could have made a go of it.

On the other hand, with only 12 episodes, I have watched the entire run and feel great about it. Had there been more, and they sucked, it might have lost it's charm and become grating.

Recommendation: Buy it now, because Sony is not going to keep it in print for long. So for the $15-$30 you can find it now, it is worth it. Five to Ten years down the road, when you have to pay $50-$100 for a used copy, it just won't be worth it.

This was a great little show and I know that I am one of the few that remembers it. This is the show that made me a fan of the beautiful and talented Lisa Hartman (Clint I hope you know how lucky you are). This was a great premise based on the daughter Tabitha (hence the name) from the TV Show Bewitched, But little Miss Tabitha is all grown up now and dealing with the world on her own. Over the years I have mentioned this show to many because this is where my mind goes when I think of Miss Hartman since I was never a fan of the prime time soaps. Great little show that deserved a better shot and maybe it's time it got another one.