Post by Arfies on Jul 13, 2004 23:22:21 GMT -5
Let's take a look at the "Bewitched" inspiration of normal-dark-haired-man-married-to-a-beautiful-blonde-witch timeline:
(also see the article "Prelude to a Witch" at www.harpiesbizarre.com/ for more information).
1940s: Thorne Smith's book "The Passionate Witch", is turned into the movie "I Married a Witch!" starring Fredric March (who later co-starred with Dick York in "Inherit the Wind") and Veronica Lake.
1950s: The play "Bell, Book, and Candle" is turned into the movie of the same name starring James Stewart and Kim Novak.
1960s: "Bewitched", the sitcom, is created starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York. Several tie-in books were written to cash in on the immense popularity of the show.
1970s: "Tabitha", starring Lisa Hartman and Robert Urich, was an unsuccessful spin-off.
1990s: "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" starring Melissa Joan Hart airs.
2000s: "Bewitched" the movie, starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell as witch Isabel (as Samantha) and Jack (as Darrin), is in production.
So, as of 1965 when Al Hine wrote his tie-in novel, simply titled "Bewitched", the concept had gone from book to movie to play to movie to TV show to book.
The book itself follows the events of a few episodes of the TV show ("I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha"; "Mother Meets What's-His-Name"; "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog"; "Help, Help, Don't Save Me"; "The Witches are Out"; and "The Girl Reporter"), but not in the same chronological order.
Another storyline featuring additional characters not in the show (namely Luke Cummings, Darrin's ad-exec rival) is added at the end for quite the finale, with dramatic results.
The differences between the book and the show are sometimes striking. The novel seems to be rated more PG-13, having the characters swear much more often than they ever did on TV. (The "D word" and the "H word" were occasionally on the show, but not nearly to this level. Plus the "B word.")
Also, the novel has the newlyweds "playing canasta" about twice per chapter. Heck, that's probably more than the average romance novel. But don't worry, Chilluns, it doesn't get that descriptive. Like the show, it mainly consists of some sexual innuendo, passionate kissing, the lights dim, and you draw your own conclusions.
The author puts various character's thoughts in italics, sort of a third-person-omniscient, which is kind of cool. Endora and Samantha seem much more "witchy", often referencing cauldrons, superstitions, witch history, schooling, and the like. Samantha says her last name is "Dobson," which the show never mentions. Hine also gives Darrin's friend Dave the last name of Ruddy, and also names the doctors, justice of the peace, bartenders, secretaries, and other random people. Back history and more in-depth descriptions of the characters and events than the episodes abound. A few facts and dialogues are changed from the sitcom, but only a few stuck out as easily correctable:
- Sheila's last name is Sommers, not "Bryce", as in the book.
- The book's Larry Tate often has references to partner Jerry McMann being dead, but in the show his name is Howard. And is obviously still alive and played by two different people, unless Sam was doing some freaky conjuring.
- Bertha was definitely NOT a sexy, flirtatious witch on the show. Although it would have been interesting to see Reta Shaw (a grandmotherly type) try... on second thought, NO.
- In the book, Samantha announces her pregnancy in February instead of September, and Tabitha was born in January. That sure would have been a drag to be pregnant for over a year, give or take a few months.
Despite the inconcistencies, it's still a fun novel, and well-written. There's some very funny subtle humor in there, too, along with plenty of "Reverse References."
As far as the new situations go, the McMann and Tate Office Christmas Party is hilarious. ;D The finale with Luke Cummings is quite dramatic, as said, and suspenseful. I also liked the local references, even though the overall grammar style of the book is British ("Mr" without a period, etc.) Cuyahoga County is mentioned, along with the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Sam's Aunt Alma (not in the show) from Ohio.
Al Hine's "Bewitched" is not really for young kids or nitpickers (ha), but I'd still recommend it.
And to complete the cycle, it's now "TV show to movie, and probably even more books." I wonder if it'll be reprinted.
(also see the article "Prelude to a Witch" at www.harpiesbizarre.com/ for more information).
1940s: Thorne Smith's book "The Passionate Witch", is turned into the movie "I Married a Witch!" starring Fredric March (who later co-starred with Dick York in "Inherit the Wind") and Veronica Lake.
1950s: The play "Bell, Book, and Candle" is turned into the movie of the same name starring James Stewart and Kim Novak.
1960s: "Bewitched", the sitcom, is created starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York. Several tie-in books were written to cash in on the immense popularity of the show.
1970s: "Tabitha", starring Lisa Hartman and Robert Urich, was an unsuccessful spin-off.
1990s: "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" starring Melissa Joan Hart airs.
2000s: "Bewitched" the movie, starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell as witch Isabel (as Samantha) and Jack (as Darrin), is in production.
So, as of 1965 when Al Hine wrote his tie-in novel, simply titled "Bewitched", the concept had gone from book to movie to play to movie to TV show to book.
The book itself follows the events of a few episodes of the TV show ("I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha"; "Mother Meets What's-His-Name"; "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog"; "Help, Help, Don't Save Me"; "The Witches are Out"; and "The Girl Reporter"), but not in the same chronological order.
Another storyline featuring additional characters not in the show (namely Luke Cummings, Darrin's ad-exec rival) is added at the end for quite the finale, with dramatic results.
The differences between the book and the show are sometimes striking. The novel seems to be rated more PG-13, having the characters swear much more often than they ever did on TV. (The "D word" and the "H word" were occasionally on the show, but not nearly to this level. Plus the "B word.")
Also, the novel has the newlyweds "playing canasta" about twice per chapter. Heck, that's probably more than the average romance novel. But don't worry, Chilluns, it doesn't get that descriptive. Like the show, it mainly consists of some sexual innuendo, passionate kissing, the lights dim, and you draw your own conclusions.
The author puts various character's thoughts in italics, sort of a third-person-omniscient, which is kind of cool. Endora and Samantha seem much more "witchy", often referencing cauldrons, superstitions, witch history, schooling, and the like. Samantha says her last name is "Dobson," which the show never mentions. Hine also gives Darrin's friend Dave the last name of Ruddy, and also names the doctors, justice of the peace, bartenders, secretaries, and other random people. Back history and more in-depth descriptions of the characters and events than the episodes abound. A few facts and dialogues are changed from the sitcom, but only a few stuck out as easily correctable:
- Sheila's last name is Sommers, not "Bryce", as in the book.
- The book's Larry Tate often has references to partner Jerry McMann being dead, but in the show his name is Howard. And is obviously still alive and played by two different people, unless Sam was doing some freaky conjuring.
- Bertha was definitely NOT a sexy, flirtatious witch on the show. Although it would have been interesting to see Reta Shaw (a grandmotherly type) try... on second thought, NO.
- In the book, Samantha announces her pregnancy in February instead of September, and Tabitha was born in January. That sure would have been a drag to be pregnant for over a year, give or take a few months.
Despite the inconcistencies, it's still a fun novel, and well-written. There's some very funny subtle humor in there, too, along with plenty of "Reverse References."
As far as the new situations go, the McMann and Tate Office Christmas Party is hilarious. ;D The finale with Luke Cummings is quite dramatic, as said, and suspenseful. I also liked the local references, even though the overall grammar style of the book is British ("Mr" without a period, etc.) Cuyahoga County is mentioned, along with the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Sam's Aunt Alma (not in the show) from Ohio.
Al Hine's "Bewitched" is not really for young kids or nitpickers (ha), but I'd still recommend it.
And to complete the cycle, it's now "TV show to movie, and probably even more books." I wonder if it'll be reprinted.