Customer Reviews

Bewitched: Season One

5 star:		(206)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

At a time when interracial marriage was still making many Americans anxious, this sitcom helped to diffuse that real-life tension through a suburban fantasy. This show thus focuses less on the supernatural and more on issues of family, community, and idenity.

Thirty six episodes make up this 1964-1965 season. A 1963-filmed pilot episode is included in this season for good measure.

Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) is a witch who fell in love with and then married the mortal Darrin Stephens (who, for the first couple of seasons, is played by Dick York). Darrin accepts her `heritage' only on the condition that she now refrain from using witchcraft and `settle down' to be a normal American middle-class housewife.

To the horror of her mother Endora (Agnes Moorehead), Samantha has agreed to the request. But, Endora ultimately worried over nothing. Samantha herself soon discovers that giving up witchcraft was an impossible promise. Conflict between her promise and an often-more complicated reality drive this series' storylines.

Tensions immediately flare in the first season when an old flame of Darrin's (Nancy Kovak) invites them to a dinner party. Because Shelia Sommers is so obnoxious, Samantha breaks her promise in order to avoid being shown up in front of her husband. Beginning with this episode, Darrin recognizes that he cannot control when Samantha does/does not use her magic, and can only make suggestions. Whether this advice is taken then rests entirely with Samantha.

In "Be it ever so mortgaged" we meet Gladys and Abner Kravitz (Alice Pearce and George Tobias) who are the Steven's next door neighbors. Ever the busybody, Mrs. Kravitz begins a series-long tirade about `something weird going on over there'. Less concerned, her husband is a largely-silent type.

"It shouldn't happen to a dog" introduces us to Darrin's boss Larry Tate (David White) and his wife Louise (at this point being played by Irene Vernon). It also previews the many problems Darrin will have working at the McMahon & Tate advertising company.

"The witches are out" finds Samantha protesting the negative pop culture images of witches traditionally associated with American Halloweens. With the help of her beloved Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne) Samantha convinces an advertising client of Darrin's that using a pretty witch for their candy sales would be a better strategy through changing that executive's appearance: If he did not like being an ugly witch, neither did they! Aunt Clara has the distinction of being Samantha's only female relative who genuinely appears to like Darrin

Samantha meets her in-laws, Phyllis (Mabel Albertson) and Frank Stephens (Robert F. Simon) during "Samantha meets the folks". Aunt Clara's unexpected return and helping out upsets Darrin who had wanted his parents to believe that Samantha did all the housework by herself. Because she had wanted to find some fault with this housework (regardless of who actually did it), Phyllis was honestly disappointed by how perfect everything looked. Darrin's mother is later relieved to learn that her daughter in law is not actually a good housekeeper, and Darrin then makes up with Aunt Clara.

Aunt Clara makes another great appearance in "There's no witch like an old witch". Aunt Clara is a great babysitter until she accidentally tells the kids that she is a witch. Because witches supposedly do not exist, she is barred from babysitting. Although a judge (who had every reason to doubt her statement of being a witch) is instead impressed with Aunt Clara, the Stephens decide to send her to Miami for a convenient get away vacation with her friends. This will provide time for people to forget what they were told in this episode.

Forty years later, these episodes hold up great. Some sitcoms which cannot age well obviously depend on extras in the DVD sets in order to gain market appeal with `today's audience'. Bewitched is one of the rare titles which has always remained watch-able and really does not need the special features included in this release.

Even the 'black and white' filming of this season is not annoying. Bewitched was head and shoulders above many other sitcoms of the era to begin with.

The price for this product is really affordable considering the production quality AND all of the DVD extras. Exclusive DVD featurettes include bloopers, a feature how the 'magic' was performed, and a theatrical trailer for the upcoming Bewitched movie with Nicole Kidman.

I am only saddened that Montgomery and both `Darrins' are no longer around to participate in the DVD release for this series.

Maybe I'm stuck in the past, but I don't think that (most) modern TV programs can compare to the great writing and acting from the older shows. Bewitched is one of those shows from my childhood that still shines brighter than anything new on the air today. Unless you subscribe to one of those specialty TV stations that replay the oldies, this DVD set is a must!

"Bewitched: Season 1" is absolutely amazing to see in the new colorized version from Sony. I'll admit I was skeptical at first about purchasing the colorized version, however, Target ran a great sale on all three of the "Bewitched" seasons 1, 2 & 3, so I got them all. They did not have the Black & White versions available, so I got the color versions, and what a surprise to see these beloved episodes in glorious color! It's as though they were originally filmed in color and with no harsh glares or sloppy blurs, that usually accompanies colorized movies. One "reviewer" claims that the "Bewitched Season 1 -colorized version" has been edited for syndication and is missing omitted footage. And that the "Bewitched Season 1 -B&W version" is not edited and features the full-length episodes as they were originally aired. If anyone here has viewed both the "Colorized" and the "B&W" versions of "Bewitched: Season 1" and have found this to be true, please let us all know here in a "review." Here is a listing of "Bewitched: Season 1" episodes:

BEWITCHED: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (36 episodes)

I, DARRIN, TAKE THIS WITCH, SAMANTHA: Darrin and Samantha as newlyweds, with Samantha struggling to find the words to tell her new husband that she's a witch. Darrin gets zapped back to the hotel lobby in repeatedly funny sequences as he starts to enter the bedroom again and again.

BE IT EVER SO MORTGAGED: Darrin and Samantha find their perfect home on Morning Glory Circle, with nosy neighbor, Gladys Kravitz getting her first taste of magical mishaps, as Samantha and Endora zap the front yard of the new house with grass, trees, and flowers!

IT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN TO A DOG: Darrin's new client Mr. Barker gets zapped into a dog by Samantha, after he makes unwanted advances toward her.

MOTHER MEETS WHAT'S HIS NAME: Endora meets Darrin and immediately sparks fly as Endora warns, "mother will be watching."

HELP, HELP, DON'T SAVE ME: Samantha comes up with some great ideas for one of Darrin's clients, Caldwell Soups. Darrin accuses Samantha of using witchcraft to get the ideas, which infuriates Samantha. Darrin later discovers that she made up the ideas on her own, and apologizes.

LITTLE PITCHERS HAVE BIG FEARS: A neighborhood kid (Jerry Mathers look-a-like kid brother), with an over-protective mother (June Lockhart) wants to play baseball, and Samantha helps him out.

THE WITCHES ARE OUT: Darrin's new client is in the Halloween candy business and wants an ad with an old ugly witch in it, but Samantha and her elderly witch friends, change the new client's mind with a Scrooge-like visit in his sleep.

THE GIRL REPORTER: A young college girl interviews Darrin for her school's paper and also tries to steal him away from Samantha, who is confronted by the girl's football player boyfriend, "Monster."

WITCH OR WIFE? : While Larry and Louise are on a business trip in Paris, Darrin is left behind with a heavy workload. Samantha is alone and bored at home and accompanies her mother for lunch, in Paris! They meet up with the Tates and soon Darrin learns of Samantha's whereabouts and it furious! All turns out well in the end, as Samantha zaps herself on board the same airplane that Darrin is taking to surprise her in Paris.

JUST ONE HAPPY FAMILY: Darrin meets Samantha's father, Maurice, who believes Darrin to be a warlock. After he discovers Darrin is a mortal, he zaps him into thin air!

IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE: In order to test Darrin's loyalty to Samantha, Endora sends a beautiful witch to be the new model in one of Darrin's new client's ads. Samantha discovers the girl is a witch, and aides Darrin in resisting her rival's magical charms.

AND SOMETHING MAKES THREE: Louise finds out that she's expecting a baby, and asks Samantha if she'll go to the doctor with her. While there, Larry overhears Samantha telling Louise, "I can't wait to see the look on Darrin's face when I tell him the good news!" Larry thinks Samantha is the one expecting and tells Darrin! Hilarious results follow in this classic episode.

LOVE IS BLIND: Samantha friend, Gertrude and Darrin's friend, Kermit (Adam West) are introduced and immediately take a shine to one another. Darrin believes Gertrude to be a witch, for she's not the kind of girl that Kermit usually likes.

SAMANTHA MEETS THE FOLKS: Samantha meets Darrin's parents, while her Aunt Clara is also visiting. Aunt Clara tries to help out with dinner and zaps up some very special dishes. Aunt Clara tells everyone that Samantha cooked the dinner, which makes Darrin's mother jealous of her daughter-in-laws cooking talents.

A VISION OF SUGAR PLUMS: A classic episode with Samantha and Darrin playing hosts to a young orphan boy (Billy Mummy) during Christmas. Seeing the boy's disbelief in Christmas and it's magic, Samantha and Darrin take him for a visit to the North Pole.

IT'S MAGIC: Samantha is nominated by a community charity group to hire the entertainment for their benefits' fundraiser. Samantha hires a has-been magician and even becomes his assistant. Samantha zaps him some help, which goes over big and lands him a spot on a local TV show!

A IS FOR AARDVARK: Darrin suffers a sprained ankle, which results in Darrin resting in bed until his ankle heals. Samantha becomes tired of running up and down the stairs to answer his requests, so she gives Darrin the power to be granted whatever that he asks. Darrin becomes more than comfortable with this new power, and Samantha sees that she's made a big mistake. Darrin asks that she take them back before any of it happened, so she "rewinds" time to before the accident.

THE CAT'S MEOW: Darrin disappoints Samantha by not celebrating an anniversary dinner with her and goes to see an important female client. Samantha teases him by suggesting that she turn herself into a cat and go with him. While at the client's, a Siamese cat appears, and Darrin thinks its' Samantha!

A NICE LITTLE DINNER PARTY: Darrin's parents come for dinner and his Dad feels old and useless after retiring from his job. Samantha's mother, Endora also comes for dinner and her charming compliments flatters Darrin's Dad. Darrin's mother becomes jealous and soon the two split up. Samantha uses her powers to reunite the two with a "rendezvous" from their past.

YOUR WITCH IS SHOWING: After Darrin refuses to let Sam go to a wedding in Egypt, Darrin has problems with his newest account. Larry helps Darrin out by hiring an assistant named Gideon Whitsett. Endora had warned Darrin that he was going to get into a heap of trouble, and Darrin believes that Gideon is a warlock sent by her to make him fail. Actually, Gideon is mainly stealing Darrin's ideas and making them as his own. Samantha uses her magic to make him confess.

LING LING: Darrin and Larry are having trouble with the art department's photographer, who can't seem to find the perfect girl to be in a jewelry ad. They need a girl that has mystery, beauty, and a foreign allure. So, Samantha turns a neighborhood Siamese cat into a girl and sends her down to the office!

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: Endora tries to make Samantha seem older than she actually is by putting her face on an old painting dating back to 1690. Darrin notices this and wonders if he's growing old while she remains young. Samantha finds out that her mother is to blame for all this mess, and Endora tells her that she can age along with Darrin.

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT: The neighbors at Morning Glory Circle are having trouble crossing the street at a busy intersection. Samantha heads the committee to talk the Mayor into installing a traffic light at the intersection with the usual hocus pocus.

WHICH WITCH IS WHICH?: Endora zaps herself into Samantha's twin, so Samantha can keep to her busy schedule. While posing as Samantha, Endora meets a handsome author and they go out on several dates. The Author turns out to be a friend of Darrins and when Darrin brings him home to meet the real Samantha, hilarious results follow as Endora appears once again as Samantha's double and they tell the Author she's Samantha's twin sister!

PLEASURE O'REILLY: New female neighbor, Pleasure O'Reilly has Samantha seeing green! As Darrin is captivated by the beautiful new resident on Morning Glory Circle.

DRIVING IS THE ONLY WAY TO FLY: Samantha tries for her driving license and is instructed by none other than future-to-be Uncle Arthur himself, the great Paul Lynde!

THERE'S NO WITCH LIKE AN OLD WITCH: Aunt Clara feels old and useless until some friends of the Stephen's hire her to be their babysitter for an evening. Soon everyone in town wants the whimsical witch for their children's babysitter, except one trouble making neighbor who soon learns that Aunt Clara is truly a class act!

OPEN THE DOOR WITCHCRAFT: After using her powers to open and shut their garage door, Samantha is put on the spot by snoopy neighbors, the Kravitzs. Darrin has an automatic garage door opener installed, but a glitz in the wiring causes the door to open whenever an airplane flies over! Darrin accuses Samantha of using her powers to open and shut the door again, and Samantha is infuriated by his false accusations. Samantha and Darrin get trapped inside the garage and Samantha refuses to use her powers to open the door.

ABNER KADABRA: Mrs. Kravitz catches Samantha red-handed using her powers to arrange pictures in the living room. Samantha convinces Mrs. Kravitz that she's the one with the "powers" not Samantha! One of the series best episodes with Mr. & Mrs. Kravitz and the Stephens attending a séance that is truly hilarious!

GEORGE THE WARLOCK: Darrin is spending a lot of time with D.D. "Danger" O'Reilly, Pleasure's younger sister, who is house-sitting for Pleasure. Endora, as usual, tries to break up the marriage again by using a handsome male warlock named George from his harem to woo Samantha. When his plan (and Endora's) is unsuccessful, he turns himself into a raven with a lot of talent, so much talent that he creates a perfect image for Darrin's advertising campaign for typewriters. Samantha tells Darrin who is behind the raven, and George truns back into his old self and starts going after Danger O'Reilly. Endora has lost again when he returns to his girls.

THAT WAS MY WIFE: Darrin and Samantha try to spice up their marriage by reserving a suite at a fancy hotel. She arrives in a brunette wig and hugs Darrin, not knowing that they are being watched by Larry! Samantha later forgets a book and pops home to get it. Larry sees her at home and this causes a great misunderstanding. Louise tries to help out the supposedly doomed marriage and Larry sees her at the hotel with Darrin. After Darrin gets punched in the eye by Larry, the misunderstanding is cleared up when Darrin explains how Samantha got home and back to the hotel: She knew a short cut.

ILLEGAL SEPERATION: The Kravitzes have a fight and Abner is kicked out of the house. The Stephens welcome him with open arms, and Abner decides to stay with them permanently. Samantha gets them back together by having them dream about the day they proposed to each other. It works, and Gladys and Abner run out into the street -- in slow motion -- and embrace each other.

A CHANGE OF FACE: Darrin becomes totally insecure about his looks after Sam and Endora play Mr. Potato Head with his face while he is asleep. Samantha tries to build up his ego, but all efforts fail. What to do? Turn yourself into a very sexy French woman and convince your husband that it's what's inside that counts.

REMEMBER THE MAIN: Election fever sweeps Morning Glory Circle, and Sam and Darrin become campaign managers for a city council candidate. Endora's magic helps bring his corrupt opponent's dirty dealings to light.

EAT AT MARIO'S: Samantha and Endora enjoy lunch at a great Italian restaurant owned by Mario. It seems that he is not selling pizzas and his business is going down the tubes. Samantha and Endora try to help out Mario, but ends up getting Darrin's job in danger.

COUSIN EDGAR: Endora is not alone when she tries to break up the Stephens' marriage. It seems that a mute elf named Edgar voices his disapproval when he begins playing dirty tricks on Darrin. As a result of these tricks, a competitor named Fred Schulwiler almost gets the shoe account away from Darrin's firm. Edgar realizes that Samantha really loves Darrin and to show his appreciation, Edgar helps Darrin win the account by playing pranks on Schulwiler and winning Darrin the shoe account!

DON'T GET IT!! This is a FANTASTIC set, the first season of what was one of the great, most magical (pun intended) sitcoms ever aired. But if you're going to get it, buy the black and white originals! Not only because that was how it was originally filmed ...

But also because the colorized episodes are EDITED; they are the original SYNDICATED epsiodes shown years later, when colorization came into vogue, and are edited for more commercial content.

It you want each original episode in its entirely, black and white is THE only way to go! Forget the colorized junk!

This classic is long overdue on DVD. Here's the episode Guide for Season One:

1. I, Darrin, Take This Witch, - This magical 1960s series begins when Darrin and Samantha first bump into each other. They realize that they have real feelings for each other and they decide to get married. What Darrin doesn't know is that Samantha is a witch.

2. Be it Ever So Mortgaged - Darrin is buying a new house and wants Samantha to check it out. Samantha and Endora go to 1164 Morning Glory Circle and have a lot of fun rearranging the place with magic.

3. Mother Meets What's His Name - Gladys is unable to convince Abner that strange things seem to be happening at the Stephens' home.

4. It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog - Samantha gives a dinner party to impress Rex Barker, one of Darrin's clients. Rex brings along his date, Babs Livingston, but advances on Samantha in the garden when he gets drunk. To teach him a lesson in treating people with respect, Samantha changes him into a dog.

5. Help, Help, Don't Save Me - Darrin is thrown in for a loop trying to find a perfect slogan for the Caldwell Soup account. Samantha gives him spectacular ideas, and Darrin accuses her of using witchcraft and submits his own ideas.

6. Little Pitchers Have Big Fears - Samantha meets Marshall Burns, a boy whose overprotective mother outlaws everything fun for kids. To get his spirits up, Samantha takes Marshall to a baseball game so he can practice for the team.

7. The Witches Are Out - Samantha does not like Halloween because of the image that people have of witches: Ugly, mean, and Wicked. Samantha tries to get Darrin to see her way when he is working on a candy account.

8. The Girl Reporter - Teenager Liza Randall interviews Darrin about his career in advertising for a school newspaper. After Darrin takes Liza to the agency on Saturday, Liza's jealous boy friend, Marvin "Monster" Grogan, visits Samantha.

9. Witch or Wife? - Darrin's workload piles sky-high when Larry Tate and his wife Louise fly to Paris to cover the fashion showings for a client.

10. Just One Happy Family - Endora tells Samantha that Maurice, her father, is coming to visit. Endora warns Samantha that Maurice will be furious when he learns that his daughter has married a mortal.

11. It Takes One to Know One - When Darrin starts searching for a "Miss Jasmine" for his firm's perfume account, Endora seizes the opportunity to sow doubt in Samantha's mind about her husband's loyalty.

12. And Something Makes Three - Larry and Louise Tate have been married for sixteen years and have no children. Louise asks Samantha to go with her to an obstetrician as tests have shown she is going to be a mother.

13. Love is Blind - Samantha's friend ,Gertrude, a nice, plain-looking girl, expresses her envy of the happiness Samantha has found in marriage. Although Darrin tries to avoid getting mixed up in matchmaking, Samantha persuades him to bring Kermit, a handsome artist, home to dinner to meet Gertrude.

14. Samantha Meets the Folks - Darrin's parents pay their first visit to the Stephens home. Darrin's mother, Phyllis, hopes to find that his wife is a poor housekeeper.

15. A Vision of Sugar Plums - Seven year old Tommy, who lives in an orphanage, is happy to spend Christmas with Gladys and Abner Kravitz. Six year old Michael, also an orphan, derides Tommy's belief in Santa Claus.

16. It's Magic - The members of the Hospital Fund Auxiliary appoint Samantha Entertainment Chairman for the group's bazaar. Limited to spending fifty dollars, Samantha hires Zeno, a broken down magician who has taken to drink.

17. A is for Aardvark - Darrin sprains his ankle and is confined to bed with his foot in a cast. Wearying of running up and down stairs on errands for Darrin, Samantha suggests he use her power of witchcraft during the emergency.

18. The Cat's Meow - After arranging to meet Samantha to celebrate their six months' anniversary, Darrin arrives at his office to meet Margaret Marshall, chairman of the board of a cosmetic firm. Margaret, a stunning woman in her late thirties, successful both with men and in business, insists that Darrin fly to Chicago that night to complete the quarter million dollar campaign he had planned for her company.

19. A Nice Little Dinner Party - After Endora promises to curb her witchery for the evening, Samantha arranges a dinner for Darrin's parents and her mother to meet. Darrin is fearful of the results.

20. Your Witch is Showing - After Darrin refuses to let Sam go to a wedding in Egypt, Darrin has problems with his newest account.

21. Ling Ling - Darrin is lokking for a model for an all-important campaign. On cue, Samantha turns a cat into a Oriental siren named Ling Ling. Everything goes ultimately well, until the photographer, Wally Ames, wants to make a date with her.

22. Eye of the Beholder - Endora tries to make Samantha seem older than she actually is by putting her face on an old painting dating back to 1690. Darrin notices this and wonders if he's growing old while she remains young.

23. Red Light, Green Light - Morning Glory Circle badly needs a traffic signal on their street. While everyone tries to convince Town Hall to put up a traffic light, Endora tries her best by collecting every traffic signal possible.

24. Which Witch is Which? - Endora poses as Samantha so she can take her place at a dress fitting. But an author, Bob Frazer, falls for Endora-Samantha, the worst part being that Gladys has seen them both together.

25. Pleasure O'Reilly - There's a new sexy, vivacious lady in town! Her name is Pleasure O'Reilly, a model who is hiding from her overly jealous boyfriend, Thor "Thunderbolt" Swenson. She calls on the Stephens late one night and needs protection from Thor, who found out her new address.

26. Driving is the Only Way to Fly - Samantha wants to learn how to drive, but after an incident with Darrin, he enrolls her in a driving school.

27. There's No Witch Like an Old Witch - Poor Aunt Clara. She feels useless when her magic is out of whack, and nearly destroys Sam and Darrin's house when she tries to help out.

28. Open the Door Witchcraft - Garage door openers become the absolute rage when Samantha uses her magic to open her garage door.

29. Abner Kadabra - Gladys catches Sam and her magic at work when he is rearranging pictures. Of course, Samantha convinces Gladys that she's the one doing the magic, by ESP.

30. George the Warlock - Darrin is spending a lot of time with D.D. "Danger" O'Reilly, Pleasure's younger sister, who is house-sitting for Pleasure. Endora, as usual, tries to break up the marriage again by using a handsome male warlock named George from his harem to woo Samantha.

31. That Was My Wife - Darrin and Samantha try to spice up their marriage by reserving a suite at a fancy hotel. She arrives in a brunette wig and hugs Darrin, not knowing that they are being watched by Larry!

32. Illegal Separation - The Kravitzes have a fight and Abner is kicked out of the house. The Stephens welcome him with open arms, and Abner decides to stay with them permanently.

33. A Change of Face - Darrin become totally insecure about his looks after Sam and Endora play Mr. Potato Head with his face while he is asleep.

34. Remember the Main - Election fever sweeps Morning Glory Circle, and Sam and Darrin become campaign managers for a city council candidate.

35. Eat at Mario's - Samantha and Endora enjoy lunch at a great pizzaria owned by Mario. It seems that he is not selling pizzas and his business is going down the tubes. Samantha and Endora try to help out Mario, but ends up getting Darrin's job in danger.

36. Cousin Edgar - Endora is not alone when she treis to break up the Stephens' marriage. It seems that a mute elf named Edgar voices his disapproval when he begins playing dirty tricks on Darrin.

I am an avid collector of classic Television shows and I have purchased several collections, such as The Golden Girls and The Munsters and I was not impressed with any of them, other than the fact that I could watch my favorite shows whenever I wanted in their entirety, until now. Bewitched the complete first season, is housed in a nice slip case that is not susceptible to finger prints like many others. And the discs are housed in two separate plastic cases, not some cheap cardboard cases. And the colorization is magnificent. It is so crisp and clean, as if it had been aired in all its color glory. I highly recomend this collection and I am very pleased with the job sony did re-releasing this.

It is great at last to have the unedited episodes of Bewitched in all its glory! The only slight disappointments are the lack of extras such as original sponsor openings from Quaker Oats and Chevrolet and commercials the cast did for the sponsors. Also not seeing the original animated cartoon which had the kitchen set with a door and separate stove, as well as the cat being a light gray rather than black. (The cartoon you see is simply a b&w version of the 1966 opening--which is seen also in the copyright.) But these are minor considerations that hopefully Sony will rectify in future releases. I sure hope we get the correct theme songs for each season, rather than hearing the same season 1 theme for each of the Dick York years as we have now in syndicated reruns. Overall, this is a fun package worth the price.

Please note that the following review concerns the DVD release of the show, and not the show itself (which I would give five stars to).

Ever since the medium of DVD has been around, which isn't that long, I have waited impatiently for Bewitched to be given the full treatment. It was with great pride and excitement that I bought both the black and white set and the colorized. I love both infinitely! They shall never leave my collection or be borrowed out as they are worth more than gold as now I can see in crystal clarity all the first season adventures of Samantha, Durweed, Endora and all the others.

The episodes are uncut which is all that I could ask for as they are ruthlessly edited for TV today as we are treated to more commercial time than in the 60s. I love the menus, how the animated opening to the show has been re-worked for a fun introduction to the DVDs.

I do have some "clouds" in this silver lining though and they are as follows:

The lack of the original sponsor openings and end credits is disappointing. Anyone who has seen these can tell you that they make the viewing of Bewitched all the more interesting and fun. Even if the sponsor openings couldn't be used at least the generic first season opener that Nick-at-Nite used should've been on here. What this release has is the grayscale version of the Season Three opener. My disappointment in this regard also applies to the lack of the "Bewitched Be Right Back" interstitial which was found just before the ending scenes.

The lack of first season photos used for the cover art on both the box and the slip cases. It would seem only natural that if it's a first season set that they would want to use pictures from that season.

The "Magic and Mayhem" featurette seems like a waste of valuable space that could've been used for original cast commercials.

And some 'typos' such as numbering the episode titled "Witch or Wife" as episode 8 when it's really 9 and "The Girl Reporter" as nine when it's really 8. Also in the description of Episode 10: "Just One Happy Family" Samantha's father is referred to as Victor (which is what his name was in the original script) when it should be Maurice.

Overall, I cannot express how happy I am with this release. Hopefully Season Two will have the mistakes worked out.

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About the colorization - I will say that they have done a fantastic job at making it look as real as possible, but there are quite a few times where they did not get the original colors correct even when there were photos to go by. Case in point, the episode titled "Witch or Wife" had a still photo from it used for the first TV Guide cover in November 1964 devoted to Bewitched. It comes from the scene where Samantha runs into the Tates in Paris. The colorized episode has Samantha wearing a pink top, a white hat, and her makeup is in natural colors. The photo shown on the cover of TV Guide (which can be found on any of the Bewitched sites) shows that Elizabeth Montgomery was actually wearing a goldish brown top and hat as well as having ruby red lipstick on and blue eyeshadow not to mention the sets being in browns and yellows, not pink like it is colorized on the set.

Of course, to the casual viewer, this discrepancy wouldn't be noticed but to HUGE Bewitched fans such as myself, this and the other colorizing mistakes are glaring.

I have watched and enjoyed "Bewitched" in reruns all of my life. These black and white shows are the ones that have always been the most difficult to see as they get aired so rarely. I am quite happy that they have decided to release the entire first season but I was troubled a bit by some of the reviews and complaints I have read here.

After purchasing and viewing most of the episodes on my new "Bewitched: The Complete First Season" set, I too noticed the Roman numerals showing a date of 1966 on the opening credits (a fact some others who left reviews here have pointed out). This made me wonder what the real opening credits for the first two seasons were really like.

After a quick Google search I discovered the real season one credits would have included mention of that week's sponsor within the animation. So what we see on this DVD set is not what viewers back in 1964 would have seen. Apparently Nick-At-Nite used the original credits (minus sponsor names) when it first aired the black and white seasons so they must still exist. I am a bit disappointed that Sony didn't take the time to use the real credits. If they felt the '66 credits were okay to use it still would have been nice if they would have included some footage of the original credits as an extra (in the same way the "I Love Lucy" sets contain original Philip Morris opening and closing credits).

I also discovered that there was a nose twitching sequence used to break to commercials when the shows originally aired. I have never seen this sequence before and would have loved this to have been included as an extra too.

Sony has also stuck it's newest logo onto the end of every show thus replacing the original Screen Gems logos. Again it would have been more historically accurate to have kept the original Screen Gems ID. I wouldn't have cared if Sony felt a need to tack on it's logo along with the original Screen Gems ID.

I hope that in it's Season Two DVD set Sony includes the above mentioned missing footage at the very least as extras. It would be kind of cool too if they were to add other archival footage pertaining to the series and perhaps any TV commercials that may still exist for "Bewitched" merchandise. I know I may be dreaming to ask for this one final thing but it would be great too if they could work out a deal with Hanna-Barbera to include the "Flintstones" episode that featured Samantha and Darrin.

Even without the above mentioned missing footage this set is a great deal and worthy of four stars. The packaging is nice and compact and all four discs fit into two slim cases withing a nice cardboard sleeve. Overall a very good presentation on Sony's part.

Just for the record I'll admit I purchased the black and white set and not the colorized version. I have no problems with anyone wanting to get the colorized versions. To Sony's credit I will point out that I am glad they didn't cut corners and released the two versions. I hope they do the same with the next season as well.

I was thrilled to see my favorite series being offered in color. Forget what the purists say; seeing the first season in color is like seeing it for the first time.

Remember that back in those days, there was no incentive to spend the extra money to shoot a series in color. Most people had B&W TVs...and the color TVs that were out left much to be desired compared to today's standards. It wasn't a matter of "art" to shoot in B&W; it was just economics.

I'm amazed at how decent the colorization process is in this set. Eye colors are natural looking; even the sandwiches they eat in one show look as if they were originally filmed in color.

It's not perfect, but it's pretty darned close, as well as being light-years ahead of what you used to see in colorized movies.

What are the "cons"? The colors are not always vibrant, and have a tendency to be on the orange-ish side. Infrequently, you see obvious B&W bleed-through, especially in night scenes.

On the other hand, Endora is so colorfully brilliant, it's hard to believe that she was originally black and white. All in all, I can't imagine anybody being disappointed with this DVD set.

Highly recommended!