The Corner Penthouse

Mill Creek recently released the Bewitched: The Complete Series (60th Anniversary Special Edition) Blu-ray. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Elizabeth Montgomery stars as Samantha, a beautiful young witch who falls in love, marries an ad executive, and tries her best to fit into straight-laced suburbia. Dick York and, later, Dick Sargent star as her hapless husband Darrin Stephens, while winner Agnes Moorehead steals every scene she's in as Endora, Samantha's meddling mother, Rounding out the ensemble is Darrin's boss, Larry Tate (David White), and the Stephen's precocious daughter Tabitha (Erin & Diane Murphy).

[ EPISODES ]

The 22-disc set includes all 254 episodes of the 1964-1972 eight-season ABC series. Each episode runs about 26 minutes, and I do not believe that any are edited or that any music has been changed. Although the first two seasons are in the original black & white, there is a MAJOR alteration: the episodes have been CROPPED to a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio from the original 4:3 fullscreen aspect ratio. I did a few quick comparisons between Mill Creek's DVD and Blu-ray sets using the first episodes of Seasons 1 ("I Darren, Take This Witch Samantha") and 3 ("Nobody's Perfect"), as those are the first black & white and color episodes. These are not 100% the same frames, but they are close enough to see how cropped the Blu-ray is. DVD is first, Blu-ray is second. Click on any of the images for the full 640x40 DVD and 1920x1080 Blu-ray framegrabs. (More comparisons here.)









[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The show is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, even though the show was originally produced in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The show is Not Rated. Audio languages include English. Subtitle languages include English SDH.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the special features below can be found on the noted Blu-ray discs.

For the audio commentaries, Herbie J. Pilato serves as moderator during "behind the scenes" conversations with Peter Ackerman (son of Bewitched executive producer Harry Ackerman); David Mandel; Bewitched guest star Janee Michelle (from "Sisters at Heart"); Steve Olim; Rob Ray; former child TV actors and Bewitched guest stars Ricky Powell (The Smith Family), Eric Scott (The Waltons), Johnny Whitaker (Family Affair, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters); and Chris York (son of Dick York).

• DISC 01: Audio Commentary on "I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha" - with Chris York and Rob Ray.
• DISC 01: Audio Commentary on "Mother Meet What's-His-Name" - with Chris York and Rob Ray.
• DISC 02: Audio Commentary on "A is for Aardvark" - with Chris York and Rob Ray.
• DISC 04: Audio Commentary on "Aunt Clara's Old Flame" - with David Mandel and Rob Ray.
• DISC 05: Audio Commentary on "And Then There Were Three" - with David Mandel and Rob Ray.
• DISC 10: Audio Commentary on "Double, Double... Toil and Trouble" - with Steve Olim and Chris York.
• DISC 11: Audio Commentary on "Samantha's Thanksgiving to Remember" - with Rob Ray.
• DISC 15: Audio Commentary on "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall" - with Steve Olim and Chris York.
• DISC 16: Audio Commentary on "Samantha and the Beanstalk" - with Johnny Whitaker.
• DISC 19: Audio Commentary on "Paul Revere Rides Again" - with Peter Ackerman.
• DISC 19: Audio Commentary on "Sisters at Heart" - with Janee Michelle.
• DISC 19: Audio Commentary on "Sisters at Heart" - with Rob Ray.
• DISC 20: Audio Commentary on "Out of the Mouths of Babes" - with Eric Scott and Chris York.
• DISC 22: Audio Commentary on "Adam, Warlock or Washout" - with David Mandel.
• DISC 22: Audio Commentary on "Samantha's Magic Sitter" - with Ricky Powell.
• DISC 22: Audio Commentary on "George Washington Zapped Here, Part 1" - with Eric Scott and Rob Ray.
• DISC 22: Bewitched: Behind The Magic (29:58) - A documentary about the making of Bewitched, featuring special guest appearances by actor David Mandel (Adam Stephens), Steve Olim (who worked in the make-up department at Columbia), Bewitched historian Herbie J Pilato, film and television historian Rob Ray, Bewitched guest star Eric Scott (later of The Waltons), and Chris York (son of Dick York, the first Darrin).

It should be noted that all of the extras from Sony's original DVD sets are missing: The Season 1 DVD set from 2005 has "The Magic Unveiled" (2-part 15-minute featurette), "Magic and Mishaps" (an 8-minute look at Season 1 technical blunders and guest stars). The Season 2 DVD set from 2005 has "Bewitched, Bothered and Be-Bloopered!" (an 8-minute look at Season 2 technical blunders). The Season 7 DVD set from 2009 has the original bumpers for "Sisters at Heart", where Elizabeth Montgomery intros the episode with the sponsor's logo, Oscar Mayer, in the background. The Season 8 DVD set from 2009 has the same opening bumper on all episodes featuring Elizabeth Montgomery welcoming the viewer to Bewitched, along with a Bewitched title card, during the final commercial break, indicating the show will be right back. None of these things were on Mill Creek's DVD set, either.

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

No digital copy code voucher is included, but there is a 36-page book entitled "Bewitched Recaptured: A Cosmic Chronicle" by Herbie J. Pilato. At the back of the book is an episode guide and a rundown of the bonus features. The book and the case with the discs are stored in a side-loading slip case. The back of that case incorrectly states that the episodes are in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

All 22 discs are packaged in one of those crappy thick DVD-size cases (even though these are Blu-ray discs) where the discs overlap each other and are stacked in pairs (or more), with all of the disc pages attached to the left and right sides of the case. The same exact case was used for the Young Sheldon DVD set, so take a look at the photo in my review of that set for reference. While this is the better of the two crappy thick DVD-size cases that the studios use, it's still a horrible case. What makes this even sadder is that Mill Creek used to do a fantastic job with the cases on their Blu-ray Complete Series sets. Not their DVD sets, mind you, but their Blu-ray sets.

[ NOTES ]

Bewitched: The Complete Series is available on Blu-ray, DVD (Sony), and DVD (Mill Creek) If you opt for the Mill Creek DVD set, just make sure to get the later release in the HARD paperboard case, not the earlier release in the paper-thin case. There was also a spin-of series entitled Tabitha, starring Lisa Hartman, that aired for one season from 1977 to 1978. The entire series is on DVD, which also includes the 1976 pilot episode.

If you want Bewitched on Blu-ray in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, you better take out a third mortgage on your childhood home because it's going to cost you SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS! Australian company Imprint has been releasing the series in two-season sets: Seasons 1&2, Seasons 3&4 (alt url), Seasons 5&6, and Seasons 7&8 (due out Sept. 24, 2025). The Season 1&2 set, supposedly, includes some of the Sony DVD extras that are missing from the Mill Creek set. I think these sets are region-free, but I can't personally confirm that. These sets are priced at OVER $100 EACH and each includes a hardcover book that helps drive up the price. It could easily cost you $500 to $600 for the whole series this way. Whereas the Mill Creek set is LESS THAN $100 for the entire series. So, there is no perfect solution here.

This item has been provided by Mill Creek for review on this site.