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Pilot episode of Bewitched From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha" (also known simply as "I, Darrin")[1] is the pilot episode of American television series Bewitched.[2] The episode was produced three weeks after starring actress Elizabeth Montgomery gave birth to her first child with her husband, series director William Asher.[3] The episode was written by Sol Saks, the creator of the series, and initially aired September 17, 1964 on ABC.[4] José Ferrer served as the episode's narrator, starting with the words, "Once upon a time...".[5] Ferrer was not credited for this role.[6] In the episode, Samantha Stephens promises her new husband Darrin that she will not use magic, a promise that initiates a pattern that continues into each subsequent episode of the series; the conflict in each episode surrounds Samantha's failed attempts to keep her promise.[7]
"I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha" | |
---|---|
Bewitched episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
Directed by | William Asher |
Written by | Sol Saks |
Narrated by | José Ferrer |
Featured music | Warren Barker |
Editing by | Michael Luciano Gerard Wilson |
Original air date | September 17, 1964 |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
Gene Blakely as Dave C. Lindsay Workman as Doctor Koblin Paul Barselou as Bartender Al Nancy Kovack as Sheila Sommers | |
The pilot is one of many episodes in the series that demonstrate that Samantha and Darrin have sexual desire for each other; as opposed to being depicted as sleeping in separate beds - as Rob and Laura Petrie are depicted as doing in the concurrently running The Dick Van Dyke Show - Samantha and Darrin are depicted sleeping in the same bed and expressing eagerness to do so.[8] Julie D. O'Reilly writes in her book Bewitched Again: Supernaturally Powerful Women on Television, 1996-2011 that, in "I, Darrin" when Darrin says, "You're a what?" in response to Samantha's statement that she is a witch, this exchange initiated a narrative that would be regularly repeated in television series into the 21st century. O'Reilly argues that this narrative is one in which a sexualized female character demonstrates to a male character that she has superpowers and the male responds with incredulity and no longer thinks of her as a woman but instead as a freak.[9] In "I, Darrin", Nancy Kovack portrayed Darrin's ex-girlfriend Sheila Sommers, and the episode's popularity resulted in Kovack returning to make Sheila a recurring character in the series.[10]
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