Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bewitched: Season 5

 

The 30-episode fifth season of Bewitched aired during the 1968/1969 TV season. All of the main cast returned, including Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, and Agnes Moorehead. Erin Murphy, and/or Diane Murphy, and David White appeared in most episodes, and George Tobias and Sandra Gould appeared in a handful of episodes. Paul Lynde, Maurice Evans, and Bernard Fox also made several appearances throughout the season. Some of the guest stars this season included Isabel Sanford (best known for her role on The Jeffersons), Art Metrano (who would later star in some of the Police Academy films), and Danny Bonaduce.

As of this writing, the blu-rays are only available in the complete series release. In that set, the fifth season episodes are spread across three discs. The only bonus content is commentary tracks on a couple of episodes by Herbie Pilato and York's son. The restoration of the episodes is very good, but the HD format does show the limitations of 1960s effects. The individual season is available on DVD in a four-disc set, but does not have the commentary tracks that were done for the blu-ray release. 

The fifth season marked the start of the series' transition, as it would be the last season in which Dick York appeared due to a back injury that affected his ability to work. This season, he was absent for several episodes, and the writers found different ways to write excuses for Darrin's absence into the show. As a result, there were more appearances by characters like Uncle Author, Maurice, and Serena (with Elizabeth Montgomery pulling double duty). The writers continued to work in some real-world 1960s themes (including social themes like women's rights and civil rights) into the show from time to time (sometimes subtly, sometimes not), but mostly kept the show lighthearted and fictional. The show was definitely getting repetitive and recycling or repackaging old storylines. However, it was still very entertaining. The one issue I had with the show was that it would often reuse the same supporting actors in totally different roles. So, if you are big on continuity, there was not much in this show, as you would often see the same actors playing different characters just a few episodes apart. In one of the commentary tracks, Pilato mentioned that if Montgomery and William Asher (Montgomery's husband and one of the show's producers) liked someone, they would bring that person back multiple times. So you can definitely tell which actors they liked. 

Ultimately, the season is good, and the show continued to be funny in the fifth season, even if it was getting a bit stale. There are definitely some elements of the series that would likely not be used if it were made today, but it mostly holds up well. If you liked the first few seasons, this one is not as good as those, but it is still entertaining and worth watching.