Bewitched

Once upon a time, I used to watch this TV series known as "Bewitched". It is about a witch called Samantha, who is trying to lead a life married to a mortal Darrin. There is a lot of laughter, as she tries to fend off the many spells that her mother casts, in an attempt to make Darrin leave her. In a way, it is a show about marriage, about how couples need to work things out when trouble comes in between them.

"Bewitched" showed between 1964 to 1972... that is a long time ago. The reruns showed in Singapore during the 1980s, if I remember correctly. The earlier seasons (which I did not catch) were in black and white, while the later seasons were in colour. Sony has decided to release DVDs of the series, expected to be all out in 2009.

And a few years ago, Nicole Kidman took up the role of the witch, and starred in the movie by the same name, "Bewitched". The story is a little different, but it has the same elements. A witch falling in love with a mortal man, and her family who does not approve of the union. There were elements of the TV series, such as the house number 1164 (which was the same as the TV series), and the neighbours (the lady somehow always noticed weird things going on in the witch's house). The movie was shown on TV last night, which prompted me to write this post.
And TBS in Japan decided to make a Japanese drama series along the same lines. Called "奥さまは魔女" (Oku sama wa majo, which translates to "My wife is a witch"), it is a remake of the original series, in Japanese with a Japanese context.

Official site for the movie "Bewitched"
奥様は魔法少女, a anime based on "Bewitched"