Tabitha (1976–1978) User Reviews

Might have worked 20 years later

[rockhopper10r · 12 November 2004]

_Bewitched_ is probably in my top five favourite TV series of all time. The series went off when I was about three, but reruns were a staple in our house for years.

Trying to create a sequel just a few years after the parent show's demise would not have worked under the best of circumstances, starting with the point that, in 1977, Tabitha and Adam still would have been children. Also, late in the original series, it was revealed that Adam was, in fact, a warlock. This was reflected in the pilot of _Tabitha_ where he was an Uncle Arthur-type character. It is also rumoured that, in the pilot, Adam was intended to be gay. This may well be what led the powers that be to render him powerless once the series was picked up. Warlock Adam was the most entertaining part of the pilot. Without him, it was bland and boring. _Bewitched_ was always character-driven with outrageous witches (Endora, Maurice, Aunt Clara, Serena, Esmeralda, the aforementioned Uncle Arthur) and clueless, but entertaining mortals (Gladys Kravitz, Larry Tate and Phyllis Stephens--and their respective long-suffering spouses) and Sam and Darrin as the calm centre. This tension was not present in _Tabitha_, especially after the reworking.

Had the pilot been made 20 years later--about the time _Sabrina_ hit the air--it may well have worked. The characters would have had time to reach the ages at which they were presented. And, contemporary with _Ellen_ and _Will and Grace_, audiences may have been willing to accept a gay warlock Adam. Unfortunately, someone couldn't wait and a fabulous show has this sequel that is best forgotten.

Was a nice idea, but there's one too many flaws

[tiffanie_says_stay_in_your_lane · 1/10 · 23 April 2024]

I'm not a fan of Bewitched. It's just okay. I'll watch it if nothing else is on. It doesn't make me laugh all that much compared to I Dream of Jeannie. It's a boring show. Samantha was a housewife, and although the humor came from the nutty situations her magic got the people around her into, the jokes were bland, and the characters one-dimensional (except for her mom). Tabitha, her daughter, inherited her magical abilities. She was a funny little girl. Bewitched stayed on for quite a long time, and should've ended right where it did. But Hollywood loves to do spin-offs. Many of them are awful. There's no other explanation I can think of for spin-offs being made besides money. Judging from the crappy shows that have came out of Hollywood - and still do - money is placed over quality.

Four years after Bewitched ended, the public was introduced to Tabitha. The series follows her life, living as a witch in a mortal society. This had the potential to be a cute show, but its flaws are too prominent to ignore. Did the writers do any research on the original series? Or at least know how to do basic math? Tabitha was born in 1964, which would make her 12 in 1976. But in the show, she's a woman in her 20s, living independently with a full-time job and car. She works as a production assistant at a TV station in LA, along with her brother, Adam, who's older this time around, and not younger like he was in Bewitched. Also, Samantha and Darrin aren't in the story, so I guess her and Adam hatched from an egg. The acting is cringe. Everyone's conversations sound rehearsed. The only positive thing I can identify is Lisa Hartman sounding just like Elizabeth Montgomery, so she was believable playing the part of her daughter. Otherwise, fans will be greatly disappointed with this spin-off. It was a missed opportunity. It made no sense not to include Samantha and Darrin. And changing the ages of Tabitha and Adam was just plain dumb. I'm surprised it stayed on for more than one season. The lack of continuity and the absence of logic just make it unenjoyable.

poorly written

[rebatickets · 4/10 · 16 August 2010]

I suppose it's cute enough, as shows from the time period go. I watched all the episodes... Tough and tangy, full of innuendo, and minimal plot line (thinner than cheap copy paper). Sure, it's funny here and there, but that makes it all the more disappointing when the rest of it's so empty. I dunno. I thought the problem with the series was that it was in color. And then I watched the "unaired pilot." WOW! I fell right in love with it. How can a few minutes (comparitively) be so enchanting? I found that pilot to be very warm and amusing, very reminiscent of the original, in all good ways. I'll give lots of spoilers from that! If you enjoyed the original series, Bewitched, you'll remember the light touch and the gags. Well, the "pilot" that got dumped included references to scenes from the original series. Adam is the younger sibling, just like when he was born. And in this story-line, he's a warlock! Way more fun. Tabitha tries to tell her boyfriend she's a witch and has to keep transporting him around - just like her mom with her dad. The boyfriend asks her to prove it, just like her dad asked her mom. Then he goes to "think about it" by imbibing that which impairs judgement - just like her dad. There's a slightly nutty neighbor who keeps seeing things she's not supposed to. There's a shattered statue that's neither expensive or difficult to replace - if you're a witch. (wink) There's a whole lot more that got lost in "translation" when they shifted from classy to brassy. Seriously, who wrote Aunt Minervera's kinky character? And where oh where did Uncle Arthur get to?

This should have gotten a better shot

[ddmod · 8/10 · 16 November 2006]

This was a great little show and I know that I am one of the few that remembers it. This is the show that made me a fan of the beautiful and talented Lisa Hartman (Clint I hope you know how lucky you are). This was a great premise based on the daughter Tabitha (hence the name) from the TV Show Bewitched, But little Miss Tabitha is all grown up now and dealing with the world on her own. Over the years I have mentioned this show to many because this is where my mind goes when I think of Miss Hartman since I was never a fan of the prime time soaps. Great little show that deserved a better shot and maybe it's time it got another one.

It's not THAT bad

[jp-206 · 8/10 · 28 March 2022]

"Bewitched" is my favorite show of all time. While the continuity is off with "Tabitha", and Aunt Minerva seems to have come out from nowhere, there are some fun moments in this show.

1. The witchcraft looks and sounds identical to "Bewitched". I respect the fact that they changed Tabitha's nose wiggle sound to not be the same as Samantha's, but the rest of the sound effects are right out of "Bewitched".

2. The Kravitzes and Dr. Bombay are their normal selves.

3. There's a lot of "Bewitched" guest stars on here and that's fun.

4. Lisa Hartman did a really good job as "Tabitha". I enjoy her portrayal a lot!

5. Mary Wickes should have been on "Bewitched" back in the day, she's a natural for the witchy world. Glad to see her as Cassandra on this series.

I like watching the series once in a while. There's a few clunkers but it's not bad. It's a good escape.

One other thing - on "Bewitched" Gerald York was always in the background on many episodes throughout all eight seasons. "Tabitha" seems to have a background actor in many of the episodes as well; who is that guy? He doesn't get any credit here. In "A Star In Born" he's the one holding the cue cards. Once you know what he looks like, you'll see him somewhere in every episode.

Not even a twitch of the nose could've saved this one...

[pjfarr · 5 August 2002]

Having been a big fan of its parent show BEWITCHED, I really wanted this "spin-off" to work. I thought the idea of following the escapades of a now grown-up Tabitha was an interesting continuation of the BEWITCHED concept.

The first outing (with Liberty Williams as a very unlikely brunette Tabitha) bombed. I actually cringed while watching it. But ABC seemed determined to make it work (someone there was obviously just as big a fan of BEWITCHED) so they reworked the pilot episode by scrapping the entire original cast and crew.

Lisa Hartman was then cast as the lead and proved to be more charming and likeable. The rest of the cast and the writing however were no improvement over the first pilot. It was mainly a regurgitation of many of the familiar BEWITCHED plotlines and ideas, with mortal brother Adam chastising Tabitha every time she used her powers (as daddy Darrin did with Mom Samantha), and obnoxious, mischievous mortal-phobe Aunt Minerva filling in for Endora - causing problems for all the mortals in Tabitha's life. However, even with original characters from BEWITCHED turning up a few times (Dr. Bombay, Mrs. Kravitz) played by the actors who first originated them, the show seemed somehow detached and alien from the original show.

The whole thing was really not funny and only mildly entertaining, and it lasted only a handful of episodes.

Another nail in the show's coffin seemed to be that the sophisticated TV audiences of that era (the mid 70's), by then used to gritty and groundbreaking sitcoms like M*A*S*H, All In The Family, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, scoffed at such frothy nonsense. It would perhaps seem more fitting now in this current TV decade when audiences are more willing to accept such supernatural, effects-heavy shows as The X-Files, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Sabrina The Teenage Witch (which is in many ways the BEWITCHED of the 90's). With all the current nostalgia these days for the shows/music/movies of the 60's and 70's, it's only a matter of time before someone takes another crack at it...

Elizabeth Montgomery it ain't

[blusreturned · 23 June 2005]

first of all let me say i'm actually a big fan of both Lisa Hartman and Robert Irish. i enjoyed Ms Hartman in knots landing and a few appearances elsewhere and Mr Urich has been one of my favorite actors from swat to Spenser for hire and everything in between. that being said THIS SHOW SHOULD BE BURIED AS THE GARBAGE IT IS! number one Adam was the YOUNGER brother not the older brother to Tabitha. the actor is playing him in the series as nothing more then a whining wimp. Adam was not a mortal he was in fact a warlock which his father was very upset about. Tabitha is being played less like the strong willed woman her mother was and more like a pouting child the original pilot with liberty Williams was much better and Adam was played more like his mothers side of the family. Darrin must have been fit to be tied in that incarnation. she is definitely her daddies girl with enough of her mother to make it work

Tabitha is a breath of fresh air! A great show

[Zinone · 8 July 2005]

I don't know what this other review is talking about! This show was fantastic and fun! Lisa Hartman has channeled Elizabeth Montgomery and nailed this role, as every other she has possessed! Robert Urich is charming, even as the egotistical Paul Thurston. You can easily see how much fun was had on this set. Leave the ego's at the door. There is no forced or even bad acting, this is fun TV folks! Karen Morrow is just fantastic as Aunt Minerva and we even get a few "Bewitched" stars making a surprise visit!

I just bought the DVD box set and couldn't be more thrilled. This is when TV was fun and free and not some stupid reality show which is all we have to chose from these days. Long Live the 1970's Sitcom!

Z.

Meh...

[TedEBear · 28 December 2005]

Like a few others, I was disappointed with the series. I was hoping it would live up to "Bewitched" but there really wasn't anything to set it apart from the other bland sitcoms surrounding it. Aunt Minerva really seemed like a tired retread of Endora with a smattering of Aunt Clara or Esmerelda, and Adam substituting for Durweed...Dogwood...Darrin seemed pointless (apparently, continuity wasn't considered. Maybe they thought the younger audience they were shooting for wouldn't have noticed or watched the original series?) The only thing it had going for it was the theme song. While Lisa Hartman was a decent choice for the role physically, it looked like her main direction was "pretend you're Elizabeth Montgomery playing Samantha". Overall, the show didn't feel very original.

It Was Worth A Shot

[Thor2000 · 1 August 2003]

I can't understand why shows like "Sabrina" and "Out of This World" can be hits with huge fan bases while "Tabitha" just seems to sit barely noticed in the corner. Lisa Hartman, later of "Knot's Landing," was a cute and sexy Tabitha even if the real Tabitha Erin Murphy was still a kid when this show was on. As Hartman once said, "if it hadn't been continually bumped for tv specials, it might have lasted." The problem was the rest of the cast was not very good; Robert Urich just couldn't do comedy very well and another thing is that there was not enough to connect it to "Bewitched." Every fan on that show can name all the characters, so just where did "Aunt Minerva" come from (the actress that played her even played a witch on "Sabrina." Maybe if the show was tried again today with Tabitha married and Sabrina working with her husband at a tv network, maybe ?

Sorely in need of one more spell.

[Poseidon-3 · 2 March 2009]

Even though supernatural/magical series of this kind were very popular in the 60s, there was little call for them in the 70s or 80s ("Sabrina" and "Charmed" came along in the 90s to a mostly welcome reception.) In any case, this one had trouble finding its identity and by the time it was further on its way, it was too late and the guillotine was released on it after 11 episodes. A spin-off of the long-running "Bewitched," this focuses on the female child from that series (played here by Hartman), now grown up and working as a TV producer in Los Angeles. Also appearing in the series were Ankrum, her brother (younger than her on "Bewitched," but now inexplicably her elder!), Stewart, her boss, Urich, the narcissistic star of the TV program she produced, and Morrow, a "vivacious" and somewhat meddlesome aunt. Stories centered around various issues at the station with occasional focus on Hartman's love life. Hartman, though usually appearing to try to mimic "Bewitched" star Elizabeth Montgomery, certainly had the appeal, perkiness and impish humor to put something like this across, but was defeated by some really shoddy writing and a lackluster supporting cast. Also, within just a few episodes, she went from a modestly dressed teen to having her body exploited in the most flimsy, tight and abbreviated clothes available! Initially, Ankrum took on a sort of "Darrin Stephens-esquire" quality, being bereft of supernatural powers himself and chiding Hartman any time she used them. Eventually, this obvious, derivative and tired stance was abandoned, though it left the character with practically nothing to do at all besides appear briefly to spout some worthless and unfunny dialogue. Urich, while handsome and effectively smug, seemed to be sleepwalking through most of the shows and seems as if it's asking too much for him to stay awake and alert for the camera and recite his lines! He and Hartman did manage to create a certain degree of chemistry, however. Stewart was featured heavily in a couple of episodes, but usually was relegated to a few lines here and there. His character lacked distinction for the most part. Fans of the original series were always delighted with the flamboyant and outrageous Endora, played by the amazing Agnes Moorehead. Here, they had to make due with the supremely inferior Morrow, popping in wearing decidedly less imaginative clothing and lacking the magnetism that Moorehead (and practically every other witch and warlock from the original show) possessed. Though successful onstage, somehow Morrow never transferred appropriately on screen, her broad persona not registering in the more intimate medium of TV. Aside from this, the writing was so inept that there were scarcely any particularly interesting or entertaining spells, transformations or situations with which to delight an audience. The budget for the series always appeared to be $2.97 per episode anyway. As the series wore on, it began to hit a bit of a groove with the cat and mouse romance between Hartman and Urich beginning to develop (though Hartman is portrayed as a "good girl," sexuality in general is not ignored on the show), the (some might say ill-advised) addition of a ditsy friend in Willis and a bit more cohesive format overall, but the writing was on the wall. Feeble attempts at connecting the two series included appearances from old neighbors Tobias and Gould and family physician Fox, though the new incarnations only bore slight resemblances to the previous ones. Original star Montgomery (along with Dick Sergeant, Paul Lynde and others) wisely steered completely clear. The chief asset of having the series on DVD is the ability to watch a show morph from the original pilot (with an entirely different cast!) to a regular series that is tweaked and fiddled with continuously until its inevitable cancellation. There's also the fun of seeing some period clothes (check out Urich's football jersey-inspired nightshirt!) and the garish décor and furnishings of the era (most notably Hartman's apartment, the decoration of which sometimes changed, especially her entry walls which were sometimes wood grain veneer and other times loud floral wallpaper!) This is best as a curio or for "Bewitched" completists.

I Love It. Such as it is.

[mickdansforth · 15 January 2006]

I just finished watching all 12 episodes plus the original pilot with Liberty Williams (Jana of the Wonder Twins.) The writing is just awful. Really really bad. But I could not help myself. Checking out one episode turned into a insurmountable urge to watch the entire run.

Lisa Hartman (Pre-Movie-of-the-Week-Perma-Scowl) is absolutely adorable as Tabitha. She's cute, she's bouncy, and she does a pretty spot-on Elizabeth Montgomery impersonation, with the voice, the speech patterns, and that big shocked "O" she does with her mouth. And then there is the sexy outfits they rotate her through. Damn the 70's were sexy. Nothing now on Network TV comes close.

At the beginning Adam took on the Darwin role being disapproving of the magic. But the producers obviously saw the bit was a turkey and dropped it.

I didn't think that Tabitha and Robert Urich were a good romantic fit, she being smart, and him smarmy, but the producers were doing a good job of slowly getting them together.

Aunt Minerva started off as an Andora clone, but quickly found her own voice.

And we got 2 visits from the wonderful Dr. Bombay!!!

I think had the show been picked up for an entire season, they really could have made a go of it.

On the other hand, with only 12 episodes, I have watched the entire run and feel great about it. Had there been more, and they sucked, it might have lost it's charm and become grating.

Recommendation: Buy it now, because Sony is not going to keep it in print for long. So for the $15-$30 you can find it now, it is worth it. Five to Ten years down the road, when you have to pay $50-$100 for a used copy, it just won't be worth it.

Cute Bewitched Spin-Off!

[BuffSpike · 15 November 2005]

As a child in the 70's I grew up watching reruns of Bewitched and I loved that show and I remember when I was around 12 years old that they came out with this spin-off series Tabitha and I'm sorry but I liked this show. Okay I agree that Bewitched was a better show but Tabitha was good too and I thought the show was cute and I really liked Lisa Hartman as the adult Tabitha though I wonder why they aged Tabitha and Adam? Tabitha was born during the 1965-1966 television season so in 1977 she should have only been around 11 or 12 years old but despite that I still enjoyed watching this show which unfortunately only lasted one season but now that they have put it on DVD I will have to think of buying it!

Sad Sequel to a Classic

[Sargebri · 27 July 2004]

When I was a kid, I pretty much enjoyed this show due to the fact that it was pretty much an interesting show. However, since I have gotten older, I pretty much see it as a show that was wrong on several counts. First off, this show tried to be a combination of its parent show and "Mary Tyler Moore" with its concept of a witch who is also a career girl. Unfortunately, this combination was not a success and was probably the main reason this show was not a success. Also, this was an odd show due to the fact that when "Bewitched" went off the air in 1972, Tabitha and Adam were approximately 7 and 2 respectively and in this show which aired five years later they are now in their mid-20's whereas they should have been roughly about 12 and 7. Also, as another commentator mentioned, where did Aunt Minerva come from? If memory serves me right, Samantha was an only child and the closest she had to a sister was her wild cousin Serena. But perhaps the biggest inconsistency of this series was that they never attempted to really develop the relationship between Tabitha and Paul. In the entire run of the show they only had one scene that was even close to romantic. The rest of the time Tabitha was trying to fight off his amorous advances. But you had to know that this show was a disaster when they began bringing back many of the former regular and semi-regular cast members of the parent show such as the Kravitzes, who's niece was one of Tabitha's neighbors, and Doctor Bombay. This show was a perfect example of the lack of originality in television. Luckily it didn't sink the careers of Lisa Hartman and Robert Urich, who went on to successful careers after this show was canceled.

Possibly the worst sitcom ever

[TequilaMockingbird63 · 25 January 2005]

As another person wrote What WERE they thinking?! Lisa Hartman was very cute in 1977 but her acting was just plain bad. Perhaps the director told her eye rolling, pouting, huffing and over reacting to "frustrating" situations is funny. I'm also wondering if she was told to try to act like and mimic the wonderful Elizabeth Montgomery as her vocal inflections and reactions are suspiciously very similar. OK It was 1977 a long, long, long time ago so I will cut it some slack. If you watch it for the time warp factor alone (The clothes, the bad disco music, the cheesy laugh track, and the horribly written dialog complete with lines like "Right On" "Foxy Mama" and "Shed those groovy threads") its bearable. Other than that her brother Adam (who i really don't remember much in the original Bewitched) is a dweeb, Aunt Minerva is obnoxious at best and Robert Urich seems completely out of place. Its filmed very similar to many of the TV shows of the 70's - like Wonder Woman the music swells at every commercial break and every ending has to have a close up freeze of Wonder Woman (Diane Prince) smiling and or laughing telling us stupid at home viewers that everything turned out fine. Tabitha has its same bad endings but now we forced to watch Tabitha and the rest of the cast mugging and laughing to idiotic dialog. If it ever finds it's way to TV again its worth seeing just to say I'm embarrassed for everyone involved.

2/10

Holy Crap

[anslem-1 · 16 November 2003]

This show is a steaming pile. The episode I saw on TV Land's Kitsch-en had the worst sound of any show I have ever seen, and even had a nice film scratch down the left hand side for almost the whole show. That didn't detract from the horrible special effects, craptacular camerawork, or awful acting, however! Bewitched had it's charm and originality on it's side. This had nothing but the tell-tale signs of a greedy network trying to suck every last dime out of an old favorite, and it belongs in the Hall of Shame.

Neither Terrible Nor Great

[earlytalkie · 15 July 2013]

I confess that I forgot about this show until I saw a few episodes listed on YouTube. This show was an attempt to revive the magic of Bewitched in a hipper, more "with it" setting for the late seventies. The attempt to emulate the single woman in the TV workplace dynamic of The Mary Tyler Moore Show is all too obvious, right down to the giant "T" on Tabitha's apartment wall. Lisa Hartman was not bad in the lead, but she does try to channel Elizabeth Montgomery in the earlier show. The show uses characters from the old series like Dr. Bombay and the Kravitzes, then completely ignores details from the old series like the fact that on Bewitched, Adam was shown to be a warlock. The attempt to re-create the Darrin/Samantha conflict of Bewitched by making Adam a stuffy mortal simply does not work due to the fact that this is a brother and sister instead of a husband and wife. The fact that the two siblings are in their twenties instead of the age they would have been in actuality could be explained by the odd "aging process" of the characters in Bewitched. No one knew exactly how old Samantha, Endora and the rest were. This show tries to pick up where Bewitched left off in 1972, the year it was cancelled. Music cues and the "twitch" are all riffs on the earlier show. It is my opinion that Bewitched lasted about 5 years longer than it should have. The later seasons, are, for me, nearly unwatchable due to the poor writing and recycled stories from earlier seasons. Tabitha's story lines are a slight improvement over the stale final seasons of Bewitched, but they are no great shakes. Karen Morrow as Aunt Minerva is pretty good, but Robert Urich is wasted here as the stereotypical stupid, lecherous, handsome stud who hosts a show at the TV station Tabitha works for. For some reason, Sony seems to have shelled out some money to make the film quality of this show look almost new. The colors are bright and the sound is fine. The few episodes I've seen are watchable time wasters, but just watch an early episode of Bewitched to see how good and entertaining the supernatural Stephens can be.

This is Brilliant Programe

[Sir_Saxon_Knight · 23 December 2005]

I have seen the show and bought the DVD and i was only watching it last knight i also have Season 1 & 2 Bewithched you can not beat a good bit of magic.Lisa Hartman as the best smile and is very good at being Tabatha and the rest of the cast or also good. its a shame it only made 12 episodes i would have liked to see more. it would have been nice for Tabathas mother Samantha and Darren to have made a guest appearance on the show. Admitted that the pilot for the show was not as good as it did not really think as in the pilot Tabathas brother also had magic powers but in bewitched Tabbatha's brother was as mortal as there farther Darren. Lisa Hartman makes a Great Tabatha.

Oh My G-d,what were they thinking?

[raysond · 29 November 2002]

Like the person who wrote the comment about this show is that not even the twitch of the nose could save this turkey of a disaster series. By the way since I'm writing about this show,I'm watching it as of right now and to me it sucked. For one,I'm a huge fan of the BEWITCHED TV series but the producers who were trying to repackaging this show with some of the characters from the original series saw this as a train wreck waiting to happen and frankly it did. First of all,some of the characters like Dr. Bombay(Maurice Evans),and the hilarious Uncle Arthur (Paul Lynde) show up every so often but still it didn't help out the series nor did it save it either. In this outing,Tabitha is a grown woman(played by Liberty Williams in the pilot and then a very teenage looking Lisa Hartman in the series) who just like her mom Samantha is married to a moral as well,but still posesses magical powers! Also on hand as well is her brother Adam too who is all grown up and also possesses magical powers too! Both led separate lives in this series. In this one,I'm like where is Elizabeth Montgomery? And in this one Sam and Darren are not meddling in the kids' affairs and nor is Endora who is always sticking her nose where it doesn't belong.

Its no wonder that the series was put out to pasture(hasn't been seen in 24 years)and I can tell why it was. It sucked badly. I got the chance to see this series during one of TV Land's Kitschen shows where they show lame and brain dead shows from the past;see Fernwood 2 Night.