Tabitha (TV series)

Overview

Tabitha originated as a pilot that aired on ABC on April 24, 1976. The episode used the variant spelling Tabatha for the title, and starred Liberty Williams in the title role. Bruce Kimmel portrayed her brother, Adam Stephens. The major difference between the pilot and the series was that Adam was a full-fledged and mischievous warlock in the pilot, but was made a mortal for the series (thus making him the disapproving figure as Darrin had been). In the first pilot, Tabatha was an editorial assistant for the fictional Trend magazine, lived in San Francisco, and had a boyfriend named Cliff (Archie Hahn). She also contended with the supernatural antics of Adam. In situations that were very similar to "I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha", the pilot episode of Bewitched, Tabatha tells Cliff that she is a witch, who at first does not believe her, but later discovers that she is telling the truth. Also, much like her mother did when she used her powers to deflect the unwanted affections of Sheila Sommers, her father's former fiancee, Tabatha deflects rival Dinah Nichols (Barbara Rhoades) from seducing Cliff.

The first pilot (directed by Bewitched producer/director William Asher) did not sell the series. A second pilot starring Lisa Hartman was produced that interested ABC who bought the series. In the second version, Hartman replaced Liberty Williams as Tabitha Stephens, the daughter of Samantha and Darrin. Tabitha is now a 20-something witch working as a production assistant at KXLA (which should not be confused with the real KXLA) television station in Los Angeles. Working with her is her now-older and mortal brother Adam (David Ankrum) who admonishes her use of witchcraft. Her previously unmentioned Aunt Minerva (Karen Morrow) pops in frequently to encourage her to use her witchcraft. Robert Urich is Tabitha's boss and romantic interest.

The revised Tabitha pilot aired on ABC on May 7, 1977. The series debuted on the fall schedule on September 10, 1977.

William Asher, who worked on the first pilot, had little to do with the second version of the series. While he directed a few episodes, namely the ones that feature Bernard Fox, George Tobias and Sandra Gould as their original Bewitched characters, he otherwise remained as an advisor.

Characters

Guest stars

Several Bewitched characters appeared on Tabitha. In the episode, "Tabitha's Weighty Problem", Bernard Fox reprises his role as Dr. Bombay, and again in the last episode, "Tabitha's Party", in which the character's first name, "Hubert" is revealed. The sixth episode, "The Arrival of Nancy", features George Tobias and Sandra Gould as Abner and Gladys Kravitz. Dick Wilson, who played the "drunk guy" on Bewitched appeared in the episodes "Halloween Show" and "Tabitha's Party". Mary Grace Canfield, who appeared on four episodes of Bewitched as Abner Kravitz's sister Harriet Kravitz, also guest starred albeit as another character. Other guest stars include Werner Klemperer, Dack Rambo, Tracy Reed, Mary Wickes, and Fred Willard.

Discontinuities with Bewitched

The series takes place in the "present day" (late 1970s) yet does not reconcile how Tabitha and Adam could be in their early-to-mid 20s when they had been young children at the time Bewitched ended only five years earlier. Tabitha was born in 1966 and should have been 11 years old in 1977, a fact that would not have worked with the major theme of the show about young woman out to make it on her own. In that respect Tabitha was more similar to the The Mary Tyler Moore Show. As a pre-teen, Erin Murphy, who had played Tabitha on Bewitched, was far too young to play an adult Tabitha.

Another discrepancy is why Adam is now the older sibling, nor why Adam was now mortal rather than a warlock. In the final episode of Tabitha, Samantha and Darrin's 25th wedding anniversary is being celebrated, even though their marriage in the 1964 premiere episode of Bewitched had been only 14 years earlier.

Elizabeth Montgomery, who starred as Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, was asked to reprise her role on Tabitha which she declined. She later said of the series:

"First of all, I didn't see the show, but I heard that she [Lisa Hartman] didn't twitch as well as I did. I kept getting mail from people were who outraged, saying, 'Where is Erin Murphy? What in the world (is going on)?! This woman is 25...this doesn't make any sense.' I was getting mail from people like it was my fault, although also saying, 'Thank God you didn't have anything to do with this.'[...] They felt betrayed. I thought, 'How can you be betrayed by a TV show?' But they were irate. I got almost as much mail about that as I get about anything else. It was very funny...ranged from kids who hated it to grownups who said, 'This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen.'[...]"

Reception and cancellation

The pilot aired in May, 1977, the season premier on September 10 of that year, and the next episode not until November 12. The series finally aired regularly thereafter, on Saturdays at 8 p.m. EST. Ratings were initially good but began to drop off mid-way through the first season. In January 1978, ABC moved Tabitha from its Saturday night spot to Fridays at 8 p.m. (typically known as the Friday night death slot) where ratings continued to fall. ABC canceled the series shortly thereafter. ABC aired reruns through August 1978.

DVD release

In 2005, to coincide with the release of the first season of Bewitched on DVD (and the release of the Bewitched feature film), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the entire run of Tabitha on DVD. The original Liberty Williams pilot is included as a special feature.