Bewitching P.E.I. readers with a guide to the TV classic, Bewitched
Sara Fraser | CBC News | Posted: June 20, 2017 7:00 PM | Last Updated: June 21, 2017
'I didn't want people to forget about the show'
Lovable suburban witch Samantha, from the 1964-1972 television series Bewitched starring the late Elizabeth Montgomery, cast a strong spell over P.E.I. author Adam-Michael James when he was just eight years old.
James, mesmerized by the comic antics of the mischievous, nose-wiggling blonde, has now written a book called The Bewitched Continuum.
"It's been 40 years in the making," laughed the self-professed "total Bewitched geek."
"On one level The Bewitched Continuum is an episode guide, but it's much more than that — I wanted to explore the continuity of the show," James told CBC Radio: Mainstreet P.E.I.'s Angela Walker.
James notes most people watched Bewitched on what by today's standards would be small, poor-quality, often black-and-white televisions, and weren't able to watch the episodes repeatedly and dissect every detail as is possible now with websites like YouTube or streaming services like Netflix.
'Fun to explore'
"I thought it would be interesting to start with episode one and go all the way through to 254 and see what connects and what doesn't connect — what's consistent," he said. "It was a lot of fun to explore the show that way."
Many supernatural series since Bewitched have their roots in the show, James said, but the show still stands on its own.
"The show is just so well-written that you can look past the bell-bottoms and the plaid and the olives and greens of the 60s and still get the humour and appreciate the witchcraft," he said.
He also thinks one of the show's central messages was equality: "You had a witch married to a mortal, and that was OK."
'Help bring it back'
The 600-page book is large — bigger than the P.E.I. phone book — and will be launched Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Holland College in lecture theatre 21C. The audience will watch episodes of Bewitched and listen to live music.
"One of the main reasons I wrote the book is, I didn't want people to forget about the show — I think this will help bring it back," James said.
The book is available at The Bookmark in Charlottetown.
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