Tabitha (TV Series)

''Tabitha'' is an American fantasy sitcom and a spin-off of '' Bewitched'' that aired on ABC from September 10, 1977, to January 14, 1978. The series starred Lisa Hartman in the title role as Tabitha Stephens, the witch daughter of Samantha and Darrin Stephens who was introduced on ''Bewitched'' during its second season.

In the series, Tabitha is portrayed as a young woman working as a production assistant at a television station and living in Los Angeles. The supporting cast includes David Ankrum as Tabitha's brother, Adam, with whom she works; Karen Morrow as Tabitha's and Adam's meddlesome aunt, Minerva; Robert Urich as Paul Thurston, an egomaniacal and womanizing talk show host who is a sometime love interest for Tabitha; and Mel Stewart as Tabitha's and Adam's cranky, but lovable boss Marvin Decker. Unlike ''Bewitched'', which was a hit for ABC and aired for eight seasons, ''Tabitha'' failed to catch on with viewers and was canceled after eleven episodes.

Overview

''Tabitha'' originated as a pilot that aired on ABC on April 24, 1976. The episode 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, Tabitha 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'', Tabitha tells Cliff that she is a witch. At first he 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 fiancée, Tabitha 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 twenty 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.

The series is explicitly set in the mid-late 1970s; even though footage of Tabitha as a toddler from the original series is incorporated into the opening credits and, as noted below, several characters from the original series made guest appearances played by their original actors, no narrative attempt is made to reconcile how someone born in the mid-1960s could be a college graduate in her early 20s only a decade later.

Characters

Main

* Tabitha Stephens ( Lisa Hartman) is the main character; she is the daughter of Samantha and Darrin Stephens and twitches her nose, much like her mother does, to invoke her magic spells.
*Adam Stephens (David Ankrum) is Tabitha's older brother, although originally, he was younger; he is the son of Samantha and Darrin Stephens, is against Tabitha using witchcraft (much like Darrin, their father, was), and persuades Tabitha not to use her magic. He does love his sister, though.
*Aunt Minerva (Karen Morrow) is Adam's and Tabitha's aunt; she is a meddlesome, but well-meaning busy-body and encourages Tabitha to use her magic; she is the mother figure for Tabitha, in lieu of Samantha and Endora.
*Paul Thurston (Robert Urich) is the egotistical, somewhat obnoxious host of ''The Paul Thurston Show'' on the fictional TV station KXLA, where Tabitha works as a production assistant; he is a love interest for Tabitha, but it does not stop him from being a womanizer,
*Marvin Decker ( Mel Stewart) is producer of ''The Paul Thurston Show'' and Tabitha's cranky but lovable boss at KXLA.

Guest stars

Some ''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 respectively. Dick Wilson, who played "various drunks" 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 as another character. Other guest stars were Werner Klemperer, Dack Rambo, Tracy Reed, Mary Wickes, and Fred Willard. In addition, photographs and footage of twin sisters Diane Murphy and Erin Murphy as Tabitha from the original ''Bewitched'' series were incorporated into the opening credits sequence.

Episodes

Pilots (1976 and 1977)

Season 1 (1977–78)

Reception and cancellation

In an unusual move, ABC aired the pilot episode during the summer before the Fall 1977-1978 television season on May 7, 1977. The second episode, “Tabitha’s Weighty Problem”, then aired during the Fall television season on September 10, 1977. The series was then preempted for several weeks with the third episode finally airing on November 12. The series then began airing regularly thereafter, on Saturdays at 8 p.m. EST (opposite the final seasons of ''The Bob Newhart Show'' on CBS and ''The Bionic Woman'' on NBC). Ratings were initially good but began to drop off midway 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. The series ended its season ranked 81st out of 104 programs with a 14.8 Nielsen. It was the second lowest-rated program on the network's schedule. ABC canceled the series shortly thereafter, though reruns aired through August 1978.Leszczak 2012, p. 178.

Production notes

The pilot episode of ''Tabitha'' was produced by Ashmont Productions (the company owned by Elizabeth Montgomery and William Asher), and filmed at The Burbank Studios in Burbank, California. It was filmed with a single-camera with an added laugh track.
After production of the pilot in 1976, Ashmont was closed down.

The series' theme song, "It Could Be Magic", was written by Jeff Barry and performed by Lisa Hartman. Jack Elliott, Allyn Ferguson and Dick DeBenedictis did the instrumental themes for the pilot episodes.

Home media

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.

Sources

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References

External links

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Bruce Kimmel reminisces
about the first pilot

{{Bewitched

1976 American television series debuts
1978 American television series endings
1970s American single-camera sitcoms
American fantasy comedy television series
American television spinoffs
Bewitched
Television series about witchcraft
Television shows about magic
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television shows set in Los Angeles
Television series about television
American English-language television shows
American Broadcasting Company sitcoms