Bewitched: "The Leprechaun"

Premiered March 17, 1966

Darrin Stephens (Dick York) is dismayed to learn that yet another of Samatha's (Elizabeth Montgomery) relatives has come to visit.  The visitor is a bona fide leprechaun named Brian O'Brian (Henry James).  

Brian turns out NOT to be one of Samatha's kinfolk, but is from Darrin's side of the family.  The leprechaun is seeking his last remaining pot of gold, which he'd hidden away in a fireplace in Ireland.

Unfortunately for Brian, that fireplace was transported from the Auld Sod to the US by a wealthy businessman named James Dennis Robinson (Parley Baer) where it holds pride of place in Robinson's mansion! 

Since Brian isn't in possession of the pot of gold, he cannot use his leprechaun magic.  Moreover, Samantha cannot use her witchcraft to obtain the pot of gold as its leprechaun bewitchment prevents this.  So Brian will have to find a way to retrieve the pot himself.  

Matters are complicated by Darrin's skepticism of the whole issue and the fact that Darrin's advertising firm would very much like to obtain Robinson's business.   Darrin goes to Robinson's home to verify Brian's claims and attempt to drum up some ad firm revenue, but is not very successful. 

The leprechaun decides to take matters into his own hands and runs into serious trouble in the form of guard dogs. Robinson himself calls the police and has Brian sent to jail.  Brian uses his one phone call to ask Samantha for help.   She obliges and springs him using witchcraft. Darrin is angry that she interfered and forbids her from helping further. 

Ignoring Darrin, Samantha witches herself and Brian back to Robinson's mansion to search for the pot of gold.  However, it seems that someone else has already discovered its hiding place! 

Will Darrin win another advertising deal for his firm?  Will Brian O'Brian regain his pot of gold or will he be reduced to a mere mortal?   Will Samantha think of a clever way to save the day?  

RigbyMel says: 

This is a slight and silly episode of Bewitched.  It's amusing to see how the sitcom's writers work some leprechaun mythos into the suburban setting -- but also a bit annoying to see how heavily they lean into the "drunken Irishman" stereotype.   

Brian seems particularly dopey for a leprechaun -- they have a reputation for being reasonably clever if not tricky, after all.  Maybe the loss of his pot of gold is dulling his faculties?   That being said,  Henry James is fun to watch as Brian the leprechaun and definitely knows how to work the blarney! 

I liked that they played with the sitcom's formula a bit in this episode as it's one of Darrin's nutty relations (not Samantha's) causing the difficulty.   However, Darrin is a bit less likeable than usual in this episode as well.   He's rather mean and unsympathetic to Brian and to Samantha throughout -- and they come through for him in the end anyway! 

Interestingly, Parley Baer who plays the episode's antagonist Mr. Robinson, appeared on nine episodes of Bewitched between 1966 and 1972.  He played different characters each time! 

"The Leprechaun" is an enjoyable episode of Bewitched with lots of St. Patrick's Day flair but it's not really a classic.

RigbyMel's rating: 

2.5 shamrocks 

J.A. Morris says: 
We should mention that even though St. Patrick's Day is never mentioned in "The Leprechaun," this episode premiered on St. Paddy's of 1966.  So I believe it qualifies as a "holiday" episode.

This is an OK episode of Bewitched.  I agree with most of what my co-blogger says.  If I have any problem with "The Leprechaun," it's that I felt it gets off to a slow start.  It's a "low energy" episode until Brian tries to get his gold back from Robinson.  

There isn't a lot of St. Patrick's Day programming out there, that makes "The Leprechaun" worth watching at least once, but that's about it.

J.A. Morris' rating:

2 shamrocks.

Witch's Night Out

Premiered October 27, 1978

“This is what Hal­loween is all about, my dar­lings. Every day we go about our lives in the same old way, but once a year we can be what­ever and whomever we please! Pre­tend! Let your secret fan­cies run wild!” - Witch

Small and Tender in their Halloween masks

In this animated special,  two children named Small (Tony Molesworth) and Tender (Naomi Leach) are excited about going trick-or-treating in their Halloween costumes.   Small has chosen to be a werewolf, while his sister, Tender, is dressed up as a ghost.   They listen in on some of the local adults talking about Halloween. Town curmudgeons, Rotten (Bob Church) and Malicious (Catherine O'Hara), express their dislike of the holiday, while Goodly (John Leach),  who seems to be the town organizer, and his friend Nicely (Fiona Reid), think that dressing in costumes is just for kids and want to find a way to celebrate that will appeal to "adults, as people" and help make "a really definitive Halloween experience."  They decide a Halloween party will be just the thing ... they just need a venue.

Small and Tender listen in on the adults' Halloween plans

A spooky mansion on the edge of town -- does anyone else think it resembles the house in Psycho?

Meanwhile, in a dilapidated and spooky mansion on the edge of town,  a lonely Witch (Gilda Radner) is lamenting the fact that no one seems to want to celebrate Halloween anymore.  She hasn't had any "calls" for "wicked wishes" in ages and attempts to keep herself entertained by practicing spells on her cat.

What's a bored witch to do?

She perks up quite a bit when Goodly and Rotten come to check out her home as a potential site for their Halloween party plans and deem it perfect.  The witch has her OWN ideas about how this Halloween celebration will go --  "I'll turn the pumpkin pie into spider stew!  I'll turn the taffy apples into lizards!"  (Obviously, the witch doesn't know that Malicious has been assigned food duty and her additions probably won't be much ickier!)

Small and Tender trick or treating at Nicely's house

 Small and Tender are very disappointed when they go trick-or-treating and not only don't scare anyone but are easily recognized.   Nicely comments on how "cute" they are.   Malicious mocks them and tries to give them sardine meringue and pepperoni peppermints as treats (she's taking these to the party).

Small and Tender try to scare Malicious

The children go home where their family friend Bazooey (Gerry Salsberg) is there to babysit  (presumably their parents are going to the Halloween party).    Bazooey offers to read them a spooky Halloween story, but the kids reject this idea due to their recent disappointment, so he reads them a story about a fairy godmother instead.

Bazooey reads to the kids

After the story,  Small says Halloween would be more fun if he was a real werewolf, not just a kid in a mask.  Tender feels the same way and wishes to be a real ghost.  The Witch hears their wishes -- a call at last!   She puts her party mayhem on hold and hastens to grant Small and Tender's wishes.  She turns them into their costumes using her wand.  Small and Tender are delighted.  Bazooey is not quite so sure  this is a good idea,  but the Witch reassures him that it's only temporary.   Bazooey gets into the spirit of the evening and asks to be turned into a Frankenstein monster. The Witch is happy to grant his request and then invites the three of them to her Halloween party.

The party is looking pretty grown-up and not very Halloween-ish until the Witch and her transformed friends arrive.  They scare everyone, the party empties out in seconds. There is a stampede for the door - the Witch gets a bit trampled in the process.  The kids and Bazooey are disappointed, they didn't mean to scare the grown-ups quite that much. Things get worse when the Witch realizes someone has stolen her wand, this means she can't change anyone back to their regular forms.

You mean we might have to stay like this?

Meanwhile back in town,  the frightened grown-ups realize that Small,  Tender and Bazooey are missing.  They assume that the kids have been taken by "the monsters."  Goodly organizes a mob to hunt down the monsters and save the missing children, not realizing that the monsters ARE the missing children!    Meanwhile, Rotten and Malicious have discovered what happened to the Witch's wand (it was stuck in Malicious' hair) and they attempt to cast their own spells which prove to be ... well ... rotten.

Magnificent mayhem and running about ensues.  We don't want to spoil the ending though ...

This show is available as a VHS tape (and via other sources) but has not (yet) been released as a DVD or Blu-Ray.

RigbyMel says:

I remember watching and enjoying this special as a child.   I really like the quirky, minimalist way the characters are rendered.   The excellent voice cast as well as one of the catchiest theme tunes ever (groovy synths and all) makes this show a delight to hear as well as to watch.   Moreover,  this special really illustrates what Halloween should be all about - letting your imagination run wild and enjoying some spookiness in the process.

Our copy of Witch's Night Out is treasured annual Halloween viewing.

My rating:

4 Jack O'lanterns

J.A. Morris says:

I'm in agreement with my co-blogger here, this is one of my favorite Halloween specials.  For years, I couldn't remember much more beyond the catchy theme song ("Halloween!  Witch magic, Halloween!") and that it had a character named "Bazooey".  I searched for Bazooey one day a few years ago and found the title.  And I'm glad I did, you could say this is the definitive Halloween special.  
I wanted to add a theory I have about the Witch's appearance and lifestyle.  Some of her comments about being forgotten remind me of Norma Desmond, the forgotten movie star (portrayed by Gloria Swanson) in the classic film Sunset Boulevard.  It also looks like her head scarf and her dilapidated mansion may be inspired by Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, as seen in the documentary Grey Gardens.

 

Little Edie

Witch

 

The Witch's quote about how Halloween is the day "we can be whatever and whomever we please" gets to the heart of the Holiday, and the voice actors are all excellent.  Catherine O'Hara and Gilda Radner are two of my all-time favorite actors (I'm a big fan of SCTV and SNL), they do a great job voicing Witch and Malicious. 
An excellent special, I wish the copyright holders would release Witch's Night Out on DVD, Blu Ray or streaming already!
My rating:
4 Jack O'Lanterns