DVD releases are out of control. Misplaced nostalgia for the TV shows of our youth are rife. So it was a pleasant surprise for me to watch the very first episodes of Bewitched on DVD.

Starting in 1964 and running for eight seasons, the show was a huge success, and has of course now spawned an allegedly poor film with the allegedly botoxed Nicole Kidman.

Back then, Elizabeth Montgomery was mostly making dubious beach party movies. Samantha the witch was to become her defining role, with over 250 episodes of the show recorded. Montgomery died of cancer in 1995 at the age of 62, although for some reason her family insisted she was only 57.

So now, over forty years after the series was made, the French now have their first chance to hear Elizabeth Montgomery's real voice ; the DVD has just been released in the original English (the show was only ever shown dubbed here). It really changes your appreciation of a series, to hear the real actors talking. Who would have thought that a classic actress such as Agnes Moorhead, Orson Welles' muse, could be so wicked (in more than one sense of the word)?

I have to admit, being Samantha was a secret dream (although I'm not sure the dresses would have suited me). As a kid, it would have been wonderful to be able to wiggle your nose and have your room instantly clean!

So, don't expect plot twists or deep social comment, but Betwitched is still a great (simple) pleasure to watch; . I actually laughed out loud, and buying the DVD was worth it just for that.

Bewitched And Elizabeth Montgomery Site