Posted by Dr. Bombay on June 3, 2011, 12:39 am Resident Bewitched Historian
...tonight ABC re-aired Episode #207: “Samantha’s Bad Day in Salem" which originally aired on November 5, 1970.
As Samantha prepares for a big meeting at the Witches Convention she discovers Durwood hard at work on a campaign and wonders why as they are supposed to be on vacation. Durwood has told Larry that he’ll rough out ideas for the Blakely Account. Samantha suggests they forget about work and conventions and Durwood buys the bait and says they should just count the rest of their time in Salem as a second honeymoon. When Durwood asks how Samantha will explain her absence from the Convention she says she’ll just say she came down with a serious case of love. Just as they are about to kiss Endora pops in saying that Samantha’s excuse wouldn’t be accepted as she (Endora) is the chairman and she would refuse it. And before Durwood knows it Samantha is zapped out of his arms as Endora takes herself and Samantha to the hallowed grounds of the convention.
The agenda for that night’s meeting is to install a new Resident Witch of Salem, a position created out of the wisdom of the High Priestess Hepzibah in 1692 meant to protect and preserve the image of the witch and protect those innocent people accused of being witches. When a recess is called, Samantha goes to the refreshment table and suddenly finds her eyes covered by a pair of hands, one of which has a wart on the pinky, which indicates it must be Samantha’s childhood friend, Waldo. Her intuition turns out correct and she apologizes for the wart which she caused after she had changed him into a toad when they were children. He says he doesn’t mind it as it reminds him of her. He tries to ask her out but she refuses reminding him that she is married though he says it’s not valid as it’s to a mortal and she leaves as she has been called over by someone else. Waldo retreats to a secluded place and zaps up an exact duplicate of Samantha, in looks only as she’s more Stepford Wife than Xeroxed Witch. Apparently Waldo has resorted to zapping up a fantasy Samantha since he can’t have the real one and he pours his heart out to her. Just then his mother pops in reprimanding him for continuing to focus on a dream and she demands that if he is going to pine after Samantha, than he should just pursue the real one.
The next day as Samantha prepares for another meeting of the Witches’ Council and Durwood gets ready to go sight-seeing by himself, there is a knock at the door which they assume is the waiter bringing their breakfast but are shocked when the seemingly rude waiter turns out to be Larry who had tipped the waiter off to take his place so he could come and persuade Durwood in person to come back to New York to present Mr. Blakely his ideas. Durwood reminds Larry he is on vacation and that he has no intention of leaving but to go sight-seeing in Salem. He does leave and goes to see the statue of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Roger Conant, Salem founder, but finds that he can’t enjoy himself as Larry tags along trying to beg him to come back. They end up at the House of Seven Gables where Durwood says he needs to buy some film so Larry says he’ll wait outside for him. He goes walking on the grounds behind the house and as he nears the vineyards he hears a man and woman talking and is startled to find it’s Samantha with another man talking about how much she loves and adores him and she finds Durwood icky. Of course, it’s Waldo’s fake Samantha but Larry is shaken and when Durwood comes out of the shop, he apologizes to Larry and says he’ll go back to New York but Larry refuses telling him that he needs to stay in Salem and they head back to the hotel for some lunch where they were to meet Samantha. Meanwhile, Waldo tells his fantasy Samantha that maybe if he met Durwood he could force himself to get rid of him.
At the hotel restaurant Samantha meets up with Durwood and Larry and soon after Waldo shows up. Larry about chokes on his drink and says he’s not feeling well and he goes up to his room. Samantha suggests Durwood go check on Larry as she knows that Waldo showing up can’t be a good thing. When she asks Waldo why he’s there he tells her that he wanted to see what she saw in Durwood and he still can’t see why she married him.
Up in Larry’s hotel room, Durwood finds Larry very evasive and confusing and then he finally gets the real story about Larry seeing Samantha and Waldo together at the House of Seven Gables. A little surprised, Durwood returns back down stairs and happens to exit the elevator just as Samantha is going up in the elevator next to it. However when he gets to the table he finds “Samantha” and Waldo discussing plans to away to their rendezvous. Durwood demands an explanation but Waldo tells him to stop crowing and zaps him into a crow. Defeated once again, Durwood flies back up to his room. When Samantha gets up to their room she can’t find her husband and calls Larry to see if maybe he’s there but Larry says that Durwood said he had been going back down to lunch. As she hangs up she hears a crow and goes into the bedroom to find a crow packing Durwood’s things and she realizes Durwood is in their room. She tries to talk him out of packing but he won’t stop until she zaps him in a cage and tells him she’ll find out who it was at the Convention that night.
At the convention Samantha pops in with the bird interrupting Endora’s recitation for an April shower spell. Samantha demands her mother change Durwood back but Endora insists she didn’t do it and suggests that someone else who doesn’t approve of the mortal marriage did it. Furious with her witch associates, Samantha demands that whoever did it reverse their spell at once and so Waldo, from the shadows, zaps Durwood back. Instantly the gathered witches and warlocks disappear as they consider the witch grounds hallowed and now that a mortal is there…well…Durwood demands that Samantha take them back to the hotel which she does. He begins to continue packing and Samantha tells him that she deserves an explanation so he explains how Larry had seen her and Waldo at the House of Seven Gables. She insists that it wasn’t her and that the person that can explain would be Waldo so she calls out for him and he appears. She demands an explanation and he concedes and tells them that as Durwood has a Samantha so does he and he zaps up his fantasy Samantha. A little embarrassed, Samantha tells Waldo that he needs to give up and move on. Just then Larry walks into the room and sees “Samantha” expressing her love to Waldo so Larry gets ready to knock Waldo out and finds himself turned into a white crested crow! Durwood wonders how they’ll explain to Larry what he saw and Samantha suggest that they’ll say it was Serena that was seen with Waldo and she asks Waldo to zap up a blonde Serena that looks like his fantasy Samantha. Grudgingly Waldo accepts as he was never fond of Serena and zaps her up and returns Larry to his human form. Larry is relieved and wonders why Serena is blonde. She tells him that it’s because blonds have more fun and when he goes to give her a hug his arm goes right through her. Shocked, Larry asks for a drink and Samantha suggests some Old Crow.
I've always liked this one just because of the scenes of the Convention plus Sammy is in her flying suit almost the entire time! But now that I'm older I realize it doesn't have much to do with Salem except the small scene at the House of Seven Gables and the insert shots of "the sights of Salem.” Come on, all they could show was the two statues and say that's sights??! Not to mention that Durwood and Larry weren't even there, just filmed in front of green screens.
I seem to remember reading that David White was sick during this episode and you can hear it in his voice. And about Larry - he is rather annoying trying to interrupt this vacation all the damn time and then it was ridiculous for Samantha to say at the beginning, "Doesn't he know you're on vacation?" What do you think he's been doing for the past couple episodes?
Another funny part of this episode is when Durwood is changed back and then everyone leaves and it's because they feel he has tainted hallowed ground
Waldo seems really wimpy and not someone Samantha would’ve been interested in at all. George was my favorite out of her boyfriends and the only one really worthy of her. But I suppose we should keep in mind that Waldo was just a childhood friend who developed a crush on her.
One interesting tidbit from this episode is the fact that Salem really does have a Resident Witch who lives there for the same purpose that Endora states and that is to prevent the same witch hysteria from 1692 from happening. She's named Laurie Cabot (here is her website: http://www.lauriecabot.com/). It's too bad they didn't just center this episode around installing the new resident witch. They should've just made it about Samantha being the new resident witch since she gave up being Queen after a year and then have her try to find a way to tell Durwood about it and finally show the witch community why she wouldn't be the best choice. That way more of the episode could've been shown at the Convention!
All in all though, I just find this episode fun.
This is the episode where we see the elevators from the lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel and we found out at the 2006 Fanfare that they are indeed the actual elevators and in 40 years they haven't changed much! I thought that was really cool. I also wonder if the scenes in the restaurant were filmed there too. It doesn't seem like a familiar set.
Favorite Quotes:
Samantha: "Waldo, rumor hath it that you and I were seen cavorting at the House of Seven Gables." I don't know why, but I just find it hysterical! That is one of my favorite Bewitched quotes of all time.
I also laughed when Samantha is trying to find out who changed Durwood into a crow and she says, "You call yourselves witches! BULLIES!! That's what you are!"
"I never did dig what Sammy dug about that dodo." ~ Serena
Re: 40 Years Ago...
Posted by Melanie on June 3, 2011, 1:18 pm, in reply to "40 Years Ago..." Queen of the Harpies
Good summary. I agree about Waldo. But at least he made her chosen one, Darrin, look a lot better. Sow's ears are not made into silk purses by the addition of a few dandelions, Samantha!
Great review, i notice they are getting longer and more detailed, fantastic. I like this ep and Waldo's "very own Samantha" LOL!! "Mommy, I only have little legs, for me this is hurry!!"
I have always enjoyed Anne Seymour's small part in this episode. I envisioned her as a friend of Endora's, sipping cocktails on Cloud 9 together.
Re: 40 Years Ago...
Posted by zapper on June 6, 2011, 12:19 pm, in reply to "Re: 40 Years Ago..."
I guess I'm in the minority, but I really find this episode rather creepy. As a kid I loved it, but now my adult sensibilities kick in and I don't like the idea of Samantha (or anyone) having an obsessed stalker.
Re: 40 Years Ago...
Posted by Breen on June 6, 2011, 5:31 pm, in reply to "40 Years Ago..."