Tabitha (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Tabitha


caption = Opening title sequence for "Tabitha"
genre = Sitcom
creator = Jerry Mayer
director = Charles S. Dubin
William Asher
Charles Rondeau
Murray Golden
Herb Wallerstein
George Tyne
Bruce Bilson
creative_director =
developer =
presenter =
starring = Lisa Hartman
David Ankrum
Robert Urich
Mel Stewart
Karen Morrow
narrated =
theme_music_composer =
opentheme =
endtheme =
composer =
country = USA
language = English
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 13
list_episodes =
executive_producer = Jerry Mayer
producer = Robert Stambler
William Asher
George Yanok
supervising_producer =
asst_producer =
co-producer =
editor =
story_editor =
location =
camera =
runtime =
network = ABC
picture_format =
audio_format =
first_run =
first_aired = April 24, 1976
last_aired = January 14, 1978
preceded_by =
followed_by =
related = "Bewitched"
website =
imdb_id = 0075590
tv_com_id = 2326

"Tabitha" was a short lived American fantasy sitcom that aired during the 1977-1978 season on ABC. It was a spin-off of "Bewitched", which had ended its run several years earlier. On "Bewitched", Tabitha had been played for 6 seasons by Erin Murphy

ynopsis

The series starred Lisa Hartman as Tabitha Stephens (some sources spell her name "Tabatha"), the daughter of Samantha and Darrin, now a young woman in Los Angeles working in television, while learning how to use and control her witchcraft powers. Helping her along (or hindering her) is her younger brother Adam (David Ankrum) and previously-unmentioned Aunt Minerva (Karen Morrow), while Robert Urich appeared as her love interest.

Four actors from the original series appeared in separate episodes. Bernard Fox reprised his role of the warlock Dr. Bombay, while George Tobias and Sandra Gould made guest appearances as Abner and Gladys Kravitz. Dick Wilson reprised his role as the drunk man who thinks he is hallucinating. Neither Elizabeth Montgomery nor Dick Sargent appeared on the new series.

The series takes place in the "present day" (late 1970s) yet does not attempt to reconcile how Tabitha and Adam could be in their early-to-mid 20s when they had been young children at the time "Bewitched" (also "present day") ended five years earlier. As a pre-teen, Erin Murphy was too young to play an adult Tabitha.

There were in fact two pilot films produced for the series. The first, which was broadcast by ABC on April 24, 1976 (and used the variant spelling "Tabatha" for the title) starred Liberty Williams in the title role, with Bruce Kimmel as Adam. [http://www.brucekimmel.com/TabathaTVSeriesInformationPage.htm] The major difference between the pilot and the series (besides the jarring vision of the brunette Williams playing the always-blonde Tabitha) was 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, and going against the original series, where Adam had been proven capable of magic in the last season).

The first pilot (directed by "Bewitched" producer/director William Asher) sold the series, but ABC changed the sitcom's setting from San Francisco to Los Angeles, recast the main roles, and ordered a second pilot with Hartman and Ankrum. This version also gave Tabitha an "Aunt Minerva", who had never been referred to on the original series and who fulfilled a similar role as Endora had in "Bewitched".

The revised Tabitha pilot aired on ABC on May 7, 1977 and the series properly debuted on September 10 of that year. The series' second official episode would not air until November 12. The series then continued more or less uninterrupted but failed to garner sufficient ratings to be renewed for a full season. The final episode aired on January 14, 1978 for a total of 13 episodes produced and broadcast, including the two pilots.

"Tabitha" was taped at The Burbank Studios in Burbank, California, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television (previously known as Screen Gems, who had produced the sister sitcom "Bewitched").

upporting Characters

* Tabitha Stephens (Lisa Hartman) was the main character. She is the daughter of Samantha and Darrin Stephens. She twitches her nose, much like her mother does, to invoke her magic spells.

*Adam Stephens (David Ankrum ) was Tabitha's younger brother. He is against Tabitha using witchcraft (much like Darrin, their father) and persuades Tabitha not to use her magic. Although he himself has some semblance of warlock powers, he doesn't use them in the series.

*Aunt Minerva (Karen Morrow) was Adam and Tabitha's aunt. She is a meddlesome, but well-meaning busy-body and encourages Tabitha to use her magic. Endora is her sister-in-law, making her the sister of Maurice or the wife of Uncle Arthur.

*Paul Thurston (Robert Urich) was the egotistical, somewhat obnoxious host of "The Paul Thurston Show" on the fictional TV station KXLA, where Tabitha worked as a Production Assistant. Paul was a love interest for Tabitha.

*Marvin Decker (Mel Stewart) was producer of "The Paul Thurston Show" and Tabitha's cranky but lovable boss at KXLA.

Episodes

#Tabatha - Pilot #1 (April 24, 1976)
#Tabitha - Pilot #2 (May 7, 1977)
#Tabitha's Weighty Problem (September 10, 1977)
#Halloween Show (November 12, 1977)
#A Star is Born (November 19, 1977)
#Minerva Goes Straight (November 26, 1977)
#Mr. Nice Guy (December 10, 1977)
#The Arrival of Nancy (December 17, 1977)
#Tabitha's Triangle (December 24, 1977)
#That New Black Magic (December 31, 1977)
#What's Wrong with Mister Right? (December 31, 1977)
#Paul Goes to New York (January 7, 1978)
#Tabitha's Party (January 14, 1978)

DVD Release

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.

External links

*
* [http://starwebsites.com/erinmurphy Tabitha Official Website]
* [http://www.brucekimmel.com/tabitha.html.htm Bruce Kimmel reminisces] about the first pilot