A Vision of Sugar Plums | |
---|---|
Season 1 and 2, Episode 15 Series Episode 15 and 51 | |
Airdate | December 24, 1964 December 23, 1965 (repeat) |
Written by | Herman Groves |
Directed by | Alan Rafkin |
Episode Guide | |
Previous Season 1 "Samantha Meets the Folks" Season 2 "Speak the Truth" |
Next Season 1 "It's Magic" Season 2 "The Magic Cabin" |
A Vision of Sugar Plums is the fifteenth episode of the first and second seasons (and the fifty-first episode of the series with the repeat in season two) of Bewitched. The episode was completed by November 12, 1964.
Plot[]
Seven year old Tommy Becker, who lives at Westridge Orphanage, is happy to spend Christmas with Gladys and Abner Kravitz. Ten-year-old Michael, also an orphan, derides Tommy's belief in Santa Claus. When Samantha and Darrin bring him home for the holidays, their efforts to get Michael to share in the festivities of the season fail.
After Michael admits that he would believe in Santa Claus if he really existed, Samantha takes Michael and Darrin on her broomstick to the North Pole, where Michael meets Santa Claus. Later, back at home, Darrin and Michael awake. Although both feel they have dreamed the trip, Michael now believes in Santa Claus.
On Christmas morning, Gladys overhears Michael tell Tommy he has met Santa Claus. When she tries to pin Tommy down, he denies that Michael has ever mentioned it because he promised Michael he would keep his secret. Mrs. Grange, the director of the orphanage, comes to the Stephens home with Mr. Johnson and his wife. At the Kravitz home, both Gladys and Abner, who are about to return Tommy to the orphanage, express their wish to have someone like Tommy permanently. When Michael leaves with Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, Samantha and Darrin know Michael has found two loving parents. [1]
Repeat[]
The episode was originally broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1964 and then again on December 23 a year later. The repeat included a new introduction, where Samantha and Darrin receive a Christmas card from Michael, a boy they took in for Christmas the year before. An episode-long flashback of the previous year then runs for the remainder of the episode.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
General[]
- Bill Daily went on to play Captain (later Major) Roger Healey on another Screen Gems magic-themed sitcom, "I Dream of Jeannie".
- Darrin and Michael are some of the few mortals to meet Santa Claus. Jesse Mortimer meets him in "Humbug Not to Be Spoken Here". Darrin meets Santa again in "Santa Comes to Visit and Stays and Stays" as does Gladys Kravitz (Sandra Gould) who thinks he is Darrin in costume.
- Gerry Johnson, Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York worked together again on The Flintstones episode "Samantha".
- The title alludes to a line in the Christmas poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas", also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", attributed to Clement Moore. It refers to children asleep in their beds on the night before Christmas:
- "The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads."
- "The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads."
- See also Santa Claus (cultural history).
Casting[]
- Agnes Moorehead (as Endora) did not appear in this episode and received credit only.
- This is Sara Seegar's first of ten appearances on Bewitched. Mrs. Grange is also the only Bewitched character she played that was purely dramatic.
- The actor who plays the elf answering the door was uncredited.
Music[]
- Gladys Kravitz sings "Good King Wenceslas" while celebrating Christmas Eve with Abner and Tommy.
- The soundtrack includes the carols "O Tannenbaum and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing".
Cast[]
- Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens
- Dick York as Darrin Stephens
- Alice Pearce as Gladys Kravitz
- George Tobias as Abner Kravitz
- Kevin Tate as Tommy Becker
- Sara Seegar as Mrs. Grange
- Bill Daily as Mr. Johnson
- Gerry Johnson as Mrs. Johnson
- Cecil Kellaway as Santa Claus
- Billy Mumy as Michael
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ Episode summary, Bewitched, Season 1, on iTunes Preview. Retrieved on June 4, 2013. Edited on November 30, 2020.