Tabatha Pilot

Tabatha Pilot
Season	1
Episode	0
Airdate	April 24, 1976
Written by	Ed Jurist
Directed by	William Asher
Episode Guide
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The Tabatha Pilot (1976) is the original pilot for a sequel to Bewitched about a grown-up Tabatha Stephens living as a witch in a mortal world. ABC bought the show, but made significant changes and launched the television series, Tabitha, which ran 1977-1978.

Plot

Tabatha Stephens works for Trend Magazine in San Francisco as an editorial assistant. Cliff is a commercial artist at Trend and also her boyfriend. Her brother, Adam, wants nothing to do with mortal life and keeps encouraging his sister to forsake her mortal ways and embrace her magical heritage. She tells him about Cliff and he tells her she needs to come clean and tell him she is a witch. When Tabatha finally tells Cliff, he does not believe her. When she proves it, he is astounded and needs time to think. The next day he tells her that he loves her and cannot let her go.

Gallery

Adam pops in to persuade Tabatha to leave the mortal world behind.

Tabatha arrives at work.

Dinah reviews her assignment after she and Cliff return from breakfast.

Adam pops in to flirt with Bonnie.

Bonnie is surprised to see Adam suddenly appear.

Cliff has dinner at Tabatha's apartment.

Tabatha tells Adam to leave her and Cliff alone.

Cliff thinks he is hallucinating.

Tabatha tells Cliff she is a witch.

Tabatha is dejected when Cliff leaves after she tells him she is a witch.

Harry the bartender listens to Cliff confess his problems.

Tabatha discusses her love life with Bonnie.

Bonnie accidentally breaks Tabatha's sculpture.

Tabatha catches the cable car to get to work.

Tabatha gets her revenge on Dinah.

Tabatha magically blacks out one of Dinah's teeth.

Background

Bewitched producer and director William Asher directed this pilot. It 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 Lisa Hartman as Tabitha and David Ankrum as Adam, now a mortal.

Trivia

• Maria O'Brien is credited as "Leslie", but her character's name is Rosetta.
• The gag of easily replacing a broken vase was borrowed from the first season Bewitched episode, "Love Is Blind".
• Tabatha blacking out one of Dinah Nichols' teeth is borrowed from another first season episode, "I, Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha". Samantha did the same thing to Sheila Sommers.

Cast

Main Cast

• Liberty Williams as Tabatha Stephens
• Bruce Kimmel as Adam Stephens
• Barbara Cason as Roberta Armistead
• Cindie Haynie as Bonnie
• Archie Hahn as Cliff

Guest Cast

• Barbara Rhoades as Dinah Nichols
• Arnold Soboloff as Cab Driver
• Maria O'Brien as Rosetta
• David Carlile as Harry
• John-Anthony Bailey as Willie
• Eric Kessner as Boy on the Stairs

See Also

• Tabitha television series (1977-1978)
• Spin-Offs and Remakes of Bewitched

Sources

• Tabitha/Pilot #1 on the Internet Movie Database, episode production stats and cast. Retrieved on January 2, 2020.
• Tabitha television series on Wikipedia, plot and background. Retrieved on January 2, 2020.