The Phrase Is Familiar

The Phrase Is Familiar
Season 6, Episode 17 Series Episode 187
Airdate	January 15, 1970
Written by	Jerry Mayer
Directed by	Richard Michaels
Episode Guide
Previous "Samantha's Lost Weekend"	Next "Samantha's Secret Is Discovered"

The Phrase Is Familiar is the seventeenth episode of the sixth season and the 187th episode of the Bewitched series. The episode was completed by November 6, 1969.

Plot

Endora hires warlock teacher Professor Poindexter Phipps for Tabitha's education. Although surprised, Samantha is not opposed to this initiative and Darrin accepts it as long as the professor does not use witchcraft and educates his daughter at home in the mortal way. But Phipps is not impressed with Darrin. When he sees his work, he criticizes Darrin's use of clichés in his advertising campaign. Additionally, he zaps the Artful Dodger out of Dickens' Oliver Twist as a teaching aid for Tabitha. However, to mock Darrin's claim to knowledge, Endora casts a spell on him, making her son-in-law constantly speak in clichés. Samantha asks her mother to remove the spell, but despite her promise, Endora simply alters it to force Darrin to perform the clichés instead. These spells cause problems for Darrin as he has come up with a campaign for client H. B. Summers that does not use these hackneyed clichés. The meeting ends in disaster. Undeterred, Larry brings the client to the Stephenses' house, climbing through the window when Darrin does not respond. When Darrin agrees to "play ball", all the men in the room are thrown into baseball uniforms. Samantha freezes everyone and asks Endora to remove the spell. Afterwards, the Artful Dodger, who earlier tried to steal Samantha's ring and Darrin's watch, runs off with Summers' cufflinks. Phipps sends him back to his book.

Trivia

General

• The title of this episode is based upon the expression "The face is familiar".
• The character Artful Dodger comes from the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, published as a three-volume book in 1838.

Cast

• Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens
• Dick Sargent as Darrin Stephens
• Agnes Moorehead as Endora
• David White as Larry Tate
• Erin Murphy as Tabitha Stephens
• Jay Robinson as Professor Poindexter Phipps
• Cliff Norton as H. B. Summers
• Todd Baron as Artful Dodger
• Gordon De Vol as Elevator Boy (Ted)
• Elmer Modlin as Head Waiter
• Herbert Winters as Elevator Passenger (uncredited)

See Also

• Season Six
• Bewitched Episodes

Sources

• Pierce, David L. "The omni-directional three-dimensional vectoring paper printed omnibus for Bewitched analysis : a.k.a. the Bewitched history book." BearManor Media, 2012, pages 486-488.
• James, Adam-Michael. "The Bewitched Continuum: The Ultimate Linear Guide to the Classic TV Series." (Foreword and Edited by Herbie J. Pilato), Bright Horse Publishing, 2014, pages 400-401.
• Pilato, Herbie J. "Bewitched forever : the immortal companion to television's most magical supernatural situation comedy." Summit Pub. Group, 1996, pages 187-188.
• The Phrase Is Familiar on the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on December 18, 2024.
• The Phrase Is Familiar on Wikipedia. Retrieved on December 18, 2024.