This, the final season of the series, opens with Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) and Darrin (Dick Sargent) on a European tour. This means stock shots of various European landmarks before we return to rather unconvincingly dressed-up studio backlots. There are a few two-parters in the mix, including the opening episodes, where Samantha is zapped back to the court of Henry VIII, and a late-season adventure where the time travel goes the other way, and George Washington is brought forward to the present. Special note should be made of Episode 3, where the Loch Ness Monster shows up, in all his googly-eyed, man-in-a-costume glory.
There’s a certain brazenness, it seems to me, for any show, even a budget-conscious one in 1972, to limit itself to the special effects technology of 1896. Indeed, there is nary a moment that couldn’t have been accomplished by Georges Méliès. As for the humour, well, it’s very much of its period – in other words, it creaks very badly, with the laugh track kicking in at every single line. I remember watching this show as a kid, and getting some fun out of it, though preferring the identically themed I Dream of Jeannie (for reasons now that I cannot recall). Basically, this is mildly entertaining for the nostalgic, but not much more.
Video
A decent enough print, all proportions maintained. There are limits to how good a TV show of this vintage can look, after all. So yes, there is some grain, but it isn’t bad, except in a few shots, usually ones involving some kind of process effect. The print is in good condition, and the colours are strong. Viewers are unlikely to encounter anything that looks worse than what they remember.
Audio
Not too much to write home about here, either. The mono is fine, with minimal, if any, distortion. It certainly won’t give your speakers a workout, but the audio was never meant to come out of anything other than a television in the first place, and not a stereo one at that.
Special Features
None.
Final Thoughts
It’s hardly comedy gold, but it has an engaging innocence to it, and is hard to dislike.
