Magic an enduring theme of television history
An era has passed.
In the realm of television sitcoms,
a generation passes with every sweeps
week. So it’s not surprising that the
fads and fashions of television land
are as ephemeral as dew. Things move
quickly on the other side of the tube.
Still, there have been enduring
shows — and even more enduring
motifs—in the course of television’s
briefhistory.
One of these latter might be called
“the magical companion motif.”
It must’ve begun with an old show
called “Topper.” At least that’s my
guess. But maybe the most enduring
older show that featured the magical
companion was none other than “Mr.
Ed.”
“Mr. Ed,” like “Topper” before it,
showcased the magical companion par
excellence. But whereas “Topper”
featured a wisecracking pair of invis
ible ghosts—undetectable except to
the long-suffering Topper — Mr. Ed
was a horse, of course.
This element of secrecy gave a new
twist to the magical companion motif
— and set the mold that would be
followed by generations of shows.
“My Favorite Martian” starring Bill
Bixby as an unwilling host to a cranky
and irascible Extra Terrestrial (Ray
Walston as “Uncle Martin” — with
rabbit-ear antennas rising mysteriously
out of his head) stranded on earth and
dying to get home.
“Bewitched” was the first show
featuringamagical companion to make
the move to color. The late Elizabeth
Montgomery was cute as Samantha
—a young witch who married a mor
tal for love. She also had a cute little
tick, a wiggle of the nose, that showed
up when she worked that ol* black
ma
creator of “Bewitched” went
on to create “I Dream of Genie” for a
rival network. Barbara Eden was lus
cious as the scantily clad genie and
slave to an Air Force dork played by
Larry Hagman. She had her own tick
(she tossed her hair petulantly) and
her own identical “cousin.”
She also added an air of eroticism
that even “Bewitched” had never at
tempted. She became a standard ado
lescent male fantasy.
Hagman would, of course, go on to
play J.R. Ewing—while his clownish
pal Major Healey (anyone’s guess how
this was spelled) would eventually
play Howard Borman.
It was his destiny to hold the title of
wackiest neighbor until the advent of
Kramer — possibly the wackiest
neighbor of all time.
Which is no surprise really. The
wacky neighbor is a close relation of
the magical companion as a little care
ful thought will reveal.
But while its cousin, the wacky
neighbor, thrives on almost every
sitcom—the magical companion has
disappeared from television, or is
quickly disappearing.
Have we outgrown our need for
fantasy? This seems hardly possible.
Perhaps the magical companion will
resurface. It has been an enduring
image in the glassy retina of televi
sion.
Shows like “Alf ’ and “Small Won
der”—as different from each other as
“Mork and Mindy” and “My Mother
the Car”—all owe a debt to this little
respected sub-genre of television his
tory.
— Mark Baldridge
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