The BEWITCHED Major Appliance Inventory

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

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Bravo, Mark!!!

Now that's what I call research!

That was quite a job and the first time I've ever seen a season-by-season rundown of TV show appliances with such detail. Excellent work!

I also think the badge on that last refrigerator looks very Gibson to me.

Thanks so much!
 
You are right

Mark the only difference between the “F” and “H” dishwasher models was a slight change in the timer dial and the motorized drain valve on the “H” model. I have the same TechTalk Digest and I agree that those pics are wrong. Seems like they updated all 4 appliances each time. The first dial is from an “F” Dishmobile and the second is from an “H” dishwasher.

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Well Mark, this research is an excellent example of a COVID silver lining.  It's interesting to see all of the changes that I had never taken notice of before.  I can't even remember the last time I watched the show.

 

I liked seeing Elizabeth Montgomery as a beautiful young woman in your posts of the early B&W episodes.  I wonder if those Frigidaire refrigerators were nicer than what she had IRL at home at the time.

 

The picture of -- I think -- Aunt Clara or Esmeralda at the sink is priceless.  I'm betting that second thoughts were being had regarding actual hand washing of the dishes in that scene.

 

There are two things that I find odd.  First, the stove-top coffee pots.  The earliest one looks like something you'd use when camping.  No automatics that I could see.  Second, why on earth didn't the set designers give Samantha a wall phone in the kitchen?  The model 500 desk set looks silly sitting on a kitchen counter.
 
Great job, Mark!

I, too, have been watching old t.v. shows on DVD and recently watched Bewitched.
I only have the seasons with Dick York.
I never cared for the Dick Sargent episodes -just wasn't the same "vibe" for me.
I often wondered if the Maytag washer and dryer in the early shows was the same set from "The Beverly Hillbillies". They look the same to me.
I always wondered why Samantha washed the dishes by hand when she had a dishwasher.
There were never any scenes of her loading/or unloading the dishwasher - just washing dishes in the sink!
 
Appliances in Film/TV

Hi Lawrence,

It is certainly true that the intake and drain noises are part of the reason dishwashers and washers in actual operation are not used much in filmed scenes, unless absolutely necessary. Let me share with you what I learned having once worked at a motion picture studio.

On a sound stage there are often microphones placed throughout the areas where the actors are present at different levels of height, to record spoken dialogue and sounds like the barking of a dog. It is not just for dramatic effect in a movie scene when someone yells "Quiet on the set!" These microphones, much more powerful than what we typically use in Zoom sessions, can easily and clearly pick up sounds other than what the script or director calls for. Extraneous sounds can often ruin a filming session, especially if this interferes with hearing or understanding what an actor is saying.

The Frigidaire agitation sound is a perfect example of this, with its unique thumping, even with a closed lid. With a microphone nearby, it can easily sound like a marching band is nearby. This is not to pick solely on Frigidaire, as other brands have and have had their own characteristic sounds, such as the loud clunk of the GE and the sharp off balance buzzer of the Kenmore/Lady Kenmore lines. It is true that these sounds can be muted or erased during post production, and the spoken lines added in later in the case of a filmed production.

However, in a production where a live audience is present during videotaping, this is an issue that is often avoided by having the appliance in the background, perhaps loaded but not started. We can all think of many sitcoms and movies, "I Love Lucy" and "Mr. Mom" for example, where the comedic effect of a washing machine gone awry was the product of the special effects team instead of the operation of the machine itself.
 
Thank you for this, Mark.  It's thoroughly enjoyable.   This is one of the few shows that I will still turn on when I find it. I remember some of the nuances in the laundry nook, including the puzzling dryer-only kitchen.  I never caught the range and dishwasher differences in the early episodes, it's interesting to see them side by side now.  I always felt the sunny yellow years put the the "glory" in Morning Glory Circle.  

We may have to have a sub-thread on the smalls, cookware and accessories..
 
The automobile that really stands out for me was the 1966 Caprice Coupe that the Stephens had.  I thought that was really sweet.

 

According to the wikipedia article, General Motors, Chevrolet Division sponsored the show for the first five seasons.  That would clearly explain all of the Frigidaire appliances.  But the termination of GM's sponsorship is closely timed with the fire on the set as mentioned above.  So after the kitchen set was destroyed and subsequently redesigned, there appears to have been some kind of association with either the gas appliance industry or a gas association.  That's when the gas cooktop and gas wall oven appear, and kinda explains why, if there were only room for one laundry appliance it would be a dryer - not just any dryer, but a gas dryer mind you - and nothing better than a gas Maytag with the pilot light access panel clearly visible on the front.

 

There is no connection noted in the context of the wikipedia article but I'm betting some kind of link existed.

 

lawrence

 
Speaking of "Bewitched", actor Harry Holcombe appeared in several episodes, most notably as the judge when Aunt Clara conjured up Ben Franklin, and he stole a fire truck. His sister Dorothy was my sister's piano teacher, and our church's choir director for many years. Their father had been a pastor at the church in the 40's, and were later my parent's neighbors - before I was born. He later became well known as the Country Time Lemonade grandpa.
 
Probably it had already been discussed but why they change all these appliances during the relatively short time?
I mean, it is weird for a normal family to switch appliances and furniture that often of course.
Well Samantha was anything but normal but I don't think it has something to do with it.
It is weird
More so it was in those days.
So did it have something to do with appliance advertisement?
Usually when they make a set for a series they stick up to those appliances or only change a few.
 

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