Bewitched tells the story of domestic housewife, Samantha Stephens, who reveals to her husband that she’s a witch. Hilarity ensues as Samantha attempts to live an ordinary life while hiding her extraordinary secret. The show’s humor lies in its ability to find situations for the characters where magic both creates and solves problems. The iconic characters bring the show’s unique premise and humor to life, and make it one of the most memorable sitcoms in history.

Samantha Stephens

Elizabeth Montgomery’s portrayal of Samantha Stephens, a witch hiding her secret from the mortal world, charmed fans and critics alike during Bewitched’s eight-season run. Montgomery portrays Samantha as a sweet, sensible woman who loves her husband. Despite Samantha’s promise to her husband that she will live as a mortal, she often uses magic, which wreaks havoc. Much of the show’s humor derives from Samantha’s attempts to clean up her magical messes before her secret is uncovered. Although her best intentions often go awry, Samantha is a strong, independent problem-solver who looks for ways to resolve conflicts and stand up for the people she loves. Her signature nose-twitch each time she cast a spell cues the audience that magical hilarity is on the way.

Darrin Stephens

Darrin Stephens is Samantha’s mortal husband, who finds out Samantha’s secret on their honeymoon. Initially shocked by the revelation, Darrin asks his wife to live as a mortal without using magic. Darrin is a loyal husband, and his tolerance for magic and Samantha’s zany relatives relaxes as the series progresses. Darrin works at an advertising firm, where he works hard to hide his wife’s talent for witchcraft from his boss, Larry Tate. Dick York originated the role for seasons one through five but had to leave the show because of health issues. Dick Sargent took over the role in the show’s fifth season until the end of the series. 

Endora

Endora is Samantha’s mother, portrayed by Hollywood legend, Agnes Moorehead. Endora is a quick-witted, powerful witch with a theatrical personality. Endora dislikes mortals, especially her son-in-law, Darrin. She takes every opportunity to diminish Darrin, often referring to him by names like Darwin and Durwood. Their back-and-forth squabbles provide a lot of the show’s humor. She often notes historical figures she’s met throughout her life, like Julius Caesar and Helen of Troy. Moorehead portrays Endora as a doting mother who adores Samantha, but often meddles in the affairs of mortals with her magic. She bemoans Samantha’s choice to repress her magic and encourages her daughter to embrace her witchcraft. 

Tabitha Stephens

Tabitha Stephens is Darrin and Samantha’s only daughter. Born during the show’s second season, she displays an early talent for witchcraft, much to Endora’s delight. As Tabitha grows up on the show, she is a strong-willed, playful, empathetic witch. Tabitha enjoys using her magic, much to her father’s chagrin. While several baby actresses shared the role of Tabitha in the show’s early seasons, she is most notably portrayed by Erin Murphy. 

Gladys Kravitz

Gladys Kravitz, portrayed first by Alice Pearce (1964-1966) and later by Sandra Gould (1966-1971) is the Stephens’ nosy neighbor. Gladys constantly peers over her fence, spying on the Stephens. She has suspicions about the Stephens and the strange things she witnesses. Gladys’ husband, Abner, provides a foil to his wife’s extreme nosiness by staying out of his neighbors’ business and criticizing Gladys’ outlandish theories about the Stephens family. Gladys adds to the show’s comedy because she witnesses Samantha’s magic, but no one ever believes her. 

Also Read: Why We Are In A (New) Golden Age of Fantasy Television

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Fans of Inception will enjoy the reality-bending storyline and visuals. The romance subplot helps balance out the brooding and introspective energy of the film. The film received mixed reviews, however, it’s a good watch if you want to see a dark fantasy spin on the age-old rags-to-riches story. Be warned, the film involves violence and themes of suicide. Let’s take a closer look;

The Story

The movie follows the life of Sang Yu, a poor screenwriter plagued by terrifying nightmares. Every time he sleeps, he crosses over to a strange alternate reality where a dark shadowy figure attacks him. He tries to cure his chronic insomnia by going to various healers without success. Unable to sleep properly for months on end, he can no longer write. His agent, San, is hounding him to finish the script he got an advance for, and his landlord is demanding unpaid rent.

With everything else going on, Sang Yu still frequently passes by a nearby café to watch Hua’er, a girl he’s pining after. He eventually comes home to find himself evicted. With no money, no family, no prospects and his sanity in shambles, he sends San a suicide note via text and climbs onto a building to jump to his death. A kind street vendor saves him at the last minute, offering a free meal and some advice. The old man tells him that whenever he’s in the middle of a nightmare, he should just tell himself; “I’m only dreaming”.

This advice changes Sang Yu’s life. He learns how to wake himself up at will, which comes with one amazing perk; he can bring items from his dream world back to his current reality. He starts bringing back precious antiques which he pawns for huge amounts of money. Of course, power comes with consequences.

While watching this, I could tell that there was a twist coming, but it wasn’t what I expected. The film took a few unexpected turns and played on the psychological aspect more than I expected. However, in my opinion, the deeper spiritual meaning the film aimed for fell a little flat at the end. There were too many mixed metaphors and the ending felt cobbled together, with a very vague conclusion.

The Characters

Something I appreciate about this film is that although it is fantasy, the actions and thought processes of the characters are realistic. The old superhero trope of immediately trying to save the world or wreaking vengeance on enemies is a little stale. Sang Yu does what most reasonable people would do if they woke up (or in his case, fell asleep) with superpowers; he makes money. And even though his first priority is himself, he is neither selfish nor particularly careless. He isn’t a hero, a villain or even an antihero; he’s just a person.

The lead role was excellently played by Darren Wang. I appreciate the portrayal of his friendship with San, which had a natural and rather touching development. Unfortunately, this film fell short of Sang Yu’s relationship with Hua’er. In this day and age, I don’t expect to still see blatant stalking framed as a grand romantic gesture. And though Hua’er was given some personality, she still comes off as a manic pixie dream girl. As the only female main character in the film, the moviemakers could have really done better.

The Visuals

You can tell that this film had a big budget for visuals. The CGI was very realistic and better than a lot of contemporary Western fantasy superhero films. Personally, I think the set and prop design stole the show. There were a lot of props in this film, considering that the main character is a supernatural antique thief. It’s impressive that the props were so well-made despite the sheer number of them. I also really liked Sang Yu’s visual transition from a degenerate starving artist to a clean-cut man in a suit. I was honestly surprised to see a handsome face hiding behind the straggly beard, chunky glasses and greasy hair. Props to the makeup and department.

The only major visual flaw I noticed was the very last scene. Unlike the rest of the movie, Sang Yu looked like a cardboard cut-out against a green-screen background. The editing was clearly rushed at the end.

All in All,

This is a good weekend watch if you like fantasy, good visuals and fight scenes. The execution of the story left something to be desired, but the premise is good enough to have you watch till the end.

Also Read: Netflix Hidden Gems: Subira

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The Plot

The main character is Dream, one of the Endless (akin to gods), who has responsibility over dreams. A pale, dour and very gothic figure Dream travels to Earth from his own realm to hunt down a creature escaped from nightmares but whilst on Earth he is trapped by a magic ritual gone wrong. In Dream’s absence his realm goes to ruin and people become sick from his absence, being unable to sleep at all or never waking up. When Dream finally escapes he goes on a mission to rebuild his realm and reclaim the powerful items that were stolen from him.

Behind The Scenes

The driving force behind the show is the triumvirate of Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer and showrunner Allen Heinberg. Obviously, Gaiman is the creator of the material as well as being the main writer and executive producer, Goyer another executive producer who seemed to do a lot of work getting the show made in the first place. Goyer’s most famous credit is probably as the screenwriter on Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight trilogy. Allen Heinberg has worked on numerous tv and film projects, most notably as the screenwriter for Wonder Woman.

In Front of the Camera

The Sandman has a big cast. Part of the specialness of the graphic novels was to make characters of great forces of nature and archetypical concepts and to have them be everywhere so there are many important characters who are only in the story for a short while. The graphic novels and show are bursting with mythical, religious, supernatural beings and unusual people.

The central character is clearly Dream played by Tom Sturridge who gives as brooding performance as possible, which is only right for one of the quintessential brooding characters. The graphic novels are said to have given inspiration to a generation of goths and dramatic displays of sadness.

The wonderful Boyd Holbrook plays The Corinthian, the nightmare who escaped from dreams and runs amok in the mortal world. The Corinthian is a clever, wily and manipulative creature, doing whatever he can to keep Dream from catching him and sending him back. Holbrook is best known for his role in Netflix drama Narcos and as one of the main villains in Logan.

Patton Oswalt was the first actor to join the show and was cast as the voice of Matthew the Raven, a companion to Dream. Patton Oswalt has been an extremely successful comedian and actor for many years as well as being one of the god-tier celebrity nerds (see his apparently adlibbed Marvel script rant in Parks and Recreation).

Then on top of these people, we have Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, the magus who captures Dream, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar, Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, the librarian of Dream’s realm, and it goes on and on with great actors appearing only briefly.

Does It Work?

Since its release people have talked about adapting The Sandman and more than one person – including current showrunner Allan Heinberg – has said it was unfilmable. In numerous ways, it doesn’t follow a straightforward plot and is exceptionally weird. Fans of Neil Gaiman’s work will especially love this adaptation but it is a great, peculiar tv drama for anyone. As with all beloved books that are adapted not every fan will be on board, for some their love for the original will prevent them from taking to the new version. From others, there have been social media mutterings and complaints about “woke” casting choices for which Neil Gaiman has been mercilessly dismissive of.

The show has an unusual epic scale as much of its grandeur takes place in a world of dreams but nevertheless few programmes have dared work on this scale. This scale is apparent in the sets, the themes and the sheer number of characters who would be deserving of their own series, like Johanna Constantine, the tough exorcist and demon fighter.

The Sandman might not be for everyone. It is an unusual show and is taking some big swings and as such, there is a risk of things not working but for many, it is the show they have been waiting decades for.

Also Read: Netflix and The Science of Recommendations

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If you aren’t entirely sure what AfroFuturism is, there’s a reason for that: There isn’t a lot of it. And it casts a wide net. It includes the music of performers like Jimi Hendrix, George Clinton, Afrika Bambaataa, even more modern artists like Erykah Badu, Outkast, and Beyonce.

Out of these many branches, its deepest roots lie in literature. Novels like Rose Water (Tade Thompson), set in a Nigerian settlement on the edge of an alien biodome, The Unkindness of Ghosts (Rivers Solomon), set on a segregated spaceship carrying the last of humanity, and the better known Kindred (Octavia Butler), the story of a modern woman dropped into the time of Black slavery, forced to relive it, with no idea how to escape.

As for film, everyone points to Marvel’s Black Panther as the most popular example. I disagree. Although it technically encapsulates the tenets of AfroFuturism: Black characters, in a technologically advanced African country, that exhibits magic in a SciFi world, I contend that it’s still a Marvel movie. Which constrains the story to the “White gaze”.

A better example would be Brother from Another Planet, the 1984 film by writer/director John Sayles, starring Joe Morton (Justice League). Although not a Black director, the film is so intrinsically from the Black point of view, you’d never know it. It follows the experience of an alien (Joe Morton) who finds himself in Harlem, New York. We later find he is being chased by interplanetary law enforcers– Who happen to be the White versions of the Men in Black. I’d even go so far as to say that Men in Black was loosely based on this film.

Another great example is Sleight, written/directed in 2016 by J.D. Dillard, starring Jacob Latimore (‘The Chi’). This film would be easy to miss because its description on Netflix is as follows:

“Struggling to raise his little sister on his own, a young street magician turns to drug dealing, unaware of how ruthless his supplier can be.”

Does that in anyway sound like a movie that has SciFi or is afro-futuristic in nature? Here’s my description:

“A scientific savant has to resort to dealing drugs after he and his sister are orphaned. When he gets in over his head, he and his mentor build a machine that will get him out of trouble… And change the power structure of his world.”

Neither of the aforementioned films feel like fantasy; They just tell their stories as if the world we live in is a world where these things exist. Both completely grounded in Black culture, or at least, American Black culture.

But I think the true destiny of Afro-Futurism is in television. 2020 birthed several Afrocentric shows, all taking racial issues by the horns. For instance, HBO’s ‘Lovecraft Country’, written by Misha Green, produced by Jordan Peele (Get Out) and co-starring Jonathan Majors (Da 5 Bloods), Jurnee Smollett (Birds of Prey), and Wunmi Mosaku (Luther). Based on the 2016 novel by Matt Ruff, which in turn was based on the collective works of author H.P. Lovecraft, the series pairs outrageous aspects of magic, science, and mysticism with the equally outrageous environment of the American Jim Crow era.

Second on the list is another HBO series, Watchmen. Though not solely told as a Black story, Watchmen in anchored by them. Written/produced by Damon Lindelof, and starring Regina King (‘Ray’), the show is based on the 2009 film also entitled ‘Watchmen’, which itself was based on the 1986 graphic novel of the same name. The show is centred around the Tulsa Massacre of 1921 and follows the exploits of self-appointed gods and heroes while wrestling with the likes of crime, betrayal, clones, and mind control.

With all this in mind, I think Mark Dery’s original question is still valid: Why aren’t there more Black voices in AfroFuturism? Many of the projects I mention have their origins in White America. But my theory and my answer to his question is this: HOPE. Many in the Black Community cannot stretch our imaginations far enough away from the horrors of our realities to see a future at all. To quote a few lines from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Hamilton’:

“I never thought I’d live past twenty. Where I come from, some get half as many. Ask anybody why we livin’ fast, and we laugh, reach for a flask… We have to make this moment last.”

But, we’re finally starting to shake off the demoralization that racism has wrapped like a blanket around our shoulders. And many of us are opening our eyes to see, not just the pain of the past, but the power of the future. As we step into a literal Golden age for this genre, where our stories are told by us, for us, we’re breathing new air, and we are indeed going BLACK to the FUTURE.

Also Read: The Rise of Nigerian-British Filmmakers

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We caught up with Mark J Blackman’s to give us his 5 Must-See Sci-Fi Films, which he feels are important in understanding and contributing to the genre, here are his recommendations:

1. PI (1998)

Director: Darren Aronofsky

I don’t think any film has ever succeeded in a more intense juggling act. As far as debuts go, this – for me – is the one. Fusing faith, math, stocks, stock (16mm) and a post-industrial jungle soundtrack from former PWEA boy (one Clint Mansell) the result is pure punk filmmaking of the highest order. A film that I obsessed over and decided would be a terrific first-date film many moons ago. Suffice to say, the success of the date was not a sealed deal. A life-long love of all things Aronofsky on the other hand…

2. TETSUO II: BODY HAMMER (1992)

Director: Shinya Tsukamoto

I was far, far, far too young to see this on bootleg VHS when it came out. It repulsed, fascinated and inspired me beyond words, Tsukamoto’s ethic becoming something that I have long since admired. I get a lot of flack for preferring this over the body-horror of his more revered original, but this one has a nauseating control of its audience, pummelling away with its sound and fury as it explores parental paranoia and deformed masculinity in a manner that elevated Tsukamoto from Japan’s DIY Lynch to Asia’s Cronenberg: films about national displacement and isolated identity rather than just pure viscera. Tsukamoto’s themes are – along with Tarkovsky’s – perhaps the most beautifully presented within the genre.

3. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Whilst 2001: A Space Odyssey IS the better of Kubrick’s two forays into science-fiction (how many films are about life itself?), it’s Alex’s journey that I always find the more pressing picture: featuring a structure only ever once almost bettered (Goodfellas), its exploration of unapologetic sadism, deconstruction by the state and un/deserved rebirth is a pitch-perfect horror-show that always tears me up inside as a viewer. A cinematic Molotov, it’s at once a hypnotic, nauseating, humorous, sickening and wonderful ride. It also earns an absolute aesthetic salute from me due to its mesmerising use of stark, scummy brutalism.

4. MIRACLE MILE (1988)

Director: Steve De Jarnatt

I was invited to present an introductory talk on this mostly unsung gem at the amazing Sci-Fi Theatre that runs once a month in London. Actually, let me rephrase that: I strong-armed my way into presenting an introductory talk on a film I have been obsessed with since being utterly terrified of it as a child. I’ve always been a romantic. I’ve also always adored apocalyptic nightmare fuel: fuse them together, add Tangerine Dream’s best score (yes, even over Thief and Sorcerer) and you end up with a film that uses the beating heart of love as the countdown to the ultimate nightmare. Whilst some of the film has not aged well at all (hair. HAIR), Miracle Mile is a real diamond in the dark. Watch at your peril. A huge influence on me and what love stories can be.

5. STRANGE DAYS (1995)

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Scripted by Cameron yet directed with a mix of emotion, rage and pitch-black playfulness that I could never imagine him mustering, Strange Days is a perfectly dense 140 minutes of mini-disc MacGuffined, death-squad-promising, immaculately soundtracked neo-noir. An almost-cyberpunk almost-epic that presents a window into what people thought the last days of 1999 were going to be, it’s now a frightening mirror as to what America has almost become: wired into the feeds of others for entertainment, oblivious and/or indifferent to the increased police presence and a progression of race relations that – in the light of the likes of Charlottesville – feels like the country truly needs a thunderbolt from God. Bigelow’s best, hands down.

Mark J Blackman’s own short film, Neon will be released on Wednesday 16th May, available on www.neonshortfilm.co.uk

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