Sisters at Heart facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "Sisters at Heart" |
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| Bewitched episode | |
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| Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 13 |
| Directed by | William Asher |
| Story by | Jefferson High School (Los Angeles) tenth grade English class |
| Teleplay by | Barbara Avedon & William Asher |
| Produced by | William Asher |
| Featured music | Warren Barker |
| Original air date | December 24, 1970 |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Don Marshall as Keith Wilson |
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"Sisters at Heart" is a special Christmas episode of the TV show Bewitched. It was the 13th episode of the seventh season. This episode first aired on December 24, 1970, and was shown again the next year.
The story is about a girl named Lisa Wilson, who is African-American, visiting her friend Tabitha Stephens, who is white. Tabitha's dad, Darrin, works in advertising. He tries to get a big deal with a toy company owner, Mr. Brockway. But Mr. Brockway is prejudiced. He wrongly thinks Darrin is married to Lisa's mom, Dorothy. To help Mr. Brockway understand that his beliefs are wrong, Darrin's wife Samantha, who is a witch, casts a spell. This spell makes Mr. Brockway see everyone, including himself, as having black skin.
The idea for "Sisters at Heart" came from 26 African-American students. They were in a tenth-grade English class at Jefferson High School. The show's star, Elizabeth Montgomery, and her husband, William Asher (who directed the episode), invited the students to visit the Bewitched set. Many students at the school had trouble reading and writing. Montgomery felt this episode was her favorite. She said it was "created in the true spirit of Christmas." The episode won an award called the Governors Award in 1971.
What Happens in the Episode
The episode begins with the Wilson family visiting the Stephens family. Keith Wilson, his wife Dorothy, and their daughter Lisa are African-American. Lisa will stay with the Stephens family for a few days. The Stephens family—Darrin, Samantha, Tabitha, and Adam—are white. Tabitha is excited to have Lisa stay. She says they will be like sisters.
Darrin works for an advertising company. He is trying to get a big deal with Mr. Brockway, who owns a toy company. Mr. Brockway visits the Stephens' home without warning. He wants to find out if Darrin has any secrets. When he arrives, Lisa answers the door. She says her father works for Darrin's company and that she is Tabitha's sister. Mr. Brockway leaves quickly, thinking he has seen enough.
Samantha takes the girls to the park. There, another child tells Lisa and Tabitha they cannot be sisters. This is because they have different skin colors. When they get home, Tabitha uses a spell on herself and Lisa. This spell gives Tabitha black spots on her skin and Lisa white spots. Lisa then learns that Tabitha and Samantha are witches.
Samantha finds the girls covered in spots. She tells Tabitha to undo the spell. Tabitha tries but cannot. Samantha realizes Tabitha secretly wants the spots to stay. This is so she and Lisa can keep being sisters. Samantha explains that differences in how people look do not stop them from being like family. Then, Tabitha successfully reverses the spell. Lisa's parents arrive just as the spell is undone.
Darrin's boss, Larry, tells Darrin that Mr. Brockway does not want Darrin working on the account anymore. Darrin and Samantha host a Christmas party. Larry, Keith, and Dorothy attend. Mr. Brockway arrives with gifts. He sees Darrin and Dorothy standing together. He wrongly assumes they are married. When he realizes Darrin is married to Samantha, he says Darrin can work on the account again. Larry finds out Mr. Brockway's reason for pulling Darrin off the account. Larry then rejects Mr. Brockway's offer. Mr. Brockway is surprised that someone would turn down such a big deal.
Using her magic, Samantha makes Mr. Brockway see everyone in the room as having black skin. On Christmas Day, the Wilsons visit the Stephens. Mr. Brockway arrives. He apologizes for his past actions and says he was wrong to be prejudiced. Samantha invites him to join them for Christmas dinner. She calls it "integrated turkey," meaning both white and dark meat. Mr. Brockway accepts.
How the Episode Was Made
In 1969, a teacher named Marcella Saunders worked at Jefferson High School. She found that her ninth-grade students struggled to read their textbooks. She thought teaching them through TV shows might work better. Her students liked Bewitched. So, she contacted the show's creators.
Only Bewitched responded. Marcella Saunders met with Elizabeth Montgomery and William Asher. She told them that many students at her school had trouble reading and writing. She also shared that Bewitched was their favorite show.
Montgomery and Asher cared about the students. They invited Saunders' class to visit the Bewitched set. Many of these students, now in tenth grade, could not afford to travel to Hollywood. So, Montgomery and Asher paid for a bus to take them there. The students loved the visit. Later, they worked together to write a script for a Bewitched episode. They called it "Sisters at Heart."
At Christmas in 1969, they gave the script to Montgomery and Asher as a gift. Montgomery and Asher were very impressed. Montgomery later said that even professional writers had submitted worse scripts.
Asher told writer Barbara Avedon about the students' script. He asked her to help them rewrite it. Avedon had written for Bewitched before. She agreed to help. Avedon visited Jefferson High School. She was amazed by the script the students had created. She helped them make it longer for a full half-hour episode. She promised the students that no changes would be made without their approval. Avedon suggested making it a Christmas episode. She felt the script had a strong Christmas spirit. The final script gave credit to Avedon and Asher for the teleplay. All 26 students were credited for the story. Their names were listed in alphabetical order on screen.
The students attended a meeting for the episode's production. The California government gave the school money to help students be part of the filming. The production company, Screen Gems, also donated. The students gave the money they earned for writing the episode to a fund. This fund helped keep the program going. Two more trips were arranged, bringing 50 students to the set. Asher also sent 30 Bewitched scripts to the school for classroom use. The program was a big success. Students who had never written before were now writing pages.
William Asher produced and directed the episode. For the scene where Samantha's spell makes Mr. Brockway see everyone as having black skin, the white actors appeared with blackface makeup. This was a common but now controversial practice in old movies and TV shows. The name of Mr. Brockway's toy company is never said. Samantha's line at the end, "We're having integrated turkey: white meat and dark," was later used in a 1986 movie.
"Sisters at Heart" was a half-hour, color episode. It aired on December 24, 1970. Elizabeth Montgomery spoke briefly to the camera at the start and end of the episode. She said it "was created in the true spirit of Christmas." ABC only showed the episode one more time, in December 1971. This episode was Montgomery's favorite of the series. She said in 1989, "Yeah, this is what I want Bewitched to be all about."
Images for kids
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Unique closing credits "story by" screens
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Showing class names from Jefferson High School
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For the "Sisters at Heart" episode of Bewitched
