THE LEPRECHAUN

Bewitched
Season 2 (1966)

Nick and I are both big Bewitched fans, though we each prefer a different Darren.  Which Darren you like says a lot about your psychology: I’m all for the original, Dick York, and Nick prefers Dick Sargent (which I find weird).  Differences in Darren aside, we’ve been enjoying watching the complete series on DVD, which Nick received for Christmas.  In honor of St. Patrick’s Day we jumped ahead a bit to Season 2’s “The Leprechaun.”

The episode begins in typical Bewitched fashion: Darren (still Dick York, since this is only Season 2) arrives home from work and Samantha reveals that they have a supernatural visitor, in this case a leprechaun.  Just as Darren begins to complain about yet another of Samantha’s weird relatives she rather gleefully reveals that the leprechaun is in fact from Darren’s side of the family.  It’s a nice twist that pokes fun at the show’s predictable (yet undeniably delightful) plots.  

Brian O’Brien, the eponymous leprechaun, is a distant relative of Darren’s who has come from Ireland in search of his last remaining pot of gold.  Apparently leprechauns derive their magic from their gold, and Brian’s emergency stash was hidden in a fireplace that was transported to a neighbor's of the Stevens.  The neighbor—surprise!—also happens to be a wealthy businessman that Darren hopes to sign up as a client (aren't they all?).

Extreme Makeover: Shoe Edition

Darren refuses to help Brian, who slowly drinks his way through the Stevens’ entire liquor cabinet and adds giant buckles to Darren’s dress shoes.  After Brian makes a failed attempt at stealing back the gold and ends up in jail, Samantha agrees to help him. She uses her magic to sneak them into the neighbor’s house (memorably turning giant guard dogs into Chihuahuas).  Just as all seems well the neighbor/businessman appears with both the pot of gold and a loaded gun.

The man with the golden...pot.

After threatening to shoot, he quickly changes his mind upon learning that Brian is a leprechaun, as he himself is an Irishman.  He happily hands over the gold… and then grabs Brian and demands he grant him a wish.  Seriously, this guy goes through more mood swings in one scene than… I dunno, a mood ring or something else with a lot of moods.  He goes from gun-toting thug to cheerful Irish laddie to creepy kidnapper and then back to nice guy again.  For it turns out his wish is simply that Brian serve as mascot for his Irish lace company—but he’ll be paid and get full benefits (so why did he need to capture him instead of just offering him the job in the first place?!).

Brian O’Brien is quite delightful, as leprechauns go; he’s played by character actor Henry Jones, who appeared on a whole lot of TV shows over the course of several decades (there's an Ethel Award just waiting for him).  There are a lot of nice Irish touches in this episode as well, including even an Irish cop and the aforementioned reference to Irish lace.  What’s missing are my two favorite things about Bewitched: Endora and Mrs. Kravitz.  In my perfect world, there’s a Bewitched spin-off where Endora and Mrs. Kravitz are reluctant roommates and have wacky adventures together.  If I ever capture a leprechaun of my own, that will be my wish…

St. Patrick’s Day Quotient: Lots of Irish cheer to be found here, earning the episode a 3.

See It, Skip It, Own It?
It’s not one of Bewitched’s best, but it will do for some satisfying St. Patrick’s Day viewing.  Go ahead and take a gander.