CAUTION:
Nervous Witch Driving! Highly entertaining
episode finds Samantha trying to learn how to
drive. But no one cares about that now – more
importantly, this episode is about introducing
Paul Lynde to the world of “Bewitched”. But
not as Uncle Arthur! Like the soon-to-follow
debuts of Bernard Fox and Alice Ghostley, Lynde
is the first of the three to be featured on the
show as a totally separate character than the
one he would make most famous on the show,
Uncle Arthur. Here he’s seen as Mr. Harold
Harold, Samantha’s overly nervous driving
instructor who chews on tranquilizers the size
of rice cakes and wears a helmet usually only
seen on little girls riding tricycles.
Extremely
humorous, this episode at times borders on the
harrowing – beginning with the very
uncharacteristic impatience of Darrin towards
Samantha while teaching her how to drive.
Absolutely adorable in her confusion as to why
the car’s gearshifts are labeled the way they
are, Darrin turns “mean, high-handed and rude!”
instead of enjoying her childlike excitement.
But still it’s brilliantly executed in
highlighting the cliché of males versus females
in the arena of who’s better behind the wheel.
Harold’s non-stop jittery state, Endora’s
“prankish” tricks in the back seat of the car
(who thought trying to literally drive someone
crazy could be so fun?) and Sam’s driving
lesson (which scarily enough reminds me of some
of my own high school Driver’s Ed days!) will
have you laughing your butt off while reaching
for your own saucer-sized Valium.
This episode
belongs to Lynde and Lynde alone. Montgomery
graciously hands all of their scenes over to
him and it’s easy to see here why the producers
(and Liz herself) liked him so much they wanted
him back on a regular basis. Lynde is a
natural comic with one of the most unique
personalities in the business. Unlike
Lynde’s Uncle Arthur character, Harold is
insecure, vulnerable and quite endearing in his
desire to succeed at something. His gentle
reaction to Samantha handing him his helmet
back after he’s been fired is almost childlike
and cute and no one else could put such a
hysterical spin on one single word:
“SELFISH!”
Lynde and
Montgomery form an instant bond with this
episode, a relationship that would last not
only the show’s entire run but throughout the
rest of their careers.
FAVE QUOTE:
Samantha: “Would you like to join me in a cup
of coffee?”
Harold: “You think we can
both fit?”
LOOK FOR: Must’ve been
really cold when they filmed this: when Harold
and Sam leave the house and walk to the car,
notice breath coming out of their mouths.
OOPS: When the phone
rings, Harold kicks the cup of coffee off the
table.
When Sam answers the phone in the next
shot, it’s back on table!
©Review Copyright 2003 by SCOTT
VIETS