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Bewitched episode
“A Strange Little Visitor”
Original Air Date	December 2, 1965
Season	2
Episode #	12
Production #
Writer(s)	John L. Greene Paul Davis
Director	E. W. Swackhammer
Guest star(s)	Anne Brocken Craig Hundley James Doohan
Episode Order
Previous	Next
"Aunt Clara's Old Flame"	"My Boss the Teddy Bear"

A Strange Little Visitor is episode 12 of the second season of the Bewitched (TV series).

Contents 1 Snapshot 2 Summary 3 Trivia 4 Related Terms and Articles 5 External Links

Snapshot

The Stephens babysit a young warlock.

Summary

Endora (who does not appear in the episode) has volunteered Samantha to babysit Merle Brocken, a young warlock who is still learning his (witch)craft. Since his parents are already scheduled to go to an overnight conclave, Samantha agrees. However, little Merle must promise not to use his magic, since Darrin would hardly approve.

Things start out fairly well. Merle is cooperative and polite. The first miscommunication comes when the Stephens tell him to outside and have fun. He does, by using magic. Nosy neighbor Mrs. Cravitz sees him blowing streams of water out of his ears. He tells her he's been swimming.

There's a much bigger problem when Merle is in a bedroom discretely doing his homework out of a schoolbook on incantations. After a couple of tries, he turns a hairbrush into a toy firetruck. Darrin enters: since Samantha previously told him that their visitor hadn't brought any toys with him, Darrin guesses he might have found it in "some other boy's yard". When Merle protests, Darrin tries keep the toy until everything is sorted out. It should be like taking candy from a baby, but the grown-up gets a shock: literally. Merle emotionally responded using magic, and sparks flew when Darrin grabbed the truck.

Now that the cat's out of the bag, Sam explains it all and Darrin agrees Merle can stay, but no magic. As often happens on Bewitched, the mortal's narrow-mindedness betrays him. A burglar overheard Darrin talking to his boss, Larry Tate, about a necklace. It's a present for Larry's wife, Louise, and Darrin is keeping it hidden at the Stephen's place. When the burglar shows up at the house, Merle won't use his magic to stop him. In fact, he tells the crook where the necklace is. Even when Darrin asks the boy to use magic, the kid stays obedient to Samantha. Darrin dares the thief to steal the firetruck. When he tries that, Merle uses his magic to stop him, and he runs off.

Trivia

• James Doohan (Star Trek's Montgomery Scott) has a bookending role (sans accent) as the father of the young male witch. Craig Hundley, who portays the magical boy, would work with Doohan again...as Tommy Starnes, leader of the mind-manipulating children in the original Star Trek episode, And And the Children Shall Lead
• When Darrin offers to play catch with Merle, the warlock says he's never played before. We get the sense that baseball isn't part of the magic world, paralleling the Hogwarts students' ignorance of the muggle world in Harry Potter

Related Terms and Articles

• Bewitched (TV series)
• Bewitched episode guide

External Links

• A Strange Little Visitor at TV.com
• A Strange Little Visitor at IMDB.com