Elizabeth Montgomery clearly enjoyed playing Serena, the lookalike black-haired cousin of Samantha. These two were polar opposites: one the settled down housewife ("dull dull dull"), the other the swinging party animal. When Serena turned "blond" to resemble Samantha, without changing her flirty personality, the results were always hilarious.
Although the character first appeared in 1965's "And Then There Was Three" (birth of Tabitha episode), she didn't come into her own until two years later as part of the Queen of Witches Council story arc. Endora needed a substitute for her daughter, who gives in too easily to Darrin's "mortal" wishes (understandable with the nutty court in his living room). "Samantha is going to be away all day. We have plenty of time, Serena"... to cause a potential marital breakup, no doubt.
Serena changes into a Sam look-a-like and fools both Darrin and Larry Tate (whom she makes a pass with: "Have I ever told you that I'm just wild about gray hair?"), while the real Samantha attends a church fund raiser (where nosy Gladys Kravitz bumps into her). In her mock-Sam pose, Serena gives Darrin plenty of flamboyant rants like "You've taken a wild free spirit, a spirit that was born to ride the wings of the wind and penned me up in this dreary four walled cage..." until Endora starts chastising her for overdoing it. Of course, the whole mistaken identity crisis isn't resolved until there's a lemon pie fight worthy of the Keystone Kops...
Although the character first appeared in 1965's "And Then There Was Three" (birth of Tabitha episode), she didn't come into her own until two years later as part of the Queen of Witches Council story arc. Endora needed a substitute for her daughter, who gives in too easily to Darrin's "mortal" wishes (understandable with the nutty court in his living room). "Samantha is going to be away all day. We have plenty of time, Serena"... to cause a potential marital breakup, no doubt.
Serena changes into a Sam look-a-like and fools both Darrin and Larry Tate (whom she makes a pass with: "Have I ever told you that I'm just wild about gray hair?"), while the real Samantha attends a church fund raiser (where nosy Gladys Kravitz bumps into her). In her mock-Sam pose, Serena gives Darrin plenty of flamboyant rants like "You've taken a wild free spirit, a spirit that was born to ride the wings of the wind and penned me up in this dreary four walled cage..." until Endora starts chastising her for overdoing it. Of course, the whole mistaken identity crisis isn't resolved until there's a lemon pie fight worthy of the Keystone Kops...
