Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
The Complete Series
1996-2003
The show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which aired on ABC from 1996 - 2000 and on the WB from 2000 - 2003. The show is about Sabrina Spellman (Melissa Joan Hart) who, on her 16th birthday, discovers that she is half witch and half mortal. She lives with her two aunts, Hilda(comedian Caroline Rhea) and Zelda (Beth Broderick), and their cat, Salem Saberhagen (voice of Nick Bakay), a warlock who got turned into a pet cat for trying to take over the world. The show is based upon the Archie comic of the same name.
The show did a good job of "modernizing" magic and making it current, including many references and appearances by mythological characters, fairytale characters, pop culture references, etc. The show had many guest starts, the best of which were Phil Fondacaro (as Roland) and Barbara Eden (as Aunt Irma).
The show ran for seven seasons. In the first four, Sabrina is in High School, and the supporting cast are her friends Jenny (in season one), Valerie (in seasons 2-4), Harvey Kinkle (seasons 1-7), and Libby (seasons 1-3). Harvey is her main love interest and friend in High School, while Jenny and Valerie are her friends and confidantes. Libby is the school snob, and popular girl, and is her chief rival. Mr. Kraft is the school principal. The first four seasons are the best of the seasons, with a tangible rival relationship and a long courtship between Sabrina and Harvey. The rivalry with Libby and the courtship with Harvey lead to many interesting "spells" and experiences.
After this, the entire case is changed, replacing Valerie, Jenny, and Mr. Kraft, and Libby with a new cast - her college roommates Miles, Roxie, and Morgan. Josh is also introduced as her new love interest. Harvey remains in the cast, as does Zelda, Hilda, and Salem. The new cast is less interesting - Morgan is among the most annoying of the characters, a pale reflection of Libby, but a friend to Sabrina instead of a rival. However, Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster) was a highlight of the new cast, playing Roxie King, Sabrina's roommate and best friend.
The show changes at this point as well, as no one knows about Sabrina's secret, besides her aunts and Salem, except for the occasional appearance of Harvey. Neither Miles, Roxy, or Morgan ever find out her secret.The show is no longer about learning magic, it is about using it in her everyday life, and there are very few episodes focused on her keeping the secret of her magic - most of the new cast just accept that weird things happened and leave it at that.
In season 7, the cast changes again, Hilda and Zelda leaving, and being replaced by the cast of a Boston magazine, Scorch. This cast is dropped halfway through the season, being replaced again by her new love interest, Aaron. The entire last season is the worst season, as Hilda and Zelda are gone and their chemistry with Sabrina and Salem is missed, quickly, and often. . The entire Season 7 is just a battle between new love interest Aaron and old love interest Harvey, which comes from nowhere after a full two seasons where this is barely even mentioned. The one high point of Season 7 is the final episode, in which Sabrina is finally reunited with her "soul mate" - her true love, and they ride off together in a rather unexpected fashion.
Overall the series was best when she was in High School, and the quality severely decreased once she left. It then got even worse in the last season mostly due to casting changes, specifically the loss of Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda, two of the main draws of the show and two of the more interesting characters.
Overall, the show was well done, and fun, but the later seasons could have used more of the cast from the earlier seasons. The last episode was a pleasant surprise.
3 1/2 out of 5 Stars
