Mum's Monday: Sabrina the Teenage Witch

WARNING SPOILERS

This program shows, that if we had magical powers, you cannot ‘Just do magic’. There are consequences, which is a realistic view on being a witch, living in the real world, they call ‘The mortal realm’. Also where we have to answer to the law/police, witches have to answer to ‘The witches’ council’. One example of how the council works is Salaam Saberhagen (Voiced by Nick Bakay) Sabrina Spellman’s (Melissa Joan Hart) uncle, he is now a talking cat, having been turned into one as a punishment, by the council, after trying to take over the mortal world, which he does again and again throughout some episodes any chance he gets.

The first episode is really funny, when Sabrina finds out she is a witch on her 16^th birthday and is trying to learn from her aunt Zelda (Beth Broderick) and her aunt Hilda (Caroline Rhea) on how to turn an orange into an apple. Sabrina turns it into a pineapple. We see throughout the seasons more brilliant play on words and these are well written and amusing to watch. Later on in the episode, we see what they do with all the pineapples, as they inundated with them. 3 upside down cakes are seen on the table in one scene.

Sabrina is a teenager so goes to school, being set in a school environment we see all the ups and downs, that come with school, from friends, boyfriend as in Harvey Kinkle (Nate Richert) and bullies. We see what being a witch is like in a real school is really like. Sometimes magic can be used to teach someone a lesson, in this case Libby Chessler (Jenna Leigh Green). Libby, a popular cheer leader picks on Sabrina, so it was nice to see Sabrina getting the upper hand and it is nice to see Libby have the tables turned on her now and again.

We see in an episode, with the aunts, having lived for centuries, they have amassed quite a collection of processions, including Hilda’s cannon. When finding a use for it, you can easy enough, if only to get a teenager to tidy her room and to stop the kid from next door throwing water bombs at your house. This is cleverly done and fun to watch.

Another item Hilda has to find a use for, is a mace, next we see her using it as a handy kitchen tool and tenderising meat with it. This is the best use for it and a genius solution.

In one episode we see Sabrina wanting to enter a Kung Fu competition, she should have entered by her own talent and not use her magical powers. This is explained in the episode and a good moral lesson to learn.

We see some great spells being used during episodes, one, a great hex, if you don’t want people borrowing your clothes, is to set the ‘Booby trap’ spell and another to see if a person has eaten all her veg the ‘Bring back’ spell. These have been cleverly worked out and amusing to watch.

It is inevitable that with Sabrina having friends and inviting them over to her house, they at some point will find themselves in the ‘Other Realm’. This is the place the witches come from through the linen closet. Each time something strange happened to her friends, the explanation is used ‘you were dreaming’. Her friends dreaming whilst asleep, this is a good way of explain it away, if however, a little obvious. 

Because Hilda and Zelda have lived for centuries, Hilda finds a nude picture of Zelda. In the form of a postcard, of an old painting in an art gallery and purchases it to put on the fridge. This is so funny to see, a brilliant script.

Being a witch has its advantages, like when you have some left over hair growth formula, you quickly find out who ate some of the food it was put in.

A down side, if a witch sneezes whilst casting a spell, who knows where a history book could end up. Not convenient, when you need it for school.

There are a few life lessons to be learnt, 1 is, it is not what you look like bald that you need to wear a wig, it is accepting that you are bald and being who you are on the inside.

When Sabrina has to accept her father’s new girlfriend after her parents’ divorce, the script was realistic and Sabrina’s reaction was typical for a teenager who didn’t want her parents to move on.

We see little snippets of funny things in episodes, one example is, who’d have thought lint swatches could be so much fun – well maybe not. But these little things make some episodes entertaining to see and gives the story a solid fun depth.

Another great episode includes, diverting a train, not realising that it has to go somewhere, only to end up in the Spellman’s living room. This proves there are consequences to actions, a fun lesson to learn.

Ever wondered why car alarms go off, for no apparent reason, well, season 2 episode ‘A Dolls Story’ might just answer that question, magical powers maybe behind it.

Season 3 the episode ‘Suspicious Minds’ when Libby pairs herself up with Harvey, for an assignment, Sabrina gets jealous and goes to hire a private eye, but she goes to the other realm to find one. so this is not your normal private eye office. As soon as Sabrina walks into the office, the scenes turn to black and white with a narrator telling off what is going on over the top. This is fantastic to see, like the old fashioned TV and films. There is a problem though Roland (Phil Fondacaro) has a thing for Sabrina and doesn’t actually help her.

It is unusual, for just before an episode, that it is the parents that gets the warning, I’m not surprised, hearing the words ‘I’m a Molly Dolly’ can fill anyone with fear, after seeing this one.

Once Sabrina has her witches licence, this is a clever concept for a witch to have a licence, as it limits the havoc they could cause (a lot more than already shown in the episodes) and it allows the witches to live in plain sight in the mortal realm, this adds depth and realism to already believable and solid storylines in a fun way, although she cannot actually use her licence until she has learnt the family secret. This is a great opportunity to bring in new characters, in the form of family members to each give her a clue to the secret.

In one episode, season 3 episode ‘The Big Sleep’. It is surprising to see what Hilda bought at a yard sale for 75 cents, a full sized, fully functioning fork lift, this is so funny to watch and to prove it was worth it to Zelda she got a free farmers hat with it, that Hilda proudly wears, whilst manoeuvring her newly made purchase around their small yard.

I love the line in an episode in season 3 ‘Sabrina and the Sandman’ “It is not eavesdropping; it is controlled overhearing” the line sums up some situations brilliantly, when we cannot help but over hear something.

Sabrina’s aunts insist, that she solves the family secret quickly, but to light a fire under a man dressed as a cone seems a bit too much, but amusing to watch all the same, and we are seeing how witches do things.

Season 3 episode ‘Silent Movie’. This is cleverly put together, even though the reason it came about is a little flimsy. Saying that casting 2 silent spells under one roof caused a silent movie to be played out, seems a little stretched, maybe the script could have had a little more of a reason in it.

In the last episode of season 3, Sabrina finally solves the family secret and gets to use her licence. The secret is worked out well in the script and after a few ‘edge of your seat’ scenes, everything works out in the end. A great episode.

Season 4 sees things get a makeover. This keeps the show fresh and revitalised.

During an episode there is a fantastic line said by Salaam, after Zelda, has asked him, if he had anything to do with the war on Pluto. Salaam replies “Define anything?”. A great come back and clearly Salaam has been up to no good again.

The actors in this program have to be versatile and when Principal Willard Kraft (Martin Mull) is as good a dancer as Britney Spears (Herself) we forget that it is the actual actor dancing and not an actual spell. All the actors are versatile and we see other examples throughout, off the characters having to act out the spell that has been cast. The actors all have an amazing talent and the program benefits from it, in a way that makes it believable.

A character that keeps popping up with different jobs, is Roland, we see him again and not only has he, still got a thing for Sabrina, he wants to, now, marry her. A step up from an infatuation and character growth.

In season 4 episode ‘Welcome Back’ Duke (Dick Van Dyke) is clever casting in this one, Sabrina has to dance and Duke shows her some moves, and as we know Dick Van Dyke is a great dancer.

In the episode ‘Salaam’s Daughter’, planning a wedding can be a stressful time, but I bet the script writers had fun planning an, other realm wedding. They were clever in including other realm traditions, all in keeping with a wedding in the mortal realm. It was so amusing to see it all come together.

The episode ‘The Wild Wild Witch’ we see an insight in to teenage witch rebellion, when Sabrina blows the roof of the house. A step up from your normal teenage mood swings. This adds to the quality of the program. Showing that even if you are a witch, a teenager is still a teenager, with an added layer. It is nice to see she is a normal teenager underneath.

Season 5 sees things ramp up even more, when Sabrina enters a new chapter in her life and starts college. I am glad Sabrina made the choice that made her happy and not trying to please everyone.

As so often happens, it is typical, when Sabrina thinks she can cope on her own in the big wide world, of college, it is still nice to see, that she still needs her aunts help.

Not only has Sabrina started college she has a new job in her aunt Hilda’s coffee shop and a new boyfriend, Josh (David Lascher). Josh gets a bit ahead of himself when he sells a photo for a lot of money. It is Sabrina’s fault as she cast a spell. It would have been nice to see Josh sell his first photo for the genuine 50 dollars he was offered for another one. unfortunately, Sabrina trying to help, once again got in the way. A good lesson to learn, selling one photo for a 1000 dollars, doesn’t set you up for life. Luckily Hilda knew that Sabrina was in the wrong.

An episode in season 5 ‘Tick Tock Hilda’s Clock’ a great example of play on words and witches being partly human. Hilda’s biological clock goes missing and Hilda being a witch her mood swings are not as, well normal as any fully human female.

In the episode ‘Sabrina the Muse’, when Hilda and Zelda acquire a day pass, to the other side, where they can see, what they have to look forward to after they die. Hilda loves it but Zelda is not so sure. This is a great interpretation of what can happen when we pass away.

In ‘Beach Blanket Bizarro’, when looking for a magical ‘Spring Break’, she wasn’t expecting a 1960s movie. Brilliant idea and fantastically done and just good clean fun.

A pattern in some episodes is that the ‘literal’ is portrayed, in a witch’s world. One example when Sabrina is down and has a black cloud hanging over her head. She has an actual black cloud hanging over her head.

Season 6 episode 1 ‘Really Big Season Opener’, yes it is really big and a lesson to learn also. When you put an advert in the newspaper, be careful you don’t get exactly what you ask for, they may want to drink your casts blood. You ask for a vampire; you may just get one.

Episode ‘Murder on the Halloween Express’ left me feeling that Harvey and Sabrina should get back together. Harvey knows Sabrina is a witch and helping her in the episode ‘Deliver us from E-Mail’, is lovely to see, reinforcing the thought that they should get back together. Harvey acts so natural around her, it is so nice to see. 

In the episode ‘The Competition’ it is great to see Hilda and Zelda tapping into a teaching method, that the person they are teaching, in this case Amanda (Emily Hart), so that she can get the most out of the lesson.

Season 7 sees a few changes. Sabrina’s internship has ended, she has a new job and living back at her aunt’s house with her just her college mates and Salaam. It is strange to see Salaam living with mortals, and it creates not so much fun for him and it turns out you can train a cat.

The episodes at the beginning of season 7 seem shorter, either that I just didn’t want a good thing to end, it is good to progress in Sabrina’s life.

Sabrina is using less and less magic, but that can be a good thing, she is using it responsibly and solving other, day to day problems more like a normal mortal would.

In the episode ‘Sabrina Unplugged’, it is so good to see Harvey help her out again, it is good to see his natural reactions, when confronted with an enhanced Sabrina.

In the episode ‘Witch Way Out’ being a witch means you always have a coat handy, an example of a bonus of having magical powers. a funny line said by Harvey they are in the USA and he says “I wonder if we will have a Canadian president” a clever slip up. And it is good to see Sabrina went back to her normal self by the end- well almost.

‘Present Perfect’ proves that making mistakes is what makes up a person’s true personality and people might actually prefer a person making mistakes, because you learn from them.

In the episode ‘Spellmanian Slip’, this proves you should always take notice of the label on food. A funny part in an episode called ‘Fish Tale’, Great Aunt Irma (Barbara Eden) drops in a gives her blessing for Sabrina to marry Harvey and to prove her point she uses magic and saps him in. he was on a treadmill, when she saps him back to where he came from he rolls/falls back off the moving treadmill. Sabrina wasn’t going to marry Harvey but, Aaron Jacobs (Dylan Neal), or does she.

I am so glad it all works out in the end, even if it was a tear jerker- tears of happiness, and who have thought that 12.36pm could mean so much.

Sabrina Goes to Rome – TV movie

Sabrina arrives in Rome, the idea to get her there is a strong one, although 400 years compared to 2 weeks is a stretch. However, I can see where the story is going. The aerial shots over Rome are spectacular and adds to the movie, along with the music in a positive way. Parts of the film made me want to shout “No Sabrina Don’t” at the TV, but then it turns out to be heart-warming, but then history appears to be repeating itself, only to turn out right in the end, after she had a bit of fun first. It is a shame Harvey wasn’t in it, the film with a few minor changes would have still worked out just as well, if he was in it.