studioAT
'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch' is an odd show. Almost cartoonish in it's humour and yet a traditional audience based sitcom in other ways.For the first three series it was also crucially a good show. It was warm, it was funny, and the story lines were good. Mellissa Joan Hart demonstrated that she was a good comedienne and was ably supported by the two actresses playing her aunts, as well as the lovely Lindsay Sloane in seasons 2-3.Then it all went a bit sour. Hart was growing up and the show outgrew it's own premise of her being a 'teenage' witch. But with the network having a hit on its hands they weren't about to let it go, so we ended up with an almost spin-off show showing Sabrina at college dealing with the sort of teen issues that felt like they'd escaped from somewhere else.If you're wanting to see the show at its best, check out seasons 1-3.
RavenGlamDVDCollector
I'm sorry, people, but I'm blasting this one out of the water. OK, I hear lots of little girls (mostly now grown up) squealing "You can't that! Not our beloved Sabrina! You cad!" But this show is the absolute damn pits. Please note that I'm not talking about Season 1. Back then, it held promise. I began watching it after having struggled through CHARMED, and felt that this one, even though a kid's show, was much cuter, even in its simplicity compared to CHARMED. But it does seen as if playing witches turns actresses into bitches, and StTW follows the CHARMED route. The character becomes obnoxious and thoroughly unlikeable. Okay, you are yelling at me, what are you talking about? By Season 3 it is a junior gross-out show for girls, with fart jokes and all kinds of squeamish goings-on, such as that very unglamorous episode where Sabrina's face turns red. There are way too many similar things happening, and they are clumsily carried out, unfunny, and quite not a good example of good viewing material for cultivating proper little young ladies. A totally obvious turn of events is that Sabrina becomes worse than Libby, she is aggressive, and bratty, often scowling, and insistent on getting her own way, she is mean, impatient, laughs at people less fortunate than her, she is shallow, fickle, and in short, she ACTUALLY BECOMES WHAT LIBBY IS SUPPOSED TO BE. Yet nobody comes forward and takes the self-centered little brat on. Until now.There is a contemporary show, CLUELESS, that did not get released on DVD because of being in the shadow of that movie. But CLUELESS is a much better TV show, with a darling heroine, who is, by the way, also self-centered, but who realizes this, and makes up for it. I know I'm treading on toes here, and off-hand, you'd tell me I'm out of line. But just take a look at Season 3, and look out for the stuff I've mentioned. She is for the most part, not cute at all, many, many times she is exactly the opposite. If you look at the beautiful girl on the box cover and DVD menus, you'd expect a very stylish show. But no, she's a little self-righteous tornado. Well, the likely audience of this show became the Me Generation, and I can damned well see why!And then there is Aunts Hilda and Zelda. The less said about them, the better, unfunny clown that especially Hilda is. Those two actresses(?) must have laughed all the way to the bank. Without exception, all the male guest stars are total doofuses of the worst kind. The show's major saving grace is Salem, the talking cat, who was progressively upgraded and further and further upgraded throughout Seasons 1 and 2 to be absolutely life-like by Season 3. Pity they couldn't do the same for Melissa. Maybe if they made her as likable?Lindsay Sloane, who plays Sabrina's 'weird' friend, is actually the most likable character in Season 3. I guess that's because she is so NOT of the Me Generation. The very best of the series so far was little Emily Hart as Amanda. All those episodes with her in it, were extremely entertaining, and I hear there are lots to follow from where I am speaking from, at the near end of Season 3. Oh, and the episode with the Molly-Dolly, the Halloween episode of Season 3, well, give credit where credit is due, that was well done. It is too late to give creative input to this show, it is history, but I wonder how many of you out there saw that this heroine isn't at all nice, although she is supposed to be a good girl? Just go look at Season 3 again...
tfremont
I truly enjoy watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch. In a world full of horror films, teenage sex and drugs, and so much pier pressure to push the envelope and "Shock and Awe" everyone, it is so nice to sit down and watch such a wholesome show. And as so many people have noted, Sabrina is as cute as a button. This is a show that I let me 7 year old watch. And we both giggle over the crazy things that happen to Sabrina. Life is hard enough, and scary enough, and hectic enough that sometimes I can use a break from all of that. Every episode teaches a life lesson in a funny way. This is true family entertainmet. Especially since so many movies these days are touted as being family entertainment, but yet have so many references to sex that I can't quite watch them with my child yet. I wish there were more enjoyable shows like this available today. I enjoy it so much, I've bought the entire series on DVD. (Plus it's fun to imagine yourself as having magical powers like Sabrina...)
