July 2000--Maybe the WB should stand for Wicca Broadcasting. This fall, "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" will be flying over to the net-let to join three other shows with Wiccan characters: "Charmed," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Felicity." The dancing frog network has cornered the market in riot grrrl-ish witches, but will Sabrina's squeaky-clean image mesh with the WB's sexy sorceresses?
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Charmed |
Buffy |
Felicity |
Sabrina |
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Prue, Phoebe, and Piper Halliwell, descendants of a long line of good witches, solve crimes and right wrongs. |
Willow Rosenberg, Buffy's best friend, is way into Wicca. She finds another true practioner, Tara, at a college "wicca club" meeting. |
Meghan Rotundi is Felicity's eccentric roommate. Aside from her dabbling in witchcraft, nobody knows much about her. |
Sabrina Spellman, a modern-day sorcerer's apprentice, lives with her two eccentric witch aunts and faces the ups and downs of high school life. |
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Blessed with individual powers and the ability to cast spells from the "Book of Shadows." Prue is telekenetic, Phoebe can see into the future, and Piper can, well, freeze time. |
No supernatural powers here, just a lot of research and some good old-fashioned conjuring from your average college co-eds. |
Interested in mischevious magic, she tries to cast a spell on "someone she hates" but forgets to include the clove. Counselor at Wicca camp. |
Entering her senior year in high school, Sabrina is armed with newly found witch powers. Casting spells and zany hijinks are the Spellman hallmark. |
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Stereotypical sisters? Prue, the oldest, is driven. Piper, the middle, is down-to-earth. And Phoebe, the youngest, is free spirited. |
This winsome Wiccan couple is breaking new ground, but it's Buffy that's really staking the stereotypes. |
Meghan is less of a witch than something that rhymes with witch. |
Sabrina's such a pert and pretty pagan that Melissa Joan Hart felt the need to mix it up for a mature Maxim layout. |
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Intermittent cat cameos |
Adopted Miss Kitty Fantastico |
No visible signs of a pet, but nobody really knows what she keeps in "the box." |
Wisecracking cat |
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Can't be beat for pure camp value; like superheroes, Prue and her two sisters use their unlikely powers to battle the forces of darkness--and they get to wear a lot of fabulous outfits. |
Supernatural special effects aside, Willow and her new gal-pal Tara are an inspiring pair--smart, sexy, and serious students of witchcraft. |
Meghan is troubled. She's sexually aggressive, tough (but sensitive on the inside), and wears too much eyeliner. Oh, and she's a witch. Stereotyped much? |
Follows the "Bewitched" model of witchcraft as just another way to get into trouble; the teenage witch and her family never push the envelope of the superficial sitcom format. |
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Charmed |
Buffy |
Felicity |
Sabrina |