2016-06-30
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?

Charmed Buffy Felicity Sabrina
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
  Charmed Buffy Felicity Sabrina
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