Let’s discuss our favourite witchy TV shows…
Here’s a summary of the best main ones.
[color= purple]Charmed:[/color]
The original 8 seasons, from 1998 to 2006.
Three sisters discover that they are descendants of a line of female witches and that they are destined to fight against the forces of evil, using their combined power of witchcraft.
My thoughts:
The original Charmed series was the most quintessential show for feminism at the time (along with Buffy), and it was ground-breaking in what it did for female characters as we know them today. Yes, they wore skimpy outfits while doing so, aside from Piper in the later seasons, but they were able to prove that female characters and women were strong. Not only did they live their normal lives, craving all things relatable to us today, but they also saved innocents and the world with an element of sarcasm and wit. Something that had only been portrayed by men in shows before that.
The storylines and character development throughout the show were fantastic. Every main character had their own arc, even the demons, which only made the show more realistic and enjoyable.
[color= purple]Bewitched:[/color]
Another 8 season show, from 1964 to 1972.
Samantha falls in love with New York ad exec Darrin Stephens and marries him in the first episode of the sitcom. Then Darrin finds out that his new bride is one of a secret society of powerful witches and warlocks and that a twitch of her nose brings magic results. Thoroughly befuddled, Darrin makes her promise never to use her powers. She agrees and tries to settle into being the perfect suburban housewife. Her mother, Endora, however, has a different agenda. She hates that Samantha has married a mortal and continually tries to break them up. Sam’s other spellbinding friends and family pop in and out of the Stephens household as Sam tries (and most of the time fails) to live without magic.
My thoughts:
Though this show was a little backwards for the time, having a male bringing home the bacon while he wished for his wife to cook, clean, and be the perfect housewife, it was still rather heartwarming. What made the show feel almost acceptable to get behind the concept are its supporting characters; her magical family. They seemed to play the little devils on her shoulder, convincing her to do magic. This to me made it almost seem as if the writers and creators weren’t trying to promote that females being domestic was okay, but more just giving the viewers both sides of the argument with a side of comedy, and you choose which side. On the one side, Sam’s magical family were telling her to use magic, she’s a strong woman, and that she should do what she wanted for herself. On the other side, Darrin may have had old-fashioned views, but what made us love him was that he still loved Sam and wanted to provide for and be there for her. Their love was what balanced with being independent.
[color= purple]Sabrina the Teenager Witch:[/color]
The live-action version, from 1996 to 2003.
Sabrina Spellman is a teenager with magical powers who comes from a long line of witches. Until going away to college, she lived with her wacky aunts, who would teach her to use her witchcraft wisely, and Salem, the talking black cat, who always has a scheme up his paw. As a high-school student, Sabrina is less judicious about using her powers than when she enters adulthood.
My thoughts:
This was a great coming-of-age series that may have been quite relatable in terms of the pressures and struggles that teenagers have to deal with but was also light and humourous too. Every female teen has to deal with balancing school, life, family, and puberty as she grows into her own person while figuring out who that person is. This is exactly what Sabrina is doing too. Attempting to focus on her friends, making it through school, and figuring out how to slowly take control of her life, she also has the added pressures of becoming a witch.
The moral is that being a teen is hard but we all go through it and sometimes you just have to ask for help from those who have gone through it!
