I absolutely fell in love with STTW when I was in junior high school. I had the soundtrack on CD, I had the books, I had the DVD sets, some episodes taped on VHS, everything (which these days leads me to believe that the show was used mainly to sell merchandise that nobody would give a damn about ten years later). Being a kid, it was my first real experience with one of the "cool" shows since the only other that aired in my small town was The Secret World of Alex Mack, which was very hokey. I guess STTW wasn't terrible for kids, but going back and watching it as an adult, it just looks like it mimicked every fad of its time in all the worst ways, all while subjecting its viewers to its sea of whiny, spoiled, immature and self-centred characters. Melissa Joan Hart especially, watching her as an adult I've realized now more than ever that she could never even act worth anything, and her character of Sabrina was a lazy, shallow and coddled brat who never seemed satisfied with anything or anyone. She was sick of her mundane life and kept complaining about it. Then she finds out she's a witch with magical powers. Then she whines and complains about how she hates being a witch and wants to be normal. All she seems to care about is her own self-image, clothes and boys. She puts down everyone, from her doting albeit eccentric aunts, to her talking cat. She's supposed to be this insecure semi-geek type girl, and yet she's just another queen bee who just happens to do all the judging and teasing of others in the privacy of her own home. She's hardly a likable character at the best of times, so for the main lead it perhaps wasn't the best way to go about it. I've gotta say that the only characters I truly liked or cared anything for were Sabrina's funny and quirky teachers, from Mr. Poole to Ms. Quick, and of course, the jerky but not entirely bad guy Mr. Kraft. The show did bring on some good guest characters too, but rarely did they make more than one appearance overall.
The show's "special effects" (and I use that term lightly) have never been realistic or convincing, from a repairman with a fake raccoon tail tied to his behind, to the Salem puppet which terrified me when I initially saw the show as a kid because it looks almost like a ventriloquist's dummy (at least Salem was at least somewhat tolerable compared to Sabrina herself). To be fair though, we're talking about a comedy show, and Season 1 was when it was only just trying to get off the ground. I had hoped that it would progress as it continued but actually it got worse, especially when Sabrina entered her college years, got a bad dye job and the element of crass humour and innuendo jokes entered the picture, too. It had hit a point where it was too adult for children but too childish for adults. It became one of those types of obligatory shows that you would put on every day after school simply because there was nothing else on. So I'm honestly not surprised that it ended when it did. Its very campy performances, lame dialogue, predictable episode plots and annoying soundtrack by various 1990's pop bands of the time all seemed to drag it down to the point where it could go no further.
The show's "special effects" (and I use that term lightly) have never been realistic or convincing, from a repairman with a fake raccoon tail tied to his behind, to the Salem puppet which terrified me when I initially saw the show as a kid because it looks almost like a ventriloquist's dummy (at least Salem was at least somewhat tolerable compared to Sabrina herself). To be fair though, we're talking about a comedy show, and Season 1 was when it was only just trying to get off the ground. I had hoped that it would progress as it continued but actually it got worse, especially when Sabrina entered her college years, got a bad dye job and the element of crass humour and innuendo jokes entered the picture, too. It had hit a point where it was too adult for children but too childish for adults. It became one of those types of obligatory shows that you would put on every day after school simply because there was nothing else on. So I'm honestly not surprised that it ended when it did. Its very campy performances, lame dialogue, predictable episode plots and annoying soundtrack by various 1990's pop bands of the time all seemed to drag it down to the point where it could go no further.