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How Sabrina the Teenage Witch RUINED the Magic of Friendship
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabrina_the_Teenage_Witch_(1996_TV_series)
Intro
There are a few phrases that just act as sleeper agent magic words for The Olds ™, or millennials like me, whose core memories are in the 90s. Like “Say the line, Bart!”, “He’s just standing there… MENACINGLY !” and personally, for me, “Mitosis is…” or “Every member of the Spellman family has a …” which are both lines from the 1996 TV series, Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
There are, of course, multiple different Sabrina the Teenage Witch intellectual properties - the original comic, the movie and tv show from 1996, the animated series - es plural, and the netflix series.
The most memorable characters are probably those from the 1996 series, especially Salem who has been memeified in more recent history. But there was also a rotating cast that played different supporting characters in the Sabrina multiverse. This includes several different characters who were portrayed as Sabrina’s so-called “best friend”. So let's dig into the friendship lore of Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Og comic book and cartoon show (1962-2009) (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabrina_the_Teenage_Witch)
The character of Sabrina first appeared in Archie's Madhouse #22 in 1962. She then mostly appeared in mini comics within the Little Archie comics series under the name “Sabrina -- That Cute Little Witch”.
After some time in Archie’s comic book land, Sabrina got her own cartoon show on CBS in 1970 (which was a spinoff of The Archie Comedy Hour), and in 1971 Sabrina finally got her own individual comic series.
The basic premise of Sabrina, if you’ve never been exposed to her story before, is that she is a “teenage witch” who lives with her two Aunts and the aforementioned cat, Salem, in a town called Greendale which is near Archie’s hometown of Riverdale. Salem was turned into a cat for attempting to take over the world and was sentenced to live with the Spellmans. Sabrina attempts to live a normal teenage life while hiding the fact she is a witch (although, in a lot of the comics, many other characters seem to know she is a witch and doesn’t care - so this was something that was changed along the way). She also often has to learn life lessons through using, and often abusing, her magic.
Sabrina’s main friends in the comics are a ragtag group of mortals, witches, monsters, and ghosts. Besides the Archie gang, Sabrina has her mortal boyfriend Harvey Kinkle (a character who has been present since the beginning). Over the years, Sabrina gained and lost a number of mortal and non-mortal friends. These include Rosalind - an enemy turned friend, and fellow witch; Francine (a female Frankenstein character); Cleara Glass, an invisible girl ; Milton, a vampire boyfriend character; and Eye-da, a character with a giant eye for a head, who was mostly used for visual gags in Betty & Veronica comics. Eye-da actually predates Sabrina by a few years, but was then also turned into a best friend for Sabrina in the 90s (along with Rosalind) in the Gravestone Heights storyline.
In the 1970 cartoon series Sabrina the Teenage Witch, based on the comics, there are 16 episodes, mostly split into 2 shorter episodes (making a total of 28 total separate episodes) and the series aired from September through December of 1970. Not to be confused with The Groovie Goolies - a slapstick style cartoon series from 1971 in which Sabrina also makes an appearance while making jokes in a castle with Dracula, Frankenstein and other monsters - the Sabrina the Teenage Witch cartoon sees Sabrina as a friend of Archie's and a member of the Archie comics gang. The series mostly revolves around the Archie gang with Sabrina giving quippy one-liners and also using her magic to cause havoc.
Besides the main comic series and cartoon show, there were also various one shot comics that featured or starred Sabrina, all revolving around the Archie gang.
From 2004-2009, Sabrina’s comics got a manga reimagining and a new storyline. In this series, Sabrina continues to learn how to be a witch and defeat “the baddies” called “The Four Blades” (a kind of witch gang). In this series, Sabrina has a new best friend called Llandra De Silva - a fellow witch. Sabrina also has a mortal friend (and goth/wannabe witch) named Gwenevive Ricci. While they go to different schools, Llandra and Sabrina remain good friends throughout the manga series.
I wish I could say the same for Sabrina’s other “friends…”
1996 movie and series (1996-2003)
Even though it’s my favorite, my main beef with the original live-action series is that they kept changing Sabrina’s best friend. While I can understand doing this for a comic series that was published on and off for over 50 years, I don’t understand changing one of the main characters of the series that was only on TV for 7 years.
In this iteration of Sabrina, played by Melissa Joan Hart (and produced by her and her mother), Sabrina and her aunts and Salem, live in the fictional town of Westbridge, Massachusetts. The changes from the comics and original cartoon are numerous - the other Archie comics cast members are completely forgotten about and Sabrina is essentially an orphan - her mortal mom can’t visit her or she’ll be turned to a ball of wax (a law made by the ruling body of witches, the Witches’ Council) and her dad is stuck in a book. So, Sabrina lives with her aunts in the mortal realm and they all have to hide that they are witches. While Salem can talk in this series, he has to hide that too, even though he can’t use magic.
As such, Sabrina cannot tell any of her friends she is a witch, and this is a main plot device used to cause conflict throughout the movie and series.
(Harvey breaks up with Sabrina: https://images.app.goo.gl/FipAALWbRuTC27vW8, sabrina tells her friends she's a witch https://images.app.goo.gl/vkATkq77M2dQHhBw6 )
The movie and series are pretty similar, so I’m going to just kind of combine them here.
Point 1: Jenny Kelley
In the movie, Sabrina’s best friend was played by Michelle Beaudoin, a Canadian actress who reprised her role (though under a different character name) in the TV series. In the movie she was called Marnie, but in the show her name is Jenny Kelley - an Irish-American, feminist, vegetarian who latches onto Sabrina in the series because they are both deemed as outcasts by the “popular girl” Libby Chessler (who is played by Jenna Leigh Green. Side note, but did Libby remind anyone else of Monica Lewinsky? I always got that they had the same vibe at the time lol) (Harvey, Sabrina’s boyfriend, was also played by a different actor in the movie than the show, by an actor named Tobias Mehler. But, Sabrina also had another love interest in the movie, Seth, played by a little known actor at the time… Ryan Reynolds)
Anyway, Jenny was a strong character to play opposite of Sabrina’s more insecure ways. Honestly, I kind of looked up to Jenny during the first season - she was more of the type of girl I wanted to be at the time because she was almost proud of being different and seemed to be more confident than Sabrina was.
Some of Jenny’s most notable parts in the series are of her standing up for her beliefs and not giving in to peer pressure. She also stands up to Libby Chessler, the “mean girl” character who often bullies her and Sabrina. Her most notable episodes showcase her independent attitude.
The Salem Witchtrials episode (“The Crucible”)- On a class trip to a reenactment town in Salem, Sabrina has to conceal her real witchiness so she doesn’t accidentally get accused of being a witch and have to deal with the Witches’ Council. This ends up happening anyway, and she has to defend herself against Libby and her other classmates as they learn what life was like in 17th century Salem. Sabrina is almost unreasonably anxious about this, despite her Aunts assuring her it would be ok no matter what happens, and that the real witch trials are long gone now.
Jenny on the other hand LOVES the cosplay aspect of the town, and really gets into character, even admitting that she was alone with a boy, despite her getting accused of witchcraft for it. She, however, realizes the accusation is fake, and never assumes Sabrina is a REAL witch like Sabrina was afraid of, but instead plays along and enjoys the time in the town. I really like Jenny’s attitude here, and how she revels in the reenactment - she really is just an oddball nerd at heart.
Breaking into the closet episode (“Jenny’s non-dream”)- Then, when Jenny rightfully asks why she has never been inside Sabrina’s house, Sabrina invites her over for a sleepover. The Spellman’s struggle to conceal the magic in the house from Jenny with great difficulty, but Jenny accidentally stumbles into the Other Realm (the name for the magical world) through the linen closet.
Jenny then gets turned into a grasshopper and held captive by Drell, the head of the Witches’ Council. Sabrina and her aunts are able to change her back and take her home, because of a loophole in Witch law, by convincing her that her trip to the Other Realm was just a dream.
So why did Jenny disappear?
Melissa Joan Hart has said that characters left the show for various reasons such as backstage drama, audience reaction and arguments over payments for actors or character creators. (https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/melissa-joan-hart-reveals-what-really-happened-to-best-friend-jenny-in-sabrina-the-teenage-witch/)
While the real reason for Jenny’s departure has never been revealed, I wonder if it was because of the same reasons why I found her character so appealing. She was a stronger character, morally, than Sabrina, and had a stronger sense of self. Maybe other audiences thought the same.
For her part, Michelle Beaudoin acted in other things after Sabrina, such as The Outer Limits, Da Vinci’s Inquest, and Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed. It looks like she stopped acting in 2005 and probably went on to live a quiet life despite her Sabrina fame.
Point 2: Valerie Birkhead
In season two, Westbridge High gained a new student named Valerie Birkhead, played by Lyndsey Sloan. Valerie is pretty much the opposite of Jenny - she is very insecure and dies to fit in with Libby and the other popular girls, even forcing Sabrina to try out for the cheerleading squad with her.
Valerie is Sabrina’s best friend from S2 e1 through the end of season 3, and while she gets more screen time than Jenny, she is considerably less likeable than Jenny OR Sabrina, probably for the reason I mentioned earlier - so that audiences wouldn’t like her more than the main character.
Valeri’s self-esteem does improve over the show, and she even gets to learn that Sabrina is a witch - if only for a day. I think Lindsey Sloan did an excellent job portraying the insecure high school girl who needs a more confident friend to lean on, but I still don’t like her character as much as Jenny’s.
In season 2 episode ten, Sabrina gets to tell her friends that she is a witch for one day, friday the 13th (the memories of non-witches gets wiped at midnight). She risks telling Valerie, who then tells Harvey and gets overheard by Libby. While Valerie and Harvey are cool with it and even have fun indulging in Sabrina’s magic, Valerie is put in the position of turning Sabrina over to Libby and her angry mob in return for popularity - the fact that this even crosses her mind is just like, what kind of friend even are your Valerie?!
Then, in episode 20 of season 2, Sabrina and Valerie pool their money together to buy Valerie’s grandma’s car. This results in the two fighting over the car and arguing about everything from when someone can use it to who has to clean it. This results in Sabrina buying her own car - from the other realm, which then comes with its own set of problems. The girls eventually make up, but geez… I just don’t think they had the same kind of chemistry that Sabrina and Jenny did.
Valerie eventually gets written off after season 3, with her calling Sabrina in episode 1 of season 4 ot tell her that she’s actually moving to Alaska (a place I actually used to live in). While Valerie was originally supposed to move in with Sabrina and her aunts to finish her senior year at Westbridge, she decides to move to Alaska with her family because “she can’t leave them” and communicates with Sabrina via email. Valerie then slowly loses contact with Sabrina, proving she wasn’t really a good friend to begin with.
Valerie was confirmed to have been written off to make room for new characters (https://screenrant.com/sabrina-teenage-witch-series-finale-zelda-missing-explained/#:~:text=Sabrina's%20next%20best%20friend%2C%20Valerie,but%20quickly%20makes%20new%20friends.) (Brad, Harvey’s friend and witch hunter who moves back to town; and Dreama, a younger witch that Sabrina has to tutor.) I feel like season 4 is honestly when the show starts to go downhill, with serious changes happening once again once Sabrina goes off to college…
Point 3: College
Seasons 5-7 see Sabrina at college trying to make new friends, and even Harvey is gone for a while (though he eventually shows back up before he and Sabrina elope with each other at Sabrina’s wedding to another man in the show’s finale). Harvey was confirmed to have been written off the show “in order to give the show a different look as Sabrina was about to attend college. The decision was later rescinded, and Richert appeared in three episodes of Season 5 and then returned as a series regular in Seasons 6 and 7.” (https://www.aol.com/entertainment/sabrina-teenage-witch-mjh-nate-134256300.html#:~:text=News-,Sabrina%20the%20Teenage%20Witch's%20MJH%20and%20Nate%20Richert%20Talk%20Harvey's,back%20half%20of%20season%205.)
At college, Sabrina has new roommates - Miles, Morgan and Roxie. Miles is a nerd and a huge alien guy - he comes close to discovering Sabrina is a witch a few times because of all his alien hunting technology. Morgan is a stuck up rich girl and Roxie is a loner “not like other girls” type - but not in a cool way like Jenny. They do eventually all become friends, and Sabrina, Morgan and Roxie even all move in together in the last season.
Sabrina doesn’t really have a “best friend” throughout all these years and her magic causes her more trouble than it does for other people around her. She eventually even prepares to give up her magic in order to marry a mortal.
I just feel like the last three seasons are so heartless and rushed… they don’t have that typical Sabrina charm. Salem almost replaces Sabrina’s friends by being the one she confides in the most about things and he is the one who helps her realize she actually loves Harvey (who is the only one of her mortal friends who knows she is a witch now) instead of the other guy she was going to marry - whose name I forgot because it doesn’t matter. They could’ve skipped season 5-7 altogether, done a time skip and have Sabrina marry Harvey when they’re older. *sigh* anyways, there are actually more Sabrina IPs to discuss, believe it or not…
Animated series/friends forever/Sabrina's secret life
Sabrina: The Animated Series (1999)
In the second animated Sabrina series (remember, there was one in 1970) Sabrina is depicted for the first time as a middle schooler. This series was released in the middle of the live action TV series, and first aired in September of 1999.
Melissa Joan Hart returned and lent her voice to the Aunts Hilda and Zelda. Her little sister Emily (who played her younger annoying cousin Amanda in the live action) came on as the voice of Sabrina.
This time, Sabrina’s best friend change kind of makes sense. She is in middle school and therefore has a different friend group. Her bestie in this series is Chloe Flan, the second black secondary character on the series (after Dreama). Voiced by famous voice actress Cree Summer Francks, Chloe is one of two characters in the series who know Sabrina is a witch (the other is a new character, Sabrina’s maternal mortal Uncle Quigley).
Sabrina and Chloe use the magic cookie jar (called the “Spooky Jar”) that contains a genie (since Sabrina canonically hasn’t gotten her magic powers yet) to do various preteen things like helping them fit into trendy clothes and turning Harvey into a superhero - but the lesson at the end of each episode (much like the live action tv series) is usually that Sabrina doesn’t need to use magic to solve their problems.
I like Chloe and her witty quips, and she keeps Sabrina grounded in the real world more often than not. I personally really liked this version of Sabrina, and watched it as it aired. I liked how it also mixed real mortal problems of the late 90s/early 2000s just like the live action series did. It was pretty popular with the target age group, which makes sense that they made a tv movie based on it.
Sabrina: Friends Forever (2002)
Sabrina: Friends Forever is an animated made-for-TV movie that was released in 2002. It is of the same animation style as Sabrina the animated series, but has a slightly different plot.
In this prequel movie, Sabrina turns 13 and receives her first wand from Enchantra (a character who appeared in the original comic series and is the Queen of the Witches and head of the Witches’ Council in every IP except the multiple live action tv series - because, who could turn down Penn and Teller as recurring guest stars?). Then, Sabrina attends the Witch Academy to “learn the three principles of witchdom (to use magic wisely, be true to one's friends, and be true to oneself).” Sabrina decides to hide her half-witchness and pretends to be a full witch to fit in with the popular witches. This causes her to bully fellow half-witch Nicole. After learning from this, Sabrina and Nicole actually become friends and go on a quest to find a wish-granting tree. Sabrina wishes to be a full witch, which backfires and causes Sabrina to take Nicole’s half-witch side and Nicole becomes a full mortal AND turns to stone. Sabrina learns, again, that friendship is actually important and offers to turn herself into stone too. This selfless act causes Enchantra to return both girls to their half-witch status and a happy ending is had for everyone! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabrina:_Friends_Forever)
I wish more of the Sabrina IPs focused on friendship like this.
Sabrina: secrets of a teenage witch (2013)
In this 3d animated series in the style of Barbie movies, early Monster High, or Bratz, which was released in 2013, the voice of Sabrina is played by Ashley Tisdale (who also sings the theme song) and Sabrina is portrayed for the first time to be a witch princess - and she is due to one day rule the magical world as queen. Salem is actually an antagonistic character, who is meant to make Sabrina’s life in the mortal world unbearable, so she will return to the magical realm.
Sabrina’s main friend in this series is Veralupa - a wolf/witch hybrid who gets along with Sabrina because they are both half witches (a part of Sabrina's character that this series maintains from the original animations and live action).
Sabrina is more outgoing and popular in this series, and often brings her knowledge of the mortal world and popular human things to her time at the magical academy, with mixed results.
Enchantra returns as an antagonist for this series and is always scheming to get Sabrina to stay in the magical world so she can drain Sabrina of her magical powers and remain Queen of the magical realm. This series also brings back Sabrina’s cousin Ambrose (although much younger), who also attends the same magical academy.
Sabrina has another black friend in this version too, named Jessie. She has a lot of the same qualities as Chloe, and knows that Sabrina is a witch even though she’s a mortal.
I actually thought this series was kinda cute and has that same quirkiness as Monster High. And Harvey actually gets turned into a Werewolf in the first episode of the series, and remains that way, even though he doesn’t know it, which kind of puts a fun twist on everything.
Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)
And finally, we’ve come to the bane of the Sabrina multiverse, for me… The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool that they tried to do a darker version of Sabrina for once, and I really like that attempt, but it just kind of loses the charm of the originals and it eventually suffered from the same writing issues that Riverdale did.
At least Sabrina and the Archie gang finally reunite in this series. In the 100th episode of Riverdale (the Archie universe Netflix series), Sabrina helps Cheryl Blossom return the soul of witch Abigail into Cheryl’s Nana Rose so she can finally pass away - it's complicated how we got to this point, so all I’ll say is that this is a parallel universe Riverdale and Sabrina was actually dead the whole time. That’s Riverdale for you.
The main premise for Sabrina in what is called “CAOS” is pretty much the same as always. Sabrina is a half-witch, living with her Aunts, and cat Salem - but they also add in Cousin Ambrose as a mentor for Sabrina, instead of a talking Salem. However, this iteration is much darker than previous ones, and is in the same vein as the Riverdale series, to which it was supposed to be a companion series. Because of behind the scenes things, the production team eventually had it made into its own show.
Sabrina still has to battle her enemies while hiding from her mortal friends that she is a witch. However, the series overall struggles from writing issues and the interruption of the Covid-19 pandemic which eventually put an end to production. A lot of people, myself included, agree that the ending definitely could’ve been better.
Sabrina’s friends in this iteration include Harvey, of course, and new friends Roz (or Rosalind, possibly a nod to her enemy-turned-bestie in the original comics) and Susie/Theo. Sabrina is back in her original hometown of Greendale in this series, hence the proximity with Riverdale.
Pretty much everything else about Sabrina and her personality has changed, though - she is smart, overly so compared to past iterations, and confident. She knows she can be a powerful witch despite being half-mortal, and her friends help her to become that. The magic is more based on the old superstitions of witches - making deals with the devil to gain more power, etc.
Sabrina remains pretty protective and loyal to her mortal friends throughout the series, despite fears that they will be harmed by her witchy ways.. or by the Literal Devil aka The Dark Lord (ok, harry potter). But she is kind of a shitty friend in the beginning of the series, doing things like deliberately lying to her so-called friends, and doubting them when they call on her for help. So, at least that part is consistent.
Roz, Harvey and Theo last through the last season of this series, at least. Roz is yet another black best friend (see this video for more about that trope https://youtu.be/cvRIhfHOTIQ?si=x8X0EFsweYKFGOkz) She is also a Seer, blessed with the gift of The Cunning (turns out she's actually a witch too…). And Theo is a trans guy (see I didn't make it gay this time!) who has his own run-ins with ghosts, demons, and other creatures - and we respect trans people on this channel, no matter how badly they're written. And Harvey himself is from a family of witch hunters (like his friend Brad in the 96 series) but he mostly helps Sabrina as opposed to hunting her.
At the magic academy, because there's one in this series too, Sabrina makes friends with warlock Nick Scratch, who she eventually dates after Harvey. She also meets Prudence and the Weird sisters (named after the ones from Shakespeare, not the ones from Scooby Doo) who is more like the original Rosalind - an enemy who becomes, well, a frenemy.
Of course, it also wouldn't be a Netflix series without an inappropriate relationship between a student and teacher. Sabrina is very close with her English teacher, Ms. Wardwell, who gets possessed by the spirit of Lilith and then manipulates Sabrina to sign her name in the Devil's book. Ms. Wardwell is kind of the Enchantra of this universe - she makes Sabrina think she is helping her, but ultimately betrays her to try to become the queen… of hell, this time.
This series eventually becomes pretty meta with other similarities creeping in. In one episode, a duplicate Sabrina (long story, and trust me, it doesn't matter to the overall plot) enters an alternate universe where her Aunts are played by Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick, the actors who played them in the 1996 live-action TV version. Nick Scratch also calls Harvey “farm boy” several times, a reference to the character of Roland the Troll from the ‘96 series, who calls Harvey “farm boy”. Sabrina’s hair also turns white after she gains her full magical powers, which is, of course, a reference to the character’s white hair in the original comics. The general aesthetic of the show is also very 1960s, like the comics, even though it is set in modern times (I think? The show itself says it is modern times, but we see a laptop and a cell phone exactly once through the whole series). Harvey even has a poster of an Archie's Madhouse issue on his wall in s1 e10 - and while I couldn't make out if it was the one with the first appearance of Sabrina, I wouldn't put it past the set designers to include a detail like that.
Sabrina does eventually get to tell her mortal friends that she's a witch in this series, without any huge consequences or having to hide it later so that's nice. I just REALLY wish the writing was better. In one episode, they basically turn Sabrina into Jesus, but she doesn't think to put a protection spell over the key witness in her cousin's execution? And in another, The Fright Club (what Sabrina and her friends decided to call themselves, like Mystery Inc.) discuss how their high school doesn't have sex ed, when in a previous episode, Harvey and Roz are clearly standing in front of a blackboard that was used to teach sex ed… And why tf is there a random musical number in the season 2 finale and other random episodes? If you're gonna try to do a musical episode, just go all the way … *Eye roll*
One thing I will give them is that at the end of season 3, Sabrina does kind of learn her lesson about leaving her family and friends vulnerable and goes back in time to save them from pagan witches who want to take over the earth. But that kind of goes out the window once again… and we do at least finally get some queer rep with this iteration.
But (spoilers if you haven't seen it) because the show was cancelled, the ending is awful. Instead of writing off any number of her friends this time, Sabrina dies at the end, and her friends and enemies fade off into the void. (Some of them quite literally. I actually wrote that line before I finished watching the series, hah.)
They bury Sabrina in the Caine pit, which in the first few seasons can resurrect the dead, but is never used for that purpose in season 3 or 4… see what I mean about the writing? Could've been a big reason why it got cancelled…
Conclusion
So, yeah. I’m just kind of disappointed in the general apathy towards Sabrina’s friend characters. She is always more concerned with herself and her magic than anyone else, really, and is overall kind of a selfish character.
Of course in real life, I understand… people lose friends - fights happen, people move, etc. but in Sabrina, we really only get this character growth or any explanations mostly with the character of Harvey
I also totally understand that stuff happened behind the scenes that we may never know about with actors or budgets
But the writing…could've been way better. They could've stayed with the original story and characters more, or they could've at the very least explained what happened with Jenny. Maybe something like, “after she discovered the other realm in the closet, the council decided she couldn't be friends with you anymore and erased her memory and made her family move.” Instead we get no explanation.
At least with Valerie, they moved her to another state. Still a copout writing wise, but they probably didn't have much other choice.
Also, I get that the main conflict of the character of Sabrina is that when you have to keep such a huge part of yourself a secret from everyone, it’s kind of a no-brainer that you won’t be able to be as good of friends with them. I guess that’s why I like the series and episodes where Sabrina is allowed to let at least one of her mortal friends know she’s a witch. Zelda's words in s1 e5 of CAOS were proven right after all… it's just, Sabrina, the character, cares more about herself and her on again/off again boyfriend Harvey than she does about the friends that stick by her side through everything. One of the main plot points in every series where it happens, is that Harvey breaks up with Sabrina after learning she's a witch. But her friends who get to learn this, always support her and yet, the writers act like Sabrina’s relationship is always the most important…(s3 e2)
Anyways, this is something that has been bothering me for nearly the last 30 years starting with the 1996 show but I hope you had some fun with me going down memory lane.