The Comeback of Sabrina the Teenage Witch

The Comeback of Sabrina the Teenage Witch

By Emily Mendieta, Staff writer

 

Waking up early before school to watch my favorite 90’s shows brings back an extreme feeling of nostalgia. My favorite throwback show, in particular, was Sabrina the Teenage Witch. What I didn’t know however, is that Sabrina the Teenage Which was inspired by an array of comics that date back to the 60’s.

The Sabrina comics were first featured in the Archie Comics and then branched out to become its own series. Personally, I’m not a big fan of comics, so I’m not surprised of my lack of knowledge in that department, but I am a big admirer of television series. This year on October 27th, the directors of Riverdale came out with The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. This show would be a spin off of the original 90’s classic.

The Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a staple TV show of the 90s that combined the made up world of witches and the world of an average teenage girl.  The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina explores both world as well, but unlike the humorous tone in the original series, Chilling Adventures is both creepy and, as the name suggests, chilling. As a big fan of the original, I can confidently say that both shows are equally as great in their own way. The 90’s version was almost like a sitcom/drama show, while the new Sabrina is a thriller show and is timeless. In fact, the timelessness is due in part to the new series not being set in a specific year as well as not showing an over abundance of cell phones and technology.

The characters from the original still remain as far as Sabrina’s human friends as well as her boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle. Those who have seen Riverdale can expect the same mysterious feel and similar directing since both shows are written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The cinematic work and superb acting are also some similarities of both shows. Usually I am not a big fan of scary shows or movies, but The Chilling Adventure of Sabrina is produced extremely well, that I can’t help but actually enjoy the scary scenes instead of caving into my normal habit of covering my eyes.

Going along with the scary aspect of the show, the new series revolves around “the dark lord” or Satan. Sabrina refuses to sign her name in “the book of the beast” because she doesn’t want to be at Satan’s beck and call. Her name in the book of the beast would completely disconnect her from her normal teenage life and be consumed by her witch side. Although this may seem like an over step of creepiness, the story line fits the chilling aspect that the creators were going for.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a 90’s classic that cannot be recreated but can be reinterpreted, which The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina effectively does.