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TV Reviews: Sabrina, Tuesday, September 10, 1996 Fall TV Season Preview Network: ABC Premiere Date: Friday, September 27 Time Slot: Fridays, 8:30-9:00 p.m.
Cast: Melissa Joan Hart, Caroline Rhea, Beth Broderick
Track Record: Hart has won the hearts and minds of kids and their parents as the star of Nickelodeon's delectable Clarissa Explains It All. It's hard to imagine a performer more ready for ABC's T.G.I.F. lineup. Hart's mom Paula is executive producing with Nell Scovell.
Bottom Line: The series is inspired by the Archie comics character of the same name, but unfortunately there's no Betty, Veronica, or Jughead to be found in this Riverdale, where Sabrina (Hart) has moved to live with two eccentric aunts (Rhea, Broderick). The pilot was a two-hour Showtime movie built around Sabrina's uneasy discovery that she's not your typical sixteen-year-old. It wasn't spectacular, but Hart was adorable. According to Hart, the ABC series will be less about teen angst and more like Bewitched, with Sabrina's powers getting her in and out of trouble. The premiere (directed by Robby Benson) establishes a light-hearted atmosphere for the series, making sure viewers know this type of witchcraft is all in fun. Hart is pleasantly innocent as Sabrina; Rhea is especially spry and balances out Broderick's more straight-faced performance. With it's old-fashioned comic-book mentality, Sabrina will tickle kids without annoying adults the way Clueless will.
Eric Last, November 8th 1996