---Witchy Woman---

Many things have been happening to me in the last year. Some good, some bad and a lot of them Television based. What else is a 24 (soon to be 25, eep) year old man supposed to do with his spare time? Gym was out thanks to the extensive tattoo work healing up; food was out due to gym being out. Friends were... well, mostly borrowing my DVDs because I've got all the things they wish they had but aren't geeky enough to actually buy.

One such DVD was season 1 of Sabrina the teenage witch. Anyone who had a television in the last 15 years has probably seen this epic show. Anyone who had money to throw round in the last few years will have been faithfully collecting all 7 seasons. I fit into both categories.

---History repeating---

Sabrina the Teenage Witch began life as a comic book series of the same name. There was also an animated series in 1970s called (at least for the first season) Sabrina and the Groovy Goolies (watch me swiftly avoid that joke about Scottish slang for men's parts) which later changed its name to match the comic in its next 3 seasons.

In 1996 the show was given another facelift with the TV movie of the same name, featuring Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina for the first time. After the success of the TV movie they decided to make it into a series. This made me a happy pre-teen and gave me something to waste my time on right up till 2003 when the show eventually came to an end.

---What's going on?---

For those who are not in the know, Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a sit-com aimed at kids about a girl called Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart). Just before she turns 16 she is sent to live with her weird aunts Hilda (Caroline Rhea ) and Zelda (Beth Broderick) and their talking cat Salem (Nick Bakay). After a few random paranormal incidents, the aunts reveal to Sabrina that she is, in fact, a witch. And a teenage one at that.

---Who'd have guessed?---

Sabrina has been given to her aunts so they can teach her their witchy ways. As you can imagine, giving a 16 year old any sort of power over their surroundings can result in a huge mess. Rather than the usual drunken parties, breaking stuff, becoming a moody Goth and developing a penchant for overly loud distasteful music (ahh, memories) Sabrina opts for turning people into goats, pineapples and everything in between. Don't ask me what goes between goats and pineapples though.

---Smells like teen spirit---

As well as the normal teenage battles such as what to wear (dealt with in a montage at the start of every episode followed with some terrible puns) and who to date (Harvey, the cute little soon to be studly type, aka Nate Richert) Sabrina also has to deal with the challenge of not revealing her true identity to anyone at risk of turning into something generally unpleasant. This can lead to some fantastic moments such as trying to convince her very first best friend Jenny that she is dreaming when she wanders into "The Other Realm" and gets turned into a cricket.

---You Oughtta know---

If you don't have kids or haven't seen this, I will admit that it is possibly a little cheesy. The acting (as to be expected with most Children's TV) isn't always great and the story lines are always completely ridiculous. I would say, however, that most people will develop a love for the show. It never takes its self seriously and there are lots of little things thrown in for the enjoyment of adults. Both my parents, for example, when presented with the fact I had purchased the box set, fondly remembered it as the only decent show that me and my brothers constantly forced them to watch!

The show its self actually grows more mature as the seasons go on with the humour still being a touch cheesy but more adult. The first season, however, is squarely built as children's entertainment and the only real story that runs through it is the fact that Sabrina really likes Harvey and Sabrina really doesn't like Libby (the popular school bully).

---Inside of Me---

So, what do you get in the box set? Not hellish much to be perfectly honest. You get 4 discs with all 24 episodes of season 1 which last about 25 minutes each (as you would expect) but absolutely no extras what so ever. The inside cover will give you the list of episodes and a synopsis. This is it. No special commentaries, no out takes or bloopers. Not even an introduction from any of the characters.

Slightly annoying, but then you remember that you can get this box set new from £8.99 depending on where you shop (which actually annoys me more since it was more like £17 when I bought it). One thing I do feel the need to mention is that the makers have kept the covers of all the subsequent boxes similar. Yep, I'm that anal They do change the colour of each season but the general theme is the same so it looks a lot better sitting on your shelf.

---For what its worth---

Overall I'd say that for any Sabrina fan, this is definitely worth getting. I mean COME ON! It's your childhood in a box set! All the other seasons have been released so there's no need to worry that you won't be able to get the others.

For those who don't know the show, it's still worth it, more so if you have kids to enjoy it with. It's a very family friendly, child friendly and adult friendly box set (all different things, by the way). I'll be giving it 4 stars due to the complete lack of extras, but all in all a great little addition to any DVD collection.