Sabrina Spellman
Encyclopedia
Sabrina J. Spellman is the title character—a half-mortal and a half-witch—from the comic book Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
which was later adapted in 1969 by Filmation
as a segment from The Archie Comedy Hour
(later becoming its own series in 1971). The character was created by writer George Gladir
and artist Dan DeCarlo
. The comic was later made into a live action film
and television situation comedy, with an alternate younger version appearing in the animated TV series by DIC Entertainment.
In both the comic and the Filmation version, she has no other name except Sabrina, and other than living in the fictional town of Greendale, her background is never really explored. This article will focus mainly on the television situation comedy version of the character.
, where she grew up with her two aunts, Hilda
and Zelda Spellman
, and the talking cat, Salem Saberhagen
. Her father's name was Edward "Ted" Spellman, a warlock, and her mother's name is Diana. Diana is a mortal. Her father has at the least four sisters: Vesta, seen only once in the first-season episode "Third Aunt from the Sun" (played by Raquel Welch
) but mentioned many times and Hilda and Zelda, both of whom Sabrina lives with, and Sophia, a witch who lived in Rome and looked identical to Sabrina. Sabrina's evil twin Katrina is not considered one of Sabrina's sisters as the evil twin has different parents from the good twin. Her stepmother, also a witch, is named Gail Kippling Spellman. Sabrina was an only child, but had one evil twin (by different parents) and a stepbrother. Sabrina's evil twin's name is Katrina Spellman (also a witch) and her younger stepbrother's name is Donald (a warlock and the son of Sabrina's stepmother). Her grandmother, who is nice to Sabrina but overbearing to her aunts, visited once or twice, as did her great-aunt Irma, the Spellman family matriarch. Though not evil, Irma is domineeringly powerful. Sabrina also has many other relatives such as Cousin Larry, Aunt Beulah, Cousin Zsa Zsa, Aunt Vesta and Cousin Marigold. Marigold's daughter Amanda is known to torment Sabrina throughout the show.
for which she interviewed famous artists. Later on, she met a man named Aaron, who also worked in the music industry and the two began dating. Before long, Aaron proposed and in the finale, the two were set to wed when unforeseen events took place. She started to suspect that Aaron was not the one and after Sabrina had tried to connect her soul stone with his, she was sure of it. While it mostly fit, it was not a perfect fit. She tried to ignore it, but followed her heart and canceled the marriage at the altar. When she ran out of the church, she found Harvey waiting for her outside on his motorcycle, holding his soulstone that Amanda, her cousin, had left him. After both Harvey's and Sabrina's soul stones were tossed to the side and fit together perfectly (something they did not see at the time), it proved that those two were destined to be together and they rode off together into the distance in true finale fashion.
For most of the series, Sabrina would regularly cast a spell that landed her in trouble, and she had to turn to her aunts for help. In Season Five, after moving out of her aunts house, Sabrina started thinking she was independent, and whenever something went wrong, she would try to solve the problem herself. However, she could not help but get herself into a situation that was beyond her control (like in the episode Heart of the Matter when she used a dating spell to attract boys, but the spell went wrong when Sabrina's head became misaligned as a result of her head and heart becoming conflicted. She was forced to go to Zelda for help).
During her time at Adams College, as revealed in the episode "The Whole Ball of Wax," Sabrina was finally able to meet her mother. However, it is revealed that the Witches' Council set a decree that if the two were ever to meet face to face, her mother would turn into a ball of wax. While the decree was never repealed, Sabrina accidentally frees her mother by crying into the ball of wax. However, they could not ever see each other face to face again, the one exception being the series finale in which she was able to look at her mother without her turning into a ball of wax (Hilda had volunteered Zelda to be turned into wax until the wedding ended).
In the TV movie Sabrina Goes to Rome
, Sabrina, accompanied by Salem, travels to Rome, Italy in order to discover the secret of a mysterious antique locket and save her Aunt Sophia. While there, she befriends Gwen, an inexperienced British
witch, who helps her to solve the mystery of the locket. The sequel, Sabrina, Down Under
, depicts Sabrina and Gwen going on vacation in Australia
's Great Barrier Reef
and end up trying to save a hidden colony of merpeople from water pollution
and a scheming marine biologist
.
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a teenage fictional character named Sabrina Spellman. The character was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo. The comic's characters have also appeared in various other media...
which was later adapted in 1969 by Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
as a segment from The Archie Comedy Hour
The Archie Show
The Archie Show is a Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation. Based on the Archie comic books, created by Bob Montana in 1941, The Archie Show debuted on CBS in September 1968 and lasted for one season. A total of 17 half-hour shows, each containing two 11 minute segments,...
(later becoming its own series in 1971). The character was created by writer George Gladir
George Gladir
George Gladir is an American writer for comic books. Primarily known as a scripter for Archie Comics, he co-created that publisher's character Sabrina the Teenage Witch, with artist Dan DeCarlo.-Biography:...
and artist Dan DeCarlo
Dan DeCarlo
Daniel S. DeCarlo was an American cartoonist best known as the artist who developed the look of Archie Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, modernizing the characters to their contemporary appearance and establishing the publisher's house style...
. The comic was later made into a live action film
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (film)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a 1996 American television film adaptation based on a character from Archie Comics. It served as a pilot for the Sabrina The Teenage Witch TV series, and premiered on Showtime on April 7, 1996...
and television situation comedy, with an alternate younger version appearing in the animated TV series by DIC Entertainment.
In both the comic and the Filmation version, she has no other name except Sabrina, and other than living in the fictional town of Greendale, her background is never really explored. This article will focus mainly on the television situation comedy version of the character.
Background
Sabrina's story takes place in the fictional town of Eastbridge, MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, where she grew up with her two aunts, Hilda
Hilda Spellman
Hilda Spellman is a character featured in the classic Archie comic book Sabrina the Teenage Witch. She is a full witch who live in the fictional town of Greendale...
and Zelda Spellman
Zelda Spellman
Zelda Spellman is a fictional character featured in the classic Archie comic book Sabrina the Teenage Witch. She is a full witch and lives in the fictional town of Greendale...
, and the talking cat, Salem Saberhagen
Salem Saberhagen
Salem Saberhagen is a character from the American comic Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, who also appeared in all other adaptations of the original, including the 1969 animated version by Filmation in which Salem is an American Shorthair breed, and has no other name except "Salem". In addition, unlike...
. Her father's name was Edward "Ted" Spellman, a warlock, and her mother's name is Diana. Diana is a mortal. Her father has at the least four sisters: Vesta, seen only once in the first-season episode "Third Aunt from the Sun" (played by Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch
Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be...
) but mentioned many times and Hilda and Zelda, both of whom Sabrina lives with, and Sophia, a witch who lived in Rome and looked identical to Sabrina. Sabrina's evil twin Katrina is not considered one of Sabrina's sisters as the evil twin has different parents from the good twin. Her stepmother, also a witch, is named Gail Kippling Spellman. Sabrina was an only child, but had one evil twin (by different parents) and a stepbrother. Sabrina's evil twin's name is Katrina Spellman (also a witch) and her younger stepbrother's name is Donald (a warlock and the son of Sabrina's stepmother). Her grandmother, who is nice to Sabrina but overbearing to her aunts, visited once or twice, as did her great-aunt Irma, the Spellman family matriarch. Though not evil, Irma is domineeringly powerful. Sabrina also has many other relatives such as Cousin Larry, Aunt Beulah, Cousin Zsa Zsa, Aunt Vesta and Cousin Marigold. Marigold's daughter Amanda is known to torment Sabrina throughout the show.
Life in the series
Sabrina was the protagonist of the series. On her sixteenth birthday, she learned that she was a half-witch (through her father's side) and had magical powers. She also learned that her two aunts were witches themselves and that their black cat Salem was a warlock who had been turned into a talking household pet as a punishment for attempting worldwide domination. At Westbridge High, she befriended Jenny Kelly (and later Valerie Birkhead in future seasons) and had an on-again, off-again relationship with Harvey Kinkle. She also had to deal with the snobby and headstrong cheerleader, Libby Chessler, who became Sabrina's rival for school activities as well as Harvey's affections. In later seasons, Sabrina was enrolled at the fictional Adams College in Boston. After getting her degree in journalism she moved back to her aunts' house with Morgan and Roxie. She took a job with the fictitious Scorch Magazine, a music theme magazineMagazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
for which she interviewed famous artists. Later on, she met a man named Aaron, who also worked in the music industry and the two began dating. Before long, Aaron proposed and in the finale, the two were set to wed when unforeseen events took place. She started to suspect that Aaron was not the one and after Sabrina had tried to connect her soul stone with his, she was sure of it. While it mostly fit, it was not a perfect fit. She tried to ignore it, but followed her heart and canceled the marriage at the altar. When she ran out of the church, she found Harvey waiting for her outside on his motorcycle, holding his soulstone that Amanda, her cousin, had left him. After both Harvey's and Sabrina's soul stones were tossed to the side and fit together perfectly (something they did not see at the time), it proved that those two were destined to be together and they rode off together into the distance in true finale fashion.
For most of the series, Sabrina would regularly cast a spell that landed her in trouble, and she had to turn to her aunts for help. In Season Five, after moving out of her aunts house, Sabrina started thinking she was independent, and whenever something went wrong, she would try to solve the problem herself. However, she could not help but get herself into a situation that was beyond her control (like in the episode Heart of the Matter when she used a dating spell to attract boys, but the spell went wrong when Sabrina's head became misaligned as a result of her head and heart becoming conflicted. She was forced to go to Zelda for help).
During her time at Adams College, as revealed in the episode "The Whole Ball of Wax," Sabrina was finally able to meet her mother. However, it is revealed that the Witches' Council set a decree that if the two were ever to meet face to face, her mother would turn into a ball of wax. While the decree was never repealed, Sabrina accidentally frees her mother by crying into the ball of wax. However, they could not ever see each other face to face again, the one exception being the series finale in which she was able to look at her mother without her turning into a ball of wax (Hilda had volunteered Zelda to be turned into wax until the wedding ended).
In the TV movie Sabrina Goes to Rome
Sabrina Goes to Rome
Sabrina Goes to Rome is a 1998 television movie produced for ABC. The movie is part of the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch TV series and is the first TV movie made for the series. The movie features only two main characters from the series, the protagonist Sabrina Spellman , and other main character...
, Sabrina, accompanied by Salem, travels to Rome, Italy in order to discover the secret of a mysterious antique locket and save her Aunt Sophia. While there, she befriends Gwen, an inexperienced British
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
witch, who helps her to solve the mystery of the locket. The sequel, Sabrina, Down Under
Sabrina, Down Under
Sabrina, Down Under is a 1999 television movie produced for ABC. It is a sequel to Sabrina Goes to Rome and is a companion to the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch TV series. The movie features only two characters from the TV series: teenage witch Sabrina Spellman , and talking cat Salem Saberhagen...
, depicts Sabrina and Gwen going on vacation in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
and end up trying to save a hidden colony of merpeople from water pollution
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
and a scheming marine biologist
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
.