Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Christmas Episodes

     October 2018 marked the premier of a new live action Sabrina series on Netflix, and the event got me feeling nostalgic for the live action 90’s ABC “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” TV show that I grew up with when I was a kid. Thus, I posted a little review of the show, and specifically singled out the individual Halloween episodes in light of the Holiday season. 

Well, I figured sense I did Halloween, I might just as well continue by going through all her Christmas episodes next. While I can’t say with a straight face that this series holds up as anything great, it was still a lot of fun to watch as a kid, and I can’t help but have some hidden nostalgia reserved for it. Sense the show revolved around a family of witches living in a suburban environment, it allowed for more cartoony visuals and bizarre plots that no other sitcom had. More to the point, the annual Christmas episodes always stood out from the Christmas episodes of other sitcoms. Other shows would certainly get decorative, but with our Witch main character, these Christmas episodes had no boundaries for how over the top, goofy and drenched in the holiday they could get. Once again like in October, I haven’t watched anything of these episodes sense I graduated from elementary, but I’m feeling nostalgic, and I’m curious to see if anything holds up. So, here is every Christmas episode from the seven seasons of “Sabrina: The Teenage Witch”.    

“A Girl and Her Cat” (Season 1: Ep. 11) 

    Tis the holiday season, everyone is happy, that is with the one exception of the enchanted, talking house cat Salem, who’s acting like more of a grump than ever. The cats self-centered loathing gets on everyone’s nerves, and after interrupting a potential kiss under the mistletoe, Sabrina leaves Salem in an ally where he can be miserable by himself. While this brings some much-needed peace to everyone in the house, there’s still a downside to leaving your pet all alone … like how anyone could just pick him out of the gutter. Sure enough, a little boy takes the cat home, and he refuses to give Salem up to anyone. Thus, a holiday chase is on as the family try to find their missing cat, while Salem tries to escape the clutches of this nasty child. For a Christmas themed episode, this one is a lot subtler then most of the others. In fact, it could almost pass for just another episode, but it has its Christmas highlights.

We have a funny musical montage in which the family visit multiple homes in the hopes of finding their cat, only to encounter various odd people celebrating the season. We also get an amusing ending in which Sabrina dresses as Santa in order to rescue her cat from the boy. The downside to this episode is that most of the jokes come off as set-ups with no payoff. We get a random guest appearance from Coolio, but the episode doesn’t do anything especially funny with him. There’re also these odd house guests who all have an eccentric quirk, but again, they just don’t have anything funny to say. One nice detail is how this episode reunites Melissa Joan Hart and Joe O'Connor since their previous roles in “Clarissa Explains It All”, so there’s that. Fans may find charm in seeing Sabrina’s friendship with her cat explored, but there’s more recommendable holiday themed episodes then this.

“Sabrina Claus” (Season 2: Ep. 36) 

    When the Christmas season comes around once again, Sabrina’s wish list gets a little out of hand, and she becomes noticeably greedier. As a result, Sabrina is cursed to never receive a single present until she learns to be more thoughtful. Her aunts help by calling on a friend named Bob to teach her a lesson in charity. After an unfortunate accident, Bob injures his leg, and it’s revealed that he was in fact Santa Claus the whole time. So, with the jolly one out of commission, Sabrina assumes the role, and spends the night delivering gifts all around the world. 

While the message is obvious from scene one, it’s thankfully not as syrupy as in other specials, and keeps the moral alive while spliced with a sense of charm and fun. This is the kind of goofy holiday premise I love seeing in this show, and there’s some funny Christmas highlights. We see Sabrina stuck in the workshop with some quirky elves, there’s a very funny appearance from Johnny Mathis, there’s another musical montage, and my favorite joke of the episode revolves around a goofy daydream Sabrina has during class. Melissa Joan Hart once again is unavoidably likable in her lead role, and seems to have a clever comeback for any given situation. All around, this is a perfectly charming little holiday episode, with a simple yet poignant message, and has a healthy dose of quirky hummer. 

      

“Christmas Amnesia” (Season 3: Ep. 61) 

   You can never get too much Christmas in one season … or wait, maybe you can. At this festive time of the year, Sabrina finds herself exhausted with the over-abundance of Christmas all around her, and she just wants to take a break from it all. Thus, she goes to what is supposedly a fun, Christmas-free party in the Witches realm, only to discover that it’s a heartless, anti- Christmas party. Disgusted by the whole thing, she tries to make a statement and leaves in a huff, but little dose she know that Christmas is no-longer waiting for her back home. Apparently, her actions at the party have completely erased Christmas from ever happening. Now Sabrina is left alone to take action and find some way to restore the holiday, or she’ll spend the rest of her life in a world full of grumps. 

Now this is a great premise for a holiday themed episode in this show, and it takes full advantage of everything at its disposal. It basically utilizes elements from “It’s a Wonderful Life”, but gives it an original spin, which to my knowledge I haven’t seen in any other Christmas program. The comedy is some of the best the show has ever produced, including an especially funny running joke with characters leaping through glass windows. I love the scenes with Sabrina trying to bring the holiday back to the people she loves, and the resolution at the end, while a pinch predictable is still given a fresh and uplifting spin. Also, this is the best-looking Christmas episode of the show by far. I mean … holly cow, there is just Christmas in every frame of this episode, from an overly decorated house, to another upbeat musical montage and even the outfits are all drenched in warm holiday cheer. This is easily my favorite Christmas episode of the series, and I may even recommend it to non-fans of the show, just for a short and sweet little Christmas episode.     

“Sabrina, Nipping at Your Nose” (Season 4: Ep. 87) 

     The Christmas season approaches yet again, and Sabrina shockingly is in a bad mood. However, it’s thankfully not the holiday that’s getting her down, it’s the non-stop snowing that’s threatening her holiday vacation to Jamaica. Desperate to escape the freezing weather, Sabrina tries to use her magic to stop the snow fall, only to get on Mother Nature’s bad side. As a result, Sabrina gets turned into a snowman, and Mother Nature gives her an ultimatum, by giving Sabrina the task of cheering up her grouchiest foe, Mr. Kraft, the school principle. At first she’s reluctant, as the guy has given her nothing but disgust. Still, she commits to her task and tires to bring a cheerful Christmas to her enemy. The result is a colorful sequence of the two traveling through time and viewing Mr. Kraft’s child hood past, only to discover that he never once had a good holiday. The time travel scenes are done with great style, as everything is black and white, with the exception of our two mains. In the end, Sabrina makes a selfless choice to invite her grouchy principle with them on their holiday, in hopes that for once he’ll actually have a wonderful Christmas. Meanwhile, Salem receives a magical variety pack of “The 12 Days of Christmas”, which all come to life in some literal form. 

Also, Aunts Hilda and Zelda hire a pair of Christmas elves to help out with the holiday rush, only to find out they're little thieves. In short, there’s a lot going on in this Christmas episode, but there’s a natural flow and rhythm to the whole thing where every story fits into place, and it all comes together in one big musical Christmas party. This is a close second favorite Christmas episode, I like the arc revolving around our two leads, I love seeing how both change at the end, there’s a sustained holiday atmosphere, the jokes are all funny, and there’s some memorable visuals. Seeing Sabrina transformed into a talking snowman has always stuck with me as one of the most unforgettable scenes in all of the Christmas episodes. It’s all around an episode with heart, music, laughs, and unique situations that separate this from other Christmas episodes. 

"Sabrina's Perfect Christmas" (Season 5: Ep. 107) 

    In the hopes of avoiding the annual insanity of another family Christmas with her Aunts, Sabrina decides to spend the holiday with her roommate Morgan, and what seem to be a picture-perfect family. However, the longer she stays in their cabin, the more she discovers the ugly secrets behind her best friends parents, and how every Christmas season is a nightmare. The enchanted cat Salem also stowed away in Sabrina’s luggage, and now he finds himself at the mercy of a grown, cat obsessed man-child. As things get more heated, Sabrina encourages her friend to stand up for herself, and possibly even fix this unhappy family.

Meanwhile, Sabrina’s Aunts discover that their second roommate named Roxie has been all but abandoned by her parents, and in light of Sabrina’s absence, they decide to treat her to a perfect, normal Christmas. When compared to the previous Christmas episodes, this one is like a warm cup of hot chocolate, as it puts aside the magical oddities, and just treats itself like a normal holiday sit-com. There’re some funny scenes, subtle scenes, and the tone feels consistent within the realms of the show without going too over the top silly or too sentimental. I love seeing Sabrina stand up for her friend, I really love seeing the Aunts treat the roommate to a splendid yet simple Christmas, and there are still some silly highlights, including a Christmas card that comes to life, a lost reindeer, and Sabrina’s fantasy of a perfect holiday is the equivalent of an animated Hallmark card. All around, it may not have an enjoyably goofy premise like many of the others, but that’s why it stands out with its own simple charm.    

"It's a Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot Christmas" (Season 7: Ep. 150) 

    Season 6 didn’t have a Christmas themed episode, so we jump to the following season 7 for the very last Christmas themed episode of the series. Sabrina and her two roommates Roxie and Morgan decide to leave the cold weather behind and vacation in Miami to celebrate Christmas. However, not everything is sunny in paradise as Roxie runs into her mother, who’s an ex-con, and to say they’ve had a rocky relationship is an understatement. Roxie’s mother Candy really just wants a second chance at life, and hopefully turn a new leaf with her doubter. Sabrina, being the ever-devoted friend wants to perform a Christmas miracle by bringing these two broken souls back together, but without the aid of magic. Unfortunately, a curve ball is thrown in the mix when their condo gets robbed, Candy gets accused, and the family turmoil reboots once again. This ultimately leaves Sabrina and the Cat Salem to travel back in time to discover the real culprit, clear Roxie’s mother of the charges, and possibly grant her best friend the only Christmas wish she ever had ... to have a beautiful holiday with her mom. 

So, once again we have a Christmas themed episode with a family rift in the center, and just like before, this is another good one. Kate Jackson guest stars as Roxie’s mother Candy, and the two actresses pull of a believable chemistry without getting overly emotional. Also, I’m usually not a fan of sunny vacation settings for a Christmas episode, but it’s still decorated very well, sustains just enough of a humble holiday atmosphere, and for every silly joke that doesn’t work, there’s another one that dose. I especially love this running gag involving a group of Christmas carolers who just pop out of no-where throughout the episode. One of my favorite details is the time travel scene, in which Sabrina goes a little too far back to the age of the dinosaurs. This is an especially memorable moment because the dinosaur footage is actually from a 1980’s video documentary hosted by Christopher Reeve simply titled “Dinosaur”. It was a special I watched all the time as a kid, in fact I still have the beaten old VHS tape, and it was just cool to see footage of it in this show. While season seven was my least favorite of the shows run, this was thankfully another perfectly good Christmas episode, and a good one to end things on.

If I were to quickly rank these episodes in order of favorite to least favorite, it would go like this ...

 

#1 “Christmas Amnesia”  

#2 “Sabrina, Nipping at Your Nose”

#3 "Sabrina's Perfect Christmas"

#4 “Sabrina Claus”

#5  "It's a Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot Christmas"

#6 “A Girl and Her Cat”

  That wraps up all of Sabrina's Christmas episodes, and it's been a nostalgic little throw back. For those who also grew up with the series, I hope it was fun looking back, or if you’re a holiday junky just a looking for any random Christmas special, maybe this will give you something to look into.

Thanks for reading my countdown ... and continue to enjoy the Christmas or Holiday specials you love!