Tuesday, September 24, 2013

What’s With All the Witches?


You know every TV season there always seems to be three or four new shows that all revolve around the same thing. Usually it has to do with the success of a particular show, and a desire by the other networks to copy it. Unfortunately you can’t capture lightning in a bottle, and you certainly can’t do it twice (lightning striking twice? Or something like that). This year is no different. And this year the theme seems to be witches.

I remember a few years ago when a glut of vampire shows hit the airwaves. The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Being Human (UK) and Moonlight all came out within two years of each other. And why were all these shows coming out at this time? Because Twilight had just come out and thus there was a need to cash in on the frenetic energy that this franchise created. And I can’t really blame the networks. People want vampires, so give them vampires.

But as far as I know, there is no similar witch property that has people excited. Certainly nothing that was along the line of Twilight and justified all the above mentioned series (two of which are still on the air, with Being Human finishing its UK run this past year and Moonlight only lasting one season. Being Human US is still on the air). There was a clear and visible vampire fandom. But where is the witch fandom?

Witches have certainly always been a part of popular fiction. The earliest stories we are exposed to usually feature a witch as the villain. Certainly every child watched the Wizard of Oz as a child (I could attribute the prequel Oz the Great and Powerful for the resurgence of witch interest but that film was for the most part a flop). Every Halloween features the occasional little (and not so little) girl dressing up as a witch. Witches never really went away. But like any trend, they died down. Same with vampires, westerns, slasher flicks, any trend that becomes popular and then goes away.

Now I keep mentioning this new witch trend and I’m sure many are wondering what I am referring to. Well, the three shows that caught my attention were American Horror Story: Coven, The Witches of East End, and Sleepy Hollow. FX, Lifetime, and Fox have each developed a witch themed show for this latest Fall TV season. All three feature witches and witchcraft. I mentioned other shows here like True Blood and Vampire Diaries which both featured witches on their programs, but there have not been any primetime shows based around witchcraft (Witches of Waverly Place not withstanding, and of course the failed TV version of The Witches of Eastwick) since Samantha was twitching her nose on Bewitched. And Bewitched was a while ago.

Lost had its imitators. Friends inspired group comedy after group comedy. Star Trek had its imitators. But I don’t know what inspired the current witch craze. The last Harry Potter movie came out two years ago and it was riding the end of that craze. We should have seen these witch shows popping up when Harry Potter was at the height of its popularity (as we’re seeing numerous Medieval shows trying to cash in on the current popularity of Game of Thrones right now). It seems this witch craze is trying to exist in a vacuum. Trying to fill a desire that no one is really asking for.

To be fair, so far I have only seen Sleepy Hollow and in all honesty I enjoyed it. But I am very much the audience for this type of show. TV needs no current craze or fad to get me to watch fantasy, horror, or sci-fi. I will seek those out myself. I am not the typical television viewer. The typical TV viewer likes to follow the heard and will watch the show it has been told to watch. And sadly, no one has told them to like witches.

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