The Worst Witch

10 years ago when I was a mere 8 years old I was a huge fan of "The Worst Witch" books by Jill Murphy. Then, a decade later I saw that a TV adaptation had been made and so I watched it with interest. And I was very impressed! As well as adapting the stories contained within the first 2 books ("The Worst Witch" and "The Worst Witch Strikes Again") the makers have also created some original stories which are just as good. The cast is excellent! Newcomer Georgina Sherrington was an ideal choice for Mildred Hubble, as were all of the actresses. The makers have also created characters that weren't in the books (such as Jadu Wali and Ruby Cherrytree), and developed characters that are only briefly mentioned in the books (such as Drucilla Paddock) which adds a little extra to the show. I did see the 1986 film starring Fairuza Balk and Tim Curry a long time ago (a decade or more) and from what I can remember it wasn't as good as this TV series. Overall, the cast and crew have done an excellent job and fans of the books both young and old will love it!

I enjoyed this show when first telecast in North America, even though I am male and was about 30 years old at the time. I still will watch an episode every now and then, if I stumble upon it while channel surfing.

I do not understand how so little has been said about the similarities between Harry Potter and Worst Witch. I would even have expected outright claims of plagiarism. Yet, I have never even hear the two series (of books) mentioned in the same breath (and I am quite the media addict, so few scandals or controversies escape my notice). In fact, all I ever seem to have heard was how marvelously inventive J.K. Rowling has been with the Potter series. Huh?

The Potter series seems to have greatly eclipses Worst Witch. And the fact that, while Worst Witch ended up a TV series, and Potter books ended up a series of mega-films has not helped. Too bad, as I think of Worst Witch as utterly charming, while the whole Potter phenomenon is simply OTT.

I love "The Worst Witch", although I am 17 now, but seeing it now still brings back all those great memories I had with my brother and sisters. I loved the books by Jill Murphy as well, and as far as I am concerned, the show stays true to the books. Cackles Academy is exactly as I imagined it, with tall turrets and what have you. The theme song is lovely, and in a good way, sticks in your head for a long while. The acting, considering it was a TV show, usually part of CITV's programming before they stopped showing it for a while, was great, Georgina Sherrington is a good actress and stays true to the character of Mildred. The other girls are fine too, and Felicity Jones is very nasty as Ethel Hallow. Katy Allen who replaced her isn't quite as good but still gets the essence of the character right. My favourite has to be Kate Duchene as Miss Hardbroom, her interpretation was quite frosty, exactly like Miss Hardbroom should be. The scripting, stories and special effects weren't at all bad either, the writing actually is very funny and well written especially with Miss Hardbroom. I was just wondering whether anybody saw the 1986 TV film version with Fairuza Balk, Diana Rigg and Tim Curry, it wasn't as good as this, and not really a childhood favourite, but I liked it, and I am just wondering if anybody here had seen it and liked it. I give this show 10/10. Bethany Cox

I have been hooked on this show since I first saw it on HBO a few years ago. It is based on a children's book and turned out to be a pretty good adaptation. (There is also a movie starring Charlotte Rae) I do not agree with the other review of this show. It isn't about some religion, it is just about girls in an English boarding school. To make it fun and interesting, they made the girls witches. I think it is cool, and the adult actors do a great job (Hardbroom is my favorite of all the characters), there is some real talent in this show. The plots are interesting, and it shows the classic veiw of witches because that is all most people ever see. HBO does not produce this show, it isn't one of there original series. So if it doesn't seem on par with Sex and the City, that's because it isn't. I only have two problems, one is that HBO has dubbed the younger actresses voices, apparently they think Americans can't understand English accents. The second is that HBO only shows the first two seasons of the show. There are three seasons and a sequel show. But, all in all, it's a good time.

I don't really want to give my opinions on witches themselves, other than that it's ridiculous to form some sort of angry assumption that just because they're witches in a school that they're 'Wiccans'. It's a CHILDREN'S show. Not meant to be taken seriously, just for watching. I liked it when it was on, and think it did pretty well with the characters. If you're looking for a show that kids will enjoy watching (but hopefully won't take seriously and try to find a witch's school to join) then I think you should look into this one. It's funny, and even the girl who plays Mildred fits the part very well. Even though it's not on anymore, it was a pretty good show.