Witches

I was scrolling through the stats of my blog today. Recently I've begun looking occasionally to see which posts have gotten the most attention. I used to only look at the five or six that were on the screen when I posted the new one, but since I've been in grad school studying digital and social media strategy, I've tried to be more aware of what engages y'all and what doesn't. Of course, internet metrics are tricky. Sometimes weird things cause can cause glitches in the stats. For instance, according to the blog stats, on July 29 my blog had over 1700 pageviews. That would be awesome, if there were any real chance it were true. I question it because all the days since (when there have been new posts) have averaged between 75 and 150 pageviews (there aren't a lot of you reading this thing). So it's always risky trying to draw any conclusions from the data. But what the hell? I don't have anything better to do today.


So, most of the posts with really high view counts are about tennis. That will come later in the month as the US Open gets ready to start. Posts about gay and lesbian issues also poll pretty high, but I just did one of those a couple days ago and I figure I'll let that hornets' nest settle down a little before I go poking a bear with a stick. Only one post about the crazy psquared made the top ten and I'm pretty sure that's only because it probably comes up in a search for “Ryan Reynolds shirtless”. Those other posts I just referred to also have names and terms in them that are probably popular Google search terms. So it turns out that name-dropping is what gets hits. What does all of this mean? Basically that I still have no idea what really engages people who read my blog; I only know that I can trick people into coming to it at least once by including a hot athlete or actor (even better if there is a shirtless picture of them) or mentioning some other popular celebrity.

One of the posts that was very popular (I'm sure partly for the reason I mentioned above) was one I wrote about the possibility of a new Bewitched television series and who I thought should be cast in the roles. I have a feeling that people actually did like that post because almost no one ever leaves a comment in the comments section of the blog and three people commented on that post. As a comparison, there have been three comments total on my last 15 posts. People virtually lost their heads over this one. And you want to know what's weird about me just noticing this. Re-Witched was posted two years ago today.

To celebrate the anniversary, I'm going to give you a list ranking my favorite TV witches. Silly? Absolutely. But I have always loved broom riders of the small screen (at least the ones from shows that never got too dark). Enjoy.

Sabrina Spellman (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) – I was already well into my 30s when this show was on the air, but I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode. I'm almost ashamed to admit that, but not quite.

Uncle Arthur (Bewitched) – Obviously, he's technically a warlock but there's no way he gets left off the list. As a kid I loved all the episodes Uncle Arthur appeared in. As an adult I REALLY love them because you can see that he really loved playing the part and that Paul Lynde cracked Elizabeth Montgomery up. Their chemistry together is brilliant, especially in the episode he was paired up with the next witch on the list.



Serena (Bewitched) – I read somewhere that Elizabeth Montgomery loved playing Serena because it gave her a chance to break out of the “comedic straight man” role. Just like when she was working with Paul Lynde, you can see how much fun she's having as Serena.



Witchipoo (H.R. Pufnstuf) – I think this one needs no explanation. LOVED HER!



Endora (Bewitched) – No one ever did over-the-top quite as well as Agnes Moorehead did as Endora. The make up, the get ups, the voice. Everything about her was just perfect. It was a crime that she never won an Emmy for that role.

Piper Halliwell (Charmed) – Until season four, she was probably my third favorite Charmed witch. But after Shannen Doherty left the show, she really came into her own. Plus, once her freezing power grew into the power to also blow things up, she became the baddest witch on TV. I simultaneously coveted her powers and knew that only disaster could come from me having it. One of the things I loved most about her was how, when particularly annoyed by a demon, she would give an off-handed flick and blow them up while also blowing them off.



Prue Halliwell (Charmed) – I can't figure out why people love to hate Shannen Doherty. I understand that she's got the reputation for being a bitch to work with, but I never had to work with her. For some reason I never watched Charmed in those early years. I tried once because of how much I liked her, but it just didn't stick. It wasn't until the reruns were on TNT that I got hooked. And even though I started watching season one when season seven was in first run on the WB (and therefore I knew Shannen was no longer on the show), I was shocked and outraged when they killed her off at the end of season three (spoiler alert). So shocked and outraged that I wouldn't even acknowledge that Rose McGowan wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to television until I got to season six. My favorite Prue scene starts at 6:20 of this clip.



Samantha Stevens (Bewitched) – I spent my entire childhood twitching my nose and waiting for something to happen. Right up until the day Elizabeth Montgomery died (and I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I got that news), I prayed for a Bewitched reunion. I hope they'll all get together and do an episode with me when I get to heaven.