Guest Author - Marci Ann Peterson

Okay, I will admit to being a Disney Channel Junkie! It’s easy to see where Miriam and Emma are getting their love for anything Disney! So, it’s no surprise that the new live action Disney Channel family comedy Wizards Of Waverly Place is just up our alley. The show premiered on October 12, 2007 on the Disney Channel and on October 26th, on the Family Channel in Canada. It will air on the Disney Channel UK on November 3rd.

The theme song “Everything Is Not What It Seems” is performed by Selena Gomez and features the cast, who appear on a CGI background. Wizards of Waverly Place is the first Disney channel sitcom to use simple computer-generated imagery—or CGI to the tech people out there.

The plot is based on the idea of three teens living in Manhattan who would be regular teens if it were not for the fact that they are wizards in training. Dad, Jerry Russo (David DeLuise), is in charge of their wizard training as well as running the family business Waverly Sub Station with Mom Theresa (Maria Canals Barrera). The powers were passed down through dad’s side of the family, and mom has no magical powers of her own.

The show centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez) and her two brothers Justin (David Henrie) and Max (Jake T. Austin) as they are trying to juggle school, friends, working at the sub shop, and wizard training. They must harness their abilities and learn how to use them, or risk losing them forever. As it is, only one wizard per family is allowed to keep their magical abilities. So Dad is busy teaching them all about their abilities without actually being able to use magic himself, as he had to relinquish his powers when his brother became the better wizard.

Being a wizard in training does has it advantages, like when you need to duplicate yourself so you can go shopping when you are supposed to be at home. Or how about when you need to pass you Spanish mid-term, who knew how handy it would be to have access to a pocket elf who can do it for you? What if you keep making a mistake--why not use the time rewind spell?

As you can tell, the Russo children are coming up with many new and inventive ways that magic can help them in their lives, which leads to much chaos and messes that they then need to fix before their parents find out.

My favorite episode was First Kiss where Alex and Justin use the time rewind spell to make it so Justin can have his perfect first kiss. The only problem is that the spell makes all non-magical people experience déjà vu. How many times do you really need to rewind time to get your first kiss? More times than you think!

Life with teenagers is always a little crazy, but when your teenagers are wizards in training things can get out of control! As the tagline from the show says, “Being a teenager can be tricky.”