This article appeared in the Variety section of the Metro edition of the Baltimore Sun, 15th October 1999:

Why did `Sabrina' mix this potion for fans? Tamara Ikenberg Baltimore Sun

For anyone who grew up watching '80s prime-time sitcoms, using zit cream and believing in the purity of fresh-faced teenage TV stars, a glance at the magazine racks recently was enough to provoke some deep soul-searching.

On the cover of Stuff magazine, Alyssa Milano, formerly the sweet Samantha Micelli of ``Who's the Boss?'' made sultry in a drenched white tank top. Nearby, Rebecca Gayheart, the former ``Noxzema Girl,'' appeared topless in leather pants on the cover of Details.

Most wicked of all, though, was the image of Melissa Joan Hart, star of ABC's uber-wholesome ``Sabrina the Teenage Witch,'' on the covers of Maxim (in black lingerie) and Bikini (in, well, a bikini).

The startling images alone elicited winces. But in her pinup-accompanying ``interviews,'' Hart also offered up some disturbing dish, such as an episode of tequila-induced vomiting and the difference between good and great sex.

It gives a whole new meaning to ``Clarissa Explains It All,'' Hart's old Nickelodeon kiddie sitcom.

Nubile starlets appearing seminude on magazine covers is nothing shocking _ or new. And any leap from ingenue to sex kitten is a calculated risk, something Hart seemed to have in mind when she declared on CNN's ``Showbiz Today'': ``You know, it's something I just decided to do. I'm 23, is the bottom line. I can do what I want. It's my career.''

But there's more at stake. Hart's show is the centerpiece of ABC's saccharine ``TGIF'' lineup _ the birthplace of ``Family Matters,'' ``Step By Step,'' and ``Boy Meets World.'' And there's a reason why most of her fans are home watching TV Friday nights _ they're 8 years old.

Why should Hart go ``bad'' _ even if she does have a new movie, the teen flick ``Drive Me Crazy,'' to promote?

``This is a game of publicity. It just elevates her status even more,'' said Neil Alperstein, associate professor of popular culture at Loyola University in New Orleans.

She might have gained a new fan base of young males, but Hart stands to lose other fans.

``Sometimes people will reject the celebrity when they do something so antithetical to their value system,'' Alperstein said. After all, Hart has two audiences to satisfy: the kids who watch her, and their parents.

Is it unfair to shackle the young witch to this pristine image? Maxim co-editor Jim Kaminsky thinks so.

``It's a good thing to let everyone know she's an adult,'' he says. ``That's a difficult thing to do.''

Kaminsky added that offering his readers ``your favorite witch without a stitch'' wasn't a random decision. Maxim had received thousands of letters suggesting that Hart grace the cover, he said.

When Maxim approached Hart, there was no arm-twisting involved, Kaminsky said. She and her mother, Paula, ``Sabrina's'' executive producer, seemed eager to do some high-profile image tweaking.

Whatever Hart's fans (and business partners) think of her abrupt image shift, it illustrates that heels, push-up bras and smoldering glances may just be the most reliable tickets to starlet success.