“The Secret Circle” (2011-12, The CW; now available on Netflix) shouldn’t be nearly as good as it is, but because every actor plays the witches-and-spells mythology with total seriousness, and because the Pacific Northwest imagery is gorgeous, this series based on L.J. Smith’s young-adult books from 1992 ends up being one of my favorite one-season wonders.
Earnest treatment of YA pulp sci-fi
Greenlit because of the popularity of another Smith adaptation, “The Vampire Diaries,” “The Secret Circle” is executive produced by Andrew Miller (who wrote five episodes) with an assist from “Diaries” helmer Kevin Williamson (who wrote one).
It reminds me a bit of “Roswell” in the way it gives earnest treatment to dime-store young-adult novels, and also a bit of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in the way it achieves a perfect balance between the fantastical mythology and the standard teen struggles of the circles’ six witches (the two guys are called witches too, not warlocks or wizards).
“The Secret Circle” (2011-12)
CW, 22 episodes
Creator: Andrew Miller
Stars: Britt Robertson, Thomas Dekker, Phoebe Tonkin
Set in fictional Chance Harbor, Wash., it was canceled after 22 episodes no doubt because of the high production costs. This is one of my all-time favorite shows to look at, ranking up there with a fellow Vancouver-filmed classic, “The X-Files.”
Faye (“H2O: Just Add Water’s” Phoebe Tonkin) notes that the circle’s adventures always take them to “spooky old dirty places” and wonders why it can’t be “a mall or a nice hotel,” but I adore sets such as a fire-gutted yacht, a church in the woods, a garage-turned-voodoo-shop and a mine tunnel strewn with ancient equipment. Most prominently, the circle hangs out in an abandoned house draped with foliage, where sunlight glints through gaps in the boarded-up windows; this is their answer to the Scooby Gang’s high school library.
That warm-but-kinda-spooky hangout is balanced nicely by the Boathouse, a dockside restaurant owned by the father of Adam (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ “ Thomas Dekker) that tends to host the less intense scenes. Similar to “Buffy,” “The Secret Circle” often starts with a cold open relating to a serious magical threat, but after the title card, it gives us a breather by taking us to the Boathouse or Chance Harbor High School for some teen romance drama.
Interweaving threads
The two threads often interweave. In “Curse” (17), a passionate night between Cassie (“Life Unexpected’s” Britt Robertson) and Adam leads to another member of the circle, Jake (Chris Zylka), falling ill. “Curse” reminds me of both the “Buffy” episode “Surprise” and the “Angel” episode “I Will Remember You”; it’s certainly one of the most serious hours of the series’ back half.
Personally, though, I’m partial to the early episode “Masked” (7), highlighted by a standout example of the series’ staple: a party sequence. Even as Witch Hunters infiltrate Chance Harbor in this Halloween episode, we’re treated to Cassie in a cute bumblebee costume and Faye and as a Sultry Red Riding Hood. (Like the settings, it can’t be denied that the cast is easy to look at.)
Through these 22 episodes, Miller and his team gradually build up a threat to the circle while peppering in mysteries. Most notably: Who is the second offspring, along with Cassie, of dark witch John Blackwell (Joe Lando)?
On my initial viewing, I found it difficult to keep track of the motivations and schemes of the adult characters – the parents of the teens, notably Diana’s dad Charles (Gale Harold) and Faye’s mom Dawn (Natasha Henstridge), themselves comprise a circle of witches. The plot plays more clearly when viewed binge-style; however, it still asks that you pay close attention.
Although I like the whole cast, one oddity of the circle is that all six members are brooders, like a bunch of Angels (which makes sense, as all six of them lost at least one parent in the mysterious boat fire of 16 years prior). Still, there’s variety. Zylka’s former-Witch Hunter Jake takes the cake in the brooding category; at the other end of the spectrum is Faye, who finds magic use to be a gleeful experience – she causes a monsoon in the pilot episode in the first example of another thing this show does consistently well: visual effects.
Generational clash
Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy) is often wearing a sad face, as she loses her boyfriend Nick (Louis Hunter) early in the ongoing conflict between teen witches, the older generation of witches, and the Witch Hunters. The love triangle between Cassie, Adam and Diana (Shelley Hennig) is a notch above standard fare, as Diana knows she is losing Adam to a written-in-the-stars romance with Cassie, yet she can’t hate her new best friend for it, either.
Although there are too many party and action scenes to label this show as grim, “The Secret Circle” is quite grim when it wants to be. So many spells require the witch’s blood that I bet all of their hands are covered with wounds; indeed, we see that Dawn’s hand indeed is. It begins to lighten things up in later episodes with quips like Faye’s Cordelia-esque “I knew I should’ve brought demon-chasing shoes” and Diana’s comment that for most kids, prom doesn’t “involve ancient crystals and time travel.”
I found the show to be off-point about one thing. The teen witches’ parents are all a mere 16 years older than them; yes, there are six “Gilmore Girls”-type sagas going on here. Yet the teens never comment on the oddity of that. (Thankfully, there is a reason for it; it’s not a random storytelling choice.)
“The Secret Circle” crams a completely satisfying witches-versus-Witch-Hunters saga into one season. Although it deserved to run longer, I’m not totally crushed that it didn’t. (Indeed, it was my in my top 10 of 2011, but it didn’t make my list in 2012.) Certainly, the writers had ideas for Season 2, which are teased at the end of episode 22.
But with everything in Season 1 being so personal to the characters, and with many of the classic magic tropes crossed off the list (voodoo, demons, crystals, herbs, ritualistic chanting, and a wide variety of spells), I wonder if there would’ve been enough story left to power more seasons of this quality.
Main image: CW publicity photo