- Title: Wizards of Waverly Place – Crazy 10 Minute Sale
- wiki: link
Wayback Wednesday takes us back to a family of wizards living in Waverly Place. Premiering in Fall of 2007, the first episode of Wizards of Waverly Place introduced us to teenage wizard Alex Russo (Selena Gomez) and her brothers Justin (David Henrie) and Max (Jake T. Austin) who are trained by their father (David DeLuise) to use magic while also attempting to be normal and fit in at school. Not taking any time for introductions or setting up the world, “Crazy 10 Minute Sale” jumps in with an average day for the Russos where Alex, in order to attend the biggest sale of the year, uses a duplication spell learned in this episode to create a doppelganger to attend magic training in her place. Of course, things go wrong.
Very much geared to a preteen audience, the opening episode is boilerplate sitcom with a laugh track can be a bit grating at times. The episode focuses mainly on Alex using magic to skirt rules and responsibilities which leads complications before eventually being caught and admitting to her mistakes. Max also causes a bit of mischief breaking his father’s wand and later misusing his own.
“Crazy 10 Minute Sale” also provides the introduction of mean girl Gigi Hollingsworth (Skyler Samuels) who we’re told has been Alex’s rival since Kindergarten. Gigi’s interest in the sale, and getting her hands on the jacket Alex has been wishing for, provides some extra motivation for Alex to skip magic lessons. We also get Alex’s best-friend Harper Finkle (Jennifer Stone) and her ultimately unsuccessful attempts to prevent Alex’s mother (Maria Canals-Barrera) from discovering her at the sale.
Alex’s doppelganger, and Max playing tricks on it, unaware he’s also forcing the real Alex to repeat the same actions miles away, creates much of the humor of the episode. Gigi notes Alex’s early odd behavior, but no one comments on Alex spinning like a top across the store which would certainly be memorable and pretty confusing for a world that apparently doesn’t know wizards exist.
