Wizards of Waverly Place (seasons 1-3)

Wizards of Waverly Place is an American fantasy teen sitcom which ran from October 12, 2007 to January 6, 2012 on Disney Channel. The series was created by Todd J. Greenwald.

Plot
Alex Russo and her brothers Justin and Max come from a long line of wizards and now must master their newly learned powers or lose them forever. Their dad, Jerry, gave up his powers when he married their mortal mom. The family business is Waverly Sub Station in busy Manhattan, and the three young wizards get into all sorts of crazy situations as they grow up facing typical teen challenges like school, friends, family and magic.

Why These Seasons Rock

 * 1) Great acting, most notably from Selena Gomez, Jake T. Austin and David Henrie.
 * 2) Likable characters, such as Alex, Justin, Harper and Max.
 * 3) Original concept.
 * 4) Promotes cultural diversity and often uses accurate representations of Latin culture.
 * 5) Great chemistry between the characters, especially the intense brother-sister relationship between Alex and Justin.
 * 6) Very creative spells.
 * 7) Inventive and exciting plots.
 * 8) Awesome character development, especially in Alex.
 * 9) Most of the special effects are convincing.
 * 10) Impressive soundtrack, especially the theme song.
 * 11) Teaches awesome lessons, such as "like who you are" and "stick up for your family".
 * 12) It has the most watched series finale in Disney Channel history.
 * 13) The show was so successful that the show earned an Malaysian adaptation called Wizards of Warna Walk.
 * 14) The television film Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie was a successful series continuity.
 * 15) It has a crossover with Hannah Montana and The Suite Life on Deck called “Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana”.
 * 16) In 2013, it has a special called The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex, even though Justin Russo was absent during that special.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The comedy can be flat sometimes.
 * 2) Alex's sarcastic, carefree personality can be annoying.
 * 3) Some of the CGI effects are terrible, such as the trophy statuette that Alex brings to life in "Pop Me and We Both Go Down".
 * 4) It had product placement like the Nintendo DS.
 * 5) * Speaking of Nintendo DS, this show had spawned a video game for that system.
 * 6) The entire Russo family can be unlikeable at times.
 * 7) Season 4 is when the series went downhill, and season 3 a little bit for introducing Mason.
 * 8) Fair share of bad episodes (even before Season 4) like "The Good, The Bad and the Alex", and "Alex's Logo".
 * 9) Too much adult humor for a Disney show.
 * 10) Too many Harry Potter references.

Episodes with their own pages

 * Who Will Be the Family Wizard (Season 4)

Trivia

 * Some of the spells are created by using the names of the producers. (E.g. Murrieta Animata is Peter Murrieta, Executive Producer.)
 * As of 2012, Disney's most successful and longest-running TV Series (surpassing That's So Raven (2003)) with 106 episodes over four seasons.
 * The show was originally called "The Amazing Hannigans," then it was changed to "The Amazing O'Malleys," then it was changed to "Wizards of Waverly Place," then to "Disney's Wizards," and finally back to "Wizards of Waverly Place."
 * Selena Gomez's character was originally named Brooke O'Malley.
 * David Henrie wrote some episodes.
 * The part of Professor Crumbs was the last on screen role for Ian Abercrombie who died shortly after the airing of the series finale.
 * Selena Gomez and David Henrie dated for a while during the show's run, but they felt it was too awkward, so they called it quits.
 * The hardware store is called Greenwald's Hardware, which is a reference to creator Todd J. Greenwald.
 * The show was originally going to take place in Ireland.
 * Every Disney Channel movie based on a TV show (excluding Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension) had the characters on vacation, including the Wizards of Waverly Place movie.