Charmed

[buffyholic]

Hey, my channel just started airing episodes of Charmed. I only saw two episodes of the show, tonight it?s the third one but I?m really liking it because it?s something new and I just love any movie or show that has supernatural in it. I just wanted to know if someone else sees it or saw it at the time.

[Bittersweettwit]

Ooh welcome to the charmed fandom Buffyholic!

Despite what some people might say I think your in for a real treat if you are only now watching Charmed now. Hehe lol... I am still quite a big fan despite it ending, so it will be fun to discuss it with you a newcomer. I have a few questions to ask you if you don't mind.

What was your inital impression of the show after the first episode?

What do you think of the dynamics between the sisters?

Which of the sisters is your favourite?

[slaycandy]

I have to say I never got into Charmed until after Shannon D was out of the programme. I watched a few episodes of it here and there beforehand and as much as I loved Cole (Julian McMahon was fantastic!) and Pheobe, I just really couldn't get hooked. But as soon as they introduced Paige and kick-started season four I loved it! Season four was fab, and season five was cool... I adored the sixth season with Chris too, and then seven was pretty cool, I only just watched season eight for the first time lately and it was better than I thought it would be as had heard some things about it, but just felt the season was a little rushed and choc-full, if you get me. But overall I do love Charmed... it was one of my fave shows for a while.

Also, Pheobe was always my favourite sister, I know you weren't asking me, but I just had to love her! Piper was pretty kick ass too...... Pru... hmm... yeh, I pretty much just hated her. Piper to me always made a better older sister, I went back and watched seasons 1-3 after having watched 4-7 to see if I liked them any better..... I didn't. Lol. although I did love the Cole early years, I loved his character loads, and the Leo&Piper early years, bless!

sorry... am blabbering on now! I may watched Charmed again from the beginning, but I've got loads of other new Birthday dvds to watch before that, I just watched seasons 4-8 again over Christmas, lol!

SJ
xox

[Phoenix]

Oh I loved Charmed. I still remember watching the very frist episode when i was about 6 or 7.. and now I can still remember watching the last ever episode! I cried so much, seriously, like 9 years of my life was with that show! Love it. Will always be number one to me

[buffyholic]

Ooh welcome to the charmed fandom Buffyholic!

Despite what some people might say I think your in for a real treat if you are only now watching Charmed now. Hehe lol... I am still quite a big fan despite it ending, so it will be fun to discuss it with you a newcomer. I have a few questions to ask you if you don't mind.

What was your inital impression of the show after the first episode?

What do you think of the dynamics between the sisters?

Which of the sisters is your favourite?

Thanks for the welcoming committee!! My first impression was very good. I liked the first episode very much and the introduction of the three sisters was great. As I said, I really like this theme on movies and shows.
I love the dynamic between the sisters, and they were well casted.
Like I said before, I?ve only seen three episodes but so far, I?m really liking Phoebe. She?s very sunny and optimistic, a little naive but a little impulsive too.
But the show is really intriguing me. I can?t wait for the them to develop their powers and face even more difficult tasks.

[Phoenix]

Phoebe was always my favourite, since the first season I love how her character develops so much throughout the whole series, for the better. As do all the sisters

[Bittersweettwit]

I have to say I never got into Charmed until after Shannon D was out of the programme. I watched a few episodes of it here and there beforehand and as much as I loved Cole (Julian McMahon was fantastic!) and Pheobe, I just really couldn't get hooked. But as soon as they introduced Paige and kick-started season four I loved it! Season four was fab, and season five was cool... I adored the sixth season with Chris too, and then seven was pretty cool, I only just watched season eight for the first time lately and it was better than I thought it would be as had heard some things about it, but just felt the season was a little rushed and choc-full, if you get me. But overall I do love Charmed... it was one of my fave shows for a while.

Really? I am surprised to hear you say that while I myself love Charmed the entire series I have heard of a number of fans who complain that they lose interest in Season 4 upon the arrival of Paige so its nice to see someone who is the opposite. I agree Season 4 was a kick ass season though I haven't watched it in a while I do remember it contained several elements such as the loss of an older sister watching the struggle of Piper and Phoebe to grieve in their individual way. The introduction of Paige and watching as her and the sisters get used to one another forming their own dynamics. Then we have the vanquishing of the source, pregnant evil Phoebe and so much more. I am a bit too lazy to summarise Season 5 to 7 in fear of spoiling them too much for Buffyholic, but I gotta agree all the seasons have kick ass episodes even 8 despite its lack of popularity with fans.

Also, Pheobe was always my favourite sister, I know you weren't asking me, but I just had to love her! Piper was pretty kick ass too...... Pru... hmm... yeh, I pretty much just hated her. Piper to me always made a better older sister, I went back and watched seasons 1-3 after having watched 4-7 to see if I liked them any better..... I didn't. Lol. although I did love the Cole early years, I loved his character loads, and the Leo&Piper early years, bless!

lol hehe while we are talking about our favourite sisters. I gotta confess mine changed throughout the duration of the show. I have watched Charmed from the time the pilot aired here one of the very few series I have watched from its beginning. Anyways for the first three series Phoebe was always my favourite. I just loved her Alyssa Milano was looking her hottest imo and the character of Phoebe was kick ass, fun and daring. Just generally the kind of person who it would be awesome to meet in real life. But from Season 4 onwards Piper stole the place as my favourite from Phoebe. She was just so much better as the older sister than the middle sister. She grew in her confidence and we got to genuinely see the strength of the character, her integrity, the fact that she would do anything for her family regardless of the costs for herself. I also believe that Piper was at her best in the later seasons when she became a mum. She was just made for it.

sorry... am blabbering on now! I may watched Charmed again from the beginning, but I've got loads of other new Birthday dvds to watch before that, I just watched seasons 4-8 again over Christmas, lol!

lol lucky you I must confess I haven't managed to complete my charmed collection yet. Only having Seasons 1-3 and 6 and 7 but I am working on it J

Oh I loved Charmed. I still remember watching the very frist episode when i was about 6 or 7.. and now I can still remember watching the last ever episode! I cried so much, seriously, like 9 years of my life was with that show! Love it. Will always be number one to me

Yes I can remember the finale of Charmed too. Though I didn't cry I did feel a level of sadness that I was shocked at myself for feeling. Like you (well I assume) I have been watching Charmed from the beginning and indeed it felt funny to watch something I had watched for so long disappear. Hey there are even times nowadays where I expect a new episode to come on and then I remembers it gone lol?

Thanks for the welcoming committee!! My first impression was very good. I liked the first episode very much and the introduction of the three sisters was great. As I said, I really like this theme on movies and shows.
I love the dynamic between the sisters, and they were well casted.
Like I said before, I?ve only seen three episodes but so far, I?m really liking Phoebe. She?s very sunny and optimistic, a little naive but a little impulsive too.
But the show is really intriguing me. I can?t wait for the them to develop their powers and face even more difficult tasks.

Yes! Something we have in common I have a tendency towards supernatural based shows such as charmed, buffy, supernatural etc lol. I am so glad to see that despite its gone our show is getting some new fans Yeah I gotta agree the roles of the three sisters are well casted. Though a random fact for you Alyssa wasn't' actually originally meant to play Phoebe there is even an unaired pilot. But I am so glad they made the change. I couldn't imagine anyone, but her playing Phoebe now. Yeah like I said previously Phoebe was my favourite character in the earlier seasons too. As for the development of their characters and tougher challenges believe me your in for a treat

Phoebe was always my favourite, since the first season I love how her character develops so much throughout the whole series, for the better. As do all the sisters

Yeah I love the development of Phoebe too though there is one small thing about the character that bugs me. In the earlier seasons she is shown as something of a feminist a woman who can do anything as well as a man shown by her determination to fix the electric herself in something this way comes (the pilot) and yet in later seasons she seems to lose this relying on Leo for everything around the house and generally adapting oh it's a mans job attitude. But I am just nitpicky I think ti came from watching Season 1 and 7 one after the other :L

[buffyholic]

Ok, I?m also doing this one by one, so it will be fun discussing the episodes with people who are already familiar to the series.
Last Friday, I saw Dead Man Dating. . Great episode, I even cried at the end. The connection he makes with Piper is truly touching and real. I love Phoebe but Piper is starting to grow on me. Phoebe just keeps on getting funnier. One of the things I love is that they can?t use their powers for personal gain.

[Bittersweettwit]

Ach its a shame that no one else has replied to this thread because honestly I don't want it to die out. I haven't really gotten the opportunity to be involved in charmed related conversations in quite a while and so would like for this one to continue for another bit How selfish sounding of me

Ooh you have just made it through the fourth episode haha congratulations And yes this is a fabulous episode I just love the way that this is the sister still at the beginning of their powers and to the craft in general. I love the earlier seasons of this and any other show because we get to learn the show in questions perspective in certain elements. What did you think of the idea of in the charmed verses witches being in most cases the only one able to see ghosts? Because as far as I can think of its one of the rare few shows which happen to take this approach to the matter. Which really original thought is good for any show

Yes I know what you mean about Piper and the connection that she makes with him. Really they could have made a lovely couple its just too bad that he happens to be dead. But yes it is touching and its clear that she is practically heartbroken by having to let her go. I am sure you would agree poor Piper she doesn't exactly have the best track record in love. First she falls for a warlock in the form of Jeremy and now she has fallen for a ghost. I shall not spoil for you Piper's love life by saying whether she's in for a bit of heartbreak yet or not. Yes of course I love Piper and Phoebe both like I said it depends on what part of the seasons we are looking at which is probably odd in some people opinion. Unfortunately Prue and Paige never grew on me or at least not to the extent that these two did at any rate, which is a shame because both are pretty good characters.

Ah yes the infamous no personal gain rule. I think that this was a very good idea particularly for the sisters at this early stage in the craft. As you have probably noticed how much you can do with magic isn't exactly limited in the charmed verse. I mean without this rule they could easily make themselves do things such as win the lottery so this rule was pretty good for keeping the sisters in control besides believe me it leads the way for some amusing episodes later in the season. Woot! One thing that always bugged me and made me has to fanwank how come evil witches and warlocks can use magic for their own personal gain? I personally think that personal gain is something that has been set up by the elders to keep good witches under control, but however when they turn into evil witches or warlocks they are now out of the control of the elders and so such restraints no longer exist. What do other people think? Including both Buffyholic and fans that have seen more of the show.

[buffyholic]

About that rule, I don?t know. Maybe because of the whole good witches thing. If a witch is good, that automatically means you are meant to help others, and not yourself.
About Prue, I find her a little cold. Maybe that?s the way her character is but so far, I don?t like her very much.

Continuing with the episodes:
Dream Sorcerer - Pretty good episode. This surprised me a great deal. The plot is actually good and the interaction between the sisters is still what I love the most.

The Wedding from Hell - Kind of weak. I found the acting a little odd, mostly with the character of Jade and Elliot?s mother. Still, I love the bond between Prue, Piper and Prue.

[buffyholic]

Am I the only one thinking that the music is really good? And strangely, fit for the episodes.

[Goddess Guidance]

I find it odd that people say Prue was cold, but not Piper in seasons 4-8.

Piper was dismissive of Paige because of her grief, and people forgive that.

Prue was uptight because a big responsibility was put on her at a young age. No one excuses that.

I enjoyed Piper's transition into older sister but I disagree that she was better at it. She ignored obvious signs of trouble to keep the peace with

Spoiler:

Phoebe(Cole & Phoebe in season 4). In season 8 she told Paige to ignore a charge & wasn't the voice of reason when the family decided to play dead.

[Ojuice5001]

Am I the only one thinking that the music is really good? And strangely, fit for the episodes.

Yes, I like it too. Most of those songs were popular enough that I can remember them from when they were new--but obscure enough that I'd forgotten all about them, and I never hear them anywhere else. And that's just the right level of popularity for maximum nostalgia.

[Bittersweettwit]

About that rule, I don?t know. Maybe because of the whole good witches thing. If a witch is good, that automatically means you are meant to help others, and not yourself.
About Prue, I find her a little cold. Maybe that?s the way her character is but so far, I don?t like her very much.

Oh yes I know what you mean and I am certain that's apart of it but the thing that intrigues me the most is who or what exactly reinforces this rule, but hey we can discuss this more when you have gotten further into the series

Continuing with the episodes:
Dream Sorcerer - Pretty good episode. This surprised me a great deal. The plot is actually good and the interaction between the sisters is still what I love the most.

Oh yes Dream Sorcerer is certainly one of the better episodes of Season 1. I love this episode because it helps us with getting to know the sisters better. We also get to see Prue in a much vulnerable light than what we have seen her in previously, which is always fun with a character especially one like Prue who is mostly portrayed as being strong and in control most of the time.

What have you been thinking of the opponents that the Halliwells have had to come up against so far?

Phoebe(Cole & Phoebe in season 4). In season 8 she told Paige to ignore a charge & wasn't the voice of reason when the family decided to play dead.

Your right Piper does have moments where she doesn't exactly appear to be at her best in her role as the oldest sister and I have never been one for comparing Prue and Piper because I think both fulfilled the role very well. I just prefer Piper as an overall character. Also I think one must remember that Piper grew up with the role of the Middle sister rather than the oldest sister, of course she is more prone to making mistakes that Prue may not have. Then again we don't know if Prue would have made these mistakes or not after all she wasn't present at the time.

As for the issue of Phoebe and Cole it wasn't' an issue of Piper ignoring the situation. It was the fact that she was unaware Cole had them all fooled with the exception of Paige and even then I think Paige's feeling were partially due to a dislike of Cole and partially due to the better instincts that she has thanks to the whitelighter in her or at least thats the way I have always seen it. When Piper does hear Paige's opinion and starts to catch on to Cole on her own we do start her starting to take action against him.

As for the issue of ignoring the charge that is one mistake that Piper made that certainly doesn't make her a bad older sister. As for the issue of their pretence of being dead. Piper ensured that each of the sisters all agreed on the matter both before they started to play dead and when they decided to "resurrect " themselves and of course Piper wasn't going to see it as a bad idea. This way she was getting something we know that she as a character has always wanted. A chance to live a peaceful life free of demons and other supernatural elements while having her family members safe at the same time.

[slaycandy]

I find it odd that people say Prue was cold, but not Piper in seasons 4-8.

Piper was dismissive of Paige because of her grief, and people forgive that.

Prue was uptight because a big responsibility was put on her at a young age. No one excuses that.

I enjoyed Piper's transition into older sister but I disagree that she was better at it. She ignored obvious signs of trouble to keep the peace with

Spoiler:

Phoebe(Cole & Phoebe in season 4). In season 8 she told Paige to ignore a charge & wasn't the voice of reason when the family decided to play dead.

Spoiler:

I don't know how you can use season 8 as an example as to how Piper was worse than Prue. Piper was married with two young children who needed a lot of extra attention, she had lost a sister, and had been fighting demons for seven years - I think she had every right to want a break, and to need new identities. Prue never had the life responsibilities that Piper had. What I love about Piper was that she was so caring to all of the sisters and while she did take on the role as a figure-head as such. But Piper was also more of a mothering character than Prue ever was, she had a kinder nature, and I always found her to be far nicer than Prue.

In response to your Pheobe comments, at this stage in the show, Paige had only just begun using magic, had no experience in the matter and Piper and Pheobe had a lifetime worth of a connection - who was Piper supposed to go with??? I always felt like Paige was a little bit of an outsider in the beginning, but I adored how she merged into the sisters slowly, but I always felt that Piper & Pheobe would be closer, and would tend to take each other's side - especially when they barely knew Paige at this point in time, and Paige barely knew Cole for that matter.

I totally believe that Piper took on the older sister role in a better manner than Prue ever did, I thought Piper was caring, and grounded (for the most past) and looking out for their interests as a family, and in the real world as well as in the mystical sense.

SJ
xox

[Goddess Guidance]

Spoiler:

Phoebe was dating a demon (or ex demon) and she has a history of lying to her sisters when it comes to him. She has a history of seeing what she wants to see when it comes to him. No way should Piper have ignored Paige's instinct or the signs she could see for herself. With the life they live, Piper can't afford to "go with Phoebe" just because she knew her longer.

Charges usually call out when they're in dire needs. Telling Paige to ignore it was disgusting and thankfully it didn't cost Billie her life.

Piper was bitchy @ almost everything and everyone. Holly's acting was superb! I love her. I am just calling out hypocrisy.

Paige was the most objective when it came to Cole. When he was bad she called him on it but when he was the "innocent" she wanted to do the right thing.

[slaycandy]

Spoiler:

Phoebe was dating a demon (or ex demon) and she has a history of lying to her sisters when it comes to him. She has a history of seeing what she wants to see when it comes to him. No way should Piper have ignored Paige's instinct or the signs she could see for herself. With the life they live, Piper can't afford to "go with Phoebe" just because she knew her longer.

Charges usually call out when they're in dire needs. Telling Paige to ignore it was disgusting and thankfully it didn't cost Billie her life.

Piper was bitchy @ almost everything and everyone. Holly's acting was superb! I love her. I am just calling out hypocrisy.

Paige was the most objective when it came to Cole. When he was bad she called him on it but when he was the "innocent" she wanted to do the right thing.

Spoiler:

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Piper isn't bitchy,and I agree with you on the charge note - I just hated prue full stop, I never took to her character, and disliked her right from the start, so for me, Piper will always be the better one in the older sister role as I much prefered her character.

But at the end of the day, had Pru been around when cole went evil again, how are we to know that she would have reacted any differently? And Piper didn't actually see any of the signs at first, it was just Paige saying she didn't like him and she thought it was bad, Piper was merely going with what she knew at that time: yes he had been evil, but as far as she knew he wasn't anymore, Pheobe trusted him, she hadn't seen signs of his turning bad yet, and Paige was new to magic and didn't know any better (In Piper's eyes) and Piper felt it was just Paige's dislike of Cole. But once Piper started seeing Cole's odd behaviour, you did see her change her mind, and actions were taken, albeit too late. But I don't think Prue would have caught it any earlier either. I feel that the only reason Paige saw the evil in him so early on was purely because she had been looking for the bad in Cole, the others had moved on from that time, and I'm sure Prue wouldn't have caught him until too late either.

All I'm saying is, you can't say she wasn't a better older sister, just because of what happened with Cole... at this point of time in her life she had a lot going on, grieving a sister, gaining a sister, and generally trying to keep herself going without having to worry about Cole... Had it been piper that died and Prue in that situation, I think it's safe to say she would have been fooled too.

Well, hey, that's my opinion. But I am bias, I hate Prue.

SJ
xox

[buffyholic]

vampmaster, I really liked the villain in "Dream sorcerer", scary. But so far, there is nobody that really impressed me a great deal. Yesterday, I saw "Wicca Envy" that impressed me. I had no idea about Rex and Hannah. And what about Leo? Is he a good warlock?
What I know so far is that the episodes are getting better and better with each episode.

[Bittersweettwit]

Spoiler:

Phoebe was dating a demon (or ex demon) and she has a history of lying to her sisters when it comes to him. She has a history of seeing what she wants to see when it comes to him. No way should Piper have ignored Paige's instinct or the signs she could see for herself. With the life they live, Piper can't afford to "go with Phoebe" just because she knew her longer.

Yes Phoebe had a history of lying to her sisters about Cole and yes she has a history of ignoring what she doesn't want to see in him, but then again if your referring to when the sisters originally met him at the beginning of Season 3 he had them all fooled for quite a while and I think because of that Piper would never hold her inability to see through him against her, but regardless under the circumstances in Season 4 I think Piper was justified in not taking Paige seriously.

Let of all let's look at the circumstances Paige was new to the sisters. She had a lack of ability in the craft and understanding in comparison to her older sisters at this point. Of course Piper was inclined to take what she said lightly. Secondly look at the situation with Cole himself Piper knew that Cole had successfully gotten rid of the demon in him previously and as far as she knew the only successful way for a demon to become a human was competition in the demonic school we saw in Season 3. I am sure that Piper had faith in Phoebe who knew enough about the school to be able to tell if Cole had chosen to use it to become a demon again.

Charges usually call out when they're in dire needs. Telling Paige to ignore it was disgusting and thankfully it didn't cost Billie her life.

Ok so yes Piper was in the wrong in this situation, but I think everyone could understand where she is coming from. She had sacrificed seven years of her life and even lost a sister for the cause so you could certainly understand her wish to stay away from witchcraft.

vampmaster, I really liked the villain in "Dream sorcerer", scary. But so far, there is nobody that really impressed me a great deal. Yesterday, I saw "Wicca Envy" that impressed me. I had no idea about Rex and Hannah. And what about Leo? Is he a good warlock?
What I know so far is that the episodes are getting better and better with each episode.

Oh yes the villain of Dream Sorcerer was certainly quite a good villain. I wouldn't go far as to say that I found him scary but I certainly thought that he was an interesting character to look at. Oh yes the Rex and Hannah saga that is quite a nice thing to watch. Lol oh I am not going to spoil the position of Leo for you, but lets just say that when you find out about him and his abilities your gonna be quite shocked.

I have to agree with that in the earlier seasons Charmed really does get better and better as it gets along. The reasons for this I believe is the writers simply need time to experiment before getting a feel for the show

[buffyholic]

Feats of Clay - I found this a little weak. I think it has to do with the fact that the Guardian thing was kind of lame and that she did not inspire fear. I keep loving Phoebe but Piper is starting to grow on me, more and more.

The Wendigo - I liked it a lot, although some things were off. They never did explain Andy?s theory and if it was true. Or the Wendigo?s true reasons. And when Piper was transformed, she still could freeze? That was a little too convenient for me. One of the main reasons I like the series so much is their dynamic.

All in all, so far it?s a good season. The writers are still figuring things out but the episodes are getting better.