Just curious. I've never watched move than five minutes of the show myself, but with its use of magic, demons, etc, it certainly seems to qualify as a Buffy type fantasy series, yet I don't think I've ever seen it mentioned here on the board.
Does 'Charmed' have a fan following?
- Thread starter Cutter John
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Im not a fan but I have watched a number of episodes, to be honest I find it rather bland, its always the same old bad guys and they are defeated as usual at the end of the episode with the 3 charmed ones either repeating a verse together or throwing a vile of liquid at the demon and the demon exploding. The only thing that was any good about it was when they introduced Cole, Julian McMahon is a fantastic actor! and I love him as Von Doom in the Fantastic 4 aswell, when he left it it went back to the same old repetitive rubbish.
It's more Smallville than Buffy or Angel, especially with the extremely repetitive storylines and recycled plot devices, especially all the "well if you can do this, shouldn't none of that ever happen" situations.
But I'm sure a lot of people only watched it for six reasons anyway.
But I'm sure a lot of people only watched it for six reasons anyway.
It was all right at times, mostly goofy fun, and I could even put up with the repeated cliches, save one :
"I'm with the San Francisco Police Department. Did you know that we have (Number of seasons on) years' worth of files on these Halliwells? I aim to get to the bottom of it!"
That got old, and when Sheridan came on, it got decrepit.
"I'm with the San Francisco Police Department. Did you know that we have (Number of seasons on) years' worth of files on these Halliwells? I aim to get to the bottom of it!"
That got old, and when Sheridan came on, it got decrepit.
Aragorn said:
It's more Smallville than Buffy or Angel, especially with the extremely repetitive storylines and recycled plot devices, especially all the "well if you can do this, shouldn't none of that ever happen" situations.
But I'm sure a lot of people only watched it for six reasons anyway.
I wonder if they're the same six reasons I watched it?
I guess I'd call it a "guilty pleasure." I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode at one point or another, but I don't think I'd ever buy the show on DVD. But, if I ever find myself without something to do one afternoon, sometimes I turn on TNT and watch a bit.
I really only started watching it because of Buffy/Angel in the first place... but it's just not the same.
To me it was a very light, fluffy show to watch. The TV equivalent of cotton candy. There was truly some great drama in it and fun guest stars. The main cast was definitely entertaining and yes, I agree those six reasons helped. Um...we ARE talking about their eyes right? 
Well, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a fan of Charmed. (Okay, most of it. The eighth season was an abomination.)
Of course, being a fan doesn't mean that I'm not well aware that it was an incredibly silly show at times, more so as it went on and the writers got increasingly desperate for ideas (and the network wanted more excuses to have Alyssa Milano strip down to her scanties). But for all its tendencies towards the goofy, the cheesy, the lightweight and the sensationalist... I'd still rewatch it over Buffy.
Why? Reason 1: at least it never went down the road of "You know what this show really needs? More angst! Quick, kill off some likeable characters and horribly torture whoever's left!" Reason 2: Piper Halliwell, who for the eight years of the show never once lost her sarcastic, passive-aggressive sense of "Are you fucking kidding me?" dismay whenever some stupid new bunch of magical creatures - fairies, leprechauns, trolls, whatever - showed up.
Of course, being a fan doesn't mean that I'm not well aware that it was an incredibly silly show at times, more so as it went on and the writers got increasingly desperate for ideas (and the network wanted more excuses to have Alyssa Milano strip down to her scanties). But for all its tendencies towards the goofy, the cheesy, the lightweight and the sensationalist... I'd still rewatch it over Buffy.
Why? Reason 1: at least it never went down the road of "You know what this show really needs? More angst! Quick, kill off some likeable characters and horribly torture whoever's left!" Reason 2: Piper Halliwell, who for the eight years of the show never once lost her sarcastic, passive-aggressive sense of "Are you fucking kidding me?" dismay whenever some stupid new bunch of magical creatures - fairies, leprechauns, trolls, whatever - showed up.
^
I agree totally on the last part. Milano, Doherty, and McGowan got all the hype, but if it weren't for HMC, the show would've hardly been watchable.
I agree totally on the last part. Milano, Doherty, and McGowan got all the hype, but if it weren't for HMC, the show would've hardly been watchable.
I'm a bit ambivalent about Piper. On the one hand, I got really sick of her incessant whining and self-absorption. I've never seen a TV superhero who saw saving lives and helping people as an unwelcome chore as much as she did. And the characters kept talking about how Piper was supposedly the most loving and generous person they'd ever met, but all we saw was her complaining about how desperately much she wanted to think of herself instead of being forced to do good for others.
On the other hand, as annoying as the character got, Combs's delivery could be pretty funny with the irritable/sarcastic stuff. Still, there were those few times where she got to play Piper as someone calm and wise and nurturing, and she was so much more impressive in those all-too-rare moments.
I've just been catching up with reruns of the first four seasons on TNT (the latter four aren't as worthwhile), and another thing that's become evident is how inconsistent the characterizations were, especially Piper's. They kept switching around in terms of which sister would gladly give up witchcraft and which sister was most committed to her relationships and other things like that. Although that wasn't as inconsistent as other continuity elements were.
In some ways, the show was strongest in the first three seasons with Shannen Doherty in the cast. Although at the same time, Prue tended to dominate the stories to the detriment of the other sisters. Even Piper's wedding episode was Prue-centric.
Also, the first season was really annoying in having a regular cop character who had to be involved in every single storyline. I mean, it seemed like Andy and Darryl were the only cops in San Francisco. It got really repetitive, and I can understand why they killed Andy off after a season. The storytelling got better when they didn't have to have a cop involved on a weekly basis.
Overall, the Cole arc in seasons 3-4 was probably the best thing they did, although it was a mistake to keep him around for part of season 5. His story should've ended with the defeat of the Source. The tail end of his arc in S5 was repetitive and anticlimactic.
On the other hand, as annoying as the character got, Combs's delivery could be pretty funny with the irritable/sarcastic stuff. Still, there were those few times where she got to play Piper as someone calm and wise and nurturing, and she was so much more impressive in those all-too-rare moments.
I've just been catching up with reruns of the first four seasons on TNT (the latter four aren't as worthwhile), and another thing that's become evident is how inconsistent the characterizations were, especially Piper's. They kept switching around in terms of which sister would gladly give up witchcraft and which sister was most committed to her relationships and other things like that. Although that wasn't as inconsistent as other continuity elements were.
In some ways, the show was strongest in the first three seasons with Shannen Doherty in the cast. Although at the same time, Prue tended to dominate the stories to the detriment of the other sisters. Even Piper's wedding episode was Prue-centric.
Also, the first season was really annoying in having a regular cop character who had to be involved in every single storyline. I mean, it seemed like Andy and Darryl were the only cops in San Francisco. It got really repetitive, and I can understand why they killed Andy off after a season. The storytelling got better when they didn't have to have a cop involved on a weekly basis.
Overall, the Cole arc in seasons 3-4 was probably the best thing they did, although it was a mistake to keep him around for part of season 5. His story should've ended with the defeat of the Source. The tail end of his arc in S5 was repetitive and anticlimactic.
Cole was excellent. 
Though it happened at almost the same time as Spike falling for Buffy. So the bleed lead to unfortunate comparisons.
I thought the last season was the best because they got rid of the reset button and story elements started to "arc". But i hated Billie... Although she's really starting to blossom as an actress in The Big Bang Theory.
ON my Buffy VNS recorded off TV I have the charmed sisters locked up in an insane asylum who only think they have powers right next to the REALLY scary Buffy one where almost exactly the same thing happened (And to Riker, and ev ery third episode of the twilight zone.) beause they aired in the same week. Really wierd.
Though it happened at almost the same time as Spike falling for Buffy. So the bleed lead to unfortunate comparisons.I thought the last season was the best because they got rid of the reset button and story elements started to "arc". But i hated Billie... Although she's really starting to blossom as an actress in The Big Bang Theory.
ON my Buffy VNS recorded off TV I have the charmed sisters locked up in an insane asylum who only think they have powers right next to the REALLY scary Buffy one where almost exactly the same thing happened (And to Riker, and ev ery third episode of the twilight zone.) beause they aired in the same week. Really wierd.
Guy Gardener said:
Cole was excellent.
I felt he was an Angel knockoff from the beginning. Although as I said, his story arc worked better than most on this mediocre show. And McMahon was just about the only male romantic lead in the entire series that I found at all engaging, aside from Billy Zane in his all-too-brief guest stint later on. Most of the men they cast as romantic interests in this show, especially in later seasons, tended to be annoying or creepy. Except for Brian Krause, who was just kind of bland and unobjectionable.
There was plenty of arc in the third and fourth seasons, and as mediocre as those were, they were tons better than the abysmal final season. And I couldn't stand Billie either.
Was there anyone who actually liked her?
I curse my completive nature for giving in and getting the last season when WalMart had them for $20 each over Christmas...
Billie hating the Three was done so poorly, it almost negated pitying what she had to do at the end. It reminded me of those ghostly brothers from Leo's unit in WW2. One minute, the younger brother is talking mercy and letting it go, and literally in the next, a minor talk from his older brother has him talking supreme uber-vengeance. And the way the magical creatures turned on the Three--in a world where 'a spell was cast on me' is not an excuse, but a fact of life. And how did someone as morally ambiguous as Gideon get to be an ANGEL?
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