What will happen? (Charmed)

Member Name: pheobe_halliwell

Product:	Charmed
Date:	18/11/01 (661 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great action, great plot

Disadvantages: who knows what will happen

Well here goes, the review you were all expecting lol.

As you may have guessed Charmed is one of my favourite shows (Yes really!). So its about time I wrote a review on it!.

Summery

Charmed is a supernatural drama, which follows the lives of 3 very different sisters. However, these sisters are not your typical, attractive, 20 somethings, they are the ‘Charmed ones’.

What? I hear you ask.

The ‘Halliwell’ sisters, Prue, Piper and Pheobe are witches. Very powerful witches to be exact. But like most television shows of this kind they only recently found out about their powers.

Brought together by their destiny, it is their duty to protect innocents, vanquish evil, and still have time to fit in the occasional hour at work, and dates with some veryyyy nice men!! (ooo lol)

What can you expect?

I watch a few television shows from the ‘supernatural’ genre. However I think that Charmed has a slightly ‘darker’ feel than other shows such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Stereotypically I would say that Charmed is aimed at people in their late teens +, as despite the supernatural feel the show covers issues such as relationships, sex etc.

In each episode the sisters come across a new ‘demon’ they have to vanquish, and always have to overcome some kind of problem to do it, which can be anything from finding out exactly what the demon is, to facing up to some kind of personal issue.

The shows always include some kind of action sequence, a personal dilemma, as well as some funny lines:

Prue: ‘What problems?’
Piper: ‘Well it’s been a while since…you know..I…I was a little nervous, and I kinda kept freezing him’.

The show is a clever cross between real life, supernatural happenings, action and humour. True, some episodes are much better than others, but I think that anyone
who likes shows of this nature should watch a few episodes and then become addicted!

Setting the scene

The first episode of series one tells all. We find out that the sisters aren’t exactly the best of friends to start with, and that Pheobe (the youngest) has been living in New York and come back to seek refuge in the manor where the sisters lived as children. We find out that their mother died when they were young, their dad is long gone, and their Gran, who has also passed away, brought them up.
We also find out that the sisters have no idea that they are witches.

After their re-union, Pheobe decides to go up to the attic. She finds the ‘Book of Shadows’, kind of a handbook for witches.
As the attic fills with dramatic lighting, she reads the incantation in the book and ‘poof’ the sisters suddenly have magical powers.

Unaware of their ‘talents’ the girls continue to lead their normal lives, until strange things start happening.
Piper goes for a job as a chef. She is asked to cook something for her interviewer. Just before she is about to add the finishing touches to the meal her interviewer walks in and asks her to stop cooking. Realising she has run out of time, she raises her hands to stop the interviewer tasting the meal, and before you know it the interviewer is frozen.
Prue, also at work gets very annoyed by her boss and makes a ‘strangling’ gesture with her hands, yet again something strange happens and her bosses tie starts to tighten.

As for pheobe, well she has the power of premonition, as she sees a possible accident before it happens.

They realise that the incantation worked and that from now on they are destined to fight the forces of evil.

Series one focuses on the sisters as individuals, and also sees them become closer as they find out how much they really need each other.

The characters (Main characters) r>
Prue Halliwell

Prue Halliwell is played by Shannen Doherty (Beverly Hills 90210). Prue is the oldest of the 3 sisters, and as they were growing up took on the role as ‘older sister/mother’. Because of this Prue is wise beyond her years and is the most sensible and confident of the 3.
Prue has the ability to move objects with her eyes and hands. In the later series this power develops and she is able to ‘move’ herself so she can be in 2 places at once.
In the first series Prue was also the sister who held the stable job at an auction house, and often used this as an excuse to insult Pheobe who is seen as the unorganised one.

Piper Halliwell

Piper is played by Holly Marie Combs (Picket Fences). Piper is the quiet one in comparison to the other 2. Being the ‘middle’ sister she isn’t as confident as Prue, but not as impulsive as Pheobe, which means she complements the other 2 nicely.
Piper is a struggling chef, and in the first series we see her working at the restaurant ‘Quake’.
Piper has the ability to freeze things with a wave of her hands. The problem is she never knows how long things will stay frozen.

Pheobe Halliwell

Pheobe is played by Aylssa Milano (Who’s the boss?). Pheobe is the youngest sister. In my books she is definitely one of the best characters. She is impulsive, confident and you never quite know what trouble she is going to get herself into. After living in New York she decides to come back to the family home and start a new life. With no job and no qualifications she is often the target for Prue when it comes to lectures on responsibility.
Pheobe has the power of premonition. Pheobe isn’t always a fan of this power however, and often gets jealous of her sister’s ‘active’ powers. However in the later series she gains the ability to fly/levitate.

Leo

Leo is played by Brian Krause
. Leo is the sister’s ‘White-lighter’. Leo is an immortal, who acts as a ‘go between’ for the sisters and the ‘power of greater good’. He gives the sisters advice, heals them and warns them of any danger that might be heading their way.
At the start of series one Leo keeps his identity hidden from the sisters by pretending he is no more than a ‘handy-man’. This all changes however, when Pheobe sees him floating while trying to fix a light.

Various other characters are included throughout the show, but the ones above have been present throughout the series shown so far.


The Future

So far I have seen up to series 4 and the show really has got better by the season. In series 4 we see a change in the way the plots are handled. In the previous seasons the hourly show has revolved around 1 story line which has been solved by the end of the show. However in series 4 the sisters come up against a new demon (Balthazar), who takes on the human form of Cole, Assistant District Attorney.
Throughout the series, not only do we see the sisters trying to find a way to vanquish the demon, but we also see the problems ‘Cole’ comes up against when he falls in love with Pheobe. How can he fall in love with one of the witches he was sent to kill?
This really is a great story line as for the first time we have the chance to get ‘deeper’ into the show.
The current series has been filled with demons, love, challenges, and wedding bells (But I’m not going to spoil that 1 for you!). This really is a show that gets better and better….or does it???

Changes

Well it looks as though we are going to see some changes to Charmed. Shannen Doherty, who plays Prue has now left the show. A web-site said that she quit the show, while another site said that she was fired (A case of she goes or I go). Apparently Combs and Milano were fed up with Dohe
rty ‘taking over’ the show, and asking for scripts to be changed. Well whichever version is true, one fact remains, Prue Halliwell no longer exists.

The Halliwell sisters come up against the worst attack yet, and as a result lose their oldest sister Prue. So how do the ‘Charmed ones’ carry on now a part of the trio has gone?.
This is where their long lost half sister Paige is introduced. Paige (Rose McGowen – Scream), was raised by adoptive parents, and is at first reluctant to join Piper and Pheobe in the fight to vanquish evil.

The arrival of Paige means that there is a big ‘switch’ in the character ‘places’. Piper now has to take on the role as the responsible older sister, and the Pheobe we all know and love now has to give up her role as the youngest to help look after Paige.

We also see a development in the sisters powers. Piper now also has the power to make things explode, Pheobe is perfecting her martial arts skills and Paige has the power to move things.

I haven’t seen any of the new series, but have heard mixed reviews about it. Some say that it just isn’t the same without Prue, but some say the story lines have got even better. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

The downside

I really wanted to get Charmed on video, but read in a magazine that it isn’t available, and that the company who makes the show has no intentions of releasing it. Has anyone out there heard otherwise????

Well hope that gives you an idea of what Charmed is about. And I apologise if it isn’t up to my usual standard, but it’s been a while lol (Damn kidneys again!!). Seeya all for now xx