Charmed: The Complete - Season 1-8 [DVD]

Season One

Charmed: The Complete First Season recaptures a period when television's WB network was particularly keen on series about the supernatural and specially powered characters. The original home of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and future launch pad for Angel and Smallville, the WB debuted Charmed in 1998 with many of the same intriguing ironies that made those other shows click. Specifically, the greater a character's powers, the more vulnerable he or she becomes; the more superhuman, the more painfully obvious one's lonely, fragile humanity. The Halliwells, a trio of witch heroines and siblings at the center of Charmed, is a case in point. Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) returns to her San Francisco family home after losing her job, and moves in with her older sisters Prue (Shannen Doherty) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs). On her first night back, Phoebe finds the Book of Shadows in the attic and recites a spell giving all three women unique powers they were always meant to have: Prue suddenly has the gift of telekinesis, Piper can make time stand still, and Phoebe can see into the future. All well and good, but along with those extraordinary abilities is a new awareness of dark forces in the world from which mortals need protection. In some cases, those forces have been plotting a long time to steal the Halliwell's magical legacy once they awakened to it--and now they will never let up. Evil warlocks, demons, ancient curses, Grimlocks, and Wendigos (the last two are best left explained by their respective episodes), however, are only half the battle on this sexy dramedy, in which more ordinary matters of emotional and real-world survival also preoccupy the Halliwells. An important ally, Inspector Andy Trudeau (Ted King), is Prue's ex-lover, a delicate detail that mixes pain with duty as the couple rekindles their troubled relationship while solving otherworldly crimes. In "Dead Man Dating," Piper falls for the ghost of a murdered man who needs help, and later competes with Phoebe for the attention of a handyman, Leo (Brian Krause). Jobs and money are always an issue, too. At one time or another, Phoebe works as a psychic, Piper as a caterer, and Prue finds a job at an auction house. As with Buffy, the engine of Charmed is the seamless, sometimes-comic, sometimes-tender way in which all these dynamics in the magic and non-magic worlds blend together, presenting young adult challenges that are both unique and somehow terribly familiar. It is particularly fun to watch this series grow, deepen, and experiment during its first year. The season's true highlight is probably "That 70s Episode," in which the Halliwells go back in time to meet their younger selves. --Tom Keogh

Season Two

Charmed: The Complete Second Season finds San Francisco's favourite and fetching trio of witches, the Halliwell sisters, still battling supernatural forces while trying to make sense of their tricky personal lives. It has been a year since Prue (Shannen Doherty), Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), and Piper (Holly Marie Combs), were each endowed with a unique, magical ability after discovering the Book of Shadows in their attic, and while Phoebe and Piper are in the mood for celebrating, Prue is emotionally incapable of using her telekinetic gifts. Powerless to have saved her ex-lover, Andy Trudeau (Ted King), from death in Season 1, Prue's grief prevents her from cooperating with her sisters in a battle against a demon who steals the all-important Book. That's just the beginning of the Halliwells' otherworldly troubles. The second season finds the sisters also taking on brain-zapping Warlocks, a Demon of Hate, a Darklighter who inspires thoughts of suicide among the living, evil witches, and--get this--the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who turn out to be quite dapper (albeit nasty) fellows. Meanwhile, Piper struggles to raise $60,000 to open a happening new club (at a site where two other clubs have failed) while also juggling romantic feelings for two guys, one a hunky new neighbor and the other last season's handyman character, Leo (Brian Krause), who turns out to be a Whitelighter (a kind of an angel). Prue's job at the art gallery gets a bit wobbly, and she gives unintentionally mixed signals to a very nice man who likes her a lot. Phoebe, for her part, is still in school and meets a handsome prospect at a dating service--then has to save him from a succubus (a female demon who seduces men and then kills them). Season highlights include the episode "She's a Man, Baby, a Man," in which Prue--due to a botched spell--becomes a man (a clever and funny performance by Doherty). In a reversal of Tootsie's feminist theme, Prue learns how to be a better woman for having a been a man, though a lot more repairs take place at the house while she's a he. "Animal Pragmatism" concerns yet another spell gone awry, this one turning a pig, a rabbit, and a snake into full-grown men with the characteristics of the creatures they were. The final show, "Be Careful What You Witch For," is a lot of fun, co-starring French Stewart as a genie who makes a lot of mischief at the same time the sisters are trying to put a Dragon Warlock in his place. --Tom Keogh

Season Three

Charmed: The Complete Third Season is a little different from its previous seasons in that the long-running series, for the first time, is dominated by a single story arc that affects nearly every episode. Actor Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck, Fantastic Four) joins the Charmed cast as Assistant District Attorney Cole Turner, who enters the show when he unsuccessfully prosecutes a demon-possessed killer who attacks the Halliwell sisters' police ally, Inspector Morris (Dorian Gregory). In short order, Cole becomes romantically involved with Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), but it's soon revealed that he's actually a demon, part of an unholy plot to destroy the Charmed Ones, i.e. the Halliwell sisters. Trouble is, Cole's human incarnation begins to battle with his demon self, and the rest of the season is really dedicated to the ramifications of his ambivalence. Even old issues on Charmed, such as the forbidden love of Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Leo (Brian Krause), an angelic Whitelighter, become secondary to the Cole-Phoebe story. (The latter becomes supernatural when Phoebe's misery over Cole turns her into a shrieking Banshee and the pair meet up in the hellish Dark Side.) Season highlights include "Primrose Empath," in which Shannen Doherty gives a superb performance when her character, Prue Halliwell, takes on the powers of an empath and is soon overwhelmed by the emotional pain carried by scores of others. "Sleuthing with the Enemy" finds Prue and Piper, in the first of several such stories, working at opposite purposes from Phoebe, who is intent on saving Cole from capture or destruction. The clever and comic "Look Who's Barking" concerns a spell that turns Prue into a Banshee-tracking dog who gets hit by a car and briefly becomes the pet of a handsome, single man. Season finale "All Hell Breaks Loose" may be the best Charmed episode in its first three years, a scary and apocalyptic tale in which the powers of the Halliwell sisters, long kept secret, are revealed to an insatiable news media, the police and military, and dangerous crazies. Not to be missed. --Tom Keogh

Season Four

Charmed: The Complete Fourth Season is a captivating story of big changes in the world of the Halliwell sisters. San Francisco witches Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs) grieve the loss of Prue (Shannen Doherty) at the same time they discover the existence of a fourth Halliwell sibling: Paige (Rose McGowan ), offspring of the girls' late mother and a Whitelighter (thus making Paige part witch and part angel). Paige was raised as an adopted child, but has been aware of her sisters for awhile. Still, she's ambivalent about joining forces with them (despite having two powers instead of the usual one), and Piper--now the oldest of the surviving sisters, reluctantly taking over Prue's position as leader--is in no hurry to welcome Paige into the fold. Blood and loyalty prevail, however, and soon Paige takes over Phoebe's old role as screw-up rookie, mangling potions and causing havoc (such as switching bodies with Phoebe at an inopportune time). But her strong survival sense, compassion, and ability to read people (she's studying to become a social worker) add a powerful new weapon to the Halliwell arsenal. Meanwhile, several key storylines from the third season carry over to this new year, notably the running drama concerning demon-with-a-soul Cole (Julian McMahon) and his ongoing battle to stay free of hell's wrath while maintaining dark powers. His romance with Phoebe leads them to become ruler and queen of the Underworld, where Phoebe's loyalty is tested and a demonic baby enters the picture. Piper and her husband, Whitelighter Leo (Brian Krause), deal with sorrow over Prue and frustration over not being able to have a child, and the sisters' police ally, Inspector Morris (Dorian Gregory), has to contend with an out-of-control boss bent on charging the Halliwells with a crime. All that and a witch-hunter and appearance by the angel of destiny, who offers to relieve the witches of their magical burden. The most impressive aspect of the fourth season is the way Doherty's loss isn't treated as a mere vacuum to be filled with a new body, but is taken as an opportunity to reinvent the show in several crucial ways. --Tom Keogh

Season Five

Sexy, silly, sardonic, somber: the fifth season of Charmed finds the Charmed Ones--sisters Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Paige (Rose McGowan)--on an emotional roller coaster. Yet they're also in a fairly comfortable groove with one another. McGowan, who joined the cast in year 4 as a replacement for Shannen Doherty, is now a perfect fit, turning Paige into a self-deprecating, uber-witch whose clipped dialogue meshes beautifully with Milano's neurotic phrasing and Combs' no-nonsense bark. Season 5 ties up a lot of loose ends, heralds some major shifts in the show's running narrative, and ushers in a couple of new characters. One of the latter is Piper's baby by husband Leo (Brian Krause), the angelic Whitelighter whose role as an emissary of the heavenly Elders changes dramatically in the two-part finale, "Oh, My Goddess!" Before that happens, however, Phoebe must contend with the reappearance of her husband, the demon Cole (Julian McMahon), who is determined to win her back by proving his evil nature is under control. As usual, all the sisters must use the Power of Three to protect a number of vulnerable mortals, and even some immortals. Among these are a mermaid whose immortality is sought by a greedy demon, several wood nymphs frolicking in the streets of San Francisco, and married men targeted by a hot Siren with a killer kiss. Season highlights include "Happily Ever After," in which characters from multiple fairy tales come to life; "Lucky Charmed," a fun story introducing a demon-vanquishing Leprechaun; and "Sense and Sense Ability," a clever drama in which Phoebe goes deaf, Piper becomes blind, and Paige turns mute as the result of a wicked witch's spell. The aforementioned finale sees all three sisters officially acknowledged as the goddesses they truly are. But it also introduces a new, major character, Chris (Drew Fuller), who seems benevolent but may very well be a wolf in sheep's clothing. We shall see. --Tom Keogh

Season Seven

The challenges come fast and furious for the Halliwell sisters in Charmed: The Complete Seventh Season. Some of them are pretty exotic, too: a visit from Lady Godiva, who inspires a certain, unexpected freedom in witchy sisters Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Paige (Rose McGowan) while dodging the evil designs of a nasty land baron. Shakti and Shiva, the ultimate lovers of Hinduism, manage to occupy the bodies of Piper and still-evolving Whitelighter Leo (Brian Krause) at a very bad time: The consummation of their love will destroy the universe. An ex-demon turned professor at the Magic School falls under a spell that causes him to believe he's Robin Hood and that Phoebe is Maid Marian. And it goes on like that: an invisible demon posing as an imaginary friend to a child; a time-travel trip to 1899 (and the site of a tragic fire) that strands Phoebe; the arrival of Pandora's Box in the hands of a shape-shifting visitor from the Underworld. Things never quiet down for the Halliwells, and their lives are even more complicated by Zankou (Oded Fehr), who shows up in a running storyline about his effort to release the Shadow, the ultimate power, and steal the Book of Shadows, which is crucial to the sisters' witchcraft. Meanwhile, Leo must make a crucial choice in order to release Piper and Phoebe from their deaths at the hands of yet another demon: Should he save them or engage in magic that will ultimately rob him of his free will? An exciting season full of new changes and characters, transitions, children, and much else, Charmed: The Complete Seventh Season carries on this long-running television show's breathless pace and intriguing mix of the arcane and ordinary. --Tom Keogh

Season Eight

Season eight of Charmed brings the story of the Halliwell sisters to a satisfying conclusion, but not without a lot of bumps on the road for the witchy trio. The season begins with Paige (Rose McGowan ), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano)--exhausted after years of magical responsibility for protecting the mortal world and fighting off demons--pretending to be dead and hiding behind new appearances. (The characters, when seen in mirrored reflections or through the eyes of others, are played by different actresses.) The gambit works smoothly for awhile, until each of the sisters begins missing aspects of her old life and feeling a sense of responsibility for protecting the innocent. Meanwhile, a gaggle of restless, young demons suspect that the Halliwells aren’t really dead at all, and are out to prove it. While fending off new demonic plots to take over the sisters’ San Francisco home and seize control of a school of magic, Piper and Phoebe’s father, Victor (James Read), takes care of Piper and Leo’s kids at the near cost of his own life. Also, Phoebe falls for a sculptor (Jason Lewis) early in the season and Cupid (Victor Webster) himself later on; Paige considers a career in law enforcement; and a newcomer arrives on the scene: Billie (Kaley Cuoco), a young witch with a flashy, Buffy-like style as demon-slayer. Billie’s story provides a narrative backbone to Charmed: The Final Season. Powerful but untutored, Billie reluctantly becomes a protégé of Paige, learning the ropes of witchcraft just as Paige did a couple of seasons back. The problem is that Billie makes a well-intentioned mess of a number of situations (at one point, she draws the attention of a Homeland Security agent to her powers), and then goes rogue when her long-lost sister shows up and turns Billie against the Halliwells. The latter half of the season slowly draws to a showdown between the two sets of siblings, but as always, there are lot of storylines with plenty of other issues and action to worry about. Longtime Charmed fans will certainly enjoy the series finale, an imaginative, time-travel tale in which some of the main characters meet different versions of themselves, and we all get a peek into what the future holds in store for the Halliwells as individual women. --Tom Keogh