More than Charmed, I'm Sure

Charmed, produced by none other than Mr. Aaron Spelling, is currently the Warner Brothers network's most popular show. The question lurking in many people's minds is, how is this so? I mean after all, isn't it just another "Sabrina the Teenage Witch?" If you answer yes, you couldn't be any further from the truth.

What's All the Fuss About? The Beginning and the Prophecy...

A little bit of history must first come into play for those who are prospective fans of the show, but want to "seriously" consider the material of the show before they waste an hour out of their lives every week. Cliff note's version: "A supernatural one-hour drama from Spelling Television, Charmed chronicles the conflicts and the love among three vastly different sisters and their need to come together to fulfill an ancient witchcraft prophecy," (WB Official Site). And yes, that basically raps it up in a nutshell.

Depending on your perspective, unfortunately or fortunately, like all shows Charmed has many facets and aspects to both the magical and human realms of each sister’s lives. Let's take a moment to consider them, shall we?

A Magic of Orbing, Foreseeing, and Freezing

The Halliwell sisters, affectionately known as the "Charmed Ones" are the greatest good source of magic the world has seen to date. According to the witchcraft prophecy, viewers are introduced to the notion that three sisters must band together to constitute the Power of Three, a force so strong that it can 'vanquish' virtually every demon or warlock known. The origin of the Charmed Ones traces back to the late 1600s by a great ancestor named Melinda Warren.

Melinda Warren allegedly mastered three powers: the ability to move things with her mind, to freeze things, and to foresee the future. Each generation of "Warren" witches would spontaneously grow stronger and stronger until the culmination of the Charmed Ones was at hand.

Prudence (played by Shannen Doherty, Beverly Hills 90210), Piper (Holly Marie Combs, Picket Fences), and Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano, Who's the Boss?) are these very sisters: each sister received the powers described above, respectively. By the end of season three, each sister had gained an additional power; an advancement that is supposedly an offshoot or "growth" of their original power. Prudence (or Prue) was able to move her body as well, through the form of astral projection, a power that enabled her to be in two places at once. Piper, the middle sister, was able to accelerate molecules just like how she was able to slow them down, thus "exploding" any object or demon at will. Phoebe's second power is a bit far-fetched, but we will save this subject for a topic of discussion later on. Suffice to say, she gained the ability to levitate.

By the beginning of season four, however, Prue is dead and the remaining sisters are mourning at her funeral. Enter Paige Matthews, the offspring of the Charmed One's mother Patricia Halliwell and her whitelighter Sam. With the addition of their newfound sister, Piper and Phoebe are once again able to reconstitute the Charmed Ones, carrying on the legacy that Prue would have wanted them to fulfill.

Being a half-witch half guardian angel (whitelighter) allows Paige to master Prue's ability of telekinesis, but in a slightly different manner. Instead, she calls for objects rather than by moving them with her hand. In the process, things orb. For the average lei viewer, orb is quite simply, "teleporting."

Supernatural, yet Believable

What's this you say? An oxymoron? For those of us who have been with the show since it first aired "Something Wicca Comes this Way," this is, as the old adage goes, beating a dead horse. Most who watch this show are captivated at least in part by the magic that Spelling and Kern bring to the average wide screen TV. After all, everywhere we go, we are constantly reminded that we are no better than the laws of gravity that confines us to this sometimes "wretched earth." But Charmed, like other shows such as Smallville, Batman, Spiderman, and even Power Rangers, provides an outlet for us. It is understandable, if not expected, that at least once in our lives we have always dreamed of having superpowers, or abilities that allow us to perform a tremendous amount of good when all that seems to dominant is havoc.

At the same time, though, Charmed is a series where we can often relate our troubles to those of each sister. In this light, we are grounded a bit more to a realistic point of view. As a result, it is not at all shocking that Charmed entertains teenagers and adults alike.

Viewers much like yourself are reminded of what it is to have a sister, and how in turn your relationship with your siblings can be soured or brightened by minute and petty issues. The degree to which these ideas are articulated in Charmed is nothing short of phenomenal. Consider the following situations where the power of three has been severed:

1) The sisters use their power on each other, thus breaking the sisterly bonds they shared. This breaks the Power of Three.
2) The Charmed Ones go back in time to reverse a blessed ring now in the hands of a deadly warlock. This renders each sister powerless, breaking the Power of Three.
3) The Halliwell's are dis-empowered by an evil witch. Powers disappear.
4) A magical sink, namely The Hollow, absorbs all magic. Piper and Paige lose their powers.

Consequently, under a variety of situations are powered either considered useless or impractical. Moreover, powers are ideally tied to emotions. In this manner, it is understandable that self-confidence plays a role in the function of wicken powers, much like how an athlete performs poorly if self-esteem is considerably low.

The Discrepancy, Discontinuity, and Add In that is less than Charming

Before I begin bashing the manner in which the show has been run, it is my belief that Charmed deserves a sense of recognition for the fabulous replacement of Lori Rom (Dawson's Creek) with Alyssa Milano as "Phoebe Halliwell."
While the previous paragraphs focused on where Charmed succeeds, there are a few areas where the show's producers have a bit of explaining to do.

The most notable, of all, is of course, the abrupt departure of Shannen Doherty, alias Prudence Halliwell. By the end of season three, each sister is faced with a certain doom: Prue and Piper are hurled through a wall, each suffering from severe internal bleeding; Phoebe is stuck in the underworld. For many of us, the real reason why Prue was killed off is crystal clear: allegedly, Doherty and Milano had more than their share of differences.

But all things considered, the writer's were faced with an obstacle: how to explain the disappearance of Doherty's character. To do this, they took the only course of action that was mildly "buyable;" killing Prue off would make way for another long-lost sister. This replacement, or lack of transition, had a few notable flaws:

1) Charmed has never left anything to this scale unexplained and open for speculation.
2) The demise of Prue, the strongest Charmed One, would cause a major reduction in magic that is the Power of Three.
3) How is it that Patty and Sam were able to conceal this secret for a very long time?

Points one and two are left largely up to the viewer. The last point is explained briefly, but many find it hard to imagine that hiding such a feat could continue for such a long time. After all, Prue and Paige are separated by six years, so it is logical that Prue recognized her mother's pregnancy, and as a result, could have told her sisters years later.

The second point re-hashes more criticism. Since Paige is only half-witch, the Power of Three should be remarkably less powerful than the original power of three. Granted, the prophecies foretell of three sisters, but one would think that Paige's half-whitelighter side somewhat suppresses her wicken half when compared to her full-witchy sisters. Throughout season four, and now season five, this does not seem to be the case. In fact, Paige seems to be even more powerful than Phoebe, a fact that even the source of all evil claims to be true in the memorable episode of "Charmed and Dangerous."

The Nuts and Bolts of Charmed: Watch it or Not?

I'll be honest with you, those who are into the thought-provoking, deep, spiritual, and originally written scripts are not going to like Charmed. Many times, the show is just plain predictable. In virtually every episode, the plot is largely drawn out and a considerable amount of material could be cut to bring to viewers the real meat and juice of what they really want.

Charmed is, as I would consider, a show targeted mainly toward teens and young adults who simply want to relax and enjoy an entertaining yet simplistic representation of a supernatural drama.

If you are a person who is into solving murder mysteries, exploring new themes, contemplating complex issues, or speculating on an episode with a multitude of possible meanings, I suggest you watch another show, perhaps Alias. Without a doubt, you will be less than Charmed. If you do not fit the above criteria, then perhaps you should indeed consider watching the series that is Charmed.


Recommended: Yes

Type of Program: Drama
Program Quality: Entertaining, but not intellectually or emotionally engaging
Best Suited For: Kids to Teens