charmed

Charmed is an American television series that ran for eight seasons on The WB. It was produced by the late Aaron Spelling and is about three sisters who are the world's most powerful good witches, known throughout the supernatural community as "The Charmed Ones" but known to everyone else as the Halliwells. Each sister possesses unique magical powers that grow and evolve over the course of their lives. The Charmed Ones live together in a manor and use their supernatural abilities to battle the warlocks, demons and other evil forces that populate San Francisco, California.

The show was the last in its generation of supernatural-themed shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Roswell, and has many times been noted for its mixing of multiple genres (from horror and fantasy to comedy and even soap), as well as continuing after a number of archetypal jump the shark moments, most famously the departure of one of the leading actresses at the end of season three. It also had the highest rated debut (until the debut of Smallville at 8.40 million), for the WB Television Network, with 7.70 million viewers tuning in for the series premiere, "Something Wicca This Way Comes".

In January 2006, with the airing of "Payback's a Witch", Charmed became the longest running show with all-female leads, surpassing Laverne & Shirley. The series ended its run on May 21, 2006.^[1] The Charmed series finale, "Forever Charmed", pulled in a season high of 4.49 million viewers.

Premise

The story of Charmed began with the three Halliwell sisters — Prue, Piper and Phoebe — coming together six months after the death of their grandmother. Moving back into the family Manor in San Francisco, the youngest sister, Phoebe, discovered an old book — the Book of Shadows — in the attic. Reading an incantation from it, she unwittingly set in motion events that fulfilled an ancient prophecy. Strange and harrowing occurrences began which eventually led the sisters to realize that they are witches.

They discovered that not only do they possess supernatural powers, they come from a long line of powerful witches. The first in the line, Melinda Warren, was burned at the stake. However, before she died, Melinda prophesied that each coming generation of Warren (later Halliwell) witches would grow stronger and stronger, culminating in the arrival of three sisters -- the strongest good witches the world had ever seen.

Prue Halliwell, the oldest sister, developed the power of telekinesis, later gaining the power of astral projection. Piper, the middle child, was initially given the power to freeze molecules, later developing the power to blow things up, molecular combustion. Phoebe, the youngest sister, had the original power of premonitions, later obtaining the power to levitate; in addition, her empathic powers developed in later years.

After the tragic death of Prue, it was revealed that the sisters had a younger half-sister named Paige, born to their mother Patty and Sam, her Whitelighter, a guardian angel for witches. As such a relationship was forbidden and unheard of at the time, the baby was given to a nun and later adopted by the Matthews family. Her birth parents requested only that her first name begin with 'P', to continue the tradition. From her whitelighter father, Paige inherited the power to "orb". This also had an effect on the powers she inherited from Patty: instead of telekinesis, Paige is able to call for an object; the object in question will then either orb to her or to a location she directs with her thoughts or gestures. Though this power requires the use of verbal commands, she has been able to do so silently when in a state of enhanced power, and in a few other instances. This power is called telekinetic orbing. Halfway through Season 8, Paige developed more of her whitelighter side by being able to heal.

A central theme throughout the show's run is the sisters' struggle to balance normal lives with their supernatural responsibilities. The burden of keeping their destinies a secret from the outside world has repeatedly created tensions in their friendships, workplaces, and romantic relationships. Only a few knew their secret and helped them on a regular basis. The most important is Leo Wyatt, a Whitelighter assigned by the Elders to guide and protect the sisters. Leo means a great deal to the sisters both professionally and personally: he heals their wounds, advises them collectively and individually, and mediates between them and the enigmatic Elders. He also becomes the love of Piper's life, her husband and father of her children. Others who have kept the Charmed Ones' secret over the years include policemen Andy Trudeau and Darryl Morris, tormented half-demon Cole Turner, the mysterious time-traveler Chris Perry, the sisters Christy and Billie Jenkins, and Paige's husband, Henry Mitchell.

Characters

Main

• Prudence "Prue" Halliwell - (Shannen Doherty) (Seasons 1-3)

Born October 28, 1970, Prue was the eldest Halliwell sister. Born with the power of telekinesis, she later manifested an astral projection ability. Strong-willed and intelligent, she would often take charge of situations and had always been overprotective of her two sisters, Piper and Phoebe. Having spent her childhood taking care of her two younger sisters after the death of their mother, she became responsible, with a fierce determination at whatever she did, including fighting demons. Though at times Prue let pride dictate her way of handling things, she never let her personal life interfere with her work life. On May 17, 2001, in an attempt to save an innocent, Prue sacrificed her own life; she was killed by Shax, a hired hitman sent by the Source.

• Piper Halliwell - (Holly Marie Combs)

Piper was born on August 7, 1973, and was the middle child until Prue's death. Her powers include the ability to freeze and explode objects at will. She was most concerned with having a normal life, and always had reservations about her life as a Charmed One. When she first became a Charmed One she was quiet and reserved; often having to mediate between Prue and Phoebe. As the show progressed she gained a stronger persona and took more authority after Prue died. She eventually became a mother of two sons with her husband Leo Wyatt, and went to great lengths to protect her children. In the series finale, the final montage shows her with a granddaughter.^[2]Piper is great at mediating and arbitrating. Her love of food steered her to a career in the culinary arts, which led her to own a club and as revealed in the last episode, her own restaurant.

• Phoebe Halliwell - (Alyssa Milano)

Phoebe, born November 2, 1975 was the original baby of the family and is a spontaneous, free-spirited young woman. The power she was born with was premonitions, which grew to enable her to see into the past as well as the future, later allowing the ability to project herself into the future; she later gained the powers of levitation which she combines with her martial arts skills to knock down demons and magical empathy but later lost the latter two. She is a romantic, and later became a successful columnist and author. She often had a turbulent relationship with her older sister Prue, and later mediated between Piper and Paige. She has a strong intuitive sense and she is able to anticipate events with her power of premonition. Her longest relationships were with Cole Turner for over a year, and Coop, from 2006 into the distant future. She and Coop were married by the Angel of Destiny as seen in the last episode, and eventually had three girls. She continued working at the Bay Mirror and also wrote a book on finding love.

• Paige Matthews - (Rose McGowan) (Seasons 4-8)

Born on August 2, 1977 after a secret love affair with her Whitelighter Samuel Wilder, the Charmed Ones' mother, Patty Halliwell, gave birth to a fourth daughter. Paige was put up for adoption because her parents' love was forbidden. Her personality is bold and vibrant, adding a new dynamic to the show from season 4 onwards. Paige's birth power was telekinesis, but because she was part Whitelighter this ability combined with her natural orbing to create telekinetic-orbing. She came into the craft quickly, aiding in the vanquish of The Source of All Evil. In Season 8 she gained the ability to heal those she loved, starting with Henry. She was driven to become a "full-time witch", and had a hard time finding a career she was content with, eventually settling with her destiny as a Whitelighter, like her father. Paige married mortal parole officer Henry Mitchell and they had two twin daughters and a son, Henry Jr.

Supporting

• Andy Trudeau - (Ted King) (Season 1)

Andy was the sisters' childhood friend, and Prue's love interest. He served as the sisters' initial connection to the police force and what it gets to know of the sisters' activity, as well as the first conflict (in Andy and Prue's relationship) between the girls' secret life and normal life. Andy died in a battle against evil when trying to protect the girls.

• Darryl Morris - (Dorian Gregory) (Seasons 1-7)

Darryl was Andy's partner, who took over Andy's role as the Halliwells' police connections. He continued covering up for the sisters, until his wife, due to the danger of protecting the sisters' identity, forced him to move to another state.

• Leo Wyatt - (Brian Krause) (Recurring Season 1; Seasons 2-8)

Leo was the sisters' Whitelighter to begin with, initially watching over the sisters but soon becoming involved romantically with Piper. Leo's magical promotions provided the show's portrayal of a supernatural ladder of success and struggle between career and family. His relationship with Piper was the first of many conflicts between the Halliwells and the Elders.

• Dan Gordon - (Greg Vaughan) (Season 2)

Dan moved into the house next door with his niece, Jenny. At the first glimpse, he instantly fell in love with Piper. They temporarily dated, but Dan could not take the place of Piper's first love, Leo. He later moved away due to a spell gone wrong and finding out that Piper & Leo were magically connected.

• Jenny Gordon - (Karis Paige Bryant) (Season 2)

Jenny was Dan's niece. She was written off suddenly.

• Cole Turner - (Julian McMahon) (Seasons 3-5)

Cole was Phoebe's first husband. He was a half upper-level demon named Belthazor, later taking in the The Source power, and other forms. He continued to watch over Phoebe silently, unseen.

• Adult Chris Halliwell - (Drew Fuller) (Season 6)

Chris came from the future to help defeat The Titans and save Wyatt from evil that took him over in the future. His adult form died at the hands of Gideon.

• Billie Jenkins - (Kaley Cuoco) (Season 8)

Billie is Paige's charge. Making her believe she was the ultimate power she was swayed to believe the Charmed Ones were turned evil by greed to have a normal life by her sister, Christy, but came to her senses. She babysits Phoebe's children in the future.

Recurring

• Penelope "Penny" Halliwell (Grams) - (Jennifer Rhodes)
• Patricia "Patty" Halliwell (Mom) - (Finola Hughes) (seasons 1 - 5, 7 - 8)
• Victor Bennet - (James Read) (seasons 3 - 8)
• Sam Wilder - (Scott Jaeck) (seasons 2, 5, 8)
• Little Wyatt Matthew Halliwell - (Jason & Kristopher Simmons) (seasons 5 - 8)
• Older Wyatt Matthew Halliwell - (Wes Ramsey) (seasons 6 - 8)
• Little Christopher "Chris" Perry Halliwell (seasons 7 & 8)
• Elise Rothman - (Rebecca Balding) (seasons 4-8)

Billing order

In the first three seasons, the actresses portraying the Charmed Ones are billed according to the ages of their characters: Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano. The initial five episodes lists the actors/characters as Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, T.W. King, Dorian Gregory, and Alyssa Milano. Beginning with episode six, the Charmed Ones are listed by character age, followed by the inspectors Andy Trudeau and Darryl Morris. From the 4th season onwards, the veteran leading actresses receive the coveted first and last billing while their new costar gets the middle spot: Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan, and Holly Marie Combs as "Piper". From the fourth season onwards, the leads are then followed by whichever supporting players are contracted for that particular season. If one of the supporting players does not appear in a particular episode, his/her name also does not appear in the opening credits. Brian Krause, who became a main cast member halfway through the second season, was in virtually every episode by the third season. His name is listed fourth in the credits from season three onwards, apart from in season eight where Kaley Cuoco (Billie) took that spot.

Episodes

Main article: List of Charmed episodes

Recurring themes

Character development struggles

With the series always focusing on the constant development of their main characters, each of the main characters had recurring problem points of their lives. As women in their late twenties and early thirties, the sisters constantly had to cope with balancing their magical lives with their everyday and professional lives (Prue's professional career, Phoebe's studies and afterwards her job, Piper's role as a mother, and Paige's accepting magic as a general part of her life). Another returning source of personal conflict was the sisters' love life, the problems that arise from hiding a part of their lives from their human relationships (most notably the relationship of Prue and Andy, of Piper and Dan, of Phoebe and Jason, and of Paige and Henry) and hiding their often forbidden relationships with members of the magical community from the rest of the magical community (most notably Leo and Piper's conflict with the Elders, and Phoebe loving a half-demon Cole).

Death of the main characters

As the sisters had to struggle with many forces of darkness, death was not an uncommon event in their lives. Each of the sisters died at several points of the series, with Piper dying eight times, Phoebe dying seven times, Paige dying seven times and Prue dying three times. Except for Prue Halliwell's death in the third season finale, the protagonists always found a way out to return the respective Halliwells into life.

Exposition of magic

In the world of Charmed, the existence of magic and the forces of benevolent and malevolent magic remains hidden from the rest of the world. A recurring problem in episodes was the way to fight the forces of evil without being exposed, and the shows writers showed what would happen in the episode All Hell Breaks Loose. In the episode, Piper is shot and killed by a woman who thought they were mean witches. Incidentally, that is the episode where Prue dies.

Show changes

In its eight-year course, Charmed underwent many changes, including departure of cast and crew members, some of which had a large impact on the series as a whole. While in the case of some of the newer changes executive producer Brad Kern openly referred to budget cuts as the reason, most of the changes happened without the reasons being released into public, giving rise to much speculation and debates among fans. Some of the changes are frequent topics of argument in almost every Charmed Internet forum even today, most notably the Kern-Burge and the Milano-Doherty disputes.

Initial changes

• Originally Lori Rom was cast as Phoebe but she left the production soon after shooting began. Parts of the first episode had to be reshot with her replacement Alyssa Milano.
• The Book of Shadows was moved from where it initially was set (in a chest) to a podium.
• Charmed was picked up for a full season after the ratings success of the first two episodes, according to the documentary The Women of Charmed produced in 1999. By then, the first few (most probably six) episodes had completed production. Some of the crew were then replaced, including the series' composer (thus discontinuing the use of the many chime instruments characteristic of the opening episodes).
• Some basic story elements of the Charmed world laid down in the initial six episodes were later changed. The Book of Shadows was later established as untouchable by evil; Grams' husband and grandfather of the three sisters had his name and time frame changed; the sisters having a relationship with their father even though in the initial episodes they wanted nothing to do with him. Also, the time frame of Victor Bennett leaving his wife (the girls' mother) was changed occasionally throughout the series.

Changes in story structure

Between the second and the third season, creator and executive producer Constance M. Burge had left the crew of the show, leaving her former position to executive producer Brad Kern. Burge continued to produce other shows, but remained as creative consultant until season four.^[3] Burge's departure resulted in changes in the story structure of the show, from a "demon of the week" system to using third- or half- season-long story arcs. Also, more importance was given to the protagonists' personal lives.

The serial connection of episodes culminated in the second half of season four. Despite the ratings actually rising during season four's final story arc from 4.19 to 4.21, the WB asked Brad Kern to abandon the serial system in the future. This led to the largely episodic structure of season five, and resulted in the two systems being balanced from the sixth season. The departure of Constance M. Burge has been often debated in Charmed fandom. While reasons were never made public, unsupported claims (such as Burge leaving because she did not agree to the introduction of the character Cole or because of the story arc-episodic structure debate) still circulate among fans debating over whether Kern or Burge would be a better producer.

Departure of Shannen Doherty

At the end of the third season, Shannen Doherty left the show, resulting in her character's death, and in the introduction of Rose McGowan's character Paige. While in the episode, "Death Takes a Halliwell" the Angel of Death foreshadowed Prue's death, "All Hell Breaks Loose" (the season three finale) remained as a cliffhanger, and Prue's death was only established in the season four premiere episode. Fan speculation continues to this day, some pointing to rumors of on-set issues with Doherty regarding punctual appearance at work and tension with co-workers, others putting blame on Alyssa Milano for reasons such as her supposedly asking the show's producers to let Doherty go. These rumors even today lead to harsh debates and flame wars over whether it was Doherty's, Milano's or someone else's "fault" that Doherty left.

Doherty's departure is the best-known change in Charmed, and while there is debate over whether the show got better or worse after Prue's death, it is most often agreed that after season three the characters' dynamics changed, and the individual sisters' storylines became more balanced.

Timeslot changes

The show witnessed multiple changes in its timeslot. From its initial Wednesday night, Charmed moved to Thursday nights in Season Two, and starting with Season Five it moved again, this time to Sunday nights, to anchor "The WB's Big Sunday" event. The change in broadcast day played a central role in the show's change of ratings, as from the moment Charmed moved to Sunday, its episodes had to continually compete with other strong-rated shows such as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and The Simpsons, as well as events such as the Golden Globes.

Changes in the Charmed universe

In the first three seasons, the magical world of Charmed introduced original concepts such as the spiritual nexus or the workings of the show's witchcraft, and involved creatures such as Whitelighters and Darklighters, and also a number of mythological creatures not frequently adapted to television, such as the Woogyman, the Wendigo or the Banshee. This is probably attributable to Constance M. Burge, as well as story editor Robert Masello, introduced as the show's mythology expert (as seen in the 1999 documentary Women of Charmed). Only once they have completed the power of 3 can they receive their powers, as demonstrated by the introduction of the youngest of the four sisters, Paige Matthews.

Gradually from the fourth season, besides keeping the dominance of creatures with attributes explicitly created to conform to the storylines, Charmed started to rely more heavily on using creatures from classical (i.e. Greek and Roman) mythology as well as from miscellaneous folklore items well-known in contemporary culture.

Budget cuts

Budget cuts in the last few seasons have led to many minor, and a few major changes in the show.

• Budget cuts have caused demons to gradually become entirely human-like from the monsters with rich costumes and make-up witnessed in the first seasons.
• One of the most notable budget-related changes was the WB's decision not to include Brian Krause and Dorian Gregory in season eight. As Brad Kern said in a number of interviews, he had to restructure the budget to include Krause in as many as ten episodes, to avoid abruptly ending his storyline. Enough money was saved to include Krause in the final two episodes of the series.
• In an interview in Charmed Magazine Issue 8, Brad Kern revealed that in season eight Kern, executive producers Aaron Spelling and E. Duke Vincent and a number of crew members opted to reduce their own salaries in order to maintain the show's quality, as the budget of the season was reduced by twenty percent.

Soundtracks

Charmed: The Soundtrack (2003)

1. "Hot" — Smash Mouth
2. "Danger" — Third Eye Blind
3. "Maybe Tomorrow" — Stereophonics
4. "Rinse" — Vanessa Carlton
5. "I Can't Take It" — Andy Stochansky
6. "Worn Me Down" — Rachel Yamagata
7. "Do You Realize" — Flaming Lips
8. "New Favorite Things" — Balligomingo featuring Lucy Woodward
9. "Rainbow In The Sky" — Ziggy Marley
10. "How Soon Is Now" — Love Spit Love

Charmed: The Book of Shadows (2005)

1. "Take It Off" — The Donnas
2. "Take A Look" — Liz Phair
3. "Sand In My Shoes" — Dido
4. "Fallen (Dan The Automator Remix)" — Sarah McLachlan
5. "I Can't Make Me (Chris Lord Algo Remix)" — Butterfly Boucher
6. "San Francisco" — Vanessa Carlton
7. "Pieces Of Me (David Garcia And High Spies Remix)" — Ashlee Simpson
8. "Unbroken" — Missy Higgins
9. "Free (Swiss American Federation Club Remix)" — Sarah Brightman
10. "I Close My Eyes" — Shivaree
11. "Home" — Zero 7

Charmed: The Final Chapter (2006)

1. "Baby Got Going" — Liz Phair
2. "Pinch Me" — Barenaked Ladies
3. "Needs" — Collective Soul
4. "Good Enough" — Sarah McLachlan
5. "Weight Of The World" — Chantal Kreviazuk
6. "Tears From The Moon" — Conjure One feat. Sinéad O'Connor
7. "Superfabulous" — BT feat. Rose McGowan
8. "Weave" — Rusted Root
9. "Goodbye" — Natalie Imbruglia
10. "Stolen Car" — Beth Orton
11. "Bell, Book & Candle" — Eddi Reader
12. "Name Of The Game" — The Crystal Method

Syndication and DVDs

Main article: Charmed broadcasters and DVD releases

References

1. ^ ""Charmed" Spell Is Broken" Eonline.com. URL Accessed June 6, 2006.
2. ^ Shooting scripts released prior to the airing of the episode referred to the character as Piper's daughter, and even named her Melinda. The scene was not altered, these notes were part of the directions. Furthermore, the actresses playing Phoebe's eldest two daughters are in fact different actresses to the one shown in this scene.
3. ^ Constance M. Burge bio Imdb.com. URL Accessed June 6, 2006.

External links

• The WB's official Charmed website
• Charmed at the Internet Movie Database
• Charmed at TV.com