Overall view of Charmed

S

Spiral

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for me, I divide Charmed into two periods.....The Classic Period (seasons 1-3 with Shannen Doherty) and The Marginal/Shoddy Period (seasons 4 to the present)

the writing, the action the plots of seasons 1-3 were fresh and sometimes quirky but still worth watching. seasons 4 -5 were shoddy, badly written, revolving around the bloated cole and phoebe storyline which shouldve been concluded in season 3.

now, the episodes are starting to borrow more and more from mythological elements and becoming more and more generalized and less interesting.

i watch the show.....i guess for the secret hope that shannen MIGHT SOMEHOW return (hey, its an aaron spelling show and on most of his shows...."Coming back from the dead" is par for the course)

what does everyone else feel about the current state of the show?
 
I think its better now than it was, I mean now there is more drama and well I think they need to take a break with the mythology and get back to the basics, I think its great, though I do miss Shannen since she did have a certain aspect that has been lacking reciently
 
I must admit, I liked the first 3 seasons best.. Shannen was the main reason I watched the show... the whole thing going on between Phoebe and Cole was interesting to watch but it got kind of old after a while.. right now.. well I haven't seen season 6 yet (we're behind here) but I like season 5, it's different.. it will never be the way it was when it was fresh and new.. and who can ever replace Prue 😉
 
I prefer the older episodes, it was more original, its turning into a US style soap, and those type of things really make me turn off the tv.
 
that is EXACTLY what the show turned into during season 4. it took on a very drab tone with the cole/phoebe drama dominating the show and religating the other two sisters to supporting cast.

the writing was horrible, the plots sucked and Phoebe became even MORE annoying that she was before. Im amazed the show survived Shannen's departure but it has gotten better this most recent season (marginally so)
 
Darkchilde said:
that is EXACTLY what the show turned into during season 4. it took on a very drab tone with the cole/phoebe drama dominating the show and religating the other two sisters to supporting cast.

the writing was horrible, the plots sucked and Phoebe became even MORE annoying that she was before. Im amazed the show survived Shannen's departure but it has gotten better this most recent season (marginally so)
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LOL hon, this is another case where I have to disagree with you 😀

To me, Charmed is separated into two periods. The dark (and I mean literally DARK colours on screen "“ it seems to be growing increasingly brighter and easier to watch as of late), and the vibrant. It seems to me that in the dark period of season 1 -3 the focus was largely on fighting and magic. Now, there IS less fighting I admit, but it seems more varied and interesting now. With the addition of Paige you've got a more interesting personality in the mix, and it seems like a lot of things are focused on Wicca and the women that the three of them are. In past, it seemed to be focused on fight fight fight, with a little bit of men trouble thrown in here and there to make it real.

I'll admit that I do miss some of the old times because I'm a sucker for physical fighting (as you probably well know from my actions in GoW, Farrah), but sometimes its nice to have a bit of a rest from that. And while I'll agree that some episodes aren't the greatest written lately, there are some that are far more fresh than they were "˜back in the day'.

I didn't think much of season 5, but season 6 so far seems to be doing well. Overall, I think seasons 3 and 4 were the height of the show.. and I would place season 4 as Charmed's best..

I'll be posting in Prue vs Paige when I get home from college too (LOL)
 
If you look at the first three seaons (which i consider to be classic) you see that there is a freshness to the show. there was this creative flair and intrigue about the sisters, their lives and even the house they lived in that made you want to watch. the diversity between Prue, Piper and Phoebe was wonderful and at that time, I would venture to say that i even LIKED Phoebe and considered her valuable to the sisterhood at that time.

I think the show took a turn for the worst when Cole arrived and OUTLASTED his usefullness. "All Hell Breaks Loose" represented a turning point for the show but it couldve been handled so much better. Plot wise.....one might say that if Phoebe had NOT been so besotted with Cole and decided it was better for her to go down to the underworld to find HIM instead of staying above to help her sisters fight an obviously power and dangerous foe (shax) then perhaps Prue would still be alive. After all, "the power of three" will set them free right? so why did Phoebe think that Cole would be of any use in the situation? she was just plain selfish and during most of season three we saw the show changing.....the relationship between the sisters was strained PRIMARILY because Phoebe lied to her sisters about Cole, placed them in DANGER for her love of Cole and basically chose him over her sisters. This to me marked the END of the true "sisterhood" vibe that once made the show so endearing.

The show used to be about "Three sisters, who walked different paths in life, who now found their lives drawn back together and complicated by the revelation that they were witches." during season four the show seemed to be more about "Phoebe and her doomed relationship with Cole and how she would trevail to the bitter end to be with him....OH and the other two sisters would tag along" lol.
 
To me, the time when Cole outlasted his usefulness was at the end of season 4. After he was vanquished (as the source) and then came back, I started to get tired of him. It would have been better for all involved if he could have just stayed dead then... lol.

I mean, to be honest it would have been an insult to the writers intelligence if they proclaimed that a true love story was over in the course of half / three quarters of a season (season 3). True love isn't going to run over a little bit of a season, it would span years... just as Piper and Leo's did 😉 Still, I felt it had run its course by the end of season 4. I certainly ENJOYED the source storyline in season 4. The only person who didn't get much of the limelight that season was Piper, although she made up for it in past / present.
 
i guess being as indifferent to 'love storylines" as i am on shows that i think should be more action/drama (like Charmed) i just couldnt deal with Cole/Phoebe lol. I mean he was definately interesting in season 3..he was a wild card and definately one of the more intelligent, menacing villains the sisters ever faced...but Prue was on to him almost from the start. Its unfortunate that she didnt get to have a show down with Cole/Belthazor being that she was gunning for him so bad.

I can agree (because of the logic) that the storyline of cole and phoebe needed time to resolve itself...BUT you cant deny that it really took over the show in season four and thats why season 4 was really badly rated among viewers and critics. Brad Kern totally dropped the ball. The show went from focusing on an ensemble cast....to focusing on one sister and her demented boyfriend. I was RELIEVED to see Phoebe finally use her brain and turn away from him in season 5...and finally...PERMANENTLY vanquish him. that to me signaled that the show might revive. But in season 6 so far...they've spent more time being turned into different "characters" and passed off as a "magickal charlie's angels type trio" with their many "incarnations and disguises" than anything else. (IMO)

: cwm :
 
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