The Case for "Charmed"

NotASlayer said:
I'm only up to episode 17 of season two so far! I don't think there have been many bands actually named as yet - Dishwalla was, but I can't remember any others - and I have a suspicion that no-one so far is internationally known, rather than just US known. To me, so far, the bands are at the Dingoes Ate My Baby level; created for the show and may or may not feature real musicians - I have no idea whether any of the Dingoes could really sing or play or just stood around with musical instruments in a slightly more competent manner than Robert Palmer's "musicians" (and Shania Twain's in her video that was based on that).
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Most bands were from the California alternative band scene, similar to Buffy, so they weren't even well-known throughout the US. But there are a few "special guests" throughout the series. Smash Mouth makes an appearance at the beginning of season 6.
 
NotASlayer
NotASlayer
I have heard of Smash Mouth but that is all I could say about them without Wikipedia.
I started watching season 1 again and they press really hard that the witch gene is matrilineal but also only for girls.

They state it when their ancestor Melinda is there, and again when Andy asks Prue if their kids would have magical powers, she says ”if they’re girls”.

Basically, they make it really clear that their powers are passed on from mothers to daughters. It is kind of like a big thing in the lore.

So why do you guys think they made
a) Piper have boys?
B) gave those boys magical powers (lets overlook the fact that apparently Whitelighter powers are genetic too apparently)

Was the show too female focused?
Would you have prefered for Piper to have had daughters?
Was it good to shake it up with sons or does it undermine the lore for the sake of a twist?
 
I think it was the change from Constance M. Burge to Brad Kern that had the gender of Piper’s child flipped. It’s honestly hard to tell if he just wanted to shock/surprise people or if he wanted to make some kind of statement either way I would have preferred they stuck with Halliwell magic being something that is shared between mothers, daughters, and sisters in the same way that the show Supernatural was ultimately about brothers, fathers, and sons.
 
Taake said:
So why do you guys think they made
a) Piper have boys?
B) gave those boys magical powers (lets overlook the fact that apparently Whitelighter powers are genetic too apparently)
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I always believed this was down to Brad Kern being insecure over all the female characters and deciding to inject some testosterone into the series. There was literally no other reason for Piper to have boys and for those boys to be so powerful. Felt kinda like Kern saying F YOU to the show, the characters and the lore.

Taake said:
Was the show too female focused?
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Absolutely not, especially considering how few shows are so female focused (then and now)

Taake said:
Would you have prefered for Piper to have had daughters?
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Yes, absolutely, it would have made much more sense and remained true to the lore. The Halliwell line has always been and should have remained a Matriarchy.

Taake said:
Was it good to shake it up with sons or does it undermine the lore for the sake of a twist?
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Undermined the lore for the sake of a "twist" and because Kern wanted more male characters.
 
NotASlayer
NotASlayer
I am on season two at the moment and I like how it is so female-focused because it makes a nice change.
Re: Too Many Girls; Maybe? Both 30 Rock and Parks & Rec relied heavily on male actors who were well written and well acted. Charmed biggest problem was ultimately the interpersonal rivalries of the main cast, adding a few extra male characters to buffer that out may have helped to contain that. Like, let's say you had someone like Tony Head playing a Ghost Butler, or something. His skill and professionalism might have had a positive influence on the cast. I don't know, I don't think the show had a problem with an mostly female cast, just the females.
 
A complete series Charmed blu ray has just come up on eBay for £90 . Sorely tempted but it's still 90 quid to find straight after Christmas .
 
Eh, Charmed is on a lot of streaming services, including Pluto and Prime. I mean, if you want a physical copy you want one, but it's not rare.
 
Charmed has disappeared off of every streaming service I use, when I’ve tried to watch it, so depending on your region, it is pretty rare.

Now I’ve got the first four seasons on dvd, which is enough for me.
 
Until both the law and technology reach a point where ownership of digital goods is more than a long term lease, that's about the best you can do. I mean, I get it. It's not reasonable to assume that an ebook you purchased should be forever, any more than a paperback book or a VHS tape is forever.
 
NotASlayer
NotASlayer
Heck, an ebook should be more permanent than magnetic media!
The DVDs are an easy score in every region .

The blu ray remaster however , is as rare as rocking horse manure 😀 .

I've said this before , the free Charmed SD streaming version that's been doing the rounds on UK streamers is of poor quality in lower resolutions . Even the bog standard DVDs are far superior in my opinion .
 
Let's hope we don't get a Charmed blu-ray like the Buffy one where the original DVD is a lot better.
 
They did the remaster in 2017ish ...and it is much higher rated than the Buffy offering . I've only seen season 1 on blu ray(apparently the best one in remaster quality ) and it is very good . @Cohen has the whole collection already so he'd know more . Seemed pretty happy with them .

In the end , I've taken the punt at £81 . That may sound like a lot but I have been actively shopping for these for 7 years . This is hands down the best price I've seen for UK stock . You'd be paying £180 new for the lot and single seasons change hands for between £35 to £70 . Season 1 had a full release but the rest went 'print on demand' as separates , so most the 2-8 seasons you see in the UK are broken down from the complete series collections and fetch a premium price .
 
Yeah the transfer of some of the tracking shots of San Francisco is crappy, but that wasn’t original footage. However, the shot footage is pretty good. The first season is really well done. And it has the original theme on all but the final season!
 
I can scarcely believe it , but another reasonably priced Charmed blu ray set has turned up on eBay UK 😱 👀. It's the same set as mine , US import but region free . 90 quid all in if anyone's interested .
 
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