Cohen
Hellhound
This thread is inspired by discussions in another thread about BTVS influences, but I don't want to derail that thread with what turned out to be a much longer post than originally anticipated. So buckle up folks! Here is why Charmed isn't as bad as people think. And why it happens to be a timeless portrayal of sisters who happen to be witches.
The intention behind Charmed was to create a family show about three young adult sisters against the backdrop of the supernatural. I would argue season 1 of Charmed, which the creator, Constance Burge, had the biggest hand in shaping, was very well written for a first season show in the 90s. In fact, I don't find it nearly as dated as season 1 of Buffy, though I recognize Buffy premiered 2 years prior. And I will give that Buffy clearly inspired Charmed, as the WB was looking for another supernatural-eque show to match the high ratings of Buffy.
The "Shannen" seasons of the show are for the most part well-written and acted, and Rose's first season was equally well-written. Honestly, the writers did a great job of harnessing the on-set tension between Shannen and Alyssa in season 3 by writing in the Phoebe/Cole relationship and bringing in the tension of one of the sisters having romantic feelings for a demon, and using the natural tension to progress that storyline. Had it not reached a boiling point by the end of the season, with Alyssa giving an ultimatum, I think that could have carried well into an alternate season 4.
But even when the concept of the show was shattered with the execs pulling the plug on Shannen (disgustingly after she directed 2 episodes of the season, including (unbeknownst to her) her own death scene and then feeding rumors that it was Shannen who asked to leave), they did a great job of writing in Rose and using the tension between Holly (who also wanted to leave after Shan was fired) and Rose to feed into Piper's reservations about getting close to Paige, was also great.
But Connie still was able to have some influence in these seasons, 1-4. When Brad took over full time in season 5, Holly tried steering the ship as best as she could as a producer, but Brad had his own agendas, specifically putting Alyssa in the least amount of clothing as possible, which began with the Mermaid costume in the season 5 premiere and continued until the three leads wrote in their season 8 contract to not be in costumes anymore.
Also, I think it's important to note that for the first 2 seasons, Aaron Spelling was heavily involved in the look and direction of the show, which he saw as a new generation of Charlie's Angels, and tried to emulate the formula of that show with Charmed. This is why for the entire first season, each girl has their own particular look that doesn't change much. Holly comments on this a lot in the Charmed rewatch podcast.
Now, I will say the show became a campy mess after season 4, and most of the last 3 seasons are difficult to watch because of it. To some of your points, there wasn't a "writers playbook" like Joss had for Buffy. Joss mapped out seasons 2-5 of Buffy before production on season 2 began. He knew where it was heading 4 years down the line, which is why the storytelling is so tight. Similarly with Supernatural, Kripke mapped out 3 seasons, and then expanded to 2 more after the season 2 pickup, and they held pretty firm to this bible. Though initially the Angels thing wasn't going to be in it, as stated in Supernatural Magazine during season 1. My point here is, there was a trajectory of these series from the creator and show runner.
Connie didn't have full reigns of the show like her male counterparts on Buffy and Supernatural. She was constantly competing and butting heads with Brad Kern, which is why we get episodes like "She's a Man, Baby, a Man!" where the girls are fighting a succubus and Alyssa is rubbing ice all over her--body. Brad only cared about making a buck and getting the girls out of their clothes. Connie cared about the story. And eventually, she had enough of the issues and left for other opportunities. And the direction clearly suffered after that.
But there were a few episodes in seasons 1-4 that were very well executed.
As previously mentioned, all of this goes off the rails in season 5, when Brad Kern fully took over the show, and the storylines suffered tremendously, both out of network direction (the network didn't want the serialized episodes like season 4 became, though they garnered the best ratings) and out of Kern's weird fetish of putting the girls in the most revealing outfits, leading to some of the worst storylines, scenarios and episodes. After that point, if you don't lean into the camp, you just have to take yourself out of the show, and I get that.
But seasons 1-4 are very well written, directed and acted.
The intention behind Charmed was to create a family show about three young adult sisters against the backdrop of the supernatural. I would argue season 1 of Charmed, which the creator, Constance Burge, had the biggest hand in shaping, was very well written for a first season show in the 90s. In fact, I don't find it nearly as dated as season 1 of Buffy, though I recognize Buffy premiered 2 years prior. And I will give that Buffy clearly inspired Charmed, as the WB was looking for another supernatural-eque show to match the high ratings of Buffy.
The "Shannen" seasons of the show are for the most part well-written and acted, and Rose's first season was equally well-written. Honestly, the writers did a great job of harnessing the on-set tension between Shannen and Alyssa in season 3 by writing in the Phoebe/Cole relationship and bringing in the tension of one of the sisters having romantic feelings for a demon, and using the natural tension to progress that storyline. Had it not reached a boiling point by the end of the season, with Alyssa giving an ultimatum, I think that could have carried well into an alternate season 4.
But even when the concept of the show was shattered with the execs pulling the plug on Shannen (disgustingly after she directed 2 episodes of the season, including (unbeknownst to her) her own death scene and then feeding rumors that it was Shannen who asked to leave), they did a great job of writing in Rose and using the tension between Holly (who also wanted to leave after Shan was fired) and Rose to feed into Piper's reservations about getting close to Paige, was also great.
But Connie still was able to have some influence in these seasons, 1-4. When Brad took over full time in season 5, Holly tried steering the ship as best as she could as a producer, but Brad had his own agendas, specifically putting Alyssa in the least amount of clothing as possible, which began with the Mermaid costume in the season 5 premiere and continued until the three leads wrote in their season 8 contract to not be in costumes anymore.
Also, I think it's important to note that for the first 2 seasons, Aaron Spelling was heavily involved in the look and direction of the show, which he saw as a new generation of Charlie's Angels, and tried to emulate the formula of that show with Charmed. This is why for the entire first season, each girl has their own particular look that doesn't change much. Holly comments on this a lot in the Charmed rewatch podcast.
Now, I will say the show became a campy mess after season 4, and most of the last 3 seasons are difficult to watch because of it. To some of your points, there wasn't a "writers playbook" like Joss had for Buffy. Joss mapped out seasons 2-5 of Buffy before production on season 2 began. He knew where it was heading 4 years down the line, which is why the storytelling is so tight. Similarly with Supernatural, Kripke mapped out 3 seasons, and then expanded to 2 more after the season 2 pickup, and they held pretty firm to this bible. Though initially the Angels thing wasn't going to be in it, as stated in Supernatural Magazine during season 1. My point here is, there was a trajectory of these series from the creator and show runner.
Connie didn't have full reigns of the show like her male counterparts on Buffy and Supernatural. She was constantly competing and butting heads with Brad Kern, which is why we get episodes like "She's a Man, Baby, a Man!" where the girls are fighting a succubus and Alyssa is rubbing ice all over her--body. Brad only cared about making a buck and getting the girls out of their clothes. Connie cared about the story. And eventually, she had enough of the issues and left for other opportunities. And the direction clearly suffered after that.
But there were a few episodes in seasons 1-4 that were very well executed.
- "Dead Man Dating" (season 1, episode 4) was a well-written episode that explored Chinese culture surrounding death, and included one of John Cho's very first guest starring roles.
- "P3 H2O" (season 2, episode 8) is an excellent exploration of grief and psychological cycles, as Prue deals with reaching an age her mother was when she died, and visiting the scene of her mother's death, followed by the aforementioned "Death Takes a Halliwell" (Season 3, episode 16) where Prue continues to wrestle with her feelings of grief over death, as she, herself, is placed on Death's "list" (eerily foreshadowing her own death weeks later, though it wasn't initially written that way).
- "The Witch is Back" (season 1, episode 9) explores the mythology and history of the Halliwell/Warren line when the girls must bring their ancestor, Melinda Warren, to the present to deal with a warlock she banished 400 years prior, and the changes in technology between then and now.
- "Morality Bites" (season 2, episode 2) presents a moral and philosophical delimma where small actions of using their powers to punish can lead to bigger ramifications later (what starts out as the girls punishing a dog walker who allows their dog to deficate on their sidewalk by Prue using telekinesis to make the man step in his dog's poop eventually leads to Phoebe ten years later punishing an alleged murderer and baseball start by murdering him with her powers, inciting a 21st century Witch Trial).
- The concept of using powers for "personal gain" is a theme that's explored throughout the series. Too many episodes to list.
- "Murphy's Luck" (season 2, episode 16) deals with Prue's grief and depression over losing her boyfriend, Andy, in the season 1 finale, as caused by a Dark Lighter. Guest star Amy Adams (Cousin Beth) has an emotional scene where she contemplates suicide at the beginning of the episode, and really shows her talent for acting before she became a big name.
- The sisters have to travel back to Colonial times in "All Halliwell's Eve" (season 3, episode 4) to unknowingly save their ancestor, Melinda Warren, from an evil witch, keeping their timeline in tact; while their allies face two previously vanquished demons who have come back for revenge on Halloween.
- "The Good, the Bad, and the Cursed" (season 3, episode 14) makes social commentary about the racism Native Americans faced in the Wild West, and brings to light some of the atrocities made against Native Americans during the 19th century
- "Pre-Witched" (season 3, episode 17) which explores the backstory of events leading up to the series premiere (though with awful wigs, due to the actresses' change in style from 2.5 years prior). At the same time, Piper and Leo wrestle with the decision to move out of the house to start their own family, following their wedding.
- "Charmed Again" (season 4 premiere) is a powerful double-episode that seeks to both allow fans to grieve over the loss of one of the three main characters, while also moving the story along by introducing a long-lost sister--that actually works well, given the previous history mentioned in the show (the new sister, Paige, was a product of a previously established affair by the girls' mother and her white-lighter (witch guardian angel) and was hidden due to another previously established "no romance" rule between witches and their whitelighters, which was a driving plot of season 3)
- "Hell Hath No Fury" (season 4, episode 3) further dives into Piper's depression and anger over the death of her sister, Prue
- "Brain Drain" (season 4, episode 7) had a plot similar to "Normal Again," but was written and produced 6 months before, where Piper suffers an evil-induced coma where she is in a mental institution so that the Source can extract a spell from her mind that would release the girls' powers (previously used in season 1, episode 10)
- "Black as Cole" (season 4, episode 8) dealt with the ramifications of Cole's past as an evil demon, as he has become fully integrated into the family as a "good" demon; where he comes face-to-face with the widower of a man he killed previously as Balthazar.
- "Charmed and Dangerous" (season 4, episode 13) where the season's initial Big Bad (the Source) is vanquished, but threads are left lingering for the final season arc, where Cole becomes the Source and the main Big Bad of the season.
- "Long Live the Queen" (season 4, episode 20) has Phoebe accepting her role as the Queen of the Underworld, where she is carrying the Source's child, but dealing with conflicting emotions as she's turned against her sisters, but still feels the pull to be good and protect the innocent. Ultimately, she has to make the decision to either kill Cole or kill her sisters as his Queen.
As previously mentioned, all of this goes off the rails in season 5, when Brad Kern fully took over the show, and the storylines suffered tremendously, both out of network direction (the network didn't want the serialized episodes like season 4 became, though they garnered the best ratings) and out of Kern's weird fetish of putting the girls in the most revealing outfits, leading to some of the worst storylines, scenarios and episodes. After that point, if you don't lean into the camp, you just have to take yourself out of the show, and I get that.
But seasons 1-4 are very well written, directed and acted.
