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CHARMED |
Piper Halliwell – Holly Marie Combs Phoebe Halliwell – Alyssa Milano Paige Matthews – Rose McGowan Leo Wyatt – Brian Krause Cole Turner – Julian McMahon 
OTHER CHARMED SEASONS Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 OTHER WITCH SHOWS Buffy The Vampire Slayer Eastwick Hex Switch 
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Charmed Again Part 1Piper and Phoebe are mourning the loss of their sister in the wake of the time change that saved them when they learn that they have a half sister who happens to be half-whitelighter. The Source targets her for death, but the other sisters intervene. The departure of Shannon Doherty as the lead Halliwell sister doesn't seem to have held the show back as a new half-sister is introduced. The plot moves ahead, but it is Piper's need to deal with Prue's funeral that takes centre stage and clearly marks out Holly Marie Combs as being the major partner from here on in. The sentimentality that sets in towards the end of the episode is a bit cloying, but doesn't destroy everything that's gone before it. TopCharmed Again Part 2Paige has a short time to decide whether to use her powers for good or for evil and the Source has disguised himself as her boyfriend to tempt her to the dark side. The second episode brigns the new sister Paige into the fold in a story of being tempted by evil that offers up nothing new since it obvious from the outset that she is not going to pick the side of evil. Rose McGowan is a perfectly adequate addition, completely different from Prue and bringing a whole new dynamic to the show. It will be interesting to see if the changes will damage it. A poor, not to mention legally actionable episode. TopHell Hath No FuryPiper is ignoring her new sister and is actively seeking out demons to vanquish. Paige uses the Book Of Shadows to help her colleagues at work, accidentally attracting the attention of a trio of Furies who decide that Piper is just angry enough to be transformed into one of them. One of the Halliwells being transformed into what they are hunting is par for the course in this show, so it comes as no surprise that Piper is taken on to be a Fury, but at the least the transformation feeds back into the ongoing story of how the girls are affected by the death of their sister. That might be nothing new and the resolution is certainly nothing new, but it is at least heartfelt and the show is not just shunting aside the long-lasting effects of the sisters' loss. TopEnter The DemonA Ninja master is placed in purgatory by the apprentice he passed over as his successor. The apprentice intends to kill the rightful successor, but the sisters intend to stop him. Unfortunately, a messed up spell has transferred Paige and Phoebe into each others' bodies. Seeing Paige and Phoebe aping each others' movements would have been more effective if we had been given more time to get used to Paige. Even so, this provides the fun against the background of a thin plot that hasn't got a lot else going for it. TopSize MattersPaige's concern about a creepy old house is ignored whilst Piper's new club manager is changing the whole look of P3. Inside the house, a demon is shrinking girls and turning them into clay dolls. The Charmed Ones are the next on his list. Freddy Krueger himself Robert Englund guest stars as the shrinking demon in this episode, though he is given criminally little to do. The shrinking effects are surprisingly effective, but the plot is nothing that we haven't seen before. Seeing the actresses covered in clay is worth the viewing anyway. TopA Knight To RememberPaige says a spell that she remembers from a childood fairy tale, but it turns out to be from a past life and she summons a knight who has been put under a spell to love an evil enchantress - an enchantress who happens to be Paige. The plot for this is so utterly ludicrous that it can't be taken seriously for a moment. The knight wandering around the city being able to find Paige whenever he needs to is utterly unbelievable and even Rose McGowan as a bad girl turns out to be a bit flat. TopBrain DrainPiper is kidnapped by the Source and put into a coma so that it can manipulate her dreams, making her believe that she is a disturbed woman who can regain her sanity by saying the spell that will strip the sisters of their powers. The tried and tested plot of a character waking up to find that their life is really a delusion is trotted out here with very little new to distinguish it apart from the very poorly animated butterflies. It is so clearly a dream that it's hard to understand why Piper would doubt it for a second. TopBlack As ColeA demon with a similarity to Belthazar is killing off witches and Cole is the only one who will be able to defeat it, but to do so he will have to embrace his demonic nature and that's something from which he might not be able to return. Forget the artificial baby story, forget Cole's responsibility for one of the killings. This is all about the last few seconds when the whole relationship that the demon has with the rest of the characters is completely turned on its head. It's a brave move and it will interesting to see where that takes the show. TopMuse To My EarsA warlock is imprisoning muses in a magic ring and using the power to rise up the ranks of the Underworld. Cole is no longer able to help. Can the witches find a way to defeat the warlock without killing the muses? Muses inspire, but they also apparently raise passion levels which is about the only thing that this episode has to say for itself. TopA Paige From The PastPaige's parents were killed in a car accident and she has never come to terms with that. Leo takes her back in time to relive the events whilst Phoebe and Cole are taken over by a criminal pair of ghosts. There is nothing about Paige's time travel story that cannot be predicted right at the start of the story, but Rose McGowan's performance as she relates what happened to her parents to her sisters is powerful enough to carry it through the rest of the PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED plot. TopTrial By MagicPhoebe is on the jury of an open and shut murder case when she has a premonition that a demon did the deed. Whilst keeping the jury from returning a guilty verdict, she has her sisters try to find the demons responsible, something made more difficult by the presence of and old friend of Paige's. This could be retitled '11 Angry Men and One Witch' since it brazenly steals its set up from the brilliant film/stage play/tv drama 12 ANGRY MEN. This means, however, that anyone who has seen the film/stage play/tv drama will spend their whole time wishing that they were still watcching the film/stage play/tv drama. The pack of rat demons is pretty impressive though. TopLost And BoundPhoebe starts to turn into a domesticated goddess from the 1950s world of sitcoms whilst everyone else tries to help out a young boy who, as a firestarter, is destined to help the Source. References are made to BEWITCHED very early on in this episode in case anyone misses the point of Phoebe's transformation to stay-at-home-and-cook wife. In the meantime, at least the story about the firestarting child introduces Ray Wise as the demon of the week and suggests that Piper's powers are becoming awesome. Otherwise, it's the same old same old. TopCharmed And DangerousIn desperation, the Source releases an ancient being so deadly that both good and evil worked together to imprison it forever. The entity can take any and all magic and the Source sets it onto the Charmed Ones in a last attempt to destroy them. This episode comes as a bit of a surprise since it features the apparent final battle between the Halliwells and the Source even though it is only the middle of the season. There are casualties on both sides, but the good fall back on the overused device of Leo's healing abilities. Even so, it's darker than most of the episodes and harsher and all the better for that. TopThe Three Faces Of PhoebeThe Source is dead, long live the Source. With the underworld in uproar and higher demons all vying to be the next Source, Cole struggles to keep his humanity against the evil influence. Phoebe summons her past and future self to answer the question of whether she should still marry him. The death of the Source is the last episode is now explained as it gives the show another chance to turn Cole evil. This has been done a few times before and is getting a bit old, but here it manages to work quite well. Certainly better than the idea of Phoebe only being able to answer her question after seeing her past and future self, which just doesn't work at all. TopMerry Go RoundCole is now under the Source's evil influence and sets out to derail the wedding in order to trick Phoebe into marrying him in a cemetary so that he can control her as well. There's a mixing of knockabout farce and darker intent in this episode as the show sets up a bad time ahead for Phoebe at the same time as throwing every standard wedding gone wrong idea at the screen CHARMED-style. It's passably entertaining, but the show always works a little better when it's a bit edgier and little less cosy than this. The promise for better, though, is there. TopThe Fifth HalliwellHoneymoons are planned, but the arrival of a woman who has been confused by the demonic power forced into her brings Paige's distrust of Cole to the fore. Considering just how obviously evil Cole is being shown at the moment it's a wonder the whole city hasn't twigged onto the fact that he's becoming the Source. The performance is far too pantomime and the fact that Piper and Phoebe haven't caught on yet is unbelievable. The episode is given a little edge by revolving around Cole's need to impregnate Phoebe by midnight and the outcome could have some interesting consequences for the Halliwell sisters' relationship. TopSaving Private LeoThe ghosts of Leo’s past come back to haunt him, literally. Two of his friends, who believe that he abandoned them on the battlefield decide to remove everything that the whitelighter loves, thus destroying his power, before they kill him. Cole uses this as an opportunity to get Phoebe to move in with him and away from the girls. The World War 2 flashbacks here are handsomely mounted and give a bit of clout to what is an otherwise fairly standard CHARMED tale of vengeful ghosts. Julian McMahon’s Cole continues to be so obviously evil that it’s impossible to believe that Paige is the only one that can see it. The ghosts’ motivation is somewhat dodgy and the postscript is so sugary as to spoil the whole thing. TopBite MeCole has laid down the law in terms of the sisters’ access to Phoebe in their new home, so when Paige is attacked by the vampires wanting to unseat the new Source, she comes later to the rescue than anyone would like. How many times are we going to see one of the sisters turning into the thing that bit, slashed, attacked or spelled them? The political manoeuvring around the vampires and their outcast status adds a little depth to the situation and the fact that finally the other sisters are starting to see that Cole’s not who he should be is a relief. Even the bats are relatively convincing. The real highlight, however, is seeing Rose McGowan dressed up as Vampirella once she has turned into a vampire. TopWe're Off To See The WizardA wizard out to avenge himself on the Source for the slaughter of his people in ages past teams up with Piper and Paige to upset the Source’s coronation, but Phoebe’s reaction to learning that Cole is to be the new Source is unusual to say the least. Armin Shimerman (Quark in STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE and the principal in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER’s first season) pops up as the duplicitous wizard (he’s out for himself against everyone) and has great fun with the role, but he’s just a sidehshow against Phoebe learning the truth about her husband and then what she does about that. The last few episodes of the season should be interesting. TopLong Live The QueenPhoebe is now the Source's queen and soon to be the mother of his demon spawn. This has turned her into something of cow with the power to destroy anyone she wants. It's time to pick a side. This is one of the best episodes that CHARMED has yet produced. The early parts with Phoebe vascillating between good and evil aren't very convincing, but as the story progresses, decisions are made, people die and sacrifices are required. This plays out very nicely indeed with some very nice twists along the way. It is so good that it is a surprise that this isn't the end of the season. TopWomb RaiderThe Seer has a plan to take over the Source's throne for herself, but first she needs to gain possession of Phoebe's unborn child. What she gets is Paige in an unbreakable cage. CHARMED's great run of form continues as the dramatic events of the last episode bleed directly into this latest one, throwing up another explosive finale that really ought to be the end of the season, but isn't. TopWitch Way Now?Now that the Source has been vanquished, the Charmed Ones have completed their destiny, so the Angel Of Destiny offers them the chance to give up their powers and live a normal life. Of course, the decision isn't as simple as that and genre favourite Bruce Campbell shows up as an FBI officer who wants to use what he knows to blackmail the Halliwells into helping him catch a serial killer. Also, Cole isn't as dead as previously thought and Phoebe's trips into demon hell where he is being chased by a CGI squid thing are the highlights of the episode. Unfortunately, after the great trio of preceding episodes, this is a weak way to go into the break. Top |
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