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CHARMED |
Piper Halliwell – Holly Marie Combs Phoebe Halliwell – Alyssa Milano Paige Matthews – Rose McGowan Leo Wyatt – Brian Krause Chris Fuller – Drew Perry 
OTHER CHARMED SEASONS Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 7 Season 8 OTHER WITCH SHOWS Buffy The Vampire Slayer Eastwick Hex Switch 
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Valhalley Of The Dolls - Part 1Piper is very upbeat despite her marriage falling apart. Leo, though is missing and Chris, the sisters' new whitelighter doesn't seem to be able to help. When Leo turns up on the island of Valhalla, being forced to fight by Valkyries, the sisters must become Valkyries themselves to rescue him, but an amnesiac Piper decidest that she wishes to remain a warrior woman. Getting the sisters into the impractical fighting outfits of the Valkyries is what this episode is all about, but there is a lot more going on. The plot even manages to verge on complicated as Chris is proven to be far from the good guy he claims to be, Paige manages to wipe her sister's memory and Leo is playing a reluctant super fighter. The sisters being turned into whatever they are hunting is getting a bit wearing since it is happening so often now, but the shadowy nature of Chris manages to intrigue. Phoebe's new power seems to be spectacularly uselss. TopValhalley Of The Dolls - Part 2The Valkyries have lost control of their men, releasing a group of legendary killers into a world that doesn't know how to deal with them. Piper leads the Valkyries in pursuit whilst Phoebe and Paige look to find a way of getting their sister back. The situations that were set up in the first episode of this two-parter are suitably resolved, but in a fairly standard and rather unsatisfying manner. The legendary warriors just sort of give up when they realise that the Valkyries haven't gone soft and Piper just sort of decides to return. In fact, the only moment of real note is the rerunning of the early scene of THE TERMINATOR where the Valkyries take on a band of bikers and end up putting on their sunglasses and riding away on their Harleys, but even that isn't enough to raise the quality of the episode. TopForget Me ... NotThe ultra-powerful 'cleaners' wipe all memory of Piper's son Wyatt out of existence. As the sisters relive their last day, they realise that something is missing and it turns out to be Wyatt and a huge dragon. Drastic action is required. The cause of the problem for the Halliwells in this episode, the magiciking up of a dragon by Wyatt is pretty flimsy and ridiculous, but the beast is fairly well realised for the most part. It doesn't however get that much screen time. The cleaners, however, do get screen time and are interesting enough in their non-partisan, but almost omnipotent powers. The way in which the sisters deal with the cleaners is much more impressive than the destruction of the dragon, though both show the same level of brinksmanship. Another case of amnesia so soon after Piper's last bout is a bit tired, however. TopThe Power Of Three BlondesThree blonde witches whose main power seems to be looking like anyone else they choose, take on the identities of the Charmed Ones and then fool the Book Of Shadows into gifting them with the Halliwells' powers. This is what the Halliwells could have turned out like if they had absolutely no class and just about the cheapest wardrobe in the country. In fact, the Stillman sisters are fun and liven up the Halliwells, who have been getting a bit stuffy recently, but never really represent a true threat to the Charmed Ones, leaving the result in no doubt. TopLove's A WitchPaige gets involved in a war between two magical families that is being prolonged by the vengeful spirit of one daughter who got caught in the crossfire.. If you're going to steal then steal from the best and CHARMED takes this episodes almost wholly from the Bard himself. Yes, it's Romeo and Juliet done CHARMED stylee with added ghosts and fireballs. The grand theft literary is so blatant that it actually manages to distract from the rest of the usual sort of nonsense. TopMy Three WitchesChris is failing to get the Halliwells to listen to him, so he delivers their innermost desires to a demon who can make those desires come true until it kills them. He intends to save them in time, but things go majorly awry. Piper gets a day without any magic at all and that includes the male stripper party. Paige gets to become a famous superhero thanks to her magical exploits and Phoebe gets to become a media darling with her own TV show that is going to go nationwide. It's a case of 'be careful what you wish for' but we could have wished for something a little bit more original. Dreams and wishes coming true are old hat and have even been done by this show before. It's all mildly diverting, but there is a major sense of deja vu starting to set in. TopSoul SurvivorWhen Paige learns that her latest boss sold his soul to a demon, her sisters decide that he is not worth saving. She disagrees and takes drastic action, selling her own soul to save the man. Apparently the Halliwell sisters can forgive anything of each other, including risking their lives without their permission and having been told 'no' during discussion on the subject. Paige's quest is a thin one at best and doesn't even begin to fill up the running time and so there is a subplot about Wyatt sabotaging Piper's dates that is just tedious. On the plus side, Leo and Chris do some bonding whilst running away from a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The dinosaur is pretty well rendered on the TV budget and is actually the highlight of the episode. TopSword And The CityIn order to help the Lady In The Lake, the sisters take Excalibur into their home. The sword comes with great powers and a built in advisor and there is soon a queue of magical beings wanting to try it out. Piper frees the sword and starts to wield its power. This is another lacklustre episode that benefits from having a few amusing magical creatures running around the house, but is otherwise an attempt to jam another legend into the Halliwell mythology. It really doesn't work and how many times are these girls going to get taken over by evil beings/items before they figure out a way to defend themselves? TopLittle MonstersWyatt shares his crib with a baby manticore demon that is orphaned following the vanquishing of its parent. This makes Chris furious, but Paige has other problems when she turns Darryl into an invulnerable superman. The CHARMED girls do the nature versus nurture discussion in their own inimitable style, but it doesn't make for a very interesting episode. This is very much more like filler and a sign that the show is really starting to lose its way in this season. TopChris-CrossedChris's fiancee from the future arrives back to stop his mission to protect Wyatt from succeeding. In order to acheive this, she casts a spell to make the sisters follow their hearts' desire. OK, we've been here with the whole hearts' desire thing in other forms, but what enlivens this particular episode is the revelation of Wyatt as the future dictator and the mansion as a museum to the Charmed Ones. The future is finally shown in all its ruin and Chris's mission finally makes more sense. A much better episode than of late. TopWitchstockMagical boots transport Paige back to the era of hippie free love and the time of her grandfather's death. It was what turned the girls' grandmother into the demon-hating witch she became, so when Paige saves the man, the future is radically altered. This is a setting looking for a plot. Making fun of the sixties' fashion sense seems somewhat bizarre for this show considering some of the outfits that the sisters have worn over the years and the whole hippie culture is lampooned in such broad strokes that most of the jokes don't work. It is fun seeing both Darryl (a forebear) and Leo in those days, though. TopPrince CharmedFollowing another demon attack, Piper realises that she is never going to find love again. Her sisters refuse to accept that and create a magical Mr Right for one day. Chris uses the man's charisma to try and persuade the sisters to bind Wyatt's powers. The effect that Mr Right has on the sisters is not as much fun as you might think it was going to be and Chris using his charms to manipulate the Charmed ones would be the best thing about it if it weren't so clumsily handled. The threat from a demonic cult is standard stuff and hardly inspirational. The whole 'looking for love' theme is also horribly oversentimental. TopUsed KarmaPaige's boyfriend Richard tries to right a wrong by using unassigned karma. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the karma of Mata Hari, which attaches itself to Phoebe and threatens to destroy her relationship, and lives. Another Halliwell gets possessed and we've been here before, so there really isn't anything new by making it Mata Hari. In fact, there isn't anything new in this episode at all and a sense that the show is resting on its laurels is starting to set in. TopThe Legend Of Sleepy HalliwellThere's a magic school for the young 'gifted', but it is being terrorised by the headless horseman. The Halliwells try to find out what is going on, but the investigation is hampered when they lose their heads, literally. Having the decapitated, but otherwise completely alive, heads of the sisters holding conversations is the only thing that this episode has to offer. The story isn't all that interesting and the side plot of Phoebe going on a vision quest to find peace with her powers is really dull. The final part of the mystery surrounding Chris, though, is finally stripped away and it's a good reveal. TopI Dream Of PhoebePhoebe accidentally makes three wishes of a genie who is immediately released with Phoebe taking her place. Chris sees this as an opportunity to get his parents back together. Apart from the references to I DREAM OF GENIE, this is a fairly standard episode that descends into an almost farce of 'who's got the bottle when the music stops?'. TopThe Courtship Of Wyatt’s FatherDarklighters come after Leo in force and he and Piper are knocked onto the ghostly plane, making it almost impossible for Chris to engineer his own conception. The contrasting of the bustling, brightly coloured real world and the washed out greys of the ghostly plane are very nicely done and give the episode more of a weight than it really ought to have. It is essentially a set up to find out who is really threatening Wyatt and it's a shock that isn't exactly earth-shattering. TopHyde School ReunionPhoebe's school reunion has a bad effect on her, turning her back into the teenage rebel she was only with the powers of a witch. Piper, meanwhile, learns some bad news about her future. Another time that one of the sisters is turned back into a previous state and it's frankly far too unoriginal to be any sort of entertaining. What happens after the change isn't any more interesting than the story before it. At least there is the revelation about Piper's future to make it seem in some way worthwhile. TopSpin CityA spider demon has decided that it wants Piper as her next victim from whose magic she will feed for the next century. She infects Chris, who starts to change into a spider demon himself and Leo starts to have misgivings about his calling. Well, it might not be one of the sisters this time, but another of the Halliwell clan gets to turn into the beastie that they are all chasing. This allows for much parental angst, but not a lot else. The final defeat of the creature is quite amusing though. The subplot of Paige dealing with a wicked witch is completely rubbish. The spider effects are well done though. TopCrimes And Witch DemeanoursThe sisters are caught on camera using their magic and the Cleaners move in to tidy up the situation, framing Darryl for murder. The sisters go on trial for their past actions and might lose their magic as a response. Yes, it's the dreaded clips show in which the framing storyline is really only a hook to allow the show to dust off a load of clips as 'evidence' and fill out the running time without having to film so much new stuff. The framing device is a pretty good one and better worked than most, but it's still just a clips show. TopA Wrong Day's Journey Into NightPaige is overwhelmed and summons up her perfect man to help her relax. Unfortunately, she also conjures up his evil twin and finds that she is as powerless to resist him as his good version. After all the stuff that the sisters have done that has gotten them into trouble it's almost unbelievable that Paige would be so utterly stupid as to do this. It's also stupid that it takes so long for anyone to figure out what is going on. Alyssa Milano has to squeeze herself into tight leather, but this episode is devoid of all other interest. TopWitch WarsThere's a demonic game show running in the Underworld in which demons kill witches, or die. Those that die pass on their powers to the makers of the show who are looking to make a bid for control. They decide that they are ready to take on the Charmed Ones. The idea of reality TV as a source of evil is a pretty easy one to come up with, but at least the writers decided to make the point that only humanity could have come up with something so bad. Apart from that, it's the usual stuff with little to mark it out from any other episode beyond the worryingly realistic reaction of Darryl to being prepped for execution. TopIt's A Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World - Part 1Leo accompanies Chris back to the future, but they find themselves in another world that is the direct opposite of their own. Whilst they and the sisters are distracted, magic school headmaster Gideon goes after Wyatt. The mirror universe is an old idea, but there is always some mileage in showing what the world would be like if everyone was opposite. Unfortunately, this episode doesn't take full advantage of this and the evil counterparts seem more like the slightly miffed counterparts. More shocking is the cliffhanger in which Phoebe is shot for a minor parking offence upon their return to a world gone mad with goodness. TopIt's A Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World - Part 2Piper's in labour and Gideon is still after Wyatt, but the Halliwells are hamstrung when supergood Piper decides that they need to conform to the supergood world too. The two-parts of this finale could profitably have been a tighter, leaner single episode that would have relied less of Wyatt's apparent omnipotence for comic effect and built up some real tension and fear. There is at least a surprisingly hard moment as Leo crouches by the bed of his dying son, unable to do anything to stop the inevitable. Rarely has the show been this serious in intent even if it does wimp out at the end. Top |
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