Charmed: Season 1 (1998-99)

Charmed: Season 1 (1998-99)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each.

Three sisters, the Halliwells, are reunited when they inherit their grandmother's house.

The middle child, Piper (Holly Marie Combs), tries hard to keep the eldest, Prue (Shannen Doherty), and the youngest, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), from constantly butting heads, but with underlying abandonment issues needing to be worked through, it proves difficult.

The trio soon discover that their ancestors, stretching back for many years, were good witches and that they've inherited the gift.

Known collectively as The Charmed Ones, the revelation brings the bickering sisters together, and as they explore their newfound powers they begin to bond like never before.

It's commendable that the witch powers have a more subtextual use than mere spectacle, but things in that regard happen all too quickly and the underlying emotional issues that should be an engaging source of conflict feel severely diluted - not just poorly considered, but unwisely rushed.

I make allowances for many kinds of failings in a first season, but things that are primarily the responsibly of the writer(s) should've been given due attention before it ever went to screen.

- The Charmed Ones (from left to right): Piper, Prue, and Phoebe. -

With regards what does happen onscreen, the three leads seem to fit their differing personality types well. Alas, there's some really awful acting from the non-regular cast members (i.e. the single-episode characters). I'm sympathetic to the fact that casting sessions can be a costly undertaking, but there must've been better options available for some of the offending roles.

Things get a little better about a third of the way through, specifically from episode 07, which features Danielle Harris, and the two that follow, but it doesn't last. The stories slump again thereafter and the only other episode that I'd rewatch is the penultimate one (episode 21).

Besides Miss Harris, there are a couple of other notable guest roles. Some are actors that I like, including Billy Drago, who, sadly, died a few days before I watched his particular appearance.

The crucial balance of earthly relationship difficulties and the more fantastical otherworldly problems is an ongoing concern. However, it's often handled rather clumsily. I didn't watch the show consistently when it aired on TV, but I did catch occasional episodes and my memory says it got more competent in later years. It's possible that my memory is wrong (again!), but I'm willing to give the later seasons a chance - eventually, that is, not right now. I've a lot of other things on my shelf that I want to (re)watch, some of which I know for sure I'll enjoy more.

I hope the later seasons either lessen or get more creative with establishing shots, because their overuse in Season 01 is, at best, annoying, and, at worst, an insult to the viewer's intelligence. We don't need to see the front of Buckland's Auction House half a dozen times in 40 minutes.