Charmed

I’ve started watching the 1998 TV show Charmed and I’m loving it! It’s about three sisters – Prue, Piper and Phoebe – who one day find out they are descendants from witches and destined to be the greatest ones that ever lived. Hence, they’re The Charmed Ones. With the help of The Book of Shadows and their powers, they have to fight demons, ghosts and warlocks in order to ‘protect the innocent’.

Nothing about the concept is revolutionizing, but it’s still pretty cool. I especially love the girls’ powers – Prue can move things with her mind, Piper can freeze time and Phoebe has premonitions. I love how random and unrelated they are; it’s a nice break from the usual ‘elemental powers’.

Charmed is a really funny show, but in a more… subtle way. The comic relief usually lies in the little moments – one liners, ironic comments, unexpected reactions, sarcasm and the way three protagonists say ‘Oh my God’. Actually, a lot of the show’s charm lies in details. That, and the very likable main characters. I find the way Piper throws her hands when freezing time, Phoebe’s smile and how Prue sometimes looks down to avoid eye contact adorable.

I finished the first two seasons in a matter of days and I’d say the second was better, just because the plot was a bit more cohesive. During the first season, most of the plots have been a bit predictable, unrealistic or have even had anti climactic resolutions – but for the most part, that’s been fixed in the second season.

One other cool thing about this show is that after the opening sequence, we get about 20-30 seconds of shots of San Francisco (that’s where the action takes place) with good to great music playing in the background; music that adds to the show’s awesome ’90s feel. Apart from that, there have been a number of musical guest stars featured during the second season, such as Dishwalla, Janice Robinson and The Cranberries! I can’t believe they featured The Cranberries – I love them!

One thing I do wish I’ll see in the next seasons is story arches that stretch over several episodes. Also, I think it would be interesting if the show had some mysteries that needed deciphering (on that note, my guess is that there is something going on with the cat the sisters got at the beginning of the show). But all in all, it’s quite an addictive show and worth checking out!