Product Description
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Debuting in 1998, the Aaron Spelling-produced television series
Charmed follows the adventures of three modern-day witches
juggling their supernatural abilities with the demands of
everyday life. The Halliwell sisters (originally played by Alyssa
Milano, Shannon Doherty, and Hollie Marie Combs) use their
magical powers to protect innocent people from evil demons, who,
in turn, attempt to steal the sisters' powers for their own
purposes. In order to shield the world from darkness, Piper,
Phoebe, and Prudence must protect their own powers from the lords
of the underworld, and also rise above the childish bickering of
sisterhood to work together as a team. This collection features
all 22 episodes of the show's debut season.
.co.uk Review
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Charmed: The Complete First Season recaptures a period when
television's WB network was particularly keen on series about the
supernatural and specially powered characters. The original home
of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and future launch pad for Angel and
Smallville, the WB debuted Charmed in 1998 with many of the same
intriguing ironies that made those other shows click.
Specifically, the greater a character's powers, the more
vulnerable he or she becomes; the more superhuman, the more
painfully obvious one's lonely, fragile humanity. The Halliwells,
a trio of witch heroines and siblings at the center of Charmed,
is a case in point. Phoebe (Alyssa Milano (
/gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=Alyssa%20Milano+-ntsc
)) returns to her San Francisco family home after losing her job,
and moves in with her older sisters Prue (Shannen Doherty (
/gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=Shannen%20Doherty+-ntsc
)) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs (
/gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=Holly%20Marie%20Combs+-ntsc
)). On her first night back, Phoebe finds the Book of Shadows in
the attic and recites a spell giving all three women unique
powers they were always meant to have: Prue suddenly has the gift
of telekinesis, Piper can make time stand still, and Phoebe can
see into the future. All well and good, but along with those
extraordinary abilities is a new awareness of dark forces in the
world from which mortals need protection. In some cases, those
forces have been plotting a long time to steal the Halliwell's
magical legacy once they awakened to it--and now they will never
let up.
Evil warlocks, demons, ancient curses, Grimlocks, and Wendigos
(the last two are best left explained by their respective
episodes), however, are only half the battle on this sexy
dramedy, in which more ordinary matters of emotional and
real-world survival also preoccupy the Halliwells. An important
ally, Inspector Andy Trudeau (Ted King), is Prue's ex-lover, a
delicate detail that mixes pain with duty as the couple rekindles
their troubled relationship while solving otherworldly crimes. In
"Dead Man Dating," Piper falls for the ghost of a murdered man
who needs help, and later competes with Phoebe for the attention
of a handyman, Leo (Brian Krause). Jobs and money are always an
issue, too. At one time or another, Phoebe works as a psychic,
Piper as a caterer, and Prue finds a job at an auction house. As
with Buffy, the engine of Charmed is the seamless,
sometimes-comic, sometimes-tender way in which all these dynamics
in the magic and non-magic worlds blend together, presenting
young adult challenges that are both unique and somehow terribly
familiar. It is particularly fun to watch this series grow,
deepen, and experiment during its first year. The season's true
highlight is probably "That 70s Episode," in which the Halliwells
go back in time to meet their younger selves. --Tom Keogh