Charmed: The Complete Seasons 1-8
Brand New & Factory Sealed
Official UK Product
48 DVD Box Set
RRP £149.99
Box set containing all eight series of the popular American television
drama, starring Alyssa Milano, about three sisters who also happen to be
witches, and who are sworn to protect the innocent from the dark forces
that threaten them.
Season One
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) returns to her San
Francisco family home after losing her job, and moves in with her older
sisters Prue (Shannen Doherty) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs). 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
Season Two
Charmed:
The Complete Second Season finds San Francisco's favourite and fetching
trio of witches, the Halliwell sisters, still battling supernatural
forces while trying to make sense of their tricky personal lives. It has
been a year since Prue (Shannen Doherty), Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), and
Piper (Holly Marie Combs), were each endowed with a unique, magical
ability after discovering the Book of Shadows in their attic, and while
Phoebe and Piper are in the mood for celebrating, Prue is emotionally
incapable of using her telekinetic gifts. Powerless to have saved her
ex-lover, Andy Trudeau (Ted King), from death in Season 1, Prue's grief
prevents her from cooperating with her sisters in a battle against a
demon who steals the all-important Book. That's just the beginning of
the Halliwells' otherworldly troubles. The second season finds the
sisters also taking on brain-zapping Warlocks, a Demon of Hate, a
Darklighter who inspires thoughts of suicide among the living, evil
witches, and--get this--the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who turn
out to be quite dapper (albeit nasty) fellows. Meanwhile, Piper
struggles to raise $60,000 to open a happening new club (at a site where
two other clubs have failed) while also juggling romantic feelings for
two guys, one a hunky new neighbor and the other last season's handyman
character, Leo (Brian Krause), who turns out to be a Whitelighter (a
kind of an angel). Prue's job at the art gallery gets a bit wobbly, and
she gives unintentionally mixed signals to a very nice man who likes her
a lot. Phoebe, for her part, is still in school and meets a handsome
prospect at a dating service--then has to save him from a succubus (a
female demon who seduces men and then kills them). Season highlights
include the episode "She's a Man, Baby, a Man," in which Prue--due to a
botched spell--becomes a man (a clever and funny performance by
Doherty). In a reversal of Tootsie's feminist theme, Prue learns how to
be a better woman for having a been a man, though a lot more repairs
take place at the house while she's a he. "Animal Pragmatism" concerns
yet another spell gone awry, this one turning a pig, a rabbit, and a
snake into full-grown men with the characteristics of the creatures they
were. The final show, "Be Careful What You Witch For," is a lot of fun,
co-starring French Stewart as a genie who makes a lot of mischief at
the same time the sisters are trying to put a Dragon Warlock in his
place. --Tom Keogh
Season Three
Charmed: The Complete
Third Season is a little different from its previous seasons in that the
long-running series, for the first time, is dominated by a single story
arc that affects nearly every episode. Actor Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck,
Fantastic Four) joins the Charmed cast as Assistant District Attorney
Cole Turner, who enters the show when he unsuccessfully prosecutes a
demon-possessed killer who attacks the Halliwell sisters' police ally,
Inspector Morris (Dorian Gregory). In short order, Cole becomes
romantically involved with Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), but it's soon
revealed that he's actually a demon, part of an unholy plot to destroy
the Charmed Ones, i.e. the Halliwell sisters. Trouble is, Cole's human
incarnation begins to battle with his demon self, and the rest of the
season is really dedicated to the ramifications of his ambivalence. Even
old issues on Charmed, such as the forbidden love of Piper (Holly Marie
Combs) and Leo (Brian Krause), an angelic Whitelighter, become
secondary to the Cole-Phoebe story. (The latter becomes supernatural
when Phoebe's misery over Cole turns her into a shrieking Banshee and
the pair meet up in the hellish Dark Side.) Season highlights include
"Primrose Empath," in which Shannen Doherty gives a superb performance
when her character, Prue Halliwell, takes on the powers of an empath and
is soon overwhelmed by the emotional pain carried by scores of others.
"Sleuthing with the Enemy" finds Prue and Piper, in the first of several
such stories, working at opposite purposes from Phoebe, who is intent
on saving Cole from capture or destruction. The clever and comic "Look
Who's Barking" concerns a spell that turns Prue into a Banshee-tracking
dog who gets hit by a car and briefly becomes the pet of a handsome,
single man. Season finale "All Hell Breaks Loose" may be the best
Charmed episode in its first three years, a scary and apocalyptic tale
in which the powers of the Halliwell sisters, long kept secret, are
revealed to an insatiable news media, the police and military, and
dangerous crazies. Not to be missed. --Tom Keogh
Season Four
Charmed:
The Complete Fourth Season is a captivating story of big changes in the
world of the Halliwell sisters. San Francisco witches Phoebe (Alyssa
Milano) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs) grieve the loss of Prue (Shannen
Doherty) at the same time they discover the existence of a fourth
Halliwell sibling: Paige (Rose McGowan ), offspring of the girls' late
mother and a Whitelighter (thus making Paige part witch and part angel).
Paige was raised as an adopted child, but has been aware of her sisters
for awhile. Still, she's ambivalent about joining forces with them
(despite having two powers instead of the usual one), and Piper--now the
oldest of the surviving sisters, reluctantly taking over Prue's
position as leader--is in no hurry to welcome Paige into the fold. Blood
and loyalty prevail, however, and soon Paige takes over Phoebe's old
role as screw-up rookie, mangling potions and causing havoc (such as
switching bodies with Phoebe at an inopportune time). But her strong
survival sense, compassion, and ability to read people (she's studying
to become a social worker) add a powerful new weapon to the Halliwell
arsenal. Meanwhile, several key storylines from the third season carry
over to this new year, notably the running drama concerning
demon-with-a-soul Cole (Julian McMahon) and his ongoing battle to stay
free of hell's wrath while maintaining dark powers. His romance with
Phoebe leads them to become ruler and queen of the Underworld, where
Phoebe's loyalty is tested and a demonic baby enters the picture. Piper
and her husband, Whitelighter Leo (Brian Krause), deal with sorrow over
Prue and frustration over not being able to have a child, and the
sisters' police ally, Inspector Morris (Dorian Gregory), has to contend
with an out-of-control boss bent on charging the Halliwells with a
crime. All that and a witch-hunter and appearance by the angel of
destiny, who offers to relieve the witches of their magical burden. The
most impressive aspect of the fourth season is the way Doherty's loss
isn't treated as a mere vacuum to be filled with a new body, but is
taken as an opportunity to reinvent the show in several crucial ways.
--Tom Keogh
Season Five
Sexy, silly, sardonic, somber: the
fifth season of Charmed finds the Charmed Ones--sisters Phoebe (Alyssa
Milano), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Paige (Rose McGowan)--on an
emotional roller coaster. Yet they're also in a fairly comfortable
groove with one another. McGowan, who joined the cast in year 4 as a
replacement for Shannen Doherty, is now a perfect fit, turning Paige
into a self-deprecating, uber-witch whose clipped dialogue meshes
beautifully with Milano's neurotic phrasing and Combs' no-nonsense bark.
Season 5 ties up a lot of loose ends, heralds some major shifts in the
show's running narrative, and ushers in a couple of new characters. One
of the latter is Piper's baby by husband Leo (Brian Krause), the angelic
Whitelighter whose role as an emissary of the heavenly Elders changes
dramatically in the two-part finale, "Oh, My Goddess!" Before that
happens, however, Phoebe must contend with the reappearance of her
husband, the demon Cole (Julian McMahon), who is determined to win her
back by proving his evil nature is under control. As usual, all the
sisters must use the Power of Three to protect a number of vulnerable
mortals, and even some immortals. Among these are a mermaid whose
immortality is sought by a greedy demon, several wood nymphs frolicking
in the streets of San Francisco, and married men targeted by a hot Siren
with a killer kiss. Season highlights include "Happily Ever After," in
which characters from multiple fairy tales come to life; "Lucky
Charmed," a fun story introducing a demon-vanquishing Leprechaun; and
"Sense and Sense Ability," a clever drama in which Phoebe goes deaf,
Piper becomes blind, and Paige turns mute as the result of a wicked
witch's spell. The aforementioned finale sees all three sisters
officially acknowledged as the goddesses they truly are. But it also
introduces a new, major character, Chris (Drew Fuller), who seems
benevolent but may very well be a wolf in sheep's clothing. We shall
see. --Tom Keogh
Season Seven
The challenges come fast and
furious for the Halliwell sisters in Charmed: The Complete Seventh
Season. Some of them are pretty exotic, too: a visit from Lady Godiva,
who inspires a certain, unexpected freedom in witchy sisters Phoebe
(Alyssa Milano), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Paige (Rose McGowan)
while dodging the evil designs of a nasty land baron. Shakti and Shiva,
the ultimate lovers of Hinduism, manage to occupy the bodies of Piper
and still-evolving Whitelighter Leo (Brian Krause) at a very bad time:
The consummation of their love will destroy the universe. An ex-demon
turned professor at the Magic School falls under a spell that causes him
to believe he's Robin Hood and that Phoebe is Maid Marian. And it goes
on like that: an invisible demon posing as an imaginary friend to a
child; a time-travel trip to 1899 (and the site of a tragic fire) that
strands Phoebe; the arrival of Pandora's Box in the hands of a
shape-shifting visitor from the Underworld. Things never quiet down for
the Halliwells, and their lives are even more complicated by Zankou
(Oded Fehr), who shows up in a running storyline about his effort to
release the Shadow, the ultimate power, and steal the Book of Shadows,
which is crucial to the sisters' witchcraft. Meanwhile, Leo must make a
crucial choice in order to release Piper and Phoebe from their deaths at
the hands of yet another demon: Should he save them or engage in magic
that will ultimately rob him of his free will? An exciting season full
of new changes and characters, transitions, children, and much else,
Charmed: The Complete Seventh Season carries on this long-running
television show's breathless pace and intriguing mix of the arcane and
ordinary. --Tom Keogh
Season Eight
Season eight of Charmed
brings the story of the Halliwell sisters to a satisfying conclusion,
but not without a lot of bumps on the road for the witchy trio. The
season begins with Paige (Rose McGowan ), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and
Phoebe (Alyssa Milano)--exhausted after years of magical responsibility
for protecting the mortal world and fighting off demons--pretending to
be dead and hiding behind new appearances. (The characters, when seen in
mirrored reflections or through the eyes of others, are played by
different actresses.) The gambit works smoothly for awhile, until each
of the sisters begins missing aspects of her old life and feeling a
sense of responsibility for protecting the innocent. Meanwhile, a gaggle
of restless, young demons suspect that the Halliwells aren’t really
dead at all, and are out to prove it. While fending off new demonic
plots to take over the sisters’ San Francisco home and seize control of a
school of magic, Piper and Phoebe’s father, Victor (James Read), takes
care of Piper and Leo’s kids at the near cost of his own life. Also,
Phoebe falls for a sculptor (Jason Lewis) early in the season and Cupid
(Victor Webster) himself later on; Paige considers a career in law
enforcement; and a newcomer arrives on the scene: Billie (Kaley Cuoco), a
young witch with a flashy, Buffy-like style as demon-slayer. Billie’s
story provides a narrative backbone to Charmed: The Final Season.
Powerful but untutored, Billie reluctantly becomes a protégé of Paige,
learning the ropes of witchcraft just as Paige did a couple of seasons
back. The problem is that Billie makes a well-intentioned mess of a
number of situations (at one point, she draws the attention of a
Homeland Security agent to her powers), and then goes rogue when her
long-lost sister shows up and turns Billie against the Halliwells. The
latter half of the season slowly draws to a showdown between the two
sets of siblings, but as always, there are lot of storylines with plenty
of other issues and action to worry about. Longtime Charmed fans will
certainly enjoy the series finale, an imaginative, time-travel tale in
which some of the main characters meet different versions of themselves,
and we all get a peek into what the future holds in store for the
Halliwells as individual women.
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