An Overview of Charmed

Charmed is a long-running U.S. television series by Aaron Spelling about three sisters who are powerful good witches known throughout the supernatural community as "The Charmed Ones." Each sister possesses unique magical powers that grow and evolve over the course of their lives. The Charmed Ones live together in a manor and use their supernatural abilities to battle the warlocks, demons and other evil forces that populate San Francisco, California.

The show is the last in its generation of supernatural-themed shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, or Roswell, and has many times been noted for its mixing of multiple genres (from horror and fantasy to comedy and even soap), as well as continuing despite a number of jump the shark moments, most famously the departure of one of the leading actresses at the end of season three. It also had the highest rated debut (until the debut of Smallville at 8.40 million), for the WB Television Network, with 7.70 million viewers tuning in for the series premiere, "Something Wicca This Way Comes".

As of January 2006, with the airing of episode 8.12, Charmed has become the longest running show with all-female leads, surpassing Laverne & Shirley. Also, after much fan speculation, in March 2006 it was officially announced by The WB that season eight would be the final season of the series, finishing its run on May 21.

Premise

Charmed began with the three Halliwell sisters - Prue, Piper and Phoebe - coming together six months after the death of their grandmother. After moving into the old family manor in San Francisco, the youngest sister, Phoebe, discovered an old book - the Book of Shadows - in the attic. Reading an incantation from it, she unwittingly set in motion events that fulfilled an ancient prophecy. Strange and harrowing occurrences began which eventually led the sisters to realize that they are witches.

They discovered that, not only do they possess supernatural powers, they come from a long line of powerful witches. The first in the line, Melinda Warren, prophesised that, one day, the Charmed Ones would be delivered from her lineage. A force of good, they would be three sisters gifted with the powers to battle the forces of evil. Prue Halliwell, the oldest sister, developed the power of telekinesis, later gaining the power of astral projection. Piper, the middle child, was initially given the power to freeze time (temporal stasis), later developing the power to blow things up, molecular combustion; both of these abilities are linked to molecular movement rate. Phoebe, the youngest sister, had the original power of premonitions, later obtaining the power to levitate; in addition, her empathic powers developed in later years.

After the tragic death of Prue, it was revealed that the sisters had a younger half-sister, born to their mother Patty and her whitelighter. As this was forbidden and unheard of at the time, the baby was given to a nun and later adopted by the Matthews, who named her Paige. Due to her whitelighter father, she has the power to "orb". This also had an effect on the powers she inherited from Prue, and instead of telekinesis, Paige is able to call for an object; the object in question will then orb to her.

A central theme throughout the show's run is the sisters' struggle to balance normal lives with their supernatural responsibilites. The burden of keeping their destinies a secret from the outside world has repeatedly created tensions in their friendships, workplaces and romantic relationships. Only a few know their secret and help them on a regular basis. The most important is Leo Wyatt, a whitelighter assigned by the Elders to guide and protect the sisters. Leo means a great deal to the sisters both professionally and personally: he heals their wounds, advises them collectively and individually and mediates between them and the enigmatic Elders. He is the love of Piper's life, her husband and father of her two children. Others who have kept the Charmed Ones' secret over the years include policemen Andy Trudeau and Darryl Morris, tormented half-demon Cole Turner — his demon half going by the name Belthazor — the mysterious time-traveler Chris Perry and most recently Billie Jenkins.

Main Characters

The Charmed Ones

The latter cast of Charmed during the eighth season.
- Prudence "Prue" Halliwell (Shannen Doherty) (seasons 1 - 3)
- Piper Halliwell (Holly Marie Combs)
- Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano)
- Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan) (seasons 4 - 8)

Supporting Characters

- Leo Wyatt (Brian Krause) (seasons 2-8)
- Darryl Morris (Dorian Gregory) (seasons 1 - 7)
- Andy Trudeau (Ted King) (season 1)
- Dan Gordon (Greg Vaughan) (season 2)
- Jenny Gordon (Karis Paige Bryant) (season 2)
- Cole Turner (Julian McMahon) (seasons 3 - 5, 7)
- Christopher "Chris" (Perry) Halliwell (Drew Fuller) (seasons 5 - 8)
- Billie Jenkins (Kaley Cuoco) (season 8)

Recurring Characters

- Penelope "Penny" Halliwell (Jennifer Rhodes)
- Patricia "Patty" Halliwell (Finola Hughes) (seasons 1 - 5, 7 - 8)
- Victor Bennet (James Read) (seasons 3 - 8)
- Sam Wilder (Scott Jaeck) (seasons 2, 5, 8)
- Little Wyatt Halliwell (Jason & Kristopher Simmons) (seasons 5 - 8)
- Older Wyatt Halliwell (Wes Ramsey) (seasons 6 - 8)
- Little Christopher "Chris" Perry Halliwell (seasons 6 - 8)
- Christy Jenkins (Marne Patterson) (season 8)

Departure Of Shannen

At the end of the third season, Shannen Doherty left the show, resulting in her character's death, and in the introduction of Rose McGowan's character Paige. While in episode 3.16 the Angel of Death foreshadowed Prue's death, episode 3.22 remained as a cliffhanger, and Prue's death was only established in the season four premiere episode. Fan speculation about continues to this day, some pointing to rumours of on-set issues with Doherty regarding punctual appearance at work and tension with co-workers, others putting blame on Alyssa Milano for reasons such as her supposedly asking the show's producers to let Doherty go. These rumours even today lead to harsh debates and flame wars over whether it was Doherty's, Milano's or someone else's "fault" that Doherty left.

Doherty's departure is the most known change in Charmed, and while there is debate over whether the show got better or worse after Prue's death, it is most often agreed that after season three the characters' dynamics have changed, and the individual sisters' storylines became more balanced.

In its eight-year course, Charmed has undergone many changes, including departure of cast and crew members, some of which have had a large impact on the series as a whole. While in the case of some of the newer changes executive producer Brad Kern openly referred to budget cuts as the reason, most of the changes happened without the reasons being released into public, giving rise to much speculation and debates among fans. Some of the changes are frequent topics of argument in almost every Charmed internet forum even today, most notably the Kern-Burge and the Milano-Doherty dispute.

Forever Charmed

The series will come to an end on May 21 2006. Shannen Doherty has stated that she won't be returning for the finale, but recently met with Rose McGowan in New York, and told her that she does a great job on the show. Brad Kern has said: "Prue's memory will be kept alive and be honored, but we didn't ask Shannen to come back. The show is more about the sisters who are here, not the one who's not." Kern said during the set visit that many of the fans' favorite characters from the past will be returning. The three sisters' grandmother and mom (Penny and Patty), the 'Future Chris', 'Future Wyatt' and others will be joining the end of the show for the wedding of Phoebe. "In one scene we will have 12 characters," Kern said. "It will include family from the past and also future generations to show that the life of Charmed will go on, even if it's not on TV."
The actors will wrap up production on April 12, 2006.

Update: 2009

Charmed is now finished for good. The cast wont be coming back for a season 9 of Charmed for now... atleast you have 178 episodes to watch again and again!