Well, I saw "Charmed", and I wasn't after a while. "Angel" and "Firefly" are good follow-ups, though. I'm also stoked about seeing "Mad Men" again. After being at the Paley Fest panel, I am very interested where the story will resume.

impalergeneral | June 11, 15:09 CET

Hey, be grateful they stopped at Charmed and didn't include Smallville. I know I am! ;)

I always get giddy when I see outside fandom praise (little be it or a lot) for our verse. Silly, really. It isn't like I made these shows, but, they're part of me all the same. Tis nice, this giddiness.

Mirage | June 11, 15:16 CET

Rather watch Smallville than Charmed, least they have a Tom Welling.

shesmyeverything | June 11, 15:41 CET

I would rather do neither, but if I had to choose, Charmed. Its kind of like "If you like Swordfish, you should try swallowing actual swords!" or "If you like Kobe Beef, you should also try digesting organic fertilizer." Yes, now I am just being mean :) But I'm trying to be funny at the same time!

zeitgeist | June 11, 15:47 CET

It's this kind of lazy writing that drives me nuts. Rather than actually think through the qualities that have made Buffy an iconic show, the writer/editor knee-jerkily say, "Hey, Charmed had girls who were witches. That's kind of like vampires." Some of the other shows on the list - The Wire, Lost, Mad Men - come so much closer to the kind of rare tv experience that I look for.

dougschoemer | June 11, 15:54 CET

I saw maybe a dozen episodes of "Charmed" before I ever even thought about watching "Buffy." Mildly entertaining, but not very memorable.

Nolan | June 11, 16:15 CET

If you like The Wire you may also like Cop Rock.

Results may vary. Charmed not to be taken internally.

Craig Oxbrow | June 11, 16:16 CET

Maybe people connect Charmed to Buffy because both were TV shows from the 90s on The WB with strong female characters and a fantastic world setting. But while Buffy was mature and had a lot of layers, Charmed focused on very small outfits and silly plots. Long story short, Charmed was bad TV and I can't believe Angel got canceled and that trash went on for 8 seasons.

Alias and Veronica Mars are great shows, eventhough Alias might seem a bit of a small outfit fest like Charmed at times...

dnlmglhs | June 11, 16:23 CET

Still reeling over the "if you liked Mad Men" you might also like Gossip Girl. OMFG!!! indeed.

Znachki | June 11, 17:07 CET

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

I hate Charmed. It's the anti-Buffy. Everything that was good about Buffy was turned inside out and stripped of any redeeming qualities that it may possibly have had. And then it ran longer than any of Joss' shows. This is but one of the many reasons that I have little faith in humanity.

(By the way, I would without a moment's hesitation pick Smallville over Charmed, but that is still one baaaaad show.)

[ edited by UnpluggedCrazy on 2008-06-11 23:35 ]

UnpluggedCrazy | June 11, 17:35 CET

Glad to see you're indifferent about it, UnpluggedCrazy.

korkster | June 11, 18:30 CET

I liked and watched Charmed until I watched the first season of Buffy. Then Charmed fell by the wayside. It's just not a great show. It felt silly in comparison. It's disturbing to me that it's even put in the same category as Buffy.

Scaniano | June 11, 18:34 CET

I like Charmed. I also like Xena. Because I've become predictable and shallow in my old age. LOL

I didn't initially watch Charmed for the same reason I didn't watch Buffy. "pfft, there is only Xena!" I'm glad I grew out of that.

But I think Xena has more similar elements to Buffy than Charmed does. Xena has the dark + campy + hand-to-hand combat + character arcs. On Charmed, only Phoebe is skilled in martial arts and she doesn't used it very often. It's not campy and it's less serialized.

Veronica Mars though? I get that a lot of Buffy fans seem to like it, but I don't see that show as particularly "Buffy" apart from the age. Then again, I don't think Reaper is either even though all the buzz around it mentions "It's like Buffy". I think Chuck is more Buffy-like.

I guess it's all relative to the individual viewer.

GrrrlRomeo | June 11, 18:40 CET

Charmed was bad TV and I can't believe Angel got canceled and that trash went on for 8 seasons.

I was never too upset by Angel's cancellation because the show had a good run and it came to a nice close (I thought), but when you put it that way, that's pretty obnoxious by the late WB. What were they thinking?

If you like The Wire you may also like Cop Rock.

Let's be careful out there, alright?

dollrific | June 11, 18:43 CET

Charmed's not campy, but Buffy is? WTF?

Invisible Green | June 11, 19:05 CET

Never watched Charmed.
Watched Smallville for James Marster's guestage the whole season the first time, only his episodes the second.
Very uneven show. Some good stuff, some bad. They have great things to work with, the ideas are good, but the writing is dull, lots of intense close-ups, very little action or dialogue.
Good looking show though, not just the people but everything looks good.

I was one of those people who loved the Reaper pilot, thought it was gonna be great, thought the lead was a young Xander, but then it all just fell apart. Only got through 2 and a half episodes.

Never cared for Veronica Mars, got halfway through the pilot, didn't laugh once, decided it wasn't for me.

Xane | June 11, 19:57 CET

dollrific, I'm still trying to figure out why I clicked on your link. Oy.

Xane, I wouldn't say Veronica Mars is a "laughing" type of show, definitely more drama, but if I remember correctly, there is some witty dialogue to get you through. I think what fans love most about that show is the relationship between Veronica and her father, Keith Mars. GREAT chemistry.

korkster | June 11, 20:17 CET

Charmed's not campy, but Buffy is? WTF?

Well, Charmed never did a musical episode.

GrrrlRomeo | June 11, 20:34 CET

Hahaa!! :) That must be it.

zeitgeist | June 11, 20:40 CET

I find it funny to hear Charmed and Buffy linked because the reason I've never seen Charmed is that I heard so many bad things about it on Whedonesque.

jcs | June 11, 23:19 CET

Well, Charmed never did a musical episode.

Well, I guess they didn't want their viewers' ears bleeding any more than they already were. ;)

Hey, at least they didn't say something like, if you liked BtVS, then you'll like Dawson's Creek for the following reasons:
1) it was on the same channel
2) the two shows premiered within a year of each other
3) they both started in the characters' sophomore year of high school, and
4) if you haven't realized how awesome BtVS is, we already know your head is in fact made of cabbage.

...Then again, there was always Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Alex Mack...

BandofBuggered | June 12, 02:12 CET

Quite like Smallville, started very cheesy, got darker - I enjoyed it more...

SmileTime | June 12, 02:46 CET

Well, I watched Charmed, Smallville and Xena. I would pick the leather swimsuit, bad ass chick any day. Ahhh, Ares, my first bad boy leather crush... how old I feel now... (still ache when I think of the loss of Kevin Smith).

Xena had a musical episode (or was it two?) and I've always believed it (and Hercules) were eerily paralleled with Buffy/Angel in their characters. I used to watch Charmed before I started pleading that they kill off my favorite character (Cole) –for good this time- and finally, with great relief, I stopped watching. Smallville had potential, had an amazing actor (Michael Rosenbaum left, yay!! He could so do better, and for the sake of his talent, I wish he will. *nudges him towards Joss*), then it quickly lost its way with way too many plot holes, inconsistencies and oh-so-un-original dialogue & convenient plots (or how so few hardcore SV fans try to spin it: tribute to storylines from shows/movies. I remember someone once made a long list of said ‘tributes’).

But, hey, to each their own. I rather stick to my whedonverse, stray from time to time (sometimes to something good, others not so), but at the end of the day, I know who I go home to :D

Mirage | June 12, 03:39 CET

Mirage; Xena had 2 musical episodes, one successful, one I leave it to individual opinions.

DaddyCatALSO | June 12, 11:47 CET

Whoa, an Alex Mack reference. I'd forgotten about that show!

Sunfire | June 12, 11:54 CET

I am surprised they suggested Charmed but not Supernatural. Of all the horror/drama/action series to follow Buffy, it probably has the best scripts, Jared and Jensen are fantastic in nearly every scene with supporting actors of high quality and a general atmosphere that is reminiscent of early Buffy.

DreamDancer | June 12, 13:21 CET

Having just started watching Supernatural (almost through the first season) I kind of agree with DreamDancer - it has an interesting dynamic to be sure. It has an x-filesish 'horror movie in one episode' aspect, though the humour is a little sparser than I would like and I'm hoping the arc elements take a larger role later on. Seeing Amy Acker and Julie Benz (who both acquitted themselves admirably) was a definite plus, though sometimes I think basing it around only two main characters has drawbacks with repetitititiiveness. That may change, later (I am blissfully unspoiled) so I'll keep on with it until I am up to date.

Charmed, on the other hand, was an unmitigated bucket of poo. It was a soap with no redeeming wit, metaphorical significance, or interesting quirkiness to redeem it. In my humble opinion, of course, no offense if there's anyone out there who enjoyed it.

I stopped with the Smallville after season two though I may revisit it. I suppose Michael Rosenbaum (clearly the standout at the time, though Mack had her moments) is probably available for a Dollhouse appearance if it gets fully picked up...just a thought.

giles (yes, it is my real name) | June 12, 14:49 CET

I actually liked Charmed more than Buffy.

leiasky | June 12, 18:41 CET

Charmed had a lesbian witch in an episode once. She died. She was killed by cursed pirates.

I don't know why people don't think the show was funny.

GrrrlRomeo | June 12, 19:19 CET