You have to register and really, do I need to, just to say GAAAA..CK?

lycoming | July 22, 05:59 CET

Sure, it did - if you don't mind the bad writing, bad acting, and bad... uhm... everything, really.

zencat | July 22, 06:02 CET

Uttering these two shows in the same breath is a sacrilage.

I've watched quite a bit of charmed, I have a friend who loves it and told me to give it a chance, I found it utterly unappelaing.

Any and all deep-thinking seems to be an accident from what I have seen so far.

rabid | July 22, 06:24 CET

I like Charmed ok BUT I would never compare it to the genius that was Buffy. No way.

AngelicSlayer | July 22, 06:44 CET

I watched "Charmed" for four years. It was pretty entertaining at times, but it very occasionally had any emotional resonance. Though it may be classified as a drama, it really isn't one.

In it's first season, they were actually daring enough to kill off a main character. In fact, the "unconcious Prue talks to dead Andy in a heaven-like environment" scene was kind of moving. (Also, very cheesy.) About twice a season they'd hit a real emotional vibe like that.

Charmed is a Hallmark card with witchcraft and cleavage.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a drama with depth.

Invisible Green | July 22, 08:34 CET

it was good in it's early stages, but it's been over for a long time. Charmed is a dead horse that's still being beaten. Not only beaten, but shot, maced, flamethrowered, and liberated from an opressve regime.

redtenko | July 22, 10:56 CET

You could say the same about BtVS, especially in its last season. I might not choose those exact verbs, but there's an argument to be made for some milder ones, I think. That said, I'm probably the last person who'd defend the writing and acting on Charmed, at any point in the series. The serious problems in those two areas did it for me around the time of Prue's death. I haven't bothered to tune in since.

Smo | July 22, 11:16 CET

The difference between Buffy and Charmed is that whilst many think Buffy's final two years went downhill (not me to be honest, i loved them) the worst episodes of season six and seven still had more depth and character than anything that Charmed ever produced.

The basic plot of the first two years was:

1/Evil demon type thing pursues the sisters.
2/Sisters evade demon for 40 minutes whilst Piper makes up her mind which of her numerous guys she loves this week.
3/One sister remembers they happen to be witches and the girls string a couple of lines together for a spell which, had they had any intelligence, they could have done two minutes after the demon first turned up.

Then someone magically presses the reset button to avoid any of that nasty continuity in the show!

I swear, as far as power and skill is concerned Willow could defeat the Halliwells with both hands tied behind her back and her mouth gagged! ;)

Disciple of Spike | July 22, 13:05 CET

Tru Calling is the kind of bad show I like to watch and make fun of.

Charmed is the kind of bad show that makes me want to travel back in time and murder the person who invented television.

prufrock | July 22, 16:50 CET

That's big problem in current TV and Movie media generally. People tend to convey that strong exploration of emotional events in characters life reflects as good writing, thus a good show.
Mutant Enemy shows go further,it wasn't only about the themes than ran through each episode or season, they are clever shows, well written with a lot of layers, not just amazing stories and character developments.
I do watch both Charmed and Tru Calling, I feel they are entertaining in a whole different way. They are easy TV shows, you don't have to think too much while watching them. You can read the paper, do crosswords, re-read something (I'm one of those type of person who can't seem to read in silence, I have to listen to music or watch something while I read, even if I'm not really listening to the music, or watching whatever it's running on the TV) or while doing other stuff: there's nothing too subtle that you miss, and you still understand the storyline they're building, they have engaging characters even when poorly built or written.
And there are definetely worst shows on the air...

Numfar PTB | July 22, 20:26 CET

Charmed is a fun, fluffy show. I like it, of course not to the extent of my love for Angel and Buffy.

Sister Spooky | July 22, 22:30 CET

I think for me it is just about the fact that my television time is severly limited due to my real life getting in the way so i make sure that i only watch the best of the best.

Charmed may well be adequate for some to kill an hour watching but that isn't what i'm after. To me it would be an hour wasted that could have been spent doing something a hell of a lot better.

Disciple of Spike | July 22, 23:03 CET