Charmed: Chick Flick (2.18)

It's always evident that a TV series has reached full confidence in what its doing when it starts to poke fun at itself. One of the countless things that make Chick Flick such a masterpiece is that writers Chris Levinson and Zack Estrin repeatedly pull from Charmed's history to create great dialogue, allowing our familiarity with the show as an audience to enhance the viewing experience. So, here, we get references to how terrible exposition can be, we finally get some answers on whether or not the sisters clean up after the demon attacks (and how they feel about in general). Chick Flick is also one of the few truly innovative Charmed hours, with a great central idea and perfect use of the show's protagonists.

There's also a clear theme of illusion running through the episode, especially in Prue's introduction to her idol. Finley Beck is an obnoxious egotist who treats everybody as beneath him, and Prue learns a lot about expectations through the story. It was pretty funny, though, to see Prue act so devastated, since I'm sure Shannen Doherty would probably beat you over the head with her purse if you ever met her in reality. Heh.

And then there's Phoebe's infatuation with a movie character. Unlike Finley, Billy actually lives up to Phoebe's expectations, even though both know that they can never actually be a couple. Bizarrely for Charmed, there was actual tenderness to their relationship, especially their great goodbye scene with Billy on the theater screen and Phoebe standing in reality.

The script has some truly great comedic dialogue, too, especially during the sister's interactions with the horror monsters. "We have got to do something about that complexion!", "Hello, privacy - hello, axe murderer!" And I am the only one who loves that there's a movie called Axe Husband in the Charmed universe? Chick Flick is that rare episode which not only features some fun, intriguing concepts. It also straight-up looks damn cool (Prue and Piper punching the bad guys at the same time; Piper and Phoebe falling backwards when the film resets), with a wonderful script from Levinson and Estrin. A real series classic. A+

Credits
Guest stars Chris Payne Gilbert (Billy); Robin Atkin Downes (The Demon of Illusion); Mark Lindsay Chapman (Finley Beck); Kent Faulcon (Gil Corso)
Writers Chris Levinson, Zack Estrin Director Michael Schultz