This was always going to be a challenge. Not only does it have to reboot the series, it also has to deal with the death of Prue Halliwell, an event made harder since she was played by an actress who, for whatever reason, was scrubbed from the show's history. Even trickier was the fact that season three ended on two explosive cliffhangers, both of which have to be wrapped-up off-screen since Shannen Doherty had, over the summer hiatus, become the Woman That Shall Not Be Named, an awkward after-effect of behind-the-scenes catfights and tensions. Her absence is definitely felt, the two cliffhangers wrapped up clumsily via some awkward dialogue about Cole saving Phoebe from the underworld and Leo only having time to save one sister after both Prue and Piper were flung through the Wall of Doom. But, generally, Charmed Again Part 1 successfully resurrects the series with its intriguing new star, while insisting on a surprising level of humanity: Prue not casually dismissed and the show declining to 'Cousin Oliver' in a young and hot long-lost sister.
I don't know if it was the influence of a justifiably pissed Holly Marie Combs, but the introduction of Paige isn't as easy as it could have been. Piper doesn't want to be distracted from her mourning, let alone want to get a new sister. Phoebe is a little more open to the idea, but it's still something that is disturbing and shocking for the two of them, a surprisingly human concept for a show that usually depicts so much silliness.
Rose McGowan was, at the time, an interesting choice for the new sister. She adds a little flavor and energy to the show that was previously missing, giving Paige an inquisitive and sexy vibe which blends nicely with Piper and Phoebe. I also like that she's naturally a protector of some sort, with her job at a social services office. Obviously, Rose isn't the world's greatest actor, but at least in her first season she seemed to be trying in some form, instead of just phoning in her performance. Here she's interesting and dynamic, which is exactly what the character called for.
Charmed Again Part 1 is forced to maneuver around an array of roadblocks (Prue's death, Shannen's absence, Paige's introduction, Cole's shifting personality etc.) and mostly pulls the whole thing off. The show looks darker, more expensive, and Holly is pretty remarkable. The show is evolving, in general, and that's obviously a good thing. B
Credits
Guest stars Finola Hughes (Patty Halliwell); James Read (Victor Bennett); Jennifer Rhodes (Penny 'Grams' Halliwell); Jordan Bridges (Shane); Yancey Arias (Inspector Cortez); Krista Allen (The Oracle); Ben Guillory (The Source)
Writer Brad Kern Director Michael Schultz
I find it very difficult to hold it against the show for the wrap up of the cliffhangers of the previous season given the circumstances. I actually feel this episode was handled magnificently by everyone. I couldn't see it going down any other way than to include a ridiculous stunt double, which would have cheapened the whole thing entirely.
ReplyDeleteOn your comment about Cole's 'Shifting personality', I really have to say that I felt it was quite natural, and was almost the same as the man who we saw before the whole brotherhood saga.
Damn, I always wonder if I sound too harsh with this show. I tried to make a point in my new season one reviews to always praise the sisterly chemistry and the general 'feel-good' quality of the show even in its bad episodes, but I think I lost that a little as time went on.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that the show handled Prue's death as best they could. I can't imagine some of the horrible options they could have run with instead.
By Cole's 'shifting personality', I meant more about his allegiances with the Underworld, which were changed after Prue's death. I probably should have made that clearer, since I agree with what you wrote about his actual personality.
As a really big fan of the show, I never gave much thought to Cole's "shifting personality" but come to think of it, I really agree with you. I get the logistics of resolving the main cliffhanger of the wall because of not being able to use Shannen (body double and good camera work would have sufficed tho, just saying) however with Cole they really did a 180 and I was hoping after Prue's death and everything calmed down we would have got a Cole episode or arc to detail the change over and bring light to his new character as it is kind of whisplash. Instead we had Julian McMahon absent for two or so episodes then the Black as Cole episode to get rid of Belthazar which I didn't appreciate as the story had a lot more to tie up from the Brotherhood storyline to Cole's dad's soul, Raynor, escaping the Source etc. It was poorly written. Episodes 5 + 6 should have been Cole focused , instead we got that stupid shrinking and electricity demon.
DeleteOh I get you, completely misunderstood that one.
ReplyDeleteSorry if my comment came across a little bossy. You're reviews are very refreshing and honest, never change the way you write them!
One option that was being considered (I read a few years ago) was recasting Soleil Moon Frye as Prue. Now I DO like her, but the idea of recasting Prue wouldn't have worked, it just would have led to even worse comparisons and scutiny. Frye wouldn't have made a good Paige either. Then again, it might have led to season 4 being a lot different, even better maybe since things wouldn't have been changed too much.
Oops, super comment.
I for one am glad they didn't recast Prue. After three years alot of Shannen's personality bled into Prue and made Prue the Prue we loved and another actress might not have been able to tap into that and alienated fans. Hard as it can be, I'm glad she died than being recast because I can't see anyone else being Prue.
DeleteGreat review as usual, max.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the show ever quite reached the same level of quality as it hit in season three, and Prue's death kind of saw the sisterly element creep away from the show. They all seemed to slowly pull apart from each other. Paige was constantly trying to prove her independence in the most idiotic ways, Phoebe was chasing men or whining about not having a baby, and then Piper became the only likeable character on the show (mostly because HMC was always pretty great, even when Piper/Leo went through their one millionth breakup).
Which is a shame since Rose McGowan could not have been a better fit for the show - she was pretty, smart, a good actress and immediately had chemistry with Combs and Milano. Really, they couldn't have found a better person for the role, it just worked. Rose is actually pretty great throughout season four. I loved Paige at first...
Combs is the best thing about this season. I love Piper's very natural reaction to Prue's death, it was nice to see someone mourning for an extended period of time on a show like Charmed. I loved Piper's reluctant acceptance of Paige. And, flashing forward a bit to the end of the season - her extreme reaction to Phoebe's newly gained underworld-y status. I just flat out love Piper.
Off-topic; I finally noticed the 'seizure' acting everyone used to go on about back on the Charmed boards. I was watching the Obsession episode (season five) late at night, and the actress playing Glen's wife to be used some of Rose's acting tics (bit odd that I only noticed that after several years of watching, and only from watching another actress play Paige...)
-tvfan332
panda No problem with the "bossiness", which I didn't get from you, anyway. It's just something I'm aware of. My old Charmed reviews on TV.com involved so much aggressive trashing of the show and the thought of all of that really embarrasses me now. So I'm always trying to save the criticism for episodes that really deserve it. I don't know. It's a thin line. And Soleil Moon Frye would have been strange. She's a total sitcom actress, which would have shifted the dynamic differently. And a Prue re-cast would have been horrible.
ReplyDeletetvfan I agree about the sisters falling apart. What frustrated me was that this wasn't done intentionally. It would have been interesting to see the sisters naturally grow apart like adult siblings usually do, but the writing got so crummy that somebody like Phoebe just got so arrogant and flighty. Piper became one-note and constantly miserable, and the writers seemed to be unsure of how to write for Paige post-season four. I always thought the illogical decision to have her quit her social services job was the shark-jumping moment for her entire character.
Also, I've already reviewed season five (just staggering the posting), and I actually mentioned in my House Call review how great Erinn Bartlett was while playing Paige. She completely nailed Rose's... uh... 'quirks'. All the tics and jitters. It put Alyssa's weak body swap performance in Enter the Demon to shame, seriously.
Thanks for the great comments, guys. Totally feels like TV.com again, heh.
By Cole's 'shifting personality', I meant more about his allegiances with the Underworld, which were changed after Prue's death. I probably should have made that clearer, since I agree with what you wrote about his actual personality.
ReplyDeleteCole's allegiances with the Underworld changed during the second half of Season 3. After all, the sisters had to protect him from demonic bounty hunters "Death Takes a Halliwell" and he found himself in trouble with his former mentor before killing the guy . . . BEFORE PRUE'S DEATH.
Just out of curiosity, do you know about the existence of the 'lost episode' in which all the stuff they mention in this one actually happened?
ReplyDeleteIt always irks me that the episode between the last one and this one was essentially locked away after airing due to whatever was going on behind the scenes. I saw it twice a million years ago and would have recorded it or something if I'd known I'd never see it again. It did a lot to close potholes and carry the story to season 4.
I LOVE your reviews, btw! I'm watching Charmed and laughing as we speak. Such good snark here.
Great review - basically with what Charmed had and where they had to go with the storyline and what they could and could not show, I think "Charmed Again, Part 1" did a relatively good job tying up the S3 Finale, and putting the show on a new path without being too jarring.
ReplyDeleteWhile I know logistically they could not have picked up from where Season 3 ended due to not having Shannen, but a few short flashbacks with very good camera work and a body double for Prue would have been great to tie the two episodes together.
The strength in this episode is in the writing, the direction and camera work all work well in this episode. It's the first time we feel the disconnect from the sisters and it's largely a bigger disconnect but this is the first time the show splits a Piper/Leo, and Phoebe/Cole team which for this episode works well. Unfortunately it continues for the remainder of the series where there's no real connection from the sisters.
I would have liked more info or backstory on why Paige thought she was related to Prue, Piper and Phoebe and why she went to P3 from a year before this.
I didn't appreciate the off the bat police investigating the sisters as the exposure plot was done brilliants in 3x22 AHBL that it fell really felt and felt contrived here.
Also was not a big fan that they vanquished Shax 3 minutes after reconstituting the Charmed Ones and at the end of Hour 1. I really think Shax should have been vanquished mid-season to show how far they had grown as new sisters and Paige growing into her Charmed strength.