.....a fun distraction for those boring nights.
"Charmed" is not as dark or as serious as other paranormal shows like "The X-Files" or "Millennium". As it is catered for a younger audience, the demons and warlocks that our good witches encounter on the show are simply banished rather than killed. One convenient thing about this is that many of these bad guys can be accorded recurring roles and a few have even become dangerous nemesis for the Halliwell sisters. Humor is used frequently and to great effect. The interactions between the three sisters, especially the often-contentious relationship between Prue and Phoebe, are very effective in giving the three main characters a distinct sense of individuality and well, charm.
The first season of every television series is almost always an ever-evolving exercise in trying to find a good balance for the show. "Charmed" is certainly no exception to that rule as it went through some growing pains of its own. In this first season, there were just too many strikingly similar stories of other supernatural beings attempting to either steal the Charmed Ones´ powers or pilfer the coveted Book of Shadows. To the show´s benefit, this aspect is probably its only failing. The show´s three main stars, Doherty, Combs and Milano are able to establish an uncompromising and realistic bond (with all the flaws and joys of sisterhood) that serves the show very well through its first season, paving the way for the show´s continued renewal.
The first season of "Charmed" consists of 22 episodes that are spread out over six DVDs in the following fashion:
Disc 1: "Something Wicca This Way Comes", "I´ve Got You Under My Skin", "Thank You For Not Morphing", "Dead Man Dating"
Disc 2: "Dream Sorcerer", "The Wedding From Hell", "The Fourth Sister", "The Truth Is Out There And It Hurts"
Disc 3: "The Witch Is Back", "Wicca Envy", "Feats Of Clay", "The Wendigo"
Disc 4: "From Fear To Eternity", "Secrets And Guys", "Is There A Woogy In The House?", "Which Prue Is It Anyway?"
Disc 5: "That ´70s Episode", "When Bad Warlocks Turn Good", "Out Of Sight", "The Power Of Two"
Disc 6: "Love Hurts", "Déjà Vu All Over Again"
Video:
Preserved in the show´s original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 or fullscreen, the video transfer is a tad disappointing. For a show that is only seven years old, the video images are mostly soft and somewhat grainy. Speckles and some presence of dirt on the print are also visible, leading me to speculate that no clean-up work was done on the original print. No subtitle options are provided on the DVDs.
Audio:
The audio presentation fares much better, with the English language 2-channel Dolby Surround track providing a spacious sound field in the front. The dialogue portion is clear without any hint of distortion and the background music is easy on the ears. No other language tracks are provided on this DVD set.
Extras:
I am very surprised and annoyed at Paramount for choosing not to include any bonus material on this DVD set. As the show is still on the air, it would not have been that hard to get the stars of the show to record some audio commentaries or to do an interview or two.
Packaging:
Like all of Paramount´s television series DVD releases, all six DVDs in this set are packaged in slim THINpak cases and encased in an attractive hard cardboard box that features attractive artworks of the three stars set against a lilac-colored background.
Film Value:
"Charmed" has been on the most wanted TV-shows-on-DVD list for some time now. However, the excitement of finally having the release of the show´s first season episodes on DVD in my hands is tempered with deep disappointment due to the lack of any bonus material and a lackluster video transfer. Talk about a bare-bones release.
As a TV show, "Charmed", especially in its first season, has yet to find a comfortable place with which to tell its stories. It is, however, a fun distraction for those boring nights. Fans of the show will definitely tell me otherwise but hey, one thing´s for sure, I would take Alyssa Milano any time over any other actresses on television today.
But of course, that is just me.
The first season of every television series is almost always an ever-evolving exercise in trying to find a good balance for the show. "Charmed" is certainly no exception to that rule as it went through some growing pains of its own. In this first season, there were just too many strikingly similar stories of other supernatural beings attempting to either steal the Charmed Ones´ powers or pilfer the coveted Book of Shadows. To the show´s benefit, this aspect is probably its only failing. The show´s three main stars, Doherty, Combs and Milano are able to establish an uncompromising and realistic bond (with all the flaws and joys of sisterhood) that serves the show very well through its first season, paving the way for the show´s continued renewal.
The first season of "Charmed" consists of 22 episodes that are spread out over six DVDs in the following fashion:
Disc 1: "Something Wicca This Way Comes", "I´ve Got You Under My Skin", "Thank You For Not Morphing", "Dead Man Dating"
Disc 2: "Dream Sorcerer", "The Wedding From Hell", "The Fourth Sister", "The Truth Is Out There And It Hurts"
Disc 3: "The Witch Is Back", "Wicca Envy", "Feats Of Clay", "The Wendigo"
Disc 4: "From Fear To Eternity", "Secrets And Guys", "Is There A Woogy In The House?", "Which Prue Is It Anyway?"
Disc 5: "That ´70s Episode", "When Bad Warlocks Turn Good", "Out Of Sight", "The Power Of Two"
Disc 6: "Love Hurts", "Déjà Vu All Over Again"
Video:
Preserved in the show´s original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 or fullscreen, the video transfer is a tad disappointing. For a show that is only seven years old, the video images are mostly soft and somewhat grainy. Speckles and some presence of dirt on the print are also visible, leading me to speculate that no clean-up work was done on the original print. No subtitle options are provided on the DVDs.
Audio:
The audio presentation fares much better, with the English language 2-channel Dolby Surround track providing a spacious sound field in the front. The dialogue portion is clear without any hint of distortion and the background music is easy on the ears. No other language tracks are provided on this DVD set.
Extras:
I am very surprised and annoyed at Paramount for choosing not to include any bonus material on this DVD set. As the show is still on the air, it would not have been that hard to get the stars of the show to record some audio commentaries or to do an interview or two.
Packaging:
Like all of Paramount´s television series DVD releases, all six DVDs in this set are packaged in slim THINpak cases and encased in an attractive hard cardboard box that features attractive artworks of the three stars set against a lilac-colored background.
Film Value:
"Charmed" has been on the most wanted TV-shows-on-DVD list for some time now. However, the excitement of finally having the release of the show´s first season episodes on DVD in my hands is tempered with deep disappointment due to the lack of any bonus material and a lackluster video transfer. Talk about a bare-bones release.
As a TV show, "Charmed", especially in its first season, has yet to find a comfortable place with which to tell its stories. It is, however, a fun distraction for those boring nights. Fans of the show will definitely tell me otherwise but hey, one thing´s for sure, I would take Alyssa Milano any time over any other actresses on television today.
But of course, that is just me.
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[release]14046[/release]