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The Movie: A popular, long-lasting series on the WB, "Charmed" started off in 1998 and quickly found an audience. The show focuses on the Halliwell sisters - Piper Halliwell-Wyatt (Holly Marie Combs), Prue (Shannen Doherty) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano). In the opening show of the series, the three sisters find themselves together in San Francisco again in the house that they were left by their family. Although the reunion is tense at first, the three sisters eventually come upon the Book of Shadows (not to be confused with the "Blair Witch" sequel) in the attic and, after casting a spell, get the powers that have run through generations of their family - one has telekinesis, one can see the future and the other can stop time. Although I've never followed the show intensely, I enjoyed watching this third season, as the characters continue to develop, and the writing improves. This time around, the girls continue to learn more about their powers, and how they can be used in a positive way - mainly to protect themselves and keep others from using magic to do great harm. The trio of actresses also continue to get more into their characters (although this is the last season for Shannon Doherty, replaced by Rose McGowan) and the whole situation in this season. Visual effects continue to be pretty decent for a TV series, as well. Season 3 45. 3- 1 4300045 5 Oct 00 The Honeymoon's Over - Prue and Phoebe set a killer free in order to protect their identities, then must fight a guardian without Piper, who has disappeared with Leo. 46. 3- 2 4300046 12 Oct 00 Magic Hour - Piper and Leo attempt to get married, despite The Powers That Be, as a demon infiltrates the group. 47. 3- 3 4300047 19 Oct 00 Once Upon a Time - Piper goes against The Powers That Be, so Prue and Phoebe must work together to save a little girl protecting a fairy princess from trolls. 48. 3- 4 4300048 26 Oct 00 All Halliwell's Eve - The Halliwell sisters travel back to the 1600s to protect a coven in danger. 49. 3- 5 4300049 2 Nov 00 Sight Unseen - An invisible demon is sent by the Triad in order to destroy the sisters, as Prue obsesses over a stalker. 50. 3- 6 4300051 9 Nov 00 Primrose Empath - Piper and Phoebe race against time to save a cursed Prue, who has been tricked by Cole into helping a demon. 51. 3- 7 4300050 16 Nov 00 Power Outage - Cole/Belthazor invokes an anger demon in order to turn the sisters against each other, rendering them powerless and open to attack. 52. 3- 8 4300052 14 Dec 00 Sleuthing With the Enemy - Prue and Piper create a bounty hunter demon in order to destroy Belthazor, but Phoebe has other plans for the man she loves. 53. 3- 9 4300053 11 Jan 01 Coyote Piper - When a life essence takes possession of Piper, her soul is at risk if Prue and Phoebe don't kill her body. 54. 3-10 4300054 18 Jan 01 We All Scream for Ice Cream - Phoebe and Prue battle to save innocent children from the force of The Nothing, but must enlist the help of their father to do so. 55. 3-11 4300055 25 Jan 01 Blinded by the Whitelighter - The Charmed Ones battle their most powerful opponent, an ancient warlock who threatens the existence of all Whitelighters and witches. 56. 3-12 4300056 2 Feb 01 Wrestling with Demons - When Phoebe confesses that she let Cole escape, a betrayed Prue and Piper must put their feelings aside to stop Prue's old boyfriend. 57. 3-13 4300057 8 Feb 01 Bride and Gloom - Phoebe turns to Cole for help when a demon tricks Prue into marriage so he can turn the sisters evil and take possession of the Book of Shadows. 58. 3-14 4300058 15 Feb 01 The Good, the Bad and the Cursed - Phoebe's visit to a ghost town becomes a nightmare, an when Leo can't help her, Prue and Cole must unravel the mystery to save her. 59. 3-15 4300059 22 Feb 01 Just Harried - Piper begs for a demon-free wedding day, but her marriage to Leo is put on hold when Prue is accused of murder. 60. 3-16 4300060 15 Mar 01 Death Takes a Halliwell - Prue faces the Angel of Death while two seeker demons destroy everything in their way in order to try and find Cole. 61. 3-17 4300061 22 Mar 01 Pre-Witched - The Charmed Ones battle a warlock that gets stronger every time it is vanquished, as Piper wrestles with her decision to move out of the manor. 62. 3-18 4300062 19 Apr 01 Sin Francisco - When the sisters fight a demon cursing people with sins, they must save themselves from succumbing to the powers of their own sins. 63. 3-19 4300063 26 Apr 01 The Demon Who Came In from the Cold - The sisters and Leo count on Cole to help them when he goes undercover in the Brotherhood, and elite gang of demons, but can they trust him? 64. 3-20 4300064 3 May 01 Exit Strategy - When Cole is framed for the killing of a witch the sisters tried to protect, he finds it harder to contain his dark side, while Phoebe can no longer control her powers. 65. 3-21 4300065 10 May 01 Look Who's Barking - Prue is transformed into a dog to help track down a banshee demon, but when the demon attacks Phoebe, Cole must save her. 66. 3-22 4300066 17 May 01 All Hell Breaks Loose - When Piper and Prue are exposed as witches, Phoebe sacrifices herself to the dark side to save them, but the deal may destroy them all. The DVD VIDEO: "Charmed" is presented in the show's original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio here. The picture quality is about broadcast quality, with adequate sharpness and definition. The show's "look" seems to be intentionally slightly soft, but there's also some noticable grain present that seems to take away from the detail. Some minor pixelation was present at times during the episodes, along with the previously mentioned grain. On a positive note, there was no wear (specks, marks, etc) present and the picture seemed free of edge enhancement. Some minor shimmering was spotted, but pretty rarely. Colors seemed warm and well-rendered, with nice saturation and no smearing. There did not seem to be any difference in image quality between the third season and prior seasons. SOUND: "Charmed" is presented in Dolby 2.0. The audio seemed fine, with clear dialogue, effects and music. The audio track isn't particularly full or dynamic, but it is adequate. EXTRAS: Nothing. Final Thoughts: "Charmed" once again sees an improvement in writing and performances in its third season, which is the last before Doherty was replaced by Rose McGowan, who's a good fit. Paramount's DVD presentation once again offers no supplements, but fine audio/video quality. Recommended for fans. |