I’ve watched all the Buffy dvds and am on the final season of Angel. This will leave me with a big hole where the oft-silly fantasy shows should go.
I have a high goofiness threshold. I prefer humor to tragedy but will watch both. Would I like Charmed?
You might. I also like Buffy and Angel, and I think “Charmed” is okay. I don’t go out of my way to watch it but if it happens to be on, I find it entertaining enough, and every now then laugh-out-loud funny. The few eps I’ve caught aren’t as well written and plotted as Buffy/Angel (not talking about season 7 of Buffy here) but again, they’re okay.
hmm…high praise indeed.
You watch only on occasion? So you don’t watch them in order or on dvd or anything? Does that work or would you tend to recommend a more measured approach?
I don’t like it. They say “vanquished” too much. At least the Wheaton crew came up with a few fun euphemisms.
No, I don’t watch in order. I’ve probably seen only 6 or 7 eps all together. The truth is that even though I’m amused and I laugh when I’m watching, it doesn’t stick with me the way Buffy/Angel did. So no, I don’t know any of the story arcs or even if there is any such thing. I just haven’t gotten addicted to Charmed the way I got addicted to the Whedon-verse. I might liked Charmed more if I hadn’t been so thoroughly spoiled by Joss Whedon’s abilities as a story-teller. It’s also possible that if I’d watched in order I might be more invested in the story. If you’re curious, why don’t you add the Charmed DVD’s to your Netflix que. Um. If you do Netflix. (Brief hijack…right this very moment I can hear my dad saying, "Izzybella, you know what happens when you assume something, don’t you? You make an ass out of U and ME.) Or you could rent from local video store.
No, I don’t watch in order. I’ve probably seen only 6 or 7 eps all together. The truth is that even though I’m amused and I laugh when I’m watching, it doesn’t stick with me the way Buffy/Angel did. So no, I don’t know any of the story arcs or even if there is any such thing. I just haven’t gotten addicted to Charmed the way I got addicted to the Whedon-verse. I might liked Charmed more if I hadn’t been so thoroughly spoiled by Joss Whedon’s abilities as a story-teller. It’s also possible that if I’d watched in order I might be more invested in the story. If you’re curious, why don’t you add the Charmed DVD’s to your Netflix que. Um. If you do Netflix. (Brief hijack…right this very moment I can hear my dad saying, "Izzybella, you know what happens when you assume something, don’t you? You make an ass out of U and ME. :rolleyes: ) Or you could rent from local video store.
sorry for the double post!
Ah, maybe. But if you want an analogy, if Buffy is a decent Cabernet, Charmed would pretty much be Kool-Aid. The first seasons were very lightweight and their recent efforts to sustain more drama-intensive arcs would require better actors and writers than they’ve got available.
I loved Buffy and Angel, and I thought Charmed was extremely stupid. I’ve never seen more than ten minutes of an episode: the acting, the script, the special effects are all just too painful.
Daniel
I’m a bit of a Buffy/Angel maniac, and I’ve only just started watching Charmed, having picked up the first season on DVD.
I’m about ten episodes in so far. There’s definitely some similarities, being young, hip pretty people in a supernatural story set in modern days, but the styles of the shows are quite different. The humour on Buffy was generally darker, more pop-culture savvy (in terms of direct references to movies, music, etc.) and more wit based. So far the humour in Charmed has been a little more sit-com like, dealing with character foibles and the old stand-by of the ‘wacky’ one trying to get away with something.
That said, they’re slowly developing a legend for the show, and the whole thing could build into something great. I’m assured by friends that it does.
thwartme
Maybe, but I would try ***Firefly * ** first
I liked Buffy. I liked Angel.
Charmed is crap. Crappy writers + Crappy actresses = Crap. Crap crappity crap crap crap. The only time that I thought it was mildy amusing (in an MST3K way) was when I had a fever of 102.
Terrific point.
Anyway, to me Charmed is like the lesser episodes of Buffy or Angel. The writing’s not nearly as good, and yes, the effects are crappy, but I do think the women–Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, and Rose McGowan, not Shannen Doherty–have a nice chemistry on screen. Their prowess at portraying witches may not be the greatest, but they do a good job of making me accept that they’re sisters (with, of course, the exception of McGowan, who’s not their blood sister, right?).
Honestly? I really don’t want to do that.
Too few episodes to waste the angst of cancellation on for me.
The later episodes of Charmed always make me think: Zena - With Lipstick. I’ve seen a muse, a leprechaun, a cupid, amazons, you name it. All with Zena level production values. Which can be a hoot, if you’re in the mood.
There’s the Buffy-like conflict between Destiny and Normal Life, but for two of the three sisters Normal Life involves Serious Fashion. Unlike Buffy, I can’t really believe they have the oomph to actually hit something and make it count. It’s Daisy Duke fighting. The hair and makeup never get mussed. They die from time to time to show that This is Serious, but the blood is always tastefully applied.
There are long story arcs and some interesting ideas get brought up from time to tome. But they’re never explored at more than sitcom depth. And the answer is always that family love is the most important thing. Or that Good is good. Or both.
I’m a fan of Buffy and Angel, and I got the Charmed season 1 DVD on a coworker’s recommendation. I like it, but as others say, not as much as Whedon’s shows. I actually like Shannon Doherty’s character and on-screen personality, and I do think the three main actors do a decent job. The special effects are crap, but keep in mind, the show debuted a year after Buffy, and Buffy’s effects were pretty crappy for the first 2-3 years (and there was a particularly bad season 5 effect that makes me wince to see it). The more I watch of the season, the more I like it, but it doesn’t have quite the grab of Buffy/Angel/Firefly.
I strongly, very strongly second the recommendation for Firefly.
Three very attractive young women with magic powers who battle evildemons, sleep with good-looking guys, and wear very skimpy tops. What’s not to like?
Actually, the show kinda went downhill when they booted Shannon Doherty. Not that I was all that fond of her, but killing off the oldest sister (largely because Allysa Millano didn’t get along with her, according to rumor) and dredging up a previously unknown youngest half-sister definitely had a shark-jumpy feel to it.
Oh, Joss. I miss you. Come back to tv? Please?
/plea
Ok, Charmed… out of a desperate hope to fill the buffy void, I started watching this show, and it is sort of liking drinking Colt 45 when you really want a fine wine (since we’re on the liquor analogies). It’ll get you drunk, but it’s just not the same.
That being said, Alias has filled some small part of the void for me, but I am SERIOUSLY missing my Willow.
Sigh.
Joss???
I saw a review site once that said Charmed was better than Buffy because Charmed characters always suffered the consequences of their actions and Buffy characters didn’t. Thing is, that guy clearly didn’t watch a lot of Buffy, because a lot of consequences popped up much later than the original action - sometimes seasons later - and they were often pretty major.
Firefly is outstanding. It feels like a space western, but it’s also pretty damn hard SF. About the only harder SF works I can think of in a visual medium are 2001 (which I hated because it was boring as hell) and Blade Runner. I still love my complete set of Star Trek: TNG, but if Firefly had a good, solid run it might have been on top.
Well…
…If you’re looking for an Angel replacement, the best thing I’ve found so far is Lexx. It is on DVD, and it’s wonderful.
Hm. How do I explain it? Like Firefly, but more so, in a very deranged type of way. Sentient ships, an alien that may be the prince of darkness, a psychotic robot head, and a yummy sex slave who’s in love with a zombified assassin. Oh. And the captain of the Lexx. Stanley. Who pretty much lucked into his job.