How old were you when you started watching Charmed?

[West]

Inspired by a discussion in a thread. I was very curious on this one. 

How old were you when you started watching Charmed? 

Also has you opinion changed over the years as you have gotten older on certain aspects of the show for those who followed the show when it was airing? For new fans, has your opinion on the series started to change over a few years? 

[Deleted]

I turned 32 the year Charmed started (1998).  The clue was in my old username, "tim66"

As I said, I think that of all the active posters here, only Es is older than I am.  

I always preferred the early seasons, particularly Seasons 1 and 2.  My views haven't changed much in the years since.

[sol]

Of course now I appreciate Charmed more than when I was a kid
At the time I was fascinated by the existence of witches and the bond between sisters and fascinated by the dark side that scared me

Now I really love the characters, their changes, the themeses that remain the conductive lines of Charmed

Above all, no excessive moralism, no unrealistic goodness, but humor, fondnesses, love stories and frienships, the feeling that the sisters are real people and not insipid heroines

[West]

I was 12 years old when I first saw it. My views has changed so much over the years. I was a teenager when the show was going, and season 3 and 4 were my favourites. Since I've gotten into my mid to late 20's now, I now find them overrated and am a big fan of season 1 and 2.

As a teenager I loved Piper/Leo, now I cant stand them and have come to find them so boring and looking closely I started to realize what I didn't like in them. I think as a teenager I wasn't focused so much on the characters deeply, but the storylines and mythology and demons.

Same with Phoebe/Cole I loved them back in the day, but one thing that I hated was the season 5 arc. Even as a teenager back them, I was starting to get bored with them after the middle of season 4, and was so hoping the rumors of Cole dying for good at the end of season 4 were true.

Okay I have to admit this now, WB's promotion did work on me. Yes the silly costumes had to look a teenager me, now I laugh about it now. But can you blame me as someone going through puberty.

Now Its all about the characters, the sisters bond and the awesome growth of the charmed ones. And Paige/Henry and Andy/Prue having the best relationships. Figured they only got a season so they didn't get time to get ruined. lol

[Melinda Halliwell]

I was around 18-19 when I first saw Charmed 'Morality Bites' season 2 actually besides watching Xena and Hercules which were on the same channel number 5 but on different times of the year obviously.

I also loved the cool excitement of witchcraft and the girl power exhibited and the fact Leo and Piper who were my favourite couple then and the love triangle they had with Dan.

Enjoyed the introduction of Cole season 3 and Piper/Leo getting married.

Was sad Prue died but liked Paige's introduction none the less.

Didn't rave about season 5 although liked 'Oh My Goddess' because of the introduction of Chris which was my main reason for enjoying season 6.

Loved Zankou and Drake season 7 but season 8 a miss although still watched it obviously.

Must say my views changed since 2006 and like other members here prefer the original P03 and being critical when things didn't make sense which I've corrected some so far during my fan fiction series.

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2016 1:37:36 GMT -5 West said:

I was 12 years old when I first saw it. My views has changed so much over the years. I was a teenager when the show was going, and season 3 and 4 were my favourites. Since I've gotten into my mid to late 20's now, I now find them overrated and am a big fan of season 1 and 2.

I was 12 as well when it first appeared on scream. Dead Man Dating - I'll never forget! Now looking back, I do think that Season 2 was the best Season of Charmed. Although I found 3 and 4 more entertaining and I feel that the 'cult' following was at it's peak at that point so that's the hype I refer back to as 'the good old days'.

I am watching "The Demon Who came in from the Cold" at the moment and although I agree that Cole did take the focus away from the sisters, I feel that it was the right time to bring in and expand on how the evil world operated and for us to understand how the corporate hierarchy of the institution worked, e.g.: the brotherhood which was an extension of the the Triad, the Hourseman, Hannah and Rex and eventually built up to the Source - or the best season finale of the series

Apr 15, 2016 1:37:36 GMT -5 West said:

As a teenager I loved Piper/Leo, now I cant stand them and have come to find them so boring and looking closely I started to realize what I didn't like in them. I think as a teenager I wasn't focused so much on the characters deeply, but the storylines and mythology and demons.

I think being closeted growing up helped me relate to the show especially because of how the sisters had to stick together in order to keep their secret - and the struggles that come with that. The Leo/Piper Phoebe/Cole storyline also resonnated with me because of the whole 'forbidden love' concept and I was never really interested in Prue/Andy. I don't think Whightlighters should have been introduced into the show. I think the show should have strictly been about wicca and witchcraft.

For me, as a child, I was fascinated by two things -
1) The special effects - especially how the sisters' powers - I found it comedic and really enjoyed how their powers were linked to their emotions. Prue - Anger, Piper - Panic and Phoebe - free-spiritness.

2) How the sisters had to put their differences aside and work together to combat evil. It reminded me of my siblings in how we used to fight but we had a united front against our parents when we wanted something and also had each others back.

Apr 15, 2016 1:37:36 GMT -5 West said:

Same with Phoebe/Cole I loved them back in the day, but one thing that I hated was the season 5 arc. Even as a teenager back them, I was starting to get bored with them after the middle of season 4, and was so hoping the rumors of Cole dying for good at the end of season 4 were true.

I too remember watching 'Long Live The Queen' with my whole family. My dad hated the show and was kinda forced to watch it. I remember my Mom on the edge of her seat when Phoebe placed the crystal in the Source trap, saying 'that's the hardest thing ever!' and my Dad, actually watching the intensity of that show saying "Is that guy actually dead....like has he gone" in a concerning way. At this point, all my friends and my family were engaged in the show. That's what I like about Season 3 and 4. It hit a greater audience and resonated with people in different ways. There was more to talk about - Coles conflict, Piper's relationships, power development. It was just more thrilling for me. - But yes. I think Cole should have died in Season 4 and Season 5 should have started afresh with a focus on Paige.

Apr 15, 2016 1:37:36 GMT -5 West said:

Okay I have to admit this now, WB's promotion did work on me. Yes the silly costumes had to look a teenager me, now I laugh about it now. But can you blame me as someone going through puberty.

Hahaha, questioning my sexuality back then, It certainly was a confusing time for me seeing the sisters in such hot outfits. But everyone could see that the show was losing its credibility and selling out. The mermaid was one thing but that lapdancing clip of Alyssa and then the Nymphs and the leprachans just made the show look like Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I remember Season 5 being the last Season which was talked about with my friends and my sister and I watched it until the end out of loyalty and the occasional good episode.

Apr 15, 2016 1:37:36 GMT -5 West said:

Now Its all about the characters, the sisters bond and the awesome growth of the charmed ones. And Paige/Henry and Andy/Prue having the best relationships. Figured they only got a season so they didn't get time to get ruined. lol

I don't know. I mean, yes I agree, that Cole's character was destroyed and Season 5 - 7's Piper and Leo were so so boring but Piper and Leo is what made me keep watching until the end. Piper was the heart of the family and the heart of the show and I wanted to make sure that she lived happily ever after!

[Esmeralda]

I started watching when it first came out and had just turned 45 (born in 1953, so I'll be 63 in July). I think that's why unlike so many fans, my reactions towards the show hasn't changed much - I'm pretty set in my ways. But it's also why I've always accepted the fact that my own opinions are usually different than most other fans (like not liking Piper or Phoebe or Leo or Cole or Chris as written by Brad Kern while enjoying them in a lot of fanfics) and that's perfectly AOK with me - differences in opinions is what keeps threads going.

The funny thing is I always felt like Patty, looking down at the sisters and watching them since I was so much older, part of the reason why she's my favorite character on Charmed and why when I first joined the Cafe in Season Five, I tried to get some form of Patty as my username, but they were all used and I didn't want a number after my name.

Now I feel more like Grams!

[Esmeralda]

Apr 15, 2016 1:28:47 GMT -5 sol said:

Of course now I appreciate Charmed more than when I was a kid
At the time I was fascinated by the existence of witches and the bond between sisters and fascinated by the dark side that scared me

Now I really love the characters, their changes, the themeses that remain the conductive lines of Charmed

Above all, no excessive moralism, no unrealistic goodness, but humor, fondnesses, love stories and frienships, the feeling that the sisters are real people and not insipid heroines

If you only knew how much I wish I could watch Charmed through your eyes, Sol, because after Season Three, I saw none of this, and wish I had.

[adzpower]

I think I was around 8 or 9. I'm pretty sure the first episode I saw was actually the first one, right from the beginning. It used to air on channel 5 in the UK and me and my brother used to watch it every Saturday evening. But I remember not really having much access to internet back then so when season 3 ended I had no idea that Prue had died. When season 4 started I missed a lot of the show because of family upheaval and when I finally got back to watching it the most recent episode was "Bite Me", so of course I had absolutely no idea what had happened or who Paige was but I knew I liked her a lot lol. Looking back maybe I was a little young to be watching a show like that but I'd always loved magic and fantasy so knew it would appeal to me.

[Deleted]

I first got hooked on reruns of the show on TNT as a teenager around 2004 or 2005.  The first episodes I watched were from either Seasons 1 or 2, and I just continued on from there.

Like a lot of younger fans, I used to love Seasons 3 and 4 and Phoebe/Cole and Piper/Leo, but as I went back and revisited the show in later years, I grew to appreciate Seasons 1 and 2 a lot more, as well as start to see many of the same flaws of Seasons 5-8 in Seasons 3 and 4.  In particular, I started to realize just how much Cole ruined Phoebe's character and turned her into the horrible person she was in the later seasons.  My love of Phoebe/Cole completely flipped into a hatred of the couple with no looking back.

I also started liking Prue's character more.  When I was younger, I used to find her kind of bossy and stuck-up, but as I've gotten older, I find her far more relatable and can better understand why she was the way she was, as well as see just how much the show lost without her.

[unakite]

I don't like none of the fantasy show currently aired, banal, repetitive, devoid of irony
Bored, I rewatched Charmed, I was a fan since the first episode and I felt again the fascination of when I was a teenager
Comparing with the neurotic or unoriginal characters of the currently airing series, even Lena Dunham is becoming predictable, the sisters are a breath of fresh air

[Chris]

I started watching Charmed since the beginning so I had turned 7 just after that Summer. I remember watching it in the living room of my first home when the episode Thank You For Not Morphing aired and I've watched Charmed ever since. There was a time I stopped watching for awhile but it didn't last long... it was in the middle of Season 7 so I tried to see if I could handle not watching... I couldn't, obviously. Then I watched all of Season 8.

[forbuss]

I think it's so awesome that so many people started watching so young! Me and my mother watched the first episode of Charmed in 1998 when I was a little 7 year old!

[forbuss]

Apr 15, 2016 6:09:53 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

I started watching when it first came out and had just turned 45 (born in 1953, so I'll be 63 in July). I think that's why unlike so many fans, my reactions towards the show hasn't changed much - I'm pretty set in my ways. But it's also why I've always accepted the fact that my own opinions are usually different than most other fans (like not liking Piper or Phoebe or Leo or Cole or Chris as written by Brad Kern while enjoying them in a lot of fanfics) and that's perfectly AOK with me - differences in opinions is what keeps threads going.

The funny thing is I always felt like Patty, looking down at the sisters and watching them since I was so much older, part of the reason why she's my favorite character on Charmed and why when I first joined the Cafe in Season Five, I tried to get some form of Patty as my username, but they were all used and I didn't want a number after my name.

Now I feel more like Grams!

I think Patty and Grams are super underrated!

[Assassin Witch]

I was around 9 years old when I started Charmed in S1. Not the first episode, but I remember Andy the first time around.

I haven't rewatched in years, so it's hard for me to tell how things have changed for me.

Last time I watched, I realized it wasn't necessarily Cole I didn't like, though I have always not been a Phoebe/Cole fan, and that hasn't changed, maybe just gotten worse.

[Deleted]

I was about 12 when I started to watch Charmed, but it took me until about 14 to "catch-up" with the episodes being aired, so I only watched S6-8 at the time they were shown (or six months behind, by the time we got them in the UK).

The biggest change in my perception of the show is Piper and Phoebe's personalities post-S4. I did find them mildly annoying when I was younger, but now I find them near enough unbearable at times, especially in S5, 6 and 8. For some reason I think S7 was a bit of a reprieve in the later years.

But, other than that, I've come to appreciate S1/2 more now, as I found them a little boring when I first watched them and preferred S3/4. Now I appreciate S1-4 equally. And I always found the Dress-Up/Disney episodes horrendous, even back in the day!

[Deleted]

Dang young whippersnappers.  Get off my lawn

[Assassin Witch]

LOL


I remember S3 and Magic Hour. It was on and I had a middle school dance I was going to. But the episode was supposed to be Piper and Leo getting married. So we put in a tape to record it (ah, good times) and when I came home from the dance or probably the next day, I went to watch and IT DID NOT RECORD IT and I had a complete meltdown because I MISSED PIPER AND LEO'S WEDDING. THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING.

Good times.

That's one of the distinct things I remember about the show and the anticipation I had back then.

I also remember in S6, AOL days, that was my first fandom experience. AOL chats about Charmed. I'm pretty sure that's how I found The Cafe.

[Simply©ha®med]

I started when I was about to turn 20. Seems so long ago.

[Deleted]

2002 at the age of 4. I discovered it on TNT they were showing a rerun of 'The Fourth Sister' and I was hooked and started watching it faithfully with my mom ever since. Was so crushed and confused when Shannen left and replaced her with Rose.