How old were you when you started watching Charmed?

[Esmeralda]

Aug 14, 2018 0:06:21 GMT -5 Granny Charmed said:

Nice to see that I'm not the only one who (and Es) started watching Charmed in their late 40's or 50's. Obviously, this isn't *when* the show first started in 1998, but just that it's nice to see that people have started watching at that age.

Which makes me *very* curious to see if we have members who are now in their 40s or 50s with the reboot, who were in their 20s and 30s when Classic Charmed aired. How they view this reboot now at the age I was when Classic Charmed started.

*nods* That's what I'm curious about, too.

[Granny Charmed]

Aug 14, 2018 18:04:06 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Aug 14, 2018 0:06:21 GMT -5 Granny Charmed said:

Nice to see that I'm not the only one who (and Es) started watching Charmed in their late 40's or 50's. Obviously, this isn't *when* the show first started in 1998, but just that it's nice to see that people have started watching at that age.

Which makes me *very* curious to see if we have members who are now in their 40s or 50s with the reboot, who were in their 20s and 30s when Classic Charmed aired. How they view this reboot now at the age I was when Classic Charmed started.

*nods* That's what I'm curious about, too.

My daughter is nearing the age I was when Charmed first aired, so I'm most *excited* to see how she views it. Probably be why I might just follow along with them and not watch. If they say it's good, I tune in. 

[Lost Witch]

I think I was actually around 7 or something.  I remember watching it with my older siblings and my parents not being all that happy with me obsessing over it (and I can see why... I don't think it's for THAT young of an audience, but oh well, lol!)
I get really nostalgic when I think about those times and that is why I love Charmed so much - because it was part of my childhood. I don't think that if I had discovered it now it would've had the same impact on me, although I still think it's a good show nevertheless.

[pheebs]

Aug 15, 2018 21:28:18 GMT -5 Granny Charmed said:

Aug 14, 2018 18:04:06 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

*nods* That's what I'm curious about, too.

My daughter is nearing the age I was when Charmed first aired, so I'm most *excited* to see how she views it. Probably be why I might just follow along with them and not watch. If they say it's good, I tune in. 

It must be fun to do that Granny.

I can't help but wonder how a mother who was in her teens or 20s when she saw Charmed 20 years ago, wanting to introduce the show to her and watching the reboot together will feel. I'm sure most would just introduce Classic Charmed to them because it meant so much to them growing up. But how they respond to this new CW version is very interesting. 

I'm not sure this CW version will have the same longterm appeal and international success that Classic Charmed had. Because for this one to do that, it needs to run at least 7 or 8 years. If it doesn't last past 2 or 3 seasons, I can see it fading into the background and long forgotten as nothing more than a wannabee Charmed that tried to cash in on the current political issues that we'd have gotten past by in a decade from now. 

[forbuss]

I first saw Charmed when I was 7 years old when it originally aired. I grew up with three channels and Charmed wasn’t taken off them starting with season 4. From there I saw bits and pieces of seasons 4-7 and for some reason none of 8. I then rediscovered the series on DVD when they began to be released. I’m 27 currently.

[Esmeralda]

Aug 17, 2018 21:59:21 GMT -5 pheebs said:

Aug 15, 2018 21:28:18 GMT -5 Granny Charmed said:

My daughter is nearing the age I was when Charmed first aired, so I'm most *excited* to see how she views it. Probably be why I might just follow along with them and not watch. If they say it's good, I tune in. 

It must be fun to do that Granny.

I can't help but wonder how a mother who was in her teens or 20s when she saw Charmed 20 years ago, wanting to introduce the show to her and watching the reboot together will feel. I'm sure most would just introduce Classic Charmed to them because it meant so much to them growing up. But how they respond to this new CW version is very interesting. 

I'm not sure this CW version will have the same longterm appeal and international success that Classic Charmed had. Because for this one to do that, it needs to run at least 7 or 8 years. If it doesn't last past 2 or 3 seasons, I can see it fading into the background and long forgotten as nothing more than a wannabee Charmed that tried to cash in on the current political issues that we'd have gotten past by in a decade from now. 

If they keep up with the political crap, I can't see it being very popular past the States. Since it's on The CW, I'm sure it will stay on much longer than it should - like Classic Charmed which I think should've stopped after four seasons and then start a spin-off with the kids - but I don't think that will help its popularity overseas.

[pheebs]

Aug 18, 2018 7:54:31 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Aug 17, 2018 21:59:21 GMT -5 pheebs said:

It must be fun to do that Granny.

I can't help but wonder how a mother who was in her teens or 20s when she saw Charmed 20 years ago, wanting to introduce the show to her and watching the reboot together will feel. I'm sure most would just introduce Classic Charmed to them because it meant so much to them growing up. But how they respond to this new CW version is very interesting. 

I'm not sure this CW version will have the same longterm appeal and international success that Classic Charmed had. Because for this one to do that, it needs to run at least 7 or 8 years. If it doesn't last past 2 or 3 seasons, I can see it fading into the background and long forgotten as nothing more than a wannabee Charmed that tried to cash in on the current political issues that we'd have gotten past by in a decade from now. 

If they keep up with the political crap, I can't see it being very popular past the States. Since it's on The CW, I'm sure it will stay on much longer than it should - like Classic Charmed which I think should've stopped after four seasons and then start a spin-off with the kids - but I don't think that will help its popularity overseas.

That's true Es. The political stuff only works in America. I can't see the international viewers liking it. Most won't care or want to care about all the Trump and political crap. In fact, it won't have a legacy, because years from now, all it will do is annoy people thinking about the horrible time lived through Trump's reign and the political crap.

If CW is to go by, most of their shows do stay on the air for a long time. 

It's too bad, don't the British shows never like to be on air for too long. I've watched some of their shows, and most of them never like to go beyond 6 to 8 episodes a season, and most I see only last 4 or 5 years tops in most cases. So that's a whole series only lasting no more than 40-50 episodes total.

[Esmeralda]

Aug 18, 2018 22:14:45 GMT -5 pheebs said:

Aug 18, 2018 7:54:31 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

If they keep up with the political crap, I can't see it being very popular past the States. Since it's on The CW, I'm sure it will stay on much longer than it should - like Classic Charmed which I think should've stopped after four seasons and then start a spin-off with the kids - but I don't think that will help its popularity overseas.

That's true Es. The political stuff only works in America. I can't see the international viewers liking it. Most won't care or want to care about all the Trump and political crap. In fact, it won't have a legacy, because years from now, all it will do is annoy people thinking about the horrible time lived through Trump's reign and the political crap.

If CW is to go by, most of their shows do stay on the air for a long time. 

It's too bad, don't the British shows never like to be on air for too long. I've watched some of their shows, and most of them never like to go beyond 6 to 8 episodes a season, and most I see only last 4 or 5 years tops in most cases. So that's a whole series only lasting no more than 40-50 episodes total.

And that's really just about right. You get more than 40-50 episodes and the series usually morphs into a totally different show, the way Charmed went from "Charmed: Prue and Her Sisters" (S1-3)to its alternate-universe spin-off "The Perils of Poor, Poor Pitiful Piper" aka "PhoeME and Her Fantasy Men" aka "Two Witches Plus One Living Whitelighter Equals the Power of Three?" (S4-8) No way I'll put the word "Charmed" in front of any of those - they were much more "Witchlighter" when having a whitelighter for a father was more important than having a Warren for a mother. Whether I keep the word "Charmed" in "Charmed: The Rip-off", we'll see.

Now I *did* say "usually". There have been exceptions - but not many.

[pheebs]

Aug 19, 2018 10:06:34 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

Aug 18, 2018 22:14:45 GMT -5 pheebs said:

That's true Es. The political stuff only works in America. I can't see the international viewers liking it. Most won't care or want to care about all the Trump and political crap. In fact, it won't have a legacy, because years from now, all it will do is annoy people thinking about the horrible time lived through Trump's reign and the political crap.

If CW is to go by, most of their shows do stay on the air for a long time. 

It's too bad, don't the British shows never like to be on air for too long. I've watched some of their shows, and most of them never like to go beyond 6 to 8 episodes a season, and most I see only last 4 or 5 years tops in most cases. So that's a whole series only lasting no more than 40-50 episodes total.

And that's really just about right. You get more than 40-50 episodes and the series usually morphs into a totally different show, the way Charmed went from "Charmed: Prue and Her Sisters" (S1-3)to its alternate-universe spin-off "The Perils of Poor, Poor Pitiful Piper" aka "PhoeME and Her Fantasy Men" aka "Two Witches Plus One Living Whitelighter Equals the Power of Three?" (S4-8) No way I'll put the word "Charmed" in front of any of those - they were much more "Witchlighter" when having a whitelighter for a father was more important than having a Warren for a mother. Whether I keep the word "Charmed" in "Charmed: The Rip-off", we'll see.

Now I *did* say "usually". There have been exceptions - but not many.

That's true, but some people might like those sisters or like the additions of Hybrids, Whitelighters, and all the additional powers. Love the way the sisters grew that way, But that's just how people see Charmed differently right? 

As a Phoebe fan, I hate PhoeME, she isn't the Pheebs I knew and loved. 

After about 40-50 episodes shows do tend to morph into a totally different show. Too bad Connie didn't stay so her sisters would be written correctly. But the novel writers managed to do a better job with some of them, maybe because they were not under Kern's wing. Too bad Connie's original idea's didn't get turned into a Charmed novel series.

Maybe television series really shouldn't last so long. Sometimes the steam runs out after season 3.

[Deleted]

I really hope the reboot doesn't try to be too "zeitgeist". Shows that are too much "of the moment" date themselves within 5 years, especially when they centre on politics.

[Ruth Marie]

Aug 25, 2018 18:00:34 GMT -5 @deano said:

I really hope the reboot doesn't try to be too "zeitgeist". Shows that are too much "of the moment" date themselves within 5 years, especially when they centre on politics.

Yeah, that's exactly what I think will happen. Classic Charmed will hold up better because it wasn't too much "of the moment" and current events.

If you watch this reboot in 10-15 years time, people will just get bored, since the political stuff will now be outdated, and the president will maybe have gone through another change or two. 

That's why they are best to just ditch all that political stuff if they hope to keep this show something that will be less out-dated in a decade or two.

[marlenewicca]

Reruns in the Summer of 1999, after I had my 18th birthday, at some point. I can't remember what episode I saw.

I saw the full second season in my final year of high school.

[imdb lives on]

I was in the sixth grade when I first saw look who's barking in 2002. I was hooked as I was on summer break and was looking for a show to replace buffy. It was on reruns and I was hooked from all breaks loose to charmed again from than on. I didn't even know who Prue was until years later and kept wondering what type of character she was besides the eldest with to who died.

[pheebs]

Interested to see what age group our new members are?

Also, we might end up deciding to do the same for the reboot. Although for those who have watched it, maybe something to start at a later date, since many might find they want to watch it later on when the season ends or other countries haven't got it yet.

[sav001]

I was 8 when I first started watching Charmed here in Australia. My first episode was The Wendigo and I fell in love with the show from that moment on and it still remains my favourite show to this day ( I just turned 28). I bought all the dvd's individually and at the time they were $50 dollars each. I then sold them and bought the Book of Shadows complete series set.

I remember the original Charmed being really popular here and it is still being repeated on one of our channels today. The reboot however flopped and has already been moved to a late night time slot which I am very glad about as the creators seem more interested in pushing an agenda than creating an entertaining show.

I doubt the reboot will ever be as loved and can't imagine it still being talked about 20 years later like the original is.

[rebooted]

Nov 12, 2018 14:15:11 GMT -5 sav001 said:

I was 8 when I first started watching Charmed here in Australia. My first episode was The Wendigo and I fell in love with the show from that moment on and it still remains my favourite show to this day ( I just turned 28). I bought all the dvd's individually and at the time they were $50 dollars each. I then sold them and bought the Book of Shadows complete series set.

I remember the original Charmed being really popular here and it is still being repeated on one of our channels today. The reboot however flopped and has already been moved to a late night time slot which I am very glad about as the creators seem more interested in pushing an agenda than creating an entertaining show.

I doubt the reboot will ever be as loved and can't imagine it still being talked about 20 years later like the original is.

Nice to hear from an Aussie. I am a Kiwi fan from about 12 years old. 

I'll never forget getting the first glimpse of Dream Sorcerer (which isn't a great episode), but I l just loved it back in 1999 in New Zealand. 

I think Charmed was more popular in NZ and Australia than it was in the US (per capita). It's global reach was phenomenal. 

I think the biggest loss from the show was Fun Phoebe. 

[Sasha]

Charmed does have international appeal for sure. Especially since all the conventions mostly take place overseas than in the USA, I noticed this when seeing convention videos and such online. The 20th-anniversary convention didn't even take place in the USA if I'm correct.

I'll be curious to see if the reboot has the same effect and takes off outside of America. Again it all depends on how they respond to the political themes as well.

[rebooted]

I've recently wondered what impact the fall of Charmed had on me as a child.

I started watching Season 1 in 1999 when I was 12, Shannen Doherty left in 2001 and I was 14. The show finally ended when I was 19 in 2006.

Charmed had a huge positive impact on my life. Especially from Seasons 1 - 4. I especially love Season 4 for how the improvised with what they had to deal witha t the time. I even liked the Source/Cole storyline. However, in hindsight now, I see that it was the beginning of the downfall - if not a little earlier from Sleuthing onward.

I know all good things must come to an end but looking back, especially when at the time, it was the birth of mainstream internet with forums and fan sites to go to like these, i do wonder what the deteriorating quality of the shows impact had on me given that I treated Charmed as if it was a family member.

In fact - I stuck to it until the end - because well that's what family does!

[West]

Jan 23, 2019 5:21:46 GMT -5 rebooted said:

I've recently wondered what impact the fall of Charmed had on me as a child.

I started watching Season 1 in 1999 when I was 12, Shannen Doherty left in 2001 and I was 14. The show finally ended when I was 19 in 2006.

Charmed had a huge positive impact on my life. Especially from Seasons 1 - 4. I especially love Season 4 for how the improvised with what they had to deal witha t the time. I even liked the Source/Cole storyline. However, in hindsight now, I see that it was the beginning of the downfall - if not a little earlier from Sleuthing onward.

I know all good things must come to an end but looking back, especially when at the time, it was the birth of mainstream internet with forums and fan sites to go to like these, i do wonder what the deteriorating quality of the shows impact had on me given that I treated Charmed as if it was a family member.

In fact - I stuck to it until the end - because well that's what family does!

We are of similar age, I started watching it in 1999 at aged 11, and it ended when I was 18 in 2006, just out of high school. 

I remember very well in 2001 when Shannen left when I first joined a Charmed forum (wasn't this one sadly) and all the rumors about it, and all the plots that were said to be about how they'll go forward. Charmed was among one of the shows I grew up with loving, along with a few others. But since reading fanfics where Prue never died or was alive, it helped me get over how angry I was that she died, and wishing the original set stayed. 

I feel when you get older, you begin to look at things differently. I loved S1-4 the best, and I have begun to see just how special S1 and S2 were in a re-watch I did back in 2014 and 2015, and how it did have a downfall around S3.

Maybe I didn't notice it back then, because I was enjoying all the twists and turns, shocks and the Source/Cole arc. 

I still do enjoy S3 and S4 (but I haven't re-watched those seasons in about 4 years or more in full, so not sure now), but something about S1 and S2 now, makes it enjoyable than the others when I did re-watch those. I used to think the downfall was S5 and S6.  It's funny because when I did a re-watch going back a number of years, I never could get past Wrestling with Demons, and just didn't continue my journey. Always wondered why this episode. 

I really need to re-watch the series again, just to see how I'll feel. Also after going through a major death in the family a while back, I wonder how those experiences will make me feel about S4. It is good when you haven't seen a show you love in a long time because distance helps to keep it fresh when you do re-watch it again. 

[rebooted]

Jan 23, 2019 5:56:07 GMT -5 West said:

Jan 23, 2019 5:21:46 GMT -5 rebooted said:

I've recently wondered what impact the fall of Charmed had on me as a child.

I started watching Season 1 in 1999 when I was 12, Shannen Doherty left in 2001 and I was 14. The show finally ended when I was 19 in 2006.

Charmed had a huge positive impact on my life. Especially from Seasons 1 - 4. I especially love Season 4 for how the improvised with what they had to deal witha t the time. I even liked the Source/Cole storyline. However, in hindsight now, I see that it was the beginning of the downfall - if not a little earlier from Sleuthing onward.

I know all good things must come to an end but looking back, especially when at the time, it was the birth of mainstream internet with forums and fan sites to go to like these, i do wonder what the deteriorating quality of the shows impact had on me given that I treated Charmed as if it was a family member.

In fact - I stuck to it until the end - because well that's what family does!

We are of similar age, I started watching it in 1999 at aged 11, and it ended when I was 18 in 2006, just out of high school. 

I remember very well in 2001 when Shannen left when I first joined a Charmed forum (wasn't this one sadly) and all the rumors about it, and all the plots that were said to be about how they'll go forward. Charmed was among one of the shows I grew up with loving, along with a few others. But since reading fanfics where Prue never died or was alive, it helped me get over how angry I was that she died, and wishing the original set stayed. 

I feel when you get older, you begin to look at things differently. I loved S1-4 the best, and I have begun to see just how special S1 and S2 were in a re-watch I did back in 2014 and 2015, and how it did have a downfall around S3.

Maybe I didn't notice it back then, because I was enjoying all the twists and turns, shocks and the Source/Cole arc. 

I still do enjoy S3 and S4 (but I haven't re-watched those seasons in about 4 years or more in full, so not sure now), but something about S1 and S2 now, makes it enjoyable than the others when I did re-watch those. I used to think the downfall was S5 and S6.  It's funny because when I did a re-watch going back a number of years, I never could get past Wrestling with Demons, and just didn't continue my journey. Always wondered why this episode. 

I really need to re-watch the series again, just to see how I'll feel. Also after going through a major death in the family a while back, I wonder how those experiences will make me feel about S4. It is good when you haven't seen a show you love in a long time because distance helps to keep it fresh when you do re-watch it again. 

I always thought we had very similar backgrounds and views West. It would be incredible to meet you one day. 

I too at the time LOVED Seasons 3 and 4 when I was a teenager. I feel like Charmed was at its 'populism peak' back then and everyone at school was talking about Charmed as it had been established. 

But when I do look back, I can only really watch the beginning 4. I can't watch after "Paige from the Past" in Season 4. I mean, back then, I loveeeed the S4 storyline and the special effects and the drama and the twists and turns. I remember it was the only time my whole family watched Charmed. Its still good. Its still entertaining but I just can't see Phoebe the same way after that and that the premise of the show just changes

- and I do want to acknowledge that it had nothing to do with Paige or Rose and Shannen's departure. I think the show did quite well with what it had to deal with at time time. 


So when I want to get my Charmed release now, I often hit up Season 2 and the beginning of Season 4.

20 years. Wow