Season 1 & 2 or 3 & 4?

[rebooted]

Similar to the 5 & 6 vs 7 & 8 poll. 

Whats your preferred go to or preference / the pairing of the seasons you like?



Season 3 and 4 are more serial - arguably the best acting performances and adrenaline pumping

Season 1 and 2 are more demon of the week - arguably the most focused on sisterhood

[forbuss]

For me this is no contest. Season three and four hands down!

I wish the show could have found a way to focus on both of the things you mentioned - serial and sisterhood. I didn't ever understand why the show acted like it could only be one or the other, not both. My true preference would be a good balance of both.

[Esmeralda]

For me this is no contest. Season One and Two, hands down!

I love when the sisters are the most important characters, not their men. And I hate them turning into Prideful Prue, Poor, Poor Pitiful Piper and PhoeME.

[forbuss]

Oct 8, 2020 19:21:38 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

For me this is no contest. Season One and Two, hands down!

I love when the sisters are the most important characters, not their men. And I hate them turning into Prideful Prue, Poor, Poor Pitiful Piper and PhoeME.

Es, do you think there is a way they could have done both and still be appealing to you? The focus on the sisters and their sisterhood while also including things about their personal life (dating, kids, work, etc)?

One thing I will always agree with is the sisterhood was the strongest in one and two. I particularly loved watching Prue and Phoebe learn to accept and forgive each other and grow closer.

[Katie Warren]

I think you can have a balance to appeal to both fanbases who like different things, just never let Cole, Leo or Chris overshadow the sisters, as they did in S3-S8, so the focus will always be on the sisters, and to not let the sisters whole character be tied to their men.

One of the best arcs in Season 1 and 2, was Prue and Phoebe's relationship growing, by Season 2 they both were close and so sisterly.

[Esmeralda]

Oct 8, 2020 20:01:24 GMT -5 forbuss said:

Oct 8, 2020 19:21:38 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

For me this is no contest. Season One and Two, hands down!

I love when the sisters are the most important characters, not their men. And I hate them turning into Prideful Prue, Poor, Poor Pitiful Piper and PhoeME.

Es, do you think there is a way they could have done both and still be appealing to you? The focus on the sisters and their sisterhood while also including things about their personal life (dating, kids, work, etc)?

One thing I will always agree with is the sisterhood was the strongest in one and two. I particularly loved watching Prue and Phoebe learn to accept and forgive each other and grow closer.

Oct 8, 2020 20:10:31 GMT -5 Katie Warren said:

I think you can have a balance to appeal to both fanbases who like different things, just never let Cole, Leo or Chris overshadow the sisters, as they did in S3-S8, so the focus will always be on the sisters, and to not let the sisters whole character be tied to their men.

One of the best arcs in Season 1 and 2, was Prue and Phoebe's relationship growing, by Season 2 they both were close and so sisterly.

Forbuss, Katie speaks for me, too.  My favorite fanfics are ones that take place in S3-8 and combine both, but that always let the sisters star, not their men, not Piper's sons . Kern's seasons never did a good job doing that.  Of course Connie's seasons did since they were based on her and her sisters.

Okay, I've gotta admit that my all-time favorite fanfic, Kalvana's "Future Consequences" DOES star Piper and Chris, but Phoebe and Paige play extremely important roles, something they usually don't do in ones that star Piper and her sons. Ditto for ones that star Cole and Phoebe where either Prue and Piper or Piper and Paige have even smaller roles than Leo. Those fanfics I don't like. This is also true of fanfics that feature a Mary Sue or Gary Stu - an extra non-canon character who overshadows the sisters even more than Canon Cole, Canon Leo, Canon Chris and Canon Billie did.

[rebooted]

Its a hard one for me.

My fave is Season 2 so I think I slightly lean towards Season 1 and 2.

However, I like to rewatch Season 4 the most.

I think because My Jump the shark moment is in Season 3's Sleuthing episode, I'd have to go for Season 1 and 2.

[Too Much Coffee]

This wasn't a very hard decision, Season 1 and 2, the sister's relationship was perfect, Of course as Es said above, Connie's seasons did since they were based on her and her sisters. So it's easy to see how the sisters changed in the Kern years, Kern was basing them on how he felt the oldest middle, and youngest should act, and they were nothing like Connie's no more.

S3 ruined the relationship between the sisters, when Phoebe lied to her sisters, what is worse, is it was Phoebe who said they should make a pact to tell each other the truth always, and that happened one episode before in 'Power Outage'. Then Piper gaining her new power.

But fanfics have done a good job with fixing the later seasons, and I've read some wonderful ones in the seasons I don't like, but fans did so much better.

[Elle Em]

I enjoy re-watching seasons 3 and 4 more, even if I feel like seasons 1 and 2 captured the true heart of the show. If I could blend elements from all four together, I'd have the perfect season.

[forbuss]

I am not surprised that I am the only vote for three and four. Is it just me or do the majority of people like four over three on this board?

I have heard a few people say Sleuthing with the Enemy is the "jump the shark moment" on Charmed. I'm not sure I understand this theory. Is it because this is when the show became less about the sisterhood with the introduction of Cole?

I don't think this episode is the exact jump the shark moment, but I do think this episode represents a major shift in the show. I think Cole/Balthazar was the first demon (and for that matter, character) to truly get in between the sisters without using a spell or some type of direct magic to do it. His whole plan was to get in between them as sisters and not witches and I do think he succeeded. I think we have to place blame on the sisters for taking so long to come back from this (if they ever even did).

For me season three also marks the beginning of the Charmed that I really love - which are (chronologically) 3, 4, and 7. In these seasons I was dying to see the next episode. In the other seasons (for different reasons) I wasn't as desperate to see just one more episode - I was so excited to see what happened. I really love five as well but it's sort of like this for me:

LOVE REWATCHING:
3, 4, 7

REALLY LIKE REWATCHING:

2, 5

ENJOY WATCHING BUT ISN'T MY FAVOURITE TO REWATCH COMPARED TO THE ONES ABOVE

1, 6, 8

These three seasons marked some of my least favourite episodes.

This has changed a bit through the years. At the end of the day I do prefer Paige and parts of season two and most of season three Prue. I just find she was written and/or portrayed to be so heavy handed, overbearing and intense. I do also want to recognize the good in Prue - she was strong, powerful, loyal, caring and loved her family. Her strong will was a blessing and a curse. I find in the third season she was generally more chill and when she did get intense it was for a great reason (Cole, exposure, etc). I know it was all a lie, but I also loved how Prue was so gentle and easy on Phoebe about the whole situation when Prue thought Phoebe had vanquished him. We saw Prue grieve Andy and she knew Phoebe cared for Cole. So yeah I do like season three!

[yorshgogo21]

Clearly seasons 3 & 4!

[BriannaWarren2.0]

Oct 8, 2020 12:06:26 GMT -5 forbuss said:

For me this is no contest. Season three and four hands down!

I wish the show could have found a way to focus on both of the things you mentioned - serial and sisterhood. I didn't ever understand why the show acted like it could only be one or the other, not both. My true preference would be a good balance of both.

Even though I liked the darker tones of the first two seasons, I agree with you, they should have had a balance of both, I would have preferred it if they kept sisterhood as a defining factor of the series. 

[Astral Echo]

I also prefer Season's 3 or 4. I like an arc and Season's 1 and 2 only had romantic arcs which were...fine, but ultimately only side plot worthy. Phoebe and Cole in Season 3 and 4 wasn't just about their relationship, it was about Belthazor, the Source and the Seer too.

And character wise, I found Prue and Paige were best in these seasons and unlike popular opinion, I also liked Phoebe here too. As much as S1 and S2? I don't know. As for Piper, I can't dispute that S1 was where she was at her peak. She became gradually more unlikeable as the series went on.

[Aaeiyn]

Why you gotta split my 1 & 3 like that? 

I'mma choose 3 & 4 'cause there's not much in 2 that I really like aside from a handful of episodes.  S4 is OK but still kind of dull, but I can tolerate it, a little bit more than I can tolerate 2.  So, S3 & S4 is what I picked.

[rebooted]

Change my mind. I prefer watching Season 3 and 4. The show seems more refined, less dated and Piper is a bit more tolerable.

[zoeysmom]

Oct 8, 2020 19:21:38 GMT -5 Esmeralda said:

For me this is no contest. Season One and Two, hands down!

I love when the sisters are the most important characters, not their men. And I hate them turning into Prideful Prue, Poor, Poor Pitiful Piper and PhoeME.

Same. I also prefer when there was more of an emphasis on the sisterhood.

[Esmeralda]

I have to complete this for myself. But since my feelings change so much from half-season to half-season, I have to do it that way. FH=First Half LH=Last Half

LOVE RE-WATCHING:

LH1, FH2 (My favorite marathon!  I'll admit there's a few episodes I skip because they scare me too much, and when re-watching on my own, I always skip past Leo-Piper-Dan, but overall, this is Charmed at its best for me.)

REALLY LIKE RE-WATCHING:

FH1, LH2 (Of course they complete my marathon.  For me, this is Charmed, especially because again I fast-forward past the triangle.)

WILL RE-WATCH BUT PREFER THE ONES ABOVE:

FH3, FH5, LH7, FH8 (Except for one or two episodes in each half-season, this is when I dislike all three sisters.)

REFUSE TO RE-WATCH EXCEPT DURING BOARD RE-WATCHES:

LH3, 4, LH5, 6, FH7, LH8 (This is Kern's Male-Charmed at its worst.)