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Post by abraxas18978 on Nov 27, 2009 16:21:05 GMT -5
Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving yesterday and that those of you who went shopping for the holidays actually enjoyed themselves despite the crowds.
Having said that, I wanted to start a discussion on Season 8 of the show based on some comments Alyssa Milano revealed in 'Charmed Magazine - Charmed Forever.'
The following are comments from Alyssa -
Alyssa on...returning for an eighth season:
"I'm very pleased that were back. This season, not only creatively, but just from the vibe around the set, has been amazing. If you're here for a couple of hours, you can feel it. I think everyone was happy and relieved that we were coming back. It didn't feel quite like we were finished last season. Creatively, I think this might be our best season ever. It really feels like that."
And I know that this could go in the Season 8 Discussion Thread, but I figured I would start a discussion based on what Alyssa said in General Discussion since things are kinda slow in the cafe.
So...does anybody agree that Season 8 was the best year creatively? Why or why not?
And for those of you who have openly said how much they dislike Season 8; why do you say that?
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Post by abraxas18978 on Nov 27, 2009 16:33:42 GMT -5
In my opinion, Season 8 was really fun and I enjoyed it just as much if not more so than the other years.
Having said that, I have mentioned in the midst of other discussioins that aside from watching the show, I never read anything about the show or knew anything from 'behind the scenes.'
If I knew what I know now, I wouldn't even dislike Season 8. I really appreciate the strong story lines -- the only thing that I hesitate to say I was 'okay' with was the character of Billie.
I am really indifferent about her and I hate that I was indifferent about a character on my favorite show.
I did enjoy Marnette Patterson as Billie's sister, as she was intended to be the Charmed One's last great battle.
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Post by **Teyla_Emmagan** on Nov 27, 2009 16:38:09 GMT -5
I think Season 8 was O.k but I don´t think it was the best Season... But I didn´t notice that it was creativly the best Season, there were much better Seasons I think... Cause in Season 8 they used a lot of things they had allready used in old Seasons... There where still the same old demons and the thing with Billie and Christy wasn´t really new and creative either, it was for me just a summary of the old Seasons which were in my oppinion much better... So I don´t think that Season 8 was creativly the best Season, the earlier Seasons were much better to me, in my oppinion...  |
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Esmeralda
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Post by Esmeralda on Nov 28, 2009 11:32:20 GMT -5
I remember reading that and being excited for S8. Too bad it didn't live up to the hype. Easily one of the worst seasons. Since this is also discussed here I'll include my review from that thread here. The tile of that thread is "Season 8 : Billie & The Last Season". THE TRUE TITLE OF THAT THREAD SHOULD BE: Season 8: "What a Horrible Way to End a Great Show!" After watching S8, I truly wish that it had ended with S7 with the Charmed Ones and the Manor being blown to Kingdom Come, something like what happened in "Kill Billie, Vol 2", but with no survivors. Season 8 very simply sucked! All those guest stars were SOOOOOOOOOO unnecessary! Why couldn't they have used the same Angel of Destiny as they used at the end of S4, if that one was cheaper? I didn't see a single guest star who I recognized and I didn't think any of them acted very well. To not have the final season be based on the sisters and include Leo, when he was part of the show from the very start, very simply sucked! Ditto for no Darryl! He SOOOOOO should've been part of the last season; once you lost him, you lost that connection with reality which the FBI guy didn't do one single bit! The only guest star I liked wasn't a guest star but a new regular. I *loved* Henry, but his and Paige's romance was just SOOOOOOO rushed! I wish they could've introduced him in S7 rather than Brody. And the idea of Paige becoming pure whitelighter even though she was still alive thanks to those !@#$%^ Elders and moreorless making her give up her destiny as a Charmed One, as a witch? GRRRRRRRRRRRR @ Kern! I HATED Coop! Absolutely the worst person for Phoebe to end up with! Man, he was hot, but all he did was make Phoebe even more of a Freebie/PhoeME than she was before. A self-centered Cupid?? Oh, barf! I wish they could've brought back the one from "Heartbreak City"; either that or make Billy from "Chick Flick" real; with them was when I loved my Phoebs best! No wonder I love S2 so much! And the idea that the ELDERS sent Coop to Phoebe because they thought they'd goof up her life??? And that Phoebe had never known love until she met Coop? OH, BARF!!! If not Cupid or Billy, then I wish they could've brought back Cole or Drake. Even Anton would've been better than Coop! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR @ Kern! Then there was Piper. Using magic for personal gain right and left and never feeling any backlash--as long as it was funny, it was OK. Constantly shoving her kids, especially fugly Chris, off on her dad (and Wyatt was easily the show-stealer!). Using Leo as her own personal errand boy rather than either helping him get his his wings back or sending him back to his own time. Then having the NERVE to cry when he's hurt and almost dies! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR @ Kern!!!!! Why couldn't Kern have shown them actually in love before that? And worst of all, the only way that Piper would agreee to fight evil was if they'd freeze her hubby! THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR DESTINY--TO FIGHT EVIL, YOU SELF-CENTERED B!TCH! You did one sh!tty job of leading the Charmed Ones! Prue would be SOOOO disgusted with you! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR @ Kern!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How the higher-ups at the WB (and they were the ones who suggested it to Kern, just like they wanted the mermaid spinoff) would possibly think that we could accept a dumb blonde who dressed in faux leather and had more powers than the Charmed Ones combined, totally voiding out Melinda Warren's prophecy and even the Twice Blessed Brat and his brother, and then make the sisters treat her as if SHE was a sister? OOOOOOOOOO! Piper and Phoebe actually accepting her better than they ever accepted Paige! That was enough to make me want to vomit! I actually liked the character Christy as an evil character. I liked the Stockholm Syndrome angle and the actress did a good job. So did Cuocao when she worked with her--before she showed up, Cuocao overacted even more than McGowan and was less believable than Fuller's acting! I didn't like the return of the Triad--Cole vanquished them, for Pete's sake; they should've been a CINCH to vanquish so how the heck could they be the Big Bad? Ditto for only showing the original Source for a single episode. The TRUE Ultimate Evil should've been the self-centered, turn-away-from-their-destiny sisters themselves and they should've either been punished or changed! (or we should've been shown the REAL Ultimate Evil-Braddus Kernus, the Demon of Discontinuity) and vanquish HIM in the last episode with the longest, slowest, most painful vanquish you can possibly think of for how horribly he screwed up our show! The end of "Kill Billie, Vol 2" and all of "Forever Charmed" truly sucked HUGE rocks! It was SOOO unrealistic, especially because Paige is the one who should've survived thanks to panic-orbing, Piper shouldn't have been able to use Coop's ring (he should've gone on the time travel trip with her, not Leo), Leo should not have been returned until after the battle was *truly* won; and Chris should've hugged Leo at the end! Also...where was Henry?? The worst part of it is that it didn't leave the door open for a spin-off or a movie or anything; we know that everyone (well, at least Piper and Leo!) will live happily ever after (if Leo can live happily ever after as Piper's errand boy for the rest of his life--also why I can't believe that "Forever Charmed" was real!), so even if they did do a movie or a spin-off, we'd know that they'd have to end up happily and there would be no suspense, just like a prequel. And don't even START me on the !@#$%^&*()_)(*&^%$#@! wall! I truly hope that if a Charmed movie ever comes out, we find out that either the full season or at least "Forever Charmed" was simply Piper's fantasy as she almost died and not real! Brad Kern did a "wonderful" job of taking three would-be whitelighters and turning them into three who should either become darklighters or be burnt on the stake! Thanks, Kern! Thanks a heckova heap! Just thank God for fanfic writers and Virtual Series writers who know how to do things better!! F/1 out of 10/A bit better than S6 but not by much! |
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Post by CharmedFaith on Nov 28, 2009 12:26:30 GMT -5
I swear it seems like they say that every season. But no S8 was certainly not the best of the show. While it was ok it couldve been better. Its certainly wasnt better than S1-4. Probably better than S5 and S6. But thats about all.
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Post by ghostrider on Nov 29, 2009 1:55:44 GMT -5
I was very disappointed with season 8 but some of that might be my own undoing. My problem was that my dismay started with season 5, so I was no longer the die hard viewer I once was. I did of course still tune in off and on, but I found myself being distracted by things like changing the kitty litter pan and cleaning out the refrig. ;D ... I guess I did hang around because I kept hoping that at some point I would get the more I had enjoyed in the past, instead of the less I kept running into.
When I wasn't busy doing the fun stuff around the house, and did check out the odd lives the girls were now living at the manor, I found I was more confused than annoyed by the weirdness of season 8. I didn't know why Billie was a main character and Christy was a total mystery to me. As things progressed and got worse my main question was how did these two brats manage to get as far as they did on the Charmed Ones Magical playing field. Yes I know, they had help from some very dangerous creatures, but the girls had been dealing with some of the most powerful evils on earth for years. Maybe it's just me, but it looked like they had regressed. Now I can truly understand why they would have wanted to have personal lives outside of magic...but when the decided to stick with it, ever after they were offered an out...I think if they were not going to give it at least 90%, they should have taken the deal. They had enough experience to know what was out there, and that a full personal life just might be out of the question. I say this because their desire for a normal/average life seemed to become so important they got sloppy in the magical world and missed some warning signs of possible things to come. Even us humans can do just so much multi tasking before we drop a few of those balls we are juggling.
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Post by dylan345 on Nov 29, 2009 20:07:49 GMT -5
Every episode of season eight, standing alone, was wonderful. I never got through watching an episode and thought I hated it. But with that, I'm talking about the story line for each individual episode, the surprise factor, things like that. The problem with season eight was that it was so much different than what fans of earlier seasons were accustomed to. I may have always thought each episode was done nicely, and I still do, but when I try to connect that with other points in the show, it doesn't add up.
Another thing relating to continuity was that the whole feel of the show changed. Watch the first episode, and then skip to the last, to see how much it changed. If the whole show had the feel of season eight, and the later seasons too, it would be fine. But it started out so different.
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Post by Astral Echo on Nov 30, 2009 10:27:04 GMT -5
I disagree, Dylan. Season Eight was awful, on all standards. The storylines were childish, the directing was basic, the acting was dire and the USP was no longer recognizble. Who could honestly say that they knew that the show was about three sisters who were witches - it was three witches called the Charmed Ones who happened to call each other sisters, even then we rarely heard the word used.
Season 8 was by far the worst season and amoungst one of the worst final seasons in history.
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Post by Esmeralda on Dec 1, 2009 8:20:15 GMT -5
No, I can see where Dylan is going. If Season 8 had been my first season and i had never seen any of the other ones, had nothing to compare it with, then the individual stories might have been interesting--although I doubt if I would've watched more than one or two, the same way doubt if I would've watched more than one or two of Season 6 or 7 because the thing that attracted me to the show--the idea that it was three sisters who happened to be witches--simply was not there, and there were no stars who I would've liked. This was especially true during S8.
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Post by abraxas18978 on Dec 1, 2009 21:11:37 GMT -5
Like I have said, I can't say I dislike any single season of the series because I did enjoy each and every episode; I guess I wasn't as particular about how the show should be and what should happen. As far as continuity and Season 1 being stylistically different from Season 8; Holly Marie Combs put it best when she was asked a few questions regarding Season 8 (The Final Season) in Entertainment Weekly: _________________________________ QUESTION: What can you tell us about the finale?
COMBS: I'm probably not letting a whole bunch out of the bag, but pretty much every family member and guest star that we've had on the shows is coming back.... So that's something.
Shannen?
COMBS: Well. [Smiles.] That's a completely different show. [Laughs.]_________________________________ Holly was right; when Shannen was on the show, it was a completely different show with a completely different feel. Another example is when Holly was talking to an entertainment news outlet about Season 7 and how when Rose came on board, the show shifted from being more dramatic to including more silly and goofy moments -- hence, the show feeling dramatically different in terms of Season 1 to Season 8. -If you're interested in reading the interview in Entertainment Weekly featuring the 3 co-stars answering questions about Season 8, here in the link: www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1178272,00.html/url] -Also, the following site is how I found the above interview and it contains links on Entertainment Weekly's site of several articles detailing the end of the show: search.ew.com/EWSearch/ew/search/search.html?search=Holly+Marie+Combs&x=0&y=0/url] |
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Post by dylan345 on Dec 2, 2009 17:17:40 GMT -5
No, I can see where Dylan is going. If Season 8 had been my first season and i had never seen any of the other ones, had nothing to compare it with, then the individual stories might have been interesting--although I doubt if I would've watched more than one or two, the same way doubt if I would've watched more than one or two of Season 6 or 7 because the thing that attracted me to the show--the idea that it was three sisters who happened to be witches--simply was not there, and there were no stars who I would've liked. This was especially true during S8. That's exactly what I mean. If I hadn't seen the show before and I saw a random episode from season eight, I would probably like it. I just meant that each episode was good on its own. The acting may have been bad in a few episodes, but if you never saw the actresses act in any other episode or season, it probably wouldn't seem that bad. I'm not meaning to say I think the entire season is good, especially when put together with the rest of the show. Compared to the other seasons, especially the first four, season eight is a whole other show, and my personal least favorite. |
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Post by ghostrider on Dec 2, 2009 17:49:34 GMT -5
When I first viewed Charmed, I remember thinking...WOW, this is good, I gotta tune into this every week....but, if I had never seen anything before season 8, I think I would have said...this is nuts, maybe I should try to catch this every week. So I guess I am in agreement with Es and Dylan. If there was nothing to compare season 8 to....it would have been rather interesting and far-out enough to peek my curiosity.
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Post by erikamarie on Dec 3, 2009 11:58:18 GMT -5
- So...does anybody agree that Season 8 was the best year creatively? Why or why not? And for those of you who have openly said how much they dislike Season 8; why do you say that? It was very creative,they had good ideas and a bad way to put into practice Christy was a good character,a young witch raised by demons,breakable not to raise suspicions in the sisters,I liked to see her in action but they did completely wrong in creating the character of her sister, more stupid than naive ( "I want to hunt demons!" not protect the innocents) It'ld be intriguing to address the problem of Magic School captured by demons (although I have always found the Magic School out of place in the world of Charmed),wondering what had happened to students and teachers, instead we had to know that Leo tortured demons to practice students,absolutely beyond the pale It was good the idea of an indeterminate but powerful threat,stupid that the Angel of Destiny thought it was necessary to make Piper suffer and turn her into a Fury again to face Billie and Christy About the kids, I do not think in the season 8 they have been neglected, they were often sent by their grandfather, but this happens even to children whose mother has a full time job and no demon to face |
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Esmeralda
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Post by Esmeralda on Dec 3, 2009 12:17:05 GMT -5
But sending magical children to a non-magical father who couldn't protect them? That was *very* neglectful. If they were going to spend all of this money on guest stars, why not spend it on a magical nanny who could both watch and protect the kids? But naturally, neither Piper or Kern even considered such a thing--she was *such* a non-maternal mother.
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Post by marienomad on Dec 3, 2009 16:14:19 GMT -5
But sending magical children to a non-magical father who couldn't protect them? That was *very* neglectful. If they were going to spend all of this money on guest stars, why not spend it on a magical nanny who could both watch and protect the kids? But naturally, neither Piper or Kern even considered such a thing--she was *such* a non-maternal mother. Didn't they have an nanny elf who had offered her support for the Zankou battle? |
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Esmeralda
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Post by Esmeralda on Dec 5, 2009 9:10:32 GMT -5
But sending magical children to a non-magical father who couldn't protect them? That was *very* neglectful. If they were going to spend all of this money on guest stars, why not spend it on a magical nanny who could both watch and protect the kids? But naturally, neither Piper or Kern even considered such a thing--she was *such* a non-maternal mother. Didn't they have an nanny elf who had offered her support for the Zankou battle? No, the last we saw of the nanny elf was during "Oh, My Goddess!" She'd obviously had it with Piper as such a crappy mother that we never saw her again, and Piper never tried finding another one--she just pushed her magical kids off on her non-magical father. Each time she did it, I just rolled my eyes at her and disrespected her more. |
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Post by marienomad on Dec 5, 2009 9:25:47 GMT -5
Didn't they have an nanny elf who had offered her support for the Zankou battle? No, the last we saw of the nanny elf was during "Oh, My Goddess!" She'd obviously had it with Piper as such a crappy mother that we never saw her again, and Piper never tried finding another one--she just pushed her magical kids off on her non-magical father. Each time she did it, I just rolled my eyes at her and disrespected her more. It would be nice for the Charmed Ones to have a magical nanny to kinda have magic involved the witch way. Or they can just conjure up their own magical nanny. |
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Esmeralda
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Post by Esmeralda on Dec 5, 2009 9:33:54 GMT -5
Yes, it would. And it would've been even nicer to find out that it's the same one who took care of Prue and Piper before Grams bound their powers.
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Post by erikamarie on Dec 7, 2009 8:11:50 GMT -5
As foetus,Wyatt was able to exange his parent's soul,he was eight months when he called for Excalibu,he was one years old when he wounded a powerful Elder as Gideon and burnt a demon running through underworld,he was two when he made smaller and closed in the doll house his parents:he doesn't need magical protection but the adult presence that every child needs
Wyatt is able to protect his little brother and his grandfather but he is a toddler,easy to swindle
His shield is enough to protect his brother, as it is proven in Kill Bill 2,I loved the scenes in Victor's house,Chris full of joy while he was helping his big brother cheating at the game,Wyatt while is covering Chris's cot with his shield
Victor showed to be fit to protect his grandsons when Wyatt was kidnapped: he was careful not freak Chris out, he acted as he wished to play with the toddler, counting on the brothers's bound, because he knows his grandsons
When Piper sends her sons to Victor, it's in order to not upset the children with battles and woundings,to allow them to play,to go to the zoo,to go to the park as normal children:she doesn't need an elf nanny,she needs a relative who reassures them
I don't think Piper was a creepy mom because she didn't call for the elf nanny,I think she was wise
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Post by Quadquetra on Dec 7, 2009 20:13:02 GMT -5
Amen ErickaMarie.
Piper knew she didn't want her children in danger and she saw what Wyatt being in danger before did which was turn him evil. Besides Victor wanted to be around his grandchildren like he said to kinda make up for not being there for the girls. And he knew about magic at least and when Coop appeared and he thought he was a demon Victor didn't cower under Wyatt's shield he was prepared to defend his grandsons as best he could. In a side note i think the sisters should have given him potions so in case some ever tried to use him against the girls he could have some kinda magic to defend him self and even a teleporting potion idk lol but back to topic. Bottom line I think Piper was an awesome mother and she did what she viewed as right for her children which is what all parents do supernatural or not.
Lol corny but that what I think.
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