Charmed Reboot Gets Mixed Reviews After Premier

October 16, 2018 Morning Show Leave a reply

Fans compare the Charmed reboot to its predecessor which aired twenty years ago.

 

Charmed, which originally aired its pilot in 1998 has a message that was ground-breaking for women back then and rings true now more than ever. The reboot does its part in tieing in the current political atmosphere with it’s original message of a femme-forward show.

Many fans of the original series found the reboot to be too obvious. That the original series had a subtlety to it that made it appeal to a large audience base. On the flip side, others think that forwardness of social injustice makes it more relatable for teens and young adults that will be growing up with the show. Fans of the original series have to realize that they have aged twenty years since the original airdate and the atmosphere isn’t charged the same way as it was. The big question is, will the reboot be able to appeal to original fans while also picking up today’s teens or will it miss the broom entirely?

Before we get into a review of the pilot, we will lay down the ground work of what is remaining the same and what is different.

First it needs to be said that this is a true reboot, not a spin-off, not a continuation. It is restarting the series. The original characters are not involved nor do they seem to have existed at all. (However there are already theories in the works that they could tie-in the two timelines)

 

 

 

 

The CW

 

1) The Sisters

In Charmed circa 98′ premier, it introduces the Halliwell sisters who grew up together in San Francisco and inevitably all end up back home together. Once reunited under the chandelier, they become the Charmed Ones. Later in the series, one sister is killed off and that is when they find out their mother gave up a child at birth that was half-whitelighter (Rose McGowen.)

In this take of Charmed, there are only two sisters that grew up together, Mel and Maggie Vera. They discover in the very first episode that they have a third sister that their mom gave up, but it seems she didn’t give up (the oldest) at birth because Macy has a photo containing herself and their mom in front of the house the other two grew up in. The other biggest difference is the ages. The original series picks up when the sisters are in their late twenties. This time around one is a college freshman, another in grad school and the estranged oldest is a scientist. But just like Darrel from the OG series wanted to constantly remind you that he’s a cop, Macy likes to constantly explain there is probably a scientifitic explanation for everything happening.

As you probably noticed, the namesake is different, but the alliteration is still the same. Instead of Piper, Prue (later Paige) and Phoebe Halliwell we have three hispanic actresses portraying Mel and Maggie Vera and Macy Vaughn. Will they later be known as the Vera sisters? We will have to wait that one out.

 

2) The Powers

In the original, Prue, the eldest sister, has telekinesis and later can astral project, Piper can freeze time (using her hands) and later can blow things up, and Phoebe has the power of premonition and later can levitate thanks to a genie.  It’s interesting that they kept two of the powers the same, even keeping it to the same respective sisters, all except for one. The oldest sister is Macy, who just like Prue, squints her eyes to move objects. Mel can freeze time but this time it’s not with her hands as Piper did, looks like it’s just with her mind. The youngest, Maggie, doesn’t have Phoebe’s power of premonition. Instead, they gave her the gift to read minds. As a college freshman, that sounds TERRIBLE. She’s going to hear some awful thoughts.

It’s not clear whether their powers will develop the same as their original characters did, but we like to think that they will.

 

 

 

3) Their Whitelighter

 

This was probably the difference that was the hardest to swallow for OG fans. Let’s recap the original whitelighter. THE whitelighter. He came to the sisters pretending to be their handy man, Leo Wyatt. Only after being caught using his powers by one of the sisters (several episodes into the first season) does he reveal his duty to protect and aid the sisters in their battles. Acting as their guide.His character was alive during World War II. He was a war doctor who died and was turned into a whitelighter so continue helping people and future witches. His demeanor was polite, kind, and wise.

The Vera and Vaughn ladies have a whitelighter too. He starts off as a professor at the college but quickly reveals himself to be their whitelighter, Harry. In fact, he sits the sisters down in chairs and gives them a whole magic low down. They didn’t have to struggle to figure anything out themselves like the original witches did. He introduces them to the Book of Shadows, tells them they each have powers and reveals that he is there to help and shows them his powers immediately.

 

 

 

His personality is brash, comical and British. Literally, he is British.

At the end of the first episode, they introduce the idea that he is not to be trusted. The sisters are in the attic using the ouija board which violently spells out, “Don’t trust Harry.” He then appears from the shadows and the first episode ends. Is he really their whitelighter? He did heal one of the sisters after she got cut after all. This left the audience a little confused but definitely intrigued.

Another big difference between the whitelighters is that Leo got from place to place by orbing. Which is basically disappearing into a cluster of bright blue and white lights to travel to different places. Harry doesn’t orb, in fact, they even made a point in the pilot to show that. His effect is some weird whirlwind swirl and then he disappears. When he shows the sisters he says, “just wanted to show you the effect.” Was this a tell for original fans that he is not truly their whitelighter (to tie into the weird ending,) or was this simply to show that this reboot has another difference to the original show?

 

4) The Demons

 

They also changed up the demons a little bit. The writers did slyly slip in the name of a famous demon from the original series (we will let you catch that one on your own) but they also have some never before seen and presented in a new way. No potions were used in the pilot. In fact, they did a baking soda exercism. It seems like it will be a reoccruing theme that Macy will use science to help battle the demons. They discovered a cell sample from one of the demons that was human, except for a weird substance coating the outside of the cell. This led to the conclusion that a person was possessed by a demon and not actually a demon themselves. They dumped baking soda on Brian, Maggie’s ex-boyfriend and were able to save him as a character. This left the door open for a possible rebudding romance between the two young lovers.

 

 

 

They battled a second demon who appeared to be a normal person until he transformed into a demonic creature during battle. This is when we discovered that their spells might be exclusively be in latin for the reboot. No more fun limericks and rhyming chants, these spells are taking a more traditional route.

 

 

5) Love Life

 

In the original series, their love life started off rocky. Piper was dating their first warlock, Prue had just left her scummy fiance, and Phoebe was just a hopeless romantic. In this reboot, things seem to be different. It’s revealed that Mel is apart of the LGBTQ community and has a girlfriend that she is in the process of getting back together with. Maggie had just put pause on things with Brian, (yes the one that was temporarily possessed,) and even shared a liplock with him after saving him, and Macy could possibly have a blooming relationship with the man she is sharing an umbrella with when she first discover’s the Vera house, but that wasn’t introduced as a major plot point yet. They also decide to not erase the memory of a kid on campus who ends up watching their whole demonic battle. Seems like a risky move first day of the job!

Later on with the original sisters they struggled to find love and attributed it to trying to hide their secret. Will these new sisters end up with the same issue?

 

 

6) Rules to Magic

 

Right off the bat they introduce us to a new rule. When Harry is giving the girls the option to keep or give up their legacy he says if they choose to give up their powers, all things done by “magical intervention” will be undone. In the original series more than once the Halliwell’s were left the option to give up their powers, however it was made clear back then that it would only change their future, not their history.

Does this mean rules like “personal gain” and forbidden love will no longer apply to this reboot? We are hoping these are things covered in the next episode!

 

 

OVERALL REVIEW:

This is truly a new take on the OG series. As a fan of the original Charmed series with a particularly unique, invested interest (my father was an editor on the original series,) I had to go into the premier with a clear head and minimal expectations. I didn’t want to compare them too much. That being said, this reboot is definitely worth the watch. Just like the femme-foward legacy left behind by the original cast, these ladies, while more obviously tackling these issues, are not to be reckoned with. It’s incredible that these women of color actresses have been given the opportunity to shine on what was a ground-breaking series.

While their on-screen chemistry is still only a bud, it has the potential to turn into a rose. I think bringing science into the Wican religion is a risky but believable move that will add new elements that were ignored by early 2000’s writers,

The new series is a mix of campy comedy and almost-horror. It definitely had a more spooky element that was amplified by new-age effects, lifting the series reboot to a new level. Is it on bar with the origninal series? Not quite. But could it reach new heights with some character development and a good plot twist already in the works? YES.

If you go into the premier wanting something just fresh enough, you’ll enjoy it, It straddles the line between OG and new without falling on its face.