‘Charmed,’ I’m sure
It was our columnist’s first TV obsession.
When I was 11, there was no better escape than the world of “Charmed.”
The WB series, which starred Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan (but never all at once) as the witchy Halliwell sisters, is getting a makeover on CW this fall (Sundays, 9 EDT/PDT), just one week after its 20th anniversary. The reboot certainly is different, as fans of the original quickly noticed, from the mythology to the makeup of the central family to the more earnest, activist tone. The very idea of a remake was abhorrent to Combs, who tweeted her intense displeasure after the announcement.
The visceral reaction makes sense. If Generation X nerds were defined by such 1980s classics as “Ghostbusters” and “The Terminator,” a subset of Millennial nerds counts “Charmed,” “Roswell” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” among formative shows. I have long considered “Charmed” my first TV obsession, binge-watched in reruns on TNT before binge-watching was cool.
The world of the supernatural drama was a simple place, where the bad guys wore black, the angels were handsome handymen and the bond of three sisters could stop the apocalypse. It was magical, literally and figuratively, a campy show about witches and warlocks that had a little more going on underneath.
“Charmed” was never a great show, but it was consistent and satisfying. Its cheesiness was its strength. Its themes were simple even when they tried to be complicated. Plots were considerably less complex than many of its fantasy and sci-fi TV cousins, and action sequences and special effects were, well, good enough. Its relationship drama rivaled the best nighttime soaps. And, of course, it had hot actors. Very, very hot actors wearing very little clothing while fighting to save the world.
A few years ago, I rewatched “Charmed” from beginning to end. A rewatch laid bare the more problematic aspects of “Charmed,” and nothing stood out more than the frequent and flagrant sexualization of its three leads.
The Halliwell sisters fought demons in crop tops and high heels, in bras and miniskirts, wedding dresses and leather pants. “Charmed” was, essentially, the pinnacle of ’90s-era lipstick feminism: The witches could conquer demons and look incredibly attractive doing it.
Perhaps that’s where CW sees an opening to update its feminism to a 2018 sensibility. But the original series, for better or worse, leaned so far into this aesthetic that it has become an indelible part of its legacy. “Charmed” was an essential part of WB’s supernatural lineup, paving the way for similar shows. It turned fantasy with such dialogue as “vanquish” and “athame” into something far cooler than we’d seen before.
If the original “Charmed” aired in 2018, I would be the first to point out its flaws. But I’ll never be able to shake my affection for it: For the way it made me appreciate my own sisters more; for how it showed three women taking down monsters that seemed impossible to beat; and for how much it made me love those women, enough to cry at the end, even though the finale was terrible.
I loved “Charmed,” and it’s going to be hard to love something that bears its name but looks and sounds nothing like it. But the first show had a laundry list of ways to surprise its audience.
Maybe the new version will keep a couple of the old magic tricks handy.