Monday, January 28, 2013

Forever Charmed (Part Four: Extras)


Some of the very entertaining aspects of 'Charmed' were the extras. Things like soundtrack, the minor actors (who only play a few episodes), the origin of some of the other characters, And, the special effects. Sometimes it was because I recognised something, Sometimes it was because it was something ridiculous to laugh at, And, sometimes it was just really cool. So, this post is going to be about all the little cool things (and not so cool things) that added to the show.

THE SHOW IS A LITTLE OLD NOW:
Okay, so it's not extinct (not hard to find on DVD) and it's definitely not ancient, but it has been a while since the show debuted. And, even though the show only finished in 2006, which is seven years ago, many people have lost interest. And, in a time where everything dates so quickly I can understand why some people won't "get" this show. Especially if they are suckers for the modern world of HD, touch screens and techno music. I really would like to introduce more people to the show. I don't want to scare you all away, but I just want to let you know that you can be prepared for some interesting stuff as far as the extras are concerned.

The soundtrack and the wardrobe might seem a little scary to some. The Cranberries are featured in the soundtrack of one of the earlier seasons, The Verve are mentioned in the first season, And, a band called Dishwalla, which I was sure was a made up band (and apparently isn't) actually featured in an episode as a demonically fueled band. Some of the "interesting" garments worn early on in the show include: overalls, midriff baring tops, some very ruffled tops and at one stage socks-with-sandals.

At first the special effects were a bit embarrassing. They seemed a little cheap, but after a while I grew to like them. I liked the sound of Leo orbing, the sound of the elders calling to Leo, the way some of the demons were vanquished, the way the demons could "blink" or "shimmer"..etc. The whole outdated thing became cool. This wasn't just a supernatural show about witches; these women were superheroes, this was a show about superheroes. The special effects did improve slightly throughout the course of the show.

Pretty much didn't bother me, but I think it will get lost on a few people.

COOL STUFF:
And, like I said earlier, there were some pretty cool things about the show. Cool in a nerdy sense. One of these things were the guest stars. Throughout the show I saw some people who played well-know roles in movies or shows that occurred after the episodes that they starred in. Some of the most amusing were:

-T.J Thyne (Known as 'Hodgins' in the TV series 'Bones') guest stars as a Whitelighter in 'Once A Blue Moon' (Season 7, Episode 6)
-Rachelle Lefevre (Known as 'Victoria' in 'Twilight' and 'New Moon')guest stars as a ghost in 'Love's a Witch' (Season 6, Episode 5)
- Marcus Graham (Known as 'Harvey' on Australian TV show 'Home and Away') guest stars as a dragon warlock in 'Be Careful What You Wish For' (Season 2, Episode 22)
-Jamie Pressly (Known as 'Joy'  in 'My Name is Earl') guest stars as 'Mylie' the mermaid in 'A Witch's Tail' (Season 5, Episode 1)

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE RECURRING:
There are some things that I have noticed over the duration of the series- sometimes after just the first season- that are recurring instances. Sometimes things recurred because it was just the design of the show and sometimes things recurred because the story line just happened to go that way (again). These things didn't really bother me, because it felt like the repetition (in most cases) created a sense of "unity" where each episode was concerned.

Things I noticed:
-The show starts off with something happening, the theme song/beginning credits play ('How Soon is Now?' performed by Love Spit Love, Originally performed by The Smiths. Song was used for the first seven seasons.) and there is footage shown of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge with a song playing in the background. The show almost always starts like this, but sometimes not in that exact order.

-The Show usually ends with a get together at Quake or P3.

-The girls die and come back to life often. Or nearly die...

-The windows in the parlour (or at least that's what I'm calling it) are often being broken.

-The front door is repeatedly ripped from its hinges.

-The grandfather clock has been smashed and repaired many times.

-There is always someone after the book of shadows or tap into the charmed power.

-There is always someone scheming to destroy the charmed ones.

There are probably more instances that may be repeated throughout the show, but I thought those were the main ones.

Overall, I thought the extras really added to the show. While they definitely were "of the time" I don't think they made the show any less entertaining. I loved that the show had a lot of different guest stars because there was a new demon (and sometimes a new innocent) nearly every week. Keep a watch out for more charmed posts!

Your Favourite Blogger,
Natalie

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