Customer Reviews

Charmed - The Complete Fifth Season

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Season 5 is a very interesting season to review. Many people have mixed feelings about it. Some say its the best and some say it is the downfall of Charmed. I somewhat agree with both sides, as my opinion is the first half is great up unitl the point where they vanquish Cole and shift into baby mode. Although some of the baby episodes are good, the show definately changed after the birth of Wyatt. This season was pretty light hearted with many baby-centric episodes but this season does have its dark points. Highlights include: A Witch's Tail, Sam I Am, Centennial Charmed, The Day The Magic Died, and Oh My Goddess.

Episodes:

1. A Witch's Tail Part 1 - The sisters help Mylie (Jamie Pressly), a mermaid, with a deal she made with the sea-hag.

2. A Witch's Tail Part 2 - Phoebe becomes a mermaid and Paige and Piper must convince her to return home.

3. Happily Ever After - A witch uses the power of fairy tales to create problems for the charmed ones.

4. Siren Song - A siren is in town preying on married men.

5. Witches In Tights - the sisters are transformed into superheros in order to take out a demon.

6. The Eyes Have It - The Charmed Ones encounter a gypsy curse and aid their friend Eva to show her the way of magic.

7. Sympathy For The Demon - Barbas is back to wreck some havok on the charmed ones.

8. A Witch In Time - Phoebe must constantly save her boyfriend from dying and if she doesn't stop, she will die.

9. Sam I Am - Paige meets her father, Sam, for the first time.

10. Y Tu Mummy Tambien - Pheobe gets mummified and her sisters must rescue her.

11. The Importance Of Being Phoebe - Cole kidnaps Phoebe and sends a shapeshifter to impersonate her.

12. Centennial Charmed - Paige orbs into an alternate reality and must find a way to vanquish Cole, once and for all.

13. House Call - A witch doctor cleans the manor for all the spirits vanquished there over the years.

14. Sand Francisco Dreamin' - the girls must save a sandman.

15. The Day The Magic Died - When the whole magical community shuts down, something big is in the making.

16. Baby's First Demon - 2 Demons are after Baby Wyatt and the sisters are surprised by some of his own powers.

17. Lucky Charmed - Leprachauns are in town and being killed.

18. Cat House - Piper and Leo have marriage counseling and Phoebe and Paige relive some of the past events of the show.

19. Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun - Paige gets turned into a nymph.

20. Sense and Sense Ability - The girls have a curse put on them with the famous "Hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil"

21. Necromancing The Stone - Grams is back and confronted by an old lover.

22. Oh My Goddess Part 1 - The Titans are released and out for vengeance against the elders.

23. Oh My Goddess Part 2 - The sisters, now greek goddesses, are seduced by their powers.

Although this season had its fair share of ups and downs, it is still worth purchasing. Many changes to the show happened in this season, making it worth the money.

Well, we had a character change for series 4, and we get another for the 100th episode* this season. Yep we bid a fond farewell to Cole : ( But there will be a tiny new cast member - this season sees the birth of Piper and Leo's baby.
Season 5 stills retains it's sense of realism with the added drama and wit that made CHARMED a huge success, but for me this series lost that special something that made it a must watch programme, though it picks it up as it nears the end.

A Witch's Tail (1)
A Witch's Tail (2)
Phoebe is turned into a mermaid, giving her a cold heart and she runs away from her problems. Paige struggles balancing her charmed one life with her work life. Pregnant Piper begins to suffer from panic attacks.

Happily Ever After
The sisters are transported into classic fairy stories - Piper Little Red Riding Hood, Phoebe into Cinderella, and Paige into Snow White.

Siren Song
A Siren lures Phoebe and Cole, leaving Piper and Paige to save them. Piper's unborn baby swaps her powers with Leo's.

Witches In Tights
A demon is turned into a comic book character so he can steal the elder's powers, leaving the sisters no choice but to don masks and catsuits to stop him.

The Eyes Have It
Phoebe discovers a demon which steals the eyes of gypsies. Piper wants to see a regular doctor, but Leo is concerned about being exposed.

Sympathy For The Demon
Here we see the return of Barbas (the demon of fear) who once again plunges the sisters into their darkest fears.

A Witch In Time
An evil warlock tries to steal the book of shadows and succeeds in killing 2 of the sisters, leaving our lone survivor to decide if going back in time to save their life's is the right thing to do.

Sam I Am
Paige, as a whitelighter, gets her first charge. Cole tries to force the sisters to kill him.

Y Tu Mummy Tambien
A demon tries to resurrect the spirit of his dead lover by using Phoebe to host her.

The Importance Of Being Phoebe
Cole kidnaps Phoebe and sends a shapeshifter to take her place.

Centennial Charmed *
Cole creates a world where Phoebe and Piper never meet Paige in a desperate attempt to keep Phoebe by his side.

House Call
The sisters enlist the help of a witch doctor in removing the traces of evil from around the house. Is he friend or foe? Paige's ex shows up with a big surprise.

Sand Francisco Dreamin'
A demon causes the sisters nightmares to come to life.

The Day The Magic Died
As Piper'/s baby is about to be born all magic dies, leaving her defenceless against the evil being that want the baby.

Baby's First Demon
New aunties Paige and Phoebe try to protect baby from 2 demons while Phoebe's career looks like its on shaky ground.

Lucky Charmed
A demon is killing leprechauns so they bless the sisters with good luck to track the demon down, but their luck soon backfires.

Cat House
When she begins to have marital problems, Piper casts a spell to show her's and Leo's past together. However it backfires, taking Phoebe and Paige to relive the memories.

Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun
When a demon attacks and kills a water nymph that protects a lake, the surviving nymphs decide Paige should take her place. Saying no doesn't seem to be an option.

Sense And Sense Ability
The Crone steals one of the senses from each of the sisters, in an attempt to fool Piper's child into allowing her to get closer to baby.

Necromancing The Stone
Grandma Halliwell returns to the manor for a wiccan birthing ceremony for her grandchild.

Oh My Goddess (1)
Oh My Goddess (2)
The titans are released and kill the elders giving Leo no choice but to take their places. Meanwhile the sisters are given the powers of greek goddesses to enable them to destroy the titans before they kill all of the whitelighters.

I am a die-hard Charmed fan. I love its wonderful mix of fantasy, spirituality, family drama, and even the comic moments it provides. This show, all 8 seasons, is a fine example of Wiccan fantasy and entertainment (with a smidge of truth behind everything, much like the Harry Potter films and books) that everyone can understand and conveys spiritual truths that anyone can appreciate regardless of religious affiliation. In my opinion, the Heart of Wicca is well-represented in this show's universe.

I may be in the minority here...but I find Season 5 one of the best. I personally think the show improved with the introduction of Paige in Season 4...and feel like her seasons took the show to a whole new level. Her struggles are profound, and fascinating to watch: being a Witch/Whitelighter, rising above the spectre of Prue in the eyes of her newfound sisters, and learning to balance being both a magical being and living in the mortal world as a Social Worker. I REALLY love her character.

But, with Season 5 particularly...I loved the introduction of more fantasy-inspired elements, the nymphs, mermaids, leprechauns and such...they gave the season a much needed lift...especially considering how dark Season 4 was...particularly the last half, with Phoebe's Dark Wedding to Cole/The Source of All Evil and her demon pregnancy...effective, but dark.

Loved the episodes regarding Piper and Leo having a child...very touching. I can't say enough about this season (or any of the seasons for that matter, they are all unique and special in their own way). I highly recommend this to any fan of Charmed, or just great fantasy-entertainment.

Season 5 of Charmed brought about a new direction for the series. In season 4 the show took a very dark path and brought a more serialized element to the series. Season 5 brought Charmed into the light and showed other elements that the show is able to accomplish. During the first four seasons the show tended to mainly explore the human world and the underworld. In season 5 we saw other elements in the magical community and innocents that the Charmed ones needed to save that weren't always human, but mermaid and nymphs. While the show had it's much lighter moments this season it also had it's dark points as well with the character of Cole going crazy from the powers he asorbed in the finale of season 4 and the inevitable vanquish of his character in the 100th episode. Then we had great family moments with the birth of Piper's son in "The Day the Magic Died" and how the character of Piper evolved into becoming a great mom and protector. Then once again the drama picked up in the finale with the tearing apart of Charmed's favorite couple Piper and Leo and the great cliffhanger that left us wondering if Leo would ever be back.
Season 5 of Charmed is another great season and worth adding to the Charmed collection.

The 5th season of Charmed of the now defunct WB show is both classy and trashy all at the same time. The producers make important choices that enchance the girls lives, such as carrer changes and promotions, look out for Phoebe's colum making her a huge star, and Paige finding her magical calling. They also introduce new and exciting mythical creatures such as mermaids, fairytales, and gypsies into the show. However, the writers also make 3 collasal mistakes which forever damage the show. Getting rid of Cole in its landmark 5th episode, after embarassingly enough reducing him to an insane man starving for love is a bad choice. Phoebe never agai nregained the kind of chemistry she had with Cole no many how many actors the writers threw her together with. Plus, Cole's precense in the show is astounding. Not many actors can come into a show in the 3rd season and command the show in the stellar way this fine character did. Furthermore, creating an endless parade of various love interests for Phoebe who towards the end of the season becomes a caricature of the once brazen and sexy self she used to be is another huge mistake.

The final mistake is Piper's pregnacy. The show never did recover from the constant and almost insane attention given to Piper's child which in real life would be neccessary, but in a show about 3 brazen, comic, and strong women completley takes away the desire to see these three as the Charmed ones, which is replaced by the vacant stare of the maternal ones.
The 5th season is both good and bad, sad and triumphant, but believe me this is really the last Charmed season to buy, during the next 3 seasons the Charmed producers take full advantage of not being cancelled by their network and come up with indescribable fluff that can only be enjoyed by someone who isnt used to the power of 3 back in the good ole days.

Season 5, at least to me, is when the series really started to deviate from the original concept and direction the creator Constance M. Burge had planned for it. The show was originally always supposed to be about 3 sisters who happen to be witches, but more and more (and this really started in the last bit of season 4) the show became about 3 witches who just so happen to be sisters. The show gradually begins to be more and more Phoebe-centric and about mythical magical creatures instead of saving actual innocents like Charmed originally was in the it's prime seasons 1-4 (well, 4 until about the last fourth of it). Season 5 does have a few good episodes, though. For example "Siren Song" when Baby Halliwell swaps his parents' powers is quite possibly the funniest episode of the show until the episode in the 8th season when Piper and Leo actually end up switching bodies. "Cat House" is a great episode if you are a Piper and Leo fan since it relives some of their best moments. "The Day Magic Died" brings the birth of Piper and Leo's baby. "Centennial Charmed" is a good, but sad, episode that marks the 100th episode of the series. Aside from that, there are no other good episodes as a whole really, at least none that compare to the caliber of earlier seasons. There are some good moments sprinkled in every so often, but this season is when the show really began to deviate from the Charmed that people originally began watching, although it is a million times better than the crap season 6 Brad Kern put us through. Even though this is the season the show really dropped the ball, I would recommend it for the simple fact that it is much more convenient than VCR cassettes or watching downloaded episodes on the internet. Alyssa Milano/Phoebe lovers will love this season as it is when Kern's obsession with her really began to take over and she began dressing in less and less clothing more and more of the time, but most Charmed fans who have seen the earlier seasons will know and back me on the fact that this season is nowhere close to the amazing earlier seasons they had in 1-4. Nevertheless, like I said...I'm getting it just because it's much less hassle than VCR cassettes...but I refuse to waste money on season 6 since that season was pure crap, I'm still on the fence about season 7 because it was half decent and half crap, but I will purchase the final season 8. I hope this helped people who aren't hardcore Charmed fans...if you are a Charmed fan then you already know the season and my opinion won't make much difference in your decision anyways, but I felt it was only fair to put an opinion out there from someone who is NOT obsessed with Phoebe or Alyssa Milano and actually enjoys seeing other people and storylines on the show besides her.

Not the best season of Charmed, but a good one overall. Although I still miss "Prue" (Shannen Doherty), and it seems an unnecessary amount of camera time is given to Alyssa Milano. I wouldn't go so far as to say they should've changed the name to "The Alyssa Milano Show", but pretty close. And she's not that great of an actress, in my opinion. She spends WAY too much effort trying to act "cutesy", and simply comes across as overacting.

However, the other actors manage to carry the show, despite being saddled with Milano.

In my opinion, this series could not have existed without Holly Marie Combs as "Piper". She is quite simply one of, if not the most, versatile actors I've ever seen. She can make you hate her when she's a Harpie, fear her as a Wendigo, or love her when she's being the "mother hen". When she is hurting over "Leo", she can make you feel like crying along with her. Not many actors have such range. She was really the "glue" that held this show together.

And Rose McGowan has got to be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, and a far better actress than Milano.

Brian Krause does his usual excellent job portraying "Leo", and then he gets "promoted"! He is one of those actors, (Corin Nemec is another), who does his parts so perfectly & effortlessly that reviewers often overlook them, and audiences forget them. Not fair, but that's life.

Anyway, if you're just getting "Charmed" for the first time, don't start with this season. Follow them in order. You'll be rewarded with a lot more entertainment! (And understanding). Enjoy!

I will try to go into as little detail as possible, but some spoilers will be present in this review

I often think of Charmed as being the biggest mixed bag in my TV on DVD collection. At its best Charmed is a highly entertaining show, while at its worst it's downright painful to watch. I happened to first get hooked into this show by a story arc in the second half of the 4th season that I consider to be the pinnacle of the series. Unfortunately, what followed in the fifth season was for me one of the lowest points of the series. To sum it all up, Cole deserved better! He was such a great character in seasons 3 and 4, his turn back to evil in the later being truly tragic and beyond anyone's control. And if they'd left it at that I would have been satisfied. But they had to bring him back just to give him an arc where he becomes more and more desperate in his attempts to win Phoebe back until they finally have to vanquish him (again) once and for all. Phoebe in particular comes off as extremely unlikable in this arc, turning colder and colder toward the man she once loved.

The rest of the season is much like the rest of the series, with equal doses of good storytelling and cheese. The final 2 episodes at least begin an arc that will lead into a much better sixth season. If you can get through this, you might as well continue on because the show does not return to this level afterward.

Charmed Season 5 gets a lot of mixed reviews. I am a die-hard Charmed fan so I try to look at the best things. I feel that as much as I loved Cole by this point I was sick of him, I wanted Cole and Phoebe to live happily ever after...but then again he was evil. Paige becomes more powerful and Piper and Leo final get their child from the future...although it is a boy. I didn't like a lot of the baby episodes I felt they could have done with better story lines but I loved the arrival of Wyatt and of course Victor marrying a demon.

Fans of CHARMED just can't get enough of the beautiful HALLIWELL sisters. PIPER (again played by the beautiful Holly Marie Combs), PHOEBE (again played by the beautiful Alyssa Milano), and PAIGE (again played by the beautiful Rose McGowan) are back in their fifth season of CHARMED (with the fift season being Paige's second season, since Prue's untimely death).

"A Witch's Tail (Part 1)"
The Charmed Ones protect a mermaid from a sea hag.

"A Witch's Tail (Part 2)"
The Charmed Ones protect a mermaid from a sea hag.

"Happily Ever After"
An evil witch from a fairy tale tries to increase her power by trapping the Charmed Ones in warped versions of classic fairy tales.

"Siren's Song"
The Siren, who preys on married men and their wives, puts Cole under a spell and Piper and Paige must try to figure out how to save Phoebe from certain death.

"Witches in Tights"
A young boy whose drawings magically come to life is forced to create a drawing that transforms a demon into a super villain. To help the Charmed Ones stop the demon, the boy creates a new drawing that turns Piper, Phoebe and Paige into comic book super heroines.

"The Eyes Have It"
With her power of premonition gone, Phoebe seeks advice from a fortune teller and discovers that a demon named Cree is stealing the eyes of Gypsies in an attempt to reverse a curse placed on his father.

"Sympathy for the Demon"
When Barbas, the Demon of Fear, returns to seek revenge on the Charmed Ones for vanquishing him years ago, he manages to trick Paige into performing a spell that gives him Cole's powers in order to trap the Charmed Ones in the manor and use their own fears against them.

"A Witch in Time"
Phoebe inadvertently opens a tunnel in time by repeatedly saving the life of her new boyfriend Miles, who has been preordained to die. The time tunnel provides a pathway for a warlock from the future named Bacarra to steal the Book of Shadows.

"Sam I Am"
When Cole realizes that he must eventually give in to his evil destiny, he attacks the Charmed Ones in the hope that they will vanquish him forever and end his suffering. Meanwhile, Paige gets her first charge as a Whitelighter and is shocked when the angry, self-pitying man she is supposed to protect turns out to be the father she never knew.

"Y Tu Mummy Tambien"
Phoebe falls prey to Jeric, a demon in search of the perfect body to hold the spirit of Isis, his dead lover. To trap the spirit, Jeric mummifies Phoebe's body. Meanwhile, Cole tries to save Phoebe by making a deal with the demon.

"The Importance of Being Phoebe"
Cole is trying a new plan of taking down the Charmed Ones by using the law.

"Centennial Charmed"
In his twisted attempt to win Phoebe back, Cole joins the Avatars in order cast a spell that alters reality, eliminating Paige and destroying the Power of Three. At that moment, Paige sneezes and orbs into the Whitelighter realm, avoiding the effects of the spell. She arrives in the alternate timeline and finds that her sisters have no knowledge of her existence.

"House Call"
The Council of Witch Doctors makes a house call to the Charmed Ones and use voodoo dolls to lead them down various paths of self-destruction.

"Sand Francisco Dreamin'"
A demon attacks the Charmed Ones with dream dust he stole from a Sandman, causing their nightmares to come to life.

"The Day the Magic Died"
Piper is due in six weeks and has to be on bed rest because of her high blood pressure. Phoebe and Paige realize that they can't use their magic and Leo realizes that he can't orb.

"Baby's First Demon"
When Piper's baby is nearly kidnapped by demons, Paige goes undercover to track down the kidnappers at a demonic black market, but is captured before she can vanquish them.

"Lucky Charmed"
The Charmed Ones join forces with a Leprechaun when they go after a demon who is killing Leprechauns to steal their magic. To reward them for their efforts, the Leprechaun grants each sister good luck.

"Cat House"
When Piper and Leo see a marriage counselor to work out their marital problems, Piper casts a spell that lets them literally see the key moments of their past. However, the spell goes awry and Phoebe and Paige are sent back in time to relive Piper's memories.

"Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun"
When a demon kills the Satyr of the Spring of Life, the Satyr's underlings, a trio of Wood Nymphs, escape to San Francisco to find a new leader. After the Nymphs magically transform Paige into one of them, they are all captured by the demon, Tull, who forces them to lead him to the Spring.

"Sense and Sense Ability"
While at the fair the Crone turns a monkey totem of Hear No Evil, See No Evil, and Speak No Evil into a real monkey. This monkey takes Paige's voice, Phoebe's hearing, and Piper's eyesight.

"Necromancing the Stone"
When Grams and the Halliwell matriarchs are summoned to bless baby Wyatt, they fall prey to the Necromancer demon who has returned from the Spirit Realm seeking to absorb their magical spirits.

"Oh My Goddess (Part 1)"
Released after centuries spent entombed beneath the Arctic ice, the Titans, Greek mythic gods, set out to eliminate their captors, the Elders. Phoebe and Paige are nearly defeated by the Titans, but are saved by Chris, a mysterious Whitelighter from the future. Meanwhile, Leo makes a decision to give the Charmed Ones the ultimate power to vanquish the Titans, recreating them as Greek Goddesses, despite the risk that they will be seduced by their vast new powers. Phoebe becomes the Goddess of Love; Piper, the Goddess of Earth; and Paige, the Goddess of War.

"Oh My Goddess (Part 2)"
Transformed into powerful goddesses, the Charmed Ones must battle the Titans of myth before they take over earth. However, Piper's life is turned upside-down when Leo accepts his call to become an Elder. Piper's loss and anger consumes her, allowing the Charmed Ones to destroy the Titans but at the expense of losing Leo.

This show just continues to get even better as it goes on. I always become bewitched with each episode I watch. Don't miss this incredible fifth season of CHARMED.