Customer Reviews

Charmed : The Complete Third Season

5 star:		(123)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Coming from a long time fan, season three is one of the best seasons ever. So much happens in this season, both on and off camera. Fan favorite Julian McMahon joins the Charmed cast in this season, and becomes part of one of the most long-running storylines for the series: the love affair between Phoebe and Cole. Initially a demon sent to destroy the Charmed Ones, he eventually goes rogue after falling in love with Phoebe. Off camera, something similar happened. Actor Julian McMahon began dating actress Shannen Doherty.

Speaking of Shannen, this is her final season with the Charmed show. After some creative differences with producers and cast, Shannen left the series but not before going behind the camera to direct it's season finale episode. Also to leave the series in season three is the show's creator Constance M. Burge. Fellow executive producer Brad Kern wanted to bring in a season long relationship storyline for the Phoebe character after seeing fan's reaction to season two's Piper/Leo/Dan storyline. Burge was against it as she wanted the series to go back to it's original concept of sisterly ties and exploring the character's wiccan heritage. Eventually she lost out and left the series around the time season three began taping.

This season contains the following episodes:
1) The Honeymoon's Over, 2) Magic Hour, 3) Once Upon A Time, 4) All Halliwell's Eve, 5) Sight Unseen, 6) Primrose Empath, 7) Power Outage, 8) Sleuthing With The Enemy, 9) Coyote Piper, 10) We All Scream For Ice Cream, 11) Blinded By The Whitelighter, 12) Wrestling With Demons, 13) Bride and Gloom, 14) The Good, The Bad and The Cursed, 15) Just Harried, 16) Death Takes A Halliwell, 17) Pre-Witched, 18) Sin Francisco, 19) The Demon Who Came In From The Cold, 20) Exit Strategy, 21) Look Who's Barking, and 22) All Hell Breaks Loose.

My only complaint is that, as with the previous Charmed DVD releases, Paramount Studios remains to tread the "cheap" route by not offering any bonus material what-so-ever. The obvious choice would have been to release the unaired pilot on the first DVD set, which had a completely different actress play the role of Phoebe but alas none here either. If you can overlook this gross negligence, then I strongly encourage you to add this season to your collection.

Inspired by the actual Earth-centered religion of Wicca, many television viewers in 1998 became enchanted with the fictional story of three extraordinary sisters who, after their grandmother's death, discover that they are witches and that each has a unique magical power. The oldest, Prudence "Prue" Halliwell (Shannen Doherty), discovers that she has a magical "punch" with which she can physically force anyone (or anything) to be thrown away from her. The middle sister, Piper Halliwell (Holly Marie Combs), discovers that she can magically freeze anyone or anything. The youngest sister, Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano), discovers that she has a magical gift of foresight that allows her to see potentially disastrous future events for individuals if she touches an object that has been handled by them. As it turns out, the sisters' mother, Patty Halliwell (regular guest Finola Hughes), and their grandmother, Penny 'Grams' Halliwell (regular guest Jennifer Rhodes), were also witches. Hidden within their San Francisco house attic is their famed Book of Shadows (book of spells and information about various paranormal beings, such as demons and white lighters). The sisters also discover that they are unique among witches in that they possess the very powerful ability to invoke the "power of three", which is a very powerful incantation that can be used to destroy demons and other evil beings. In fact, that is their mission: to protect the world from the evil attacks of various demons, warlocks and other evil beings. Of course, these newly discovered abilities and frequent attacks from demons wreak havoc for the sisters' lives, especially their careers and attempts at dating. However, the sisters also discover that they are not alone in their efforts as they are frequently visited by the ghosts of their mother and grandmother, and that the equivalent of a guardian angel known as a "white lighter", Leo Watts (Brian Krause), not only provides them with important information and assistance, he can also heal them of their wounds. The sisters are also visited occasionally by their estranged father, Victor Bennett (regular guest James Read); and because the sisters are so frequently involved with seemingly criminal activities, they become friends with local police officer Darryl Morris (Dorian Gregory).

The third season marked two major changes in the series. First, a new main character enters the lives of the sisters: the Assistant District Attorney Cole Turner (Julian McMahon). Being very handsome and sophisticated, it isn't long before one of the sisters, Phoebe, becomes quite attracted to him. However, Cole is not exactly what he seems: he's actually a powerful demon named Belthazor who was sent by the Source (the leader of the demons) to destroy the Halliwell sisters; but his human side unexpectedly begins to fall for Phoebe. What will the sisters do when they discover Cole's true identity? Will Cole destroy the sisters, including the one whom he's falling in love? Also, how can the sisters find a way for Piper and Leo to get married, which is strictly forbidden because he's a whitelighter?

The answers are contained within the third season's 22 episodes that aired between 2000 and 2001. They include "The Honeymoon's Over", "Magic Hour", "Once Upon a Time", "All Halliwell's Eve", "Sight Unseen", "Primrose Empath", "Power Outage", "Sleuthing With the Enemy", "Coyote Piper", "We All Scream for Ice Cream", "Blinded by the Whitelighter", "Wrestling with Demons", "Bride and Gloom", "The Good, the Bad and the Cursed", "Just Harried", "Death Takes a Halliwell", "Pre-Witched", "Sin Francisco", "The Demon Who Came In from the Cold", "Exit Strategy", "Look Who's Barking" and "All Hell Breaks Loose".

With engaging characters, wonderful scripts, exciting plots and great special effects, I rate the very exciting third season of "Charmed" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it. Though Shannen Doherty left "Charmed" after this third season in the season finale "All Hell Breaks Loose", all is not lost as is revealed in the fourth season with the discovery of a previously unknown sister named Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan).

The third season of Charmed began in 2000, with the disappearance of Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Leo (Brian Krause), whom have orbed away 'up there' three months ago in the season two finale. Prue (Shannen Doherty) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) are left to fight the demons that attack, and eventually Piper and Leo return.

The third season is a struggle for most of our characters: Piper and Leo try to find a way to still be together, to convince the Elders they can be together and not be distracted when it comes to their duties. Phoebe meets and falls in love with a half-demon, Belthazor, aka Cole Turner (Julian McMahon). At first Cole/Belthazor is to kill the Charmed Ones, but his human half takes over as he and Phoebe fall in love. And lastly, Prue struggles with inner turmoil over various situations, such as finding a perfect relationship, dealing with death, dealing with her responsibilities as an adult and a witch, and of course, with the demonic issues.

The third season is very different from the first two seasons of Charmed, by having more of a seasonal arch, as opposed to monster-of-the-week episodes, which is very common in supernatural shows' earlier days. This season, the sisters are faced with the problems from the Triad (a group of evil beings), Belthazor (Cole Turner, the man/demon Phoebe falls in love with), the Brotherhood (the demonic 'cult' Belthazor was a part of), and lastly, the Source of All Evil.

By the time we get to the finale, Piper and Leo have married, Phoebe is trying to rescue Cole from becoming fully evil, and the Triad is vanquished, along with the Brotherhood. The season finale is definitely the best episode of the season, if not the entire series, and will leave you at the edge of your seat. Now, most people know that Shannen Doherty exited at the end of the season, with Rose McGowan (Paige Matthews) replacing her as a sister in the later part of the series.

The episodes from season three include:
- The Honeymoon's Over
- Magic Hour
- Once Upon a Time
- All Halliwell's Eve
- Sight Unseen
- Primrose Empath
- Power Outage
- Sleuthing With the Enemy
- Coyote Piper
- We All Scream For Ice Cream
- Blinded By the Whitelighter
- Wrestling With Demons
- Bride and Gloom
- The Good, The Bad, and The Cursed
- Just Harried
- Death Takes a Halliwell
- Pre-Witched
- Sin Francisco
- The Demon Who Came In From the Cold
- Exit Strategy
- Look Who's Barking
- All Hell Breaks Loose

Overall, season three is a definite have for any Charmed fan, there is much to enjoy about this season, and you won't be disappointed.

The third season of Charmed began in 2000, with the disappearance of Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Leo (Brian Krause), whom have orbed away 'up there' three months ago in the season two finale. Prue (Shannen Doherty) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) are left to fight the demons that attack, and eventually Piper and Leo return.

The third season is a struggle for most of our characters: Piper and Leo try to find a way to still be together, to convince the Elders they can be together and not be distracted when it comes to their duties. Phoebe meets and falls in love with a half-demon, Belthazor, aka Cole Turner (Julian McMahon). At first Cole/Belthazor is to kill the Charmed Ones, but his human half takes over as he and Phoebe fall in love. And lastly, Prue struggles with inner turmoil over various situations, such as finding a perfect relationship, dealing with death, dealing with her responsibilities as an adult and a witch, and of course, with the demonic issues.

The third season is very different from the first two seasons of Charmed, by having more of a seasonal arch, as opposed to monster-of-the-week episodes, which is very common in supernatural shows' earlier days. This season, the sisters are faced with the problems from the Triad (a group of evil beings), Belthazor (Cole Turner, the man/demon Phoebe falls in love with), the Brotherhood (the demonic 'cult' Belthazor was a part of), and lastly, the Source of All Evil.

By the time we get to the finale, Piper and Leo have married, Phoebe is trying to rescue Cole from becoming fully evil, and the Triad is vanquished, along with the Brotherhood. The season finale is definitely the best episode of the season, if not the entire series, and will leave you at the edge of your seat. Now, most people know that Shannen Doherty exited at the end of the season, with Rose McGowan (Paige Matthews) replacing her as a sister in the later part of the series.

The episodes from season three include:
- The Honeymoon's Over
- Magic Hour
- Once Upon a Time
- All Halliwell's Eve
- Sight Unseen
- Primrose Empath
- Power Outage
- Sleuthing With the Enemy
- Coyote Piper
- We All Scream For Ice Cream
- Blinded By the Whitelighter
- Wrestling With Demons
- Bride and Gloom
- The Good, The Bad, and The Cursed
- Just Harried
- Death Takes a Halliwell
- Pre-Witched
- Sin Francisco
- The Demon Who Came In From the Cold
- Exit Strategy
- Look Who's Barking
- All Hell Breaks Loose

Overall, season three is a definite have for any Charmed fan, there is much to enjoy about this season, and you won't be disappointed.

I love Charmed, and I watch the DVD's over and over again. However, I do feel that season 3 was the beginning of the downward spiral. The show's creator, Constance Burge, left the production around this time because she wanted the storyline to stick with the original concepts of the sisters' relationships and Wicca/witchcraft, with each show addressing a different issue, much like the first season (by far the best in my opinion). The other producer, Brad Kerns, wanted to concentrate on the love stories of Piper/Leo and Phoebe/Cole, and maintain an essentially single storyline throughout the season. I'm with Ms. Burge and was disappointed to see the direction the show took, and I began to lose interest. The season is still good and I enjoy watching it, but not nearly as much as I enjoyed the first and second seasons. Also, as annoying as Shannen Doherty is, I never got used to her leaving the show. I often wonder if her reason for leaving was the same as Constance Burge's, rather than the rumored 'rivalry' between her and Alyssa Milano. At any rate, it was never the same after she left.

Coming from a long time fan, season three is one of the best seasons ever. So much happens in this season, both on and off camera. Fan favorite Julian McMahon joins the Charmed cast in this season, and becomes part of one of the most long-running storylines for the series: the love affair between Phoebe and Cole. Initially a demon sent to destroy the Charmed Ones, he eventually goes rogue after falling in love with Phoebe. Off camera, something similar happened. Actor Julian McMahon began dating actress Shannen Doherty.

Speaking of Shannen, this is her final season with the Charmed show. After some creative differences with producers and cast, Shannen left the series but not before going behind the camera to direct it's season finale episode. Also to leave the series in season three is the show's creator Constance M. Burge. Fellow executive producer Brad Kern wanted to bring in a season long relationship storyline for the Phoebe character after seeing fan's reaction to season two's Piper/Leo/Dan storyline. Burge was against it as she wanted the series to go back to it's original concept of sisterly ties and exploring the character's wiccan heritage. Eventually she lost out and left the series around the time season three began taping.

This season contains the following episodes:
1) The Honeymoon's Over, 2) Magic Hour, 3) Once Upon A Time, 4) All Halliwell's Eve, 5) Sight Unseen, 6) Primrose Empath, 7) Power Outage, 8) Sleuthing With The Enemy, 9) Coyote Piper, 10) We All Scream For Ice Cream, 11) Blinded By The Whitelighter, 12) Wrestling With Demons, 13) Bride and Gloom, 14) The Good, The Bad and The Cursed, 15) Just Harried, 16) Death Takes A Halliwell, 17) Pre-Witched, 18) Sin Francisco, 19) The Demon Who Came In From The Cold, 20) Exit Strategy, 21) Look Who's Barking, and 22) All Hell Breaks Loose.

My only complaint is that, as with the previous Charmed DVD releases, Paramount Studios remains to tread the "cheap" route by not offering any bonus material what-so-ever. The obvious choice would have been to release the unaired pilot on the first DVD set, which had a completely different actress play the role of Phoebe but alas none here either. If you can overlook this gross negligence, then I strongly encourage you to add this season to your collection.

PRUE HALLIWELL (again played by the beautiful Shannen Doherty), PIPER HALLIWELL (again played by the beautiful Holly Marie Combs), & PHOEBE HALLIWELL (again played by the beautiful Alyssa Milano) are back for a third times a CHARM in this incredible third season as THE CHARMED ONES with the POWER OF THREE. The third season is jam packed with excellent storylines that will leave you breathless at the end of the season.

"The Honeymoon's Over"
While Piper and Leo are away, Prue and Phoebe must face a series of demons known as Guardians, who protect mortal murderers in exchange for the souls of innocents.

"Magic Hour"
The sisters must find a way to break a curse which turns a man into an owl by day and his girlfriend into a wolf by night, while Piper and Leo attempt to wed without The Powers That Be finding out.

"Once Upon a Time"
Prue and Phoebe try to save a little girl and a fairy princess from evil trolls while Piper goes on strike.

"All Halliwell's Eve"
On Halloween, the sisters are pulled back in time to the 1600s to save a witch and her soon-to-be-born child from the hands of an evil witch.

"Sight Unseen"
After the house is robbed, Prue becomes increasingly paranoid over attacks from the Triad, and the mysterious threat Belthazor poses.

"Primrose Empath"
Prue begins experiencing the powers of an empath, thanks to a demon, but she soon loses control.

"Power Outage"
In an attempt to destroy the Charmed Ones, Cole enlists the help of Andras, a demon who magnifies anger into rage.

"Sleuthing with the Enemy"
When the sisters discover that Cole is Belthazor, Phoebe must make one of the toughest decisions of her life: either vanquish her boyfriend or keep an extremely dangerous demon alive.

"Coyote Piper"
Prue and Phoebe have their hands full when Piper is possessed by the evil life essence on the day of her high school reunion.

"We All Scream for Ice Cream"
The sisters trace a mysterious ice cream van who abducts children, but the evil may not be who they initially suspect. Meanwhile, the girls' dad Victor comes for a visit.

"Blinded by the Whitelighter"
The sisters must stop a warlock from executing his plan to steal specific powers from witches in his attempt to kill every whitelighter in the world.

"Wrestling With Demons"
Prue discovers that her former college boyfriend is being led down the path to becoming a demon, and the sisters must risk their lives in an underworld wrestling ring to save his soul.

"Bride and Gloom"
An evil priestess teams up with a warlock to take Prue's hand in marriage to turn the Charmed Ones evil and therefore, the Book of Shadows evil in order to take possession of the tome.

"The Good, the Bad, and the Cursed"
Phoebe becomes psychosomatically linked with a murder victim from 1873 who is stuck in a time loop. Prue and Cole set aside their differences to save Phoebe's life.

"Just Harried"
Prue loses control of her astral self, who gets framed for murder and ruins Piper and Leo's wedding in the process.

"Death Takes a Halliwell"
A group of demons called Seekers terrorize several innocents in an attempt to find Cole. The Angel of Death makes a visit and only Prue can see him.

"Pre-Witched"
A familiar-turned-warlock tempts the Charmed Ones to kill him nine times so that he can obtain immortality. Piper and Leo plan on moving out of the Manor, leading to flashbacks of Grams' considering to prevent The Power of Three from forming prior to her death.

"Sin Francisco"
The Charmed Ones are infected with the Seven Deadly Sins, leading them to self-destructing activities.

"The Demon Who Came in from the Cold"
Cole goes undercover, reuniting with his Brotherhood colleagues to stop a corporate merger that will benefit the Underworld.

"Exit Strategy"
The Brotherhood and a mind-controlled Cole plot to steal an amulet from a couple of witch practitioners. Meanwhile, Piper develops a new ability.

"Look Who's Barking"
A heartbroken Phoebe is transformed into a Banshee and Prue is transformed into a dog, forcing Piper to gain more confidence in her capabilities as a witch.

"All Hell Breaks Loose"
Prue and Piper inadvertently expose magic to the public while attacking the demon Shax. Phoebe goes to the Underworld to free Cole of his mental hold. After Piper is killed by a fanatical hippie, the Charmed Ones are forced to make a deal with The Source of All Evil to reverse the exposure by rewinding time, not knowing the dire consequences of this agreement until it's too late.

Sadly, this season is the last time we see PRUE HALLIWELL, for she is killed in the last season, where she will not be returning for the next five seasons. I was very disappointed to learn this because my heart belongs to PRUE. But the show must go on. Remember what they say: Three times a CHARM, so buy the third season of CHARMED, and get ready to be bewtiched for the third time's a charm.

Well, the third season of Charmed is out and I still haven't bought the seasons because I don't have the room for them. But this season is very tempting to buy since it is the best season of the 7 1/2(with the exception of Season 4!!!) What made this the best season was everything, the acting, the action, the characters, the storylines.....All top notch. This season was Prue, Piper, and Phoebe at their magical best as the Charmed Ones. This season introduces one of the best characters ever, Cole Turner aka. Belthazor!!! Cole is such a freshing character, half human/half demon!!! The story between Cole and Phoebe's forbidden love was amazing to watch!!! Piper and Leo continue to fight for their and it leads to the day we've all been waiting for....!!! Prue contines to find herself as she goes in strengh, but of course we all know by the end of the season, Prue will find her down fall!!! Here is Season 3:

Honeymoon's Over-Good episode!!! "While Prue and Phoebe trackdown demons called the Guardians, they meet interney Cole Turner and Piper and Leo return from their sudden disappearence!!!" A good premeire. the guardians were interesting demons, Phoebe's becomes a blonde and gets a new power:Levitation!!

Magic Hour-Good Episode!!! "The Charmed Ones must help a couple who have been curse to become animals by a demon, while Piper and Leo try to get married!!!" This was a nice episode, and it's sad at the end when Leo goes away and Piper cry for him!!!

Once Upon A Time-Pretty Good episode!!! "The Charmed Ones must help a little girl and her fairy princess from a group of evil Trolls, while Piper deals after losing Leo!!!" This was a cute episode, and it was funny seeing Prue and Phoebe acting so silly. Holly is great in this episode where she really shows the pain in Piper's feelings for Leo!!!

All Haliwell's Eve-Great episode!!! "On Halloween, The Charmed Ones are sent to back to 1600's to protect an unborn baby, while Leo and Darrel fight the Grimlocks at the manor!!" This episode not only gave us a look on how the Haliwell line started, but how the myth of witches began!!

Sight Unseen-Great episode!!! "When Prue finds the manor trashed, Prue asumes it is demonic attack from the Traid, while the sisters doubt her paranoid ideas. But soon the sisters will find out the attack is more mortal than demonic!!" This episode was just so original and had an amazing twist. All our leading ladies give great perfomances!!

Primrose Empath-Great episode!! "When Prue tries to help an innocent who is cursed with empathy, she gets the power herself which starts to quickly drive her insane!!!" Shannon gives her best performance to date in this episode that you can't help but feel her pain. The fight scene at the end is really great, too!!

Power Outage-Great episode!!! "When Beltazhar orders the demon of rage to infect the sisters, it cause them to lose their powers and become vunerable to attack!!!" This episode had some nice fight scenes, Cole finally shows how much he loves Phoebe, which is such a amazing moment!!!

Sleuthing With The Enemy-Great episode!!! "When Prue and Piper combine forces with a bounty hunter to track Beltazhar, Phoebe helps an injured Cole who finally reveals himself to her!!" I love how Cole reveals himself, and ending is just so emotional how Phoebe and Cole have to say goodbye!!!

Coyote Piper-Good episode!! "During Piper's high school reunion, she is possessed by a female demon leaving Prue and Phoebe to save her!!!" Holly really owns this episode that gives her a lot more range of acting to do!!!

We All Scream For Ice Cream-Pretty good episode!!! "The Charmed Ones must save children who are being upducted by an evil Ice Scream truck, but soon realize who the true enemies are!!!" This was another episode with a nice twist, the demonic children were kind of scary and refreshing!!! Papa Haliwell returns with a new face!!!

Blinded By The Whitelighter-Great episode!! "When a warlock named Eames plans to rid the world of witches and whitelighters, the sisters have no choice but to follow the orders of a whitelighter named Natalie!!!" This episode was very entertaining, the scenes with Natalie and the girls was so funny!!! Phoebe tells Leo that Cole is alive!!!

Wrestling With Demons-Great episode!!! "The Charmed Ones must save Tom, Prue ex's boyfriend, who is becoming a demon, which leds to a fight between them and demons in a wrestle ring for his soul!!" The episode was very funny, and the fight scene with Prue, Phoebe and the wrestlers was great!!! Also, Phoebe tells her sisters that Cole is alive!!!

Bride and Gloom-Great episode!!! "When a demonic preistess marries Prue and a warlock in an evil spell, Piper and Phoebe become evil and reck havok!!!" It was fun to see the girls acting evil and using their evil powers!!! Also, Cole returns!!!

The Good, The Bad, and The Cursed-Good episode!!! "When Phoebe becomes supernaturally ill, Prue and Cole travel through a time loop to the 1800's to save an Indian man to break the curse!!!" Cole and Prue bashing each other through episode was funny, and Victor reaction to Leo being a whitelighter was funny!!!

Just Harried-Great episode!!! "On Piper and Leo's wedding day, Prue is wanted for murder after her astral self causes trouble in a bar and at the wedding!!!" It was nice to finally see Piper and Leo get married!!! Seeing all the girls with their mother was such an emotional moment!!!

Death Takes A Halliwell-Goos episode!! "When the Charmed Ones are fighting the Seekers who are after Belthazor, Prue meets the Angel of Death who teaches her a lesson!!!" The seekers were really good demons, Prue realizing that you can't save everyone is a hard lesson to learn!!!

Pre-witched-Great episode!!! "When Piper and Leo decide to move out, the girl try to vanquish a warlock as they recall 3 years ago when they didn't have their powers yet and Grams was alive!" This episode was really amazing as we got to see how the girls were before they were witches!!! The man who play the warlock was a great actor!!

Sin Fransico-Good episode!! "When trying to find the demon who is controlling the 7 deadly sins, the sisters and Leo become infected by them and cause serious problems!!!" How each of the characters got infected was funny!!! Phoebe becoming the whore, Piper over buying, Prue being....more Prue-like, and Leo being such a slob!!!

The Demon That Came In From The Cold-Great Episode!!! "After he and Phoebe are attacked, Cole goes undercover in his old coven, the Brotherhood!!! But his sudden evil deeds makes the girls wonder has he gone back to the dark side!!!" This was a dark episode that really shows how good Cole can be!! But the ending leaves many wondering what will happen next!!!

Exit Strategy-Great episode!!! "Raynor devises a plan sending Cole after 2 amulets that combined could become powerful, The girls try to save Cole while Piper tries to control her destructive new power!!!" It was funny seeing Piper using her new power, especially when she knocked Prue out!!! It was so sad seeing the girls turn on Cole at the end though!!!

Look Who's Barking-Good episode!!! "When tracking down a Banshee, Prue becomes a dog while Piper tries to deal with her new power and Phoebe deals with her pain over losing Cole!!!" Alyssa really shines in this episode, and your just hoping Cole and Phoebe will be together by the end!!! Prue as a dog brought a lot of funny moments like Piper and Phoebe cleaning her poo!!!

All Hell Breaks Loose-Incredible episode!!! "After vanquishing the demon Shax, the sisters are exposed on national tv, which causes terrible consequences as the whole city is at their doorstep!!!" This is by far, the best episode in the series ever!!! Everyone gives an amazing performance, espeically Holly who makes her death scene so real!!! Also, this is Prue's last episode, and boy does she leave her mark!!!

So Season 3 really shows what Charmed is all about and the show was at it's pick!!! Shannon Doherty really went all out for her last season on Charmed, she is still missed til' this day!!! So go get the dvd, and re-live the Golden day of Charmed!!!

Marking Shannen Doherty's last season, the third season of Charmed had critical transitions for the Halliwell sisters. The 22 episode series (2000-2001) continued the WB sci-fi show about three sisters learning about their destiny as all-powerful witches who save innocents.

In preparation for Doherty's departure, many of the storylines begin focusing on Piper's life. Piper and Leo are desperately in love and want to get married regardless of what their religion says, it is supposedly taboo for White Lighters and Witches to marry each other. In "Once upon a time" Piper rebels against these very same rules by going on strike and refusing to save innocents until she can marry Leo. The strike obviously works because subsequent stories have the wedding continue---albeit with dramatic bumps.

Leo finally meets his prospective father in law, Victor Halliwell (James Read) during "The good, the bad, and the cursed" but does not yet tell him that he is a White Lighter. Leo is aware the disclosure could dredge up personal memories about the late ex-wife and why their own marriage had failed. In earlier seasons we learned the Charmed Ones's mother had fallen in love with her own White Lighter, Sam Wilder (Scott Jaeck). Yet, because Piper is his own daughter and was not already married to another person when she fell in love with Leo, dad ultimately accepts Leo into the family.

Phoebe does not learn Cole's true identity until "Sleuthing with the enemy" when she drops in on him uninvited. Cole is ambivalent about his own secret identity; he wants to be with Phoebe as the mortal Cole, but the demon Balthazar clearly enjoys having his powers AND wants to destroy the Charmed Ones. Cole uses Balthazar for good in "The demon who came in from the cold", going undercover in the demon world to help the sisters solve a case.

Despite this episode, Cole purposefully remains an ambiguous character throughout the season. While Phoebe embarks on a quest to find a cure for Baltzar("All hell breaks loose"), Cole embarks on a parallel odyssey to reduce the HUMAN side of hi("Look who's barking") and also tries to convince the underworld that he is still `one of them' by stealing an amulet from another witch ("Exit strategy"). This coupled with his awesome looks provides romantic tension throughout the season.

This season also has some interesting stand-alone episodes without anything to do with either of those two story arcs."We scream for ice cream" plays upon the enduring `ice cream man-as child molester' urban legend. The sisters investigate why children disappear whenever ice cream truck bells are heard. It appears that the driver of one particular ice-cream truck in the area IS abducting children.

Another good stand-alone is "Death takes a Halliwell" because Prue receives a warning she is destined to die in the near future. Audiences knew about the `premonition' because trade magazines were talking up Doherty's impending departure, but the plot development also meant that Prue would not be brought back under a `different actress/same character' arrangement. Prue Haliwell the character was also leaving the series.

Finally, "All hell breaks loose" is the episode itself where Prue dies in the line of duty;it also has a newscast inadvertently expose the sister's secret while they are vanquishing a demon. Now the rest of San Francisco-and possibly the world knows about the Halliwell sisters and could exploit their powers for dangerous means. We would have to wait until the next season to see how the Power of Three would be resurrected---and how the surviving Halliwell sisters cope.

Becoming close and also coming to think of themselves as `superheroes', Prue's death especially jars to the surviving Halliwells-they are reminded of their own mortality and also presume that the Power of Three is gone.

Frankly, I consider this the last purchase-worthy season of Charmed, specifically because Doherty still was in the cast. Series Creator Constance M. Burge also departed (over creative differences). This season confirms that both who is in front of and behind the cameras ultimately makes a VERY BIG difference in the overall series quality. Season three is the last entire season of Charmed which I really love.

I think that this season especially should have had extras. I don't believe the addition would have cost signifigantly extra. Especially given this season's signifigance in the overall series cannon, extras (at least one!) would have been worth it.

First I would like to address a previous review.....I have a life thank you VERY much, but fans of Prue (myself included here) recognize good acting versus lackluster acting. I purchased the first season of Charmed with some reservations....you see I had tried SOOOO hard to keep watching the show after Prue left....but Paige well she just couldn't cut it and the writing and chemistry between the characters just wasn't as good. After watching the first season though, I rememberd what I had SO loved about the show to start with. Season two just confirmed it and now season three will cement it. There was a chemistry between Prue, Piper, and Phoebe on screen that made you almost really believe they WERE sisters.....the show was just perfect on SO many levels.....I can hardly wait for this box set to come out. Unfortunately, it will be the last season of Charmed I buy as for me the show ended this season and became something just not worthy of the name.