Release Date: September 11, 2007
Running Time: 918 Minutes

The Show

Some shows manage to find a die-hard audience that will stick with them until the very end. I never understood the appeal of Charmed, but it must have had something to last eight years. Maybe the fans of Buffy felt lost when the series ended and jumped on board Charmed, who knows. Either way the show had a long run and finally bids fans a one last farewell with the DVD release of The Final Season.

Premiering in 1998, Charmed was essentially a lighter, less witty Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It had a more girly feel and offered viewers a less intense experience than the vampire slaying heroine. The series focuses on three sisters who happen to be witches: Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), Piper (Holly Marie Combs, and Paige (Rose McGowan). They combat evil in various monster-of-the-week episodes while slowly building a mythology and larger cast of characters. The final season, however, took the show in a new direction. Tired of the demon drama, the sisters faked their death and assumed new identities to the outside world, hoping to live a normal life, fighting evil only when absolutely necessary. For better or for worse, the plots reflect this. We get episodes dedicated to Piper finding a job, Phoebe hunting for an apartment, dating issues with Paige, and the sisters working with Homeland Security. Still, the show remains infused with a heavy dose of mystical goodness. A newcomer named Billie Jenkins, a witch and demon hunter, becomes the sisters’ student, absorbing their knowledge and helping them fight evil while their identities remain intact. Danger still lurks each week, slowly adding new chapters to the Charmed story, but ultimately the final season goes out neither with a whimper nor a bang; it simply ends.

The problem with Charmed, in my humble opinion, is that it never challenged itself. It remained content to have dozens of light-hearted parodies episodes and a rather corny overall story arc. The sisters were never given tough, meaty moments of drama, perhaps because that was never the show the writers intended. In the end the series just didn’t take itself serious enough for my tastes.

The six-disc set contains all 22 episodes from the final season: “Still Charmed and Kicking,” “Malice in Wonderland,” “Run, Piper, Run,” “Desperate Housewitches,” “Rewitched,” “Kill Billie: Vol. 1,” “The Lost Picture Show,” “Battle of the Hexes,” “Hulkus Pocus,” “Vaya Con Leos,” “Mr. and Mrs. Witch,” “Payback’s a Witch,” “Repo Manor,” “12 Angry Zen,” “The Last Temptation of Christy,” “Engaged and Confused,” “Generation Hex,” “The Torn Identity,” “The Jung and the Restless,” “Gone with the Witches,” “Kill Billie: Vol. 2,” and “Forever Charmed.”

The DVD

The video is presented in 1.33:1 Full Frame. The only thing the transfer really gets right is the color and flesh tones. The level of detail is spotty, grain is constant, and compression artifacts are way too frequent for a newer DVD set.

The audio is offered in English/French/Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo Surround with English/Spanish/Portuguese/French subtitles. It is a very basic stereo track featuring almost no panning effects and a very timid mix that sounds identical to the broadcast. Thankfully the various elements are balanced and crisp enough that you shouldn’t have any problem understanding the dialogue.

The Extras

Three commentary tracks are offered on: “Still Charmed and Breathing” with Brad Kern, James Conway, and Kaley Cuoco; “Vaya Con Leos with Brad Kern, Cameron Litvack, and Brian Krause; and “Forever Charmed” with Brad Kern, and James Conway. Since I believe this is the first time a season has had special features, I was expecting far more from these commentaries. They are very bland, never engaging the viewer or offering intriguing enough information to make you want to sit through the tracks.

The 2-part “The Story of Charmed” and “Forever Charmed” are retrospective featurettes that are a nice goodbye to the series. “Forever Charmed” looks at the fan response of the show while “The Story of Charmed” is a look back at the entire series. It is not groundbreaking information, but the pieces are put together well and should please fans.

“The Making of Charmed” is an EPK featurette, but seeing as how we haven’t gotten any of these on the sets, it doesn’t seem as stale as these segments usually do.

“To The Manor Born” is a featurette focusing on the Halliwell manor and its significance throughout the series.

Lastly, a Gag Reel is offered.

Final Thoughts

Charmed: The Final Season is a mixed bag. The transfer is less than stellar, but the special features are actually worth checking out. I can’t imagine any Charmed fan who has the previous sets will skip this one. – Jeff Ritchie