The second part of the sixth season premiere is the half that bears the brunt of the “time-killing” effects. Most of this episode cascades around Phoebe and her struggle to cope with her newfound ability, Piper doing a Xena impression, and Paige being a clumsy ditz (Well, Phoebe was occupied). Some parts were a lot of fun, but a lot of it felt tired and cheesy.
In part 2 of ‘Valhalley of the Dolls’ Piper, now fully believing she’s a Valkerie helps the others to find the missing warriors rampaging through the city. Phoebe finds it hard to control herself around Jason due to her new power. Paige has a strange encounter with one of her dogs.
One thing this premiere made glaringly obvious, was how petty and despicable the Halliwells were treating Daryl. He risks his life on a near regular basis for them, and it just seems like they abuse that kindness and selflessness. Once his job is done, the girls seemingly cut him loose. Obviously, this treatment is addressed at a later date, but it’s still pretty disgusting.
I liked Piper the Warrior Princess. Ridiculous is something Charmed does often, but it’s rarely as entertaining as it was here. Time killing reared its ugly head during a lot of these scenes, certain fight scenes going on a lot long that the really should have. Why did Lauren Reed Freja wait so long to open the portal anyway? Jeez.
What started out as a surprisingly clever plot device is quickly turned to shit, when Phoebe’s power becomes her latest excuse for her behaving like a floozy. The comedy was there, but there’s a line that Charmed crosses a lot, and it’s one that, once crossed, brings about a number of character contrivances and write-downs. The Phoebe here had already become a distant memory of the edgy, fun, distracted girl from the first three seasons, but the maturity and self worth she had developed since then has grown into this unattractive, sexist mess of a woman. She’s funny, sure, but she’s annoying far more often. Know when to stop, Kern.
Paige’s temp jobs bring about some interesting predicaments over the course of the season, but her dog walking position was not one of them. Her run-in with Oscar the dog seemed like a blatant opportunity to peddle some man candy to balance out the leather and cleavage elsewhere, and give Rose an excuse to get up in the morning. Meh.
It had its moments, and it at least it was entertaining, but respect and credibility seemed to go out the door where this premiere was concerned.
5.5/10
Great review, I'm really happy that you've started a new season. I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, especially the feeling that this premiere wasn't a total crock, but definitely lacking in anything that great.
ReplyDeleteWhat I did notice was your little slam-fest on Phoebe, and while I'm inclined to agree with it, Paige became my arch nemesis during my recent re-watch. Both Piper and Phoebe become annoying -- but Paige is just a whole different story. Rose becomes terrible, sure, but the actual character suddenly turns into this obnoxious, whiny, directionless shrew out of nowhere. I literally ended up hating her and wanting her off my TV screen. Ugh. Sorry for the rant.
Really excited for more of this stuff, Panda!
Agreed. Plus add that to Rose's overacting and seizure-like facial expressions and you get one hell of a bad combo. She always said Charmed was like a plane ride that just won't end, and you can see her pain here.
ReplyDeleteHahaha Mario did Rose actually say that quote? I'm trying to find it. I vaguely remember interviews with her and she seemed to be quite blunt about Charmed's decline in quality. (Not that she was part of the higher quality side of it except for season 4 my favorite)
ReplyDeletehttp://charmedones.tribe.net/thread/edd54c0d-b55d-43ff-8cc8-5ebdf88f1aae
ReplyDeleteFound them! It's the second interview which is just Rose. The first is all the girls and it's also fun to read I remember it from long ago. Holly badmouths the WB for treating them so badly it's quite excellent :) Enjoy guys!
one more thing guys, I stumbled onto an interview that is the most telling out of all the interviews/articles written about the Milano/Doherty feud. Until today, I always felt I had my doubts but if you read this, Alyssa and Holly pretty much reveal everything! It's great if you guys haven't read it!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.geocities.com/hollywood/4616/tvg0825.html
Adam: Actually, I do hop aboard the Paige hating train eventually. Not to spoil my upcoming stuff, but as Paige starts to become more obnoxious, Phoebe actually becomes quite grounded, and likable. At least in comparison with Paige (i.e. circa Kyle-gate)
ReplyDeleteMario: I can't blame her for feeling that way, but she really should have TRIED to hide her disdain for the show. The fans deserved that much.
Nadim: I read that geosites interview last year, it's quite a read isn't it? I actually think that there was fault on both sides, but the blame rests on the network for not mediating well enough.
About Shannen and Alyssa, I'm guessing it was just a clash of personalities. Shannen always came off as somebody who would be very vocal about something that she didn't feel was working, all in the hopes of making it better. But that can rub people the wrong way, which probably tarred her with the 'difficult' description. While Alyssa seems a lot less interested and more laid-back, which I guess would rile Shannen up. And I imagine her 'peace, love and light' attitude gets real annoying after a while. Heh.
ReplyDeleteThrow in Shannen's frankness and her history on 90210, it's unsurprising that the media painted it as another example of her issues, but I've always assumed it was something a lot less catty and unprofessional. Just very different people who didn't really get along. It probably escalated, and the network assumed it would be easier to dismiss Shannen, since she supposedly had no real desire to stay anyway.