Season 1

The first season of Charmed premiered on October 7, 1998 on The WB. Airing on Wednesdays at 9 P.M., the season consists of 22 episodes and concluded its airing on May 26, 1999.

Charmed: The Complete First Season was released in a six-disc box set on February 1, 2005 and later in a complete collection on November 18, 2008.

DVD summary

The discovery that they are descendants of a long line of witches finds three sisters battling demons and warlocks—and occasionally each other.

When the beautiful Halliwell sisters inherit a house from their grandmother and discover a secret "Book of Shadows," they learn that they each have a unique power. The strong-willed Prue (Shannen Doherty) can move objects, reserved Piper (Holly Marie Combs) is able to freeze time, and the uninhibited Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) sees the future, individually, each is strong, but it is only by putting aside their differences and bonding together as the "Power of Three" that they will be able to protect the innocent and vanquish evil. Each exciting episode in this richly layered series is a supernatural adventure brewing with suspense and humor.

Cast and Characters

Main cast

• Shannen Doherty as Prue Halliwell
• Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell
• Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell
• T.W. King as Inspector Andy Trudeau (Although credited, does not appear in "That '70s Episode", but his character appears as a younger version)
• Dorian Gregory as Inspector Darryl Morris (Does not appear in "Thank You For Not Morphing", "Dead Man Dating", "The Fourth Sister", "The Truth is Out There... and It Hurts", "Feats of Clay", "The Wendigo", "Which Prue is It, Anyway?" and "That '70s Episode")

Recurring cast

• Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt
• Jennifer Rhodes as Penny Halliwell
• Finola Hughes as Patty Halliwell
• Neil Roberts as Rex Buckland
• Leigh-Allyn Baker as Hannah Webster
• Shawn Christian as Josh
• Cristine Rose as Claire Pryce
• Carlos Gómez as Inspector Rodriguez
• Billy Drago as Barbas

Notes and Trivia

• If one of the supporting characters does not appear in a particular episode, his or her name also doesn't appear in the opening credits. Except in That '70s Episode.
• The DVD box-set of this season was released on the first of February 2005 in region 1 (The U.S., Canada) and for all other regions in May, April, June or July. It does not include any bonus features, much to the chagrin of fans. None of the other Season DVDs would, until Season 8; the final season.
• A limited edition of the DVD box-set was released with a red cover instead of a purple one. It also included a tarot card pack.
• The DVD cover has the living room of the Manor as background. However this living room only appears in the unaired pilot. A set was built when the series was picked up, which is the only manor Alyssa Milano filmed at, following Lori Rom's departure.

• The first season of Charmed was digitally remastered and released on Blu-ray on October 30, 2018. For the first time ever, the episodes were released in high-definition and 16:9 aspect ratio (the show originally aired and was released on DVD in the then traditional 4:3 aspect ratio). Episodes also underwent recoloring and special effects were rendered in higher quality. The opening credits were redone as well, but faced a lot of criticism from fans for looking rushed and not like the original credits. Other seasons have been remastered and are being aired on Syfy, an American pay television channel, but have not been released on Blu-ray yet.

• The opening credits underwent several changes during the first five episodes. The order of the main cast was changed, as well as several effects and clips.
  • Alyssa Milano was put before T.W. King and Dorian Gregory after the fourth episode, with the word and remaining before her name.
  • The nameless shots for every character were originally very short, rather like a flash but became longer shots in which the character used a power (however, for mortal characters, this would be a regular close up of the actor).
  • The effects on how the names appeared on screen changed as well. For the pilot episode the names faded in, while horizontally moving into place. For the second and third episodes, a blue scroll that spells "Charmed" appears as the names fade in. And since the fourth episode onwards, a scroll that spells "Charmed" quickly rolls onto screen and reveals the actor's name.
  • The third episode's opening credits featured new clips for each character, however, no effects were placed on them. The triquetra which appears in the title shot was also missing (although a blurred version can be seen when "Charmed" fades away).
• The main three actresses, Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano appeared in every episode of the season. The male leads do not:
  • T.W. King did not appear in "That '70s Episode", however, he is featured in the opening credits as his character appears as a child.

• An Unaired Pilot used a different Phoebe Halliwell portrayed by Lori Rom. Alyssa Milano was cast as Phoebe after Lori Rom left for personal reasons. Additionally, Andy Trudeau was portrayed by Chris Boyd but ultimately replaced by T.W. King. While the pilot was re-shot, some scenes from the original version were re-used, while adding additional scenes to extend it to its full broadcast running time.
• T.W. King left the series at the end of this season for unknown reasons.
• This season's promotional photos of Shannen Doherty were used for a movie she starred in called "Satan's School for Girls".
• This is the only season where the club P3 does not appear.
• The sisters' individual powers each developed to a slight extent over the course of the first season, though no new powers were developed. Prue learned how to channel her telekinesis with her hands starting from Out of Sight after using her eyes for most of the season, Piper quickly got the catch of freezing at will and unfreezing, and Phoebe could receive premonitions on command, see into the past as well as the future and her power gave her awareness of a time loop.
• This is also the only season where it is shown that Whitelighters can use Thermokinesis, Telekinesis and Telematerialization.

Gallery

The Season 1 article has a Photo Gallery.

Episode list

External links

• "Charmed" at the Internet Movie Database
• Charmed at epguides.com