Sit a Spell

The youngest of three sisters returns home to San Francisco from New York about six months after the death of the grandmother who raised them all and sets off series of events that furnishes fodder for eight years of a TV show. After reading aloud an incantation she found in a book in the attic—the door of which had remained firmly locked until she tried it—she and her sister discover they're witches and have inherited special powers as well as the ability to work spells and potions. The eldest, Prue, moves things with her mind, usually by squinting at the thing in question; middle sister Piper freezes time by flicking her hands outward and baby sister Phoebe receives premonitions over which she generally has no control. This all makes them fair game to attacks by warlocks, demons and assorted monsters who usually want to kill them and steal their powers.

Their resource in all their struggles is the Book of Shadows, the family compendium of spells, demons lore and magic know-how complied by several centuries of ancestors, many of whom can stop by on occasion and add to it as needed.

There is a great deal of humor in the series, one of the things that endeared it to me, along with its many straight-faced absurdities. There is also a lot of tension built into the sisterly relationships. Phoebe arrives on the doorstep from New York jobless and without cab fare, further reinforcing hard working and slightly uptight Prue's belief that she's irresponsible. There's the added problem of her ex-finance and current jerk of a boss, Roger and something he let slip about what may or may not have happened between him and Phoebe. Piper just wants peace. She is dating Jeremy, a reporter and, unknown to her, warlock. She and Phoebe watch on TV as he tries to interviews Prue's old high school boyfriend, Inspector Andy Trudeau, about a recent rash of stabbing murders committed against what appear to be solitary practitioners of Wicca.

Aside from the heavy drama, there are some more subtle ironies, as when Prue belittles Phoebe as having “no vision.” Later, after an accidental power swap, Prue confesses that she was hasty in saying that. Piper auditions for a job as a cook at a restaurant called Quake. Before she can put her finishing touched on her dish, the obnoxious Chef Moore walks in, claps his hands and announces, “Your time is up.” Little does he know that she can stretch time as needed.

Prue and Andy get back together, but quickly break it off. Prue can't let him know she's a witch, but Andy knows she's keeping some secret and can't help wondering why she and her sisters seem tied to so many crimes he investigates. The situation is absurd on its face, but the actor playing Andy nevertheless makes a believable character. He cares for Prue, but he also cares for the truth. His partner, Darryl Morris is a good foil and provides comic relief, but the two are also good friends.

Piper and Leo find each other—though she doesn't realize till late in the season that he's a whitelighter (a guardian angel of sorts)—lose each other, find each and lose each other again, though there are a few hints that they are “destined” to be together, as when the resurrected Melinda Warren tells Piper Leo is a “treasure” when she knows him only as a handyman. Toward the end of the season, in contrast to an obsessive darklighter pursuing an unwilling human, Piper decides to let Leo go so he can continue helping people.

The mythology of the show is not consistent. Later, it's a given that the Book of Shadows will not allow an “evil” being to touch it, but the shape-shifters have no trouble with it picking it up. They just can't get it out of the house. Also, their father is Victor Halliwell here. Later, he's known as Victor Bennett. Prue is forever preaching about not using one's powers for personal gain, yet she often uses hers recklessly. As Prue is making her morning getaway after a romanitc evening with Andy, the alarm clock goes off. To keep from it waking Andy up and thus him finding her, she pitches it magically out the window.

Barbas, the demon of fear and one of my favorite demons (aside from Cole, of course) make his first appearance in this season. He's supposed to be free only every 1300 years on Friday the 13th to prey on witches and (stop me if you've heard this before) steal their powers. If he gets a full set of 13, he can stay on this earthly plane. The sisters vanquish him before he makes his bakers' dozen, however, but doesn't keep him from coming back several times over the course of the show. He's a fun, over-the-top demon.

It was pleasant watching these shows, some of which I had not seen until bought the DVD's. There are no extras, no subtitles, but on the first disk the viewer has to skip through the previews of “Happy Days,” “Laverne and Shirley,” and “Mork and Mindy” each time she slips the DVD in the player. It was nice seeing pre-shrew Piper, too, even if she gives a brief glimpse of what's to come as a Wendigo.



1. Something Wicca This Way Comes
Original Air Date: Oct. 7. 1998

The three sisters reunite six months after their grandmother's death and come into their powers, which then puts them on the radar of the nasties.


2. I've Got You Under My Skin
Original Air Date: Oct. 14, 1998

Phoebe nearly falls victim to a youth-sucking photographer.


3. Thank You For Not Morphing
Original Air Date: Oct. 21, 1998

Three shape-shifting neighbors make a play for the book of shadows. At the same time, the girls' long-absent father comes to town. Leo makes his first appearance as a handyman. Blink and you might miss him.


4. Dead Man Dating
Original Air Date: Oct. 28, 1998

The sisters help a ghost move on while helping to bring down some naughty Chinese gangsters.


5. Dream Sorcerer
Original Air Date: Nov. 4, 1998

A tech-savvy guy in a wheelchair decides to invade the dreams of women who turn him down and kill them. Again, Prue's old boyfriend Inspector Trudeau is working the homicide case. I found the dream sequences chintzy.


6.The Wedding From Hell
Original Air Date: Nov. 11, 1998

A rich society woman who got that way through an old-fashioned Faustian deal now sees payment coming due with a big nasty wanting to marry and breed with her son, who happensto be only a few days away from his wedding to his true love. Despite its being absolute schlock, this is one of my favorite episodes of the first season. Quake, the restaurant where Piper works, has catered the wedding. While the sisters spy on the demon bridal shower, she sees her party trays  untouched. The doorbell rings and it's the pizza delivery man! The ultimate insult! Oh, wait, that's not a pizza... and he's dancing.


7. The Fourth Sister
Original Air Date: Nov. 18, 1998

The sisters' cat has disappeared and is turned in by a Kali-worshiping teenager who wants to join the sisters' coven, and of course, take their powers. Leo makes his second appearance, with a close-up of his rear end being a point of interest. How undignified. Piper and Phoebe decide to have a friendly competition for his affection.


8. The Truth is Out There and it Hurts
Original Air Date: Nov. 25, 1998

Prue casts a truth spell that expires in 24 hours to see if Andy can deal with the idea of her being a witch. A number of other interesting things are revealed, in particular by Prue's evil boss's sidekick, Hannah.


9. The Witch is Back
Original Air Date: Dec. 16, 1998

This sister's get a visit from the 17th century warlock who denounced their ancestor, Melinda Warren, to be burned during the witch trials. They bring Melinda back to help whip his sorry--if photogenic—tush. (PSSSST Witches in the New World were usually hanged.)


10. Wicca Envy
Original Air Date: Jan 13, 1999

Prue's evil boss astral projects and plays with her mind trying to plant the theft of a priceless tiara from the auction house on her. On the happy front, Piper discovers the art of recreational freezing where Leo and intimacy are concerned. On the ghosts of bosses past front, Phoebe is dating Rex. Leo tells Piper he may have to return home and home is “pretty far away.” The viewer knows that Leo has helped the sisters at one of their worst times, though the sisters do not. No explanation is given, however.


11. Feats of Clay
Original Air Date: Jan. 30, 1999

An irresponsible and less than honest old boyfriend of Phoebe's shows up with mixed motives. His name is—ahem—Clay.


12. The Wendigo
Original Air Date: Feb. 3, 1999

Piper becomes a Wendigo after being attacked by one.   An interesting, sexually charged--if rather overwrought--performance given by the actor playing the Wendigo in human form leads Inspector Trudeau to wonder where she was when he was in college.


13. From Fear to Eternity
Original Air Date: Feb. 10, 1999

Once every 1300 years, Barbas, the demon of fear, is free to roam the earth and kill witches by using their greatest fear against them. If he gets his full quota of 13, he remains free to stalk the earth. If he fails, well, back to the drawing board. It is so hokey, but the performance of the actor playing the demon of fear really makes it for me. And it must have done it for the show's producers, too, because he's back several times much sooner than 1300 years despite being vanquished by the sisters.


14. Secrets and Guys
Original Air Date: Feb. 17, 1999

A young boy with powers is kidnapped and communicates with Prue by means of the spirit board. Andy is becoming increasingly suspicious of her. At the same time, Leo is back. Phoebe catches him levitating while changing a light bulb in the chandelier. The viewer finally finds out what a whitelighter is and that Leo broke the rules by falling in love with Piper. Included in Leo's repertoire of powers are warming tea and refilling drinkings. It must have taken the writers a bit of retooling to get the whitelighter powers down. He asks Phoebe not to say anything to her sisters, but never fear. When she does spill the beans, they laugh, thinking she's making up stories.


15. Is There a Woogy in the House?
Original Air Date: Feb. 24, 1999

Turns out there really is a boogie man in the basement. Phoebe has to remember a spell their grandmother taught them to get him back in his place. This was confusing because it's supposedly a neutral power, but once it got out it turned otherwise decent people violent.


16. Which Prue is it Any Way?
Original Air Date: March 3, 1999

Prue finds herself up against a powerful Lord of War who wants to (surprise) kill her with his magic sword and take her power. The Lord of War and his sister happen to be clients of the auction house where she works and she can't risk the wrath of her new boss (the old ones disappeared mysteriously in a hail of flame several episodes ago) by offending them. She casts a spell to increase her power and accidentally clones herself. With three Prues running around, there's bound to be complications. Andy is sure to notice. The viewer sees that he is now keeping a fat file on her at police headquarters.


17. That '70's Episode
Original Air Date: April 7, 1999

The sisters go back in time and see themselves as children with the mother they lost so young. They also find out that they had their powers as kids and the reason their mother bound those powers until after the death of their grandmother.


18. When Bad Warlocks Turn Good
Original Air Date: April 28, 1999

A young man about to become a priest comes from a family of demons. After he's consecrated, he's free of his demon past, so the family is making one last concerted effort to drag him back to the dark side. The whole episode is utter schlock without redeeming camp.


19. Out of Sight
Original Air Date: May 5, 1999

Demons known as Grimlocks are kidnapping children to steal their eyesight which they use to see the auras of good people whom they can then kill at a distance. Prue finally tells Andy she's a witch, something he can accept on many levels, but makes her off limits as far as dating and becoming the mother of his children are.


20. The Power of Two
Original Air Date: May 12, 1999

While Piper is away in Hawaii on business, Phoebe and Prue deal with a ghost of an executed murderer that has escaped from Alcatraz. Prue and Phoebe also deal with some of their issues in a whiny shouting match.


21. Love Hurts
Original Air Date: May 19, 1999

Leo is back to protect a woman who has become the unwilling object of affection of a darklighter, a sort of evil whitelighter. After Leo is wounded by the darklighter, he comes to the Halliwells. They are able to find the woman he's been trying to protect and bring her to their house. Piper now understands that Leo is a whiteligher


22. Deja Vu All Over Again
Original Air Date: May 26, 1999

A demon who is doubling as an internal affairs cop on Andy's tail gets a helping hand from a powerful demon called Tempus Fugit who can reset time so that each time he fails to vanquish the sisters he can learn a little bit stand a better (HA!) chance of not failing the next time. The sisters are not supposed to remember his misses. The demons didn't calculate dealing with someone who gets premonitions, though, and end up, well, biting the dust. There are other prices to pay, too.


Dramatis personae:

Prue Halliwell: Shannen Doherty
Piper Halliwell: Holly Marie Combs
Phoebe Halliwell: Alyssa Milano
Inspector Andy Trudeau: T.W. King
Inspector Darryl Morris: Dorian Gregory
Leo Wyatt: Brian Krause
Rex Buckland:Neil Robets
Hannah Webster: Leigh Allyn Baker
Clay: Victor Browne
Claire Pryce: Christine Rose
Penny “Grams” Halliwell: Jennifer Rhodes
Patty Halliwell: Finola Hughes
Barbas: Billy Drago
Tempus Fugit: David Carradine

Season 2
Season 3