The Seventh Season

Charmed is a television series about the three Halliwell sisters, who in their mid-twenties discovered they are witches with magical powers. As an added bonus, they find out that they are good witches and they are supposed to use their powers only for noble altruistic acts. And in no case should they use it for personal gain. In the first season, we learn that they are a staple against evil, and highly covenanted by dark forces. Their powers hold great potential for evil warlocks and demons. For more details about this series and its characters, please refer to DVD Talk's reviews of season one, season two, season three, season four, season five, and season six.

Throughout Charmed's sixth season, the primary story arc was about a massive plot to keep baby Wyatt from turning evil. The plot was intrinsic, exciting, and included several different players from both sides of good and evil. The conclusion of the story arc brought the sisters' trust in the heavens, specifically the angelic Elders, to a screeching halt. In season seven, this story arc is continued with a focus on the impact of the aftermath on the sisters and Leo. This season also spans into bigger plotlines that include the return of the Avatars, police investigations, a new archrival, and more. Fans of the series should enjoy this season, albeit it is pretty fluffy and pushes the envelope with lots of over-the-top drama.

Leo did something extreme in the end of season six to save his family. For this act, the Elders were not quite sure how to treat him. The act, while justifiable, left them with much to consider. While they deliberated how to react to Leo's actions, he started to turn away from his good nature. A special someone guided him down a dark path. That special someone was an Avatar. Recall from the days of Cole Turner, the Avatars are a powerful group of magical beings that wants to rid the world of conflict. Leo joins them in hope to make a better world for his family, and quickly finds himself living a double life because the Avatars become the target of the Charmed Ones and he has to hide his affiliation from everyone.

This plot ties into many other developments for the season. One development is the addition of Kerr Smith (Dawson's Creek) guest starring as Department of Homeland Security, Agent Kyle Brody. He comes to the sisters while trying to solve the death of his parents. He joins the sisters on several adventures and becomes a love interest for Paige. Another major development occurs mid-season when Oded Fehr joins the cast. Fehr plays Zankou, a very special demon that was so dangerous and powerful that the source of all evil had locked him away. He was released by his fellow demons when it was apparent the Avatars meant to destroy them all. Zankou plays a fairly important role this season. While I like Fehr, he did not feel right for the part. Fehr is a great actor and his character was a huge misuse of his talents.

Additionally, this season sees the sisters under constant investigation by the authorities. Inspector Sheridan (Jenya Lano) investigates the sisters in relation to Chris, who vanished into thin air from police custody. She connects the dots and realizes there is a lot more at stake. Daryl is sucked right into the middle of it. Then there is Paige, whose life takes a huge turn when she takes over Magic School. The school becomes an important save haven for the girls because it is "protected" from demons.

As an overall season, I was not nearly as fond of season seven as I have been with the past few. What really did not work for me was the general tone and tempo. In regards to the non-story arc plotlines, too much of the content felt the same and the material just did not seem to work as well. As well the guest star performance were outright bad (e.g., Nick Lachey as Phoebe's latest love interest). The season's major storylines offered several huge, over-the-top storylines. The problem is that it just seemed like too much. Still, despite the flaws of the season, there is enough entertainment value that fans should enjoy the season.

Episode Guide

1. A Call To Arms The exotic powers of Hindu's Ultimate Lovers, Shakti & Shiva, overtake Piper and Leo. Phoebe and Paige must stop them from consummating their love or the universe face destruction.
2. The Bare Witch Project A mishap at Magic School conjures up a gorgeous Lady Godiva who arouses a spirit of liberation in The Charmed Ones. But the sister can't bask too long in Lady Godiva's glow hen an evil land baron sets his mind on killing Lady Godiva.
3. Cheaper By The Crown The Charmed Ones are whirled back in time when Grams arrives for Chris' wiccaning and the sisters are stunned to find themselves to be bickering teenagers once again.
4. Charrrmed! The Charmed Ones are bewildered when the aging curse of an infamous 18th-century pirate is transferred to them. The sisters must bring the Fountain of Youth to life in order to break the curse.
5. Styx Feet Under A bloodthirsty demon, set on destroying his human half, goes on a deadly rampage to kill his remaining blood relatives. Piper is "killed" so that she can help the Angel of Death clean up the mess.
6. Once In A Blue Moon The light of a blue moon conjures up strange transformations in The Charmed Ones. Could Leo be to blame for the near-death of the sisters' new Whitelighter...or is it the sisters themselves?
7. Someone To Witch Over Me Paige's decision to help Agent Brody brings the sisters face-to-face with an evil demon, Sarpedon, who captures Innocents' Guardian Angels for his own protection. Piper and Phoebe die at the hands of Sarpedon but Leo can save them - but only if he turns over his free will.
8. Charmed Noir Paige and Agent Brody are sucked into an unfinished novel and find themselves in the turbulent times of a 1930s film noir. Their only chance of escape is to find the missing author and help him be a hero so that the story can end.
9. There's Something About Leo Leo's announcement that he is an Avatar causes pandemonium in The Charmed Ones' lives. Blood is shed when the distracted sisters are unable to fulfill their duty to protect the life of an Innocent.
10. Witchness Protection Leo is forced to protect the Seer upon the Avatars' insistence that she has information that can help destroy the demons while Agent Brody shares his darkest secret with Paige.
11. Ordinary Witches The underworld's most powerful demon transfers The Charmed Ones' powers to innocent bystanders who run amok with their new abilities.

12. Extreme Makeover - World Edition With the impending doom of the Avatar's Utopian transformation of the world where all humans must be put to sleep, The Charmed Ones become victims of a paranoia spell that attracts and kills an Avatar.
13. Charmageddon The conflict-free Utopian world can only be protected if the Avatars control who lives and dies. Leo gives up his life when he is unable to persuade The Charmed Ones that the Avatars kill innocent people.
14. Carpe Demon An ex-demon professor candidate for Magic School causes a media frenzy when he falls under a spell that makes him believe that he is Robin Hood and that Phoebe is Maid Marian.
15. Show Ghouls While trying to help the Lost Souls of hundreds of victims who died in a catastrophic fire at a cabaret, Phoebe and Drake (Billy Zane) transport themselves back to the night of the fire and are stuck in the year 1899.
16. The Seven Year Witch Piper ends up in a coma after a vicious demon attack and her spirit is stuck in the cosmic void between life and death. Moreover, she is surprised to find Cole (Julian McMahon) waiting for her.
17. Scry Hard Zankou (Oded Feher) is determined to find the Nexus and release the Shadow, the ultimate power. For their own protection, Piper and Leo are magically miniaturized and trapped inside a dollhouse.
18. Little Box Of Horrors The mythological Pandora's Box falls into the hands of a shapeshifting demon who wants to open the box and release all the wickedness it contains. The Charmed Ones must find the Guardian who can return the released evil spirits to the box.
19. Freaky Phoebe A power-hungry sorceress switches souls and tries to gain control of the Underworld while armed with Phoebe's identity and power. Phoebe, a prisoner in the sorceress' body, is accidentally vanquished by her sister.
20. Imaginary Fiends Baby Wyatt's imaginary friend is actually a demon trying to gain his trust to turn him evil. Piper's spell inadvertently brings an evil 25-year-old Wyatt back from the future who now wants to crush the good in baby Wyatt.
21. Death Becomes Them A menacing confrontation with the undead Innocents that The Charmed ones were unable to save allows Zankou (Oded Feher) to take control of the Book of Shadows.
22. Something Wicca This Way Goes Zankou steals Phoebe's premonition power and thwarts The Charmed Ones' attempts to reclaim the Book of Shadows. The sisters realize that the only way to stop Zankou may be to sacrifice themselves.

The DVD

Video:
This DVD release is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality is viewable. Most viewers will not be troubled with the quality, but some may notice that it has its faults. The image has a noticeable grain that is really noticeable during dark scenes. There are also a few occurrences of compression artifacts in the picture.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is in English and French 2.0 Dolby digital stereo. The audio in this release comes off fairly flat. However as with most TV on DVD releases it's not necessarily bad, as the majority of the audio is spoken dialogue. The sound quality is good, providing an audible and clean audio track. Music comes off fairly rich and sound effects tend to take advantage of the right and left channels.

This release comes equipped with closed captioning.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this DVD release.

Final Thoughts:
Charmed's seventh season continues the adventures of three magical sisters and the constant struggle between good and evil that they are caught in the middle of. This season has several big story arcs that push the envelope with over-the-top drama and plotlines that are decent at best. The content just does not work like past seasons. While not completely awful, the stories are still exciting enough that fans should appreciate it, but it is clearly not nearly as engaging as the past few seasons. In the end, it should make for a decent watch for those who are really into the show.