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Piper (Combs) and Phoebe (Milano), now with younger half-sister
Paige (McGowan) up to speed with her powers, more or less, and
"The Power of Three" all living under one roof at the Halliwell
manor, are trying to get their respective personal lives in
order. All the while, continuing to battle the worst evils that
come their way. Oldest sister Piper and her husband Leo (Krause),
the siblings' whitelighter guardian angel, are thrilled at the
prospect of the impending birth of their child. Yet, dealing with
a normal pregnancy is tough enough, but factoring in their unborn
baby's use of her magical powers gives Piper cause for concern.
Although adjusting to complexities of being pregnant and fighting
evil, Piper has the added responsibility of looking out for her
younger sisters and still running the Halliwell's successful
nightclub P3. It's become a lot to handle coupled with possessing
the trio's strongest power exploding an object or demon at will
in addition to the power of freezing, but Piper has proved she's
more than capable of carrying the burden. While middle sister
Phoebe's career is on the rise, the same can't be said of her
romantic life. Recently employed as a popular gossip columnist at
a local newspaper, she's gained notoriety for her work, but she's
trying to finalize her divorce from Cole (McMahon), the part
demon/part human who became "The Source" (the greatest of all
evil) and was vanquished, only to cling to life because of his
love for Phoebe. Finally over her love for Cole, she's ready to
get on with her life without him, unfortunately, after
resurrecting himself, he's determined to prove his love for her
by trying to do good. Phoebe's martial arts skills, her ability
to levitate, the power of premonitions and her skill at making
potions have helped vanquish many a demon. Youngest sister Paige
has gone through quite a change in the past year with learning of
her true heritage, then becoming adept at utilizing her powers of
orbing herself and objects at will and getting used to having a
family again. Raised by adoptive parents who died while she was
still in high school, Paige was used to being a loner, but now
she's proved to her sisters that she's up to the task of being
one-third of the Power of Three. When it comes to good old
fashioned help, Inspector Darryl Morris (Dorian Gregory)
is always there when the sisters need some aide or advice. As
"The Charmed Ones," the three most powerful good witches to ever
exist, the Halliwell sisters defeated "The Source" but now face
the existence of powerful evils still prevalent and looking to
defeat them. As Piper, Phoebe and Paige continue to wage war
against all evil, they seek to strengthen their sisterly bond as
they get closer to fulfilling their destiny.
.com
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Sexy, silly, sardonic, somber: the fifth season of Charmed finds
the Charmed Ones--sisters Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), Piper (Holly
Marie Combs), and Paige (Rose McGowan)--on an emotional roller
coaster. Yet they're also in a fairly comfortable groove with one
another. McGowan, who joined the cast in year 4 (see Charmed: The
Complete Fourth Season ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000CCBCGM/${0} )) as
a replacement for Shannen Doherty, is now a perfect fit, turning
Paige into a self-deprecating, uber-witch whose clipped dialogue
meshes beautifully with Milano's neurotic phrasing and Combs'
no-nonsense bark.
Season 5 ties up a lot of loose ends, heralds some major shifts
in the show's running narrative, and ushers in a couple of new
characters. One of the latter is Piper's baby by husband Leo
(Brian Krause), the angelic Whitelighter whose role as an
emissary of the heavenly Elders changes dramatically in the
two-part finale, "Oh, My Goddess!" Before that happens, however,
Phoebe must contend with the reappearance of her husband, the
demon Cole (Julian McMahon), who is determined to win her back by
proving his evil nature is under control. As usual, all the
sisters must use the Power of Three to protect a number of
vulnerable mortals, and even some immortals. Among these are a
mermaid whose immortality is sought by a greedy demon, several
wood nymphs frolicking in the streets of San Francisco, and
married men targeted by a hot Siren with a killer kiss. Season
highlights include "Happily Ever After," in which characters from
multiple fairy tales come to life; "Lucky Charmed," a fun story
introducing a demon-vanquishing Leprechaun; and "Sense and Sense
Ability," a clever drama in which Phoebe goes deaf, Piper becomes
blind, and Paige turns mute as the result of a wicked witch's
spell. The aforementioned finale sees all three sisters
officially acknowledged as the goddesses they truly are. But it
also introduces a new, major character, Chris (Drew Fuller), who
seems benevolent but may very well be a wolf in sheep's clothing.
We shall see. --Tom Keogh