The fifth season of Charmed was another transitional season for the show. One big, ongoing storyline was brought to a conclusion and the season finale was used to almost reset the show going forward (potentially at least). The season starts with Cole, having essentially figured out how to get out of the version of Hell that he was in at the end of season four, doing (yet again) the dance between being good and being evil. A little after the middle of the season, the show had its 100th episode which was kind of a flashback episode showing pivotal moments in Piper and Leo's relationship. Unfortunately, the show did not bring back Shannen Doherty or use clips of her, but they did find a sneaky way to get the character of Prue included (kind of). The season begins and ends with two-part episodes, with the season finale introducing a new character going forward.
The show continued to get recognizable guest stars and musical acts including Jamie Pressley, Melinda Clarke (from The OC and Nikita), Mark Sheppard (from Supernatural), Tobin Bell (from the Saw movies), Emanuelle Vaguer, Billy Drago, Tony Todd, Erik King (from Dexter), Eric Dane, Zachary Quinto (from Heroes), Norman Reedus (from The Walking Dead), Drew Fuller, and Scout Taylor Compton (from the Rob Zombie Halloween reboots). The musical acts included The Flaming Lips, Michelle Branch, and Pat Benatar.
For those who get the blu-ray, it is yet another region-free set. There are no extras, just the episodes themselves, but there are captions in English and German for those who want and/or need them. The show gets a decent HD presentation, but given that the show has a lower budget than some shows had, the special effects can sometimes look very cheesy in HD.
Overall, the season is a good one. Some of the issues that the show has always had, like relying on too many soap-operaish elements do remain in this season. And, as it has the last few seasons, it criminally underuses Dorian Gregory with Darryl only appearing in a handful of the episodes. On the plus side, they still show off Alyssa Milano's midriff and cleavage at every chance they get, and Rose McGowan, who was still hot and not crazy (at least recognizably so) at that point. Holly Marie Combs really did the heavy-lifting acting wise however and she definitely got the best material to work with and did a lot with her character. Ultimately, I think if you enjoyed the first four seasons of the show you will like this one, unless you only watched it for Shannen Doherty, in which case you probably will not.
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