Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Embrace of the Vampire (1995)

 

Embrace of the Vampire was a mid-1990s schlocky B-level movie starring Alyssa Milano, Martin Kemp, Charlotte Lewis, and Jennifer Tilly. Its main claim to fame was Alyssa Milano taking on one of the roles that broke her out of the good-girl child star mold she had been in since her days on Whose The Boss and in the movie Commando. This is one of the first, if not the first, roles where Milano, who was in her early twenties at the time, went topless. She was also drinking, smoking, and making out with Charlotte Lewis. The actual storyline is nothing to write home about, Milano's character Charlotte, who is a freshman in college, is being stalked by a vampire (played by Martin Kemp) who is trying to seduce her so he can avoid eternal sleep (the vampire version of dying apparently). It is a pretty stupid plot, and the writing (and, as a result, the acting) was not all that great. But, it is one of those movies that you get knowing what it is, and you watch it to see Milano (especially if you are old enough to have had a crush on her during the 1980s) playing a bad girl role, which she does an awesome job at. She is really the best part of the movie.

For those who get the blu-ray, it is not the best transfer. I do not own the DVD version of the movies, but other reviewers have said that the blu-ray is not any big step up in quality. And there are no extras, just the movie itself. So, if you have the DVD, there is really no reason to upgrade. If you are looking for a B-level thriller and/or want to see Milano in what was probably her sexiest role, then this is worth it. Otherwise, you are not missing much if you skip this one.

Blu-Ray/TV-Series Review: Charmed - The Complete Series

 

This is the blu-ray box set of the original Charmed series that aired on the WB network from 1998 to 2006 and starred Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty (for the first three seasons), Rose McGowan (for the final four seasons), and in the final season, Kaley Cuoco (after she wrapped on the sitcom 8-Simple Rules and before starring on The Big Bang Theory). The show was set around three sisters in their twenties who also discover that they are witches who have to protect the world (at least San Fransico) from demons, werewolves, and all manner of supernatural beings. It was basically a prime-time soap opera that had a mix of action, drama, and campy comedy. At the beginning of the series, it was mostly a monster-of-the-week kind of show, much like the first season of Buffy was (and given that the two shows aired at the same time, there are a lot of guest stars on Charmed who also appeared on Buffy, and Charmed even did an episode that was a total spoof/homage to Buffy in the later seasons). Then, it began to incorporate larger story arcs that ran throughout the season to become a mix of a serial and procedural show. 

The biggest controversy involving the show was the purported feud between Doherty and Milano. Pretty much everyone involved acknowledged that there was tension between the two. There are rumors that Milano went to the showrunners and basically said "her or me" which Milano has always denied, but it is interesting that Doherty directed the final episode of season three and was gone by season four when Milano became one of the show's producers. In season four, Rose McGowan was brought into the show to essentially replace Doherty's character as a new (conveniently conceived) third sister to keep the "power of three" concept alive. Since the show has gone off the air, Milano and McGowan have feuded with each other on social media, and Combs has made comments that hint at the fact that Milano was more of a problem than either Doherty (who was and still is Combs' best friend) and McGowan (who has become batshit crazy as she has gotten older, if she was not always so) was behind-the-scenes. While the women of the show were the focus, the show had some great male stars as well, including Brian Krause, who played Leo, Piper's love interest throughout the series, Julian McMahon, who played Cole, a demon who became a love interest for Phoebe, and Dorian Gregory, who played inspector Daryl Morris, who was a cop whose cases the girls helped solve and/or cover-up the supernatural elements of the crimes. The show really did the character of Morris dirty, reducing his role so much over the course of time that he was barely in the show in seasons six and seven, and when he was, he rarely had anything productive (with some exceptions) to add. And, because of budget cuts in season 8, his character was written out of the show completely and only mentioned one time. And, while the character of Prue was mentioned after Doherty left the show, she was never brought back for a cameo appearance like other characters who left the series were from time to time.

It should be noted that this set is just a repackaging of the individual season blu-ray releases. They are the same season sets that you can buy individually, just packed in a decorative outer box. So, if you already purchased in the individual season blu-ray releases, you are not getting anything different by getting this set. Some of the descriptions make it seem like there are a bunch of bonus features that were newly included for this release, and that is not the case. Seasons 1-7 have no bonus content at all, and season 8 carries over the bonus content from the season 8 DVD release and one new interview (from 2021) with producer/director James Conway. There are no new cast/crew interviews, commentary tracks, etc., that were made for this set.

Overall, the show is good, but not as good as other shows in its genre like Buffy and Supernatural. It was definitely a more campy show than either of those two shows and never had the kind of special effects budgets that those shows had. It definitely had elements (like the various states of undress that Milano and McGowan were often in, including an entire episode in which Milano was topless with the exception of pasties over her nipples) that would probably not fly these days. And, it could definitely get a bit soap opera-like with the "I need a man" storylines for Paige and Phoebe. But, if you do not take it too seriously and just take it as a fun show that could be a bit silly but had good themes of family relationships and togetherness and a ridiculously good-looking cast, it is enjoyable. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed - Season 8

 

++++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major spoilers from season 8++++

The eighth season of Charmed aired during the 2005-2006 TV season. The showrunners actually did not think that the show would be picked up for an eighth season, which is why the season seven finale was written as if it was a series finale, with the girls "dying" and taking up new identities in order to live normal lives. The show was brought back for what would be a final season on a shoestring budget which required a lot of changes to be made to the show. The biggest among those changes is that many of the recurring characters that have appeared throughout the series were written out, and Brian Krause was downgraded from a series regular to a recurring character. And, the show did not get as many of the big guest stars as they have had in years past, or as many musical acts. In fact, the only popular musical act this season was an appearance by Liz Phair. The big addition to the cast was the character of Billie, a witch who basically teaches herself magic (and ninja skills), played by Kaley Cuoco, who had just wrapped up the series 8-Simple Rules. 

This season had a much better serial arc and mostly dispensed with the monster-of-the-week format. The first third of the series was devoted to undoing the events of the season seven finale and figuring out how to have the girls go back to living their lives and not have to use two sets of actresses, as well as coming up with a way to sideline Leo for much of the rest of the season. The second third of the show sets up what would be the final battle, of course throwing some twists in the plotline, and the final third of the season wrapped up the series.

For those who get the blu-ray, like the prior seasons, this one has German and English language options. This is also the first of the blu-ray sets to have any bonus material, and there is a lot. There are commentary tracks on three episodes, and then over three hours of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes that really span the history of the show, not just season 8. Most of them are ported over from the DVD releases and contain interviews with the cast, showrunners, and even fans of the show from around 2006 and 2007. There is one interview with one of the producer/directors of the show from 2021, which was created for the blu-ray release, but that is the only new bonus feature. There are no interviews with the cast members that were created specifically for the blu-ray release.

Overall, the season is good. I think it is better, on the whole, than season seven was, with a better "final battle" storyline, better bad guys, and a bit less campy. Unfortunately, because of the budget cuts, Dorian Gregory did not return (the character of Daryl was done dirty by the show for years, however), and Brian Krause was really only in the show for the first third of the season. And, Shannen Doherty was not brought back or did not come back for the finale. I have seen interviews in which she indicated that a pitch was made to bring her back, but the way in which they would do it made no sense. In the commentary track on the final episode, the showrunners only said that she could not be brought back for a number of reasons. Those reasons may have been money, they may have been because of her feud with Alyssa Milano, or a combination of each. But, the show was able to include some of the former stars here and there throughout the season including Finola Hughes, Scott Jaeck, Wes Ramsey, Drew Fuller, and Jennifer Rhodes. There was also another flashback episode in which we got to see Cole and some of Paige's other boyfriends. 

Ultimately, I think the show did a good job wrapping up the series. I do think the budget cuts hurt the show not only because of the characters that we did not get to see but because the special effects were closer to what they were when the show started in 1998 than what the technology would allow to be done in 2005 and 2006 had the show's budget been larger. And, they ditched the opening theme song that played over the opening credits from seasons 1-7, to the instrumental that played during the closing credits. So, while the season was not perfect, I think fans of the series will be satisfied with how it ended.  

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed Season 7

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major giveaways from Season 7+++

This is the second to last season of the original Charmed series. This season ran during the 2004-2005 season and has 22 episodes. The show continues to be a blend of a monster or demon-of-the-week procedural combined with a serial arc that runs the course of the season. The serial arc is again about a demon who is attempting to get the sister's powers. There is some carryover from the prior season with Leo still reeling from the death of adult Chris and we get to find out how Wyatt turns evil. Both Drew Fuller and Wes Ramsey make appearances as the adult version of the kids during the season. There is also a bit of closure on Cole's storyline via an appearance by Julian McMahon. 

For those who get the blu-ray, this is yet another region-free set with German and English audio and captioning options. There is, like with the releases of seasons 1-6, no bonus content of any kind. The show does look better in HD this season than it has in the prior seasons, and the cheesy special effects are a little better and do not look as fake in HD as they did in the earlier seasons. Of course, they are all fake, but in the earlier season releases, they looked hilariously fake at times. 

Overall, the season is good, although it did reach the point at which it was getting long in the tooth. This season had a good slate of guest and recurring stars, many of whom are recognizable (especially now that some have gone on to wider popularity). Some of them include Nick Lachey (from 98-degrees), Elizabeth Dennehy, John De Lancie (who played Q on Star Trek), Charisma Carpenter (from Buffy and Angel, who appeared after she was fired from Angel for the transgression of getting pregnant by Joss Whedon, and appeared basically in a bra the entire time to show off how great she looked after having a child), Kerr Smith (from Dawson's Creek), Ian Anthony Dale (who would go on to star in the Hawaii Five-0 reboot), Oded Fehr (from The Mummy movies), Billy Zane, James Avery (uncle Phil from Fresh Prince), Billy Drago, T.J. Thyne (who would go on to star in the series Bones), Anne Dudek (who would have a major guest starring role on the series House a few years later), Corey Stoll (from House of Cards), John Hamm (from Mad Men), David Anders (from Alias), Seamus Dever (who would be a secondary character on the series Castle), the great character actress Michelle Hurd (in an episode that was a total ripoff of Buffy), Kathleen Wilhote (who had a recurring role on ER), and Glenn Morshower (from the series 24). The show did cut back on the musical appearances, with probably the biggest band appearing this season being Collective Soul who had a couple of hits in the early to mid-2000s. 

The show follows the format that made it a success in the earlier seasons, and yes, Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan are put in skimpy outfits from time to time, although less than they were in the prior seasons. The writing is still so-so, sometimes very good, and sometimes incredibly cheesy and even cringe-worthy when Phoebe and Paige are pining for a man. The season finale does have a bit of a series finale type of feel to it, so it's likely that the writers were not sure whether the show would be renewed for a final season (which it was) when they wrote the finale. But ultimately, if you have liked the show from season 4 forward, you will probably like this season as well. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed - Season 6

 

The sixth season of Charmed is really a long serial arc that continues the storyline set up at the end of season five, with the arrival of Chris (Drew Fuller) as Paige, Phoebe, and Piper's new white lighter, and Leo being promoted to Elder. The story is revealed in parts throughout the season, with a major reveal coming at about the halfway point of the season. There is still a "monster-of-the-week" procedural aspect of the show, but nearly every episode is used to advance the larger story. There are also some smaller serial story arcs during the season, one that involves Phoebe and her relationship with Jason (Eric Dane) and one involving Paige and a pair of feuding magical families that she gets in the middle of. Toward the end of the season, Holly Marie Combs' role is reduced to accommodate her real-life pregnancy. 

As has been the case for the blu-ray releases of seasons 1-5, this is a region-free import without any extras. There are captions in German and English, but there are no behind-the-scenes material, commentary tracks, or the like. 

Overall, the season is very good. The story is not given away too quickly and comes to a conclusion that could continue into season seven or be left resolved. The show again got a good slate of guest stars including Melissa George, Ivana Milicevic, Jenny McCarthy, Balthazar Getty, Kathryn Joosten, Keith Szarabajka, Marisol Nichols, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, and Billy Drago. The musical guests this season included Smash Mouth and Ziggy Marley. Even though the season is mostly good, it was not without its faults. Dorian Gregory was again used pretty sparingly throughout the season (although he definitely had more to do than he has in the past couple of seasons) and some of the content does not hold up as well almost twenty years later. The special effects could still be very cheesy and fake looking (which is actually accentuated in HD), and the clip show, showing events from throughout the series did not include Shannen Doherty. On the other hand, they were still putting McGowan and Milano in very skimpy outfits every so often. Ultimately, if you liked the prior seasons you will probably like this season, but if the show has never done anything for you, this season will probably not change your mind about it.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed: Season 5

 

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.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed Season 4

 

+++Warning, this spoils the major cliffhanger from the end of season three, but does not give away any major season four spoilers+++

Season four of Charmed picks up a week after the events that ended season three, with Prue and Piper being laid out by Shanx's blast. We learn that Prue died from the blast, which was, of course, a way to write Shannen Doherty out of the show. To preserve the whole concept of the Power of Three, a new, half-sister, Paige, played by Scream's Rose McGowan was revealed. Paige was the child of Prue, Phoebe, and Piper's mother Patty and her Whitelighter, Sam, who was given up for adoption as a baby. The first handful of episodes were focused on establishing Paige as a character and Paige learning about her sister's existence and the fact that she is a witch. Then, it pretty much followed the same procedural-serial storyline combination that the first few seasons had. I would say this season's storylines were more serial than they were monster-of-the-week, with major storylines about Phoebe and Cole's relationship, and Piper's emotional breakdown after losing Prue getting multi-episode arcs this season. The cast turnover did not end with Shannen Doherty leaving as Dorian Gregory was basically used as a recurring character this season (although he was still shown in the opening credits of the episodes he was in), but his character would go 3-4 episodes at a time without making an appearance.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, it is basically a MOD set. You just get the episodes and that is it. You do have the option of a German or English language track and German or English subtitles, but there are no extras, which honestly, given that the season aired in 2001 and the blu-rays were not released until years later is not surprising. This season does have a lot of good guest stars including Daniel Dae Kim (who would later star on Lost and the Hawaii Five-0 reboot), Robert Englund (the original Freddy Kruger), Ray Wise (from Twin Peaks), Coolio, Dave Navarro, Armin Shimerman (from Buffy), and Bruce Cambell.

Overall, the beginning of the season was a bit uneven as the show transitioned from Shannen Doherty to Rose McGowen. As many are likely aware, Doherty and Milano did not get along (how much neither of them has ever said, although they both acknowledged tension as has Holly Marie Combs) and there has been speculation for years whether Doherty was fired or quit. Speculation is that it went far beyond tension and they actually hated each other, and Milano gave an ultimatum to the showrunners that either Doherty goes or she would. Milano has always denied that ever happened, but given that Doherty directed the season three finale and was gone by season four, it seems that things came to a head when Doherty was in charge. It does seem like the show did her and the character of Prue dirty by not having her appear to give her a proper sendoff. At any rate, once the character of Paige was figured out by the writers and McGowan got her footing with the character, don't think the show lost much steam. It seemed like Milano, McGowan, and Combs worked well together, although if you have seen Milano and McGowan's social media interactions, it seems that there is no love lost between those two either.

There are things about the show that would probably not be done the same now as they were back then. There was definitely still some mooning over men that would probably not be written the same way, and they were definitely putting McGowan in a ton of skimpy outfits as they had put Milano in during seasons 1-3. Of course, this was back when McGowan was hot and not identifiably crazy, so she was put in crop tops and midriff-baring outfits constantly. And, the special effects were still not great by any means, and sometimes the HD transfer makes that even more noticeable. That said, if you enjoyed the show's first few seasons (unless you only watched it because Shannen Doherty was in it), you will probably enjoy this season as well.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed: Season Three

 

The third season of Charmed was one that put the series in flux. It would serve as a transitional season for the show, with a huge cliffhanger that would allow for major cast turnover. After all this time most people likely know how it played out, but I will not spoil anything here.

Season three mostly follows the freak-of-the-week format (much like the series Smallville was doing) but it did start to interweave larger story arcs. The two big ones this season involved Piper and Leo's relationship, and the second one involved a relationship between Phoebe and the new District Attorney, played by Julian McMahon, who is more than he appears to be. There are a couple of really good time jump shows, one that sends the women back into Salem at the time of the witch trials, and one that is a flashback episode that included Finola Hughes and Jennifer Rhodes (both of whom make more than one appearance this season).

For those who get the blu-ray set, it is basically an MOD set. There are no extras, but there are captions in both German and English. So, it is very, very, bare bones. The Blu-Ray transfer is okay, but it did not get what you would call a high-quality HD upgrade. Although, since these episodes were filmed in 2001, and the show had a bigger budget than it did the first couple of seasons, the CGI special effects did look a bit better. The show did get a good slate of recognizable guest stars (and included the occasional early 2000s musical guest and/or songs in the show). Some of the guests this season included Harry Groener (who played the Mayor in the best season of Buffy), Rainn Wilson (from The Office), Ron Pearlman, Kevin Weismann (from Alias), Dana Ashbrook (from Twin Peaks), Ashley Tisdale, and a handful of WCW wrestlers, who appeared in a pretty cheesy episode. The musical guests included The Coors, Orgy, and The Barenaked Ladies.

Overall, the season is good. It does have some weak points, certainly, and some of the things that they wrote into the show (like the go be with your man when your sister is in danger stuff) would probably not be done the same way today. And, I am not sure they would get away with putting Alyssa Milano and Shannen Doherty in skimpy cleavage-baring tops in every single episode as they did back then. I think some things about the show hold up well, but some things most assuredly do not. This was also the season where the feud between Milano and Doherty came to a head. While they have both addressed it vaguely and acknowledged it was a thing, it did not seem to actually boil over into their on-camera work together. The one big complaint that I had about the season is that the character of Daryl was rarely given anything important to do this season, and he was an also-ran character for a big part of the season. Other than that, I think that the writers did a pretty good job giving the other characters storylines with substance. The acting was always good, even when the actors did not have great material to work with, and the show and the actors could switch from comedy to drama within a couple of scenes. While I do not think it was as good a show as Buffy, the other girl-power-empowered supernatural-themed show of the time, I do think it was worth watching.