the show never confirmed it but victor and patty definitely had a shotgun wedding. i have decided this and thus it is canon.

If you could create an AU which incorporated all four Charmed sisters, how would the story go? And how would it affect their powers?

Hi! Sorry it took me a week to answer yourquestion. And sorry about this, but while I was writing the answer, my handsslipped on the keyboard and I accidentallywrote a ramble that has 3K words… Oops?

TL;DR: Most of the show’s plots would be pretty muchthe same if I was too lazy to do more than incorporate the fourth sister intoeach episode—or very different if I was self-indulgent and decided to fixeverything I don’t like about the show while I’m at it. :D The girls wouldeither grow up together, or they’d learn about Paige’s existence as adults (Ithink the best time for this would either be the pilot episode or P3 H2O).Paige would be the only one who might have different powers (lots of optionshere), Prue, Piper and Phoebe would have the same ones.

Truth be told, this is not a topic I’ve thoughtabout too much before. Currently, most of my fanfic-daydreaming revolves arounda different fandom. At the height of my love for Charmed, most of myfanfic-daydreams focused on either A) my own season 9, or B) anythingChris-centric (had a huge crush on him back in the day).

Now here’s the thing: my season 9 was actuallya Power of Four story, but I’m reluctant to call it an AU because I was tryingto make it canon-complaint (albeit with a twist). It’s a sequel, not a rewrite.To be clear, when I say this story is canon-compliant, I’m only talking aboutthe show, not the comics. I actually started writing it a year before the firstCharmed comic was published. I never finished writing it, though. Iwrote three episodes and then abandoned it. :D

Although I didn’t really get around toexploring this in the fanfic, I still remember how I planned on explaining whythe Charmed Ones became the Power of Four rather than the Power of Three.Here’s where the canon-twisting comes in. Let me tell you the story I had inmind:

In AllHalliwell’s Eve, when Cole and the Charmed Ones time-traveled to the 1600s,they unintentionally altered history without realizing it (butterfly effect andall that). After they returned to the present, Angels of Destiny sensed thedisturbance, and they foresaw a powerful evil rising to power and taking overthe world in just a few years. Because this was not meant to happen and wentagainst the grand design they were protecting, they decided to interfere—bygiving the Charmed Ones, the most powerful good witches ever, even more powerso that they could defeat this evil being. How did they give them more power?By turning the Power of Three™ into the Power of Four™. But because P4 wassomething that also went against the grand design, turning P3 into it wasn’tthat simple. They had to work step by step:

Step 1: Magically create* Paige, a love childof Patty and Sam. Give her a telekinetic power like Prue has (albeit with aWhitelighter-y spin) so that she can replace the oldest and most powerfulsister of the trio.

Step 2: Make sure that Prue dies and that Piperand Phoebe meet Paige, creating a new version of P3.

Step 3: Wait a few years to give the new trioenough time to really consolidate this new Power of Three and reach the strengthand bond level that the first trio had.

Step 4: Make sure that Prue is revived. SincePiper and Phoebe now have an equally strong bond with Prue as well as Paige,the two P3s merge and become P4.

Step 5: Wait another couple of years to give P4a chance to consolidate, to give Prue and Paige a chance to form the samestrong bond they have with Piper and Phoebe.

Step 6: Now is the time when the evil tries totake over the world. Make sure the Power of Four™ find out about it, then stepaside and let them handle it.

Step 7: Congratulations! The over-powered P4managed to defeat the evil. Though the existence of P4 does go against thegrand design, it is not as bad as it would have been had the evil won, so justshrug that off and live with it. Things may not be exactly as meant to, but hey, good enough. Go back to wherever it isthat Angels of Destiny live, and relax. Your job is done.

* My original idea for how the Angels ofDestiny created Paige was that they time-traveled to November 1976. There they performedsome kind of magic that caused Patty to conceive a baby the next time she andSam… you know. I called this canon-compliant because everything we saw on theshow really did happen, the twist is just that the reason it happened is becausethe Angels altered history. I have to admit, though, now that I’m thinkingabout this, I can’t figure out why they would bother with a convoluted planlike this if they could have just time-traveled to the 1600s instead andchanged the thing that started the butterfly effect. I don’t remember if I hadthis thought-out back then or not, though I’m guessing I didn’t.

An alternative way of creating Paige that Ithought of now: the Angels of Destiny pulled a “last Thursdayism” on Paige.When you’re playing The Sims 2, you can’t turn back time, but you can alwayscreate a new sim, an adult sim, and that sim will have memories even thoughthey’re brand new in the game. The Angels of Destiny couldn’t time-travel, butthey could create Paige. So they did,and they gave her and the people she would’ve had relationships with fakememories as if she were alive the whole time and not a brand new person.

Backstory

Leaving aside the sequel, if I were to rewritethe show with the Power of Four™, if I were to make an AU that starts from thebeginning, how would the story of the show go? Let’s talk about how the wholething would begin, how P4 would get established. Like I said, I haven’t giventhis much thought before, so allow me to brainstorm here and see what I cancome up with.

*****

Version 1: Witch/Whitelighter relationshipsare not forbidden. Patty and Sam don’t have to hide their relationship, so theyget married and Sam becomes the step-father of Prue, Piper and Phoebe. ThenPatty gets pregnant and gives birth to Paige, who they don’t have to give away,so they raise the four girls together. Of course, not too long after Paige’sbirth, Patty dies.

Version 1A: After Patty’s death, Sam clips hiswings but stays with the family. He raises the girls along with Penny. Ofcourse, since the girls had their powers bound and Patty and Penny decided tohide magic from them until they are old enough, the girls don’t know that Samis a former Whitelighter. When their powers are unbound after Penny’s death in1998, Sam tells them the truth and becomes their guide as they learn tonavigate their lives as witches.

Version 1B: After Patty’s death, Sam ends uppulling a Victor and abandons the girls (poor Prue gets double Daddy issues).He tries to watch over them from afar, but doesn’t get too involved in theirlives, making only scarce guest appearances on the show like Victor does.

Version 1C: Sam dies with Patty. Or at somepoint after Patty, who cares? The point is he’s gone, the girls are raised solelyby Penny and there is only one Victor on the show.

Either way, in this version, all four girlsgrow up together. When Phoebe finds the Book in the attic in the first episode,they all get their powers together. They are all in the story from thebeginning to the end.

*****

Version 2:Witch/Whitelighter relationships areforbidden, but Patty decides to keep the baby anyway. She knows the Elders aredumb and useless, so she doesn’t worry about anything happening to Paige. If the Elders ever notice that Patty’spregnant or has a newborn, she just tells them the baby is Victor’s (says theyhad a one-night-stand or something), and they fall for it, so no problemo.

In this version, the girls grow up together aswell, just like in version 1, but there is one difference: Paige doesn’t knowthat Victor is not her father, doesn’t know that she’s only a half-sister ofPrue, Piper and Phoebe.

Version 2A:Paige doesn’t develop Whitelighter powers at the beginning, she only has awitch power. She starts developing Whitelighter powers later on and is veryconfused by it, until…

Version 2B:Paige has Whitelighter powers from the beginning, but none of the sisters haveany idea what a Whitelighter is at that time.

Version 2Ba: Later,the sisters meet Leo. They discover that he is something called a Whitelighterand that he has the same powers that Paige has. They’re all very confused byit, until…

Version 2Bb:Leo enters the story later on (or never?), or he enters early but the sisters don’tfind out that he’s a Whitelighter until later on. The Charmed Ones are notaware that Whitelighters are a thing until…

…the sisters learn about Sam, Patty’s Whitelighterfrom before she died. This is where Paige discovers that Victor is not herbiological father, and that she is her sisters’ half-sister. Cue some Paigeangst here.

*****

Version 3:Patty and Sam give Paige up for adoption like they did in canon. In the firstepisode of the show, Prue, Piper and Phoebe meet Paige, who has discovered thattheir mother was her biological mother. It’s like in the reboot, when Mel andMaggie met Macy in the first episode. Of course, Prue, Piper and Phoebe arereluctant to believe Paige at first, but later that night Phoebe finds the Bookof Shadows in the attic. She reads aloud a spell to unbind the powers of the“four sisters,” and she reads about Melinda Warren’s “Power of Four” prophecy.When all four of them start performing magical tricks the next day, Prue, Piperand Phoebe realize Paige might have been right. Cue them getting to know eachother and forming the P4 together.

*****

Version 4: Pattyand Sam give Paige up for adoption like they did in canon. Prue, Piper andPhoebe do not meet Paige right from the beginning. All the spells thatmentioned “three” in canon don’t mention any number in this version. MelindaWarren’s prophecy was some vague crap about three sisters (each with one of herthree powers) finding the light and together becoming the strongest witchesever. As it later turns out, this “light” is the half-WhitelighterPaige. But the sisters don’t know that yet at the beginning of the story.

At the beginning, the sisters feel that they’renot reaching their full potential. The spells meant to be cast by the CharmedOnes together aren’t fully effective. For instance, Charmed vanquishing spellsonly wound the demons; this is enough to let the sisters finish the demons offotherwise (like, with athames and offensive potions and stuff), but still, thespells are not strong enough to actually vanquish the demons as they’re meantto. However, the girls attribute this purely to the fact that they are new atthe craft. They figure they’ll get better in time, as they learn to controltheir powers better and get more practice.

Then surprise! Later on (I think the best timefor this would be the episode P3 H2O—ornot quite P3 H2O ’cause I didn’t likethat episode, but instead some good episode that also introduces Sam, Patty’sformer Whitelighter and lover), they discover that their mother had a baby withher Whitelighter, who she had to give up for adoption because it was aforbidden baby. This baby, now a young adult, is a fourth sister, who’s ahalf-Whitelighter. Prue, Piper and Phoebe look for her and find Paige Matthews.When Paige joins them, they can suddenly perform much more powerful magic thanbefore. Vanquishing spells actually kill the demons, etc. The Charmed Ones nowrealize what the prophecy really meant.

*****

Version 5:Patty and Sam give Paige up for adoption like they did in canon. Similarly to version4, Prue, Piper and Phoebe do not meet Paige right from the beginning. However,they don’t lack full power here, because in this version the Charmed Ones onlyhave the Power of Three. The Power of Four does not and cannot exist. MelindaWarren’s prophecy wasn’t vague, the P3 spells all work as intended, etc.

When the Charmed Ones learn about Paige in P3 H2O, she doesn’t add to the group andsuddenly make them stronger. Instead, what they discover is that Paige has theability to replace any of the sisters in the Power of Three. You can read moreabout how this works below, in the section Powers: version 4.

*****

Okay, I think that’s all the ideas I can comeup with now. If I were to choose just one of these versions… I don’t know, Imight go with Version 3, or maybe Version 1C.

Story

Now we’ve established how the story wouldstart—but how would the story go?

All right, if P3→P4 were the only change madeto the series, I imagine the story would go pretty much the same way, exceptthere’d be four sisters reciting spells together rather than three. :DObviously, one sister dying and getting replaced wouldn’t happen in thisversion, but I feel like in most plots there wouldn’t be a problem withincorporating the fourth sister into them, and it wouldn’t be necessary tochange them too much.

Of course, you could change how the storylineswould play out if you wanted to. For instance, when Cole becomes the Source inseason 4, I feel like Prue would also notice that he was acting weird, maybeeven sooner than Paige did. So then Prue and Paige could team up, and togetherthey could find some concrete evidence, which would convince Piper and Phoebethat Cole was evil (again). Then they could either A) vanquish Cole sooner,before Phoebe has a chance to get pregnant and join him as the Queen of theUnderworld, or B) save Cole before it’s too late, turning him into a mortal (again).

But I don’t think it would be necessary to makechanges like these. The storylines could play out more or less in the same way.For instance, Piper and Phoebe disregarded Prue’s concerns in season 3—whywouldn’t they do it again in season 4? I do think that, with Prue being alivethe whole time, Piper would keep more of her early-seasons personality lateron. Which means that when Phoebe becomes Queen of the Underworld, Prue wouldmore likely take the role that Piper played in that episode. Piper herselfcould be more of a hopeful peacemaker with Paige—or she could do her own thing,she could get tired of playing the peacemaker and try to stay on the sidelinesof this conflict, be all “I’m tired of getting stuck in the middle of your crapmy whole life, leave me out of this.” But this wouldn’t affect the storyline’sturn-out much. In the end, Phoebe would still vanquish Cole and he would comeback and they would vanquish him again and all that.

I could see it going either way, different orthe same. So now the question is this: if I’m creating this AU, do I want to tryand keep the show as it is, keep all the same storylines, with the only big differencebeing that all four sisters are there at all times (which would be the easierway to do this)—or do I want to take this opportunity to self-indulge and putin the work and change every single thing I don’t like about the show while I’mat it? :D I love Charmed, it’s been one of my favorite TV shows for thelast 15 years or so, but let’s be real, it ain’t perfect.

One thing I’d like to address before I move on tothe final section, the powers, is the question of Prue’s love life. If shedoesn’t die mere two years after Andy, that means something has to change.Obviously, Prue can’t end up marrying anyone other than Andy, which means thatA) Andy wouldn’t die in this story, B) Andy would die but would later bebrought back to life, or C) Prue would take a vow of celibacy and prove thatyou don’t need romance in your life to be fulfilled. Well, I feel like C) wouldbe out of character for her, so I guess it’s either A) or B). Either one worksfor me, just as long as the two of them get their happily ever after togetherand get married and have babies and stuff. :)

Powers

Now, in terms of powers, I see fourpossibilities.

*****

Version 1: (This option applies to Backstory: version1, 2 and 4.) All the sisters have the same powers they had on the show. TheCharmed Ones were prophesized to be siblings who are descendants of MelindaWarren and who, as a group, have each of Melinda’s three powers. P4 meet thecriteria, which makes them the Charmed Ones.

*****

Version 2: (This option applies to Backstory: version1, 2 and 3.) Melinda had four powers, not three. The Charmed Ones wereprophesized to be four sisters with the Power of Four. Paige, as the fourthsister, has the fourth power that Melinda had. This fourth power could reallybe anything: invisibility, telepathy, icy breath (like Prue’s past life), youname it. There’s countless possibilities here.

*****

Version 3: (This option applies to Backstory: version1, 2B and 4.) Paige only has Whitelighter powers. Of course, she is ahalf-witch, she is part of the Power of Four™, she can cast spells with hersisters and stuff, but she didn’t inherit any of the three Warren powers thather sisters have. She doesn’t mind, though, ’cause she has enough powers as aWhitelighter.

*****

Version 4: (This option applies to Backstory: version1, 2 and 5.) The prophesized sisterhood is a trio, not a quartet. There canonly be the Power of Three, not the Power of Four. Paige is an extra fourthsister. If she were to recite a spell along with Prue, Piper and Phoebe, theeffect would be exactly the same as it would be if only Prue, Piper and Phoebesaid it. Paige can’t add to the Power of Three—but she can intercept it andform the Power of Three with any two of her sisters.

In this version, Paige possesses all threeWarren powers: telekinesis, freezing, and negligib— I mean, premonitions.However, she can’t use them whenever she wants to. She also has Whitelighterpowers, which she can use at any time, but the Warren powers she can only useunder certain conditions. To give an example of the conditions I have in mind:

Let’s say Paige wants to use telekinesis. Inorder to do that, the distance between Prue and all three of her sisters has tobe bigger than the distance between Paige and Piper/Phoebe. Plus, it can’t justbe a centimeter bigger (that would be a total chaos), it has to be at least, say,100 meters bigger, or something like that, IDK. Therefore, if all four sistersare in a room together, Paige can only use her Whitelighter powers and shecan’t cast any Power of Three spells. If Prue goes on a vacation to anothercountry and Piper, Phoebe and Paige stay in San Francisco, Paige can usetelekinesis and cast P3 spells to her heart’s desire.

One more condition could be that, since thePower of Three was meant for Prue, Paige can only use telekinesis if Prue isn’tusing it at the same time, regardless of the distance. If Prue on her vacationdecided to move a bottle of water to herself from across the room, Paige wouldnot be able to use telekinesis in that moment. Alternatively, it could be thatthis condition doesn’t apply, but what happens is that Prue loses her powerwhen Paige is tapping into her place in the Power of Three. If Prue is away ona vacation, she can’t move the bottle of water across the room magically; shehas to get up and walk for it like a normal person.

These rules also apply with freezing/premonitions,wherein Paige replaces Piper/Phoebe in the Power of Three.

An exception to these rules would be unrelatedpower losses. If, say, a demon took away Prue’s powers through apower-stripping potion, Paige would be able to use telekinesis even if she werestanding right next to Prue. However, if two or all three of her sisters losetheir powers, Paige can’t use any of her witchy abilities. She can only betapping into the Power of Three from one side at a time, not two or all three.

Does this make any sense? I hope so, but I’mnot sure.

*****

Anyway, I’m done rambling now. Sorry for allthis. I’ll try to answer questions more concisely next time.

Personally I think one of the biggest problems of the show is the lack of family flashbacks. I mean, the relationship of Penny and Victor is very interesting. She obviously didn't like him, but what she said when she found out about Patty's first pregnancy? Or what she said when he left (according to the theory) in Piper's birthday? What do you think?

The obvious counterpoint to this is that the flashbacks sometimes were uhhh Bad (this is specifically about witchstock, which really threw a wrench in grams characterization). But as far as Victor's whole relationship with the Penny (and Patty!), as well as just that timeline in general, here are a few of my thoughts:

Penny definitely raises Patty as a witch, and Patty is extremely gifted and well versed by the time she's an adult

Sidenote: I think Patty had molecular deceleration at first, like Penny's mother, which, as she grew, grew to molecular immobilization

Penny canonically had a revolving door of husband's after Allen, meaning Patty had a bunch of temporary dads, and if I had to guess, she didn't like any of them

Despite too many step dads and Penny's general misandry, I do think Patty was a secret romantic

Like every romance she would have would end miserably, but she still secretly had an optimistic heart

Patty also never told any of her partners she was a witch as Penny definitely instilled a fear of that driving them off

Victor met Patty at some diner when she was out with her girlfriends and he was prepping for some hotshot meeting

Victor is obviously starstruck by her and is such a flirt, but Patty's on the heels of yet another bad break-up, so she turns him down

But they Keep Running Into Each Other

Victor, joking, of course, says it's fate, but Patty can't help but wonder

Everything cumulates when Patty sees Victor on the streets of San Francisco, definitely about to get hit by a car, and quickly freezes the scene and pulls him out of the way

Victor obviously shoots his shot again like "you just saved my life, the least I can do is buy you dinner" and he takes her to some swanky place and she falls head over heels in love with him

At this point, the only one who knows about Patty and Victor is the Halliwell whitelighter, Elizabeth, who has been the whitelighter in the family since the speakeasy

Penny can obviously tell her daughter's in love, and just prays it's with some level headed witch

I also imagine Penny has tried to set up her daughter with family friends numerous times in the past

Patty and Victor seem permanently stuck in the honeymoon phase, and the whole "secret romance" really adds to the thrilling of things

After about six to seven months Victor goes on some business trip to New York for like a week and a half, and returns with a ring

"I lived for a week and a half without you and it was worse than any moment in the 20 years I've lived before I knew you. All I know now is that I love you and I never want to be without you."

Patty says yes!! but then realizes she's going to have to explain the diamond ring on her finger to Penny

Penny is, as expected, furious, but is willing to play along because she's convinced that she can get them to break up before the wedding

Despite all her small torments (whenever she's around, Victor's drink always spills on him, his shoelaces always become untied, his keys always go missing), the two successfully get married

Penny So Very Much wants to mention being a witch in her mother of the bride speech, but can't because it's too public of a setting

Besides, Patty promised she'd tell Victor on their wedding night

Which she does, technically. He's just frozen every time she tries to tell him (a grand total of four times)

At first, Victor moves into the manor with Patty, but after Penny constantly berating him over breakfast of how he's not getting this house, not matter how hard he tries! he also chooses to keep his apartment in the city, and tried to convince Patty to move in with him there

Victor also gets a promotion at work, making him travel a lot more

He doesn't mind because the east coast means a break from Penny and the constant tiny woes that follow him around the manor

He brings Patty out with him, and she loves New York, for the first couple times at least

Since it's not vacation but work, Victor's always in one meeting or another, and Patty's usually alone, so she stops going and starts staying at home

It's some time around mid March that Patty realizes she pregnant, and she knows her child is going to be a witch

It's time to tell Victor but Patty can't bring herself to do it. She says she's waiting until he come back from New York, but she says that every time. Then she doesn't want to tell him because he just got back, then it's because he just settled back into things, then it's because he's about to go on a trip and she doesn't want to make him anxious, then it's because he's in New York

Sometime in June, while Patty's still dragging her feet, Penny calls Victor on the phone, leaving a message saying "I'm a witch and so it your wife, and I'd place good money your daughter will be one, too."

Patty Flips. She doesn't talk to her mom for a month.

Immediately after the phone call Patty has Elizabeth orb her out to New York and tells Victor everything

He ends up staying on the East Coast an extra week

But he comes back home, willing to give it a shot. After all, he's still in love with Patty, and she's still the same person, she's just, you know, a witch

Now that she can practice magic in the open Penny's torment grows So Much Worse

Patty and Victor move back into the manor because it's a much better place to raise a daughter, but Penny consistently pushes Victor to the edge

Personal favorite: there's only a little bit of Special K left and Victor opens the cabinet to fix himself a bowl, but Penny telekinetically grabs it and uses it all. She doesn't even like Special K

Prue is born in late October, and is a telekinetic like her grandmother before her.

Penny is thrilled, and is teaching Prue her powers before she can form a sentence. Victor is terrified.

Everything really comes to a head when a darklighter attacks, killing Elizabeth

Penny and Patty are wracked with grief, but Victor is more worried for Prue, who was in the room when the darklighter attacked

Victor wants to bind Prue's powers and raise her away from magic, Penny accuses him of preying on their grief to push his own agenda

Victor argues that if his "agenda" is keeping his daughter alive, he'll gladly accept the charges

The next time he travels to New York he brings Prue and Patty with him

They stay for two weeks, and Victor tries to convince Patty to stay permanently. It doesn't work.

Patty returns home with Prue, Victor follows a couple days later. In this time, Patty learns she's pregnant again.

Introduce: The One Thing Penny and Victor Will Ever Agree On

After the death of Elizabeth, their former whitelighter, the elders send down a new whitelighter for the future of the Halliwells: Samuel Wilder. Penny and Victor hate him.

Penny doesn't like him because he's a new whitelighter, and the Warren line has always been guided by women, and she believes that it takes another woman to truly understand how to guide their line, not some inspirational New York Poet

Victor doesn't like him because of his passive, earthy crunchy ways, which stand in stark contrast with Victor's macho business man front, and because he, too, stands in support of raising his daughter (soon to be daughters) as witches

In order to avoid getting his ass kicked every 90 seconds by Penny, Sam forms a close relationship with Patty, as he helps her through the magical world and she helps him through the Halliwell world

Victor again moves up in the ranks at work, and becomes less and less present, both out of necessity and out of resentment for the magic going on in his home

He's away at work when Piper is born. Penny doesn't let that one go.

With Sam's presence, two magical daughters, and Penny's constant berating, it's almost inevitable that Victor's gone by summer, moving to New York permanently

On the surface, Penny's glad he's gone, but now that Victor's not there, Patty's relationship with Sam becomes much more apparent

Also, Penny finds it a lot easier to hate Victor than to hate Sam, and because of this, she hates having Sam around the house

Victor never really gets over Patty, and usually can't stay away for more than four months at a time, before being chased away by Penny or some looming threat of an affair

The final nail in the coffin is really the summer of 1977, when returns to try to rekindle the relationship yet again, but sees Patty is clearly pregnant, with who he can only assume to be Sam's child

Victor would return after Patty's death, thinking that now that the girls had had their powers bound he could raise them normally.

Unfortunately, as long as they're in the manor, magic continues to attack.

Victor wants to take the girls away with him to New York, he even offers to put up Penny with them, but Penny refuses

Victor tries to explain that they don't have to sell the manor, he'll keep the manor, he just wants the girls safe

Penny argues the only safe place is with her, Victor says he could protect his girls just fine.

To prove her point, Penny asks him what he'd do if a demon magically threw him out of the house, and before Victor can answers, Penny has sent him flying out the manor door.

"Face it, Victor. You're not cut out for raising them. The girls stay with me."

She slams the door in his face.

Victor doesn't return to California until the late 90s.

So... Charmed is getting a reboot (by the CW)

For those of you who don’t know what “Charmed” is, it is a fantasy/supernatural tv series that run on WB from 1998 to 2006. It focused on three sisters who after the death of their grandmother find out that they are witches. Throughout the show we see them get their powers, learn to use them, fight demons, warlocks, face real-life problems, grow, fall in love, get married, experience loss. And all of that as they struggle with their magic and protect humanity on a daily basis. I think that the core of the show is the sisters, Piper, Phoebe, Prue and Paige and their love for each other and the innocent people that they protect. 

“Charmed”, along with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” were two of the first female-lead tv series back in the day and everyone loved them so much. I know that people in my country loved watching "Charmed” and still do. It has so much magic and at the same time it is so refreshing and realistic because we have these characters that could be anyone and at the same time are so unique because of their magical abilities.

And now, 12 years after the last episode they decided to take that iconic series and reboot it. 

-FROM NOW ON IS MY OPINION AND LARGE ANALYSIS-

First of all, *sigh* there won’t be a reboot with the real cast. So there goes my heart. Second of all, it’s on the CW from what i have headrd... And if you don’t know why this is a problem... just search “anti-CW” on tumblr and you’ll see. (In an article i saw paramount pictures so idk what is up there).Third, the description. THE DESCRIPTION. 

"This fierce, funny, feminist reboot of the original series centers on three sisters in a college town who discover they are witches. Between vanquishing supernatural demons, tearing down the patriarchy, and maintaining familial bonds, a witch's work is never done."

First off, "feminist” and “tearing down the patriarchy”. What is this supposed to mean? I’m not saying it in the way that feminism or tearing down the patriarchy doesn’t matter or i don’t understand it but... is there a point of these being in the description of the show? Why is everyone trying to re-make incredible old tv series or movies into 2018 GARBAGE. And it’s pretty much 100% certain that they will fuck up in portraying feminism and tearing down the patriarchy in 2018 , as well as the original “Charmed” did in 1998. The thing is that I am scared that the whole plot will be centered around that. “Oh men are trash, women are here to save the day, fuck patriarchy and fuck guys we are the best”. That will not be feminism, but misandry. Aka hating men. Cause y’all know they are going to put men as scumbags and as the villains just to highlight how much better the women are. Because of course there are a LOT of scumbags but not all of them and the show has the responsibility to show the reality of a situation.

Enough with my overthinking and panicking.

Let’s take an example of a shitty 2018 reboot with Heathers. There is representation (plus size students, Asian students, gender fluid students, Jewish students, black students) but... it’s not the right kind. They play the bad guys and they are super cliche in the wrong and most twisted way from what i have seen. And it’s... so bad. The villains are a plus size girl, a black lesbian and a gender fluid guy and the good guys are a white blonde girl..? What is this supposed to pass onto the audiences? Where is the good and healthy representation?

Also the Ghostbusters reboot portrayed Chris Hemsworth’s character as a man who was dumber than a pile of bricks, another way to put the spotlight on the women. 

“Charmed” never needed to do that. It didn’t need to force anything on the viewers and it didn’t need to make the male characters assholes just to show how amazing the sisters were. Piper had Leo who was super supportive and an amazing character and helped them through all the seasons. Prue had Andy, Phoebe had Cole... well... he was half good? And Paige had Henry who despite being a mortal was always there for her and accepted her just the way she is. Of course there were shitty guys just as there were shitty women in the show. 

But the point is that “Charmed” was a show that: 

1. was feminist without being misandristic 

(Also Penny Halliwell, Grams, believed they didn’t need men but sees how her granddaughters have surrounded themselves with good ones so don’t take this quote the wrong day)

2. Gave the sisters love interests which almost all the time accepted them and didn’t hold them back from being independent and themselves. That also goes for the men in their life in general (Victor, Darryl)

The biggest example of this is actually Leo, who was the sisters’ whitelighter who fell in love with Piper. Throughout the show he is there not only for his wife but for the sisters too and he helps them every way that he can, as they are now his own family. He has faith in them and their abilities and he believes in them more than themselves sometimes. Also of course he is sometimes the one that is saved by the sisters just as he saves them.

Also Victor, who seemed like the absent asshole dad in season 1, came back and redeemed himself, explaining the situation and building a relationship with his daughters as much as he could. 

Case point #3: Darryl Morris. The Police officer who risked everything for the sisters and despite being super suspicious of Andy, he himself protected the sisters and helped them any way he could so they could save innocent people. Of course he was a human and he had weaknesses and he pointed out a lot of times how wrong it was for him to go against the law practically, but he knew what the sisters were doing was more important.

3. showed the struggles of magic vs family, friends, career, relationships

We see Prue struggling with her job before realizing what her passion truly was and she realized that her true calling was photography after she got her powersand Phoebe finding a purpose with her column and Paige quitting her job to be a full-time witch and Piper and P3 and later her restaurant (in the comics).

Piper trying to get pregnant and finding out that she actually couldn’t get pregnant easily because of all the fighting they do, Phoebe searching for true love, Prue losing Andy. We see Piper’s journey from her first meeting with Leo, to finding out that he is a whitelighter to getting together to the elders forbidding them from being together to their marriage and... just their whole life story until they are gray and old.

Phoebe has her love story with Cole who is a whole different thing, but it came to show how Phoebe grew from the experience and felt independent and free and just ready to focus on herself. 

Paige didn’t have that many serious boyfriends and the addition of Henry was very sweet even though he is very underrated by many!

4. showed people who experienced so much loss, but who kept going forward, thus giving out a positive message

Like after Patty’s death and Penny’s death, Andy’s death and Prue’s death and Leo leaving and vanquishing Cole and Kyle’s death and etc. They were beaten down so many times but they were strong enough to keep going, giving the viewers a positive outlook of even the worse situations and that with the magic that is inside of them they can heal their broken hearts. They show that even magical people have hearts and they die and they cry and they lose and sometimes not even magic can fix everything. They can’t cheat death when it is time for it and not even magic can help them.

5. had BAD-ASS and ASS-KICKING ladies that were also soft whenever they felt like it but it didn’t made them any less bad-ass and amazing 

Because we all love both bad-ass and soft leads who are ready to defend innocent people and vanquish demons and kill warlocks but also squeal and be funny and make jokes

6. was all about FAMILY!

From the logo to the storylines and down to the last detail “Charmed” was about family. First it was the love the girls had for grams, then sisterhood and from then on the sisterhood remained as they fell in love and created their own families and began to bring more people in their family until it became complete (well almost complete with Prue not being there). The thing is that from beginning to end this show was about love. And mainly the power of three. The power of three is the power the Charmed ones have all together; aka the three Halliwell sisters. The Triquetra also is three points. 

And the Charmed ones’ powers are immediately tied to the emotions. Which brings me back to my initial thought, the love between the three of them is the main thing, both for the magic and for their lives.

There is also Grams & Patty, Grams & the girls, Patty & the girls:

Leo & Wyatt & Chris:

THIS SCENE:

Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige:

Mom Piper & Dad Leo:

Prue & Phoebe & Piper & Paige:

I feel like the 2018 show won’t focus on that. It won’t focus on all of the points that I listed, which in my opinion are the most important qualities of “Charmed” and are the reason that it truly remains a timeless show even 12 years later. Sure it was not perfect but I feel like a show that will focus on all the wrong things will be MUCH MUCH worse. Personally, I am very satisfied with the ending of “Charmed” and i feel like it was a great epilogue to 8 great seasons. Let’s not forget that the story of the sisters lives on with the comics/graphic novels! So in my opinion the only “Charmed” reboot that would be worth it, would be one with the original cast and producers/writers! 

LUCY GOES HAWAIIAN: PART ONE

S3;E23 ~ February 15, 1971

Directed by Jack Donohue ~ Written by Milt Josefsberg, Ray Singer, and Al Schwartz

Synopsis

Harry takes an usual job as a cruise director and recruits Lucy to be his unpaid assistant. Also on board are her kids and her old friend Vivian Jones (Vivian Vance). A shipboard rivalry erupts when Lucy and Vivian are both attracted to the handsome Captain (Robert Alda).

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter), Desi Arnaz Jr. (Craig Carter)

Guest Cast

Vivian Vance (Vivian Jones) was born Vivian Roberta Jones in Cherryvale, Kansas in 1909, although her family quickly moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she was raised. She had extensive theatre experience, co-starring on Broadway with Ethel Merman in Anything Goes. She was acting in a play in Southern California when she was spotted by Desi Arnaz and hired to play Ethel Mertz, Lucy Ricardo’s neighbor and best friend. The pairing is credited with much of the success of “I Love Lucy.”  Vance was convinced to join the cast of “The Lucy Show” in 1962, but stayed with the series only through season three, making occasional guest appearances afterwards. This is the fourth of her half a dozen appearances on “Here’s Lucy.” She also joined Lucy for a TV special “Lucy Calls the President” in 1977. Vance died two years later.

This is Vivian’s sixth cruise. She is unmarried. 

Robert Alda (Captain MacClay) originated the role of Sky Masterson in Broadway’s Guys and Dolls, winning the 1951 Tony Award. He is the father of Alan Alda of “M*A*S*H” fame. He made one appearance on the “The Lucy Show,” and this is his final appearance on “Here's Lucy.” Alda died in 1986.

Jean Byron (Mrs. MacCLay) is probably best remembered as Natalie Lane, mother of Patty Duke on “The Patty Duke Show” (1963-66) as well as well as Imogene Burkhart on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” (1959-63). This is her only appearance with Lucille Ball.

The surname MacClay is a tribute to Lucille Ball's long-time publicist Howard McClay, who also loaned his name to characters on “The Lucy Show.” The end credits, however, spell 'McClay' as 'MacClay.'  

Anita Mann (Wendy) was assistant to the series' choreographer Jack Baker. This (and Part Two) are her only appearances of record on the show. She later choreographed for the Solid Gold Dancers and the Muppets. Mann won an Emmy Award for her work in 1996.  

Mann plays a bikini-clad blonde that Craig befriends aboard ship. Although credited as 'Wendy,' she is not identified by name in the dialogue.

Maurice Kelly (Sailor) was an English-born actor who played a student in “Lucy and Viv Take Up Chemistry” (TLS S1;E26). This is the second of his three appearances on “Here’s Lucy.” He died at the young age of 46 in 1974.

The ship's passengers and crew are played by uncredited background performers:

Nick Borgani appeared with Lucille Ball in the 1937 film Stage Door and in one episode of “The Lucy Show.”  

Paul Bradley made his six appearances on “The Lucy Show” in various roles. This is the second of his two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

George DeNormand appeared in three films with Lucille Ball from 1937 to 1963. This is just one of his many appearances on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.”  

James Gonzales was a popular Hollywood extra who first acted with Lucille Ball in the 1953 The Long, Long Trailer. He was previously seen on “The Lucy Show” as Stan Williams in “Lucy Digs Up a Date” (TLS S1;E2). He was seen in more than 20 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 3 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Chester Jones makes the last of his four background appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”  

Paul King makes the third of his five background appearances on the series.  

Victor Romito was seen as the Bartender in “Lucy Meets John Wayne” (TLS S5;E10). He also appeared in four episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”  Romito was an extra in the 1960 Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film Critic’s Choice.

Bernard Sell was an English-born background player who made three appearance on the “The Lucy Show.” He was also an extra with Lucille Ball and Bob Hope in their films The Facts of Life (1960) and Critic’s Choice (1963).

This episode was first aired on February 15, 1971, which was Mary Jane Croft's 55th birthday. Although not in this episode, Croft will make her tenth of thirty appearances when the program resumes production for season four.

The final draft of this script is date March 30, 1970. A copy was donated by the estate of writer Milt Josefsberg to the Thousand Oaks Library’s American Radio Archives. 

Coincidentally, March 30, 1970 also saw the first broadcast of an episode of “Mayberry RFD” titled “Aloha, Goober”! In it, Goober’s Mayberry service station is competing to win a trip to Hawaii.  

The title of the episode(s) was doubtless inspired by the 1961 feature film Gidget Goes Hawaiian starring Deborah Walley. Walley would later be a regular on Desi Arnaz series “The Mothers-in-Law” (1967-69). The film also features a character named Lucy (played by Vivian Marshall). 

Originally, the two episodes were to be filmed aboard the actual SS Lurline and on location in Hawaii. When costs proved prohibitive, Lucille Ball Productions had a three-quarter scale model of the ship built on the Paramount lot. At the time, it was the second largest ship ever built at the studio. The sets occupied three sound stages. It even included a real swimming pool! 

These two episodes were a single-camera shoot and filmed without a live studio audience. Establishing shots of the ship and some dockside location shots were also used. 

Hawaii was a favorite getaway destination of the Arnaz family. The Season 3 “Here’s Lucy” DVD contains home movie footage of the family (and friends like Mary Wickes) vacationing together in Hawaii. 

In 2007, Lucie Arnaz remembered their trips to Hawaii fondly: 

"It was before my parents were divorced and the time when they were at their happiest. No arguing, no work to take them away, and they just loved being there and with each other.”

The SS Lurline was a real ship sailing from California to Hawaii for the Matson Steamship line from 1932 to 1963, when it was sold to the Chandris Lines and re-christened the RHMS Ellinis. The Matson Line then brought the Matsonia (first known as the Monterey) out of retirement and re-christened it the Lurline, keeping the historic name alive in their fleet. The Lurline sailed her last voyage under this name in June 1970, before being sold to Chandris and re-christened Britanis. During the 1980s it was briefly the oldest cruise ship in service. The vessel underwent one more name and ownership change before being deliberately sunk in 2000 after nearly 68 years at sea.

The episode incorporates some establishing locations shots of the Lurline departing from San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. 

There is also a location shot of Lucy standing on the dock taking photographs, although this is probably a double for Lucille Ball. With the distance, the streamers, and the camera in front of her face, it is difficult to tell for certain. 

The final draft of the script for this episode was dated March 30, 1970, ten months before it was aired in mid-February 1971. Because the Lurline sailed for the last time on June 25, 1970, the establishing shots had to have been filmed during April, May or June 1970.  

Harry pronounces Hawaii as 'Havaii' (with a 'v' sound instead of a 'w'). He also pronounces Los Angeles with a hard 'g.' Harry was a linguistic eccentric!  

Lucy says the ideal candidate for the cruise director position will be a combination of Cary Grant, Albert Einstein, Joe Namath, and Bob Hope. Lucille Ball did four films with Bob Hope and he appeared on both “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.” Football player turned entertainer Joe Namath will guest star in a season 5 episode of “Here's Lucy.” Cary Grant has been mentioned on all of Ball's sitcoms, including the previous episode “Lucy and Carol Burnett” (S3;E22).  

When Vivian burst through the crowd, the production anticipates the home viewers reaction by inserting canned applause!  In previous episodes filmed in front of a live studio audience, this was their natural reaction, so one is used here as well. Even the background actors seem happy to see Viv, a character not seen on the series since “Lucy and Viv Visit Tijuana” (S2;E19) a year earlier. 

Among the many games and sports items that Assistant Cruise Director Lucy carries is Hasbro’s Automatic Bingo, first manufactured in 1969. Bingo is a mainstay of cruise ship pastimes. 

Lucy asks Viv if she is still looking to get married:

VIV: “I dream about orange blossoms so often I sleep with a smudge pot at the foot of my bed.”

Dreams about orange blossoms are said to indicate the search for true love. In orange groves, a smudge pot warms the trees to prevent the fruit from being spoiled by frost and cold weather. 

Lucy convinces Harry to disguise himself as rich southerner Colonel Hamilton Hart to woo Vivian away from the Captain MacClay. Harry's make up and wardrobe are identical to Colonel Harlan Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame!  

A montage of Lucy being kept busy shows her jogging, shooting skeet, playing tennis, and playing ping-pong.  

Jumping overboard may be the most extreme example ever of ‘getting Harry wet’ at the end of an episode.

VIVIAN: “Let me through! Let me through! There's only one person in the whole world who would board ship that way!  It's gotta be... Lucy!”

Boarding ship via the cargo net was a stunt Lucille Ball also did in “Lucy Takes A Cruise To Havana” (LDCH S1;E1) with Ann Sothern at her side - instead of Gale Gordon under her feet!

Another unconventional boarding was in "Bon Voyage" (ILL S5;E13), where Lucy Ricardo missed her sailing for Europe on the S.S. Constitution and was lowered by helicopter to the deck.

Assistant Cruise Director Lucy briefly plays ping-pong with a young boy, just as Lucy Ricardo did on the SS Constitution with Kenneth Hamilton. She first looked for a ping-pong partner by asking an idle bloodhound!

In 1955, Desilu recreated the SS Constitution on their Hollywood sound stage the same way LBP does the SS Lurline in 1971. Both episodes were filmed with the cooperation of the shipping lines, American Export Lines (1955) and Matson Steamship Lines (1970). Both were the most expensive episodes filmed to that date due to construction costs. 

In “Ricky's Hawaiian Vacation” (ILL S3;E22), Lucy Ricardo pulled out all the stops, including recreating island life in the living room in order to get Ricky to take her along on his booking at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu. When Ricky says no, Lucy schemes to go along by winning a TV quiz show with the Mertzes, but in the end they don’t win the trip. We never learn if Ricky actually went to Hawaii or not. 

ETHEL (about the idea of going on a quiz show): “I’d get a pie in my face. She’d get an all-expense cruise.”

It took nearly 16 years, but Lucy and Viv finally got that all-expense paid cruise to Hawaii. But she also did get a pie in the face at the end of the show!  

If being Viv being heroically rescued from a swimming pool while pretending she can’t swim sounds familiar, Lucy Ricardo also did it in “The Hedda Hopper Story” (ILL S4;E21). 

In the 1955 episode, Freddie Fillmore mentioned a former contestant named Cleo Morgan, which was the name of Lucille Ball’s cousin. She was later the producer of these two episodes of “Here’s Lucy” under her married name of Cleo Smith.

On February 18, 1965, the Douglas family on “My Three Sons” planned a "Hawaiian Cruise” (S5;E23), but illness forced the trip to be canceled. Uncle Charley decides if they cannot go to Hawaii, then Hawaii would come to them and he plans a luau in the backyard.  

FAST FORWARD!

In the 1970s and 1980s sitcoms took their cue from Lucy and also traveled to Hawaii. 

Probably the most famous of the shows was “The Brady Bunch”, which aired on ABC in 1972, just a year after Lucy’s trip. It, too, was a two-parter. Coincidentally, Eve Plumb (Jan Brady) also played Lucy Carter’s niece Patricia Carter later on in 1972!  

In 1980, also on CBS, “The Jeffersons” traveled to the 50th state. Instead of two parts, the show increased their stay to four half-hours!  The cast featured an actor named Fred Ball (no relation to Lucille Ball’s brother)! 

Hawaii was mention several times on the short lived “Life With Lucy” (1987). In the first episode, Curtis had just returned from vacationing there and in the second episode guest star John Ritter says that his wife is in Hawaii with the kids. In an un-aired episode, Leonard plans to use his vacation from M&B Hardward to go to Hawaii and lie on the beach. 

“Mama Goes Hawaiian” (1988) was also a two-part episode about a Hawaiian vacation. It starred Lucy’s protege Ken Berry and her pal Carol Burnett’s protege, Vicki Lawrence, as Mama. 

Props! When setting down a large stack of games so she can sit down for a minute, Lucille Ball is so worried that the stack will fall off the deck chair that she keeps her hand nearby to catch them if they do.

Doff Your Hat! When ‘the Colonel’ sits down next to Vivian, he removes his hat and places it on the table. Realizing that this is improper (and that the hat might be in the camera shot) he uses his walking stick to smoothly sweep the hat off the table onto the chair below it. Quick thinking! 

“Lucy Goes Hawaiian: Part One” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

This episode is full of Easter eggs for “Lucy” fans with references to four different episodes of “I Love Lucy.” This feels like a cross between “The Love Boat” and “The Golden Girls.”  The ending with Harry and Viv both jumping overboard into the Pacific Ocean - at night - is a bit far-fetched, even for Lucy!

I've just recently in the past few years gotten more into musical theater, so I have a lot to learn. I'm not a singer or anything, but I like to watch and listen. Also, I have to randomly ask something. Why the heck did " Glee" have Brian Stokes Mitchell on the show and not let him sing more? What a waste. Ha ha. What are some really underrated musicals?

That’s awesome! Nah man, you don’t have to be a singer to get into/like musical theater! We actually need more people to appreciate musical theater who don’t participate, honestly. Same with opera, but that’s another story I know no one here wants to get into lol.

Who knows, man? I mean, they had Victor Garber on and didn’t have him sing and fucking Cheyenne Jackson!!!! Even The Real O’Neals had Cheyenne sing!!!! And he was on one ep of that unlike being in several episodes like he was for glee.

Okay, so as I said, I’m a bit of an MT hipster. So I like a lot of weird shit lol. A not very detailed list is below, with some notes by yours truly lol. Sorry that this got so long omfg

Bat Boy - based on the Daily News articles, this chronichles the story of a bat boy found in a cave in West Virginia. He’s taken to the local vet, and while everyone in town just wants the doctor to kill him, the vet’s wife wants to take care of the teen, who she names Edgar, and teach him how to behave. The doctor kind of goes crazy and their daughter, Shelly, falls for Edgar. A lot of the parts in the show outside of the family are double casted, and it’s honestly hilarious and also makes me cry by the end, poking a lot of fun at “Christian Charity” (that’s the name of one of the songs that also gets a reprise) and the like. It’s extra loved by me for featuring the impeccable Kerry Butler (the original Penny in Hairspray, female lead in Xanadu, Catch Me If You Can...the ageless girl wonder)Reefer Madness - the Off-Broadway production opened the weekend of 9/11, which definitely effected its possible success. It’s, of course, based off the ridiculous propaganda film of the same name, though it takes it a bit farther and pokes fun at all of it and even more of the racist/sexist attitudes of the 1930s. While all/most of the others I’m talking about here only have CDs and maybe some bootlegs, this one has a movie version!!!! That actually is almost 100% like the stage version (at least based on what I saw). The movie features Kristen Bell as Mary Lane, the part she originated, and also features Alan Cumming and the forever under-appreciated Ana Gasteyer and Amy Spanger. Side Show - you can debate which version is better, but whether you prefer the original cast or the 2014 revival that changed some of the story to make it more accurate, it’s absolutely amazing. A musical based (loosely) off the true story of the conjoined Hilton twins who made a career of their oddity by working in freak shows, vaudeville, and even a few movies, though they were all critically panned. Features some of the best duets for female voices (most famously “Who Will Love Me As I Am?” and “I Will Never Leave You”). The original has Alice Ripley as one of the twins (Violet, and while I still think she screams a lot, she does a great job), and Norm Lewis as Jake. If you ever want to cry, just listen to his big song “You Should Be Loved” or the above duets. Or just read about the Hilton’s lives because it’s so depressing and the musical doesn’t even touch on that. I’m forever sad this never gets awards or the long runs it deserves. It should also be noted that Alice and her fellow twin, Emily Skinner (Daisy Hilton), were nominated together for the Tony.[title of show] - okay, this show is just...fucking........hilarious. “It’s a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical...” Just a lot of silly fun and also some great quotes, like “I’d rather be nine people’s favorite thing than a hundred people’s ninth favorite thing.” It also points out a lot of flaws in Broadway, like the lack of original musicals and how there are waaaaaaaay too many musicals based off movies lol. It’s a four person cast, all of whom are named after the people who originated the roles, and it manages to be just so funny and still inspirational and such a joy to listen to.Zanna, Don’t! - okay. so I get why most “oppressed group written as oppressors” stories are awful, like that whole “save our pearls” book or w/e that happened a few years back. But Zanna, Don’t was written by a gay man who just wanted to write some musicals with fun, catchy love songs for gay couples. So, in this world, being gay is the norm and straight people are the hated group. Zanna is an actual fairy (in high school) who matches up everyone in his town and never actually remembers to pair himself up with anyone. So when a straight A student and the quarterback of the football team fall in love...well, it finds a way to be cute, funny, and poignant all in one. Features Queer Eye “culture vulture” Jai Rodriguez in the title role and the show should get extra points for the line “what kind of world would this be if the football star wasn’t the lead in the musical??”In the Heights - not necessarily underrated so much as it’s just forgotten in Hamilton’s success. This tells the day in the life of people in Washington Heights. It also features a completely diverse cast and, imo, has some catchy songs that outdo some of Hamilton. If you don’t bawl while singing along to “Breathe” while stressing about failing at college/your dreams, what do you even do with your spare time? That used to be my most common activity.The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown - Idk if I can truly say it’s underrated since it really hasn’t been on Broadway so it’s never had a chance to get known...plus I think it’s popular among actual theater performers, but not enough of musical fans know about this. A lot of theater kids probably know “Freedom” and “Run Away With Me”, as the duet is a great choice for two women and shows a ton of depth/vocal prowess, while the solo can show a very tender male voice, but the show is more than those songs or “The Proposal” or “The Girl Who Drove Away”. The story starts with Sam sitting in her car. She’s supposed to be driving to college, but she’s fantasizing about driving away. She conjures up her best friend, Kelly, in her mind, and Kelly convinces her to relive her senior year and figure out why she wants to leave. You eventually find out Kelly died that year, and along the way you learn about Sam’s college applications, her boyfriend, and how lost she felt all year, all while still trying to learn how to drive. It’s so moving, and, honestly, “Freedom” is still a jam and probably does deserve to be one of the most famous songs from the show. The show might also inspire you to run away so...watch out for that. The bootleg I have is what inspire my love for Melissa, quite literally, since I had stopped watching g/lee at the time. The Boy from Oz - one of the better done jukebox musicals, since it focuses on the writer of those songs, and also is the best role Hugh Jackman will ever have. I’m sure a lot of people on my dash are familiar with Chris’ version of “Not the Boy Next Door” on g/lee. If you like it, you should check out Hugh performing that at the Tony’s. Anyways, it tells the life story of Peter Allen, whose songwriting credits include the above song, “I Honestly Love You”, and “Don’t Cry Out Loud”. He met Judy Garland and, of course, then met and married her daughter, Liza Minelli. I will never praise Stephanie J. Block’s Liza enough, she is perf. And, again, Hugh is flawless, and he originated the part both in Australia (Peter Allen’s home country) and then on Broadway. Getting to see the original cast in this was one of the highlights of my life.

That’s it for now. I’d also suggest checking out some classics. I didn’t put it on the list since it’s not underrated, but the original cast of Sweeney Todd is the best thing you could ever listen to - Victor Garber in his prime and Angela Landsbury is the forever best interpretation of Mrs. Lovett, #notsorry Patti. The movie version directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp is truly a disgrace compared to the actual version which has a legal taped version available for your viewing pleasure! You can see why it’s performed in opera houses nowadays!!! Though the video sadly doesn’t  have the original Anthony (Victor Garber) and the Johanna is bad...not that I’ve heard a Johanna I truly like. Rodgers and Hammerstein should at least be somewhat known, though a lot of their stories are like...gross. But Sondheim is pretty damn solid -- and if you didn’t know, he wrote the lyrics for Gypsy and West Side Story. A lot of people seem to not know that, but like he was making some big strides long before Company was a hit. Which also deserves a listen