Episode 2.01 So It Begins

[Nerf]

Watched "Witch Trial" today and it got me in a S2/Prue era mood, which motivated me to get back to reading this series. As you know, I read this episode looong ago and don't know how I ever got off track. Anyway, I have re-read the episode so as to refresh myself. Here are a few quick thoughts.

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Reading this episode for a second time makes me wonder if you got the inspiration for the college issues (cutting classes and activities, but rising fees) from some similar issues at your school. If that's the case, it's always cool when someone draws from their own personal experiences. If not, then it's still cool. The plot of that was played out very well, with a clear understanding of the issues. It's always tough when reading a fic and the person doesn't really know much about the topic they are writing about.

Glad Phoebe is back at school and that it happens right at the start of the season, giving Phoebe a clear direction right from the get go.

SO glad there is no sign of Dan. As I said, I was watching "Witch Trial" tonight and that guy just bothers me. It's no wonder Jenny doesn't like him and can't talk to him when the guy can't even pronounce her name correctly (always pronounced it like "Ginny"). You have a good addition of some new characters. I really like Ryan.

Speaking of, I am really glad you toned down Prue's flirting from the original draft to this one. I remember saying to you that I thought she was way too receptive to Ryan in the original. In this one it is so much more realistic, with her mostly just politely returning his smiles in the office, along with her hesitation at the end of the episode. It's a good start to that relationship, and I know you deal greatly with Prue dealing with Andy's death in the next episode, so I look forward to that and then seeing where this relationship with Ryan will go.

I found Piper's scenes to be the most comical. I love it whenever she freezes the scene when she just needs a moment to deal. It's a good thing she didn't have molecular combustion at this point, as she may have blown up that jerk plumber. I'm surprised she didn't fire him, but I guess she can't afford to do that right now. As for her club, while I am happy with the club thing I just wonder why you didn't choose to go in a different direction with her career, since you had the chance. I think the show mainly had her open a club so that they could draw in people with the bands and get more money, so I wonder why you didn't have her try to open a restaurant, since you don't need bands to up ratings. Or even have her pick another job, as you were really free to have her do anything at this point. I don't have a problem with the club at all, I'm just wondering why you chose it.

It's also fun with the club having a lot more problems. It was touched on briefly on the show, but I'm glad it is a much bigger issue here. I also know that in episode three there's the connection between this episode of having to take out and build a new wall in the bathroom and what then happens in that episode, which I am really excited to read about. Anyway, it's a cool link up.

I already said it before, but I really enjoyed the Shak'ta. A very interesting race. I do hope we learn more about them in the future. I also wish we could have learned what their debt to the Dean was, along with how he is connected to magical beings with him being a mortal, but I guess it's not too necessary. I do wonder what Madame Executive wanted with the Shak'ta. Obviously, to control them, albeit indirectly, but for what specific purpose did she want them? Hmm... Speaking of, I love the addition of ME. Ali Larter is a great choice. The show rarely had really interesting, smart and calculating villains, so it is refreshing to see that here. Even though we only got a brief glimpse of her here, I can tell that that's the type of villain she is. I'm excited to learn more about her, along with the demons in the suits. I said it in my first review, but I love how they changed into those creepy, skeletal beings. Looking forward to finding out more about them and what they are.

I also wanted to mention that it is refreshing to have a story where the Charmed Ones aren't as powerful. Well, they are powerful, but I mean... they aren't S8 powerful, where they can orb everywhere in the blink of an eye and blow demons up with the flick of the wrist. While I enjoy that kind of stuff, it's nice to have an alternate season of S2, where they were still pretty new to the craft. It makes things more challenging for them and more interesting for us readers.

All in all, this is a very good start to what I know is a great series. Interesting plot, some new characters, several plot lines set up for episodes to come, and good interaction between the sisters. You have a good handle on their characters and writing their dialogue and interaction with each other, which is probably the most important thing. Good work. I really enjoyed it. It was good to see some of my nitpicks from earlier had been assuaged and the episode tightened up and made better. I'll certainly be getting to the second episode soon. I have read about half of it before, so it should be easy to jump back into it.

Heh. My "quick thoughts" turned out a little long.

[Reyn]

If memory serves correctly, Nerf - you were the first to review BAM way back when, so thankyou not only for that, but for these shiny new comments!

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The plot issues were indeed from my own university, and were actually changed mid episode to better reflect what was going on here. Originally I had Miranda being taken by the Shak'ta mid protest rally, but changed it when the protest rally the scene was going to be based on was cancelled here. And thanks for the compliment - I appreciate it. I always try to be as factually correct as possible, as I know how annoying it is to read a fanfic where the author obviously does not know anything about their subject matter.

Glad you enjoyed Phoebe being at college from the start of the show - the opening scene was definitely made better by your suggestions, so thank you for those.

Dan annoyed me as well, but mainly because I felt his character was never really defined – he was merely the ‘other man’ brought in to spice up the Piper/Leo relationship. Happy to hear you like Ryan though. He is so devilishly scrumptious.

Regarding the club – I chose to keep the nightclub element for two reasons. One, because I’m a fan of the girls having a central place to congregate that is not the Manor (because things can’t always happen there). I always loved both The Library (for Buffy) and The Hyperion Hotel (for Angel) because of the way they enabled the characters to interact with one another. Yes, charmed has The Manor for that reason – but to be honest I think another place is needed to balance out the ‘where we live’ and ‘where we work’ aspect. Plus the girls need a place they can kick back and enjoy themselves, and for season 2 that place will be Alchemy. I also wanted to bring in another plot element that centres around the club, and I felt it wouldn’t make sense to have what is discovered at the club be discovered at another place (ie a restaurant). The club is more than a club – it is it’s own character (as 2.03 attests). Thank you for asking about that, though – it was a question I haven’t been asked before and I appreciate the chance to answer it

Glad to hear you enjoyed the link-ups – I find continuity one of the most important things to a show, and I always love when little things are brought up and link up in later episodes. Those things become like little shout-outs to everyone paying close attention.

The Shak’ta will definitely make a re-appearance later in the season. As to what Madame E wants from them – SPOILERS AHEAD – the Shak’ta are immune to active magic – if someone were to figure out how they manage this – well, they’d be pretty much invincible (from a fighting against those with powers point of view).

Very happy to hear you liked Ali as Madame E – she is indeed a very calculating baddie, and I think Ali suits the role fantastically well. And to think originally I had Josie Maran down for Madame E, but changed just before I released 2.01.

I, too enjoy seeing the girls when they are still new to their powers and the world they find themselves in. I think the first few seasons of a show are always the most fascinating, because you are still learning about the world and the characters that populate it. Later seasons, although they can be fantastic, sometimes suffer the ‘our characters are so powerful there’s no-one that can beat them, they can’t possibly lose’ curse that sucks all the suspense out of the show. It’s fun to write the sisters when they still have doubts and don’t think they know everything there is to know about magic.

Glad to see you enjoyed the episode, Nerf, and thank you again for all your comments – they helped immensely in the re-write and as I mentioned before I think they definitely made the episode better! Here’s hoping you enjoy 2.02 as well!

Thank you for the review, Nerf – and hey, long ‘quick thoughts’ are so much better than short ones

[melindacharm]

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I like this, its different and I am looking forward to the next chapter, however I find that the characters were somewhat rushed. Like they seemed to be in a hurry all the time for meaningless or not too urgent things. Like as if they were going to fight demons who wouldnt be showing up until too much later.

Another thing I agree apon waas that Prue and this teacher guy would possibly make a good couple. The way you are writting them out to be. I find that the characters personalities are well done. They capture the characters well and the time frame of this season with the relationship of the sisters.

I feel impressed with the fact that you can carry a story concerning the sister's lives for awhile without action and have it still be interesting.. Its hard to explain. Overall its good though.

The description was good you could picture it, as was the linesmen, I could only read until CUT LINE TO- Police station - Day. Seeing as I only started now. Very busy lately.

[Reyn]

Hey there melindacharm! (do you prefer melindacharm, or Amanda?)

Thankyou for the review - it's a real treat to have a new reader!

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I appreciate your mention of the episode feeling a bit too rushed - I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing, so it is always good to hear thoughts from others. Just so I understand what you are saying - do you mean that you felt the episode dealt a lot with unimportant things, and that when the sisters did confront the demons, things were over too quickly? Like there was this buildup and then a too quick resolution?

Good to hear you like the idea of a Prue/Ryan relationship! And thankyou for your compliment about the sisters personalities - I really appreciate that.

I'm also glad you liked the balance between the action and the sister's personal lives - it's quite a hard thing to get that right, and I do worry sometimes that there's a little too much talking going on and not enough action. I'm very glad to hear that you could picture what was unfolding from the description - I also sometimes wonder if my descriptions are enough, so I'm beyond pleased that you could picture everything going on!

Ahh - the curse of being busy! It's the worst. Here's hoping you get to pick up the rest of the story sometime

Thanks for the review, melindacharm! I very much enjoyed reading your thoughts, and I hope to see you sticking around the alternate season 2 forums

[melindacharm]

Yes, I too understand the hazards of being busy. I run a charmed site as well, and its getting harder because now I am getting more working hours. So what can you do? and thanks, i didnt think you would enjoy my commentary as much as you did.

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what I really meant about the episodes was not that the episode itself was rushed. I found it had a good pase, just the fact that the sisters were always rushing to do things that I found held less importance. For example the sisters were not focussing much on the demonic matters and more on there real life aspects. Phoebe's schooling, Piper's club. Etc. I plan to stay and become an active members, but I cannot say yet what my hours will be on this site. They might vary.
I am now at CUT to: MANOR - KITCHEN - NIGHT

[Reyn]

Running a charmed site and having work as well must be a trial sometimes!

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Ahh I see what you mean now. Thank you again for the comments - hopefully as the first episode sets everything up for the season, you'll find the next few episodes have a lot less of the sisters personal life problems and more of the demon/magic angle

[melindacharm]

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I agree, I am seeing it more and more as I read along. The stories are becoming ever more interesting.

[Reyn]

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Very happy to hear that, melindacharm I like to think that the episodes get better as they go along as my writing improves. I see you have left a few more reviews for the other episodes (thank you for those!) so I'll respond to those a.s.a.p!

[melindacharm]

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Not a problem, I actually like leaving reviews. Getting in the habit of it. Lol. I wil start episode 5 tonight.

[Active Engaged]

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Okay, I've really wanted to read this for so long, but I dislike script format, so I just shoved it under the rug. So, now I'm going to read this, and hopefully get into the series.

So far the episode is nice. You've managed to keep the "We're sisters that happen to be witches" rather than "Our lives revolve around magic and that's it." something that I feel s vital to charmed fanfictions. So I applaud you for doing it so well.

"He has grey skin and two curved horns protruding from his head."
Why couldn't all demons have an actual demonic form. I think this was one of the many problems charmed had at the end of the series. Fans just didn't want to see a human as a "big scary demon" and seeing as every demon had the same objective: "Kill the COs and steal their powers" the writers could have made a small effort to make the demons a little more interesting.

Sorry. I'm rambling.

The grey hooded demons seem interesting, and definately different. I know the demon is called Arcas and is connected to Phoebe, but I really want to know more.

Wow, that must be one cheesy pizza for it to get stuck on Prue's shoe and I love how she uses her power to remove it.Lol. It's nice that there's some comedy mixed into the episode, followed by sisterly moments.

"PHOEBE
Does this mean I get free drinks, now?"
Lol. Charmed 4x02 =P.

I actually really enjoyed the episode. I may actually read on to find out more about Madame Executive. As for the actual plot of the episode, it was great, a real season opener. It has opened millions of possibilities, wheras the charmed openers were rather... closed [?]. The writing was good, well as far as script writing can go, but I feel that you could have mixed in some prose when describing what was going on.

[Ren]

Soo I may or may not be doing something slightly naughty.... like let's say, for instance, reading the first episode of your alternate season 2 during my Arthurian Tradition class?

It's entirely not my fault. If the lecture wasn't so boring, and focusing on a canterbury tale I've only read thirty two billion times, maybe my laptop wouldn't have turned itself on and clicked on the forum page. Just throwing that out there. Thanks for the welcome on the other thread, by the way . There's so much to read here, and I can't wait to start making a dent in it all.

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If I could start off by asking what I'm assuming is going to sound like a stupid question; what's the difference between the alternate season 2, and the alternate season 2 webisodes? I clicked on the webisode option first, just because it was right there on the homepage, but I got less than a page into it before I realized I didn't know who any of the characters were, and that didn't make sense if it was supposed to basically be picking up where the first season left off. I've got it all figured out now, obviously, lol, but I'm just curious.

The opening scene is perfect. It was so entirely Prue, and I'm smiling to myself like an idiot right now. The interaction between Piper and Prue was just as wonderful. The best part of the early seasons - in my opinion - is how easy it is to see their actions as that of real siblings. When I first started watching, I was absolutely blown away by how exactly certain phrases and quirks mirrored behaviour between myself and my sisters/brother/cousins. And I wasn't really thinking about it when I first clicked on the link, but of COURSE your writing is going to capture a lot of that, considering it is a second season series. I just reached a whole new level of excitement.

Aah, Prue. I think that’s your cue. What are you waiting for?

I’ve never actually read fanfic in script form before. I’ve never formed an opinion on it at all one way or another since I’ve never come across it, and right now I can’t figure out if it’s the script style, or if you’re just that brilliant, but I see EVERYTHING flawlessly in my head (maybe it’s a combination of the two, haha).

I love that they’re still relatively new to their powers, and have a pretty limited idea of the extent of their abilities. You get so accustomed to them being able to kick the average demon’s ass with no effort, given their proficiency with scrying and potions and spells (not to mention Piper’s exploding power) that it’s refreshing to see Piper and Phoebe outside the attic, running around a campus searching for friends and classmates in an effort to find clues to lead them to the demon. They come SO far over the course of the show… it makes me proud in a weird sort of way .


The conversation between Prue and Phoebe in the elevator was perfect; the way Phoebe tried to jump in and help, and the way Prue immediately went into lockdown the moment Andy was mentioned. I’m excited to see how you have Prue’s feelings regarding Andy’s death come to a head.

The potions worked!

You mean there was a chance they
wouldn't?

;D Priceless.

Ryan was too cute, tripping all over himself to please Prue during her and Phoebe’s meet with him. I was kind of annoyed by Phoebe’s annoyance with Prue… the girl just suffered a pretty big loss; she’s not out to steal Phoebe’s little crush. Phoebe should know her better than that. Although, I did quickly forgive her, given the way she hilariously teased Prue back at the manor. No one can get under sibling skin the way early season Phoebe could. She reminds me so much of my younger sister it’s ridiculous. Quite often, all I can do is shake my head when she says/does certain things and just laugh.


It was nice to see you introduce scrying. I’m looking forward to seeing the new and different ways the girls discover all the little magical things they came across in season 2, or if they even discover them. It’s an alternate season… who knows, right? Well… I guess you do, but let’s not get technical now, lol.

When the girls took the Dean’s office by storm and the Shak’ta leader bowed to them before splitting and leaving them alone with the Dean, I did the online equivalent to what I so often find myself doing when I’m watching a detective show and they pull in that red herring just before they catch the actual culprit… I went, “It can’t be that easy… there’s no way…” and glanced at the side scrollbar to see how much of the page I had left to go through, in lieu of glancing automatically at the clock to see how much time was left, haha. When I caught myself, I laughed out loud a little. Not too blatantly though… I AM still in class, lol. Then, sure enough, another guy comes out of NOWHERE and kidnaps the Dean right from under their noses. Classic.

Plus, I find a woman who uses datebooks completely irresistible and extremely sexy.

hehe, I am loving Ryan. I really hope he stays awhile. A lot of the cute and funny guys tend to die off quickly on Charmed, to be survived by the far less cute, far more annoying guys. Richard. Leslie. Ahem.

Madame Executive. That is one badass name. I can’t wait to see what other wicked things she has up her sleeve.

I really, really enjoyed this story. My reading week is next week, and I’m skipping out a little early (Thursday), and I’m so, SO pumped that there are so many more episodes for me to read, because the two and a half hour bus ride/five and a half hour train ride I have ahead of me then? Not as stimulating as one would think. I’m sure the person who sits beside me would thank you if they could for providing me with entertainment for the trip, and subsequently keeping my attention deficit heel tapping to a minimum.

[Terry]

I just know that Reyn is gonna love your review ;D I laughed nearly out loud reading it myself. And the fact that you basically broke uni rules just to read it is going to make her extatic!

Anyway, I won't reply to your review, because that's Tash's (Reyn) first and foremost right. I'll just comment on this:

Feb 24, 2010 3:55:25 GMT Ren said:

If I could start off by asking what I'm assuming is going to sound like a stupid question; what's the difference between the alternate season 2, and the alternate season 2 webisodes? I clicked on the webisode option first, just because it was right there on the homepage, but I got less than a page into it before I realized I didn't know who any of the characters were, and that didn't make sense if it was supposed to basically be picking up where the first season left off. I've got it all figured out now, obviously, lol, but I'm just curious.

The webisodes are just little snippets of the larger story but that wouldn't fit well into the actual episodes because Tash has already too much material to make it all stick in in itself. So she's added webisodes the way some shows have their own webisodes on their official websites. The one you saw, The Favor, is the first she wrote, but in regards to the story itself, it stands between 2x14 and 2x15. Tash has said there would be webisodes on many a character, especially the new ones.

[Ren]

Haha, sometimes I'm all about the rule breaking. I'm kind of renowned for doing really random (occasionally really stupid) things when I'm bored/procrastinating. My roommate is always wary of leaving me alone in our apartment when she knows I have copious amounts of essays I need to get done in a really short window of time, and I'm not really in the mood to do them.

She comes home to ONE little fire, ONE time, and suddenly I need a babysitter. (AND, I would like to point out that it was just a sock. Granted, it was her sock, but still. It really could have been worse.)

Thanks so much for the explanation, Terry; it's a really neat concept. I didn't realize it was somewhat common practice for a lot of shows though; I'm going to have to keep a lookout from now on. I live for extra tidbits. I guess I'm just going to have to read extra fast so that I can get started on Reyn's .

[Reyn]

Terry was right – I did love that review. In fact, it made my day – so thanks, Ren – means a lot!

And oo – an Arthurian Tradition class! Sounds exciting! Perhaps not that particular class, but I’m guessing you cover some pretty interesting topics?

Some comments to your uber awesome review:

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Terry, being the fantastic guy that he is, has already answered the webisodes question – but I’m glad you brought that up as I can see how confusing it would be to new readers if they read that first. It’s listed first on the site because it’s the most recent release, but I should probably stick to only posting the latest episode releases rather than the webisodes on the main page to avoid any confusion. Hopefully you didn’t read too much, since that particular webisode would have a major spoiler in it for those new to the series.

I definitely agree with you about the interaction between the sisters being one of the best parts of the show. The sister vs sister ribbing that happened during the earlier seasons was part of what made the show for me, and I admit to feeling a little let down towards the end of the show’s run when those sorts of moments became less and less frequent. Part of the reason I loved the first few seasons more than the final few is because of the dynamic between the characters, and the way they had to rely on each other more than they seemed to towards the end of the show. You got that feeling of ‘connectedness’ in the first few seasons, and although it was present in the final few, it was a different type of connectedness.

Thank you very much for your compliment about being able to ‘see’ the action unfold! That means a lot. I try to maintain a balance between providing enough information to allow the scenes to come to life, but not enough that the description becomes overwhelming and gets in the way. Mostly, I have an image as to what is going on in the scene, and I try to transcribe what I see in my head to paper. I’m very happy to hear that in this episode – the balance was just right

I agree with liking the ‘new to their powers’ dynamic that an earlier season lets you write about. That was one of the pro’s for writing an early alternate season – it lets you play around with the ‘we’re still new to all this’ vibe the sisters had – and it’s great to have them actually work for the information they need, rather than them just knowing it straightaway, or, in the case of Piper, simply relying on her uber powers to get them through.

Prue’s feelings regarding Andy’s death are primarily dealt with in the second episode (which I see you’ve already read – yay! – I look forward to seeing your comments) but there will be some lingering thoughts and a few lines about that relationship in future episodes.

Ooo! A Ryan fan! That’s totally endeared you to me, just so you know I’ll send you your ‘Team Ryan’ tshirt in the mail Ryan’s a fun character who will definitely be sticking around – he’s a major player in the storyline and he’s the start of the girls potential romances being more than just the 1 episode plot points they seemed to turn into post season 3. I really disliked that about Charmed – that the men were just there as romantic foils for the women, and really only factored into storylines because of their love for one of the charmed ones. I much preferred Leo’s character when he was his own character, and not simply Piper’s lovestruck fool. That’s something I hope to change in BAM.

You know, season 2 Phoebe is so much fun to write! I didn’t think she would be – but her carefree nature and sarcastic humor is really enjoyable to play with. Prue’s so very stoic and Piper can be serious and restrained at times too, but if Phoebe wants to do something, she does it (within reason, of course). I really like her ‘go for it’ outlook and although it often gets her in trouble, I think her sister’s wouldn’t want her any other way either. Despite her outlook, however, she doesn’t have much luck in the love department, though – although that might change soon.

Ha! Side scrollbar glancing – I love that! Best comment ever But yes – there are quite a few red herrings in the episodes. I do love a good mystery. And of course there’s some real hints hidden within the episodes that relate to major plot points and identities of key players that reveal themselves in later episodes. There’s enough hints spread around the episodes that you could discover major plot points before they are revealed, if you catch all the hints (and avoid the red herrings that are there too, of course).

And holy heck that’s a long commute! Whatever do you do to pass the time? You must have a massive number of songs loaded on an ipod or something – because whilst I enjoy my travel time, a five and a half hour train ride does not sound fun at all. Especially when you just know that the weirdo train commuter will choose that day to sit next to you.

Thanks for the review, Ren! As I said before – I loved reading it – and it’s always a joy to welcome a new reader into the BAM fold. Here’s hoping you enjoy the following episodes just as much!

And hey – what did that sock ever do to you, huh?

Also - if you live for extra tidbits - I think you'll like BAM. It's tidbit overload around here sometimes.

[Ren]

Ha, I’m so glad I could brighten your day! One of us deserves to be happy, and since I’m going to be stuck on a train for the rest of my day, it might as well be you . Honestly though, as much as I tend to complain about it, the train itself is not that bad. The two and a half hour bus ride before it is the part that I resent the crap out of. Once I’m on the train, I can just relax and know that it’s smooth sailing out to the city . And yeah, I definitely know how to prepare myself for the journey by this point, haha. I’ve got two movies downloaded to my laptop to watch, should I so desire, AND, I am a music junkie, lol. My ipod is so stocked, I don’t think you can even imagine. There is everything from Britney Spears to Bob Dylan to Blondie to Bullet for my Valentine on this puppy. As for the weirdos, as long as they respect the arm rest divider between the seats, we’re cool. I don’t do well with space-invasion-by-stranger.

Arthurian Tradition is glorious. It’s a little frustrating at times, because not only do the legends change depending on the author, but the relations do as well. So I need to keep in mind that, in this story, Mordred is Arthur’s nephew, but in this one, he’s his incest sired son, and in this story, he’s his cousin. And so on and so forth for practically ALL the characters. It goes from a person being Arthur’s aunt, to being his cousin, to being his friend’s mother (whom he’s not related to at all by blood) and it means I have to check the sources I’m referencing like, five hundred billion times when I write the papers, haha. But yeah. It’s a pretty good time.

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I don’t think The webisode thing is a big deal as it stands. I have practically no common sense whatsoever, and I still figured out within a few lines that I was in the wrong spot.

I am 100% with you on the early season ‘connectedness’ front. I’m actually pretty new to the series… I only started watching it not this past Christmas, but the one before that. It’s been just over a year for me. One of my roommates (who graduated last year) loved it, and she had all the seasons, and I would randomly walk into the living room while she was watching them and sometimes sit for a minute or two. The first episode I watched with her all the way through was “Black as Cole,” and I had no idea what was going on or how any of their powers worked, so – because I’m easily bored and more of a smartass than usual when I start getting restless – I kept asking annoying questions, and pointing out annoying inconsistencies between what she was explaining to me and what I was watching, and she got fed up and told me I wasn’t allowed to say another word until I watched a whole season from the beginning, haha. From the moment the power went off in the premiere, and Piper was all ready to storm out of the manor and head for the hills to avoid getting killed like some person in a movie, I fell in love, lol. It was like watching a scene out of my own life. There were just so many subtle, little quirks and add-ins that made it brilliant sibling wise, in my mind. And that was the version of the show that first enraptured me. You’re right… they were obviously still connected in certain ways by the end, but it just wasn’t the same.

I am definitely feeling the love for Ryan, haha. I will wear that t-shirt with pride. And I agree with you on the Leo front, unfortunately, since I really do love him and Piper dearly. He was much better when he had a clear mind of his own, and he called her out on being wrong when she was instead of rolling his eyes behind her back and waiting for resentment on both their parts to boil to the point where they just had these yelling matches that never actually solved anything. I could write Piper/Leo stuff from now until the cows came home, they’re in my top three/four couples ever, but it doesn’t really change the truth. I tend to take creative licences and write the versions of them I like best, lol. I’m looking forward to your changes.

I think your outlook on season 2 Phoebe is why she was always just so happy in the early seasons. She had this great, positive take on life, and she didn’t let herself get caught up worrying about the little things the way that Prue and Piper so often did. And then there was that mischievous streak, haha. She was SUCH a troublemaker. I loved that she was always stirring things up and then dragging one of the more conservative other two into her schemes; the love spell with Piper, the truth spell with Prue… she was great! She was refreshing and vibrant, and kind of a slut, and impossible not to love .

As for the red herrings? Bring ‘em. I love a challenge! Although I tend to get uber frustrated in my overexcitement, so expect reviews where I start a theory, then discard it, then start the same theory, then discard it for the second time, and then end in a cry of, “Why are you doing this to me?!”

My last point? The sock. Socks, in themselves are confining and gross and make your feet all warm in your shoes and there are always inside fluffies that stick to you when you take them off… I HATE socks. If I lived somewhere that didn’t have snow eight months of the year, I would be rocking the flip flops 24/7. Sarah’s sock, however, was really set aflame due to convenience….. I was working on a paper at the kitchen table, she left her full laundry basket on the chair beside me, there was a lighter sitting on top of the table…. Really, I don’t think it’s that much of a leap. Any reasonable person could have been tempted to do the same. Either way, it was either the sock or her favourite bar shirt, so you’d THINK she would have been a little more gracious about how certain events went down .

[Terry]

Feb 25, 2010 17:34:56 GMT Ren said:

Arthurian Tradition is glorious. It’s a little frustrating at times, because not only do the legends change depending on the author, but the relations do as well. So I need to keep in mind that, in this story, Mordred is Arthur’s nephew, but in this one, he’s his incest sired son, and in this story, he’s his cousin. And so on and so forth for practically ALL the characters. It goes from a person being Arthur’s aunt, to being his cousin, to being his friend’s mother (whom he’s not related to at all by blood) and it means I have to check the sources I’m referencing like, five hundred billion times when I write the papers, haha. But yeah. It’s a pretty good time.

Oh, and now you get the new British "Merlin" show, where Mordred is but a little boy, a druid in no way related to Arthur ;D But you're right. I once chose to write an essay on Arthurian myths and just gave up and did Charmed instead. :$

[Ren]

Feb 25, 2010 18:40:33 GMT Terry said:

I once chose to write an essay on Arthurian myths and just gave up and did Charmed instead. :$

Niiiiice. I am all in favour of that kind of behaviour. And it's a totally jusifiable decision, too; even taking into account the frequent inconsistencies of Charmed, it's still way more consistent than "facts" pertaining to Arthuriana. So really, you weren't giving up... you were very maturely opting to go with a superior topic. Yep. Congratulations are definitely in order for that one.

[Reyn]

Active – I hope the script format of the episode didn’t put you off too much! Some comments:

SPOILER: Click to show

I’ve always thought the physical appearance of the demons was just as, if not more important than their powers or backstories. Appearance has such an impact, and it’s a shame that later seasons Charmed simply went the ‘demons can look like humans, just tweaked a bit!’ route. I understand it because of budget cuts, but since I have no such problems I can be as freaky out of this world as I like.

Happy to hear you enjoyed the comedy of the episode – I try to have a balance between the drama moments and the more lighthearted sisterly exchanges. Some episodes will be more drama heavy, but there will always be a few sisterly jibes thrown in. They’re just so fun to do not to include them!

Thanks for your review, and I’m glad you enjoyed the episode, Active! I take your point about including more description, and I’ll try to do more of that in upcoming episodes. My problem is that I usually have way too many ‘scenes’ to cover in an episode, and cutting down the description is the quickest way for me to fit everything in. I usually have to decide whether to explain something in depth, or include another dialogue scene - as a dialogue fan, that option usually wins out.

I have started experimenting with actual prose stories in the BAM universe, though – so look out for them in the future.

Ren - I don’t know how you concentrate in that Arthurian Tradition class. I know I’d be sitting there thinking “Oh my goodness, that would make the best idea for a plotline” or “hmm, if I tweak that particular idea, it would make a really awesome baddie…” And that’s on top of the fact that Arthurian Tradition is just about the coolest subject ever. I am jealous that you study such a thing!

Now, since you’ve been particularly awesome and read all the currently released episodes, I can respond to your uber fantastic reviews with reference to the series as a whole. So, with that in mind:

SPOILER: Click to show

I’m hoping to release a few more webisodes in between the upcoming episode and the next, because I enjoy writing them so much. Unfortunately, the ‘optional’ nature of the webisode means I often can’t put as much description into them as I’d like, because technically they exist outside of canon, and not everyone will be reading them. However, they are so much fun to write, and the gap between episodes necessitates I release something just to show I’m still around and working on BAM.

I can imagine the look on your friend when you started asking all those questions! The poor thing! I have a friend who likes to ask questions whilst we’re watching movies – things like “Whoah – who killed that guy? Was it the policemen dude? You know, that one that was acting shifty.” and I have to remind her that we’re watching the exact same movie, have seen the exact same scene, and I know as much about what was just shown as she does. Gotta love quirky friend traits. Back to topic – I’ll always maintain that early season Charmed was Charmed at its best. Perhaps I’m blinded by the fact that in the early seasons everything was new and fantastic and unique and Prue was still involved, but the later seasons never had the same ‘magic’ to them (if you’ll pardon the pun).

I like the Piper/Leo relationship and it is really fun to write the teasing side of their pairing, but I agree with you that Leo was better when he was his own person. As much as he’s the girls whitelighter, he’s also a character with his own history, and just focusing on one dimension of his character (whether that be the whitelighter angle or the love interest angle) doesn’t do justice to him. I’ve tried to bring in a juicy backstory for him this season with his previous ‘charge’ that ties into the wider storyline, and I think the events leading up to the season finale are really going to affect Leo and challenge his core beliefs. Whatever happens to him – he’s going to play a very important role in the season ending cliffhanger.

I really like early season Phoebe – her sense of humor and throw caution to the wind attitude is so refreshing, and perfectly balances the seriousness of Prue and Piper. I love her positive attitude and her almost wide-eyed curiosity with magic – but I also like my mystery and my drama – so don’t expect Phoebe to be innocent and carefree for long. She has a lot of deep stuff coming her way.

I’ve been reading your theories and I have to say – you were pretty accurate with a lot of them! (With that said, I am beyond happy I got you with the Ryan reveal – that scene is up there in my top 5 ‘favourite scenes to write’ – along with the Prue/Piper/Phoebe discovery of who Ryan really is which is in the next episode) But back to the hints in the episodes – each episode had at least 1 true hint and 1 red herring – a few episodes had more than 3 true hints/red herrings each – regarding the ‘Who is the man/who is the agent’ mystery. They were lots of fun to include, and I think they make the episodes fun to re-read because they have that ‘oh, I can’t believe I didn’t see that!’ effect once you know certain things that are revealed later (or at least I hope they do, as that was the intention).

Additionally, there are also a lot of little interest points dotted throughout the episodes on a variety of different things. Most have been picked up by people reading, but there are still a few off the cuff remarks/comments/events that haven’t been highlighted.

And since I have to ask – what happened to the other sock?

[Ren]

Sometimes concentrating is a pretty big problem for me, lol. My mind flits to about a hundred different places in the blink of an eye… it’s funny you bring it up though, because I really do spend a lot of time thinking about random characters/theories brought up during the lectures. Sometimes I do a little running commentary of hypothetical scenarios I make up as we go to the friend that sits beside me. She hates it, lol. I’m the infuriating kid who distracts others, but not before I'm certain I have something smart/insightful to add to the discussion, so I can raise my hand and put in my two cents and have my prof look at me approvingly while she glares at the person I’ve just provoked into a giggle fit. My restlessness combined with a three hour night class combined with knights battling each other combined with an overactive imagination makes me a pretty dangerous friend to have in that class, lol. Chaucer and post-modern literature II are kicking my butt a little bit this semester, but Arthurian Tradition is just grand, 12th century soap opera, hyper dramatic fun. I’m sure you’d love it.

Literally like, two things. I promise I will be SO fast!

SPOILER: Click to show

I am so, SO pumped for Leo’s back story. I already was before, and now, listening to you talk about your diabolical plans has revved me up all over again. Awesome. Not so much excited for the cruel cliffhanger though, lol. I’m looking forward to seeing you shake up Leo’s core beliefs… I feel like there was a lot of opportunity to do that in the sixth/early seventh season, and the first time I watched, I was really expecting it to go somewhere, and then it just… didn’t. Which left me wondering what the point had been in screwing around so much. I just hope you don’t kill him; I would be kind of devastated, and I wouldn’t even put it past you, haha. I’d for sure keep reading even if you did, but I would bitch and bitch and bitch and you would rue the day, woman ;D.

I was stunned beyond belief at the Ryan thing, lol. I think I mentioned Fight Club in my review of that chapter, and that’s what your comment reminded me of yet again. Because I don’t think there is anyone in the world who goes back to watch the movie again without thinking, “Really? I didn’t catch that? Seriously?” (the points that always make me shake my head and go, “Serena, you’re an idiot” are always the quick flashes of Tyler, and the basement stair scene) Since then there have been a lot of films that have explored the whole subconscious/split personality deal, but it's got to the point where you pretty much see it coming whenever they try. Even the Sixth Sense didn't get me... I think it may have technically come out before Fight Club, but I saw Fight Club first... soo it's kind of my one true love surprise wise. Anway, I'm getting way off track. My point is, I’ve already done the beating-myself-up-because-I'm-a-tool-who-didn't-figure-it-out-the-first-time-around thing with a couple of your episodes when I’ve gone back and skimmed them, lol. I love it. Also, it probably goes without saying that I’m hella-stoked for the Piper/Phoebe/Prue Ryan reveal next episode. I’m thinking you should get on the webisode posting to tide me over until you’re ready to hand 2.15 to the eager masses.

It pains me to admit that the other sock was left on my bed as a present, waiting for me when I got home from class the next day. Sounds surprisingly tame, right? Yeah. Until you learn that said sock was soaked out back in the Massawippi first. Disgusting. It took me the rest of the night to get the smell of wet dog out of my room/mattress. I don’t know what it is, but the two of us seem to bring out the ten year old in each other. You’d never know we were going on twenty two .