Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2010 16:00:43 GMT
Just saw this at another site. As it makes very clear, nothing is completely verified and I doubt if it ever will be, but it makes plenty of sense to me:
Doesn't surprise me one single bit. I always felt that like hiring Rose McGowan to play Paige, rather than hiring someone who looked like a Halliwell, they should've hired someone who could act.
Apparently the Chris Perry storyline was a result of a mix of many paragons : planning , desperate need for a long term storyline , discrepancy from different scripts , luck , chance , background conflicts (Brian Krause's contract negotiations after Season 5) indecision on Brad Kern 's behalf about where to go with the character , even buzz from the media and the fans who were displeased with the separation storyline plus the lackluster actor they chose to portray such an ambiguous and difficult character . Had Mr Fuller been as accomplished of an actor as Julian McMahon who played Cole , the possibility of a spin-off is high likely . With someone who couldn ' t show how the character truly felt inside , this was not possible .
The following description is an assembly of various rumours , interviews , fan speculation in forums etc . NOTHING is solidly proven .
1) Brian Krause wanted to leave the series because he "felt tired". (as much as I love the character I believe the actor simply wanted more money for his season 6 contract and was too ashamed to admit it).
2) Meanwhile , after Cole was out of the scenery and since Wyatt was finally born , the writers wanted to find a season long story arc . The viewers were kind of unhappy with the stand-alone episodes revolving around magical creatures such as leprechauns or nymphs . They had to come up with a long term story such as the Cole-Seer subplot in Season 4 . So they decided to focus on Piper and her family . Wyatt 's dark side due to immense concentration of power seemed like an obvious choice . They peppered the last episodes of Season 5 with hints about an evil adult Wyatt (the Crone 's visions in [5.20] and the warning of Grams in [5.21] "Men are not responsible with magic and evil will eventually take over" as well as "something went wrong") .
3) The initial agreement with Brian Krause was to retain him as a recurring guest star during Season 6 (like in Season 1) . They didn 't want to write him out entirely and they knew they couldn't end his storyline abruptly . His promotion to Elder status was a fairly plausible excuse . He wouldn't be around in every episode but he would protect them silently AND make a few guest appearances (like Grams or Patty) . They even preped the seperation storyline with the broken wedding symbol in Cat House .
4) Of course the girls would be inadequate without a whitelighter . So they combined the two plots with a future warning about an Evil Wyatt with Leo 's promotion . The Titan storyline was hastily concocted without much thought so that many Elders could be effectively killed and Chris would gain trust .
5) According to a recent interview of his , Drew Fuller was originally hired for the Season 5 finale to serve this plot device . At that point even he did not know who Chris was going to be . If he was not accepted by the fans they would end it there . Brian Krause was rumoured to be departing . The studio even toyed with audience 's agony over Leo during the summer : the final scene had Leo being orbed to Valhalla and being magically locked to his cage . The studio dictated for the scene to be reshot at the last minute and Leo was blown up . During the summer however Mr Krause confirmed that he renewed his contract for a full Season .
6) Meanwhile the producers never gave an unambiguous answer as to who Chris was . Since he was half witch and half whitelighter there had to be very few choices . The obvious option was an adult Wyatt but this was merely a red herring (remember Chris 's statement : if I can't save you I swear I am going to stop you) . An early explanation was Paige 's son but this was discarded quickly .
7) When the 6th Season began the storyline was not properly organized . Although it was obvious from various clues that Chris was a relative no-one could give a straight answer . Who he was was literally changed from week to week .
8) Coincidentally Holly Marie Combs was pregnant . In the early episodes they disguised the pregnancy. Brad Kern continued to toy with the audience who waited for the Piper-Leo reconnection . At least in Chris Chrossed it was established that Chris is NOT Wyatt .
9) Half-way through the Season Brad Kern was STILL indecisive over the future : Piper and Leo 's reconciliation and the inclusion of Combs' real-life pregnancy in the script were still up in the air . Audience demand was as high as ever .
10) Brad Kern finally relented : Phoebe 's revealing vision at the end of [6.14] and the reunion of Piper and Leo in Ghostly Plane at the end of [6.16] were decided at the last minute . (in order to keep the suspense though Leo didn 't return to his family right afterwards)
11) The point is that they literally made the plot up as they went . This improvisation is the main cause of all the unanswered questions about Chris 's dystopic future (did the Titans win , did Paige die or not after the Titan attack , how did exactly Wyatt become evil , why did Leo abandon his house permanently , how and when did the Charmed Ones die , why Leo didn't stay in touch with his children etc.) .
12) The different writers as well as the lack of a common pattern was responsible for the aforementioned mess . After the big revelation they gave us subtle clues without elaborating about Chris 's life (he was orphaned when he was 14 , Victor raised him , his enstranged father never reunited with him etc.) . They were so anxious to wrap up the PRESENT storylines (Gideon 's conspiracy , Piper 's pregnancy , Chris becoming less cunning and all of the sudden start calling his parents Mom and Dad , Piper giving birth , Piper and Leo getting back together) that they ditched any substantial background on Chris . Once the Big Question was answered to calm down the fans their enigmatic character was redundant .
Mr Fuller 's low popularity among the fans didn't help much either . Although Chris Chrossed was the episode with the most viewers ever, the viewership very quickly dropped off to the series' lowest . Brad Kern knew that Fuller and his character were essentially a liability and during the last episodes he decided to wrap his convoluted storyline with a dramatic death . (when the news was leaked during the scripting stages of the 6th Season finale with Evil Universe NO ONE was surprised) .
Drew Fuller has admitted in interviews that his storyline was expanded to the maximum degree feasible . He also said he was very pleased with the show (evidenced that he returned later as a guest star) .
Doesn't surprise me one single bit. I always felt that like hiring Rose McGowan to play Paige, rather than hiring someone who looked like a Halliwell, they should've hired someone who could act.
I never realised how much the fanbase didn't like these two.
