"Charmed" It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World: Part 1 (2004)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Jon Paré

Writers:

Constance M. Burge (creator)
Jeannine Renshaw (writer)

TV Series:

"Charmed" (1998)

Original Air Date:

16 May 2004 (Season 6, Episode 22)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

Gideon creates a portal that puts Chris and Leo in a mirrored world where evil prevails, and Phoebe and Paige travel to the parallel universe to rescue them. Meanwhile, Piper gives birth to baby Chris. |

Plot Keywords:

Wiccan | Sisters | Witchcraft | Demon | Power Of Three

Cast

Alyssa Milano	...	Phoebe Halliwell
Rose McGowan	...	Paige Matthews
Holly Marie Combs	...	Piper Halliwell
Brian Krause	...	Leo Wyatt
Drew Fuller	...	Chris Halliwell
Dorian Gregory	...	Darryl Morris
Billy Drago	...	Barbas
Sandra Prosper	...	Sheila Morris
Jenya Lano	...	Inspector Sheridan
Betsy Randle	...	Mrs. Winterbourne
Gildart Jackson	...	Gideon
Lorna Scott	...	Mrs. Noble
Blake Robbins	...	Patrol Officer

Runtime:

42 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Certification:

Mexico:B | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The title is from the movie It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963).

Quotes:

Piper Halliwell: It's okay. We've been through worse. We'll get through this. We'll figure it out. And if you get back to the future and we're in jail, you just have to bust us out. You just go back to that beautiful, peaceful world that you helped create. I'm really gonna miss you.

Movie Connections:

References It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)

Cosmic imbalance on a huge scale !

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The season's finale finally kicks in, and it's got everything to please : emotion, great magical elements with effective special FX, high stakes, a few hilarious moments, a lot of good action and even a jaw-dropping cliffhanger.

We begin with the emotion, as the family says farewell to Chris before sending him back to his time. Except that thanks to Gideon's meddling, Leo and Chris get stranded in an evil dimension which is absolutely similar to the good world... but evil. The paradox is mind-boggling (how can it be the same if they're evil ? How could they be doing the same jobs and loving the same people ? What does Phoebe write about in her column ? And how on earth do these twin cell phones work anyway ?) but it offers some really brilliant opportunities. For example, we never see Leo and Chris talk about their feelings, but their counterparts do. And Gideon seems to be having a great time with himself. Narcissistic much ? At any rate, he's the most balanced guy ever !

Anyway, the transitions from one character to his/her counterpart are flawless, and the mirrored fight is absolutely hilarious, with Leo and Chris standing right in the middle of the mêlée. Of course, the best moment ever is when Phoebe and Paige deduce who the greatest ally of Good has to be in that dimension... even when he's good, Barbas remains incredibly irritating and the collective "Shut up!" he gets is a great moment. But without him, nobody would have guessed that this cosmic mix-up was but a distraction meant to allow Gideon to get his hands on Wyatt. Of course, both pairs of Charmed Ones finally reconcile to save the boy, and their great team-work makes you wonder what they could have done with the Power of Six.

To conclude, I am glad that everybody got to say their goodbyes to Chris, considering what happens next. And one little thing I just noticed : when Evil Leo tries to kill Paige, she tells him "I didn't know you had it in you." It is probably no coincidence that Evil Leo says the exact same thing when Leo kills Gideon.