"Charmed"
Sam I Am (2002)

Director:

Joel J. Feigenbaum

Writers:

Constance M. Burge (creator)
Alison Schapker (writer) ...

TV Series:

"Charmed" (1998)

Original Air Date:

17 November 2002 (Season 5, Episode 9)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

Paige is given her first charge as a white lighter, her real father Sam.

Plot Keywords:

Wiccan | Empath | Love | Martial Arts | Beautiful Woman

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 29

9:00 AM

TNT

Sam I Am

#5.9

Cast

Alyssa Milano	...	Phoebe Halliwell
Rose McGowan	...	Paige Matthews
Holly Marie Combs	...	Piper Halliwell
Brian Krause	...	Leo Wyatt
Julian McMahon	...	Cole Turner
Tony Todd	...	Avatar of Force
Scott Jaeck	...	Sam Wilder
F.J. Rio	...	Ronan
Joel Swetow	...	Avatar Alpha
Eric Winter	...	Trevor
The Flaming Lips	...	Themselves
Niki Botelho	...	Elf Nanny
Bruce Comtois	...	Thug #1

Runtime:

42 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Certification:

Mexico:B | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The first appearance of The Avatars.

Quotes:

Piper: How are we supposed to trust them when they don't answer our questions?
Leo: Leo says nothing

Movie Connections:

References I Am Sam (2001)

Soundtrack:

Do You Realize?

Family reunion

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

A very good episode, which might actually get you to like the Elders a bit. Paige receives her first mission as a (half) Whitelighter, but her new charge, a cranky drunkard, turns out to be a bit more than she expected : he's her biological father. Of course, the family reunion does not go smoothly as Sam doesn't want anything to do with the daughter he once abandoned. And, to make things even worse, enters our favorite on-and-off demon.

Indeed, Cole has been continuing his downward slide into complete wretchedness. Now he's being pestered by powerful demons, the Avatars, who want to enroll him into their ranks. When he finally comes up with a plan to solve his problems, a plan than involves Paige's newfound father, it isn't at all what we might expect -or maybe it is, since we know Cole better than that by now. Now I could spend hours repeating that, but Julian MacMahon's performance is really awesome. No matter what Cole does, now matter how blood-chilling he gets, you still feel for him --a lot more than the Charmed Ones, apparently. I don't know how they can walk out of the final, breathtaking scene in his lobby.

What keeps the episode from getting a 10 is, first of all and obviously, Sam's rather abrupt comeback. Obviously his case had to be addressed, but his explanation for how he got back is a bit quick and, frankly, what were the Elders thinking ??? Also, Cole's scheme is a mite too convoluted. There were so many simpler things he could have tried first.