THAT 70S EPISODE

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THE PLOT

Looking through some old photographs, Phoebe is disappointed that there aren't any of her growing up.

Her reflections are disrupted by the arrival of Grams' secret admirer, who calls bearing flowers every March 24th.  As he drops them, Piper freezes the hallway so that she can catch them, something that he realises.  Slipping a ring onto his finger, he reverts to his younger self, revealing himself to be a warlock named Nicholas.  Twenty-four years ago their mother blessed the ring, giving him immunity from their powers.  As he starts to boil their blood, Phoebe kicks out at him and they escape to the attic.

In the attic, they find a spell to unbind a bond, which causes them to dematerialise and then materialise, apparently in the same place.  They can hear voices coming from downstairs, which Piper and Phoebe force Prue to check out - it's Grams on the phone and younger versions of Prue and Piper.

As Prue confirms that they are back in the past, Phoebe finds that the spell is no longer in the Book of Shadows.  Downstairs, Grams is on the phone to her daughter Patty, who tells her that she's had a premonition of three female warlocks taking Prue.  Grams remarks that this is strange because Patty doesn't have the power of premonition.

Little Prue and Little Piper also have powers, which is a surprise to their older selves who cannot remember any of this.  However, when Grams sees them with the kids she thinks they're warlocks and flies them out of the house.

Outside the Manor, the sisters decide that only two of them should go to persuade Patty, and Phoebe reluctantly suggests that it has to be Prue and Piper because they have active powers to demonstrate.

Patty is working as a waitress, and thinks that Prue and Piper look familiar.  The pair try to demonstrate their powers, but they don't work.  Piper then blurts out that they know that Patty is pregnant, but she tells them that's medically impossible.

Grams phones to tell Patty about the attempted kidnapping, and Patty rushes home, bumping into Phoebe outside.  They have a brief conversation before a cop asks if everything's okay - it's Nicholas.

The sisters sneak back into the Manor, where Phoebe reveals that a heating duct allows conversations to be heard upstairs.  Little Piper discovers that she and Piper share the same name, and Piper demonstrates that she also knows how to open a drawer (which Phoebe showed her earlier), before the sisters steal Little Prue and Little Piper.

In the park, they teach their younger selves what to do before the cops show up and arrest them.

Patty has been tricked into visiting Victor, the sisters' father but in reality, it's Nicholas, who wants her power.  He tells her that her blood is boiling and she starts to collapse before telling of the premonition, which comes from Phoebe inside her.  Nicholas tells her that there is another way now he knows she's the mother of the Charmed Ones.

Patty bails the sisters out of jail, and asks how they knew she was pregnant.  Phoebe tells her that they're her daughters and then Prue explains about the pact, but Patty tells them that they're too late.

Back at the Manor, Grams quizzes them on the Halliwell family history and says that she'll have to bind their powers once Phoebe is born, which is why Prue and Piper can't remember having them when they were younger, because the spell was only broken when Grams died.

Prue and Piper steal Nicholas' ring, before Grams attempts to return them to 1999.  It doesn't work, and it still doesn't work when Patty joins in the chant.  Realising that they need the Power of Three, Patty teaches the spell to Little Prue and Little Piper while Prue and Phoebe fend off Nicholas downstairs.  Once the spell has been mastered, Little Prue, Little Piper and Patty send the girls back to 1999, where Nicholas is waiting for them.  Except this time his ring doesn't offer immunity from their powers and after Prue and Piper have used their powers on him, they use the 'Nicholas must die' spell from the Book of Shadows to vanquish him.

Looking through the photographs again, Phoebe finds a photo she took of Patty, Little Prue and Little Piper and declares it "the best picture of me I've ever taken."

NOTES

The spell to unbind a bond is "The bond which was not to be done/Give us the power to see it undone/And turn back time to whence it was begun."

The spell to return them to the present day is "A time for everything, and to everything its place/Return what has been moved through time and space."

The 'Nicholas must die' spell requires lavender, mimosa and holy thistle and is: "Cleanse this evil from our midst/Scatter its cells throughout time/Let this Nick no more exist."

The episode takes place on 24 March 1975 and 1999 - assuming that the calendar in Charmed runs the same as the 'real one', this means that From Fear to Eternity must take place in November 1998.

Patty Halliwell is drowned by a warlock on 28 February 1978.  She has the power to freeze time.

Penny Halliwell was born in a hotel room in Boston, and was a breach birth.  She has the power of telekinesis.

Phoebe is named after Patty's favourite aunt.

Amongst the 70s references following the opening are Gloria Gaynor's Never Can Say Goodbye, a 'No Gas' sign, Jaws, The Mod Squad and rollerskating.  Cher's Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves plays in the diner when Prue and Piper first see Patty.

Prue proves that they are back in the seventies by pointing out the attic now contains a black light, a typewriter, eight track tapes and a pet rock, all of which was thrown out "years ago".

THE POWER OF THREE

Prue throws Nicholas against the wall in the attic at the Manor.

She tries to fizz up a drink at the diner but it doesn't work.

Little Prue moves chair and then snatches her doll back from Little Piper.  She also moves the ball that Prue throws into the air in the park.

Piper freezes when Nicholas drops the flowers.  Later she freezes him allowing them to cast the 'Nicholas must die' spell.

Little Piper freezes Little Andy.  She also freezes the ball that Prue throws into the air.

Piper tries to freeze the diner where Patty works, but finds she no longer has her powers.

COMMENTS

Another enjoyable episode, continuing the recent run of strong episodes (well 'strong' by Charmed's standards!)

As you'd expect, there's a few references to the problems of tenses with time-travel stories (c.f. the multiple Doctor stories in Doctor Who in particular).  There's also a bit of fun with the idea of the sisters travelling back to 1975 - Grams asking about IBM stock when she's testing them on their family history, and a bit of rivalry between Grams and Patty. 

Piper probably gets the best line with her "I can't believe we got arrested for kidnapping ourselves", although Prue neatly responds with "Yeah, well, it should make for a pretty interesting defence."

Charmed hasn't really pulled off a particularly interesting villain yet, and Nicholas isn't particularly interesting.  He's not really the main focus here - the time travel aspect and some Halliwell family history are also pretty prominent.

Grams must be a pretty powerful witch, and is able to throw the girls out of the Manor, although why her powers work on good witches is a bit of a mystery?  Her granddaughters' certainly don't (c.f. Is There A Woogy In The House?)

It makes a bit of a change for the guest stars on Charmed to actually get something to do, and both Finola Hughes and Jennifer Rhodes get plenty of screentime.

The fun side of the time-travel thing aside, there's also time for some good scenes, particularly involving Phoebe and Patty, and the latter seems to know that her daughter has something important to say but for the sake of the timeline it has to remain unsaid.

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