BROADCAST NEWS - UK

LIVINGTV'S CHARMED MARATHON
ADDED: 19.01.03

Last year, LivingTV kicked off season 4 of Charmed with a whole night devoted to the series. This year, the start of season 5 sees a whole day given over to the series.

The schedule is as follows (and is repeated an hour later on Living +1):

11.00 - Something Wicca This Way Comes
11.50 - The Honeymoon's Over
12.45 - All Hell Breaks Loose
13.40 - Charmed Again, Part 1
14.35 - Charmed Again, Part 2
15.30 - Marry-Go-Round
16.25 - Bite Me
17.20 - We're Off to See the Wizard
18.15 - Long Live the Queen
19.10 - Womb Raider
20.05 - Witch Way Now?
21.00 - A Witch's Tail, Part 1
22.00 - Charmed: Behind the Magic
22.30 - Revealed: interview with Alyssa Milano (finishes 23.30)

As with last year, it's slightly disappointing that LivingTV have served up a whole batch of episodes yet are splitting the two-hour season premiere over two weeks.

Also, it's highly likely that we'll be "treated" to a huge DOG to mark this "Charmed day", as well as the usual "NEW SERIES" one that LivingTV inflict open first-run episodes.

Thanks to Justin Davies for the heads up. BACK TO THE TOP

NEW SEASON 5 START DATE
ADDED: 09.01.03

Anyone watching LivingTV over the last few days may have noticed that they're already trailing season five - hardly surprising as Charmed is one of their most successful programmes.

They've also changed the start date from the previously announced Thursday 13 February to Saturday 1 February (after temporarily shifting it to Saturday 15 February, probably to avoid a potential clash with Buffy on Sky One).

Regular visitors will know that I've been pretty critical of some of LivingTV's presentation of Charmed over the last few years, but hopefully they'll resist the temptation to splash "NEW SERIES" or some other piece of useless information over the screen when we all know we're watching a new episode. Don't bet money on this however. BACK TO THE TOP

SEASON 5 START DATE
ADDED: 16.11.02

Season five will be arriving on LivingTV on Thursday 13 February 2002. There's no news on the timeslot, but it's almost certain to be either 8pm or 9pm, which means that unless Sky One moves its Buffy and Angel double-bill to another night, Charmed will be clashing with one of the most popular cable/satellite series in the UK. However, since LivingTV is well known for giving us multiple opportunities to catch Charmed viewers will hopefully be able to avoid any possible clash. (Sam Shadforth also points out that now LivingTV has a +1 channel, viewers will have another chance to catch the series anyway.) BACK TO THE TOP

LIVING DOGS CHARMED - AGAIN

04.03.02 - As many fans had feared, stupidity reigned over at LivingTV on Saturday when it "helpfully" reminded us of three basic facts in case we had forgotten them.

Can't remember what channel you're watching?  No problem, thanks to the usual LivingTV logo, shown here obscuring new sister Paige (played by Rose McGowan).

Even worse, Living decided to follow the trend for animated on-screen graphics as the Living logo "swooshed" into one telling us that we were watching Charmed and that it was "night" (see left for an example of this one).

This was despite the numerous complaints fans made on the station's forum last year when season three was subjected to a "NEW EPISODE" DOG.  Whilst the complaints didn't see the DOG removed, at least it was reduced in size after a couple of weeks.  See our earlier story here.

Unfortunately, anyone tuning into tonight's repeat of Charmed Again hoping to get a DOG-free recording would be disappointed as this one had a "NEW SERIES" one!

For those who object to TV stations telling us basic information on-screen when they should be doing it through the Electronic Programme Guide, the Campaign for Logo Free Television can be found here.

DOG aside, the Charmed night itself was fine but tailed off halfway through.  Keen fans could enjoy the original cast telling us how great they got on in The Women of Charmed before another chance to see season three finale All Hell Breaks Loose.  This was followed by the first half of season four premiere Charmed Again, which Living have stupidly split over two weeks.  Following this were four season one repeats, which have been seen at least half a dozen times on Living alone now.  BACK TO THE TOP

CHANNEL 5, SEASON 3

16.02.02 - After a long wait since season two finished, Channel 5 finally gets round to starting season three next Saturday (16 February) at 6.50pm.  Sadly it looks as if they're going for the same sort of early timeslot that didn't really work last year, while the few episodes that have been shown later have done better ratings-wise.

Thanks to Ross.  BACK TO THE TOP

SEASON FOUR NEWS

29.01.02 - Further to our earlier story on the start date for season four on LivingTV, Planet Piper can now reveal more details of what's in store.

Season four will kick off at 10pm on Saturday 2 March, part of nearly seven hours of Charmed that night.

The special runs from 7.10pm to 2am, beginning with The Women of Charmed documentary (it's unclear exactly which version they'll be showing, however), followed by season three finale All Hell Breaks Lose.

Season four follows, with the first half of Charmed Again.  Disappointingly, LivingTV have chosen to split this episode over two weeks rather than give us the two-hour version which was shown by The WB.  As you'd expect from LivingTV, the night is rounded out by "some favourite episodes of the cast from [season] 1."

Thereafter, the series will revert to the new times of 9pm Saturday with a repeat the following Monday at 8pm.  The Women of Charmed will also be shown on Monday 25 February at 8pm.

Hopefully, there will no sign of the recent break of on-screen stupidity that dogged Charmed last season, and which can currently be seen annoying viewers on Sky One and E4 in particular.  It must also be hoped that just because the repeat is pre-watershed, LivingTV won't be cutting the 9pm to save themselves the effort of having two prints of each episodes.  BACK TO THE TOP

SEASON 4 ON LIVING

18.01.02 - After all the complaints about cuts during season three, Living seem to have realised that not all Charmed fans are seven years old.

When season 4 debuts on Living on Saturday 2 March, it will be in a post-watershed 10pm slot, hopefully meaning an end to the sort of cuts we had to put up with last year.  Episodes will also be repeated on Mondays at 8pm.  BACK TO THE TOP

LIVING REPEATS UNCUT

14.10.2001 - Amanda Swales reports that Living are advertising the current Saturday night repeats of season three as being "uncut", which presumably this means that the Tuesday night repeats are still being edited.  BACK TO THE TOP

PROGRAMME OF THE DAY (AGAIN)

08.07.2001 - Apocalypse, Not was one of the Daily Express's TV Choices for Tuesday 3 July:

The Halliwell sisters have their differences and have been known to be a tenacious threesome, but at the beginning of this episode the Charmed Ones try to relax and enjoy singer Paula Cole's performance at P3.  However, it's not long before the trio find themselves back in the thick of it in the ultimate battle against the legendary Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who are causing fights and road rage all over San Francisco.  When Prue (Shannen Doherty) and one of the Horsemen are sucked into a vortex, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs) are forced to choose between saving their sister and saving the world.  BACK TO THE TOP

PROGRAMME OF THE DAY

18.06.2001 - The Demon Who Came In From The Cold was one of the Daily Express' TV choices for last Monday:

The supernatural drama genre has become a little overcrowded of late, as Buffy and her various offshoots and imitations dominate the satellite schedules.  Up with the best of them is the jewel in Living's crown, Charmed.  Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano star as three sisters who have recently discovered that they are witches, complete with the obligatory spell book.  As well as playing havoc with their social lives, the feisty threesome have to contend with a whole host of demons, a group of whom cause havoc in tonight's episode as they embark on a series of murders to protect a secret plan, leaving the girls with no choice but to infiltrate the gang.  BACK TO THE TOP

CHANNEL 5: SEASON 3 NOT CURRENT SCHEDULED

10.06.2001 - With season two's debut terrestrial run coming to an end, Charmed fans have been asking what the channel's plans are for season three.

The good news is that the channel does hold the rights to the season, but that it has not yet been scheduled for transmission.  Which unfortunately means that it's likely to be next year before they get round to showing it!

Thanks to Ross for sending this into Charmed-UK.

Meanwhile, on the satellite/cable front, Living are rerunning season one in the 1.30pm Monday-Friday slot for the second time in a couple of months.  This must be its seventh run on the channel, and all but a handful of episodes have been shown in a pre-watershed slot, despite numerous fans asking for a post-9pm run.  BACK TO THE TOP

SICK OF LIVING

06.05.2001 - Living's ineptitude sank to new depths this week.

Firstly, their forum seems to have no provision for stopping anyone from masquerading as Living employees, as the post claiming that Charmed would be moved to 9pm turned out to be a hoax, something which Living were rather slow to point out (at least until after their Shannen Doherty live chat).

Secondly, the ridiculous "NEW EPISODE" bug was still in place this week, and posts on the uk.tv.media.misc newsgroup have highlighted further use of this needless feature - including the ludicrous example of Brookside (which, is obviously, a repeat even though it hasn't been shown by Living before) being highlighted as a "new episode."  A "NEW SERIES" bug has also been spotted on the channel.

Finally, Chris B's comment on Living's forum that the "NEW EPISODE" bug was for the benefit of Living rather than the viewers was proved correct.  After Monday's episode, Bride and Gloom, the continuity announcer informed us that there would be "another season three episode tomorrow."  However, as expected, this turned out to be the repeat of season two's Painted World!

It is probably this sort of confusion that accounts for the series' wildly fluctuating viewing figures, which can see it topping Living's chart one week and finishing outside the Top 30 the next.

The scheduling situation is therefore still unchanged - first-run season three episodes on Mondays and season two repeats on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Sadly, all three transmissions continue to be at the pre-watershed time of 8pm.  BACK TO THE TOP

NEW TIME ON LIVING

26.04.2001 - Yesterday, I asked why didn't Living just show Charmed an hour later (since they claimed it was "too popular and too expensive to put on too late") and today, they've done it!

In a post on their forum, Emma from Living had this to say:

"The people have at Living have all decided thanks to your comments that Charmed should be shown at 9pm not 8pm so from Monday onwards this is Charmed's new time and we will no longer cut scenes out."  BACK TO THE TOP

LIVING REPLY TO COMPLAINTS OVER "NEW EPISODE" BUG

25.04.2001 - I received the following e-mail from Living in response to my complaint about their annoying bug on Monday's episode:

Thank you for your e-mail to Living TV.

I am sorry that you did not like the animated logo [sic] in the corner of the screen, it was put there to help create a sense of occasion, and not to distract you.  I have passed your comments through to our programming team, who have the power to remove it [surely this is a presentation issue though?]

As for the times issue, we would suffer 1000's of complaints if we moved the series back any later, it seems you are missing scenes that you wouldn't know about it you hadn't either already seen or were obsessed with the programme.  I am afraid the series is too popular and expensive to put on too late [so why not just push it back a hour so it's after the watershed then?]

Channel 5 show their programmes before 8, so they are bound by the same rules I am afraid.

No doubt, eventually the series will be shown later in the evening and [all] will be fine.

Thank you for your feedback on this issue, it is important to us that we get a good measure of what our viewers like and dislike.

I hope that we can make any changes necessary to make Living the best it possibly can [be] for you the viewer.

On a related note, as I expected, last night's episode was a repeat of season two opener Witch Trial - obviously the rather daft scheduling of season two repeats and first run season three episodes in the 8pm timeslot is the reason for the stupid "NEW EPISODE" bug.  BACK TO THE TOP

LIVING MAKES SKY ONE LOOK COMPETENT

24.04.2001 - Living's treatment of Charmed reached a new low yesterday when the UK premiere of Wrestling With Demons was shown with a "NEW EPISODE" bug beneath the usual Living one.  This "helpful" information was displayed throughout the entire episode, only disappearing during the ad breaks (when just the Living logo was shown).  The screencap right should give an example of how annoying this behaviour was - click on the pic for a larger version.

This is on top of Living's usual butchering of the show, which is regularly subjected to cuts for content deemed unsuitable for its 8pm timeslot.  Of course, it is expecting too much for Living to realise that if they have to cut the show so often, then the timeslot is obviously unsuitable and the show should be rescheduled.

The additional bug is probably due to the fact that Living's stupid scheduling means that as well as the first-run season three episodes on Monday night, they are also showing seasons one (next week, Monday-Friday, 1.30pm) and two (Tuesday and Thursday, 8pm - this is unconfirmed and it could be more season three episodes although Digiguide does have Painted World and The Devil's Music as next week's episodes meaning that it's probable that Witch Trial and Morality Bites are being shown this week).

A thread has been started on Living's forum (my comments are the first reply to StoryLady's initial post), so anyone who feels strongly about Living's behaviour is advised to add their comments, as well as complaining directly.  BACK TO THE TOP

CHARMED WINS CABLE GUIDE AWARD

08.04.2001 - Charmed won the Cable Guide Award for Favourite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series on 3 April.

The whole event, hosted by Dale Winton, can be seen on Living on Good Friday (13 April) at 9pm.  BACK TO THE TOP

SEASON 2 ON CHANNEL 5

06.01.2001 - Channel 5 viewers disappointed that satellite and cable viewers would get to see season 3 before they even get to see season 2 will be pleased to learn that season 2 starts on terrestrial television next Saturday.

Witch Trial kicks off the run on 13 January, in the usual 8.05pm slot which, given the ratings that its predecessor achieved last year, fortunately avoids a clash with BBC2's I Love The 1980s, which kick-offs next Saturday at 9pm.  BACK TO THE TOP

SEASON 3 ON LIVING IN FEBRUARY

19.12.2000 - Thanks to Michael J. Wimmer for forwarding this email which was forwarded from Living's Viewer Relations department:

"Thanks very much for your email to Living.

I have some good news!  We now have the rights to the third season of Charmed (at last!) and it is due to premiere on Monday 5th February at 20:00.  Best get comfy and take the phone off the hook for it.

Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the show!"

Since last Thursday saw the WB broadcast only the eighth episode of the season, and since they're unlikely to show more than three more before Living show the season premiere The Honeymoon's Over, it would be impossible for Living to show the series faster than a single episode per week (unless they don't show it in a single run) so it looks like the adverse comments registered on their posting board about their eccentric scheduling have produced a result.

With this news, satellite and cable viewers can look forward to a line-up of Charmed on Mondays, Roswell (from 21 February) and Dark Angel (from 17 January) on Wednesdays and Buffy and Angel on Fridays (from 5 January).  BACK TO THE TOP

CHANNEL 5 CONFIRMS SEASON 2

13.12.2000 - Channel 5 has confirmed that it has the rights to season 2, but the series is not currently scheduled.  A start date of Spring 2001 would seem a possibility given a similar start date for season one earlier this year.

Thanks to Ross for sending this into the Charmed-UK list.  BACK TO THE TOP

LIVING REPEATS SEASON 2

16.08.2000 - In an unsurprising move, Living has scheduled a quick repeat of the second season of Charmed, which only finished on 11 August.

Viewers who missed Piper and co. the first time around have another chance to catch the episode from 13 September at 8pm.

Unfortunately, Living have decided to run the series in the same 8pm slot that prompted complaints about its decision to dub out any "swearing" (see below).  Even more unfortunate is their decision to strip the series Monday-Friday and to start the repeats on a Wednesday, meaning that the first seventeen episodes (up to and including How To Make A Quilt Out Of Americans) will be shown on the same days as they were the first time around.  So if you missed an episode because it clashed with a series on another channel you'd better hoped that the other series has ended because Living obviously don't give a stuff.

However, their bid for the prestigious Most Stupid Scheduling Award 2000 has been thwarted by the BBC's brilliant idea of scheduling the same episode of Brain Story simultaneously on both BBC Two and BBC Knowedge at 9pm on Tuesdays!  BACK TO THE TOP

SATELLITE CHOICE - AGAIN

08.08.2000 - Season two finale Be Careful What You Witch For made the Sunday Express magazine's satellite choice of the day for 11 August:

Tucked away on Living, this second series has been ticking away nicely, and indeed rapidly, with nightly weekday episodes, and things certainly picked up with the arrival of dishy neighbour Dan, played by Greg Vaughn [sic].  In this season finale, the young witches have angered the Infernal Council so often that it wants to teach the three sisters a lesson.  It involves a genie who is sent to grant them each a wish.  However, the sisters are unaware there are darker intentions at work.  This episode was also the directorial debut of Shannen Doherty, who stars as Prue, the oldest of the witchy siblings, who's come a long way from her Beverly Hills 90210 days and a once-chaotic personal life.  Sad to see the series finish, but season three is in the pipeline.  BACK TO THE TOP

CHARMED FANS "PISSED" BY LIVING CUTS

08.08.2000 - Living has decided to start dubbing out "bad" language on Charmed over the past few episodes, despite leaving season one and the first half of season two unscathed.  However, over the last week or so, there have been several instances of the odd word (notably "pissed" and "bastard") being cut, although Chick Flick seemed to let one through while dubbing out the others!

Persistent complaining about the change in policy by fans on the forum on Living's website eventually produced two reasons for the cuts - the show's pre-watershed timeslot and the number of young viewers who watch the show.

Pressed further on the timeslot issue and why Sky One seemingly has no problems with similar language in Buffy (which is also broadcast at 8pm), it is apparent that the cuts are solely due to Living enforcing a stricter set of rules regarding the language.

Living's view that the series is cut because it is "hugely popular with younger viewers and rather than change it to a time when they're made [to] go to bed" will be familiar to anyone (but at least it's more honest) who complained to the BBC over its decision to schedule Buffy in an early evening time slot.  Living's logic continues, "If you were a seven year old fan (there's lots!) you'd be appreciative of our reason for putting it on before 9pm and censoring the language."  Just a shame about the rest of us then...

However, Living do appear to have taken notice of the adverse comments, replying on their forum that they "may not do the same with series 3", which they hope to confirm they've acquired in the next couple of weeks, even though we probably won't see it until next summer.  BACK TO THE TOP

SATELLITE CHOICE

05.08.2000 - Charmed made the Daily Express' satellite choice slot yet again, this time for Tuesday 8 August, accompanied by a blotchy looking photo of Shannen.

Daily Express Saturday magazine, 5-11 August
SATELLITE CHOICE - Charmed.  Living, 8pm

Sabrina The Teenage Witch for twentysomethings?  Bewitched with fewer gags?  Buffy with a few more?  The jury's still out, but what's for sure is that the trio of Shannen Doherty and her two spooky sisters (Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano) spell another worth ratings winner from the Aaron Spelling stable.  Alas for newcomers, the episodes at this time all week wrap up the second series, but expect more from the twisted sisters later on in the year.  BACK TO THE TOP

TV CHOICE

05.07.2000 - Charmed was highlighted as the Best Drama in today's Daily Express:

Best Drama: Charmed.  Living, 8pm

This spooky U.S. drama series stars Shannon Doherty [sic] as one third of a bewitching trio of sorceresses.  This series - the second one starts on the 12th sees the ex-Beverly Hills, 90210 star continue in her attempt to cast off her wild-child bitchy image.  Whether she will charm or alarm, however, is up to you.

The Express must like Charmed because this is the second time it has acheived such status in recent weeks as the Sunday Express magazine for 25 June-1 July highlighted the series for 30 June:

So, what's all this about then?

A trio of sisterly wicca witches trying to do good in San Francisco?  Makes a change from vampires in LA.  The sisters Halliwell (no, not her) namely Prue (Shannen Doherty of Beverly Hills 90210 fame), Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe (Internet babe Alyssa Milano) are left a house by their grandmother.  Turns out they inherit more than just the house but her powers of witchcraft too.  Each gets a different "gift" - Piper can freeze time, Phoebe can see into the future and with Prue it's telekinesis.  Ultimately it's Sabrina the Teenage Witch for twenty-somethings with plenty of decent music thrown in for good measure, but it's charmingly entertaining. BACK TO THE TOP

CHANNEL 5 RATINGS FOR SOMETHING WICCA...

11.04.2000 - Charmed's first terrestrial appearance saw Something Wicca This Way Comes rank the fourth most popular programme on Channel 5 for the week ended 2 April.

The episode was watched by 1.60 million, around half the total that watch Buffy on BBC2, but since Channel 5's overall share of the audience was 5.1% against BBC2's 9.7% this isn't too surprising.

The most popular programme on Channel 5 was the movie Next of Kin with 2.46 million, with Lethal Tender (2.08 million) second.  Charmed was only 10,000 viewers behind third placed Iron Eagle II, but was ahead of the likes of Hercules (1.18 million) and Xena (0.77 million), which are shown at a similar time on different days of the week (Sunday and Friday respectively).

We'll be running the Channel 5 ratings on the site on a weekly basis from now on.  BACK TO THE TOP

CHARMED PREVIEWS AND REVIEWS

09.04.2000 - Charmed's terrestrial debut has resulted in the show gaining a slightly higher profile in the mainstream UK media.

The Sunday Express for 26 March highlighted the series' debut episode, Something Wicca This Way Comes, in its guide to the week's TV:

"Aaron Spelling brings us a new drama about witches.  Trashy but bewitching."

Even the Swindon Evening Advertiser gave some prominence to the show, with the first episode being promoted by a photo of Shannen Doherty, although this was captioned as Holly Marie Combs playing Piper!

Ceefax's TV critic Caroline Jack reviewed Something Wicca This Way Comes, giving it a bit of a thumbs up:

"I've an urge to say 'charmed, I'm sure' but I'll settle for calling this new supernatural series Buffy 90210.

It isn't remotely as good as Buffy the Vampire Slayer but that's not to say that it doesn't have its own, well, charms amongst the predictability.

Even the premise is a bit familiar as 90210 star Shannon [sic] Doherty plays one of three sisters (it's always three) who discover that they are witches.

I could have told you ever [sic] bit of the story in advance, it was that obvious, yet I enjoyed it.  Fluff, but fun."

On the downside Channel 5 do not appear to be sticking to the show's correct order, with Dream Sorcerer listed for next Saturday (15 April) in place of the correct third episode, Thank You For Not Morphing.  Had they pulled the stronger Dead Man Dating forward by a week, it would have been more understandable, but as it stands it seems a bit illogical.

Update: Rebecca Kidman reports that Channel 5 were given the wrong episode order by the distributors, but they're now back on track.  BACK TO THE TOP

SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALL RIGHT FOR CHARMED

28.03.2000 - Possibly realising that a Friday slot would cash a clash with Buffy on Sky One (an important consideration for Channel 5 gives its less than complete national coverage via analogue terrestrial TV), Charmed will now debut on terrestrial TV on Saturday 1 April, still at 8.05pm.

Although this is the same slot that caused Buffy to pretty much tank in the ratings on Sky One a couple of years back, it is also the same as the one in which Channel 5 enjoy some reasonable (for Channel 5) ratings for Xena.

Competition on the main channels comes in the shape of a repeat of Casualty and the first ten minutes of the remake of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) on BBC One, and the last 15 minutes of Blind Date and Stars in Their Eyes on ITV.

Channel 5 is promoting the show is a relatively sensible manner, highlighting the appearance of Shannen Doherty as Prue - although given its late-night films, perhaps Alyssa Milano would've been the more obvious lead to promote.  BACK TO THE TOP

CHANNEL 5 UPDATE

22.02.2000 - Channel 5 has now confirmed that the series is due to start its terrestrial run on Friday 17 March at 8.05pm

Thanks to Richard Morgan.  BACK TO THE TOP

CHANNEL 5 UPDATE

21.02.2000 - According to the Hollywood Reporter, Channel 5 has signed a multi-million dollar package of deals with Spelling Entertainment and Columbia TriStar International as part of a bid to revamp its primetime and daytime strands.

Charmed will becomes the centrepiece of Channel 5's Friday primetime schedule, airing at 8pm - meaning a clash for satellite viewers with the much higher profile Buffy on Sky One.

Thanks to Richard Morgan.  BACK TO THE TOP

CHANNEL 5 UPDATE

20.02.2000 - Sci-Fi Wire reports that this (see below) is a "multi-million dollar deal" between Channel 5 and Spelling Entertainment, and that the show will debut in the UK this spring.  BACK TO THE TOP

LIVING NEWS FOR MARCH

20.02.2000 - It looks like season two won't be on Living until April at the earliest, as the channel drops from its current six episodes a week to zero.

The first repeat run, currently showing on Mondays at 10.30pm comes to a close with season finale Deja Vu All Over Again on Monday 21 February.  Despite what some monthly listings magazines are showing, there is no second episode the following Monday.

The second repeat run continues for the next couple of weeks - next week's episodes are Feats of Clay through to Is There a Woogy in the House?  The week commencing 28 February sees Which Prue is it Anyway? through to The Power of Two with Love Hurts and Deja Vu... the following Monday and Tuesday.  BACK TO THE TOP

CHANNEL 5 FINALLY CHARMED BY CHARMED

19.02.2000 - Despite the disappointing news that Angel has been bought by Channel 4, there was a more positive development on the Charmed front this week, with the news that it has finally been purchased by a terrestrial UK broadcaster.

After previous enquires had produced only stock "we don't have the rights" replies, Richard Morgan struck gold when we posted a question to the Channel 5 website's forum yesterday.

The site's webmaster responded earlier today and was able to confirm that the channel has the rights to season 1 but that it hasn't been scheduled yet.

Although not perfect, Channel 5's treatment of shows such as La Femme Nikita and Xena is probably better than we'd get on either the BBC or Channel 4 (no point in mentioning ITV as they haven't shown a decent SF/fantasy series in years).  BACK TO THE TOP

MORE CHARMED REPEATS ON THEIR WAY

20.01.2000 - Despite confirming that they now have the rights to season 2, Living don't want to let us see it just yet.

Instead, they will be giving season one yet another outing, starting from 7 February.  This was mentioned in their mail to me a couple of weeks ago when they confirmed their purchase of season, but I dismissed it as a mistake since they were already repeating season one.

However, Charmed-UK member Del Jones was able to confirm the news that more repeats are in fact on their way after spotting it amongst February's highlights on Living's teletext service.

The only good thing is that the repeats are being stripped Monday-Friday so by the start of March we will hopefully be getting Witch Trial.  The downside must be the clashes with new episodes of the higher profiler Roswell High and Buffy on Thursdays and Fridays, just as Living's welcome run of Profiler clashes with Angel on Fridays (and from March, The X Files on Sundays).  BACK TO THE TOP

BITCHES, BABES AND BICEPS

16.01.2000 - Saturday 15 January saw a Charlie's Angels night on Channel 4.  The Bitches, Babes and Biceps documentary about Aaron Spelling featured a clip of Shannen Doherty in Beverly Hills 90210 and about four seconds of the Halliwell sisters destroying Jeremy in Something Wicca This Way Comes.  Let's hope this isn't Charmed's only terrestrial exposure.  BACK TO THE TOP

LIVING BUYS SEASON 2

10.01.2000 - Living confirmed to me today that it has bought season 2 of Charmed but that it is not currently scheduled.

In a slightly confused mail, the channel claimed that a rerun of season one was due to start at 10.30pm on 7 February, which is strange since they've been rerunning this since the initial run ended last September!

Unless Living are planning another run of repeats, hopefully we should be getting season 2 sometime in the Spring, ideally starting after the current run of repeats end on 21 February.

Living are also running some three pretty good promos with one for each sister.  It's just a shame that they've started squashing the end credits up so that most of the screen can be taken up by an annoying in-vision continuity announcer.  BACK TO THE TOP