DATE WITH DEATH

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 100TH EPISODE SPECIAL

GARDEN OF EVIL

CHARMED AGAIN

SPIRIT OF THE WOLF

A quick glance at Planet Piper's reviews section will show that Charmed merchandise has always been somewhat thin on the ground, especially compared to the might Buffy. Okay, so we have the Pocket Books pamphlets - sorry, novels for 12-year-olds - and the usual tat that many US TV series seem to generate these days, but that's about it.

Living in the UK, I haven't read the Hollywood Reporter before, but the format of its special to mark 100 episodes of Charmed is similar to the specials that the UK trade paper Broadcast runs from time to time - a standard issue with a special centre section about the subject in question, although the subject shows that there's more of an eye on the fan market than with you tend to get with Broadcast.

Unlike the tabloid-sized Broadcast, the Hollywood Reporter is your more usual magazine format, with a cover of season five's six main characters, including the three female leads as shown in the pic. The back cover carries an nice ad from The WB of Alyssa, Rose and Holly.

As previously mentioned, the Charmed special occupies the centre 20 pages of the issue. Given the nature of the Hollywood Reporter as a whole it's obviously designed in part to allow various talent agencies, management companies and so on to promote themselves and their clients, so there are plenty of full-page ads congratulating the cast and crew on their achievement in reaching 100 episodes.

But it's not totally made of advertisements. The section kicks off withl as an introduction to the show, with a heavy emphasis on its creation and the replacement of Shannen Doherty with Rose McGowan, while there are also brief biographies of the three (current) leads plus Dorian Gregory, Brian Krause and Julian McMahon.

Other features include a quick chat with costume designer Eilish, a guide to some of the terms used in the show, an interview with Brad Kern, the show's special effects and Charmed on the Internet.

Unlike the other interviews on this site I'm not going to give this one a rating out of ten, for two main reasons. Firstly, the price differential means that it's clearly more attractive to US fans than those of us overseas, even though the sterling equivalent of $10 means it's pretty much the same price as the novels (and we all know the quality of those!)

Secondly, it depends what you're expecting. As a trade paper devoted to the show it's clearly going to be nothing like your usual sci-fi/fantasy magazine, so the actual content is understandably light. However, it does what it's intended to and as such is a neat little celebration of the show's first 100 episodes, although US fans will get better value for money from it than overseas ones. BACK TO THE TOP

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CHARMED 100TH EPISODE SPECIAL

$5.50 (US)
$10 (ELSEWHERE)

ORDER HERE