Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vs Charmed

Wasn't there a Buffy aside in one of the early 'Charmed'? As the three ladies are running, one says something like "This never happens to Buffy...."

 

Buffy and it's not even close.

 

Buffy was a great show all around, and it still holds up pretty well today.

Charmed was essentially Charlie's Angels with a supernatural twist. (Small wonder,since Aaron Spelling had a hand in both shows.)

My wife and I enjoyed both, but I ain't gonna lie, I was invested in the story on Buffy, but I watched Charmed for the cleavage factor (Alyssa Milano & Rose McGowan, lawd have mercy!)

 

Another vote for Buffy. I was a rabid fan of that show. So surprised when I found out Spike was from California - great accent! Charmed barely made an impression.

 

I liked Both shows but will agree as Charmed went on it really lost it's Vision ................ Buffy is by Far the better & more Enjoyable show ...

 

Buffy!

 

Alyson Hannigan vs. Rose McGowan both in their prime. Its a tough call.

 

one of the best of all time actually.

 

Interestingly, I have always liked the less popular characters on both shows.

On Buffy, for example, my favorite character was Dawn......most people look at me like I'm crazy when I say that. While Buffy reruns are what got me into the show, Season 5 is the first season I started watching while it was still on, so for me, the addition of Dawn was not as jarring. Add in the fact that Dawn was about the same age I was when I started watching the show, I immediately related to her character. Sure, she could be annoying, but I'm pretty sure I was fairly annoying at that age too lol. I also loved the big brother/little sister dynamic between Dawn and Spike.

On Charmed, I actually preferred Paige's character to Prue's (not that I didn't like Prue's character). I loved her story line throughout season 4. I also really enjoyed Chris's character/story line when it came out in season 6.

 

I like Dawn a lot as well, especially in season 7 when she had matured and was integrated more into Scooby gang activities. But my favorite character on Buffy is and always will be Buffy herself. It is actually one if the few instances in which my favorite character on a show is the lead. I like pretty much every character though. Such a strong ensemble no matter what season.

On Charmed, Piper was always my easy favorite. I always thought the fandom liked Prue and Paige about the same. I certainly like them both fairly equally. They wrote Prue to be kind of a prickly, tough character because she was the oldest and had the most responsibility. Paige was definitely breezier.

I always thought Phoebe was the one who annoyed that fandom most, especially in the late seasons when she was such a flake and had easily the weakest powers.

 

Wasn't Charmed simply a lame attempt to pick up the Buffy crowd? Always seemed that way to me - a cheap knock-off for the 90210 crowd. Buffy was simply in another league.

 

I also like Dawn. In Charmed I find Prue and Paige less annoying than Phoebe and Piper, the latter one I really dont like.

 

This.

 

I think the two series are worth comparing if only to re-assess just how phenomenal Wheedon's run of young-adult series was for its' time.

And to make note of how many insanely-attractive women he was able to spotlight in every show. Jewel Staite; Moreena Baccarin; Summer Glau - and that's just one series! Charisma Carpenter; Allison Hannigan; his future wife Amy Acker...all got meaty, significant roles to showcase their acting chops, the sort of depth you wouldn't find in women's parts on standard network television at the time.

The only way to highlight the significance of Buffy/Wheedon's contribution to that era...would be to compare it to the lackluster Charmed.

 

And there’s a Charmed reference in Buffy, on a season four commentary track, with this exchange:

Joss: I've seen a lot of these episodes.

Marti: Really?

Joss: I watch Buffy a lot. It's no Charmed, but it's got a thing.

 

what is this supposed to mean?

 

You can read it in context here: Commentary Transcript: Wild at Heart

 

Buffy, it is superior to Charmed in every way.

 

I see.

 

I think it's kind of freaky that TWO of the lead actresses from CHARMED wound up shaving their heads (for completely separate, but equally personal reasons).

Rose McGowan

Shannen Doherty

 

I'll just pile on and say that Buffy was smart and challenged viewers in ways other TV shows had never done. Charmed was dumb, mindless fun initially, but it got old fast. No contest.

I want to encourage everyone to check out the Much Ado adaptation you mention, though. It's shot in black and white at Whedon's house and is a lot of fun for fans of the actors in his various shows. I think Nathan Fillion in particular has a good part here, and Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof get the romantic ending they never really got for Angel. And while I'm on a tangent, that last half-season of Angel is still one of the biggest disappointments of my TV watching life, though the last episode certainly had some effectively dark and tragic moments.

 

Plus Sarah Michelle Gellar herself, and then Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, Eliza Dushku, Juliet Landau... etc., etc.

 

I don’t think there’s any debate, Buffy is one of the best programmes ever made. It saddens me that so many years later we still don’t see more well written female characters. Many films and tv shows have tried but failed in my humble opinion.

 

Never watched either show but I always had a thing for Alyssa Milano. You know , a thing...

 

Personally I thought it was the first half of the final season that sucked rotten eggs - y'know, the standalone episodes that completely failed to drive the story forward (and to my mind lost the audience as a result). It was only when he heard the show was being cancelled that Whedon felt compelled to pull his finger out and wrap up the story.