Maybe if I'd never seen "The Witches of Eastwick" my reaction to "Charmed" would be somewhat different.
But, having seen the movie and the pilot for this new WB series, one thing keeps ringing in the back of my head: RIP-OFF!Not that that doesn't happen a lot. As a matter of fact, UPN's "Seven Days," which also premieres tonight, shares a good deal in common with "Timecop." But not as much as "Charmed" (8 p.m., Ch. 30) shares with "Witches."
Not that this show, which was allegedly created by Constance M. Burge, is completely without promise. But whether she and the other writers will have anything to say now that they've finished mimicking the movie remains to be seen.
To this point, most of the publicity surrounding "Charmed" has come from the fact that it marks former "Beverly Hills, 90210" bad girl Shannen Doherty's return to series TV. (That return, of course, follows a failed movie career.) She's reteamed with executive producer Aaron Spelling and, appropriately enough, Doherty is playing a witch.
One of three witches, to be exact. Prue (Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs of "Picket Fences") and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano of "Who's the Boss?" and "Melrose Place") are sisters who discover, much to their surprise, that they have magical powers.
(You know, just like the characters played by Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon in "The Witches of Eastwick.")
It seems that Prue, Piper and Phoebe are descended from a family of witches that dates back some 400 years. Combs plays the stable one; Milano plays the rebellious one; and, in a bit of type-casting, Doherty plays the, well, witchy one.
Of course, having supernatural powers isn't all fun and games. Even though they're good witches, there are evil warlocks out there who murder witches to gain their powers.
There are distinct similarities to "The Witches of Eastwick" throughout the pilot. But, toward the end of the hour, it's a near carbon copy.
In "Witches," the three women decide they must get rid of the evil male character (played by Jack Nicholson). So they create a wax figure in his image and place it in a pot of sorts.
In "Charmed," the three women must battle the evil male character. So they create a wax figure in his image and place it in a pot of sorts.
In "Witches," the three women surround the wax figure with feathers and cherries. The evil male spits out feathers and cherries.
In "Charmed," the three women press a rose stem into the wax figure. The evil male has thorns sprouting from his body.
In "Witches," the three women huddle together screaming in terror until the evil male - transformed into some sort of monster - explodes.
In "Charmed," the three women group together until the evil male explodes. (And in the original pilot, they huddled together screaming in terror until the evil male - transformed into some sort of monster - explodes.)
Get the picture?
None of this will bother viewers who haven't seen "The Witches of Eastwick." And given that the movie was released in 1987 - and that the WB's programming is aimed directly at teenagers - chances are that the lack of originality in "Charmed" won't hurt the show's chances.
Ah, well. At least there are plenty of other witch movies out there for "Charmed" to plagiarize from - enough for a season or so, at least.
RECASTING: Pity poor Lori Rom. Originally cast as Phoebe on "Charmed," she lost the part to a bigger star - Alyssa Milano.
Milano, the extremely mildly talented actress who was a child star on "Who's the Boss?" and whose later credits include not only a variety of sleazy TV, direct-to-video and theatrical flicks, but a stint as a vixen on "Melrose Place."
But, in the mind of Aaron Spelling (whose shows include "Melrose") and the WB, Milano has star power.
Sad, isn't it?
Rom appeared in the original, somewhat abbreviated pilot of "Charmed" and appeared before critics (along with Doherty and Combs) back in July. Just a couple of weeks later, she was dumped from the show.
This sort of thing happens with some frequency. (Although the recasting tends to take place before the stars are introduced to the press.) But reshooting a pilot as extensively as was the case with "Charmed" is somewhat unusual - not to mention rather expensive.
The two pilots are essentially the same - many of the scenes are exactly the same, except that Milano replaces Rom in the second incarnation.
And guess what? Rom is better in the role of Phoebe. Based on these dueling pilots, she's a better actress, period. And the chemistry among Rom, Doherty and Combs is actually better than when Milano is thrown into the mix.
But Rom doesn't have "Melrose Place" on her resume.