Charmed (1998) vs Charmed (2018)

The power of three conquering demons once again is in this new spin-off of the original series Charmed, which first aired in 1998. Mel, Maggie, and Macy may not be Prue, Phoebe, Piper, and Paige, but they sure did put an interesting new spin on what it means to be the charmed ones.

Follow me as I dive into the story of the Charmed Ones. In today's blog, I will discuss things I noticed between the original and the spin-off.

Happy Reading!

What is 'Charmed' About?

Charmed is about three ordinary sisters who discover they are witches. They are witches with the utmost responsibility of saving the world from the evil lurking in the underworld. Deemed "the Charmed Ones," they come together as the power of three to save the world from impending doom.

Trailers

Charmed (1998)

Charmed (2018)

What's the Same?

#1: Romance

Both series cover the empath sister with the demon lover trope. I must say, I am sucker for this plot. As much as I love Maggie and Parker, Phoebe and Cole were so much better. I don't recall Phoebe trying to marry Cole because she wanted to unite the witches with the demons; she married Cole because she was trying to save her sisters.

Both in the original and the new one, we see a whitelighter fall for a charmed sister. Although Piper didn't start off as the oldest, she became the oldest after Prue died. Piper and Leo become an item in the original. In the 2018 version, Macy is the oldest, and she falls for Harry, the whiteligher.

#2: The house

The make-up of the house is similar but not entirely the same. I appreciate the creators of the new version of Charmed for keeping the house burgundy and for keeping the patio that leads to the backyard. To my original charmed fans, you know what I mean. The house gives a nostalgic feel that doesn't totally break away from the set of the original.

What's Different?

#1: The makers of the new Charmed series switched up the sister's powers and age/rank as siblings.

In the original series, Prue, the oldest, is the one with telekinetic powers, meaning she can move people or objects with her mind. Piper- the second oldest- could freeze time and blow people up. Phoebe- baby number three- was the empath. Paige, the baby/orphan, was half whitelighter and half witch.

In this new Charmed, the oldest sister-Macy- half-demon, half-witch. She's mixed (half black, half Hispanic), and she has a multitude of powers. Her main power is telekinesis. Mel- is the second oldest, and her power is the ability to freeze and heat/blow things up. Margarita, Maggie, who is the empath. In a plot twist, Maggie and Macy share a father. Their father is a mortal black man. Macy never had the chance to meet her mother when she was alive due to a sad circumstance. Maggie and Mel grew up together, thinking they shared a father.

In the original Charmed, we have a 'P' theme for the names; in the new version, the theme is 'M.' Their surnames are Vera in the new one, not Halliwell.

Also, in the new Charmed, there is a fourth Charmed witch who is not biologically related. Her name is Mikaela.

#2: The Book of Shadows cannot sense evil in the new series

Let me first say this: the demons in the new series aren't as bold. In the original charmed, demons would come from all angles to try to get their hands on that grimoire. The only book that came close to doing what the Book of Shadows did in the original was The Elder's Spell book, which blew Macy away because of her other half.

#3: No consequences for using magic for personal gain

Maggies, throughout most of her Kappa career, used magic to save her butt on multiple occasions and received no magical backlash for it.

#4: The Human sidekick: Darryl vs Jordan.

What good would this series be if a mortal isn't willing to lay their life on the line for these sisters? The biggest difference here is that Darryl was never romantically involved with any of the sisters. Darryl always helped where he could, and when he had enough, he backed out.

Niko could have been similar to Darryl, but she was dealing with Mel, and she was in the know about Magic until the last few bits that her character was in the show.

#5: The location

The sisters are based in Seattle instead of San Franciso like the original. The makeup of their home may be similar, but their location is certainly not.

#6: Teleportation/Orbing: Leo vs Harry, as in

Whenever Leo would teleport, you would see a blue/white shine, and it would fizzle out or in, depending on whether he was going or coming. When Harry teleports, there's this black aura that folds into itself really quickly. I must say, I do not miss the sound Leo made when he teleported; whenever Leo moved, the sound just made it seem like he was orbing fast enough. I don't know how to explain it, but Harry orbs slightly quicker than Leo does, which makes him slightly more efficient as a whitelighter.

#7: Grams

I don't know about y'all, but I loved Grams. Grams was funny and charming. The Vera sisters not having grams is so unfortunate. But then again, their mother was alive until her incident in the pilot episode.

Speaking of the pilot episode...

#8: How the sisters got their powers

The Halliwell sisters ignited their powers together on their own. Their mother didn't say a spell upon her death to unlock their powers. Phoebe accidentally recited a spell from the Book of Shadows in the attic, and the floodgates were open after that.

#9: Important side characters

Chris, Wyatt, Barbas, Billie. Leslie, Mitch, Kyle, Andy, Victor, etc. The Charmed reboot doesn't have these types of characters that add to the sisters' storyline. Every side character I've listed from the original has added to the "why" of each Halliwell sister. The Vera's sisters only why seem to be for the greater good or duty. The only sister from the reboot who seems to have a "why" is Macy.

#10: Death

Similar to how I feel about Grams, where is death? The death character from the original Charmed made the show so much sweeter. As witches, the ability to save everyone is virtually impossible in their line of work. The Death character would have been nice to see in the new Charmed when the Harbinger infected Niko and all the other humans. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, this new Charmed doesn't seem to cover death at all. There isn't really a time when any of the characters are on the brink of death, and someone desperately needs to be saved.

What's new?

#1: Abigael Cain...or rather, the idea of her.

The mixing of powers is not something uncommon in the original show. Piper herself had two children with mixed powers. Paige, herself, is a result of two people with different powers coming together. The idea of a witch and a demon coming together to make a baby is new. There is no significant person with bilateral powers in the original Charmed show who is close to the Halliwell sisters. This brings me to my next point...

#2: The Demon Overlord

In the original series, the demon overlord is not a thing. The closest we come to a character like that in the original is Cole and Zankou, and that quickly dies down. Moreover, there wasn't any demon that would strip another demon of their power, much less through a magic knife.

#3: The Command Center

The idea that the elders had a space where they would meet if all hell broke loose is new and smart. In the original, the elders were in some version of Heaven. In the original, the elders are figures that are viewed to be the closest we get to angels.

#4: Factions

Mel joins the Sarcana, a group of rouge witches who no longer follow the elders' orders. The original show doesn't cover a group like this.

#5: Powers:

There is a manifestation witch. She is able to make her powers come to life by drawing whatever she envisions, and it comes to life.

Overall

Both versions of Charmed are amazing. Perhaps my perception is overshadowed by nostalgia, but...I don't care. The original Charmed blows the 2018 remake out of the park. The 2018 Charmed is great but lacks the same feelings as the original.

The 2018 version packs wonderful storylines, but the 1998 version has my heart.

Just Before We Conclude This Post

May Shannen Doherty, who played Prue Halliwelll in the original series, recently passed away. Her hard work and dedication to this series will never be forgotten.

May she rest in peace.

Thanks for Reading!

Thank you for reading this blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts for those of you who have watched both Charmed shows. Do you agree or disagree? What do you wish I would have covered in this post?

Anyway, that's all for today. Thanks for all your support.

Have a nice day, and stay blessed! ☺️