Just completed watching season 4 again. In the first episode of season 5 there were several (albeit minor) contradictions from S4 to S5. Just wondering if the writers changed or what may have caused the inconsistencies.
shareThere were inconsistencies throughout the entire series, starting in Season One where Victor is Victor Halliwell in 'Thank You for Not Morphing' and then Penny tells Patty that she kept her maiden name in 'That Seventies Episode'. And the writers changed from season to season to season, probably part of the reason.
Actually most of both Seasons 4 and 5 share the same group of writers it's just the tone was changed significantly no doubt under Brad Kerns full influence on Charmed which began with Season 5.
And by change I mean make much worse.
They think we're the demons now - Prue Halliwell ~ All Hell Breaks Loose ~ Charmed
Actually Brad Kern's full influence on Charmed began with Season 4 after Connie Burge was let go.
I think S4 and S5 also showed more of The WB's influence - S4 when they wanted it to replace Buffy when Buffy jumped ship to the UPN and S5 when they started trying to use sex on Charmed to save their dying network.
Using various IMDb pages, here are the writers from the first five seasons, sorted two different ways. First, all of the writers in the order that they appeared, including the first episode they wrote:
Constance M. Burge (1.01: Something Wicca This Way Comes)
Brad Kern (1.02: I've Got You Under My Skin)
Zack Estrin (1.03: Thank You for Not Morphing)
Chris Levinson (1.03: Thank You for Not Morphing)
Javier Grillo-Marxuach (1.04: Dead Man Dating)
Greg Elliot (1.06: Wedding from Hell)
Michael Perricone (1.06: Wedding from Hell)
Edithe Swensen (1.07: The Fourth Sister)
Sheryl J. Anderson (1.09: The Witch is Back)
Tony Blake (1.13: From Fear to Eternity)
Paul Jackson (1.13: From Fear to Eternity)
David Simkins (2.04: The Devil's Music)
Vivien Mayhew (2.06: That Old Black Magic)
Valerie Mayhew (2.06: That Old Black Magic)
Michael Gleason (2.14: Pardon My Past)
Krista Vernoff (3.03: Once Upon a Time)
William Schmidt (3.05: Sight Unseen)
Daniel Cerone (3.06: Primrose Empath)
Monica Breen (3.07: Power Outage)
Alison Schapker (3.07: Power Outage)
Peter Hume (3.08: Sleuthing with the Enemy)
Neil Scovell (3.11: Blinded by the Whitelighter)
Michael Gleason (4.11: Trial by Magic)
Curtis Kheel (4.18: Bite Me)
Mark Wilding (5.5: Witches in Tights)
Laurie Parres (5.6: The Eyes Have It)
Henry Alonso Myers (5.7: Sympathy for the Demon)
Andrea Stevens (5.19: Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun)
Doug Jones (5.19: Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun)
(I'm sure you've noticed that some episodes had more than one writer given credit.
In this listing, the writers are sorted by total episodes written that season, then by the previous order)
SEASON ONE:
Brad Kern (5 Episodes)
Constance M. Burge: (4 Episodes)
Sheryl J. Anderson (4 Episodes)
Zack Estrin (3 Episodes)
Chris Levinson (3 Episodes)
Javier Grillo-Marxuach (3 Episodes)
Edithe Swensen (3 Episodes)
Greg Elliot (2 Episodes)
Michael Perricone (2 Episodes)
Tony Blake (2 Episodes)
Paul Jackson (2 Episodes)
SEASON TWO:
Zack Estrin (4 Episodes)
Chris Levinson (4 Episodes)
Sheryl J. Anderson (4 Episodes)
David Simkins (4 Episodes)
Brad Kern (3 Episodes)
Javier Grillo-Marxuach (3 Episodes)
Vivien Mayhew (2 Episodes)
Valerie Mayhew (2 Episodes)
Constance M. Burge (1 Episode)
Michael Gleason (1 Episode)
SEASON THREE:
Sheryl J. Anderson (4 Episodes)
Zack Estrin (3 Episodes)
Chris Levinson (3 Episodes)
Daniel Cerone (3 Episodes)
Krista Vernoff (3 Episodes)
Monica Breen (3 Episodes)
Alison Schapker (3 Episodes)
Brad Kern (2 Episodes)
Neil Scovell (2 Episodes)
Peter Hume (2 Episodes)
William Schmidt (2 Episodes)
Michael Gleason (1 Episode)
SEASON FOUR:
Brad Kern (4 Episodes)
Daniel Cerone (4 Episodes)
Monica Breen (4 Episodes)
Alison Schapker (4 Episodes)
Curtis Kheel (3 episodes)
Neil Scovell (2 Episodes
SEASON FIVE:
Krista Vernoff (5 episodes)
Daniel Cerone (4 Episodes)
Monica Breen (4 episodes)
Alison Schapker (4 Episodes)
Curtis Kheel (4 Episodes)
Brad Kern (3 Episodes)
Henry Alonso Myers (3 Episodes)
Neil Scovell (1 Episode)
Mark Wilding (1 Episode)
Laurie Parres (1 Episode)
Andrea Stevens (1 Episode)
Doug Jones (1 Episode)
So I'll let each of you decided when the change in writers made the difference.
That explains a lot because it seemed like with season 5 we got mermaid, comic book heroines, etc.....
shareYou can even spot the color change. Charmed S 1-4 was a lot darker, not just in tone, but the overall colors used. Season 5 is just a lot more lighter and colorful, which for Charmed - was a bad thing
shareWhat were the contradictions in the first episode of season 5?
Babies kill TV shows!
Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa became executive producers, Constance officially left, and few people were fired as well I believe. The WB didn't want a story arc as they wanted the casual viewer to dip in at anytime. The WB also didn't want a baby, but Kern did which is why the last bit of S4 was rushed.
There was a huge shift after season 4. The most obvious is how Cole was dealt with. It's as though something happened off screen. Why was Phoebe in such a rush to get rid of Cole? The episode says she was heartbroken because of slll that he put her through, but the show completely ignores seasons 3-4, where Phoebe willingly puts him in these situations.