Okay, I have an admission to make...
Charmed will forever hold a very, very special place in my life.
When I was younger I was always into supernatural shows and magic so that's probably what initially drew my attraction for Charmed, but I have never been as invested or into a television show as I was with Charmed. To give a little bit of backstory, when I was 9 years-old my parents divorced and we had to stay at my grandparents house for a little while. On one of those nights, I inadvertently caught the season 3 finale episode of Charmed (Shannen Doherty's final episode, and one that would eventually go on to become one of my favourite episodes ever) and I was
instantly hooked to the show. Knowing that the show wasn't to return for at least another year after that, I immediately started researching the series and within just a few weeks I had already worked out who my favourite characters were (Piper btw) and (also having quite an imagination) I had already started "role-playing" the Charmed universe in my head over and over as if it were a reality. In hindsight, I do believe the show played some form of role in my coping with my parents' divorce at the time too.
Once season 4 started airing here in Australia, this little show called Charmed had become a huge part of my life. In the five years to follow, I am not kidding you when I say that I more or less lived and breathed all things Charmed non-stop. I guess when we are young we all often find ourselves "obsessing" over different fads or pop culture (maybe something similar to the likes of Beatle Mania... Bieber Fever... 1Direction...) and I will self-confess that Charmed was certainly an obsession of mine. It was what everybody knew me for growing up. I, like others, also used to "play Charmed" at recess with friends at primary school (I was always Piper of-course

) and, even to this day, nothing can compare with how much I loved this show.
I know it sounds a little silly, but it was the one show I just...
loved.
I can go on about the hundreds and hundreds of various merchandise I collected over the years, or that I own the entire series four times on DVD in four different packagings (don't think I'm weird

), but that's not the point. The show itself is incredibly underrated in general and, unlike other shows at the time (namely Buffy) it sadly never received the recognition it deserved. I will be the first to admit that it did have its flaws as the series progressed and Brad Kern (the executive producer who took over the show after Constance M. Burge and Shannen Doherty left) is a complete and utter fucktard who singlehandedly destroyed the original concept of Charmed (I'm sorry, but he did), but I still followed it right to the end. It garnered a cult following worldwide and, still to this day (as this thread proves), it obviously still attracts a whole new generation of audiences over and over, which is what is so special about it I think.
(Don't even get me started on the recent news regarding a "reboot" though...

)
Regardless of that, this year in July I was fortunate enough to finally have the opportunity to personally meet Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty and Brian Krause (Piper, Prue and Leo respectively) when they were in Australia. For nearly 15 years I had grown up with, looked up to, loved and adored these three actors and the characters that they portrayed in this show, which basically raised me all the way through both primary and high school and one that taught me a lot. To sum up, it might sound silly but I can't even begin to explain what Charmed meant to me for years and the big part it played in my life - it was the show that I was able to turn to "escape" reality; everything from my parents' divorce, to moving schools, struggling with coming to terms with my sexuality... it was there for me through it all. And this year I finally got to thank three of those people that spent every single week for eight years being there for me, even if they never knew it, and they couldn't have been more awesome in person.
I always say that no one will fully understand what Charmed did for me growing up and, while I may not watch it regularly right now or am as "obsessed" as I was back then, it's still for that reason that Charmed will always hold an important significance in my life.

It's so good to see other people still enjoying it!