Hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in to another episode of the House of Alleywell. I'm Brian Krause, and I come to you this evening with a heavy heart to learning the news of Shannon Dougherty's passing just yesterday afternoon. I know all of us here at the House of halliwell, iHeartMedia, social media all over the world is shocked, devastated. Too young,
too talented, too loving, too grateful, too early. Shannon will dearly be missed, and we are so honored that she had come on with us, had us along with her on this new incantation of the House. I highly well. We were lucky enough to record four episodes in the last week or so, and Shannon was just so motivated and determined to help make this show a success and give all of you more insight into what it was in the making and the fun and the behind the
scenes of Charmed. And when Shannon wanted to get something done, she got it done. And that's something I learned a long time ago watching her on set and work and be such a professional and so good at what she did. She's had her last life long lasting impression on me. I'm sorry, I'm bumbling a little. I find it hard to say everything I want to say, so perhaps I'll
leave you off with this. I know how grateful Shannon was as I was lucky enough to travel with her to many different places and comic cons and go backstage and hear from her the things that affected her emotionally joyously. It gave her so much emotionally meeting the fan and hearing the stories and knowing how much it meant to
all of you, it filled her greatly. And I know that she believed in the House of Hallowell to be the little bit that she was able to give back, and so all of us here at the House of Hallewell, I want to honor that and we are going to continue on in her name kick freaking ass, because that's
what she would do. And so from us at the House of halliwell, I love you, and we thank you, and please keep sharing it in your prayers and all our family, and take care of yourself and I hope you enjoy this next episode as much as I do. Thank you.
Hi, everyone, Welcome to another episode of House of Hellowell.
Episode one uh formerly knows as a pilot something Wika this way comes from here to October seventh, nineteen ninety eight.
The synopsis to this episode.
The series kicks off with the Hallewell sisters back under one roof despite some sisterly druma. Meanwhile, a killer is on the loose in San Francisco and Prue's ex boyfriend, Inspector Andy, is on the case. Phoebe finds the Book of Shadows in the attic, and all three sisters suddenly have magical powers. When Piper's boyfriend ends up being a warlock in disguise, the sisters come to terms with the fact that life will never be the same.
Holly, I'm going to turn this over to you because you guys are the pros that know how to do a rewatch of a rewatch of a rewatch. I've never done this before.
Well did you enjoy it the rewatch? Yeah? I did? You did? Did you watch everything like I did? Like I know we got dailies. I watched every second of Daily's do you mean when we were filming the show. I don't remember if you watched them or not.
Like occasionally, but really only the episodes I directed.
So I watched Daily's every second of them, and then I would watch every episode once only, so everybody else in the world is clearly very ahead of us.
I don't like watching dailies because I feel that when I watch dailies, I become very conscious of certain things that I do, and I think, as you do, it's not good for you, like I think it restricts you in a lot of ways. I watched the very first day of dailies just to see if the lighting was good and then if we all looked good. Yeah, but then past that, I just didn't want to restrict myself by being too self conscious.
Right, Yeah, you would pick up your quirks, your habits that you would do over and over again. Yes, I do remember. Yeah, Hi, John Holly, mister Kretschmer, He's like, you know you are Charmed OJI director of the day.
Thank you. I am very proud to say that I directed more Charm than any other single director.
How many episodes did you direct?
Seventeen?
On the seventeen they were all when I was on Or did you cheat on me?
No?
John, he did, well, yes I did.
But I did do three with you, Shanny, so that counts for something.
Yeah, my god, you only did three with me, and is seventeen? What is happening. You made a big vision. You were one of my favorite directors. You cheated on me.
So sweet, You're so sweet. Let's let's change the subject for Oh.
He's getting uncomfortable already, Hot seat John, That's what this time around.
It's a brand new house. It's a totally different five, totally different five here, hot seat House of Valiwell, so, but.
You directed most important, you directed the pilot, which really set the tone for the show.
Well, it's a little more complicated than that, Shannon. There was a present I was asked to direct the twenty minute presentation, and I was unavailable because I was working as a producer director on another show, which was a
mistake because I should have done the charming presentation. But nonetheless, Bruce Seth Green came in into the twenty minutes and then they replaced the third sister when I was hired to do to do the entire episode, so I reshot everything with the exception of Holly's confrontation in the elevator with Jeremy.
Right.
So, pilot basically, yes, I'm that complicated. Yes, you directed the pilot. Yeah, I never watched because I don't watch anything that I'm on The only episodes I watched were the ones I directed, and I watched it in the editing room as we were editing. So for me to do this rewatch and actually have to rewatch it, I got to be honest with you. I was like, really really impressed by the pilot. I was, and maybe I was looking at it with a director's eye, but right probably, Yeah.
I was blown away by the lighting. I was blown away by the shots, the movement of the camera, the direction. How you know, you really felt the sisters like bond in their relationship, and I was just like, I mean I spoke to Holly about it and I was like, oh my god, Like that pilot was so good. So kudos to you, man, because you did an amazing job.
Thank you well. You know, as I've told you privately, it was a very easy job to do because you guys were so fantastic and Brian, I wish I could include you, but you weren't in the episode, or Drew, but you came. When you guys came in, same thing happened. I mean, it was just it was always a pleasure to come to the show because everyone was so professional,
so prepared. There were never any contentious fights. There were creative discussions, but we never we never seemed to We always seemed to be on the same page.
Yeah.
And the thing, the thing that I appreciated with you and Holly was that you guys were so well prepared that when we shot a scene, we shot it very quickly because there wasn't a lot that I didn't There was no need to tweak the performances. You guys were
just dialed into these characters from the get go. So if the pilot is successful, I have to say that eighty percent of that has to do with you guys and not me, And with with the script too, which which afforded me a lot of opportunities, And with Tommy del Ruth, who was the cameraman who did a wonderful job and came up with some wonderful ideas. And you know, you have to mention Dean Mitzner, who is the production designer who built that wonderful interior set and.
It is gorgeous that set.
Yeah, And then and then we also have I also have to do a tip of the hat to Steve Labet, who was the visual effects guy. I think you know, you look at you look at this pilot, which was twenty eight years ago, I think, and it's not up to the snuff of what we can do today. But I have to say the visual effects are pretty darn good for what for that period, and they hold up pretty well. And I don't know, Holly, and and and and uh jan and if you remember, as the year progressed,
getting the visual effects became easier. We didn't have to freeze, we didn't have to bring in the blue screen. It became a much quicker process. But that that first episode required a lot of technical work to get it to work, you know, especially where Holly, where you froze people. That was very hard.
It was awkward.
But thank you, Jen and I you know, I watched it yesterday and I thought, nah, it holds up pretty well, you know, And I.
Think I think it's a testament really well.
I think it's a testament to everyone involved in the show that this many years later, it is still an incredibly popular show on streaming services. I mean, it's amazing that it is constantly running to this day.
But I did notice in the pilot what really stood out to me. One of the things was the relationship and the acting between tw Ted King and Dorian.
Yeah, like it was. They were so good.
Together and right off the bat, and I didn't really remember or like that chemistry, and so when I watched it, I think that a lot of that is from direction. It's obviously from the two of them as well. But for you to not take credit for that, like you're super humble and that's lovely, but you I wasn't there for their scenes, right, But whatever you did, whatever that connection was that you captured between the two of them, they were really really good.
That was my favorite line I think in the whole pilot when he was like, Dorian goes she didn't direct Jack, and I was like, I'm laughing, oh, by myself. They were so good.
It's very sweet of you to say that, Shannon, But I'll be completely honest with you, that was all them. I really I don't. I don't remember going in there and having to do much work those scenes. They were very enthusiastic, but those were some of the first things we filmed, as I remember. If I'm not yeah, I think so.
Which on the pilot really had a feeling of I thought I was watching a movie, like a feature film. It had a feeling of like an eighties family thriller, horror thriller, excitement, and which was very unusual for television at that time.
They were so separate.
So when you were booked to do the pilot and you come brought on, how much were you able to share, like, this is what I want to do with it, and brought in the cinematic view and the way you added shots and all of that.
I don't remember any tonal or stylistic discussions with Duke or with Connie or with Brad specifically. I think Jim Conway had who was familiar with my work, was comfortable bringing me in knowing, I guess, knowing what I was going to do with it. The one thing that we I did have an argument with Aaron about was I
didn't want to do a lot of establishing shots. If you guys remember spelling shows were famous for a shot of a hospital with a sign and then zooming in yes, and I just I did not want to do that, and I, you know, Brad, to his credit, went to Duke, and Duke went to Aaron and said, you know, we've got to update the look of these shows. And so for the most part, we were able to eliminate all the establishing shots or as many as we could.
Yeah, as many as we could.
But other than that, I mean it was part of the reason there was so much movement is that Tommy, having done ER, was very familiar with doing long steady cam shots and and yeah, complicated things. And Holly, if you remember in the next episode, there's that really amazing STEADI caam shot in the bar with you and Alyssa. It's a different show, but that was Tommy. He was
he was very adept at you know. I would say can we do this, and he'd say, no problem, and we did it, you know, so that he made it very easy.
Yeah, our crew was amazing, and as the camera department was like phenomenal. I just I never I never felt like they were intrusive. They didn't. It wasn't like they're constantly in your eyeline or and they were really really good, Like we didn't have to do a lot of takes. They nailed it on the first try every single time.
And I do remember that it was.
Kind of experimental, I guess you could say, because Tommy did come from Er and there were those long steady cam shots and then we started going into like handheld and and I loved that because that was my personal style. So it was it was extremely exciting. It was it was hard too, It was hard, but it was exciting. It was you could feel how good the show was
going to be. It was bizarre. It was like you were excited because you were like, oh, this is really good and our crew is really good, and our director is really good, and all the actors are really good, so you were able to be like, there's no way the show isn't getting picked up.
I felt like I was treading water the whole time, Like, you know, I was over exerting all of my efforts, like I was just trying so hard, which I think is reflected in Piper. Yes, the hyper Piper walk, just in.
The way she walks.
Yes.
Absolutely.
And you know, it wasn't until that we went into Less Sheldon's trailer and I saw the trailer that I saw the credits and what we heard the music that I felt like, oh, maybe this is actually something that's going to be Like I got chills. Yeah, I remember that.
Yeah, you said in the second in the second episode, you were in the makeup trailer when I think, I don't know how you got the information, but you basically said we're hit, you know, and it was like everyone sort of relaxed, you know, was very listen. I have to say we had more fun doing that pilot than than than than I can imagine being on any other show. I mean, I just remember it being a lot of fun. Shannon,
You and I would joke around. There was one time when you took a polar and of me holding a martini glass and a cigarette. Do you remember that, you know which is which? I don't. I don't partake in either, But you then put it up on the on the monitor, you know, is this is our leader kind of thing. But it was just like that. We just we had fun, We were relaxed. It was you know, we had confidence in the material, and I had confidence in you guys and then the crew. So it was just smooth sailing.
I don't remember any moment of there being difficulty or attention. Maybe that's just yeah, I just maybe that's just history putting a gloss on it.
But no, we had nothing to lose. We had nothing to lose in everything to prove, and so yeah, it was you know, they're going to give us these toys in this project, and we're going to see if it floats.
Basically, how many days did you guys have to shoot that pilot?
Seven days?
It was, yeah, it was seventh because we weren't We didn't get to start doing eight days until later on, so it was seven day.
He tried to let get us to do it in seven in the beginning, but the special effects and then add stunts to that and make up forget it, it was not possible.
Yeah, but that was after the pilot that that it was like decided so in the pilot, I mean really, for you to shoot that pilot with all of the special effects and everything in seven days, that's pretty that's pretty remarkable.
That's insane because usually they give pilots like double like a pilot's fourteen days or eighteen days, like to really kind of get Actually.
The presentation was, yeah, you got to remember, we had the presentation that we had already shot.
The show was a go, so we had to get you know, we had to keep doing episodes. Normally, when you do a pilot and you have ten days to do it, they then put it together and then they have to sell it. The show had been sold.
Right, so okay, So and did it feel different for you? Girls being from the presentation to them the first episode, did it feel drastically different outside of the recasting.
I don't think it felt drastically different, but it definitely felt different.
You know.
I will say that Lorii Wrong, who played Phoebe in the beginning was or for the presentation, was really great. She was a great actress. And you know, Laurie and Alyssa are very, very very different people. So Laurie's performance was different than Alyssa's was a lot like Holly and I in the sense of very grounded in drama, and that's you know it was. The presentation was much more serious and it was way darker, which was my style, right,
So I loved the presentation. I thought, like everybody was great, but when Alyssa came in, you know, it provided like a levity that I think the show ended up needing. And and she came in and she did a great job, and yeah, just brought like a slightly different flavor to the show. And to be honest, like when I when I watched it, it was like, God, you know, they accept that their witches so easily, Like especially Phoebe, She's like, oh, I'm a witch. I'm like who thinks that like that?
Like that part sort of threw me off.
It was a little rush, and I was like, it could.
Never have worked with Laurie because she was so grounded and so serious that it would have felt fake. But with Melissa, you were like, plus she believes she's a witch immediately.
Yeah, I totally played her personality that bubbly, kind of like trying to figure like, oh, now there's purpose, like they right, she's.
Searching for her purpose anyway, it gives it to.
Her exactly, and so I think that was really well played, but was from the one more question about that was the presentation, like the verbatim. Basically it was the same exact script and same shot essentially the same kind of shots or whatever, and then you just.
It well, I mean from my perspective, it was only twenty minutes. It wasn't a full episode, right, Yeah, there were scenes that weren't included. Okay, but Bruce and I have have similar styles, and so I would I would sometimes use hit what he had shot as a template for what I wanted to do, but I did tweak things to accommodate my own personal aesthetic sense.
Right, because pilots sign please sorry, sorry, go ahead, No, no, I was just going to say, like a pilot director really is responsible for establishing ultimately the look and feel of a show, right, and so the fact that you were tasked with that and kind of everything that happened one hundred and seventy plus episodes was really established and started with you and your kind of vision with Tom to to kind of set the tone in the mood right away, yeah.
You know, and watching it. There were only three things that dated the show, and I've mentioned this before. One was Holly in a phone booth, which just you know, I don't I think that there are people in this world who don't even know what a phone booth is anymore. When when TW says or when when Shannon accuses TW of checking checking, you know, checking about her past, it's like, well, now, this was an innocent time before social media, so it
was much more difficult. And the third was is he hands you his card as opposed to just saying here's my number, which you know shows the the the use of the huge use of cell phone since.
Then I hand people in my card all the time.
Also, you robbed a cell phone, you had a cell phone that was a big like character had a cell phone web thing within the second episode. I mean maybe you answered in the the elevator.
Yeah, the the the iPhone had not yet come out. They were still using flips flip at this point.
Yes, what's a flip crazy flip?
I love my flip phone, fiberry buttons, of course, my favorite was a BlackBerry.
There were buns.
You still want pay phones, be honest, But I.
Think I think the show, I think the show you know, holds up pretty well stylistically and and artistically. It doesn't. It's not it's not dated like some shows could be.
I think that's I think.
That's why it keeps going. I mean, it keeps going because the fans connected to it so much, but also because it still feels pretty relevant even today, maybe even more so today. So I think that that's, you know, why it continues to stream everywhere. I think it's why the fans are still so dedicated and watch it over and over and over and over again. I like I said, I didn't find anything that was at a place or
that was dated. When I rewatched it, I was I was pleasantly shocked and and was and was like, oh hey, we we all did a really good job. Like I've been pat with myself on the back, which I never do. I'm always so critical of myself. But I was, hey, you really brought crude of life, and I was, yeah, for sure, but like, oh my god, her boyfriend, her ex boyfriend, Roger so true, so.
Deep Roger, question, did you.
Question that I worked for? I worked with who I just totally took like my ideas and credit for my work. And he was just the actor obviously was really good because the character was sleazy and.
He came across so sleezy, and I know he wasn't. He was actually a really nice guy. But oh, like I'm still creeped out by it.
I'm like, and then to see Prue and Andy's like, we actually had really good chemistry as well?
You did? It was it was Yeah, everybody wonders what happened to that relationship? What did happen in that relationship? I can tell you.
I can tell you I have a detailed breakdown of what happened to that relationship. Flag with red flag, counter red flag. I have a lot of red flags on mister Andy.
Yes, sir, really, so Prue is not like me, because Prue is better about catching red flags, whereas I run towards them.
Right, Prue didn't catch any of these red flags? Really well, then why did they break up?
Yes? She did.
She called red flags. That's why they broke up.
Took a while.
Took a while. Okay, listen, I'm probably not the best person to break down this relationship.
I know you're not true.
I'm sorry, John. How difficult I mean?
I know things have changed now, CGI and the whole day there was a lot of lightning and you had massive rain in this episode which culminated with the soundtrack which came behind you, which I thought the music in the soundtrack in this episode was fantastic and fits so
well and helped push the story. How difficult was it filming backed in so practically and then matching up that soundtrack where you were you involved in the that end of the show as well in the edit and pushing the sound of the show.
I don't think I couldn't participate in the in the final mix because I was shooting the next episode, So you have to you have to give the post production
people credit for that. I don't remember there being sound issues from the rain that was created on stage, because that's usually fairly well controlled with horsehair and troughs and things like that, and lightning is very easy, easily done back in those days, which and didn't make much noise, so I don't I don't recall there being issues with dialogue and soundtrack personally, but it was.
Used really craftly and with the music. That's what kind of got me into some of it, which I didn't notice the first time, is how much it was used to kind of propel some of the emotions of the story, and the way you placed it was fantastic.
Well that's that's the post production people. I again, I couldn't participate in the spotting of the music or discussions with the composer unforcedly because as an itinerant television director always working on something else, and I was literally filming the next episode or editing the next episode, so I didn't have a You know, you have to give that credit to Connie and Brad and everyone in post production.
Okay, sorry, but thank you for I can't take credit for it.
So when did the girls like first discover Like when
was it? Because I was always amazed that they accepted that they as I said before, that they were witches right away so just like recapping the actual episode, I know that you know, they find the Book of Shadows, they have the Ouiji board, and the Wigi board starts doing its thing on its own, but still to accept it so easily and holly, like your character then starts like I think Prue was the one who was so doubtful, but even your character, you know, the sort of pragmatic one,
I would say, started accepting it pretty quickly as well.
Well it worked out for her career wise. That's why. Remember when I freeze the chef and he's about to eat something Asian that wasn't finished, which, by the way, no one told me that that would be my hand movement for eight years when I was grabbing for that, no one told me until, like I think it was Jim Conway said in like the next episode, No, that's your thing, that's what you do, And I was like forever, like I didn't know, like I would have planned more carefully.
Yeah, that was that was a thing of like how we used our powers. Yes, remember they had me squinting at first.
Yeah, and you weren't down with it.
It was like, guys, I'm gonna have so many wrinkles around my eyes like this is not good, and because I had to exaggerate it so that the audience could actually see it.
And I can't remember.
I mean obviously as I watched the show, I'll figure out which episode I finally got to start using my hand for the motion.
But right, that was a big That was a big deal. Though you had to like get that approved.
It took me a lot. It took a lot of meetings with Aaron. Your hand with Aaron was kind of like my hair. It was kind of like your hair, our wardrobe. We couldn't change things because you know, he was right in a way his whole idea about us changing how we looked. He said that an audience really needed to connect with us before we changed anything. Unfortunately, he thought that that meant never changing anything, and I
was definitely not down with that. I was like, no, no, no, no, I'm going to change my hair up and wear different clothes. And you eventually had to stand up for yourself too and be like, no, my hair is not going to be like this for you know.
However, any I got to go a phone call at home, like the batphone rang and said that Aaron Spelling was on the phone and I thought I was getting fired. It's such a scary phone call to gain. Yeah, I thought I was getting fired. But literally he was calling me about the banks, like the banks need to come back. And I was like, what, Like, this is a phone call about my hair, and he said, yeah, it's your identity, it's who you are. It's piper Is you have to have the bangs. Yeah.
You were not thrilled with that.
Never again in my whole life. Actually, we liked the bank stop it.
I don't know if you remember this moment, but when we did the scene in the bar where you first see the cream moved towards your coffee and then bubble into your coffee, and then the script was that you had then grabbed Lyssa's drink and downd it. I don't
know if you remember that. You and I. You and I had a discussion at that moment where I turned, I pulled you aside and very quietly said, look, I don't know if you want to do the drinking thing based on what people have said about you in the past, but I would prefer not to do that if that's okay with you, And you said you agreed with me, and so we did we did one version with the liquor and one without, and in the in the direct
I didn't use the liquor. I didn't use the drink, but really Violet, they.
Did use it. Yeah, I do remember that.
I remember because I remember being like, Wow, you know, there's somebody who's actually looking out for me in a personal way, which was really nice because obviously I hadn't been looked out for for a really long time. So you you were conscious of, you know, the backstory of me, or the backstory that people created for me. Yeah, but it was in fact in there, you know, at the
end of the day. I don't maybe because it's so many years twenty eight years, is that what we all decided later that it didn't even bother me seeing it again when I rewatched, I was like, I was like, yeah, I would probably down a drink, Like if I see cream over and go into my thing, that would freak me out.
Honestly, it's warranted, Yeah, it's warranted.
It was important to me to at least make you aware of it, and I was I mean not to sound too paternalistic, but I was trying to protect you because I love you, you know, and I loved working with you, and I didn't I didn't want I didn't want any sort of garbage to be interfering with your performance.
I appreciate that, and I felt it from you when you said when you took me aside and you were like with the drinking, it it really I think Holly has heard it from me a bunch of times. And I've already told you that you're absolutely one of my favorite directors I've ever worked with in my entire career because thank you. Well, just because you do look out for people. You don't want people hurt by something that you're doing as as a character.
But people tie you.
To your character, and you know, you become your character to them. So if Prue is, you know, drinking, Shannon must have a problem with drinking as well. And you know, as we all know, I'd had so much bad press and it was, you know, painful, and then it was almost like I got this restart doing Charmed that was really important to me, an important show.
You know, my best friend was on it.
It just I wanted it to go smooth, and yeah, you did, you did do that. Of course, you know that's the director's cut, and you know that kind of had a different a different idea, and I don't think they saw the core correlation between the two at all. I think it was you know, just them thinking that, you know who wouldn't react like that.
But we were aware of things like that going forward. We were aware, like I mean, sometimes there's a lot of perier happening with us because we were aware of being truly we were aware of being young women and you know, somewhat role models, and we didn't want to always be seen drinking. So there is a lot of perier out there.
Should have had a sponsor, John, That's a testament to you as as a filmmaker, to the fact that you thought about that, that you pulled aside and came up with an alternative solution. Like you know, especially in the game of TV, it's just kind of a wide medium, close up, close up, and we're moving on. But the fact that you kind of approach each scene with and that this is what I've experienced working with you throughout
my career. There was always that extra Everything was thought out, thoughtful, and you really tip time, and you really care about your actors, and I think that's what separates you, you know, from most and why we all love you so much and working with you.
John will tell you a great story about what must have been one of my most uncomfortable moments, and he already knows what it is. I'll give you a hint. It was definitely the church and coming out of the church and saying I'm good. Was so hard for me to be that joyful. Like we all know, I can cry and get angry and all the things, but to be joyful to you know, really sell happiness is hard for me. For therapists reasons only.
It's one of my favorite moments.
You show so much joy around me though, Oh really, yeah, joy, I bring it out in her.
There you go. You should have been there. I bring it out. It was so tough. It was so tough for me to do.
Okay, So I remember that Prue found Luigi board put it on the table. And then and then and you started trying to break the news to me that Phoebe was moving back home. And it wasn't like I could stop it because the house was left to all three of us.
It was willed, it was.
You all equally own it.
Right, So it's not like I could say no. But our relationship was so bad in the beginning. But what's really interesting is that there were these moments.
Because I was like, oh, god, Pru is such a bitch.
I was like, oh, But then there were these moments that she you know, when she brought her sister the extra blankets and yes, and you could see like the softness improved towards her, but it was obviously like built up resentment over her thinking that Phoebe had a relationship with her sleazy x Roger, Yes, which is hard, Like it's hard to think that somebody that you love is cheating on you with your boyfriend.
I like to remind people all the time that Pru and Phoebe never got along, but there you balanced it beautifully.
You.
That's what I love so much about this show is that dynamics between the sisters. You guys, you have this obviously there's a history. It's a parent the way you're talking about her and then the way you guys meet when she comes back home from New York. But then you have these tender moments and then I like that, you know, she's the one who's kind of like we said,
she's she's leaning full into this new purpose. But you, you guys, come, you come to it, and you start to understand your power through her in that kind of in the at the Pharmacy that's seen in the Pharmacy, where she's encouraging you to like lean into this and trust what it really is.
And like lose my temper and see like how my powers are actually triggered.
Correct, But it really does play well. You guys played beautifully opposite each other because you feel that it really did add such a because you guys are all so specific with your with your characters and your choices. It really enhances the experience from an audience point of view, Like I loved you know, I love everything about the Pilot. The Pilot is so fantastic and it's one of my
favorite episodes that I've seen today. But it's really the dynamics because you have that history, you have that underlying thing, but then you also come together for certain things and it makes it real because that's what that's what family relationships are. I love my dad more than anything, and he drives me. I have never yelled or cried more at anyone in my entire life than my father, and yet he is like and I love him more than
anything else in the world. And that's just kind of family dynamics, right, And so the fact.
That's what I try to explain to people all the time, is the fact that we were so different and we're so independent. It not just as characters but as people is what makes it more relatable, not less. The fact that we do disagree, we do get along, don't get along, makes it more real, not less. And I know it's not a popular opinion, but the scene in the drug store for me, is where charm came together. That's where coalesced in that scene as a show for me, as
an episode for me, I don't know. I just that's that's the scene that's memorable for me, And that's the scene that really is entertaining to me.
It was entertaining, and I like at the end you accept there's an acceptance like how did that feel? And you kind of like instantly like, oh, that actually kind
of felt good. And so that you watch it wash over you, you watch you've been like fighting against it, and then all of a sudden you have this realization like you know, now obviously like in the coming episodes, you guys are still going to be fighting against your purpose and what this new life looks like but in that moment you leaned in and fully and like we see that. We see the shift, and it's awesome for an audience member.
And you also see the shift and the relationship between her with Phoebe. You see that, you know, prove's almost like thankful in a way for Phoebe pushing her.
And you know what's interesting is.
That that entire the pilot, the first season and everything, like we all really got along. Yes, incredibly different people, but everybody got along. So you could feel like that, you know, last like hug between the three sisters. You could actually feel like the love between all of us.
We were striving, yeah, and we were striving towards the same goal. And because we were all you know, kid actors, we had something to prove as adults, and it was you know, sink or swim.
Right, And it was your boyfriend at the time in the show, Jeremy.
That was the freaking killer. I know, glad, you have bad taste. Your picker is broken. Piper's picker is broken. Piper's picker was broken for a long time, but it got fixed.
Sure, yes, yeah, you know it's funny. You mentioned you mentioned the you mentioned the pharmacy. That was the one scene that I was nervous about, not because of performance, but because of the physical effects. I didn't know if that stuff was going to come off the shelves, and if it did and it was, the take was no good, We'd have to reload it. It was going to take hours. You know.
Do you know how they did it?
Do you remember didn't they have the air puffers behind stuff, like they.
They had a combination of air puffers and they had strength like a no no, no, a board that's kind of pushed the stuff out. As I remember, there were guys behind the shelf pushing it out. There was a combination of yeah.
Yeah, but I remember the air blowers that like you know that like you hit and it's a huge gust of like wind really quick or air. Yeah, I mean it was actually again for that time, it was kind of amazing those special effects people who did all that. That's unbelievable because yeah, I was like you I wasn't quite sure it was going to work.
I was like, you know, John Gray was.
The effects head of effects and he did a very good job on me on the pilot, I think. Yeah, but yeah, that was the that was the but we got it on the first take. That the wide shot we got on the first take, as I remember, so.
I think so I liked it. I liked getting everything on the first take.
All the time.
That was my big thing, Like you know that was your big thing. Well that's why I got named one take Doherty.
Yeah, I'm always better on take two. Yeah, I make.
Carolled that for like ever since Michael landon Days.
Yeah, I'm always better on take two. Take three goes a little awry. Take four don't even try it. Oh nice ry.
Let's say, can we talk about the cat for one second, because so the cat is in the first scene.
I totally forgot that we stole the cat.
We didn't steal it. It found us because we're the best witches in the world. But the cat was in the first scene with the witch who's you know, doing her chance or prayers for protection spelled that didn't do
Jack by yourself when Jeremy stabs her with that knife. Yes, uh, and the cat doesn't even help her, which I'm like, isn't this cat supposed to because protection spell didn't help her and the cat did jack right right, But he apparently was not just dating you, but every other witch that he wanted to kill because they were all like Jeremy. He was super busy. But then the cat, you know, found us.
The one thing I noticed about the cat as well was tw when he hit the crime scene, he was holding the cat and he checked out the necklace and he was like, okay. And then at the very end of the show, when he says goodbye and blah blah blah, and the cat walks up and he turns around from the street about to say something, he clocks the cat that you guys are holding the cat.
Yes, right, because he notices the collar.
The collar, Yeah, he notices it like before.
The cat's Honestly, he is far enough away that he should not have seen that, but he sees that it's the same cat, correct, right.
So so at the end of the episode when he clocks that it maybe go okay for future episodes. Does that make him a little more suspect of you guys being No, he.
Already he already knows. In my mind, he already knows.
Oh.
I don't think he knew at all.
Well, I think he was under I think he saw that and was like, hey, you know, what's the like wisest cat here now.
But I don't think he connected that we were witches. She's been going to a cult stores. He knew the whole time.
Yeah, but you know, he's like my ex boyfriend. I never showed any signs of being a witch. I don't think he knew yet, John, what do you think.
I don't think he knew yet. There's nothing, there's nothing. There's nothing in the episode that indicates that he's onto you, guys. I mean, the fact is that he believes there's such a thing as Wicca and witches, but I don't think he connects you to that yet.
You guys, are you're estimating Trudeau's detective skills. Okay, I'm just going to say.
But in that shot, you isolated him for that to have that look. Was there a conversation about him knowing too much or giving away too much or just noting.
I have no memory of that of what we did then. I was just trying to get through the day. We were on Carol Avenue and we had to get off the streets.
Okay, that was let's go. The sun is setting, losing the daylight.
The fact that Andy from the outset, like the first time we meet him at the crime scene, and he is he is coming from and following a lead from an occult shop like this, Like this feels very like his theory about which is and them being real and existing in San Francisco and kind of tied to a bunch of similar cases that he's kind of detecting is
evident from the very beginning, right. And so the fact that the cat immediately, the cat that he saw at this crime scene is now being held by I think it was Phoebe is holding the cat before they all walk inside, like that would be a very strong direct correlation that these three are there's something going on about this, especially because they you know, the caller has the trequetra well.
I think Connie was probably laying that pipe, you know. But I don't think there was anything that specifically indicates to me that he's going light bulb they're witches yet.
Yeah.
I also remember, like in later episodes, he doesn't really connect the witches thing. So I definitely don't think he had any indication in the pilot. Holly's got her own theory.
I think he starts strong in fact on this second go around because I destroyed Andy.
Oh yeah, I'll get into that.
I think during the pilot, in the first two episodes, he's actually very he's on the right path. He's a good detection. He's a very good, good detective. He's a very good detective.
So I really the flounders later, I'm sorry.
I you know, at the beginning he's a very good detective.
I agree, so and at the end of the pilot he asks brourout and Prue's very much like, my life is a little complicated right now because obviously she's adjusting, And honestly, still one of my favorite things is that ending where Prue goes up the stairs, turns and looks at the door and like shuts it with her mind, because for me, it's when she finally really truly embraces that she's a witch. And sure later you know she struggles on and off, but that, like I always get chills,
and yet I smile thinking about that. When I rewatch, I was like, oh.
What a good ending.
It wasn't good if it was any of us, right, but the fact that Prue was so hesitant to accept her powers and then you realize that she's accepting them, and you go as an audience member, I imagine that you say, like, oh my god, now they're really like the most powerful witches in the world because they've all accepted things.
It's a very delicious moment. And I think one of the things that makes it delicious is that it's silent, that it's all done on your face, you know, and didn't don't they didn't they use that shot over and over in the in the credits.
Or something the credits.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Well it's because it's iconic. I mean, it's absolutely iconic and everything you said about emotionally the audience understanding that she now accepts it as absolutely true and you sold it. I mean it was it was as I said, it was a delicious moment.
Well you shot it, so you're delicious. Yeahs agree. All right, Well, I think that's it for the pilot.
We're going to see you again, because yeah, at least for the three US at least. I don't know if I'll bring it back for the others. I'm so mad.
I'm like, I don't know what, I don't know what you're talking about. God, I have no recollection of that episode.
Soah, but this was this is fun, Like I love rewatching and then like seeing you and all of us having like our opinions about what happened. I think it's very cool. So thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you for inviting me, and it was a total pleasure not only to do this but to see all you guys again because I love you all very very much.
We'll see you for all the other episodes if you'll come back.
Thanks. So that's how Shalla weld.
Thank you you guys again, and we'll see you for the next episode.