I never thought I’d ever enjoy a television show with Aaron Spelling’s name attached to it, but I decided to give Charmed a chance.

Produced by Spelling and airing on the WB Network in the U.S., the series revolves around three women played by Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano, who discover they are witches – good witches, but witches nonetheless. Each has her own special powers: Prue (Doherty) can move objects through telekinesis, Piper (Combs) can freeze time, and Phoebe (Milano) can see into the future. In addition, they have other spells at their disposable, thanks to a book Phoebe digs up in the attic of the family house the sisters inherited.

Prue and Piper also have Phoebe to thank for the magical powers. By reading a passage from the book, she activates their powers. They soon discover their grandmother, who recently passed away, was a witch. When she died, her powers her came up for grabs. Unfortunately, an evil warlock, who has been stalking and killing other witches in San Francisco to take their powers, has been waiting for the sisters to realize these powers.

The first episode has a very simple plot, as the sisters have to use their combined talents to defeat the warlock. In the midst of all this they face job woes and sibling infighting, while one of the detectives investigating the murders, an old acquaintance of Prue’s, knows not everything is what it seems.

With some good writers, Charmed could be more than just a ‘evil creature that must be defeated by the sisters’ show. Buffy The Vampire Slayer has proven it is about more than just a teenage girl killing vampires every week.

Charmed has all the right ingredients to become another cult hit for the WB.

Gary Hilson is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for hire. He lives in Toronto.