Post by vandergraafk on Nov 28, 2006 12:16:20 GMT -5
This has always been a strange episode. Victor Bennett makes his first appearance and comes across as a very unsympathetic father. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that in the opening credits he is mistakenly listed as Victor Halliwell. The character was not well thought out; and, if he had been my father, I would have broken all contact with him. Who needs such a lout! No wonder Prue despises him. Incredulously, we wonder why Phoebe has even bothered to keep in contact with him until we discover that she has had a highly romanticized vision of her father, one that her real father quickly doused in this episode. That the actor portraying Victor (Tony Denison) no longer reprised this role in later episodes is perhaps adequate testimony regarding the poor way in which Victor was portrayed by the writers. Couldn't they have taken greater care with this role?
The real Victor Bennett, as we came to love over the course of the series, played by James Read, was a very sympathetic fellow who had allowed Grams to drive a wedge between Patty and him, as well as between his daughters and him. The real Victor Bennett did not wish to have his daughters pursue magic, especially not after he had seen his ex-wife pay the ultimate price.
Yet, the real Victor is a paradoxical figure. On the one hand, he is well aware of what witches are and what the risks of being a witch entail. On the other hand, he really doesn't understand any of the Wiccan ways. In this episode, however, the first Victor recognizes shapeshifting and understands it as a demonic power. In Season 8, the real Victor is struggling to come to grips with the glamoured girls seeking to protect themselves from the police, Homeland Security, the Elders and the demonic Underworld.
But, for every horrible role written, there is at least one good role. Leo makes his first appearance as a handyman. And, a handy man he will become indeed.
The real Victor Bennett, as we came to love over the course of the series, played by James Read, was a very sympathetic fellow who had allowed Grams to drive a wedge between Patty and him, as well as between his daughters and him. The real Victor Bennett did not wish to have his daughters pursue magic, especially not after he had seen his ex-wife pay the ultimate price.
Yet, the real Victor is a paradoxical figure. On the one hand, he is well aware of what witches are and what the risks of being a witch entail. On the other hand, he really doesn't understand any of the Wiccan ways. In this episode, however, the first Victor recognizes shapeshifting and understands it as a demonic power. In Season 8, the real Victor is struggling to come to grips with the glamoured girls seeking to protect themselves from the police, Homeland Security, the Elders and the demonic Underworld.
But, for every horrible role written, there is at least one good role. Leo makes his first appearance as a handyman. And, a handy man he will become indeed.