S3-8 SLEUTHING WITH THE ENEMY

[vandergraafk]

In Sight Unseen, Cole has already been trapped in a crystal cage. Phoebe, incensed that Prue would trap her boyfriend, is hardly assuaged when the same trap captures Troxa, a demon who reveals the name Belthazor to the sisters before the TRIAD haul him off to the Wasteland. Prue remains suspicious of Cole. Phoebe is ever defensive of him. The truth will out in this fabulous episode.

[Scott]

One of the best Charmed dialogues ever:

Krell: I'm Krell, a Zotar.

Prue: Hi, I'm Prue, a Scorpio!

Absolutely brilliant!

[laiste]

lol, I love this... what a shame that the rest of the dialouge doesn't match with the sisters birth dates and their given signs......

[vandergraafk]

Now, I'm not sure how to interpret this. Let's see. Phoebe is a Scorpio, too. That certainly explains why she and Prue conflicted immensely. Piper is called a Gemini by Phoebe. Yet, there is a discrepancy between a date of birth that appeared perhaps in Pardon My Past or again Season 5's reprise of the family tree in the The Day the Magic Died. (There's also a question of her birth year, but that's another matter.) I view Piper as a cusp line Gemini. I am, too. We (Piper and I) share a lot of similar traits. Stubborn, two-faced (classic Gemini) and prone to fits of temper. Two-faced does not mean duplicitous. Rather, there is the kind, caring side and the tough, stubborn side. Both sides are classic Piper.

[vandergraafk]

In this episode, we are introduced to Inspector Reece Davidson, a detective assigned to investigate the strange behavior of ADA Cole Turner, who apparently does no work beyond filing extensions for his lone case. Inspector Davidson will, unfortunately, die before Season 3 ends. However, he will make his grand return in Season 7's Death Becomes Them. In the meantime, one of the Cleaners will mess up his name and declare him to be Inspector Reece in Crimes and Witch Demeanors.

[Fourever Charmed]

Mar 2, 2007 7:14:55 GMT -5 laiste said:

lol, I love this... what a shame that the rest of the dialouge doesn't match with the sisters birth dates and their given signs......

I'm confused. How did you come to the conclusion that the dialouge doesn't match Prue's birthdate?

1. In season one, Prue's birthday is celebrated in episode four, "Dead Man Dating."

2. In the season premiere of season two, we learn that the anniversary of the sisters recieving their powers back is on the Autumnal Equinox, making the series premiere (1x01) of "Something Wicca This Way Comes" on September 23, 1998.

3. In season two's "Pardon My Past," we see Prue's birthday listed on the family tree as "October 28, 1971."

The the series premiere in the Charmedverse timeline kicking off on September 23, 1998, it's perfectly in line with the timeline for Prue's birthday to take place three episodes later, in late October, thus just slightly over a month has taken place over the four episodes (about a week an episode). So, Prue saying she's a Scorpio in "Sleuthing With The Enemy" is anything but a continuity error. Scorpios have their birthdates between October 23 - November 21, which Prue's birthday falls.

The first time there is conflict of Prue's birthday is actually in the season four premiere. Prue was supposed to be born in 1971, not 1970. And this was not just merely a screwy family tree error: if you go back and watch 1x05's "Dream Sorcerer," (the episode directly after Prue's birthday episode) after Prue's car wreck when she's being admitted into the hospital, the paramedic states: "I've got a 27 year old female." 1998 - 27 = 1971.

The only reason Prue's birth year has become accepted as 1970 is because besides being shown briefly in 2x14 and told indirectly to us in 1x05, 1971 was never stated in the show, yet 1970 was shown prominently in "Charmed Again, Part One," "Hell Hath No Fury," and any other episodes from season four and beyond that used footage of Prue's headstone and thus has become engraved (no pun intended) into the heads of fans and thus commonly accepted (despite being a continuity error in actuality).


Like her sister, Phoebe is also a Scorpio. Her birthday - surprisingly - has been the only birthday to be completely consistent throughout the run of the series:

1. In 1x17's "That 70's Episode," when the sisters travel to the past, they see a newspaper with the date "March 24, 1975" and Phoebe states that Patty is barely pregnant with her.

2. In 2x14's "Pardon My Past," Phoebe's birthdate is shown on the family tree as "November 2, 1975".

3. In 3x03's "Once Upon A Time," Phoebe states she is a Scorpio (putting her birthdate, as I already said with Prue, between October 23 - November 21).

4. In the series finale, "Forever Charmed," Piper and Leo travel back to the past when Patty and Victor are conceiving Phoebe. Later in the episode, when Victor of the present asks Patty where she's from, she happily states, "1975!"


There was only ever one slip up with Paige's birthdate that I recall. Her birthdate was revealed as August 2, 1977 in "Charmed Again, Part Two" when she was talking to Sister Agnes. In "Centennial Charmed," the Alternate Universe Cole created, her headstone said she was born in 1975, which was incorrect because that was Phoebe's conception and birth year.


The only birthdate to be notoriously inconsistent is Piper's:

1. In 1x22's "Deja Vu All Over Again," Piper is reunited with Joanne Hertz, the Segment Producer from the Food Network from Baker High, class of 1992. This implies Piper may have been in the same class, and thus potentially born in 1974.

2. In 2x14's "Pardon My Past" her birthdate on the family tree is listed as "August 7, 1973".

3. In 3x03's "Once Upon A Time" Phoebe states that Piper is a Gemini (placing her birthdate some where between May 21 - June 21).

4. In 3x09's "Coyote Piper," Piper is revealed to have graduated high school in 1990, implying that her birthdate may have potentially been in 1972.

5. In 6x12's "Prince Charmed" when Piper's birthday is celebrated, it is done so between 6x07's "Soul Survivor" when Wyatt is stated as being ten months old (making the timing of the episode December 2003) and 6x16's "The Courtship of Wyatt's Father" set during Wyatt's first birthday (making the episode February 2, 2004). That means Piper's birthday was celebrated in either December or January.

[vandergraafk]

I, for one, am completely overwhelmed by the references you cite in order to support your case. As someone who participated in the debate about Guadalcanal and tried to make sense of Leo's supposed "year" of birth, I understand how frustrating this can be. Certainly, you have done a yeoman's effort in mustering all of this information. What I might like to do is suggest that one source of these errors might be found in Charmed Mark II, the re-wiring of Charmed that began in Season 4. Some of your comments suggest that questions arise during Season 4. And, we know that Season 5's Centennial Charmed really messed with Paige! One might excuse Charmed for lacking the institutional knowledge and historical facilitator to keep everything straight...! But, fans are rarely so forgiving.

At the risk of adding my incoherent thoughts to the mix, let's start with Forever Charmed. The relevant scene occurs when Piper and Leo meet Victor and Patty who apparently have just conceived Phoebe. Since Phoebe is born in November, we can date this event to February 1975. Now how old are Prue and Piper supposed to be?

According to the 1971 timeline, Prue would be 3, and clearly a long way off from 4. Piper could be 2 or 1, depending on whether you accept 1972 or 1973 as her date of birth. I'll accept 1992 as her graduation year. 1974 would seem to be more apt; however, it is not inconceivable that Piper was held back a year since she does come off as a shy student. Under no circumstances does 1972 make any sense.