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DVD REVIEW: FTN reviews Witches Of East End Season 1

November 9th, 2014 by Irwin Fletcher Comments

Witches of East End Season 1 
Starring: Julia Ormond, Jenna Dewan Tatum & Rachel Boston

Witches of East End stars Julia Ormond as Joanna Beauchamp; an ageless mother trying to keep her daughters Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) and Ingrid (Rachel Boston) safe so that they can lead a normal life. But when Joanna’s estranged sister (Madchen Amick) arrives to warn her of an evil entity out to destroy them all, Joanna is forced to reveal the truth about her family’s magical legacy.

Freya and Ingrid, both young ladies who always believed that they were special, suddenly find out from their mother and aunt that they are witches. Not only are they witches, but their mother Joanna is an immortal who had died and given birth to the same daughters for centuries, only for them to die at a fairly young age. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, their aunt can change into a cat at the drop of hat and has also has the lives to prove it!

Freya is engaged to Dr Dash Gardiner, a highly respected physician who clearly loves his intended. However, a spanner is thrown into their relationship when Dash’s brother Killian turns up. Somehow both he and Freya have a connection and a moment’s weakness will haunt both of them for a long time to come as they both come to realise they have unexplained feelings for each other.

Meanwhile Ingrid, who runs the local library, is too wrapped up in her books on history to really have time for anyone or anything else. Upon discovering her new found powers, she sets herself on a path to explore not only her gifts but also who she was.

All of this takes whilst a “Shapeshifter” is stalking the Beauchamps. Clearly out for revenge for something that happened a long time ago. But in the Witching World, no-one is ever what they seem, and magic lies around every corner…..

This is an interesting first season of show in that it takes time for the viewer to get used to each of the main characters, their personalities, settings etc. Whilst the scripts contain very little humour and the special effects come off more than a little gimmicky, the storyline which runs through the entire season certainly keeps the viewer interested.

The mostly female cast is something more akin to Charmed than Supernatural, though the writers have tried to aim this show at a mixed audience. All four members of the Beauchamp family find love and lust throughout the series, though some romances are more doomed than others.

There are a few fight scenes, but these are heavily choreographed and don’t really come across as thrilling or even fearful for the main cast as we know they are going to just brush it off and carry on until the next episode.

As for the magical side of the story, there are countless spells (which are all virtually spoken in Latin and make no real sense) mixed with some special effect that push the story along. There are times when these little segments can be charming, but on more than one occasion they can just be annoying.

First seasons are always difficult to judge a television show as both the actors and viewers are taking a lot in and it takes time to bed in characters and situations. That said, towards the end of the season there are a number of clues to certain identities (most of which the audience will have worked out well before they are revealed on screen) and the climax cliffhanger of the finale certainly entices the viewer in for the next season.

An interesting show that is more than suitable for an early teen viewer as there are no gratuitous sex scenes, virtually no foul language (and sadly no laugh out loud moments either) and harmless fun that will keep the Halloween blues away for a while.

3 out of 5

I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.