Charmed (TV Series) Thank You for Not Morphing (1998) User Reviews

well...its there dad but...

[jtsjtssmokey-703-366973 · 7/10 · 25 January 2014]

The actor they had playing the father here, (Tony ?) is so diff than Read, (think Read was the better choice, just seemed more of a dad, not like Tony ? well between 2 of the characters didn't seem fatherly).

The book of shadows is touched by evil actually almost stolen, but evil couldn't get it out of the house, the sisters hadnt grown enough in their powers yet to have the book "untouchable", as the "bigger/badder" evil hadnt quite caught on to the powerful charmed sisters. (my thinking).

They saved their dad when they realized he did come back to protect them (in his own way), but he also then noticed they didn't really need his help, an left again but left the video. We later learn that in the video they were trying again to be a family but that Patty was in love with Sam, whom she had gotten close to when her an Victor had split up, we also know that she was pregnant with Paige 5 to 7 weeks my guess as she was born in Aug.

Diff time line ? no, as Patty and Victor didn't get back together. We know he didn't learn about Paige till Piper and Phoebe did, but even if he could have excepted Patty having a Paige, still don't think they could have kept her whitelighter side a secret, they weren't bound, only showed up to save her life when her parents were killed, but with Penny having to keep memories out of the girls lives of demons, Paige could very easily have orbed.

7 was a good episode

Missing Dad

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 7 January 2007]

After many years of absence, Victor Halliwell (Tony Denison), the father of the Halliwell sisters, returns to San Francisco to visit them. Prue does not trust him, while Phoebe and Piper miss their dad and want to have dinner with him in a restaurant. Meanwhile, the nice neighbors of the Halliwell sisters are mutants that want to steal Book of Shadows.

"Thank You for Not Morphing" is a weak episode of "Charmed". The story about a group of mutants that want to get the Book of Shadows is intriguing regarding Victor, since only in the end it is disclosed the real intention of this character (is he the real father trying to protect his daughters or a mutant pretending to be their father?). My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Mutação" ("Mutation")

Daddy's Home

[callanvass · 6/10 · 12 February 2014]

The Halliwell's get an unexpected and somewhat unwarranted visit from their estranged father in San Fransisco. It is unclear about what Victor Halliwell has in mind for his daughters, but they are all happy to see him....everyone except Prue. Meanwhile, The Halliwell neighbors are secretly mutants. This episode certainly keeps you guessing about The Father's true intentions, throwing in some twists and turns along the way. Despite all the unpredictability, this episode is pretty ordinary. The morphing effects range from effective to corny. My major problem with this episode is that the story is slightly lame. There is so much they could have done with the Father's storyline and for a while, they were doing great things. After a while, it begins to go downhill with a whimper of a conclusion. When you have a touchy subject, such as an estranged father, it should be very emotional. I didn't sense that emotion I craved from it. It's far from a bad episode, it keeps you watching, just keep your expectations low

6.6/10

Dad's back

[Realrockerhalloween · 8 September 2016]

Every week they kept it fresh with new and exciting stories. I like the stakes being raised, the creative vanquishes they come up with and even a surprise guest showing up to further a plot like Victor and Leo. Before Leo became a whitelighter he was a handyman fixing up the manor and Victor was a dead best dad who left the girls when they were young.

I really felt the emotions that all the girls with through with Prue feeling unwanted and her two sisters over joyed to have a father again as being realistic. His tie into the plot was a perfect way to introduce him as you don't know much about the character at this point then what what the girls have references to him. So he could be a warlock or a demon and even a bad human being yet turned back from the dark side by his love for his daughters and stop the shapeshifters from stealing the book.

While I find the special effects a little laughable it was a big improvement over the later season making all demons look human and they were smart enough to take on the form of someone they trusted to get inside the fortress instead of appearing with guns blazing. The wedding ring given to Victor by his late wife even serves a purpose to help wars off evil yet like many other artifacts never gets used to its full potential after being shown.

Also I like to note the book hasn't fully gained a shield, allowing evil doers to pick it up, as I feel it grows with it's master's becoming stronger as they do.

While the shapeshifter plot isn't interesting I found the drama and danger created around it to make up for the short comings.

Leo and Dad?

[seneuser · 7/10 · 5 October 2023]

It is hard for me to call the episode where both Leo and Victor Bennett show up one of the weakest episodes of the season, though that may otherwise be true.

Leo would end up being one of the most important characters on Charmed, and it puts a smile on my face just seeing him in these early episodes before anyone knew who he was and what he was and what his ultimate role would be. Myself included, I think we were all a little green yet and unaware that if a man is consistently showing up at the manor, he is definitely NOT an ordinary guy who is what he seems.

It is clear that the original envisioning of Victor Halliwell was a lot different than what Victor Bennett would eventually be. In this episode the audience is supposed to not know if Victor is good or evil, and unfortunately, the actor did too good of a job of causing skepticism, coming off as a sleezy used car salesmen that the girls are lucky to not have in their lives. Though Victor would seem to have a plausible explanation for wanting the Book out of the lives of his daughters, it really doesn't make any sense on several levels if you think about it.

Obviously, since he lived with one, Victor should know that his daughters would not cease to be witches if the Book disappeared. He should also know that if he were to deliver the Book to the warlocks who want it, then they would immediately kill him and then likely kill his daughters. So, I call BS on all that. Wouldn't telling his daughters that the warlocks are after them be the wiser course of action in every regard?

The warlocks themselves are more stalker-ish creepy than scary and the morphing is ridiculous. One warlock even changes their finger into an inanimate object - a key. What? Could he then change his hand to a gun and shoot the sisters? Crazy.

Regardless, Dad being willing to die to protect his daughters is cool, though not sure that a spell meant to destroy warlocks would affect him.

Even after all that, the writers had to have Dad mysteriously take off again, just to prevent themselves from having to include him in more episodes.

Anyway, Victor Bennett would become a much better character and played perfectly by James Read. I look forward to that.

The One With Morphing Warlocks...

[taylorkingston · 9/10 · 17 October 2014]

I didn't mind this episode, but I can tell you that it is my least favorite from Season 1, and one of my least favorite episodes of the series.

In this episode, Prue, Piper and Phoebe's Dad comes back into the picture, after being away for years. And their neighbors from across the street, are actually shape shifting warlocks, who want the Book Of Shadows. They plan to get it anyway they can. So they use Victor; the girls' father. By the end of the episode, nobody trusts Victor and they all think that he's the villain in this episode. But he's not. One of the warlocks morphs into Victor, so the girls have to work out which one is which, before they vanquish the wrong one. Everything works out okay in the end.

We don't see Victor's character again until Season 3. And he is played by another actor. In my opinion, the second actor portrays Victor better. And for some reason, in this episode he is Victor Halliwell. In later seasons we find out that Patty; the girls' mother; kept her maiden name, and he is Victor Bennet. I don't know why they changed this, but honestly, I think it worked out for the better.

Overall, I give this episode a 7 out of 10.

Jacinda, We Have Guests

[justinenyman · 9/10 · 31 March 2018]

Very decent episode. Not one of the strongest episodes. The actor that plays Victor Halliwell does not provide much to the character. Very glad he was replaced in future episodes by a better suiting actor. Love that morphing was introduced in this episode. You really see the family dynamic between Prue and her father and how their relationship will progress in future episodes.