Thank You For Not Morphing is the 3rd episode of the first season and the 3rd overall episode of Charmed.
Summary
| For a complete plot of Thank You For Not Morphing, go here. |
Reunited with their long-lost father, Victor Bennett, the sisters are ecstatic, but a little suspicious of his sudden reappearance. Could good ol' dad have an ulterior motive?
Cast
Main Cast
- Shannen Doherty as Prue Halliwell
- Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell
- T.W. King as Andy Trudeau
- Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell
Guest Stars
- Markus Flanagan as Marshall
- Eric Matheny as Fritz
- Mariah O'Brien as Cynda
- James Dineen as Mailman
- Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt
- Tony Denison as Victor Bennett
Magical Notes
Spells
Safety Spell
It is not stated that the following spell is directly linked to Shapeshifters, the Charmed Ones used it to banish Cynda, Marshall and Fritz from their home, destroying them.
- When in the circle, that is home,
- Safety's gone and evil's roam.
- Rid all beings from these walls,
- Save us sisters three, now heed our call.
Powers
- Shapeshifting: Used throughout the episode by Cynda, Fritz and Marshall.
- Premonition: Phoebe has two premonitions touching Victor Bennett.
- Molecular Immobilization: Used by Piper to freeze the restaurant when a waiter holding a flambe trips.
- Telekinesis: Used by Prue to hide the Book of Shadows, to throw Victor against a wall and to move the protection ring.
Artifacts
Beings
Magical Beings
- The three are Shapeshifters who posed as Piper, Prue and Phoebe's neighbors across the street in an attempt to steal their Book of Shadows. They tried to use their father, Victor, to do so, but end up getting vanquished. Marshall was the leader, Cynda the most aggressive and formidable, with Fritz being the youngest of the trio.
Mortals
Notes and Trivia
- Darryl does not appear in this episode.
- New scenes added in the opening credits for Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano.
- This episode is also the fourth episode produced, even though it was the third episode to air.
- Anthony Denison played the girls' father in this episode, but was later replaced by James Read.
- In the video that Victor sent the girls, Alyssa Milano is playing their mother, a role which was later taken over by Finola Hughes.
- In this episode, the sisters’ father was billed as "Victor Halliwell", but we learn in That '70s Episode, that "Halliwell" is the sisters’ mother’s name, so making it his married name. In We All Scream for Ice Cream, it's revealed that the father’s name is "Victor Bennett".
- Markus Flanagan, who plays Marshall in this episode, would later go on and play Jeff Singer, on Unfabulous, which also stars Molly Hagan, who appeared in the episode The Fifth Halliwheel as Karen Young. They played each other's partner.
- In this episode, we learn that Prue’s name is actually Prudence.
- This is the first recurring appearance of Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt. He later becomes a regular of the series in the second half of Season 2 and remains a regular until the second half of season 8.
- In future episodes, it is established that the Book of Shadows makes it impossible for evil to even touch it. In this episode, however, the Charmed Ones' magic was not strong enough for its full protection to be activated. This is displayed as a Shapeshifter took it from the attic all the way to the threshold, but couldn't get it out of the door.
- This episode scored 6.8 million viewers.
- In this episode, Victor demonstrates a greater level of knowledge and understanding of the world of witchcraft than he does in later episodes.
- This is the first time the Book's pages are seen seemingly flipping on their own.
- Piper refers to the craft as a 'chick thing' and says it is 'passed down throughout the female line'. This is proven to be false in later episodes when male witches are introduced into the series and Piper has Wyatt.
- In this episode, we learn that Prue was never afraid of the dark, when Piper was four, she ate only white food and that Phoebe could swim before she could even walk.
- This is the first time that an evil being tries to steal The Book of Shadows.
References to other movies, books, mythology etc.
- Prue's line, "Cop, witch...it's not a love connection", is a reference to "Love Connection", a popular television dating show that ran from 1983-1994.
- Phoebe makes a reference to Bewitched while she talks to Victor, saying that she's become like Tabitha, Samantha Stephen's witch daughter. Phoebe will talk again about "Bewitched" in "Lost and Bound".
- The title "Thank You For Not Morphing" is a reference to the "thank you for not smoking" signs.
Glitches
It's noticeable that this is not the actual Book of Shadows
- When Prue walks in on Andy (Fritz), the camera turns slowly when Andy is talking, and you can see a man reading the script in a chair, in the sun room.
- When Fritz, Marshal and Cynda are in the living room (just before Cynda changes into her demonic form), you can hear her laughing. When the camera switches to her, however, it's noticeable by her expression that she was not laughing a split second ago.
- When the book flipped itself, the page Famous Books and a page with the Relinquishment woodcut were flipped several times, as if there were duplicate pages.
- At the end of the episode, when Phoebe is looking for the Safety Spell, it's noticeable that she's not looking through the actual Book of Shadows. The spine is way too thin (see picture) and the binding is no longer traditional bound, but post bound (screws holding the pages and book together).
International Titles
- French: Au nom du père (In the Name of the Father)
- Finnish: Muotoseikka (A Matter of Form)
- Polish: Dziękuję za przyjazd (Thank You For Coming)
- Czech: Návrat (The Return)
- Serbian: Povratak oca (The Return of Father)
- Italian: L'anello magico (The Magic Ring)
- Portuguese (Brazil): Obrigado por Não Mudar de Forma (Thank You for Not Shapeshifting)
- Russian: Vsegda ostavat'sya soboy (Always Be Yourself)
- Spanish (Spain): Gracias por no cambiar de forma (Thank You for Not Shapeshifting) (Thanks For ~ Convert of Form)
- Spanish (Latin America): Gracias por no cambiar (Thanks for Not Changing) (Thanks For ~ Convert)
- Slovak: Ďakujem, že nemeníš tvár (Thank You for Not Changing the Face)
- German: Die Formwandler (The Shapeshifters)
- Hungary: Apából egy is elég (One Father Is Enough)
Music
- Prophecy by Remy Zero
Episode Stills
Quotes
- (At a café. Prue, Piper and Phoebe are sitting at a table drinking coffee.)
- Piper: I wonder why he went to you first. Why not Phoebe or me?
- Prue: Piper, it's not like I won the lottery.
- Piper: Okay, we have to call the cops and report it as break in.
- Prue: And tell them what? That someone broke into our house to try steal our broomsticks?
- Piper: (Just as a waiter walks past them holding a flambe, Victor puts out his foot and trips him. Piper freezes him and the restaurant. She gets up and takes the flambe out of the waiters hands. Everyone unfreezes and the waiter falls flat on his face.) Who wants flambe?
- Victor: (The waiter stands back up and takes the flambe off of Piper.) Nice reflexes. Now let me get this straight. Piper, you freeze time. Prue, don't you move objects? And what's your specialty, Phoebe? Premonitions? Maybe we should talk about this elsewhere.
- (Piper answers the door. Piper and Leo walk back into the living room.)
- Prue: Uh, hi, you must be Mr. Wyatt.
- Phoebe: The handyman?
- Leo: Call me Leo.
- Phoebe: Gladly.
| Previous Episode: I've Got You Under My Skin |
Next Episode: Dead Man Dating |
| Episodes: Season 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 Comics: 9 - 10 | |