Charlie's Angels

June 2023

So i am reviewing the original Charlies Angels series which ran for 5 seasons back in the late seventies. I have gone through them all 2 or 3 times now, having just watched them all on blu ray recently.

I used to watch them growing up as i about 10 years old when they originally ran.

I think they hold up pretty well, the mysterious Charlie who we and the Angels never ever see, always added a humorous and mysterious element.

There were plenty of famous faces to be seen throughout the episodes and some of those turned up multiple times playing different characters.

I still prefer these to any of the remakes and movies there have been since.

So all in all not bad.

7 angels out of 10.

I loved Charlies Angels very much. Okay, I could ignore the cheezy plots because in front of me each week were three beautiful young ladies working as private detectives.

The original girls were Farrah Fawcett-Majors as Jill Monroe, Kate Jackson as Sabrina Duncan and Jaclyn Smith as Kelly Garrett. They were my favourite line up in the show. Their bosses were John Bosley (played by the late David Doyle) and the faceless Charlie Townsend (voiced by John Forsythe).

Each week the girls happened to go undercover on a case which required them to strip down in places such as health-spas and holiday camps. They used their seductive (and detective) skills to bring down the bad guys.

It was fun throughout even when the line-up changed and there were some really weird and surreal episodes at times. But who cares-when you've got three lovely women on the screen, great plots matter little.

One of the reasons why this show is still big and popular after all these years, can be attributed to the Angels themselves. I can't think of any other stars in the history of television who can actually enticed the viewing public more than the Angels, especially the MAGIC FOUR namely, Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Jaclyn Smith, and Cheryl Ladd (Of course, the other two angels, Shelley Hack and Tanya Roberts created a sensation too, but the "Magic Four" are the ones who started it all).

I didn't had a chance to see the first season when it was first broadcast, as I was very "young" then, but lucky me, it was a huge success and was re-played again and again, every year. Funny, because a lot of people thought the series lasted until 1983 or 1985 because it was like being re-played forever!

I must say, that the first season is the best of the rest and the chemistry of the original three are just wonderful. The second series with Cheryl Ladd was excellent too, but everyone knows that Jackson and Ladd were not in good terms, so, I guess, it affects the way the people look at them.

I started as a fan of Kate Jackson, I reckon, for she's the only known star before the series started. But the two other lovely angels are hard to ignore. Fawcett is so bubbly and appealing while Smith is the most beautiful angel you can think of. But,I am still surprised up to now, why Fawcett became the more popular angel during her time on the show.

She was even dubbed the sexiest of all the angels, where in fact, I believe, it is Jaclyn Smith, who's got the most curvaeous body of the three and looks great in that famous "white bikini" on the show. Even, in the hair department, I believe that Smith's hair is actually more flouncy and sexier than Fawcett. But then, I guess, Fawcett's popularity came right up with the released of her poster which was very timely for the show.But all in all, the original three are just wonderful.

Then came, Cheryl Ladd. She's a welcome addition to the show. She's sexy, beautiful and very charming. Her introduction to the show with ANGELS IN PARADISE is one of my fave episodes and one the best of the series. Who can forget the scene when they're about to rescue Charlie in the yacht? Ladd came out from the water in a bikini with Jaclyn Smith (in her tiniest in a "green" bikini). No wonder the second season became more popular than the first one. I called this, the BIKINI FEVER!

Then, Jackson, left the show. I believe, that Shelley Hack, did a wonderful job as the next angel, actually. Her characer speaks for her action in the show. Remember, the scene with Bosley in "LoveBoat Angels," when she told him that she's a bit scared to be part of the group because of what they have started already? Well, maybe her portrayal of her character was just too classy for the show but she's actually a stand out in the show. I also think that she's one of the two best-dressed angels on the show --the other one is Jaclyn Smith.

Smith and Hack are in they're best when they're together. I like their chemistry on the show. It's a pity, she only lasted one season.

The last of the Angels, Tanya Roberts is a fave, too. She's got this fabulous body and sexy eyes. Roberts, actually became more popular overseas and the bikini fever is back again. She was, obviously, given all the bikini scenes on the show. With Smith wanting to leave and Ladd, just happy to go along with the show, Roberts was given the responsibility to carry the show. Alas, the chemistry, didn't work out.

The show opened a lot of things to women on television. Sad, to say, none has the charisma of the angels. I think, that's one of the reasons, why television is not as exciting as before in the '70s!

In the fall of the bicentennial year of the founding of the USA, ABC aired Charlie's Angels, a spy series starring four sexy girls playing angels (One of them is in heaven while the other three are still alive) who are sent by Charlie, the invisible man whose voice comes out of the speaker on screen to direct them to missions of pleasure and action. It was also the first action hit for Aaron Spelling, and lasted for five seasons and spawned a remake show as well as two movies, videogames, soundtracks, merchandise, and a reboot movie which failed at the box office due to its much younger cast. Kids might like this show with their parents that grew up watching the show with their family. It's 1 hour of pure fun!!!

And God awful after Kate Jackson's departure. That is because, in the beginning, you had 3 young women who complimented each other: Sabrina was the brains and the elegance, Jill, the modern, athletic, all-American beauty and Kelly, the street wise beauty with a troubled past.

No better is this dynamic exemplified than in the classic "Angels in Chains Episode". While in prison, Kelly clashes with the guards. Sabrina orchestrates the escape while in the sheriff's car and then comes up with thee idea of the gasoline to throw the dogs off their scent. Finally while the Angels are being chased in the pick-up, Jill climbs her way to the back to throw the bushels of potatoes at the sheriff's car while Kelly exclaims "sometimes I worry about her!".

Sadly, once FFM left, the group not only lost its most charismatic member, but, more importantly, it lost the only real athlete of the group. Cheryl Ladd was a capable actress, but was obviously brought aboard for her physique and blond hair. Watching her run was just too painfully funny. No longer would the Angels have that someone believable capable of playing tennis, performing roller derby, riding a skateboard and hanging out the side of pickup truck.

While the show lost it's edge after the departure of the inimitable FFM, it still managed to be watchable for the next 3 seasons until Sabrina's departure. Kate Jackson always lent an air of believability to the silly goings on. When she left, the Angels lost their de facto leader. They needed to replace her with a decent actress who could play the role of the sophisticated, wise Angel. Instead, we were given the mindless Shelly Hack. I stop watching pretty much after a few episodes of that 4th season, so I couldn't even tell you anything about Tanya Roberts tenure.