Don't listen to the negative reviews, this series is just as good as the previous 4, if not better. I'll admit, the loss of Cole from the main cast is unfortunate, but at least in this series not everything revolves around Phoebe and Cole's relationship (as it seemed to in season 4).
This season feels much more light-hearted, with the Charmed ones becoming super-heroes and Greek goddesses as well as one of them becoming a nymph and another becoming a mermaid.
Standout episodes for me-

*Witches in Tights-
A young boy has an extraordinary gift- his drawings come to life. Unfortunately there is a demon on hand to take full advantage... enter the Super- Charmed Ones!

*Centennial Charmed-
Happy Birthday Cole (his 100th to be exact). What do you get for a 100 year old demon, when all he wants...is to be vanquished?

*Y Tu Mummy Tambien-
A demon mummifies the bodies of witches in a quest to find a body to hold the spirit of his dead lover, Isis. Only problem is that he has yet to find a strong enough body. Could a Charmed One be what he is looking for?

*The Day the Magic Died-
Magic (good and evil) has disappeared from the world, the magical community is in crisis and Piper has gone into labour (great timing).

*Oh My Goddess (parts 1 and 2)-
When the Titans are unleashed and seek revenge on the Elders, it becomes clear that it will take more than Charmed-like powers to destroy them for good. Perhaps God-like powers are needed...

fifth season of charmed, a fantasy show that ran for eight years and is about three sisters who are also witches. and their attempts at witch life/work life/personal life balance. you could possibly get into the show at the start of this season, but with a fair amount of backstory resulting from the years beforehand it's best to start with those.

this box set contains the twenty three episodes of the season [the first and last episodes are two parters edited into eighty two minute long features] spread over six discs. there are no extras whatsover, and no direct scene access to the episodes.

the only other things on the discs are the langugage options: english french german italian and spanish

and the subtitles: english danish dutch french german italian norwegian spanish and swedish.

as mentioned, the uninitiated should start with season one. for those who have followed the show all the way so far, this season has two main plotlines. phoebe's continuing relationship with cole, and the impending arrival of piper and leo's baby.

over the course of the episodes, as these storylines play themselves out, the charmed ones will encounter various monsters and fairytale creatures. each plot will put them into a lot of problems and threaten to tear the family apart, but generally things are wrapped up quickly at the end of each episode with a spell or a potion or both. this can get a bit predictable, but the show is never less than enjoyable thanks to the character dynamic. even the episode lucky charmed, featuring some potentially annoyingly stereotypical leprechauns works because it's primarily about the halliwells.

julian mcmahon does make the cole episodes great by virtue of some excellent acting as a man on the brink of insanity. once his plotline is resolved the baby arrives a few episodes later, and then the storyline of the pregnancy becomes how they cope with a new arrival.

the season finale brings in a new character with an air of mystery about them, and has quite a surprising cliffhanger that will make you eager to get onto season six.

but if you've come this far with charmed, like you're not going to watch it anyway? this season is good enough to make you go straight onto number six

I liked this season of charmed because it was more like the first and best season where there were completely different storylines from one episode to the next, and the romantic goings on in the witches lives are not overwhelming.And although Rose McGowan doesn't look half the witch Shannon Docherty was she grows on you after a while.Julian Mcmahon as Cole is at his most humorous in this season and as always the special effects and action are enthralling.Watch out for the episode where a beautiful demon woman keeps making herself look identical to phoebe and playing with cole's mind.And the epsisode where phoebe turns into a mermaid is good too.It's a good thing that the writers did away with the darker storylines from season three and season four ( I think this was when the creator of charmed constance burge retired from the show) and lightened things up again but the darkness was worthwhile just so we could see the kind of territory this programme could be taken into.
I'd love to see them make a charmed movie with all four witches and Leo and Cole.It would be great.The four witches could take on the four horsemen of the apocalypse -sort of charmed meets the lord of the rings.
Would have to bring shannon docherty back to life though.

after rewatching this season of charmed i have found that this season is actually by far the classiest out of all eight...while the first two seasons were plain boring,the third being an improvement, the fourth made it dark and entertaining...now season 5 is the greatest season of the show and definitely shows off the hilarious talents from all three of the sisters...especially phoebe, and great to see Paige's character gain more depth this year...season 5 contains most of the shows recognizable episodes and definitely contains the best of charmed-centennial charmed,siren song,the importance of being phoebe(the best),the day the magic died, and the hilarious sense and sense-ability a genuinly great season that no other season managed to achieve and the only season that i couldnt compare with the far superior show BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER so while charmed couldnt live up to the standards of BUFFY it came close with this season...and at this great price i would buy it...season 4 and 8 are also quite enjoyable:)
episodes-
a witches tail-best transformation ever...and the best season opener 5/5.
happily ever after-very enjoyable 4/5
siren song-one of the best episodes ever 5/5:)
witches in tights-classic 5/5
the eyes have it-okay episode reasonably cool 3/5
sympathy for the demon-an exciting eppy with barbas 5/5
a witch in time-another season great 5/5
sam i am-yet another classic episode with adrenaline 5/5
y tu mummy tambien-another classic 5/5
the importance of being phoebe-just the best episode ever(well nearly)5/5:)
centennial charmed-this is the best episode ever!!! 5/5
house call-another fun one 3/5
sand Francisco dreamin'-'another great episode i love it 5/5
the day the magic died-just when you thought it couldnt get classier...it did 5/5
babys first demon-very fun 4/5
lucky charmed-a campy classic 4/5
cat house-great great great 4.5/5
nymphs jus wanna have fun-actually the only dud in the season 2/5:(
sense and sensability-the funniest episode ever!!!!never beaten 5*/5
necromancing the stone-pretty cool 4.5/5
oh my goddess-a great cliffhanger,great effects,possibly the last way for a while a great season finale occurs as many charmed finales are considered weak...but not this one...this is charmed meets xena:)
as you see it is a classy season!
while never able to reach the standards of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER this season is the only one that doesn't appear as a rip-off but as an independant gem and i like that:):)possibly the only season i'd consider buying at the moment...and a great price.

I'd never really seen Charmed before I got this, but I'd heard good things about this season, and I'm a fan of Angel, and other supernatural stuff. But unfortunately it really wasn't up to scratch. I can see how the whole camp magical aspect of it is enticing, but the storytelling really wasn't good. I was bored after 20 minutes. If I was alot younger I would probably really enjoy it, because I'd have enjoyed all the prettyness and magic spells. I'm not saying you can't enjoy it if you're older, but don't expect sophisticated story-telling or Whedonesque dialogue.
There's much better fantasy stuff out there, is what Im saying. Maybe earlier seasons were better though.
Please don't be offended if you are a fan of this show...I have nothing against 'Charmed', I just didn't enjoy it personally. The 2* rating is just how much I enjoyed it. I watch plenty of cheesy shows, so I'm definately not judging.