Thank You For Not Morphing

Thank You For Not Morphing is the third episode of Charmed.

Episode Information

 * Season          1
 * Episode No.     03
 * Written By      Chris Levinson and Zack Estrin
 * Directed By     Ellen Pressman
 * Production No.  4398003
 * Original Airdate October 21, 1998

Summary
Barely have the sisters discovered their new powers when their long-lost father resurfaces in their lives. How convenient! Piper and Phoebe never really knew their father Victor, but Prue remembers all too well how he walked out on them. She gives Victor major attitude when she suspects he's returned to steal the Book Of Shadows. It seems like everyone's in the market for a good book, because the shape-shifting neighbors have their sights set on the volume as well. They appear to be three fun-lovin' twenty somethings, but when no one's looking they turn into attack dogs, the mailman, Prue's boyfriend, Piper, Phoebe and dear old dad, all in an attempt to finagle the book. After working out some sticky family issues, the sisters unite their powers to save Victor and make supernatural jelly of those nasty shapeshifters. But before you can say, "Happy Father's Day", Victor has vanished from their lives again and the sisters are doing it for themselves... again.

Plot
The Charmed Ones attend a party at a neighbor's house. Prue wants to leave early so she can be rested for work, but Andy is also present. They chat briefly and then Prue returns to the manor -- where she finds the door ajar and a large, angry dog on the attic stairs. She backs away and runs out the door.

A man walks into Prue's office and asks her to appraise a ring. She says the ring is old, perhaps 17th century, and is meant for protection. The man admits to being Prue's father and she wants nothing further to do with him.

Phoebe goes to visit Victor. He is happy to see her, though he confuses her with Piper. They hug, and Phoebe has a vision of him stealing the Book of Shadows.

A man in a postman's uniform appears at the manor. He morphs the end of a finger into a key and unlocks the door. He kicks in the attic door and picks up the Book of Shadows. He tries to leave the manor, but the Book won't pass the front door. Prue appears and the "mailman" tosses the Book aside and assumes Andy's appearance. Cynda, one of the neighbors, joins them and "Andy" leaves with her. Prue wonders what the Book is doing on the floor and returns it to the attic, finding the door kicked in. The sisters suspect Victor, but Phoebe remains quiet about her premonition.

Phoebe and Piper go to dinner with their father. Andy joins Prue at the manor. Prue is resentful of her father, but Andy convinces her to join him. She doesn't want to have dinner, only to know where Victor has been all these years. A waiter trips over a table leg and Piper freezes him. Victor admits to knowing the sisters are witches.

The neighbors are in the manor as the sisters return. They are after the Book. They shapeshift into crows to avoid being recognized and fly away. They turn out to be working with Victor.

Victor asks to see the Book of Shadows, raising the sisters' suspicions. Victor admits that he is after the Book, because it tends to draw evil to the sisters and he wants to protect them. Prue flings him across the room and he takes the hint and leaves.

The shapeshifters come to Victor at his hotel room. Victor plans to go to Phoebe. Phoebe admits to having visited Victor and that she had her premonition. Piper finds the protection ring. Victor meets Phoebe outside the manor and has her premonition again -- only this time "Victor" morphs into one of the neighbors. Phoebe runs back into the manor. The shapeshifters follow her in, followed by Victor. Phoebe goes to the Book, which flips open by itself to a spell. Phoebe comes back downstairs and finds two Victors. Both try to convince the sisters that they are the real Victor. Prue shifts the protection ring to Victor and the sisters say the spell, destroying the shapeshifters. The ring protects Victor.

The newly hired handyman, Leo Wyatt, brings in a small package left on the doorstep. The package is from Victor and contains a videotape. The tape shows a long-ago Christmastime.

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

Marshall, Fritz and Cynda
The three are shapeshifters who posed as Piper, Prue and Phoebe's neighbours across the street in attempt to steal their Book of Shadows. They tried to use their father, Victor, to do so, but end up getting vanquished.

To Vanquish the Shapeshifters
''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.

Family

 * 1) Victor Halliwell

Quotes

 * (At a cafe. 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? I mean, please.




 * Piper: (Just as a waiter walks past them holding a flambeau, Victor puts out his foot and trips him. Piper freezes him and the restaurant. She gets up and takes the flambeau out of the waiters hands. Everyone unfreezes and the waiter falls flat on his face.) Who wants flambeau?
 * Victor: (The waiter stands back up and takes the flambeau off of Piper.) Nice reflexes. Now let me get this straight. Piper, you freeze time. Prue, don't you move objects? And what's you specialty, Phoebe? Premonitions? Maybe we should talk about this elsewhere.




 * (Piper answers the door. Piper and Leo walk back in the living room.)
 * Prue: Uh, hi, you must be Mr. Wyatt.
 * Phoebe: The handyman?
 * Leo: Call me Leo.
 * Phoebe: Gladly.