Supernatural: The Complete First Season

5 Comments

1. B. L. Ruiz

   September 23, 2010 at 1:12 am

   Review by B. L. Ruiz for Supernatural: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   Eric Kripke has learned from the masters, most especially Joss Whedon. He keeps just enough humor in the show to keep you guessing when the scares will come and just enough truly scary, creepy moments to make you jump.

   Additionally, he’s brought in Kim Manners, McG, David Nutter, John Shiban (and newly added Ben Edlund!) as well as some amazingly talented (and underrated) actors in Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki.

   People initially panned this show, thinking that two actors as relatively unknown as Jensen Ackles (Smallville and Dark Angel) and Jared Padalecki (House of Wax and Gilmore Girls) could not possibly carry the weight of an entire series, simply because they would be the only two recurring characters in every episode.

   They’ve surprised everyone. The chemistry and interaction between these two is incredible! They are believable as brothers and as hunters. Jensen Ackles has taken the character of Dean Winchester, a devil-may-care leather-jacketed gun-toting demon hunter and lifted it from the potential stereotype into a truly multi-dimensional character. Jared Padalecki can at times be a bit more uneven in his characterization, but he comes into his own toward the end of the season and plays well off his co-star.

   Add to the mix Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Grey’s Anatomy and Weeds) as their father and the three of them keep you glued to the screen. The tension literally jumps off the screen when the three of them work together.

   Basic Premise:

   John Winchester (Morgan) witnessed his wife’s death at the hands of a demon 22 years ago. Since then, he’s become obsessed with hunting down and killing the thing that took his Mary from him.

   Dean Winchester (Ackles) was 4 at the time, and carried his baby brother, Sam, from the house at his father’s behest. Since then, he has been the glue that held their family together. Hunter, protector and sometimes referee.

   Sam Winchester (Padalecki) left the family to pursue a normal life at Stanford – a life that is interrupted in the pilot in a brutal on-screen way, driving him back into his family’s drifting, hunting lifestyle.

   Spooky, dark, funny, and angsty – this show is the real “MUST SEE TV”!

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2. Charity Bishop

   September 23, 2010 at 12:14 am

   Review by Charity Bishop for Supernatural: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   Five minutes into the first episode, I knew the show had me hooked. It centers around two brothers making a desperate search of the paranormal for the creature that viciously attacked their mother and incinerated her in the family nursery. Dean, the elder of the two, is much more family-oriented. Tough on the outside but with a softer heart than he would like to admit, he’s something of a ladies’ man but when it comes to kicking demon backside, there’s none better. Sam, the younger, by contrast, is something of an unwilling recruit, joining the ranks of ghost-slayers only because of the loss of his girlfriend, Jess. Throughout the first season, the boys meet and destroy a different evil being each week, while learning more about one another, themselves, and their elusive father, John.

   The DVD set is very nicely packaged. I was happy that the pilot episode is back to its normal length — when it premiered on television, several minor scenes were cut and/or trimmed to adjust the running length. I had seen the full-length pilot online and thus was disappointed in the changes, but it’s back to normal now. The only complaint I have is that I have had trouble with the final disk. The last episode sometimes plays, and sometimes freezes up and/or skips ahead, leading me to believe there may be a problem with the disk’s internal formatting. Believing it was just an issue with my player, I asked around and it turns out several of my friends have had the same problem. It’s really a shame, because the last episode is admittedly the best of the season.

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3. Barry

   September 22, 2010 at 11:39 pm

   Review by Barry for Supernatural: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   Described as “The X Files Meets Route 66”, Supernatural came along last fall on the WB and quickly became the one bright spot for new programming. Feeling the withdrawl of no more “Buffy” or “Angel”, this new show helps fill in that void, if not totally making up for it. Better than expected for this type of show on a network like WB, Supernatural is a tight and well shot show that is a little “mini horror movie” every week, but having it’s own mythology and season story arc. The show’s weekly stories delve into folklore and famous urban legends. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki play Dean and Sam Winchester, brothers who drive across the country tracking down supernatural happening and beings and helping people. They have their own personal motives that drive them that include horrible tragedies that have happened to them both and their family. Like Mulder who is searching for his sister, the boys are searching for their father. “Pilot” is an exceptionally well done first episode that sets everything up very nicely. Other top highlights featured in the debut season include “Bloody Mary”, where the brothers confront that famous legend about a ghostly apparition in mirrors. “Hook Man” puts a new and modern spin on the ‘ol crazy killer with a hook hand at lovers lane tale and pulls it off. Ackles gets to show off his acting chops in the shape shifting episode “Skin”. The boys’ tragic past comes back to haunt them in the exceptional “Home”, one of the first season’s best episodes. “Asylum” is one of the top best as the brothers try to explore strange things going on in an abandoned asylum. “Scarecrow” is a wonderful little thrill ride about strange cititzens and their ties to a murderous scarecrow. Buffy’s Julie Benz(Darla)appears in “Faith”. Another alum of the Joss Whedon universe, Angel’s Amy Acker, appears in “Dead In The Water”. “Hell House” is a lot of fun and has a funny reference to Buffy, and vampires themselves pop up in “Dead Man’s Blood”. The two brothers are the only regulars on the show, and they carry the series very nicely. Ackles is the real star of the show. His Dean character is complex with a great sense of humor and cockiness. Padalecki’s Sam is a little more dour who barely cracks a smile. The show’s look is sometimes light, but a lot of the time dark and gritty. It’s tone is just right, and it’s production values are top notch. One of the best aspects of the show is it’s kickin’ classic rock soundtrack. What’s not to love?. Well, “Bugs” for one, but that’s about it. Supernatural is a richly layered and conceived series that could have a long and successful run. The writing is wonderful, the ideas are fresh and inventive, and the two leads can carry the show without any other regulars. The brother relationship is strong at times and fragile the next. It’s just as much about sibling rivalry as it is about things that go bump in the night. It has all the right makings for a cult hit. Let’s hope The CW knows they have a good thing and treat it right. Supernatural is nothing but fun entertainment from start to finish.

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4. C. Chung

   September 22, 2010 at 11:19 pm

   Review by C. Chung for Supernatural: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   As a horror fan, I thought I’d seen it all. However, in the near infinite myriad of programming vying for one’s attention, Supernatural stands out as something both unique and refreshing. If I could sum up the show in one word, it would be: SPECTACULAR! The beauty of the show is it takes a simple premise: “the great American road trip” and it twists and turns it into a whole new entity and places it in the same category as some of the other great shows in the genre such as the ‘X-Files’ and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, yet it still retains its own identity.

   First off, character development is outstanding. With only two primary cast members, this was a critical issue to deal with, but Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles deliver their roles perfectly, almost as if they were brothers in real life. The tension of the boys’ relationship with their father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is also a noteworthy aspect of the show’s excellent interpersonal dynamics, as it transcends the usual conventions and adds layer upon layer of love, hate, respect, and fear. In addition, throughout the first season each character evolves as their battle with evil (and good) intensifies. In the end everyone is stripped of their protective facades and are left vulnerable and exposed, with nothing but their true personas serving as a shield against an overwhelming enemy that seemingly can’t be stopped. Not only does this add a boost of realism, but it also charts the character’s growth throughout the season leaving us with complex individuals instead of stagnant cardboard cutouts reset back to their “same-old, same-old” status quos by the end of the episode.

   Another refreshing aspect of the show, is, it doesn’t insult the audience. Existing horror conventions are borrowed, but almost all of them are updated into something new, as it successfully blends the insider info found in cult shows with the broader appeal of horror and action for the more mainstream audience. What we get is a hybrid of the two. On one hand terms and names of creatures or books are mentioned without any further explanation alluding to the notion that the show expects you to have some prior knowledge of the subject matter (such as skinwalkers). Yet on the other hand it reassures you that if you don’t know what they’re talking about, you will by the end of the episode. But there is never needless exposition. Certainly you’ll always get the crucial information at what’s directly involved in the current plot, but the writers take the liberty of keeping some things a mystery, furthering the appeal of the show. We as the viewer are assumed to know about some stuff, but if not, we’re guaranteed to eventually know if we hitch a ride with the Winchester brothers and tag along for the journey.

   Stylistically, the show hits a home run by its deliberate use of a gritty and rural gothic look. Ingrained in the series is a blue collar feel, an organic “earthiness” that lowers our defenses and brings things closer to home. The Winchesters are not wealthy or flashy, nor are their friends or allies. And with the exception of the beautiful and elfish Meg (Nicki Lynn Aycox), most of the characters are designed as everymen—the average Joes that could easily pass as our brothers, fathers, uncles, neighbors, or friends. These people live cluttered lives far from the unrealistically neat and pristine glamor found in other shows. Supernatural is not a trendy new pair of pants, it’s the old pair of faded blue jeans with the holes in the knees that are the most comfortable to wear. This is also demonstrated by music. Gone is the high school Emo or current pop hit single, instead we get the Classic Rock that is so crucial for those long road trips when you need a good beat to keep you awake while driving the lonely highways at night.

   The show also boasts some impressive production values. The film crew makes masterful use of lighting, and they’re thankfully not afraid to film in the dark or to use heavy shadows. I’m also repeatedly impressed with the excellent sound effects done by the Foley artists and sound designers.

   So why should you buy this? Supernatural is a crescendo of characterization, horror, action, twists, and sheer ingenuity that comes to a shocking season finale. It’s grounded in the notion that in our normal, everyday lives, something evil lurks just out of sight ready to strike, and odds are you won’t be able to handle it without the help of two men in a black ’67 Impala.

   If you’re a fan of horror, urban legends, or just in the mood to watch something new, you owe it to yourself to check this show out. It’s well worth your time.

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5. Buffy

   September 22, 2010 at 10:49 pm

   Review by Buffy for Supernatural: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   I watched this show from the very first episode because its premise caught my attention and was pleasantly surprised by just how good it turned out to be. The two actors who play the Winchester brothers play very well off of one another and have great chemistry. Jensen Ackles, who plays the older brother is really the break out star of this show as his performances are outstanding. On the surface he appears to be little more than the smart ass big brother who simply wants to hunt down and destroy any supernatural creature he possibly can. It doesn’t take long for us to see that Sam (the youngest) is not the only compassionate brother. They both want to find their father and avenge their mother’s death as well as help others along the way. Add the character of the father to the mix and things get even more interesting. This show is not just about two demon-hunting brothers. It also skillfully explores the complicated relationship not only between the brothers, but between the brothers and their father as well. Supernatural only gets better and better as the season progresses and has become much more than just a monster of the week show. Every episode has wonderful, witty dialogue and unlike some other ‘generic’ horror/sci-fi shows targeted at younger audiences, Supernatural purposely tries to be different and to stand out from the crowd (and succeeds). By the end of this first season, I was completely enthralled by the storylines and looked forward to the show every week. The action only gets better and better until the season finale that leaves you wondering, what are the Winchesters going to do next and how will they possibly top this in season 2?

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