Prologue: "Looks like we've got some work to do!"
How would you feel if you knew your father was a demon-hunter? That he hunted actual, real, honest to --- well, not God obviously, but real demons from the pit of Hell? To even know such things actually existed would surely fry your mind and freeze your blood. But once you'd got over such fears and doubts, what would you do? Would you follow in his footsteps, or be so scared that you'd move far away?
When Dean and Sam Winchester were children a demon came for them. At the opening of the series we have no idea why, but we can see that the demon is one BAD mother! He takes on the form of the father, and approaches the baby, Sam, who cries and alerts his mother. She comes in, takes in the scene and lunges at the demon --- whom she had taken originally to be her husband --- but is pinned to the ceiling and the demon vanishes. As Jim Winchester looks on in horror, his wife bursts into flame, and unable to help her he has to rush his two children out of the house as it begins to burn around their ears. He just barely gets them to safety.
Twenty-two years later and the boys have grown, but chosen separate paths in life. Sam has gone to college, is engaged to a girl and is studying for a law degree, trying to put the traumatic events of the past behind him. Having been a baby at the time he doesn't remember much, though Dean has told him what happened. As the older brother, Dean has elected to help his father track down the demon that killed their mother, and the two brothers have not seen each other for some time.
This then, is the premise to Supernatural, an incredibly well-written, deep and intelligent fantasy series that really begins almost as a "monster of the week" show, but soon develops into so much more. There is a complicated and involved story arc running through the series, the main element of which is the reason why the demon wanted to abduct Sam, what his connection with the Winchester family is, and how many more of his type there are. Supernatural will be one of those rising breed of shows where you can never be one hundred percent certain that anyone, even the lead characters, are going to survive from week to week. Everyone's a target, and although, being fantasy, it's possible to sidestep death and find ways to bring people back, you just never know...
One of the huge selling points of Supernatural was and is its lead actors. Two very handsome and personable guys in Jared Padalecki and Jensen Eckles, who surely got the hearts of most of the ladies (and maybe some of the lads!) all a-flutter when the series hit the network in 2005. There hadn't to my knowledge been any other show of this nature that had two male leads, and it was definitely their charm and charisma, and the chemistry between the two, that got the show on its feet and kept it on the air through the first mostly shaky season.
At its heart, Supernatural is a show about family, about devotion, and about revenge too. It's also about doing the right thing. Most of the creatures Dean and Sam track down through the first and second seasons have little or nothing to do with their mother's death (and later, Sam's fiancee's) but the brothers know these things are evil and must be dealt with, so they become freelance demon hunters, seeking out these horrors by way of newspaper reports, rumours and later, information garnered from like-minded individuals and allies, and in the process help people they don't even know. You could, I suppose, call it a sort of cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The X-Files.
But what holds the series together and stands it apart from a whole slew of monster/horror/fantasy themed shows is the bond between the two brothers. As the elder, Dean has always had to look out for Sam, especially when their father has disappeared for months at a time, chasing down the demon that killed his wife and looking for his own personal salvation. Dean can be reckless though, and oftentimes the roles get turned around, and it's more the level-headed Sam that has to look after him. But when the brothers work as a unit, demons beware!
Another great thing about Supernatural is the terrific music they use in the show. Mostly classic rock, you'll hear some of the greats, and unlike many shows that use "indie" rock (usually angsty ballads) as their backdrop, Supernatural gives you the clear impression that the show could have easily been produced in the seventies, as most of the music comes from around that time. As I go through the episodes/seasons, I'll note what music is used in each episode, and if possible include a video.
Supernatural is interesting in many ways, not least the fact that it really concentrates on just the two brothers. There are others who come in from time to time, but the show revolves completely around Dean and Sam, and generally any extra characters who appear are for that episode only, at least in the beginning. Later, as the seasons develop and the brothers begin to meet and make allies in the world of demon hunting, some characters do recur, with the odd one staying on almost as a supporting character.
Without then giving away too much about the show, it begins as a basic monster hunt, although even then the episodes are pretty much really great, then widens its scope as the main story arc begins to kick in. It's only then that you truly start to appreciate what a powerful and sublime series it really is. It's still running at the time of writing, in its eleventh season, said to be its last. I have only caught up with it as far as season three, so after I've encapsulated the first two seasons for you, we'll be discovering the rest together for the first time.
Like Babylon 5, Supernatural is the creation and vision of one person, Eric Kripke, who up until this series premiered was known for little other than the sub-budget horror film Boogeyman and its sequel, er, Boogeyman 2. He remains the driving force behind the series, piloting it through its first five-year arc, after which it's said by critics it lost its way but recovered after season six. I don't know as I have not seen it that far, but we'll find out. All indications are that this is the final season though and that it looks on course to end strongly.
1.1 "Pilot"
Supernatural differs from many current US shows in that its episodes are always titled, and shown onscreen (Buffy, conversely, use episode titles but never show them onscreen: what, as they say, is the deal with that?) however the first episode is not titled, being the pilot one. We're introduced to the two heroes, Sam and Dean Winchester, and given insight into what drives them, as the incident from their childhood is recounted, and will be usually before each subsequent episode. Twenty-two years on, Sam is now living with a girl whom he intends to marry, and studying for a law degree, when his brother comes calling in the dead of night (Sam hears him downstairs breaking in and takes him for a prowler, not unreasonably) to tell him that their father is missing. Dean uses the codewords "Dad's been hunting" so that his brother knows that their father has been trying, as he has been for the past two decades, to track down the demon that killed his wife, their mother. Sam has his own life but loves his father and agrees to help Dean find him.
Dean plays Sam a voicemail from their father, which appears to be some sort of recording with a ghostly voice on it that complains "I can never go home". He shows his brother newspaper clippings about men disappearing over the last twenty years at a place called Centennial Highway. The two go to investigate, as the scene shifts to a man driving down the highway. He picks up a female hitch-hiker, a woman in white who entices him back to her place, which appears deserted and abandoned. She tells him "I can never go home", then attacks and kills him. His car crashes through a bridge.
Dean is used to impersonating authority figures in the somewhat colourful life he has led, helping his father look for the demon, and as they come across the scene of the accident he uses the ID of a US Marshall to find out what's going on. Sam is less than impressed, as he has already been on Dean's case over using credit card scams to fund the hunting expeditions, but the cop at the scene tells them they do not have a body. He gives them the guy's name and they go to visit his girlfriend. She tells them of an urban legend which holds that a woman in white is said to hitch-hike at night and kill anyone who stops to pick her up.
Dean has better experience with what is a legend and what has its basis in nasty truth, and the two brothers begin researching the story, turning up an article about a woman, Constance Welch, who jumped from a bridge on Centennial Highway, committing suicide after her two children had drowned in mysterious circumstances, back in 1981. Dean and Sam visit the bridge where the suicide took place later that night, and see a ghostly form jump off the bridge. Next moment, Dean's car starts up of its own accord and tries to run him over, but he escapes by diving off the bridge.
The boys check into the hotel their dad stayed in while here, and see pictures on the wall that show them that their father has discovered Constance Welch to be a "woman in white", a spirit who lures others to their deaths out of revenge or remorse, and they decide to go talk to her husband. Turns out he was unfaithful to her, Constance found out and killed herself and her two children in despair. The brothers are on their way to the abandoned house to destroy her corpse when Constance suddenly appears in Sam's car and, taking control of it when Sam refuses her offer to take her home, drives it to the house. Dean distracts her though before she can kill Sam and the younger Winchester ploughs the car through the house, returning Constance to the spirits of her children, who take her down into the depths with them. This then is the reason she kept saying "I can never go home", not being able to face her children as she knows she is responsible for their deaths.
Having unearthed clues to where their father might now be, Dean decides to follow the trail but Sam wants to get back for his interview, and asks to be dropped home. Once there, however, he is devastated to see Jessica, his fiancee, pinned to the ceiling and explode into fire, just like their mother did, twenty-two years ago. Trapped in the suddenly-burning house, he is rescued by Dean who charges in, and though heartbroken over the loss of his girlfriend he agrees to go with his brother to find their father, new purpose in his heart. Now, it's not just their mother the two are seeking revenge for.
As they prepare to leave the house, Sam looks at Dean and says "We've got some work to do."
MUSIC
As mentioned in the intro, one of the great things about this show is its use of rock and classic rock music. Here I'll be listing all the songs used in each episode, as well as featuring, if there are any, YouTube videos of the songs.
The Living Daylights: "Gasoline"
Classic: "What cha gonna do?" (Okay, not every song is rock!)
Eagles of Death Metal: "Speaking in tongues"
Allman Brothers Band: "Ramblin' man"
AC/DC: "Back in black"
AC/DC: "Highway to Hell" (well, duh!)
Kid Gloves Music: "My cheatin' ways"
Questions?
The obvious big one right from the start is, why does the demon want Sam? Allied to that, you have to ask where is the boys' father and what is he doing?
The "WTF?!!" moment
Supernatural is full of surprises, twists and turns, but most episodes have a point where you just go "WTF?" I think it's fair to say that moment in the pilot is when Sam returns home after dealing with the woman in white, relaxes on his bed and then notices blood falling on his face, looks up and see Jessica pinned to the ceiling, just moments before she bursts into flame and the whole episode from his babyhood is repeated with terrifying clarity and new horror.
Pop Culture References (PCRs)
Supernatural uses the fact that most of its fans are "tuned in" to other horror/fantasy/sci-fi shows to drop in witty, knowing and relevant pop culture references (which I'll be shortening to PCRs from now on) that "share a private joke" for those who know what they're talking about, and have the cognoscenti nodding knowingly. Where these are used in an episode I'll be mentioning them, and the context in which they're used. Many times, this context will be obvious, but just in case there are any hermits among my readership I'll explain them anyway.
Questioned by the cops as to his name, Dean says it's Ted Nugent. Ted Nugent is a rock star, famed for his excesses and also for his love of guns and, well, hunting.
Impersonating Federal marshals, Dean and Sam catch sight of the real investigators coming up the road and leave. As they go, Dean quips "Agent Scully. Agent Mulder." This obviously refers to Mulder and Scully from "The X-Files", FBI agents who investigate weird or paranormal cases in Chris Carter's hit series.
When Sam tells Amy that the pentagram on her t-shirt, rather than being a sign of evil is meant to ward off evil, Dean nods "Thank you, "Unsolved Mysteries". Obviously referencing the show that seeks to, er, solve mysteries.
When arrested by the cops for impersonating US Marshals, Dean is told he's in a lot of trouble. He grins and asks "Misdemeanour type trouble? Or "squeal like a pig" trouble?" This references the classic cult movie Deliverance. If you don't know what it means watch the movie, I ain't gonna spoil it for ya!
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