Supernatural is a show from here in The States. It revolves around two brothers: Sam and Dean Winchester. When the boys were kids, their mother was killed by a demon. That spurred their father to go out on the road and hunt demons (and other monsters, as well), raising the boys to do the same. 22 Years later, Sam (the younger brother, played by Jared Padalecki) has tried to leave the life of a hunter behind by going to college and considering marrying his girlfriend Jessica. But a hunter never truly retires, as Dean (played by Jensen Ackles) shows up, telling him that their father disappeared. Thus begins the brothers' journey. Ganking, Demonic Hijinks, and The Longest Road Trip In The Greatest Car EVER ensues...
Anyway, I love the show. Each season has its own arc of sorts (each in varying degrees of goodness). They all kind of interconnect, and it's fun to see what pieces of continuity they drag back up. The show has been on for 8 seasons (season 9 starts in October) and for a show to stay on so long (let alone keep up decent quality, even after switching showrunners three times throughout) is a testament in and of itself. (Granted, I've only seen the first seven seasons in their entirety (eight isn't out on DVD or Netflix yet) but still...)
The characters are incredibly likeable. Of course, there's the charmingly roguish Dean (who is kinda my favorite of the brothers (shh!)) and the symathetically tragic (and often adorable) Sam. But the supporting characters (the ones who come back) are great, too. There's Bobby (played by Jim Beaver), an older hunter and family friend to the Winchesters who's pretty much the boys' real father in a sense (as far as I'm concerned...). Castiel (played by Misha Collins) an angel of the lord and friend of Dean who's comedically serious (and adorable) and is always fun to see. And, of course, the show-stealing Crowley (played by Mark Sheppard), The King of the Crossroads Demons who is probably one of my favorite villains ever.
Another great thing about this show is that they don't take themselves too seriously. Yes, they have dark, creepy, heavy, angsty episodes, but they balance it. They have goofy, fun episodes like: when they got sucked into TV shows, Dean becomes terrorfied of everything, and even one where they're teleported into OUR universe (albeit exaggerated) where their life is just a TV show... The writers are awesome. It really helps offset the show's creepier/sadder moments. And I don't mind the "filler", because it keeps the season's plots/arcs up enough.
The show does have its share of gore (seriously, I can't count the number of times someone's bled from the mouth). And there have been some freaky/gag-inducing moments. But, like Hannibal, it works for the show and its tone. Sure, it's not artistic like Hannibal, but they're hunting demons; it ain't exactly a clean job. Also, be prepared for a LOT of characters dying, often more than once...
One more thing I want to talk about is the use of music on this show. Not the background soundtrack stuff (which is good), but the use of OTHER music. They use a lot of classic rock (and other songs) and it is AWESOME! I DARE you not to want to belt out "Carry On My Wayward Son" during "The Road So Far" segments of the season finales. If they realeased a soundtrack of nothing but the classic rock songs on the show, I'd buy it in a heartbeat! It's fantastic.
Final Thoughts:
-I can't list all my fave moments, and a list of my favorite episodes would be another post entirely...
-The gag reels for the show are awesome, 'nuff said.
-I'm convinced now, due to Jensen Ackles's pure charm, he might have been better/more acceptable option for The Wizard than James Franco in Oz: The Great and Powerful...
-Also, I've yet to find a role I haven't liked Mark Sheppard in yet (granted, I've only seen two...). I think he's officially one of my favorite actors, now...
-The best game to play watching marathons of this show is the "What's Wrong, Sammy/Dean?" "Nothing's Wrong, Dean/Sammy!" The object is to see how many episodes a brother goes before sharing his current angst...
-The two episodes the creator apologizes for ("Bugs" and "Red Sky at Morning") both had a woman killed in the shower by the paranormal force of the week. Let this be a lesson, writers: don't kill women with monsters in the showers, it makes whatever you're writting terrible...
-Why haven't they done a musical episode yet? I am disappointed...
Overall, this show is a lot of fun, and I enjoy it. The first seven seasons are all on DVD and Netflix, season eight comes out on DVD in September (but can be found online), and season nine premires on The CW in October. I highly recommend it...
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