Review: Supernatural Season One

Wandering around Tesco last week, I came across DVD boxsets of some pretty well regarded shows for only eighteen euro. Awesome, nay? Anyway, as luck would have it, I had never really watched any of the shows continuously. My options were Supernatural, a show I'd heard very little about, Smallville, the Superman show that I've never really got into, The OC and One Tree Hill.

I had money enough for one, so on a whim I bought Supernatural Season One over Smallville Season One. And well, twenty two episodes later, here we are. I came into this series with fairly low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised, it's a really enjoyable show and not the X-Files/Buffy the Vampire Slayer knock-off I instinctively labelled it.

Okay, so I came to this show a little late. It's now headed into it fourth season, with 60 episodes under it's belt and a following that is growing quickly. It piloted in 2005 and despite some concern over the future of the show after season three and the WGA- strike, but never fear, because it will air on ITV2 and TV3 in the near-ish future.


So, basically, the plot follows two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester who go on a crusade to find their missing father and also, the demon that murdered their mother when they were children. Along the way, they slay all the supernatural nasties, such as ghosts and even vampires. Okay, so yes, the writers steal shamelessly from other shows and various mythologies. But hey, it's fun.

But, it's not just the things that go bump in the night that the boys fight, as year-old tensions arise between the brothers. I'll leave it at that, but suffice to say, the interplay between the two leads, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) is engaging and enjoyable.


Each episode is pretty much self-contained, so it's an easy show to dip in and out of. The search for their father is the main plot device of the show and at times, it wears a bit thin as the show progresses, but luckily, the writers freshen things up in the last few episodes. There are no bad episodes per se, but on the flip side, there are few truely stand out episodes, one comes to mind, 'The Benders', where the twist is that the 'monsters' are, ironically, human.

Another negative of the show is that, this really is a show where you can leave your brain at the door. It's pure escapism and the episodes are highly predictable, so don't expect to be too intellectually stimulated by it.

But, in saying that, it's a very enjoyable show, it's well presented, well acted, highly inoffensive, flows nicely enough and I found myself really caring about the characters by the end of it. Also, props to the writers on ending. I won't ruin it, but prepare to be suitably shocked. I certainly recommend Supernatural and if you can pick it up for around the 20e mark, do.

3.5/5