Supernatural - Series 1 - Vol.1 (Box Set) (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	A terrifc gem of a series to own !
Disadvantages:	As usual, us Brits get diddly - squat in the extras department !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Ok, well, I was in two minds about whether to write this review, seeing as I already wrote a pretty comprehensive one in the Entertainment section. However, I felt that there were certain points, particularly on the DVD front, that weren't covered before, so here goes!

'Supernatural', the series about two brothers who go in search of paranormal activity, is brought to us by the US network the CW (formally the WB), which also gave us the likes of 'Charmed', 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' and 'Smallville'. It is written and created by Eric Kripke (The Ring) and is produced by the likes Kim Manners (The X-files).

The show is currently about to end its second season here in the UK, and if you missed it, I strongly recommend you get the box sets and catch up on what you have missed!

~~The Story~~

Dean and Sam Winchester are two brothers in their early twenties, who have wildly differing personalities and views of the world. Their mother was killed by a paranormal force when they were very young, leading their father on an obsessive quest to hunt down his wife's killer. He raised his boys to fight so that they would be prepared should anything similar return for them. Dean was happy to follow his father into the 'family business' and was eager to learn everything he could. Sam, on the other hand, rejected this path and wanted to escape his family's eerie past. He left for college as soon as he turned 18, to start a new, normal life. This included a loving girlfriend called Jessica and plans to go to law school.

However, just as Sam is about to graduate, Dean turns up at his door with news that their father has gone missing. At first Sam refuses to help, but unable to leave his brother stranded, he agrees to join the search. After four years apart, the brothers have become very different people and have to get to know each other again, whilst dealing with their old sibling rivalries. Together they set off in search of their father in their '67 Chevy Impala. The only clue they have is a spooky phone message he left them, which starts them off on a wild and dangerous journey that leads them from California back roads, through Colorado wilderness, Nebraska farmlands and on to isolated Wisconsin lakes, confronting creatures and monsters that are only supposed to exist in superstition, legend and folklore.

~~~ The Boys ~~~

Without a doubt, Supernatural owes a large part of its success to the charm and skill of the two leading men. Dean and Sam are played by Jensen Ackles (Smallville, Dark Angel) and Jared Padalecki (House of Wax, Flight of the Phoenix). They are charismatic, versatile and completely believable as brothers. In addition, the characters they are playing are well developed, likeable, interesting and very complex, giving rise to plenty of great emotional drama!

~~Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles)~~

Dean is the older of the two brothers. He is more 'wild at heart' than Sam and the most like the boys' father. He lives by his wits and comes across as arrogant and fearless. However, underneath his swagger, he is still haunted by memories of witnessing his mother's death and has a real vulnerability. Quick witted and sarcastic, Dean also comes out with some excellent one-liners and is not averse to telling the odd porky to blag his way into a crime scene to investigate! The different sides to his character make him quite a complex sort and as the series progresses, it is interesting to see his character develop as the boys face many challenging and horrifying situations.

~~Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki)~~

Sam is quiet and more reserved than his older brother and is initially overshadowed by the more dynamic Dean. While Dean is fairly gung-ho, Sam is calm and thoughtful, academic and much more sensitive. He was too young to remember the night his mother died and so can't understand his father and brother's need for answers. Sam's character does the most growing in this first series, with unexpected results!

~~John Winchester~~

Daddy Winchester remains an elusive and mysterious figure for quite a long way into the series. I can't say much about him, with out giving too much away, but when he does finally appear, it doesn't disappoint! John Winchester is played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Grey's Anatomy).

~~The DVD~~

Ok, so there is the basic info on the plot and main characters. This explosive series has 22 episodes that come in a thick box with a picture of the two guys on the front carrying various weapons! Once you remove the sleeve, you get two separate sleeves of volume 1 and volume 2. In total, there are 6 discs, containing all 22 episodes. Here is how the discs are split:

VOLUME 1

DISC 1
Pilot
Wendigo
Dead In the Water
Phantom Traveller

DISC 2
Bloody Mary
Skin
Hook Man
Bugs

DISC 3
Home
Asylum
Scarecrow

VOLUME 2

DISC 1
Faith
Route 666
Nightmare
The Benders

DISC 2
Shadow
Hell House
Something Wicked
Provenance

DISC 3
Dead Man's Blood
Salvation
Devil's Trap

~~My Top 5 Episodes~~

1. Pilot

This episode is excellent for setting the pace of the series to come. Dark and dramatic from the off, it starts with the boys as children and shows the mysterious and traumatic event of their childhood. It then moves on in time to Dean showing up at Sam's college with the news of their missing father. The brothers follow the clues of their father's phone message, which leads them to a small California town. Here they encounter the legend of the ghostly Woman in White who lures drivers off the road to their death (nice!). Can they get to the bottom of the legend before the Lady strikes again?

This episode draws you in from the start. It is very dark and chilling and leaves Sam with some difficult decisions to make about his future.

Featured track : Back In Black - AC/DC

3. Dead In The Water

When a string of mysterious drownings happen in a small Wisconsin town, the brothers decide to investigate whether something could be lurking in the hidden depths of the town's lake.

This kept me enthralled to the end! The episode is well written with both drama and humour and has an unexpected twist! This episode sees the boys really settle into their roles as paranormal hunters and protectors of the innocent!

Featured track: Movin' On - Bad Company

8. Bugs

When a construction worker is killed by swarming insects whilst building a new housing complex, the brothers decide to investigate whether it is more than just a freak occurrence. When one of the estate agents is killed by spiders, they know for certain that something very strange is going on in connection with the new housing. Does the land owner's bug-obsessed son know more than he is letting on?

This episode has great special effects for all the various bugs that make an appearance and is not for those with an insect phobia! The storyline is very strong and uses a well known urban legend. There are some very funny moments as the guys try to blag their way into the area, posing as prospective buyers.

Featured track: Rock of Ages - Def Leppard

12. Faith

Probably my favourite of the whole series, not least because it introduced me to some new music, this episode takes a novel path with a story about faith healing. After Dean is mortally injured in a battle with a demon, a desperate Sam approaches a Faith Healer in the hope of saving his brother. A sceptical Dean allows himself to be 'healed', but is there a darker consequence to this seemingly miraculous recovery?

I love this episode because it is such an interesting idea for a story. This was when I really got into the series, as it is such a clever episode on many levels. It has slight undertones of questioning the morality of religion and the following of 'God's Will' and how that can be corrupted in the wrong hands, without belittling the power and benefits of faith. The guys are excellent as usual and the dark parts of this episode are scary! The music was also perfect for the story line.

Featured track: Don't fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult

19. Provenance

When a couple are brutally murdered in their beds after attending an auction, the brothers suspect that an antique painting of a victorian family may be to blame. But thats just silly, right?!

This is a very spooky episode, with plenty of gory moments and a very freaky looking family portrait! It has a brilliant storyline with a couple of unexpected twists to keep you on the edge of your seat! Great stuff.

Featured track: Bad Time - Grand Funk Railroad

~~My Verdict~~

There are so many great episodes in this series, that it was very hard to choose just 5. The show works so well because there is a back story running throughout the whole series, as well as self contained episodes like the ones described above. I purposely left out any episodes that have reference to the sub-storyline of the missing father and mysterious death of the mother, as I did not want to spoil any of it. Suffice to say, there is much more to the story, but there is no substitute to watching it first-hand.

Supernatural is, in my opinion, a very well crafted show. It is extremely dark in places, with a bit of an X-files feel to it, but every now and then, there will be a light hearted episode with plenty of humour and no angst, that balances all the scary stuff. The continuing sub-plot of Dean and Sam's family background is developed brilliantly and culminates in the excellent finale, Devil's Trap, which has more twists and turns than a helter skelter and an ending that leaves you deperate for the second series!

The show is well researched, using many well known urban legends and some less well known stories and new ideas. The brothers are not magical themselves (though Sam begins to develop certain powers, giving cause for concern for the real reason behind the mother's death) and are more paranormal investigators. Attention is given to the standard methods of disposing of scaries, (stakes, salting bones etc, she said knowledgeably!), rather than through magical means and there is a fair smattering of latin summoning rituals and occult references. This is a grown up show, often with subtle parallels to the real world and is not meant for young kiddies.

I can't fault the acting at all. It has been flawless from both the lead guys and the new guests that turn up every episode. Occasionally, the endings in a couple of episodes were a bit predictable, but generally the storylines are very well developed. The relationship between the brothers is outstanding. It is well observed, well written and the rapport between the two guys is terrific. Being brothers, they find it much harder to communicate honestly. They have no trouble putting themselves at risk for each other, but talking about feelings? Forget it!

The special effects in this are excellent. They are a mix of both traditional gory stage make-up and the new flashy CGI stuff. The stunts are also extremely good and these lads do a good job of being thrown about by nasties on a frequent basis! Add to this, a well chosen soundtrack of vintage rock music from bands like Metallica, AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd and you have a pretty appropriate atmosphere for the show.

I have given this DVD a Good in the value for money stakes, because it is well worth owning for the price of £19.99 that you can get it for now. However, I feel I must bemoan the fact that, yet again, us Brits have been left out of the Extras category. Obviously, we dont count. The US version of the box set comes with director and actor commentaries on two episodes, a 15 minute never-before-seen making of' documentary, a "Day in the Life of Jared and Jensen" documentary, a blooper reel, unaired scenes, stills gallery and DVD-ROM features. So, we've not missed much then! However, we do get the subtitles option (thank heavens!), so we should feel a little consoled! Not good enough really....

I said in my last review, that I wasn't sure this series would be able to sustain itself once the brothers reached their goal. I have been proved wrong, because the near complete second series has been just as strong as the first. It has changed format a little bit and actually managed to create its own identity and is developing it's own ideas and future, rather than following what has already been done. This current series is setting itself up for what I imagine will be a very interesting third series. I did, however, also say that I thought two or three series would be all it took for the leading men to get some movie roles and it seems both have already been offered various projects. I thank you and goodnight!

Till next time,

Thecharmedones x