First Thoughts on Supernatural

[fangirljen]

I decided to start S4 (never having seen S1-S3 except a few eps here and there) because I want to be educated on the latest happenings before I go to a SPN convention with my friend brokenbacktango.

I have to admit that the first five minutes of ep 4.01, with the catch up and Dean coming out of his grave, was better than any of the Heroes eps I've seen in a long time. This show runs so smooth. Stuff happens. People die. I imagine if your profession is hunter and people don't die, then something is clearly wrong.

Things really don't feel contrived. And I really hate to say this, but I am wondering if Heroes is written for someone who doesn't want to think about their Scifi but be spoon fed it because they don't have the brains to get it/don't want to think that much to get it.

Supernatural is cool because it makes both Star Trek and Star Wars references, even coming from Dean, and even after he came back from Hell. And how about his line about going to Hell again because he thought his mom was hot? LOL I liked the one about having to go to the Star Trek Experience because of the impending Apocalypse. Hate to break it to you, Dean, but the Star Trek Experience's last day at the Hilton was Sept. 1st, 2008, a month before you came back from the grave. :(

I am also delighted that there is incest, and it's not just in the subtext way. It's in the "we know what you're saying and we know that you know we know what you're saying" way. Ruby with her "are you two together?" comment and then, the big one, The yellow-eyed demon, who had just murdered Deanna (I love that the grandparents' names!), made Samuel stab himself, and then killed John Winchester, and then had Mary give up herself and Sam, started making out with her while he was in her father's body! Dood! That's some hardcore stuff there. Makes me wish we had some making out between Sylar!Nathan and Angela on Heroes. Because levels of fucked up when they do not involve blonde cheerleaders who are pretty much used as pieces of meat are kinda cool. Damn. I feel a little bad that part of my enjoyment from watching SPN is judging Heroes for the bad path it has been made to go on, but it's fun.

I hadn't realized that Ben Edlund is a staff writer for SPN. That is part of the coolness factor. I have adored his writing since The Tick. And then on Angel he did the awesome Smile Time. Guy has been around and knows how to mix humor with drama. This is good crack. I was watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with my parents the other day and told them that you don't get shows like that anymore. I think in Supernatural I am proven wrong. You get a good mix of (meta?)humor, drama, good pacing, character development, all the stuff that makes me really dig a show. I have avoided SPN so far because my mom is uncomfortable with the subject matter. But being how I am watching the show on my comp, she doesn't have to see it. I knew the boys are pretty, but the quality of the show goes well beyond that.

To be honest, I've wanted to know what the whole thing with Castiel was about for a while. Both character and actor seem to be beloved. I also am really digging Angels right now, so seeing him is really cool for that.

I'll post more as I go through the series. I hope the rest of S4 and S5 hold up

Comments

[ewanspotter.livejournal.com]

Man, if you DO ever go back to the first three seasons, you're gonna be all, "WTF?" Season four zoomed off in another direction. (I mean that in a good way.)

It takes them a bit in the first season to really get the feel for the show. It's very monster-of-the-week and stand alone. It's not until about episode nine, "Home", where the showrunners went, "Wait, so we can have a monster AND parallel the boy's story with this? SWEETNESS."

Edlund was a consulting producer (or some title like that) for a while but didn't start writing until season two. His second episode (the first was okay, but the second is what he's really known for) is classic SPN (if there is such a thing as classic SPN). Good stood, characters you care about, and kickass use of Styx.

[fangirljen.livejournal.com]

LOL I have an idea what happened in the first three seasons. I have caught an episode here and there and some of those episodes were key ones.

That's not bad, really. I've seen shows that took a season or two to find their footing. Look at Highlander's first season, another show that was filmed in Vancouver. Its first season is kind of "Eh? O.o" with such gems as "Bad Day in Building A" which does have some charm to it, but is really kind of "Eh??? O.o"

I was looking for another brother pair to get into, truth be told. I haven't let go of the Petrellis, but for reason events...um, yeah. So I decided to finally check into what was going on in SPN. And I really dig Angels. :D

All writers have hit and misses. I don't blame them for that. I just like seeing writers who realize they have misses and try to do something about it. Even seasoned TV writers are still learning about their craft. I'm not sure if a lot of TV writers realize that or not. Some writing they try just isn't going to work, but if they are worth their salt they will find things that do. I've noticed that Edlund is consistency good, which is nice!

[ewanspotter.livejournal.com]

You should definitely catch up though. DVDs are way cheap now (and also because you'll see them as far less antagonist toward each other; it's been a trying few years). There's also daddy Winchester and the lovely fucked up Winchester relationships that come with that part of the story. (They all have so many issues.)

The angels have been fun, IA. Cas, but also the actor. He's kind of brought a bit of spark back to the fandom. (Love him or hate him.) Jensen and Jared are both very down-homey and gracious to fans, but they are who they are. Misha is so cracky, and knows exactly what he's doing when interacting. So he's been a real treat.