I remember really looking forward to watching Supernatural when it was first advertised on Australian TV. Unfortunately, the week before it started I got a new job that required me to work nights, so I missed it. Much to my regret, I did not tape it, and by the time I finished up at that job a couple of years later, I had pretty much forgotten about Supernatural.
About two years after that I came home fairly late from work one night, and while flicking channels came across Supernatural. The particular episode I had happened upon was 'Lucifer's Rising', from season four. Usually I would not have left it on as I hate coming into a series after it has started, but for some reason, this time I did.
Half an hour later I was hooked. I subsequently went about obtaining copies of all the previous episodes, which I finished watching the day prior to the next episode airing. It was a marathon session of Supernatural. 80 odd episodes in less than a week. Yet when I had finished I still hadn't gotten enough. I couldn't wait for the next episode.
Five years later and I still look forward to watching the next episode of Supernatural.
For any that have not watched the show before, Supernatural centers around two brothers – Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), who as the title of the show somewhat suggest, hunt down, banish, or kill supernatural beings that threaten the mundane among us.
The boys were raised to be 'hunters' by their father, after he discovers their mother - who died when Sam was still a baby - and Dean about five, was killed by a demon. Although Dean is enthusiastic about the 'family business', Sam wants a normal life, and is at college studying law when the series kicks off.
However Dean shows up unexpectedly with news their father has gone missing. Sam reluctantly agrees to help him for a few days, but upon his return to college, his girlfriend is killed in the same way as their mother.
Sam quits college, and he and Dean continue the search for both their father, and the demon responsible for the two deaths.
Unable at first to find either their father, or the demon, the two brothers continue to hunt down other supernatural creatures. While in the first season these are mainly spirits, ghosts and some minor demons, with each new season the boys become aware of, and battle more powerful creatures of lore.
Over the next nine years they face all manner of supernatural beings including angels, demons, witches, ghosts, vampires, reapers, demigods and leviathan. They square off against Lucifer. Meet and better Death on more than one occasion (even earning his respect in the process), and they even save the world from the apocalypse.
Along the way many new characters are introduced, both good and evil. Some become regulars, while others, although memorable, make only one or two appearances. There are also some, such as the previously mentioned - Death, who continue to make the odd appearance from season to season.
As Sam and Dean's knowledge and experience grow, the lines between good and evil become less black and white. Creatures who they once would have killed, sometimes become necessary allies, and occasionally even friends. They make bargains, some small, but others with far reaching consequences, and they learn more about the parts they personally play in the great scheme of things.
Even though many of the episodes stand alone, Supernatural is a continuing story, and that may put some new viewers off. However it shouldn't, as the central theme changes from season to season, and enough references are given to explain what is going on at any given time. Of course, if the show hooks you in as it did me, you can always watch previous seasons. Although given that this review is written between the ninth and tenth seasons, you might want to give yourself more than a week!
The main constant throughout the show though, is Sam and Dean. The series while of course concentrating on the supernatural, also follows the relationship between the two brothers. Although apart from the odd moment, this is done subtly, so that the obvious love the boys feel for each other is not pushed down the viewer's throat.
However it is a vital part of the show, as although either one would die for the other in an instant, either one will also make deals with far reaching consequences to keep the other alive - or to bring him back from the dead. This is particularly true of Dean, who believes that protecting Sam is his main reason for being.
Another constant about Supernatural is Dean's car, a black Chevy Impala. Although it does get smashed up from time to time, and even occasionally completely wrecked, it always somehow manages to get repaired, and this too is important. For really, at its heart, Supernatural is basically a story about two brothers on a very long road trip, that just happens to have a lot of nasty creatures involved. And if you're going to go on an almost decade long road trip, you may as well do it in a cool car. 9/10
About two years after that I came home fairly late from work one night, and while flicking channels came across Supernatural. The particular episode I had happened upon was 'Lucifer's Rising', from season four. Usually I would not have left it on as I hate coming into a series after it has started, but for some reason, this time I did.
Half an hour later I was hooked. I subsequently went about obtaining copies of all the previous episodes, which I finished watching the day prior to the next episode airing. It was a marathon session of Supernatural. 80 odd episodes in less than a week. Yet when I had finished I still hadn't gotten enough. I couldn't wait for the next episode.
Five years later and I still look forward to watching the next episode of Supernatural.
For any that have not watched the show before, Supernatural centers around two brothers – Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), who as the title of the show somewhat suggest, hunt down, banish, or kill supernatural beings that threaten the mundane among us.
The boys were raised to be 'hunters' by their father, after he discovers their mother - who died when Sam was still a baby - and Dean about five, was killed by a demon. Although Dean is enthusiastic about the 'family business', Sam wants a normal life, and is at college studying law when the series kicks off.
However Dean shows up unexpectedly with news their father has gone missing. Sam reluctantly agrees to help him for a few days, but upon his return to college, his girlfriend is killed in the same way as their mother.
Sam quits college, and he and Dean continue the search for both their father, and the demon responsible for the two deaths.
Unable at first to find either their father, or the demon, the two brothers continue to hunt down other supernatural creatures. While in the first season these are mainly spirits, ghosts and some minor demons, with each new season the boys become aware of, and battle more powerful creatures of lore.
Over the next nine years they face all manner of supernatural beings including angels, demons, witches, ghosts, vampires, reapers, demigods and leviathan. They square off against Lucifer. Meet and better Death on more than one occasion (even earning his respect in the process), and they even save the world from the apocalypse.
Along the way many new characters are introduced, both good and evil. Some become regulars, while others, although memorable, make only one or two appearances. There are also some, such as the previously mentioned - Death, who continue to make the odd appearance from season to season.
As Sam and Dean's knowledge and experience grow, the lines between good and evil become less black and white. Creatures who they once would have killed, sometimes become necessary allies, and occasionally even friends. They make bargains, some small, but others with far reaching consequences, and they learn more about the parts they personally play in the great scheme of things.
Even though many of the episodes stand alone, Supernatural is a continuing story, and that may put some new viewers off. However it shouldn't, as the central theme changes from season to season, and enough references are given to explain what is going on at any given time. Of course, if the show hooks you in as it did me, you can always watch previous seasons. Although given that this review is written between the ninth and tenth seasons, you might want to give yourself more than a week!
The main constant throughout the show though, is Sam and Dean. The series while of course concentrating on the supernatural, also follows the relationship between the two brothers. Although apart from the odd moment, this is done subtly, so that the obvious love the boys feel for each other is not pushed down the viewer's throat.
However it is a vital part of the show, as although either one would die for the other in an instant, either one will also make deals with far reaching consequences to keep the other alive - or to bring him back from the dead. This is particularly true of Dean, who believes that protecting Sam is his main reason for being.
Another constant about Supernatural is Dean's car, a black Chevy Impala. Although it does get smashed up from time to time, and even occasionally completely wrecked, it always somehow manages to get repaired, and this too is important. For really, at its heart, Supernatural is basically a story about two brothers on a very long road trip, that just happens to have a lot of nasty creatures involved. And if you're going to go on an almost decade long road trip, you may as well do it in a cool car. 9/10