In a sort of celebration for the tenth season of
Supernatural coming out tomorrow (I CAN’T WAIT), I figured why not write about
the episode that started it all: the pilot. Now, the pilot of any show has its
faults since it’s the show’s “testing the waters” stage, but the beginning of
Supernatural hooked me from the get-go. Granted, the acting in the first five
minutes is a little sketchy, but as the episode progresses, you can see the
acting chemistry between Jensen Ackles—who plays the older brother Dean
Winchester—and Jared Padalecki—Dean’s younger brother Sam. As soon as Dean
first walks back into Sam’s life, through a window in the middle of the night
of course, the plot unravels.
There’s
Dean, the snarky, deliberately overconfident guy with a five o’clock shadow and
that carefree look in his eyes; you immediately know he’s that kind of
troublemaker that you’re going to love. And then there’s Sam, the accomplished
one who just wants to have a normal life. The dynamic between the two brothers
at first is tense and almost uncertain, like neither one of them knows where
the other one stands. You can tell, however, that as the story progresses they
fall back into familiar patterns. Beneath all the sarcastic jibes, there’s an
underlying current of protectiveness flowing between them both. Its apparent
Dean is always looking out for Sam, almost like he’s his responsibility. Sam,
likewise, can’t really let Dean go into danger alone. They make the perfect
team; Sam’s analytical skills to go with Dean’s razor sharp instincts. And the way they're drawn to their lifestyle of
hunting monsters makes them the perfect men for the job.
Not
only does the show have great main characters, but the actual fright factor
that the show carries does a pretty good job at frying your nerves. Especially
if you started the show like I did, in a deadly silent room late at night with
all the lights turned off. Considering
the show’s airing date, in 2005, and the likely low budget for the first
season, the special effects are relatively good. The beginning and end scenes
are a little cheesy, with the fire that engulfs the scene looking more than a
little artificial, but hey, it’s only the first episode. I promise personally that
it does get better. Eventually.
The
show itself has a refreshing humor element to it that contrasts the dark
undertones. For someone like me who despised anything that would make me jump,
this was the key to keeping me interested. The great one-liners kept me
laughing. For example, Dean has a run in with the county sheriff because he
impersonates a marshal in order to get information on the case.
Sheriff:
Do you have anything that’s real?
Dean:
My boobs.
Things
like this diffuse the tension but keep the episode interesting to watch. As the
seasons go on, sometimes the plot becomes a little flinty, but the connection
that you form with the characters makes it nearly impossible to stop watching
in spite of this. Not to mention it helps that the main guys are pretty
attractive and kicking ass at the same time. It’s no wonder the show has
accumulated such a wide fan base over the years, and the addition of the show
to Netflix has widened it even further. Which leads to tomorrow being another
season premiere, and hopefully there will be many more to come.
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