SUPERNATURAL - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

Supernatural - The Complete First Season (2005)

Actors: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
Number of discs: 6

DVD Features:

• Available Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• 22 episodes on six discs
• Commentary on Pilot by creator Eric Kripke, director David Nutter, and Producer Peter Johnson
• Commentary on Phantom Traveler by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles
• Supernatural: Tales from the Edge of Darkness ? 15 minute never-before-seen making of documentary
• Day in the Life of Jared and Jensen ? Never-before-seen featurette focusing on Jared and Jensen on the set of Supernatural
• Gag reel
• Unaired scenes
• Still gallery
• DVD-ROM capabilities with link to exclusive website content featuring a sneak-peek into season 2, original pilot script, access to Dean's computer and much more
   

Twenty-two years ago a woman is killed by a malevolent poltergeist, leaving behind a husband now obsessed with the occult and two boys whom he trains to help him fight all supernatural phenomena such as ghosts, werewolves, demons, vampires, werewolves, you name it. However, when the father disappears under mysterious circumstances, the two brothers - now in their early 20s - go on a road trip to find him and the entity that killed their mother.

The plot however only exists to have the two brothers travel from town to town in their late-1960s muscle car listening to ?mullet rock? investigating paranormal activities along the way, a bit like Mulder and Scully in the X-Files but without any FBI badges. (Or make that real FBI badges ? along the way they impersonate a whole series of law enforcement officials.)

The series is very episodic and unlike shows like Lost and Prison Break which has one single storyline the viewer can easily skip and episode here and there. While nitpicky viewers may rail at Supernatural's similarities to The X-Files and lament the fact that its two central protagonists aren't as charismatic or witty as Special Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, the point is that Supernatural is a good enough show to hold its own ground without all the X-Files comparisons dragging it down.

In its favor are the show's youth-oriented approach and its high production values: the cinematography is very now, and the special effects and makeup are usually of a high enough standard so one never feels as if one is watching TV. Each episode feels like a small movie.

However, while some episodes are quite good the familiarity of the plots sometimes counts against the series. One episode for instance rehashes the whole Candyman plot device while throwing in some imagery from The Ring for good measure.

THE DISCS: It is probably best that you only check out Supernatural: Tales from the Edge of Darkness, the 15 minute-long making-of documentary after you've watched all the episodes since it contains some plot spoilers.

WORTH IT? Teenagers and horror fans will lap it all up and shouldn't miss Supernatural. Those averse to gore would want to give it a skip since the episodes are at times unexpectedly gory and bloody, especially for a TV show.

RECOMMENDATION: Don't expect to be glued to the screen like you would with shows such as Invasion and Lost. Supernatural's standalone episode structure ultimately counts against it and it is best only to sample a few episodes at a time.