In discussing possible new TV show obsessions, a number of friends have suggested I check out Supernatural, which I think I’ve seen one episode of once, and it seemed pretty good.
I don’t want to just pick up with the new season, primarily because I’m 99% sure I’d be totally lost as to what was going on. (Also I don’t think I can, because I’m in Europe so the streaming video won’t work for me and I don’t think it’s on any network I current get here.)
I know some long-lived shows tend to take a while to really find their stride. I know other long-lived shows have such long ongoing arcs that if you miss the first season you’re pretty much never going to catch up.
So before I start my ‘well I’ve got this new 1TB hard drive so I might as well fill it up’ video binge, any suggestions as to whether I should start at season 1 episode 1, or somewhere in between there and now?
1.1. It’s one of those where the individual episodes usually work well on their own but where jumping straight into the middle of the overall story would leave you completely lost. The usually is because sometimes you get one where the focus is on the overall story and those don’t make sense if you’ve missed another key episode.
The show’s creator, Eric Kripke, pretty much set up the initial 5-season story for Supernatural, and there is in fact a benefit to watching the series in chronological order, IMO. The show references major events in the characters’ stories that simply will not make sense or have the desired impact if you skip over too much. That being said, there are a number of “monster of the week” episodes that could probably be seen without giving away too much or losing too much for having not seen every previous episode. But the show is meant to be watched chronologically, and this fan thinks it’s worth the time to watch from the beginning; a big part of the fun is the ride, not the destination. Some episodes you can probably safely skip over are Season 1: Ep 8 “Bugs”, Season 1: Ep 8 “Route 666”, both of which were even disparaged by Kripke himself as being examples of bad writing. The series is fun from the start, but really starts to hit full stride in season 2. Have fun!
Good deal. I’m expecting something kind of X-Files-ish, in that the ‘monster of the week’ stories work fine and are a ton of fun on their own, but a fair number of episodes are about some greater story arc.
Starting at the beginning, and if I like it, it’s going to become my iPod viewing for my daily gym trips.
It’s the show that I’m constantly recommending to people. The first season is very heavy on the “monster of the week” episodes and then devote more time to the large arcs in season two and beyond.
I’m having a Season Six DVD watch party at my house this Friday! We’re having bacon cheeseburgers and Jack Daniels and a trivia contest and OH I’M SO EXCITED!
Season 1 is pretty good, although it takes a couple of episodes to get going. Season 2 is where it hits its stride.
I would caution you against skipping seemingly one-off episodes – for some reason the show has a habit of putting crucial long-term story elements at the end of otherwise mundane “monster of the week” episodes.
My husband and I have loved the show from the beginning. My daughter, on the other hand. was a little resistant. She didn’t want to get into a new show, wasn’t into monsters and really anything mom and dad likes can’t be that good. (She didn’t say that one out loud but I’m sure she was thinking it.) I made her a deal. We had the dvd season one set so I told her to just watch the first episode and after that she never had to watch another one and that would be the end of it. Well she watched the first episode and when the credits came up said, “I hate you Mom” and proceeded to go through the rest of the DVD. I think she went through the first three seasons in a matter of days.
Not a particularly interesting anecdote but I thought I would share.
I just started season 6 on DVD. The show is decent, and works best when it is not taking itself seriously. It is downright hilarious at times. Other times, it gets a little hokey. And now, by season 6, they are really recycling the same ol’ stories. Big time. But the comedy is still there in places.
I know the OP said she’s in Europe and the streaming vids don’t work, but for those in the US, they show reruns on TNT. As of this morning, they just started season 4. They’ve been doing reruns for about a year now, and I’m sure they’ll come back to The Season One pilot before Xmas.
My opinion:
Season One: Random Scary monster stories
Season Two: Dad Issues
Season Three: More random monsters with a buildup to the whole Demon story line
Season Four: Hello, Angels.
Season Five: Hell, I won’t spoil the ending.
I don’t mind the random “monster of the week” story, but I don’t like the waaay to intricate storylines with the demons and what not. There’s a lot of good comedy. There’s one clip after the “be very afraid” episode where Dean rocks out in the car to “Eye Of The Tiger” and does a great lipsync.
