Gas up the ’67 Chevy Impala and hit Route 666 to track down demonic denizens of the dark because the first season of Supernatural is on DVD with this nice 6 disc set.
Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester are brothers with a secret in their past. When Sam was a baby, a demonic force came into their home and killed their mother. Their father John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) then became obsessed with finding and killing that force.
He trained Dean in the ways of tracking and killing evil, but Sam went off to college not wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps. Dean shows up at Sam’s apartment late one night to tell him that their father has disappeared and he needs Sam’s help to track him down.
* The following is a description of each episode and does contain spoilers. Some readers may want to skip this portion of the review.
Episode 1: Pilot: Along a lonely California highway a mysterious woman in white gets rides from men and the men end up dead. Sam and Dean track their father down to the town where the mysterious woman is appearing and become involved and have to find away to dispatch the woman before they’re the next victims.
Episode 2: Wendigo: Deep in the Colorado woods, Sam and Dean search for their father leads them in the path of the cannibalistic Wendigo.
Winchester brother reunion
Episode 3: Dead in the Water: Sam and Dean investigate the drownings in a Wisconsin lake that could be the work of a vengeful spirit.
Episode 4: Phantom Traveler: An evil spirit is causing plane crashes and Sam and Dean have to board the spirit’s targeted flight and perform an in flight exorcism.
Episode 5: Bloody Mary: People are dying when someone else stands in front of a mirror and says “Bloody Mary” three times. Sam and Dean have to discover who Bloody Mary is and figure out a way to stop her.
Episode 6: Skin: Sam gets a call from his college buddy for help. A shape shifter adopted his likeness and committed the crime they discover, but the shifter takes on Dean’s form to continue in his crimes.
Episode 7: Hook Man: In an Iowa college town the vengeful spirit is attacking and killing college kids with his hooked hand.
Episode 8: Bugs: A housing development is being built on cursed Indian land and the insects at the worksite do not like that one bit (or bite).
Episode 9: Home: The boys return to their childhood home when Sam is having nightmares that the current inhabitants are threatened.
Episode 10: Asylum: Sam and Dean investigate an abandoned mental asylum where evil still dwells and doesn’t mind killing a person or two.
Episode 11: Scarecrow: The town of Burkitsville, Indiana is still prosperous while other towns are dying. Could it have something to do with the apple field and the evil looking scarecrow within?
Episode 12: Faith: Dean has an accident and is given little time to live, but when they investigate a faith healer he finds that the man may have powers after all when he’s healed. But is the power from good or evil?
Sam and Dean's mother was killed by a mysterious force
Episode 13: Route 666: A mysterious truck is forcing African-Americans off the road and to their deaths in a small Southern town and the boys have to track it down and stop it.
Episode 14: Nightmare: Sam and Dean pose as priests to investigate a mysterious death – a death that Sam saw in a dream.
Episode 15: The Benders: A backwoods family of hunters likes to stuff and mount their kills – the problems is that they hunt people and they’ve captured Sam.
Episode 16: Shadow: Sam and Dean are investigating a murder in Chicago only to discover that Meg, a girl Sam met earlier, is responsible for it and is not quite human. Is the trap for them or for their father?
Episode 17: Sam and Dean investigate a haunted house, but they’re efforts are hampered by two self styled paranormal investigator nerds.
Episode 18: Something Wicked: A witch is sneaking into children’s rooms and putting them into comas and Sam and Dean have to stop her, but realize that they’ve encountered her before in their childhood.
Episode 19: Provenance: A mysterious portrait is responsible for the deaths of anyone who possesses it.
Episode 20: Dead Man’s Blood: A group of vampires kill one of John Winchester’s friends and take a valuable artifact. Sam and Dean team up with their father to get it back.
Episode 21: Salvation: Meg returns and is killing all of John’s friends until she can get the artifact back. Meanwhile Sam is dreaming of another family that is to fall victim of the demon that killed his mother. Sam, Dean, and their father have to split up to protect the artifact and go after the demon.
Episode 22: Devil’s Trap: Sam and Dean have to rescue their father from the demons that have captured him and hope that he’s not been affected by them.
Look out, Bloody Mary is behind you
Supernatural is a fun show and it’s one that I try not to miss (and I don’t really enjoy episodic television – prefer to catch whole seasons on DVD). It gets a lot of the fun from the playful brotherly spirit between Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles.
It also has an interesting storyline flowing through it as they search for their father and the mysterious force that was responsible for the death of their mother. You’ll definitely be looking forward to season two since this season ends with one bang of a cliffhanger.
Supernatural is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary by Eric Kripke, David Nutter, and Peter Johnson on the Pilot and by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles on Phantom Traveler. There are also deleted scenes on Pilot, Wendigo, Phantom Traveler, Hook Man, Home, Scarecrow, Faith, and Nightmare.
Disc 6 contains the majority of the special features. The first is the 22 minute “Supernatural: Tales from the Edge of Darkness.” It has interviews with creator Eric Kripke, producer Peter Johnson, executive producer McG, director/executive producer Robert Singer, director David Nutter, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, director/co-executive producer Kim Manners, producer Cyrus Yavneh, visual effects supervisor Ivan Hayden, production designer Jerry Wanek, writer/co-executive producer John Shiban, and writers Raelle Tucker and Sera Gamble.
Next is the 10 minute “Day in the Life of Jared and Jensen” and feature behind-the-scene looks at what it’s like for our main characters. Finally, there’s a 7 minute gag reel and a still gallery. DVD-ROM features include weblinks to exclusive Supernatural online content (including a preview of Season 2 by Eric Kripke).
On the road again
Supernatural is a show that I enjoy because of its horrific content and the brotherly chemistry between its two stars. Warner Brothers has created a nice special edition that will be sure to please fans of the show (though I would’ve liked to see [or hear] more commentaries).
Supernatural – The Complete First Season is now available at Amazon . As of yet, the complete first season is not available in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
Your Talkback on this Story