The 'goddamit I kinda like Supernatural' thread - Page 2

Clearly, two guys (brothers!) can't spend significant hangtime together without accusations of homosexuality.

Frodo and Sam will attest to this.

The reason that Battlestar was so good was because of the very loose way that Moore and his writing team tied the story together. They were basically willing to try anything and go anywhere and this led them to the point where there were a lot of halfway developed ideas and episodes that turned out to just be absolute stinkers when they actually got about halfway through shooting them.

Battlestar seemed to always be attempting to transcend its genre (often successfully); Supernatural never does, but it doesn't suffer for that fact.

Just because:

Dean does Eye of the Tiger

That's a little outtake they played at the end of a season 4 episode entitled Yellow Fever. The scratching makes more sense in the context of the show, but this right here is a highlight for me. I like that these guys like to have as much fun as they do.

some of us here have no doubt seen this already, but for those that haven't, enjoy!

Whenever that clip is linked, I'll always watch it, no matter how many times I've seen it. I do agree that the first season might be the weakest but that's easily explained by the not sure they're getting a second season and also trying to find their way type deal. I love how the show gets significantly better as the seasons go on. I'm a big fan of the soundtrack to the show and it really adds to my enjoyment of episodes. In particular the the Carry on my Wayward Son intro's to the season enders and I can't remember what season (2 I think) but the one with Renegade by Styx at the end of the episode (the bank episode).

You know what the biggest surprise was for me? Jensen Ackles actually has charismas. I had only seen My Bloody Valentine where he was about as exciting as a wet sheep. I actually dig both the brothers.

Hey, just doing my job... But seriously, if I have been a little nuts about people watching this show, it's just because I've been excited to be a part of it, and I truly believe it's a great show, and it drives me nuts to see people avoiding this show because it looks "gay".

You work for the show and you still like it?

I give it props for making a joke about the seeming gayness of the leads. And Eckles is good in the role. Padalecki is good but his character is tedious.

I think people automatically dismiss the show because of its CW connection.

But yes, Season 4 is real good.

Unbelievably, yes, I still like it. Also it's Ackles.

That episode has one of the funniest scenes of the show. A cat jumps out of a cupboard and Dean, infected by some kind of ghost that makes him extra paranoid and afraid of things, lets out this really high-pitched and long scream.

Fixed.

I'm an AD.

All this talk about "Bugs" being the worst episode, I gotta throw in the werewolf episode from, I think season 3, that one was just lame. I know there were budget constraints with it, but the look was just weak.

I was more let down that the werewolf mythology was so staight forward. I was hoping for them to give it a little more of a unique spin, like the vampires.

They really didn't even seem to try with the look too, slap on some fangs, long nails and that's it.

Didn't they supposedly blow a big part of their budget on Season 3's opening? They went a little crazy early on and I think the rest of the show suffered for it.

Understood. It wasn't a criticism, just recognition that you can be quite the cheerleader. That turns some folks off, but it shouldn't. Supernatural is a solid, fun show.

I'm picking up what you're putting down, but I think the episode works for the emotional payoff. Sam having to kill the wolfgirl is fairly disturbing.

That's not really unfair though, since CW makes it quite clear that they're going for the young women demographic. It's why they got rid of wrestling for instance, even though If I remember right, Smackdown was one of their best performing shows, only in the male demos.

I'm actually surprised at how awesome and not Smallville, or Vampire Diaries I suppose, Supernatural is.

The whole "gay" thing you mention becomes really funny, Spike. The characters start referencing it. They walk into motels, and the dudes running the places ask them if they want king sized beds. Eventually, Dean starts makin' the magic with all sorts of skeevy chix (also a gag that comes back around) - while Sam sleeps in the car. Dean keeps trying to get him laid, and Sam gets mopey, Dean calls him a "homo" -

Hilarious.

The werewolf may not have been so well-conceived visually - but I thought they made the budgetary constraints work to their advantage. By not covering her in heavy prosthetics or replacing her with a stuntwoman in a suit - they kept the character's humanity in the foreground. Which is a nice change of pace for this type of show.

Great Show.

The alias of the Winchesters being rock stars -I think only one character ever said "oh..like the muscian?".

I may be wrong , bust asside from the first episode's "Fox & Mulder" have all the subsequent fake names been rock star names?

This is one of the only shows I've ever seen that actually gets better from season to season. I still think the majority of season 1 is extremely underwhelming, and I'm always tempted to advise people to skip the first 15 episodes or so. They're a slog. After that, the show really picks up steam, and keeps accumulating awesomeness as it chugs along.

Also, I'm gonna pretend Tati's "kinda gay" comment didn't exist.

There was an episode where they were Raimi and Campbell.

Why?

I started watching the show, up to episode 5 so far and it's been pretty good. Not great, but good. I can't wait till they get into more mythology centered seasons and the angels vs demons stuff of season 4.

But i stand by what i said, the only thing that takes away from the show is that it looks kinda way. An Episode started with Dean sleeping face down in his shorts and the camera did a tracking shot of his body, specially his ass. Then Sam entered the room and looked down on him... C'mon!

Ha! I don't even remember that part. I've never found the show particularly "Gay" but to be honest I don't remember much of the first Season at all (I've not seen it since it initially aired).

I think Kripke threw all that shit out though by the time they got to Season 2.

And in the werewolf episode they were Landis and Dante.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b1EPseb54o

Who doesn't love when Dean forces Sam into an awkward situation?

The highlight of that montage, for me, is when Dean goes for his ID and realizes he's reaching for the wrong card and switches pockets.

Also they throw in agent Ford and agent Hammel, a reference to the original basic inspiration for the characters.

Domingo, how much time goes into designing those hotel rooms every week? Those kill me, every damn episode.

The thing is, I think that most fans of Supernatural set out watching this show with a great deal of skepticism. Everything about this show screams garbage from the retread nature of it to the boyish model leads to the fact that McG and the CW are involved. The show is far better than you could ever hope judging the credentials and it only gets better as it goes on. All credit goes to the two leads for the early episodes and more credit goes to the writers that it picked up along the way. It's a damn good genre show now, kooky fanatics be damned.

Bonus points go to everyone involved for knowing it needs a limited time frame to tell it's story instead of trying to run it into the ground.

I'm also finally giving this show a chance.

So far, about half way through season one, I'm liking but not loving it. The Hardy Boys in the X-Files universe premise is great, and i love the winky horror references. Just find the storytelling messy in execution, and the brothers as characters (esp. Sam) somewhat boring. (With the X-Files, Mulder and Scully were a captivating duo right off the bat, and with Buffy, the cast had a chemistry that clicked quickly. Angel comes to mind, that season one was really shaky) Dean has potential, but his JDness early on is unconvincing (maybe that's part of the point?). He's also not as funny as the writers think he is. So far, find the blue collar/classic rock soundtrack gimmick rather sloppy in selection and thematic relevance (and more than a few times, groan-inducing). Almost like the soundtrack is on random play. McG's staff doesn't exactly have the QT/Scorsese knack, that's for sure.

This said, the potential is there. I'll stick with it for at least a little while to see if it elevates in quality as much as most of you believe. If the ambitious mythology arc avoids the pitfalls, and plays out less tortured than the X-Files, I'll definitely be impressed.

Ok, Bugs? Terrible.

I see now where Bay took the idea for the 15 minute day. Here we have a 3 minute night.

Give it till at least the end of Season 2. If you're not hooked by then it just may not be the show for you.

To be fair, 2 seasons is a LOT to ask from a viewer to get hooked on a show.

I think like almost every aspect of the show, Dean gets better as the show goes on. I don't know what it is but it just feels that at some point (Probably in the break pre Season 2) the writers just nailed exactly what they wanted the show to be. Nearly every aspect became stronger (Though the look/direction was always pretty stellar - thanks to the late Kim Manners), from the writing to the stories and to the acting.

Season 1 just feels like a sketch of what's to come later.

It totally is. But the thing is, this is that one time where investing that much time really does pay off in spades. Honestly I think most people who end up liking it will be hooked about half way through season 2.

In general, with rare exceptions (Lost, Twin Peaks), the first season of a show is not as good as what comes afterward.

The show ramps up when it develops the cojones to put its mythology more toward the center. Season 2 eps like "Crossroad Blues" really start to show the series' potential for standalones mixed with overarcing story.

In my opinion, rather skip to season 2 if you don't think you'll stick it through. I started on the third, so I never had to suffer through these growing pains.

Yeah, if it's really not clicking, I'd advise skipping to the last 2 or 3 episodes of Season one (start with the vampire hunting episode). It lays down some important mythology and character stuff, and in general is a step up from what's come before.

Homage watch: 'Skin' opened with SWAT home invasion stuff set to 'Innagodadavida'. Possible Manhunter homage?

Possible?? Dude...

90% of Supernatural's key demographic has never seen Manhunter. Nor, to be honest, have they probably seen a good portion of the other films that the show homages/references/rips off.

So, 'on the nose' or not, I like that the show does these. At the least, they encourage fans of the show to seek out the original inspirations. If someone rents Manhunter because they've heard that the show homaged it, I consider that a win all around.

It's a great show to get to know this girl too because we're very different brands of geeks, and we get to explain all kinds of subtext to each other. There are millions of movie/horror geek homages that warm my heart.

It's a shame to think that when Dean says "I love this plan! I'm excited to be a part of it!" or "Come to the coast, we'll visit, have a few laughs..." or "WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!" there is a large population of female fans who watch the show that just don't know it and can't appreciate the little homages here and there.

EDIT: Although the show did get topical with the very disturbing episode of the fourth season a lot of people are comparing to the X Files episode Home...