# 106 – Supernatural

After the popular TVD post (it made my weekend) I decided to do a new “10 reasons” post, so I turned to the king of supernatural TV-shows (in my opinion) which was created by a talented man called Eric Kripke. The show is called, no surprise there, Supernatural.

I think the show got started in a period when TV land was missing its unhuman companions – Buffy had ended 2 years, Angel (both Joss Wheadons shows) a year prior to the September 13 pilot episode of Supernatural. The big Twilight explosion had yet to enter the minds of teenagers (first novel came out October 2005) – but don’t get me wrong, explosions are good, for instance if the popular thing is really really deserving of it then it is good to be a fan. In this case, being a Supernatural fan is probably the best thing I have ever been and still am. Thanks to that show I actually found out that supernatural things are my forte – finding Jensen Ackles wasn’t a bad thing either.

On that note I will now list 10 reasons why you should watch Supernatural (which is on its 6th season at the moment) from season 1 to season 5 (I’m still a little insecure about season 6).

# 1 – Winchester brothers

At first I thought that it would be hard to name the first reason but then again, I didn’t really think about it until I started writing this. But since Sam and Dean (the order they are named in the show, have you noticed?) are together a very solid first reason! They are a team, a force to be recon with and looking at them isn’t that bad either. But I’m trying to skip the whole visual thing because it seems that Supernatural has also a very big guy fan base! While TVD seems like the show for the ladies Supernatural is more manly in that front – I mean, there are only two main characters, Sam and Dean – guys! (Other supporting characters include their father, Castiel and Bobby – it is like a bachelor party there.) But I’m pretty sure that girls watch it as much because no matter how scary it is, Dean will make better and Sam will be right behind him – as two of the best brothers on TV-screen since forever (or at least since I can remember).

# 2 – Dean Winchester/Jensen Ackles

Which brings me to my favorite brother – the reason.. I think it is his humor that makes me like him more than Sam and the fact that he has some of that bad boy thing going on. Meanwhile he is probably the best big brother a boy or a girl can ask for who, a brother who listens to old-school rock, loves to drive an American classic and has a trunk full of stuff that would get him arrested while his fake badges, ID’s and credit cards are in the glove department – isn’t he a catch? I think so, besides, how can you not name him as the second reason when he even has a catch phrase (“Son of a bitch”)?

Jensen Ackles has said that when he read the character he automatically clicked to its humor and the fact that he was the older brother who was a bit more reckless than the younger brother. To me it feels like he is Dean and maybe that is the reason why the whole show has this realistic vibe to it – Jensen seems to be himself on screen and that especially comes out in the funny episodes, episodes that like to make it more about the laughs than the horror. All in all, Dean/Jensen could be a role model to a lot of big brothers out there – he never gives up on Sam.

# 3 –  Sam Winchester/Jared Padalecki

But what would a TV’s most famous duo do without Sam? Probably nothing because all though Dean’s one man’s show sounds like a nice dream, I’m pretty sure I would get bored by the second season but with Sam there, I think I’m glued to the screen for a long long time. He is the little brother but some how he manages to stand on his own and I have to admit, sometimes I don’t even think about the fact that he is younger (maybe it’s because Jared is taller than Jensen?). He catches up to the fighting monsters thing really fast plus he has the gene for research – an important part while hunting demons and mythological creatures. Sam always tries to do the right thing, he cares a lot and yes, sometimes when he for example is helpless (episode Bad Day at Black Rock S3E03) he is totally funny as well!

Jared Padalecki is a good match to Jensen, they seem to be on the same page when it comes to humor and off screen relationship – they both attended each others weddings for crying out loud! If that is not brotherhood, I don’t know what it is but I’m happy about it. While Jared seems to be as goofy as Jensen his characters Sam is more pulled back but that doesn’t mean that he can’t have one-liners that will make viewers laugh – basically the first 3 reasons are all mashed into one because you cant brake them apart, you just cant!

# 4 – Eric Kripke and his mind

Surely there is a “father” behind the show who is a very big reason to watch Supernatural, in this case the daddy of all the things we see on the screen delivered by Supernatural is Eric Kripke. Not only does he have a knack for writing horror, he also is great with the jokes and the whole concept – Kripke wrote the whole five seasons (the show also has a 6th season although Kripke isn’t behind it anymore) into a story that could be viewed as a really long movie. Every episode has a monster or a rabbit’s paw, every season has a bigger meaning (first season for instance is focusing on finding Sam and Dean’s father) but the entire show has this one thing that makes everything else logical. On this note I have to apologize because I don’t want to give away any spoilers which unfortunately leads to me ending this describing thing.

Back to Eric Kripke, who I like because he has made horror really enjoyable for me. I didn’t like scary things, I stayed far away from those until I started watching Supernatural. Yeah, I have to admit that it isn’t as scary but more of a thriller but some episodes have scared the hell out of me (watching Supernatural in the dark is a very good idea!!). But I think that this is the beauty of the show, it lightness on horror because it doesn’t allow the scary things to have the spotlight and Eric Kripke has made the show about brothers and their way of handling things. An idea that Kripke got when he saw the good chemistry between Jared and Jensen – an idea that shaped Supernatural into a show that I look up to, even though I don’t have any siblings.

# 5 – “Fresh” new monsters

While Buffy and Angel had all of those scary underworld demons and vampires, Supernatural at first focused on folklore and myths – basically ghosts and things that have evolved into monsters while staying as far as possible from vampires! So in some ways it was a fresh start for supernatural shows, plus the main characters weren’t chosen (in some perspective) to have this life, they don’t have special strength nor are they cursed vampires with souls – they ordinary guys fighting things that have been mentioned in folklore time after time. Bringing them on the big screen was probably the best decision ever, because it really gave Supernatural the freshness TV-land was missing.

But in order to make things interesting, there still are demons in Supernatural, there are couple of other things too but you’ll just have to watch and see!

# 6 – Scary and funny

Like I have mentioned many times during this post, Supernatural is a horror show with humor! I think that this makes the show stand out from others because the humor isn’t sarcastic (all the time) but sometimes the humor is what the episode is all about. There are so many episodes ringing in my head, that have made me laugh out loud that I find it interesting that what first was a horror show (in some sense) is now in my head a comedy and a great one.

Life is serious enough, shows have to make us laugh and sometimes the laughing is all about the idea of seeing two characters in a situation totally out of their comfort zone – a thing Eric Kripke loved to do with Sam and Dean. He established their personalities and then he threw them into situations that were completely opposite to their nature – that is what I think when I think about smart humor. It isn’t flat out lame Scary Movie jokes, it is intelligent and more of a context based joke that is only perfected by the two amazing actors that Jared and Jensen are.

# 7 – the other guys

This is a show mostly for guys from a guy about guys – yeah, I just said that! While Dean and Sam are the two main characters there are also important guest stars (that have gotten more important while the show has progressed), I will name them in the order of their appearance.

John Winchester is of course the father and he is introduced to us in the very first episode but he is absent while being the reason the sons are together – they are trying to find their father. So the importance of this character is right up there, next to Sam and Dean (and Eric).

Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver) is introduced to us in the end of first season (episode 22 to be exact) and he who was at first meant to be a one episode character remind a part of the show as the friend and maybe even a father figure to the Winchester. He who has a lot of knowledge about the supernatural or he could find things out is very helpful, plus I kind of enjoy his sporadic grumpy personality sometimes.

Castiel, my sweet Castiel is my favorite guest star who was introduced to the brothers in the first episode of season 4 and was made regular in season 5. Misha Collins who plays Castiel has said that his return to Supernatural in season 5 was because of the fans – oh the fans, they have power I tell you, we have power!

# 8 – link to reality

This is a short reason and probably a reason that won’t happen anymore (since I think the 6th season will be the end of the show) but which is still worth mentioning. Supernatural has a big fan base and this fan base has been able to mold the show – like I said before, Castiel’s return was probably because of the fans and one of the episodes introduces us a nice story line about the brothers but I can’t ruin it for you so I’ll just stick with the fact that Supernatural has used fans and fan sites for inspiration from time to time and even shaken the border between the show and the reality. I think because the show was already so popular the show wasn’t afraid to do things it did back then (when Kripke was still in charge).

# 9 – the darker the better (and the light)

Like with TVD Supernatural isn’t afraid to go to the dark side, it regularly has a scary movie vibe and most of the show happens in the dark, a thing that can only be amplified by the viewers who watch it in the dark (something that I recommend). But next to that there are other technical things that Supernatural is very good at: like for instance ghosts, they need special effects, who would’ve guessed right? Plus, since the show is about brothers who travel the States in order to kill the supernatural, the set builders have a lot to do – and they manage to make every city look different even though it actually is filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

The locations are very horror movie like and there are a couple of episodes that are again a little different and the set design needs a two thumbs up for those. I think that the people behind the show are usually over looked and that is why I name the crew as reason number 9 – they seem such a nice bunch of people who enjoy doing what they do and do it with passion that helps to deliver a show like Supernatural.

# 10 – on the road again

How are they traveling? Well, the Winchester brothers have probably the coolest car ever – Chevy Impala 67′ and you know the thing about TV-shows right?, they have a lot of Impalas and they are way more special that the regular cars so being reason 10 is well deserved by this special car.