A Supernatural Review

I confess. I am a fan of the CW TV show Supernatural. It's been a guilty pleasure for five seasons and I can't wait for the next one. I have my reasons for it too and I'm going to write this Review of Supernatural as a list of reasons to watch the show. Read them, and if you're not a fan yet, join in the fun. Hopefully, my reasons will provide you with an intellectual excuse or two (and some very non-intellectual ones as well, ladies!)

What Supernatural is About:

The story is about Dean and Sam Winchester, two brothers from a family of "hunters". Hunters try to locate events of a supernatural nature, visit the scene and hunt down whatever monster is haunting its victims. Monsters can be anything from your common ghost, vampire or demon, or something more exotic like some ancient pagan god demanding its ritualistic sacrifice.

At the same time, the brothers discover they are peons in a larger struggle of forces between good and evil. To avoid spoilers, I'll stop here.

Here's why you too should become a fan of Supernatural:

1. The Big Picture Plot

The creators of Supernatural came up with a complex and intriguing storyline that tackles the most basic of struggles between good and bad and takes on themes of destiny, choice, family and more. The story is whole and continuous, with bits and pieces revealed along the show's five seasons.

Similarly to "Lost" (another favorite of mine), the plot is introduced early on, right in the first episode of the first show, with implications and hidden meanings being revealed in flashbacks and forwards along the five seasons.

2. The "Little Pictures"

In addition to the main storyline, each episode contains a fully developed story revolving around the Winchester brothers' day job: hunters of evil monsters. If you love intelligently crafted horror stories, you're going to enjoy many of these episodes in their own right.

From vampires, zombies and ghosts to lesser-known mythic blood-thirsty monsters, we get to meet them all, sometimes more than once, along the show. Each episode has an opening and a closure and you can enjoy it even if you haven't followed the previous ones.

3. The Twists

Speaking of the stories, quite a few of them hold a good old-fashioned twist in the end. A trademark of modern horror story telling, the writers of Supernatural seem to revel in creating surprising twists, sometimes more than one per story. Think you know who the Evil Monster is? Think again!

4. The Lore

I think Supernatural must have a great team of researchers because they keep bringing up the most fascinating monster and urban legends lore, and in later seasons, in-depth Judeo-Christian themes. If you're into popular culture and lore - you HAVE to watch Supernatural.

5. The Inter-textual References

Speaking of popular culture, Supernatural excels in incorporating references to other "texts". I use the word liberally, to describe books, movies and TV shows. Some are major references, such as the homage to the movie Groundhog Day in the episode titled Mystery Spot. Other times, it's just a sentence making fun of the movie Rainman, or the TV series House MD.

6. The Use of Metafiction

Supernatural doesn't stop at quoting other shows. In the last two seasons, the show goes on a rampage of meta-fictional indulgence, i.e. intentional self-references. The trick is simple: the Winchester duo discovers that the entire three seasons have been documented in novels for public consumptions by someone who is a "prophet", receiving their tales in supernatural ways.

From there, a whole venue of opportunities opens up and the writers certainly walk down it. The Winchesters review websites written about them, talk to their fans and even take part in a fan convention... about the show. Seeing a fictional character's response to reviews and analyses of himself is fun and funny!

7. The Humor

The meta-fictional ploys are just one form of humor used through out the show. I think this is my absolute favorite thing about Supernatural: the ability to throw in jokes even in the darker episodes. The best jokes come in as a wink, reminding us all this is just entertainment.

Forgive me for once again comparing Supernatural to Lost, but I just have to say this. The show's ability to smile at its own antiques is, to me, what makes it superior to Lost. In the end, it's entertainment and Supernatural does not forget that for a minute.

8. The Values

Amidst the darkness, the horror and the gore, Supernatural manages to emphasize as its main theme the value of the family. Wherever the storyline takes the Winchesters, whether in a specific episode or in the larger plot, the Winchesters are there for each other.

Moreover, as the storyline progresses, the battles between good and evil continue, with both brothers struggling with some heavy-weight issues, what eventually keeps winning is family ties. commitment, and dare I say it, love.

9. 10. and 11. The Leading Characters/Actors

I promised some reasons for the ladies, and there three awesome ones: Jensen Ackles, who plays older brother Dean Winchester; Jared Padalecki who plays younger brother Sam Winchester; and Misha Collins who joins them in season three as the angel Castiel.

I'll let the pictures speak here... Just play the video for some hot supernatural images.