Jul 23 2008
TV on DVD You Should Already Have #17
Surprise, surprise. Genre shows don’t normally do that well in the ratings area, so they’re majorly prone for cancellation. But the CW (formerly the WB), who scored hits with Buffy and Angel, seem to have found a new horse to ride with Eric Kripke’s Supernatural. It lacks the consistency of Lost and the artistic highs of Joss Whedon’s aforementioned WB work, but what it creates is compelling, horror/fantasy drama that utilizes not only scare tactics but also character development and strong, well thought-out character arcs that reached a new high in the second season, which is today’s topic of choice. But back to my “surprise, suprise.” The third season has aired and is coming out on DVD just in time for a fourth season to debut on the CW. Looks like Supernatural might be headed in the same direction as Buffy. A long, crazy run. So let’s see how Season Two looks when compared to the first.
SUPERNATURAL - SEASON TWO
“From the tear-jerking premiere to the virtually perfect season finale, Season Two of “Supernatural” once again demonstrates how much better genre shows get in their second seasons. Take a look at “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” a show which, by the way, has a heavy influence on this wonderful series. BtVS, like “Supernatural,” had humble beginnings, but blew the audience and critics away with a stellar second season. “Supernatural” does the very same.
Everything that was good about the show in the first season was strengthened here. Dean and Sam’s relationship has become layered and, as it is really a story about the bond of the two brothers, becomes the dramatic center of the show. Replacing the “monster of the week” format of season one is an over-arching story that develops throughout the season. Even standalone episodes contribute to the main story of the season. If the high level of continuity maintained in this series is enough to get the horror/fantasy fan in you to get all sweaty, get this. The mythology is expanded and strengthened. The black and white, good and evil of demons/humans gets thrown into that grey area we’re all so interested in. The comedy–again, very Buffy-esque–is amped up, including many laugh-out-loud moments. The battle between the two brothers and the forces of evil becomes way more epic and also more tragic.
All of this comes to a head in the two-part season finale, which is–as I mentioned above–a moment of television perfection.
9/10″
VERDICT: Buy it, but buy the first season first.
Next time, we’ve got a review of Joss Whedon’s latest endeavor. An internet musical about a supervillain in love with a… we’ll get to it.
*static*
2 Responses to “TV on DVD You Should Already Have #17”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Not A Member? Register for Free!
In some cases, that is definitely true. In television, the way an actor plays a character really impacts the way the writers will write scripts, so it totally makes sense that the writers will hit a better stride in the second, third, and so-on seasons. And about later seasons showing writers slacking, I think that is definitely the case with some shows. However, other shows just get stronger with time. Take “Angel” for example. “Angel” started out good, got great, and then went back down to “just good” again during its Fourth Season. But with its Fifth and final season, the writers went all out, changed everything, and delivered–in my opinion–of one of the best seasons in television history, climaxing in the series finale which is my favorite episode of the entire series.
But what you said about Joey becoming stupider in later seasons is spot on. I mean, you’ve seen “Boy Meets World,” right? Notice how Cory’s brother Eric starts out as a jerk older brother, changes to a somewhat silly still a little bit jerky older brother struggling through high school, to a blithering idiot in the last seasons.