Supernatural - a quick question

[dolorous_ett]

After hearing so many wonderful things about Supernatural from many respected soucres, I finally managed to get my hands on 11 episodes of the first series. 

I finally got round to watching the first episode yesterday. It was interesting, increasingly clever after what I thought was a slightly slow start (and I felt awful for the way the poor blonde girlfriend came to such a sticky end just to get Sam back on the road), but I wasn't connecting with it in the way that some people plainly do. And the nightmares last night didn't help much either!

So I suppose what I want to know is - is there any point in carrying on watching it, or is the first episode representative of the series? Will I get into it as it moves on, or is the first part as good as it gets?

Comments

[ignipes.livejournal.com]

It gets much better. It starts off very uneven, as if the people making the show weren't sure what they wanted to do or didn't think it would be around long enough for it matter, so it's all over the place quality-wise and some of the early episodes are rather ridiculous. But it improves a lot as the season (series, in Brit-speak?) goes on and it becomes clear that there really is a cohesive story happening, and that the characters are more complex than what the sort of slapdash characterization in the first episode shows.

I don't know if you care about remaining unspoiled about what happens later, but if you don't, I'd suggest watching episodes 9, 10 or 11 ("Home", "Asylum", "Scarecrow"). Those are a lot more representative of the show overall (and about when it starting hitting its stride), so they'd probably give you a better idea if it's your kind of thing than the very early eps.

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

Cheers. That's a relief. I must just hope that Q (who watched it with me and found it at least as scary as I did) hasn't dispatched it to a charity shop while I was at work!

It's a bit annoying that I paid good money for this set - only to get a lot of ropy episodes. But I will give it another shot - some time when sleep and non-jangled nerves aren't a priority for me.

I liked the stroppy-brother interaction a lot. And the story got more clever as it went on - at first a lot of that episode seemed surprisingly... ordinary is the only word I can think of. And I think there's going to be some wonderful scenes of small-town America.

I think it's just one of those moments when something is so much lauded and loved that however good it is I'm going to feel a bit deflated...

Cheers!

[ignipes.livejournal.com]

It's weird to me that you can even buy half a season. I guess they do that because UK seasons (series) are shorter than US seasons, but it seems odd, like buying half a novel.

It's not even that the early episodes are bad (though a couple of them are), just that I think that if you're not already invested in the characters, it's harder to overlook the flaws.

I think it's just one of those moments when something is so much lauded and loved that however good it is I'm going to feel a bit deflated...

Always happens! I had the exact same problem when I watched Firefly for the first time. Everybody I knew (including my very non-fannish family) had been going on and on about how BRILLIANT!!! it was, so I was expecting... I dunno, the television equivalent of the Second Coming or something. I really like it now, after I figured out that I should just sit back and enjoy the space cowboys for what they were, but there was definitely a problem with expectations.

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

It's weird to me that you can even buy half a season. I guess they do that because UK seasons (series) are shorter than US seasons, but it seems odd, like buying half a novel.

Well, in the US everything just seems to be bigger and more lavish... ;)

In the end I paid for being tight by getting the lamer episodes and missing out on the good stuff - there's probably a Life Lesson there somewhere if I can just figure it out.

It's not even that the early episodes are bad (though a couple of them are), just that I think that if you're not already invested in the characters, it's harder to overlook the flaws.

Is this a chicken and egg thing? How do you get invested in the characters if the early parts of the series are flawed?

But I will give it another go. For definite.

[ignipes.livejournal.com]

How do you get invested in the characters if the early parts of the series are flawed?

I'm not sure, because I didn't watch it in order to start. I watched only sporadically during the rerun break mid-season, and I didn't decide that I really liked it until episode 10, which was probably the third or fourth episode I saw. Like Kris, I can watch the earlier eps and enjoy them now, but they didn't really grab me until I saw what they were leading up to. If that makes sense?

Supernatural

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

I've just watched "Home" - and it was really good.

So the question now is if I'm brave enough to watch real quantities of these things. They are very clever, and I love the pictures of small-town America (I assume that's what it is?) - but they really scare me.

Re: Supernatural

[ignipes.livejournal.com]

Yes, some of them are quite scary. Well, I think they are, but there are Very Tough Fans who claim never to be scared. If "Home" scared you, make sure to watch "Asylum" with the lights on. :)

(I assume that's what it is?)

For the most part. It's all filmed in and around Vancouver, but I think they do a good job of capturing the feel of small towns and back-roads places.

Re: Supernatural

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

make sure to watch "Asylum" with the lights on. :)

I will be sure to turn ALL the lights on. And make sure all the doors in my flat are really shut (we're much plagued by creaking fire doors in this flat).

I suppose I should have guessed it was filmed in Canada - just about everything is, really.

[krisomniac.livejournal.com]

OMg, do NOt judge this show by the pilot. The creator himself (Kripke)admits that it was some of the most awkward writing he's been a part of (even after more than 23 attempts to get it right).

Honestly, for me? Episode 9 onward is when the writers and actors hit their groove, although I go back and love the first bunch for what we see as the beginnings of the things we love about the rest of it.

As far as continuity and fact-checking go, they were *really* bad about it in the beginning (For instance, Stanford is a four not two year college) but are more and more careful as they go.

And the second season? *dies*

net net: You need to know what happens in the beginning, but don't judge it until you get to 1x12 (Faith- and if you want a copy, I can put is somewhere for you to download).

*dances*

I'm SO glad you're giving it a go!

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

OK - I promise not to judge the show by the pilot. Not that it was really bad - just not all I'd expected. And after all if the worst comes to the worst I can just go back to reading Supernatural fanfic...

My set unluckily stops at no.11 - but that should include at least one of Ignipes's recs...

I'm glad I'm giving it a go - but I think I'll need a bit of time before I love it as much as you. Then again, who does? ;)

[lyras.livejournal.com]

After being kept awake weeks later by that first episode, I came to the conclusion that I can't watch the show. Which is a shame, because I found everything apart from the scary bits really interesting. Although I've heard from various people that the pilot is much scarier than later episodes.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I watched an episode (body in the water thing), because my youngest sister is very, very keen, and came to the same conclusion. In my old age I've decided that I can scare myself quite enough without inviting more from television programmes.

[lyras.livejournal.com]

I can scare myself quite enough without inviting more from television programmes

Exactly. My imagination's good (bad?) enough on its own, thank you very much!

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

I can scare myself quite enough without inviting more from television programmes

I know just what you mean. I spend most of my life in a state of self-induced fright - why waste my precious leisure on invoking more?

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

At least with television programmes I can tell that I'm scaring myself and stop - books are more of a problem, being both insidious and temtpting (Walk past the zombie books, nineveh, walk past them).

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

Heh. Glad I'm not the only one who was bothered by it.

Still might give it a go... but in daylight with the sun shining and not on my own!