Supernatural...

[Ronia Sun]

So, I just started work at a book/movie/rental store, and took advantage of my lovely discount to rent movies for the weekend. Eyeing the tv shows, I spotted season 1 of Supernatural. I'd seen season 2 advertised on iTunes, but never tried it because I hate starting in the middle of things. Picked it up, hoping it would be halfway good.

My word. Talk about some fantastic writing

Scary, creepy...I got the shivers, and I don't freak easy. Needless to say, I was very impressed. (Particularly as a Ravenloft DM looking for ideas.)

For those out there who might not have seen it, I highly recommend it. For those who have...what did you think?

[Guardian of Twilight]

So, I just started work at a book/movie/rental store, and took advantage of my lovely discount to rent movies for the weekend. Eyeing the tv shows, I spotted season 1 of Supernatural. I'd seen season 2 advertised on iTunes, but never tried it because I hate starting in the middle of things. Picked it up, hoping it would be halfway good.

My word. Talk about some fantastic writing

Scary, creepy...I got the shivers, and I don't freak easy. Needless to say, I was very impressed. (Particularly as a Ravenloft DM looking for ideas.)

For those out there who might not have seen it, I highly recommend it. For those who have...what did you think?

Oh! My absolute favorite show on the WB/CW!! I have thoroughly enjoyed every episode so far, and look forward to several more seasons of Supernatural thrills.

[VAN]

I have only heard about it. Is it a kind of the old x-files series? The heroes are studying supernatural effects, or they try to solve mysteries etc?

[Ronia Sun]

Actually, it's about two brothers. Their mother was killed when both were very little by a supernatural force (a demon, as it turns out, with a real interest in Sam, the younger of the two). Their father, an ex-Marine, is determined to find whatever it was that killed his wife and shattered their quiet life, raises his boys to be hunters of the supernatural. Ghosts, demons, wendigos--anything creepy that's hurting people, and Dean and Sam hunt it down and put it to rest. They road-trip across America in a classic Chevy Impala, running credit card scams and hustling pool to get enough money to survive and keep supplied in rock-salt, holy water, and silver bullets.

The real heart of the story is the brothers' relationship to each other and their father--and the show's chemistry is fantastic. The two actors who play Dean and Sam hit it off from the very beginning as believable brothers with that love/hate/best friend thing only siblings can manage. Dean, the older brother, is cocky, funny, and desperate to have his family back together again, without the recent rifts that left him alone. Sam, the younger, just wanted a normal life, and was on the verge of entering Stanford Law when the supernatural tore his life apart again. Their father John genuinely loves his boys, but can't seem to shake the obsessive drive to hunt down The Demon--and his youngest is so much like him they can't get along when they DO spend time todgether. It's scary, and funny, and doesn't suffer from the occasionally-pretentious-and-confused mythology that plagued the X-Files. It also does not slide into campy, monster-a-week that Buffy occasionally suffered from. Many of the episodes are genuinely scary--the writers seem to have grasped the idea that the scariest things are subtle, not ick. (Though they have plenty of ick, too.) The show also draws a lot on *American* mythology, folk tales, and urban legends, which when combined with the Americana of the "Road Trip" makes for a very fun setting that's a nice change from the usual "vampires-and-ancient-world" stuff. (One of the funnier moments in the first season came when both boys learned that vampires are actually REAL, albeit on the verge of extinction in the United States because of hunters--and also that vampires don't mind sunlight, holy water, and can only be pissed off by a stake through the heart.)

It was a real kick to see ghost stories and urban legends I grew up with--like Bloody Mary and the Hookman--reinvented and turned into something seriously terrifying. Several of the stories I plan to work into my campaign somehow, they were so well done.

I haven't met a show since Firefly I've liked this much!

Best line I've heard thus far? "When I told Dad I was afraid of thing in my closet...he gave me a .45. I was *9*."

[Jester of the FoS]

It's alright. Half the time the stories are more based around urban legends than real myths and folklore. And the brothers rely too much on weapons and seat-of-the-pants action for my taste.
But the good episodes are quite entertaining. Fun but not perfect for Ravenloft.

[Lost Heretic]

I pretty much agree with Jester, although I'm pretty sure that the writers are going to jump the shark by the end of this season.

[Ronia Sun]

...Jump the shark?

[Kel-nage]

Jump the shark...

Ah, Happy Days...

[steveflam]

Well in all honesty I do own Supernatural Season 1 which I enjoyed most of the episodes. The 2nd season, with the father dying, and most episodes being fairly weak after that, i tend to agree with Jester. It is good but I dont think it will last much longer. Yes it is based mostly on urban legends, less 2 vampire episodes and the latest one which was a weak werewolf episode. The werewolf was not even scary , only the face was a bit and they werent hairy at all. Just my opinion.

P.S - dont tell my wife as she seems to love this show(although i think it is because she finds both young men "hot" LOL

[steveflam]

Jump the shark...

Ah, Happy Days...

"A-Y-Y-Y-Y--Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-YY--Y-Y-Y-YY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y"......