Supernatural: Season 01 (2006)
22 episodes, approx 42 mins each
It effectively lays the groundwork for an intriguing story arc that resurfaces from time to time - in about 8 of the 22 episodes.
It could be argued that its influence is ever-present because it's the reason that the Winchester family are driven to do what they do (i.e. battle supernatural forces, hunt and kill demons, banish evil spirits, etc), but in reality it gets pushed so far into the background that it's often forgotten about.
Even Ep 02 is a disappointing drop in quality, chiefly little more than another X-Files clone but with male leads that can actually act.
It's such a striking contrast to what came before that it makes me wonder if it was a tactical attempt to please the suits, giving them something safe and familiar that they could understand, or if series creator Eric Kripke was reluctant to put the arc centre stage in case it got cancelled. Whatever the case, the next few episodes are functional but hardly memorable.
The standalone episodes in general are recreations of existing horror stories. You'll be treated to such clichés as forest creature that isn't a grizzly bear; vengeful spirit in water; Hook Man; a murderous shape-shifter; and even an ancient, cursed, Indian burial ground. It's uninspired stuff.
A comedic element surfaces in Ep 04 and is a great addition, helping offset the derivative and bland horror/urban myth retreads. It quickly becomes clear that enjoyment of the first season for non-die-hard horror nuts is going to depend mostly on an ability to connect, empathise and even laugh with brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles). They're the saving grace of those duff episodes. The actors don't look much alike but work so well together that they're believable emotionally, which is where it really counts. Interestingly, the duo are the same age apart in real life as their characters are in the show (Sam is 22; Dean is 26).
Things continue in that same manner for most of the season, with the standalone episodes being mostly average and the story-arc episodes being generally great. It would be understandable if someone decided to give up watching part-way through. But, to date, having watched as far as the end of the sixth season, I know for sure that it gets a lot better in subsequent years. Your patience in year one's 22 episodes will be rewarded many times over in the seasons to come.
FX are a mix of practical and CGI. Only one of those things is a good idea - it's not the CGI.
IMPORTANT: something that ought to be noted before I go any further is the use of music - not the score, but the songs by bands/artists. It's relevant to Season 01, but becomes even more significant in later years. Music is very important to the show. Quite often the tracks chosen act not just as atmosphere enhancers but as actual commentary on the action. I've read that the streaming versions of some episodes (specifically Netflix) replaced a small number of carefully chosen and ultimately important music tracks with lesser alternatives. I don't know if that's still the case today, depending on when you're reading this, but it's worth doing some research before watching any streamed episodes. At time of writing the DVD and Blu-ray editions of the early seasons are very cheap to buy and are definitely the better option.
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