Supernatural: Season 07 (2012)

Supernatural: Season 07 (2012)

23 episodes, approx 42 mins each.

My hope going into Season 07 was that it would be an improvement over Season 06,  even just enough to lift the series out of the shit-heap that showrunner Sera Gamble had put it in, but I don't feel that that happened.

A large part of the reason is the new ongoing threat, first mentioned in the season opener.

Known as Leviathans, the carnivorous bitey things (as pictured on the cover art) were created by God before even the Angels, but for reasons that I won't go into were imprisoned in a holding place that was made just for them. Naturally, they find a way through into the world  of humans. And that's as good as that particular story arc gets.

Supernatural: Season 06 (2011)

Supernatural: Season 06 (2011)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each.

As mentioned in the Season 05 post, series creator Eric Kripke stepped down as showrunner after the show's fifth year. His successor was Sera Gamble, a long-time writer, story editor, and respected producer of the show. Her history with the Winchesters goes in her favour, but Season 06 is, on balance, a weak continuation.

Each of the three primaries have their role to play in the main story arcs, with each one impacting the others by varying degrees that are equal parts useful and / or contrived.

Without going into spoiler territory, the arcs revolve around a radical change in Sam's personality, Castiel's new plan, and problems for Dean in his newly found 'apple-pie' life.

Supernatural: Season 05 (2010)

Supernatural: Season 05 (2010)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each.

It's advisable to skip the recaps that precede each episode of Supernatural because the footage used is more often than not a spoiler for which character(s) will appear, which ruins any carefully plotted surprise reveal that may be present, but given that it's been five years since I finished Season 04, it was a necessary evil that I watch them... and yes, it spoiled the surprise almost every time.

The theme for Season 05 is Apocalypse, which follows on from how the previous year ended. In context, that relates mostly to the prophecies of the 'end times' that have been divined from the Revelations part of the Christian Bible; i.e., the non-boring chapter. If Sam and Dean can't put a stop to the coming storm, the world will go all to hell.

Supernatural: Season 04 (2009)

Supernatural: Season 04 (2009)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each

There's a four month gap between the end of Season 03 and the beginning of Season 04. What happened in the intervening months?

You won't get the answer straight away, but you will eventually, so stick with it. It's just one of the mysteries that get explored in more depth as the season progresses.

The covers of each Blu-ray box set up until now have been pretty standard and similar. There was the bag of salt on Season 01, but nothing much noteworthy beyond that. The cover of Season 04, however, whether by accident or design, is a lot more interesting.

The third figure, the one positioned between the two leads but set back, as if perched on their shoulders (the right of one and the left of the other, suggesting ambiguity or unclear alliance?), whose voice would be heard as a whisper... yeah, it's probably pure coincidence, but still a pretty cool thing to ponder.

Supernatural: Season 03 (2008)

Supernatural: Season 03 (2008)

16 episodes, approx 42 mins each

We've come a long way since Dean the hunter called upon Sam the pre-law student to help him find their missing father.

The simplistic Dean = acceptance / Sam = denial standings that served as a basic foundation for Season 01 have evolved. The brothers are now more complex characters with attributes and emotional responses that give rise to even deeper inner conflicts, an element that's crucial to all good drama, regardless of the genre it's tethered to.

Unfortunately, Season 03 doesn't make best use of that growth. The Writers Guild of America strike (November '07 - February '08) had a direct impact on the show. Series creator Eric Kripke has revealed that the strike caused a number of things to be truncated, changed or pushed back in order to accommodate the problematic schedule. The planned number of episodes also took a hit, reduced from the usual 22 to just 16.

Supernatural: Season 02 (2007)

Supernatural: Season 02 (2007)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each

It starts at the exact point that Season 01 ended, putting the brothers in a real world, relatable problem but with a freaky twist.

Some weighty decisions that will have consequences further down the line are made, adding a layer of hurried danger that continues in the majority of what follows.

There are still plenty of standalone episodes included, but the Yellow Eyes story arc is in the spotlight more, even though there's technically less episodes in which it takes actual centre stage. What I mean is that the Yellow Eyes influence is better integrated into the season as a whole, in a more unified manner, whereas previously it felt like a revolving door schedule whereby it was Yellow in one week and then out the next.

Supernatural: Season 01 (2006)

Supernatural: Season 01 (2006)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each

The excellent pilot episode kicks off with an unforgettably dramatic event that sets a precedent for the whole season to follow.

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.