Abject Geekery

What!? You haven’t seen Supernatural?! Christ, are you living in a f**king cave?!

I am a big time genre TV fan. B5, Trek(s), BSG, XFiles, Smallville,  Heroes, TrueBlood, Terminator and all things Whedon flows through my veins.

So, how did I miss Supernatural?

*sigh* I can only blame Smallville.

See, I have a love/hate thing with that show. I love the idea, but HATE 90% of the implementation. That 90% is pure WB/CW formula teen drama pap. And when I saw another genre show coming out of CW, I immediate thought “here we go again” and passed on what I thought was going to be a cheap knock off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

As seasons moved by, I noted that the show continued and never really got what I would call “bad” press from those places where reviews matter to me. Even so, I figured that if I am missing something, I am likely not missing much. Six months ago, an eFriend started pushing me toward checking out the show as something “I think you will like”. After much nagging on his part(and a fair bit of forgetfulness on mine), I put the show in my list of things to watch and finally got around to viewing it with SheGan.(who likes “creepy” stuff…me included, I assume)

After the first episode, I was blown away!

Seriously…it was probably the best pilot to a series I’ve seen since Lost. I was immediately hooked on the characters and meta-story… and couldn’t wait to see the next episodes. I was shocked something this good could have strolled out without huge fanfare…at least in the Geekly quarters. But here it was and I dedicated myself to watching as many episodes as I had time in the week.

I’ve recently caught up to the finale of  season 4 and now I want to talk about it a bit.

Supernatural follows the story of two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester. While they were very young children, their mother was killed by unnatural means. This turned their father toward an obsession for vengance and into a career as a “Hunter”… a person who tracks and kills the hidden supernatural evils of the world. The brothers were dragged around while their father worked his next mission, living a life in motels and brief stays at whatever local school was near their fathers current mission.

Our story begins as the brothers are now adults and on two different paths. The younger bother, Sam… is a law student and estranged from his father as he has made great efforts to reject that vagabond life. On the other hand, his older brother Dean totally embraces his life as a Hunter in an effort to live up to the near legendary image he has of their father. When their father disappears on a mission, Dean seeks out Sam to assist in tracking him down… eventually uncovering that their father was close to finding out who/what is responsible for their mothers death.

The series works with both episodic and meta story lines. Each show has it’s own plot, but they fit into an overall meta story that build to finale each season. In this way, we can satisfyingly walk into a show and not be lost, while still getting a hook into how good the next show is going to be as a greater story unfolds.

Each season has had it’s own distinct meta-story, but the stories are very much tied to who these characters are and how they got from one season to another. In other words, the seasons completely build on each other to tell the story of the whole series. Yes, you can walk into the show… the opening “previously” segments do a good job of getting you up to date in order to get something out of the episode, but to really appreciate the series you need to start at the beginning. Believe me…it’s worth it.

A story can be great, but at the end of the day…it really is about the characters.  Not since Babylon 5 have I become so attached to certain characters. For me, the bottom line is… I have a man-crush on Sam and Dean Winchester. I’m fond of them like a couple of personal buddies. Their interaction is so genuinely fraternal that I find myself in emotional kinship with them. They play off of each other and magnify the story with their presence.

The music in the show is 80′s classic rock. It’s part of the personality of of the series, as are continual classic pop culture reference. In one show,a character was named Anson Williams but claimed his name was Webber. The Actor Anson Williams played Potsy Webber on Happy Days. The show also delights in crafting the most outlandish motel decor to serve as the backdrop for whatever town they are working in from week to week. Lots of stuff like that, mixed in with my 80′s classic rock… and this show is nothing but my kind of vibe.

So, I’ve finished season four… and another cliff hanger. I don’t want to spoil anything for those that will be inspired by this article to pick up the DVDs and get caught up for season 5… but let me just give the name of the last episode to whet your appetite:

Lucifer Rising.