Supernatural: Brother’s Keeper (1023)

The synopsis of “Brother’s Keeper” starts something like this:

Dean comes to a stunning decision that will alter his life — as well as Sam’s…

Yeah, Sam’s life would have been altered, all right—in that he wouldn’t have had one.  Talk about understatement!

Can Sam be Dean’s “keeper’ if he’s dead?

The other night I was trying to recall the various Supernatural season finale’s over the years, in anticipation of how bad this season’s might be.  We’ve had an epic car crash, a couple deaths, a crossroads deal, the beginning and the end of the apocalypse, demons released from hell, and angels released from heaven.  Given the events of the last few episodes, this season was definitely heading for an Epic Cliffhanger of Winchester Angst (ECWA, for short).

Supernatural Favorites: Season 5

The real March Madness is in full swing, and I’m not even half-way through my top 32 episodes.  Plus, new Supernatural episodes have resumed, so now there’s that delay too.

Young Mom, you’re so beautiful.

King me!

“I’ll Just Wait Here,” inspiring a song 5 years later.

Season 5 was not a favorite of mine.  In fact, it was the first time I didn’t buy the season DVD set.  Thank goodness for TNT reruns.  If I’m on the ball, I can record my favorites when they come ’round.  Better still, I can now buy individual episodes OnDemand to enjoy any time I want, without commercial interruption.

My go-to sites say the top episodes of season 5 are:

1. Swan Song (522)
2. Two Minutes to Midnight (521)
3. (3-way tie):  Dark Side of the Moon (516); Point of No Return (518); The Devil You Know (520)

Supernatural Favorites: Season 2

If you bought the season 1 DVD set, you’ll remember the commentary Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles provided for “Phantom Traveler.”  In between the babbling, bumbling, and fake snoring (which may be why they’ve never done another commentary unsupervised), they talked about how the entire Supernatural team grew to know and trust each other throughout the season.  Jensen said the show would continue to improve and that season 2 would be better than season 1.

I scoffed!  I could not imagine how anything could be better than season 1.  Guess what?  It was!

The scene where I add my own dialog.

“My daddy shot your daddy in the he-ad.”

Is Dean there, or is he not?

Best. Sandwich. Ever!

Supernatural Favorites, Season 1

Big damn hero: Dead in the Water

Home: Dean tells Sam he carried him out of the house.

Faith: Layla has it.

[Can you tell what my favorite episodes are from the screenshots?  Without checking below the cut!]

Detailed analysis of season 1 data indicates my favorite episodes are not normal.  According to a compilation of IMDB and TV.com ratings, the six favorite season 1 episodes, in rank order are:

• First place:  Home
• Second place tie:  Pilot and Faith
• “Fourth” place 3-way tie:  Scarecrow, Provenance, and Devil’s Trap

Supernatural 200: Fan Fiction

[Note:  The CW reception was so broken and problematic last night, I missed a lot of The Flash and most of Supernatural.  So here’s a rundown of last week’s Supernatural.]

Dean, Baby, and Gordon LIghtfoot: What a trio!

200th episodes are a Big Deal.  I was an avid Benjamin Bratt fan when Law & Order ran its 200th episode.  The fabulous Jerry Orbach was still alive to sell memorabilia on HSN (yes, I bought a couple items), and Julia Roberts guest starred, for wage.  (It was a deal Bratt struck with producer Dick Wolf to cancel his contract.)  But I digress.

Supernatural is great at making fun of itself, and many of my favorite episodes are the humorous ones.  The premise of Supernatural as a musical performed by an all-girls (of course!) high school sounded super cheesy, but the songs were actually good, the singing superb (Well done, casting directors!), and there was emotion behind the humor.

Best of Supernatural Season 1, Part 1

Jensen Ackles has said that season 1 is his favorite.  It’s what launched the juggernaut; and it’s what brought the cast and crew together.  Let’s look at the top ranked episodes,based on ratings from IMDB, TV.com, and me.  (Remember, the stars are my ratings only.)

Run, brothers, run!

Agent Hamil. Or is it Ford?

Lucky girl!

Come back, Missouri.

Zzzzzzzzzzap!

Howdy, Meg!

1.  Home (109)

This may be the only mid-season episode written by Eric Kripke.  So it must be special, right?  Sam and Dean return to their old home in Lawrence, KS, to investigate one of Sam’s visions.  Reviewed here.

– Written by Eric Kripke; directed by Ken Girotti
– IMDB rating 8.6 (out of 10);  TV.com rating 9.2 (out of 10)

Supernatural Top 5: Season 4, Part 1

It’s time to look at the 5 top-rated episodes from the first half of season 4, as determined by IMDB, TV.com, and me.  (The stars are my ratings only.)  There was a tie for fifth place, so we’ll actually look at six episodes.

#1.  Lazarus Rising (401)

It’s not just season 4′s best episode, it’s one of Supernatural‘s all-time best.  Some say it’s the best episode ever.  It’s certainly one of my top 5, maybe top 3.   It’s even the reason I bought a wide-screen television!

After Dean was sent to hell at the end of season 3, fans waited impatiently for September 2008.  At Comic Con that summer, Eric Kripke and company showed a clip of the episode—Dean discovering a hand print burned into his upper arm.  It only heightened anticipation for the season premiere.  And “Lazarus Rising” did not disappoint.

The good old days, when Pamela still had her eyeballs.

The first seven minutes or so contained little to no dialog, yet we sat on the edges of our seats.  Throughout the episode, strange happenings let us know a powerful force was at work.  This force had leveled a forest and produced a high-pitched, glass-shattering whine (not to mention burning eyeballs out of skulls).  When it finally appeared, in the form of a trench-coated Misha Collins, it was immune to every demon-warding symbol, rock salt, and Ruby’s demon-killing knife.

Supernatural: ‘Swap Show @ Midnight’

Swap Meat (512)

Hey , there’s actually a SciFi Chick(s) review of this episode.  That makes my work here much easier.

Sam looks good in blue

There’s not much new to add. I still chuckled at the first scene of Gary-Sam admiring himself in the bar’s mirror. Jared Padalecki did a great job of channeling his inner teen.  I initially wondered why Gary chose Sam’s body for the swap when Dean is considered more classically good looking.  Of course, the question was later answered.  I doubt Gary would want to swap bodies with someone on the devil’s kill list.

Idle thought of the episode:  Gosh, it didn’t take long for “salad shakes” to become passé.

Supernatural: No Rest for the… Taxi Driver

[This post originally aired at the New Stream of Conscience on June 29.  Its publication here completes the transfer of Supernatural reviews from there to here.  It seems as good a way as any to celebrate reaching 50 followers.  🙂 Thanks!]

Only two Supernatural episodes this week.  Tuesday on TNT was dedicated to a Rizzoli and Isles pre-season premiere marathon.  And the CW is once again showing Cult on Fridays. It should feel like a vacation, but this week’s episodes were pretty heavy, significant ones.

No Rest for the Wicked (316)

Season finale means “Carry On, My Wayward Son” by Kansas.  Always a nice way to start the show.  It also means “Written by Eric Kripke” and “Directed by Kim Manners.”  Oh yeah, and for season 3, we’re left with the most frustrating cliffhanger ever.

The Winchester way: Silent and stoic.

The whole season has been building up to Dean’s date with destiny, hellhounds, etc, and here it is.  Sam tells Dean at the beginning of the episode he’s not going to let Dean go to hell.  But, like so many Winchester promises, he fails.

Ruby’s comments to Sam turn out to be much more prophetic than we ever could have thought possible at the time.  She tells him his demonic psychic powers are dormant, not gone; that she can help train him to use them; and he is the only one who can stop Lilith.  Of course, she fails to mention it involves drinking demon blood, and that killing Lilith also signals the beginning of the apocalypse.  (But then, Dean hasn’t broken the fist seal to set the wheels in motion yet.)

Supernatural: ‘Home, Tiger Mommy’

Home (109)

Man, I wish I had Eric Kripke’s creativity.  And writing ability.  How does he combine tenderness and pathos with comedy, and then throw in a bloody horror scene?  Even now, after many years and several viewings, I still want to fast-forward through the infamous evil cymbal monkey/garbage disposal scene.

Brotherly love: “I remember the fire…the heat. And then I carried you out the front door.”

Compare that to the affectionate brotherly exchangeat the gas station.  Sam asks Dean what he remembers about “that night.”  When Dean replies he was the one who saved Sam, Sam is genuinely moved.  It shows us how strong their bond is.