Mirrored from my original review over at tvgeekarmy.com (here)


The Tenth Doctor episode "Blink" is widely regarded as the high point in the Russell T. Davies era of nu-Who. It's a tightly scripted stand alone story that barely features the Doctor, instead following the experiences of a young lass called Sally Sparrow and her struggles against four of the most terrifying creations to ever grace the screens of British television. The Weeping Angels they were called, statues that would come to life and move when no-one is looking at them.

In addition to tapping into a primal human fear, the episode also played with time in an expert fashion, had fantastic dialog and gave us a lead character who was instantly endearing, so much so that many people (myself included) are hoping to see Sally Sparrow back on our screens sometime.

Fast forward to the final Tenant season – the one before the four specials that brought us the end of the Tenth Doctor – and we have a Moffat two-part story called "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" that succeeded on two fronts. It was a tense and scary piece that once again reminded viewers that Doctor Who is a show about hiding behind the sofa while the action happens. It also introduced the character River Song, a mysterious woman who knew more about the Doctor than anyone else alive, but the Doctor had never met her before. In fact, as the story passed it became clear that this episode was the Doctor's first meeting with River Song and River's last meeting with the Doctor. This playing with the concept of time was another example of the extra level Moffat's writing brought to the show.

These three episodes are important because they set the background for this two-part story.

Now, before we start looking at the episode itself, it's time to talk about the elephant in the room and deal with the massive crime the BBC committed while the exciting episode cliff hanger was airing.

A picture paints a thousand words, so a short video must paint a million:

Fortunately most people won't have experienced that irritating piece of advertising. For those of you who don't want to spoil the end of the episode what happened was this: right at the tense and exciting end of the episode, an end which leads into the second part of the story, the BBC decided to cover the bottom of the screen with a brightly coloured cartoon Graham Norton. Now don't get me wrong, I rather like Mr Norton, but this piece of advertising ran completely against the mood of the episode and clearly undermines a scene that was quite brilliant.

Hopefully the BBC will learn from this mistake and won't repeat it. But we'll see, as they've been aggressively pushing their voting shows for quite some time now and I guess they want to pull in the Doctor Who demographic as well. Leaves me wondering if the actor playing the twelfth Doctor will be determined with a televised voting show; wouldn't that be an exciting piece of television?

Onto the episode itself...

Wow, just, wow. "Time of Angels" wasn't perfect, but it was pretty damn close, building on two of the best episodes from previous seasons which was quite a risk to take. Screwing it up would taint the other episodes to some extent as they would no longer stand alone. Likewise, bringing back the Weeping Angels was also a considerable chance to take, and I wasn't sure that they were suited for a return to the screen.

Let's go with the one weak point in the episode before we move on: River Song. Now I like the character, I quite like the time concept and I enjoy the coy way River keeps what she knows close to her chest. But I also found her quite irritating. Before, when Alex Kingston was acting opposite David Tenant, there was a bit of chemistry between them. There was something which instantly hinted at a connection between them, before even the plot and dialog took us there. Matt Smith on the other hand has absolutely no chemistry with Alex - this does work on one hand as he comes across as a young school boy afraid of the girl in his class who likes him. On the other hand The Doctor is at least a thousand years old and he does have a granddaughter, so it might just be fear of the future fuelling his actions.

Either way Matt and Alex don't work together on screen and that's a little disingenuous to experience. Still, it's the risk you take when you have one character that's reincarnated into an entirely new personality.

It's either that, or I just don't like Alex Kingston/River Song at all. I'm suspecting a little of both. I know I really disliked her handling of the TARDIS and the removal of the old landing noise. But I did enjoy the Doctor's indignant retort about how he likes that noise.

Onto the good stuff – pretty much the entire remainder of the episode. We have a fun bit that plays with the concept of time by having River leaving a message for the Doctor to find, knowing that eventually in his travels he will run into it. Then we're introduced to the religious military headed by Father Octavian. And we're off on a bug hunt.

The episode reminded me of Aliens, with a group of soldiers heading into a situation that turns out to be far more dangerous than they initially realised. I adore Aliens, it's one of my favourite movies, and The Time of Angels stands up alongside it quite well. It keeps the threat mostly out of sight, but that's the brilliance of the Weeping Angels, that they aren't a threat until they are out of sight.

The best moment in the episode occurs quite far in, when the Doctor is talking about the indigenous (and now extinct) native population of the planet, a pleasant race that all have two heads. The immediate understanding for the viewer comes – none of the statues have two heads – but realisation for the Doctor, Amy, River and the clerics comes slowly. As such, the moment where the Doctor realises that all of the statues are Weeping Angels contains a great deal of potency. Instead of being in there hunting one single Angel they are now trapped inside a mausoleum with hundreds or even thousands of Weeping Angels. That's the moment where everything really began to feel like Aliens "They're coming out of the God dam walls!"

I do feel that the cliff hanger at the end of the episode could have been edited a little better. I would have preferred a cut that ended with the Doctor shouting "Me" and pointing the gun upwards, having him actually fire the gun and seeing the impact on his target has revealed his escape plan already. I would have liked a week to speculate about it rather than be sitting here already able to predict how they'll escape.

Amy had a more prominent role throughout this episode, having time interacting with people other than the Doctor was great and it's now becoming clear that she's as weird as suggested in various interviews. I wasn't seeing it up until now. I still prefer Donna – she's my favourite of the nu-Who companions – but Amy has real potential.

The most important part of this story is the second part, now on one level the two part story has sort of failed. I'm not busy speculating on what's going to happen next week, but that's because the episode didn't end with the Doctor and the others in peril. It ended with them about to escape from peril. But on the other hand I have been begging for more two-part stories in the style of the original show and that's what "The Time of Angels" is. It is classic horror Who with a cast full of disposable characters and a nasty that's as unpleasant as it gets. It was exciting, it was tense, it was fun and it was full of greatness.

Depending on the second part next week this story could be one of the best we've had, it's certainly been set up well. If we were still in the Russell T. Davies era of Who I wouldn't be confident that the second part will be as good as the first. But we're not, and as such I feel confident in predicting that the second part will be even better.

Now we just have to wait for it... Darn.

Other Observations:

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Spinning off from Buffy:TVS back in the year of 1999 (remember then?) Angel follows the non-sparkling (i.e. not stupid) vampire Angel after his decision to leave in the third season. He heads off into the sunset and makes for L.A. Seeking to atone for his hundred odd years of sinning while he was the big nasty Angelus.

Now it's no secret, I like my vampires on the vicious end of the spectrum. In particular I prefer the Vampires of the Necroscope series over any other incarnation, including the Count. These Vampires, or Whampyri to give them their correct title are ancient, amoral, crackpots who are as hard to kill as they are to ensure that they stay dead. But in a pinch I'll take the Vampires of Joss Whedon's world, who are also quite amoral and vicious - and include Spike amongst their ranks.

Angel himself, as the "Vampire with a soul" isn't as much fun as most other Vampires could be. But David Boreanaz is fantastic at selling moody and depressed as a character with his acting. Something he still does to a certain extent in Bones , though he's more moody and serious as Special Agent Seeley Booth rather than tortured and depressed.

So Angel arrives in L.A. and is sought out by one Allen Doyle (played by the sadly deceased Glenn Quinn) a half-man/half-demon who's inflicted with visions sent by 'The Powers That Be' and intended to guide Angel on his path. Doyle is an intense, wise cracking Irishman who can morph into his demon form - sadly it's a pretty ugly looking form, but fortunately it's not used too often.

Angel is then set on his path and rapidly meets up with Cordelia Chase (Played by the lovely Charisma Carpenter) who has also moved to LA, with the intent of becoming an actress. But things aren't going her way and she soon falls in with Angel and Doyle.

The first season of Angel is certainly the season of a show looking to find itself and get some distance from it's parent show. It's a season which goes through cast changes and has several guest slots filled by people from Buffy. Including Seth Green as Oz, Eliza Dushku as Faith and Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy herself. It also falters a lot in the early episodes while it tries to overcome the character similarties of Angel and Doyle - who are both dark and intense individuals. But eventually the show adds the excellent Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Price) from Buffy and everything falls into place. Creating a show which is more adult in it's style, but remains as witty, clever and accessible as Buffy was.

There are three different ways you can get your hands on the Angel: Season One DVD; I'd recommend picking up the complete set of all five seasons over any of the individual versions as it's a solid collection with everything in it for an exceptionally low price. But if you want just the one season you should get the plastic single season boxed set as shown here. Avoid getting the set I have, which is the rather flashy looking "Angel Season One DVD Collection" edition. You can spot it as it's has a cardboard dust jacket and the DVDs are held in a "book" inside. This looks nice, and seems a great idea, but when you come to use it in practice you'll find that it's an inefficient product which not only is awkward to use, but it can also damage your DVDs as you have to slide them in and out of the "pages". This is the front cover image for the one you should avoid.

It's not as strong as the first season of Buffy was, but it grows into something quiet endearing and highly watchable.

Special Features:
Commentary
Featurettes - "I'm Cordellia", "Introducing Angel", "The Demons" and "Season One"
Cast Biographies
Art Gallery
Episode Scripts for "Five by Five" and "Sanctuary"
Direct Link

A while back I looked at the complete first season for Buffy and on the whole I still remained impressed with it, yes there was an ample spreading of cheese in the plots and the acting was a little ropey at times but the show's freshman season has held up well over the passage of time.

Recently I picked up the second season, a season I have vague memories of catching the occasional episode, but as I was nowhere near the TV for a lot of the time it aired over here I didn't recall much beyond the odd good bit I'd seen. So I was heading into somewhat uncharted territory with only the vague notions of 'Spike turns up in this season' and 'Angel turns bad.'

I think the first thing which shocked me about this season is it's length, where as the first season is just "twelve" episodes in length the second season is a might twenty two episodes. That's a whole lot of slayer-iness, vampires and snappy dialog; at least that's what I hoped it would contain.

Thankfully I was not disappointed, while the first season of Buffy took the horror/drama/comedy thing off into the wilderness it's the second season which turns around, pours petrol on the trees and figuratively blazes a path right across television. The season is chock-a-block full of iconic and memorable episodes alongside a superb metaplot involving the completely awesome Spike, the fun but irritating accented Dru and quite simply the greatest face/heel turn in the history of television. I knew Angel's flip was coming, but it didn't make it any less surprising when the moment came, I almost feel sad that I missed out on the shock of experiencing that without any foreknowledge.

The great episodes in the season include; "When She was Bad", "School Hard", one of the best Halloween episodes ever in "Halloween", "What's My Line", the amazing duo of "Surprise" & "Innocence", "Phases", "Betwitched, Bothered and Bewildered" and of course the two parter "Belonging". Other great things in this season include the birth of Xander/Cordelia relationship, one which I adore even to this day and the introduction of Mr Pointy - Best. Stake. Eva!

Of course it's not all brilliance, a couple of episodes are pretty stinky - "Go Fish" (Which guest stars a young Wentworth Miller, already sporting a Michael Schofield haircut) is pretty bad. Likewise "Some Assembly Required" and "Ted". All of which feel like filler episodes without much worth to them, especially Go Fish. I really disliked that episode a lot, despite there being a Xander in speedos moment.

All of that said there's no doubt that the second season of Buffy is where the show turned a corner and went from being a great show into something really special. It laid down the groundwork for many future seasons, matured the 'big bad' format of the show and gave us the single best character created by Joss - I of course mean Spike (James Marsters) - a character so fantastic that he still deserves his own show to this day.

It's because of Spike that I enjoyed the second season so much, even moping about in a wheelchair he couldn't help but be brilliant - and he just improves in the seasons ahead...

Of course, I need to get Season 3 before I can watch it.

Special Features:
Commentaries on selected episodes
Three featurettes
Cast Biographies
A Stills Gallery
Gallery of Set Designs and Monsters
Scripts for selected episodes.

The Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 (presented in 1.33:1)
Rating: 15
Region: 2
Run Time: 15h 30min
Soundtrack: French, English
Subtitles: Dutch, French, English (Though I had some trouble making these work when watch via my 360)
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It's rather incredible to think back and realise that not only did Buffy the Vampire slayer originally debut in 1997, but that it's also been over and finished (excepting the comic book continuation) since 2003. That's six odd years now that the final curtain was called on the show, but it feels like only yesterday that it was on our screens (if you're watching it on DVD or on repeat then it might have been yesterday).

The first season pretty much picks up from where the 1992 movie left off, Buffy (played by Kristy Swanson in the movie, but more iconically portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar in this series) has moved to Sunnydale after the events in the movie resulted in her expulsion. Having previously discovered she's 'the slayer', been trained by 'the watcher' Merrick, discovered Merrick killed by the vampire Lothos and then defeated him during the senior dance - she's now looking to live a more normal life.

Which she does, for all of about thirty seconds before another watcher named Giles finds out about her and she discovers that Sunndale is a weirdness central filled with oddness that rivals Eerie, Indiana or Split Point Lighthouse in the 'how odd is your town' stakes. So while she and her mother get a fresh start at life Buffy finds herself trapped back into her own destiny as only she can save mankind (if not her who else?) as the Slayer.

The first season follows Buffy's introductions to Sunnydale and the people who will become her friends - specifically Xander and Willow, two semi-outcasts in school society; Giles - the watcher and librarian and Cordelia Chase - a popular and shallow girl who develops as the seasons progress. Also running through the season is the mystery of who Angel is and what he wants along with a religious cult of Vampires headed up by one ancient vampiric menace known as 'The Master'.

The season itself does show it's age, this set hasn't been cleaned up for the new HD/digital age and as such the quality of the filming does suffer. Likewise it is more than fair to say that occasionally the performances given by the cast are a little ropey. Only Anthony Head (Giles) and Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) manage to consistently provide a solid performances, but it is always worth remembering that the most of the cast are young and inexperienced in this season. They grow up and perfect their acting over the later seasons a great deal. Alyson Hannigan is great as the nervous and inexperienced Willow (but she'll always be Lily Aldrin to me from now on) and Nicholas Brendon is great fun as Xander, he's not as funny as he is later on, but he does have his moments in this season.

Likewise Sarah Michelle Gellar gives a slightly uneven performance, she doesn't have as much presence as she does in later seasons. Of the guest stars it's David Boreanaz (Angel), Robia LaMorte (Jenny Calander), Julie Benz (Darla) and the brilliant Mark Metcalf as The Master who really shine out and give great prescence on screen. Especially Mark who is nothing short of fantastic in all that latex and prosthetics, how on Earth he isn't on screen more often is a mystery to me.

Now it might sound a little like I'm ragging on the show when I say that the performances from the cast are a little uneven, but they are. Likewise some of the one off stories are a little wobbily at times as well. But this is because it's a show in it's infancy, one with plenty of growth to go before it becomes the show we all know and love.

Despite these minor grips the first season remains a fun and witty experience, the dialog is as great as you'd expect from Joss Whedon and several of the episodes are nothing short of brilliant. It's a solid freshman performance from the show and you can see why it managed to endear itself into the hearts of so many viewers and secure itself a second season.

Extras:
Commentaries from Joss Whedon
Interview with Joss Whedon/David Boreanaz
Cast Biographies
Photo Gallery
Music Video
Pilot Episode Script (Good read for any budding script writer this one is)

Details:
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 and 1:33.1
Episode run: 12
Languages: English, French
Number of Discs: 3
Subtitles: French, Dutch, English HOH
Rating: 15
Region 2
Run time: Approx 528 mins
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I've chosen to write about Ridley Scott's classic horror/sci-fi movie Alien in the first part of the new Film Friday series for a few reasons. Alien is a film which has influenced or at least been involved in a lot of my life, back when it was first released in the UK my parents went to go and see it (or at least my father dragged my mother along to watch it). But, as my mother is also prone to reminding me, I also went along to the cinematic showing of this film as she was pregnant with me at the time. I can only imagine how being pregnant would have influenced her experience of the film, it's certainly resulted in her consistently mentioning that same anecdote just about every time the movie Alien is mentioned. I'm not sure how I should take this and sometimes I wonder if I'm being compared (by her) to the Alien in the movie.

Fast forward about a dozen or so years and one of the more vivid memories from my childhood is my father proudly sitting me down before bedtime and showing me the opening scenes from Alien. The scenes with the lights coming on inside the Nostromo and the stasis pods opening up remain branded into my consciousness even to this day. Mostly because after showing a few of the opening scenes my father stopped the film and said "The rest of the film is horrible and scary so I won't show you it." and then sent me to bed. I didn't sleep well for quite a few nights after that, there's nothing quite like an active imagination to keep one from falling asleep without disturbing dreams...

It is worth saying that Alien was not actually the first movie in the franchise I watched in full, that prize goes to it's action packed sequel Aliens (which I'll probably touch on in a later issue of Film Friday), but it is definitely the one which left the biggest mark on me thanks to the actions of my parents. And there is no doubt that it's an iconic and brilliant film which holds up alongside and even shames many modern films (especially some of it's own later sequels).

It's hard to write anything original about Alien as it's such a critically acclaimed, influential and iconic movie, as has been noted numerous times before the structure of the movie is very simple - it's a haunted house/slasher movie in space, but the execution of the movie is something which turns the whole thing into much, much more than that.

The start of the film builds very slowly; establishing the setting, the technology and the characters with an almost leisurely pace. From the reflection of the computer screen on the empty space suit helmet onwards the show almost effortlessly crafts a world which feels real with it's low-tech approach to science fiction. The Nostromo is a brutish, ugly construct and the interior scenes continue the functional style of the exterior. There are no elegant, swooping curves or doors that go 'swoosh, beep' on this ship. Instead there are broken pipes and crew members complaining about their cut in the shares.

Which brings me smoothly onto the characters, the slow build of Alien gives us a chance to get to know these people - the engineers Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) and Parker (a pre-Homicide Yaphet Kotto), their amusing cliquishness towards Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and complaining about money. Ripley herself is also far more interesting here than in later movies and Weaver gives a great performance as the sole survivor while Tom Skerritt is on top form as the bearded and pragmatic Dallas. It's only Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) who is somewhat forgettable in this. But the most memorable performances (aside from the barely glimpsed xenomorph) lay with Ian Holm as the semi-villainous artificial human 'simulant' Ash and of course there is John Hurt who was described as "The Man" in Coupling because of the power and disturbing nature of that famous dining scene. Embodying all the male fears about pregnancy in the space of a few moments it's a scene which has been homaged, referenced and parodied more times than I'd care to count. It's a scene for all ages it's the most memorable of all the deaths in the movie (the other two which I always recall are Ash's - because of the sheer brutality and crudeness of it and Dallas' for the tension and sudden release at the end).

The final two characters in the film are the computer Mother (voiced by Helen Horton) and the titular alien itself, who was played by the 7' 2" tall Bolaji Badejo. It's pretty much his only time in the world of film, but he gives an exceptional physical performance, greatly enhanced and aided by the adage "less is more". Unlike some of the more modern horror movies Alien avoided showing too much of it's antagonistic monster/killer, partially because it was quite literally a man in a rubber suit (and would have looked almost comedic) and partially because the human imagination of things unseen is far more potent than anything actually seen. Keeping the alien in the shadows and just providing partial glimpses or sudden visions of it - a method I appreciate far more than the ultra detailed horror which has moved into vogue right now. There's nothing more frightening than the unknown.

These days it's difficult to watch the movie without considering all of the baggage which the franchise has gathered. While the movie Aliens (which I'll certainly write about later) is a worthy, if different, successor - the later movies are a series of let downs and by the time the franchise rolls into the Predator one things are stinking to high heaven (On a side note the computer game series for Aliens vs. Predator is a far superior creation, the story for AvP2 in particular is amazing and it's a real shame it wasn't adapted when the AvP movies were announced.) Alien itself is a superb example of science-fiction and horror at it's finest, and not amount of obviously dated computers present in the movie can detract from the experience. It's certainly a contender for the best movie of 1979 and one I am able to watch and re watch time and time again.
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Supernatural fully arrived on my radar around this time last year when I discovered the first two seasons were available for very reasonable prices and that I was able to get my hands on an advance copy of the third season. For a long time it was a show I was hesitant about watching due to the exceptionally photogenic duo who star in this, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. I was concerned that the show would be shallow and filled with eye candy moments for the ladies (and the more discerning gentlemen), or be little more than 'Buffy with blokes'.

But I dug around a little more and noticed one name in particular, Ben Edlund was involved with the project. The same Ben Edlund who gave us The Tick (or The Tick) and also worked on The Venture Bros., Angel and Firefly. This is class as a "good thing" and when combined with the low price tag it was enough to tip the balance across into 'worth a try'.

Upfront disclosure, I really like Supernatural (as evidenced in this short 3rd season DVD review). It's a show which genuinely surprised me in many directions. While the lads are very pretty and an obvious draw in themselves they are also very likable, down to earth and just fun. In fact the entire show is fun, it effortlessly mixes traditional horror along with schlock and B-Movie. Simultaneously parodying and honouring the genre at the same time while also providing an exciting ongoing story to follow.

Sam and Dean Winchester are monster hunters, their father John is also a monster hunter. When they were young their mother was killed by a demon; Dean embraced the life of hunting, Sam attempted to flee from it and until the pilot episode he succeeded. In the world of Supernatural demons, vampires, zombies, werewolves and much, much more are all very real. They lurk in the shadows and prey on the unsuspecting. Only the hunters know the truth, only the hunters know how to deal with them.

Supernatural runs with a mix of one off episodes combined with an on going storyline which grows from season to season and often provides huge almost unthinkable moments at the end of each. It's a show which grips the viewer with the constant danger these boys live in, but lightens the mood with a wry, knowing comment or an episode which pastiches another classic horror story.

The show has homaged a variety of other films, books and even TV shows in it's existance, and it's some of these which really raise the bar. Just about all of my favourite episodes come from this category and they've referenced things like Most Haunted, Evil Dead, Ghost Busters and even in my favourite episode Groundhog Day. Last season they also ran an episode which was rendered entirely in black and white and homaged the old classic hammer horror style films of the past. It's called "Monster Movie" and it's sheer genius.

In many ways Supernatural is the ideal show to watch for people who are fans of either horror movies or Josh Whedon's Buffy/Angel series. It's similar in tone but different enough to warrant watching and the humour in the show is so sharp and at times black that it really takes the experience of watching the show to another level. It's well performed, action packed, witty and just plain old cool.

And that's enough to make it worth watching...
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On general release in the UK on the 25th of August (yes, that's right I'm actually reviewing something before it comes out for once.)

Starring:
Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester
With:
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as John Winchester
Jim Beaver as Bobby Singer
Katie Cassidy as Ruby
Lauren Cohan as Bela Talbot



I talked a little about Supernatural previously; mostly it was about how apprehensive and unsure I was about the series. I liked the concept of the show but I was concerned about the cast (very small with two exceptionally photogenic/pretty boys) and I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it. But I managed to pick up a copy of the first season cheaply and was very quickly hooked into it.

When Sam and Dean were young, their mother was killed in a fire. But it was no ordinary fire; this fire was of a supernatural origin and nearly killed them as well. But their father John Winchester (The awesome Jeffery Dean Morgan) managed to save them. Over the years John raised Sam and Dean to be hunters and fighters; champions against the unnatural, eventually Sam rebelled against this life while Dean continued to fight alongside his father.

But; one day that old life comes back to haunt Sam, it turns out there's no escaping it and alongside his brother the two of them seek to find their father and avenge their mother's death.

The first two seasons of the show were fantastic and the third season of the show has raised the stakes once again, I was worried that a show with such a small core cast couldn't threaten it's characters effectively. But I was wrong about that, while Sam and Dean have a somewhat jaded, brazen and 'been there, done it' attitude towards many of the creatures they encounter - which in itself is quite hilarious at times - there are things and events which effect them hard. The finale of the previous season was one such set of events and the third season is based around dealing with them; literally.

Something that always impresses me about the show is how well it manages to combine a sense of realism with a tongue in cheek understanding that the show is a bit silly. The characters themselves often make reference to things that viewers will have noticed as well, including the strange weaponry they use:

Here's an example of this from the second season, this is in the excellent episode "Hollywood Babylon" where Sam and Dean have been drawn to a Hollywood set where a crew member was found dead. The conversation directly references the actual methods used in the show; but it highlights the absurdity of the notion. If you think about it for too long it stops making sense, so you just accept shotguns loaded with rock salt because they look cool.


It's touches like this that make the show something special.



Consistency is the name of the word when dealing with the packaging of Supernatural, each season looks very similar in design, the spines of each set are almost identical and the layout of the front and back is kept in a similar template with varied box art. I'm a stickler for how DVDs look on the shelf and I'm always pleased when they look good together as a set. Season three is a five disc set containing fifteen episodes (writers strike cut it short) with the discs placed in slimline (not slimeline!) dvd cases. There's a mildly amusing bit of quality control failure as the third set apparently contains discs 5 (plural?) and while that's a minor error at best it's still a little disappointing to see things going out with mistakes like that on them.

Extras:
There is a nice selection of extras in this set:
From Legends to Reality - a look into the special effects in Supernatural
Supernatural Impala - which gives viewers a closer look at the Chevrolet Impala used in the show (nicknamed the Metallicar by many viewers)
A Closer Look - Segments that showcase favourite aspects of specific episodes
Ghostfacers! Confessionals - A Minifeaturette Gallery
and a Gag Reel

Edit: Just to confirm for those people coming from TWoP all of these extras are present and accounted for on my Disc 5 of the UK release. They all also work as I watched them today. I would post this myself on the forum, but my registration hasn't cleared yet.

Price:
It's available now from Play.com for only £17.99 and it runs for 624 minutes. That's 2.9p per minute, which is very respectable for a brand new release. But of course it won't stay like that for long. So grab it while it's hot.


Supernatural is one of those shows that on paper seems like a really silly idea, two handsome young brothers travel around in a car solving mysteries and fighting monsters. But, as I said; I'm thoroughly impressed with Supernatural and I'm glad I gave it the chance to prove my initial doubts completely wrong. It's brilliant fun and worth watching for anyone who previously enjoyed shows like Angel or Buffy, horror films/novels or for people who just enjoy good solid drama with a dark sense of humor that doesn't take itself too seriously.

4 TVs for the third season of Supernatural, great stuff!
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Well; I haven't finished viewing all of the first season, but I wanted to put down my thoughts about this show here.

Initially I had judged the show without watching it at all. I did not like the pair of pretty boys that had been cast in the league, both of them still look like they should be modelling men's clothing on the runway and posing for Playgirl. Additionally the price of the the DVD boxed set was just too high for me to consider trying it out (£30 for half a season!) so I decided to just give the show a miss. But when the price dropped to £18 for the complete season and Aaron Williams of Nodwick (http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com) said he was enjoying the show I decided to give it a go. Especially because Aaron has exceptionally good taste in TV shows (liking many of the sames ones I do) and I've always been fond of the horror genre.

I'm approaching the three quarters mark for the first season and I've avoided seeing anything on the web so this has been like watching a show fresh just the way I used to do back before the age of the interwebs came along and provided spoilers for every aspect of life.

Anyway, my thoughts... Where are they? Oh yes, Supernatural. Once I got down to watching it this show has actually quite impressed me, the first thing that clicked with me is the choice of camera filters. The show uses a very dark deep set of filters to keep colours rich, shadowy and dark. A similar style of filters were used in Millenium and I liked the bleak nature of them then. The Supernatural ones are a somewhat cleaner, but they still evoke the same feel and this is a good thing because Millenium made it onto my top 50 list as number 50 (it would have gotten a higher place if Fox hadn't nixed it before it finished). Reminding me of a show a love is a good way to get me on your side. Well done supernatural.

But it's not just the filters on the show that I enjoyed, Supernatural is a rather fun experience. It's not the best show ever, in fact it's very predictable. I often call out lines before the characters utter them as they're using all of the cliches from the horror genre with no shame and that's a good thing.

This is where Supernatural (at least the first season so far) manages to succeed, it doesn't take itself too seriously, you have the stereotypical horror monster of the week, a splash of "where is their father and what killed their mother?" plus some pretty female guest stars and plenty of people who are still skeptics. I can't get over the number of skeptics that live in the Supernatural world, considering the amount of utterly wierd things that seem to happen on a weekly basis and the freaky nature of their world in general it's almost comedic that a lot of the guest characters still remain skeptical, sometimes even in the face of the utterly bizzare.

And that's the crux of it, Supernatural works because it's an amusing parody of a genre
that should never be taken seriously. The show doesn't try and be pretentious, it doesn't want you to take it seriously. It's just two brothers driving around America in a 1967 Chevrolet Impala and stopping strange happenings. Sort of like Scooby Do 2000 or a modern day Call of Cthulhu.

As such, I quite like this show.
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