Supernatural Season 3 DVD Review

The WB always found a strong following with their supernatural television series including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its spinoff, Angel, as well as Charmed and now Supernatural.

Supernatural follows a pair of paranormal hunting brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, played by Jared Padalecki (The Gilmore Girls, House of Wax) and Jensen Ackles (Dark Angel, Smallville), respectively.

The first season found Sam and Dean chasing after their missing father, who has gone under ground to track a demon. This demon, Azazel, is thought to be the demon that killed Sam and Dean’s mother when Sam was an infant. Once they find him, the teamed up trio begin to hunt the yellow-eyed demon. In season two, the group find and kill Azazel, but not until after he succeeds in opening the gate to hell, allowing a horde of demons onto Earth. This event also finds Sam dead, but he is resurrected when Dean sells his soul in exchange for Sam’s life. The demon gives Dean one year to live.

Now, season three finds the brothers working to send back as many demons as possible, while Sam desperately searches for a way of getting Dean out of his deal. Together they have to go up against a great deal of powerful demons, including one named Lilith, who has manifested itself in the body of a little girl. Sam will stop at nothing to save his brother from the terrors of hell while Dean is more willing to go along with his fate, whilst trying to live out his final days the best way he knows how. Introduced in season 3, are a pair of new comers, the first is a collector named Bella, who serves as both a love interest and a constant hiccup for the boys, and Ruby, a demon herself, but one who has decided to fight on the side of humans instead of demons in an effort to free herself from Hell’s shackles.

Supernatural is a surprisingly entertaining show. Dean makes a great reluctant hero, tormented by his past, but doing the right thing for the greater good. The series boasts a flawless combination of humor and horror as the brothers zig-zag across America in their 1967 Chevy Impala. The special effects are well done and there are several instances where the viewer will leave an episode scared of every little bump in the night. That being said, it is reluctant news that season 3 may be the season where Supernatural finally “jumps the shark.” A term that references the episode toward the end of the Happy Days run where the Arthur the Fonz Fonzarelli jumps a shark while riding water skis. The season employs a number of cheese-ball episodes, including one episode that is primarily a show within a show. In the show within a show, the two would be ghost hunters saved by Sam and Dean in a previous episode return. This time they are shooting a pilot titled Ghost Chasers. Sam and Dean happen across the group, bound for certain death, held captive by a violent ghost. The season also features an episode that more or less mimics the Bill Murray film, Groundhog Day, and most notably, the season features A Very Supernatural Christmas Special. These somewhat hokey episodes, hopefully can be blamed on the writer’s strike. In fact, in the Ghost Chasers episode, the two Ghostfacers make reference to the writer’s strike, saying how bad it must have been on the networks.

Of course, now halfway through the fourth season, the series finds itself even further into the cheese ball, albeit entertaining, antics, including a black and white old movie episode as well as a Halloween special. Hopefully, however, these antics do not mark the end of this series.

Supernatural Season 3 on Blu-Ray features all 16 hour long episodes, each presented in widescreen. The Blu-Ray release includes several special features including a look at the Supernatural effects, a look at the 1967 Chevy Impala from the show, Ghostfacers! Confessionals Minifeaturette Gallery. The box set also features a code to unlock a downloadable digital copy of the entire season compatible with iTunes.