Reply To: Let’s all talk about the Pilot (S1 E1)
Hi, Guys!!
Fashionably late to the party, but nevertheless, here I am 🙂
I agree with you, JBB! I didn’t like the finale at all, but we both agree that the best cure for the Supernatural blues is MORE Supernatural! And the gag reel snippet released last night doesn’t hurt, either.
About the Pilot:
Even all these years later, I still think the Pilot was well done. I agree with the statement above that the grainy, dark (almost black-and-white) film style is gorgeous. I LOVE it! It adds a creepiness and gravitas that’s been missing for a long time. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE how the early season episodes are riddled with classic rock. If there’s one single thing that I miss about the early seasons, it’s that.
I only have a few negative things to say about this episode. Larry and I have joked about the intro more than once. It makes perfect sense that if John was downstairs asleep and heard Mary scream, he’d absolutely run upstairs to check! But once he burst into Sam’s nursery and found Sam alright, why didn’t he continue searching for Mary? Why didn’t he run into Dean’s room to check on HIM? I get that the blood drop caught his attention, but there were a few lost beats there. Oh well, it’s a minor point, but it always makes me and hubby chuckle.
Only a few more negative observations, then I promise to get back to the positive stuff. I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again. I struggled to like Sam until about season 7, and it began with the Pilot. If he supposedly loved Jessica, why didn’t he tell her who he truly was? I know John had a “rule” about that, but since when did Sam obey ANY of John’s rules? Dean told Cassie who he was, and he was religiously obedient to John and his rules. Dean loved Cassie, even though he’d only known her for a short time. When you love someone, you tell them the truth about who you are — especially if you have a dark or dangerous past. Sam was supposedly going to propose to Jessica — BAH! I’ve often wondered if Sam initially left with Dean for his OWN reasons. He’d been having visions of Jessica burning up on the ceiling for days before she died. Maybe he wanted to find John to get answers to that, and not really to save John. I don’t know – I just found Sam selfish and unlikable for the first several seasons. Jared’s acting was clunky at times, which didn’t help. Jensen was already SO velvety smooth, that it just made Jared’s inexperience more apparent. And sorry, but it was kinda sleazy for Jessica to come into the room like that. If you hear a burglar breaking into your house, or you hear your boyfriend talking to another man in the middle of the night, by all means, enter the room wearing next to nothing. Classy. Enough of that. On with the love fest…
I know the budget was low back then, so I really appreciate how they still managed to incorporate some memorable effects. Like, I loved the ghostly hand on the car window to let us know that the ghost was still in the car.
I’ve often asked myself if I’d have watched the show again based on the Pilot. I think I would. Dang – I guess I’m still in love.
