Rolling in on its second season, sleeper hit “Supernatural” still remains an intriguing series about two brothers who travel the continental U.S. hunting “evil” paranormal phenomena.
The critically acclaimed television show seems to have to have slipped under the mainstream radar but is well worth the hour time spot.
Anyone who enjoys classic cars, classic rock, American road trips and ghost stories based on actual events will find this show addicting.
The story follows Sam and Dean Winchesters’ efforts to hunt a demon that killed their mother.
The road trip bring them to a different small American town or city in each episode. At every stop they face various malevolent spirits.
According to the creator Eric Kripke, the episodes are all based on actual American folklore making the show that much more intriguing when one thinks that people either saw or thought they saw something of similar nature happen.
The first episode, for example, explores the myth of a “woman in white.”
The Mexican legend concerns a woman whose lover does not return her ardor and during a moment of insanity kills the children she had with him and then kills herself.
This legend claims the woman wanders the country drenched in blood. In “Supernatural” the woman is presented as a ghost hitchhiker that kills unfaithful men.
Another episode explores the popular Bloody Mary legend.
The show portrays Mary as a woman who was murdered in front of a mirror and when summoned by her name, which is repeated three times, tears the eyes out of anyone with a dark secret.
Sam and Dean hunt these spirits using methods passed down from their father, including salt, and iron which deters ghosts.
According to the “Supernatural” staff, the best way to “kill” a ghost is by salting the bodily remains and burning them.
Also, to kill a demon one must trap it with pentagram symbols and then kill it with an exorcism.
These methods of “killing” spirits is realistically presented, and makes me think it’s what (my childhood favorite) “The Ghostbusters” would have been like if they existed.
Aside from the intrigue of real ghost stories, the way the series is presented is not only entertaining but it makes it unique for a show on the CW (Formally the WB) channel.
The show is the only one on the network that constantly uses classic rock for its soundtrack which fits beautifully while the brothers cruise around on forgotten highways in their ’66 Chevy Impala, a black, gorgeous muscle car from back in the day. AC-DC, Blue CByster Cult and Joe Walsh take precedence over the over used, modern and trendy alternative music.
Also just the notion that its two brothers in their 20s from a blue collar Kansas town that pull pranks on one another, try to “get laid,” drink beers and catch each other watching porn adds a degree of realism that any kid with siblings can relate to.
This show is a great adventure story that reminds viewers of the glory days of “The X-Files,” but has a rustic and unsophisticated feeling added to it.
In the spirit of Halloween, check this show out on the CW Thursdays at 8pm.
Audiences may be surprised at how such a show has been hidden for so long.