Supernatural—Red Sky at Morning

Cruising along in the car, Dean interrogates Sam about the missing bullet in the Colt. Thus confronted, Sam confesses to killing the Crossroads Demon. Dean's not happy, saying Sam took too much of a risk. The victim's aunt flirts with Sam, though she's old enough to be their grandma. I like her. The ghost ship lore connects it to strange dry-land drownings. Dean has a panic attack when his car disappears, but then Bela shows up to confess she had it towed. Sam tells Dean he can't shoot her, at least not in public.

Investigation of the ghost ship keeps the Winchester boys crossing paths with Bela. Bela determines to take out the ship, while Sam and Dean try to protect the next victim, but he drowns in his car. The loss hits Sam hard. Bela proposes a plan which gets Dean into a tux and yeah, did anything happen after he walked down the stairs looking all freaking HOT? Dean doesn't really know how to behave like a tux-wearing sort of person, which is ausing given his past ability to blend in with about any crowd. Sam gets to date Gert, the aunt, who's quite happy with the arrangement.

Anyway the plan involves stealing a Hand of Glory that was made out of the sailor who's drowning everyone. Dean and Bela make a good team, with Bela bossing Dean around and Dean whining a lot. But of course Bela has her own reasons for wanting the hand--namely so she can sell it--and when she sees the ghost ship herself, she's forced to go to Sam and Dean for help.

Since the spirit is only going after people who shed their own family's blood, and since she stole the hand from them, they're not too inclined to help her, but they do, anyway, summoning the sailor's spirit. There's a lot of rain and a lot of Latin, and Bela nearly drowns, but in the end the spirit faces the spirit of the brother who hanged him, and they blow the special effects budget in a final, watery confrontation between the two ghosts. She gives them part of her take in return. Dean decides to take the money to Atlantic City. I've been there, Dean--it's kinda boring.

Then we wrap up with another confrontation between the brothers, Sam angry with Dean for not caring about his impending death, Dean obviously caring so much about it he's scared shitless and far beyond talking about it.

So, a bit of angst, a good ghost story, a large dollop of humor, and Dean in a tux. In a lot of ways this wasn't a stellar episode, but it was very entertaining. The drownings harked back to "Dead in the Water," maybe a little too much, especially in the tub scene, and the final confrontation was strongly reminiscent of the final confrontation with the ghost in Angel's Season One episode "Rm w/a Vu." I very much enjoy the dynamic between Bela and the boys, especially Bela and Dean, and any excuse to get Ackles into a tuxedo is fine by me.

Supernatural—Bedtime Stories

Sam and Dean make their way to a town where fairy tales are being brought to life in all their original gory glory. Glory gory? No, I got it right the first time. On their way, they have a very impassioned conversation about the Crossroad deal, since they have distinctly different ideas about how to deal with it at this juncture. Dean yells a lot. He's hot when he's mad. They think the first attack in town might be a werewolf, but the evidence doesn't add up.

Our next victims are Hansel and Gretel with Power Bars, all lost in the woods. They find a house and a sweet little old lady with pie. Poison pie. That's just wrong. And the she gets all stabby with a big knife, which is even wronger. Sam puts two and two together and comes up with the fairy tale connection. The next victim appears to be Cinderella, and all the victims are being stalked by Snow White. All this is way creepier than it sounds. Even the sudden strong saturation of color in this normally undersaturated show is creepy.

And tonight even the commercials have a fairy tale theme.

As it turns out, Snow White is the spirit of the local doctor's comatose daughter, and he's been reading her Grimm's fairy tales. Her spirit is seeking revenge for her stepmother's having poisoned her when she was eight, putting her in the coma, and the angry spirit is lashing out through the fairy tales. The latest is Little Red Riding Hood, and Dean goes to rescue the granddaughter, since grandma has just died of Big Bad Wolf mauling in the hospital. Sam confronts the father, to stop the haunting, and is surprised when the doctor believes him--he's sensed the girl's spirit, too. While he tries to convince the doctor to listen to Callie's spirit, Dean throws down with the big bad wolf (actually a human who's being driven by Callie's spirit). Once the doctor hears his daughter's story and believes her, she passes on.

And there's still fifteen minutes to go... Hm. There was a lot of arguing about the Crossroads Demon at the beginning--want to bet we see something else about that here at the end?

Well, DUH, cause later at the hotel, Sam sneaks out and summons up a crossroads demon, who turns out to be Jared Padalecki's girlfriend Sandra McCoy, Awkward much? He threatens to kill her if she doesn't let Dean out of his deal. She plays mind games with him, telling him part of him will be relieved when Dean's gone. Killing her won't break the deal, though--there's a higher power who holds the contract. She won't tell him who the boss is, so he kills her. Ooo, they'll be having fun dinner conversation about that for months. "Honey, remember that time you shot me in the head and my eyes went all glowy and you could see my skull through my face? That was fun, wasn't it?"

This was a solid episode, though the framing for the Crossroads Demon sequence was a little blatant. Still, Dean looks hot when he yells and Sam looks hot when he shoots demons, so it's all good. And what is up with Sam shooting the demons? Good that the demons are dead, but the human hosts go down with them and that's been a bit of a moral quandary for him in the past. Doesn't seem to be bothering him much now. I'm really intrigued about what the writers are thinking about what's going on inside Sam's head these days.

Another interesting note--the Colt is not the same gun anymore, and the Crossroads Demon knew Ruby not as a compatriot but as a pain in her ass. More intriguing bits of information that I hope will play out in the future.

Supernatural—Sin City

I'm under the weather and not really up to doing the kind of review this episode deserves, so I'll do a quick drive-by. Hopefully I'll have something to say about Friday Night Lights later tonight.

I love the work Bob Singer did in this episode, laying down storylines that'll undoubtedly drive at least the rest of the first half of this season, if not the rest of the year. Sam's refusal to become the Yellow-Eyed Demon's right-hand man, not to mention killing the demon, has thrown the demon world into a chaos possibly worse for mankind that what might have played out if Sam had just stepped up to his demonic destiny. And now we know he was Azazel, not just any ordinary demon, and after the havoc that boy wreaked on Hex I'd keep an eye out for him, boys. Now the demons are all jockeying for power, as well as trying to set up shop in human bodies Earthside. What is Ruby's role in this? She helped Bobby set the Colt to rights, and has promised to help Sam save Dean from Hell. But what will she demand of Sam along the way? All signs point to bad.



Run Through the Jungle—Creedence Clearwater Revival

Supernatural—Bad Day at Black Rock

Tonight's episode is by Ben Edlund. I really shouldn't have to say anything else about it. I mean, this is the guy who brought us "Simon Said," and "Hollywood Babylon," and, a few years ago (has it really been that long?), turned Angel into a puppet. And tonight he's going to construct an entire Supernatural episode around a rabbit's foot. Which seems odd, but not as odd as turning Angel into a puppet, and that was one of the highlights of my TV viewing history. So yeah, looking forward to this one.

Before we get to the bunny toes, we catch up with Gordon, who's still in prison, but getting outside info from another hunter about the devil's gate fiasco at the end of last season. Gordon still seems to think Sam needs to die. But didn't he do that already? The hunter, Kubrick, joins forces with another hunter and goes in pursuit of Sam, who's collecting more Satanic nicknames as Kubrick starts calling him the Adversary. I think he paid a little too much attention in Sunday School. Heck, by the end even Gordon thinks Kubrick is taking his whole mission from God thing a little too seriously, and when Gordon thinks you're off your nut, you probably have some serious issues.

Dean isn't too happy about Sam's chatting up Ruby the demon last week. I'm kind of surprised Sam told Dean about that. It seemed like he was playing his research cards close to the vest since Dean told him about the loophole. Although it's probably good he's opening up to Dean. At this point I'm wondering, though, if he's told Dean about Mary's history as revealed last week via Ruby.

They get a call on John's old cell phone about a storage container being broken into. They go to investigate and find the container filled with childhood memorabilia (Sam's soccer trophy, Dean's first sawed-off shotgun) as well as a potentially useful arsenal and a collection of curse boxes filled with bad mojo, locked away for protection. One of them has been stolen. I liked this scene and what it revealed about John and his love for his sons. I also liked that John is in many ways still an active character in the show, much as he was in the first season before the boys caught up with him. Tying family backstory into this episode was a great move on Edlund's part--it added a layer that made it feel that much more accessible.

Sam and Dean chase down the thieves and aquire the rabbit's foot that was inside the curse box. Dean, seeing the effects of the artifact, buys lottery tickets, because he's Dean. Sam, though, is certain the artifact is cursed. Which of course it is, as evidence by the really gross death of one of the men who initially stole it. Seriously, how do they come up with all these inventive yet really repulsive ways to kill people off? And this one had the added bonus of being funny. Anyway, the bunny foot was made to kill people--when you lose it, you die in less than a week.

And a waitress in the restaurant where they stop to eat lifts the rabbit's foot out of Sam's pocket. Sam and Dean now have to figure out how to break the curse so Sam won't die. And the restaurant's publicity shot of Sam and Dean as their one millionth customer leads the hunters straight to their prey.

Poor Sam gets saddled with the bad luck, which leads to lots of pratfalls for Padalecki, who is as hysterical in this turn as put-upon Sam as he is scary when he gets to tackle demon-possessed Sam. Seriously, I've been watching Gilmore Girls and Padalecki has come a long way, and is developing some serious talent. Fearing for both their lives, Dean leaves Sam in the hotel room ("Don't even scratch your nose"--so of course Sam's nose immediately gets itchy) and pursues the thief, a new hot chick named Bela who apparently specializes in this sort of thing.

While Sam is afflicted by more and more off-the-wall accidents (the air conditioner catches fire while he just sits there trying not to do anything dangerous), Dean regains the rabbit's foot and manages to make me laugh hysterically while at the same time being completely hotass. "I'm Batman." Yes, I rolled right off the chaise. Sam's death seems to be inevitable when Kubrick catches up to him, but Dean makes use of the rabbit's foot's powers while luck is still on his side. It's this kind of assured competence in the most bizarre of situations that makes me want to lick Dean all over. Did I say that out loud? In the end, he tricks Bela into touching the rabbit's foot, so she'll be forced to let them destroy it. But she gets her revenge by pickpocketing Dean's scratch tickets.

I have to say I'm very happy with my show so far, even with the changes that have been introduced. I had high hopes for the new cast additions when rumors first hit the internet over the summer, and so far Bela and Ruby are playing out quite nicely. I was afraid Sam's storyline might fall by the wayside, but instead it's just gathered more layers. And Dean's impending death, while it continues to color the tone of the show, was more or less set aside this week, which I think was a good thing. While it's an important subplot, it doesn't need to be explicit in every episode. Kudos once again to Edlund for a stellar hour (well, okay, about 42 minutes) of TV.

Supernatural—The Kids are Alright

After an arguably weak debut, Supernatural comes back this week with all cylinders firing in an episode that's laugh-out-loud funny and keep the lights on all night horrifying at the same time.

We open with the grossest thing I've seen on Supernatural since the whole arm in the disposal thing back in Season One ("Home"). Cause seriously. Ewwww. I knew there was a reason I never use power tools.

Anyway, creepy little kid + power saw = dead dad, which also = case for our boys to pursue. Dean, though, has an ulterior motive for going to Cicero, Indiana. Apparently he had a really inspiring encounter with a yoga teacher there eight years ago. Hey, Dean, hon. I do yoga. Seriously. And I'm sure my kids could use an exorcism. I mean, don't all teenagers? Upon dropping by to visit Lisa, the very bendy ex-flame, Dean discovers she has a cocky little AC/DC loving skirt-chasing son who's -- you guessed it -- just about eight years old. Also, the freaky girl from the teaser is at the party, and her mom's concerned there's something very wrong with her. I think she's right. Little Katie has got an extremely high creep factor going on there.

Elsewhere, Sam is approached at the diner by Blonde Girl With Cool Knife, from last week. Apparently she's still stalking him. And stealing his food. She's got an attitude. She likes him because he's tall and might be the Antichrist. As good a reason as any to stalk a hot guy, I suppose. Sam seems to have lost his psychic ability. And Blonde Chick knows something about Mary Winchester that we don't know and neither do our boys. Interesting. What kind of pals did Mary have, anyway?

Lisa's neighborhood in Cicero has been plagued by freak accidents, aside from the gross power saw thing, all witnessed only by children just as creepy-weird as Katie. Many of the children appear to be possessed by... something, their true natures only showing in mirrors. Turns out they're Changelings, and there was one in each house where a death occurred. They're feeding on the moms, and the Winchester boys have to figure out how to get rid of them and also save the real children. And now Ben seems to have been swapped, as well, leaving Dean to work out how to rescue the child he seems convinced is his own son, even though Lisa's told him he's not the father.

I don't even know where to start with this episode. Everything was just damn near pitch-perfect, from the humor to the horror. The isolation of Katie's mother, driving her to unthinkable actions to escape what she knows is a threat. Dean's yearning for a normal life, embodied in a ready-made family, and his endearing if ephemeral relationship with Ben. And Jensen Ackles... Wow. The last scene between Dean and Lisa was beautifully played.

And then we have the coda with Sam and Ruby. Ruby the -- holy crap I didn't see that one coming -- DEMON GIRL!! A demon who wants to help Sam find out the truth about himself, and with all of Mary Winchester's friends systematically slaughtered, that truth seems to be no small thing. And on top of it all, Ruby can help Dean. Yes, I made flaily hands at the TV. I'm even more excited about this season now than I was last week. Maybe even more excited than I was after last season's premiere, and I didn't think that was possible.

Supernatural—The Magnificent Seven

I know you're all wondering why I haven't reviewed the Supernatural season premiere yet, since I'm usually pretty prompt with that, what with it being my favorite show and all. (Of course I could assume you all have way more important things to wonder about, but where's the fun in that?) Well, the answer is that instead of watching "The Magnificent Seven" from my cozy chaise in Colorado, I flew all the way to Illinois to watch it with a group of fans, including my best friend, who kindly put me up on her Comfy Couch (with fluffy duvet) for a couple of nights and fed me Cheetos, peanut M&Ms and pie, in true Winchester family fashion.

While it's a little pricey to fly almost 1,000 miles to watch a season premiere (although, hint--if you visit your mom, too, sometimes you can get her to pay part of your airfare), I have to highly recommend the whole communal watching experience. It's just plain fun to watch a show with a room full of people waiting with anticipation as breathless as your own, who howl at the same jokes and get weepy at the end. The best part of fandom is the sense of community, after all, and to experience that in person rather than over an Internet connection makes it that much better.

Anyway, on to the actual show.

This season's premiere had a very different feel to last season's. Lacking the emotional impact of "In My Time of Dying," "The Magnificent Seven" concentrated more on the series reboot introduced in "All Hell Breaks Loose," last season's finale. Dean has made a deal to bring Sam back from the dead, and has only a year to live. Of course he's living it up, eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast and enjoying tea and crackers with the "Doublemint Twins." (What? You don't think they were having tea and crackers? Well what were they doing, then?) Sam's tolerant reaction to Dean's depraved hedonism was amusing and an interesting shift to their relationship. Obviously Sam is, for the moment, willing to put up with a lot more from his brother. I expect him to snap any minute, though. I expect Dean to snap, too. Sooner or later he'll realize exactly what's coming, and the heartfelt conversation at the end of this episode foreshadowed that nicely. Next week, I bet...

I was thrilled to see Bobby again, and I hope he continues to be a regular or semi-regular in the series. And one of the funniest moments of our viewing party was when Bobby showed up in a suit and all of us stared at the TV and then a few finally went, "Oh! That's Bobby!" He cleans up well...

And there's another regular or semi-regular character. Miss Blonde Thang with Freaky Knife had a very brief introduction in this episode, full of whiz-bang and special effects and a very cool shot of said knife glowing through the victim's wide-open mouth. While I have to wonder why she showed up (stalking Sam the Boy King?), and why she's so terribly competent, she definitely caught my attention, and I'm interested to learn more about her.

Tamara and Isaac proved interesting foils, as well, with their reluctance to work with the Winchesters and their attitude about the boys' role in opening the Gates of Hell. Apparently now the brothers are on the outs not only with the FBI and the demon hordes, but with their fellow hunters, as well. And with Sam being spoken of as the now-dead YED's Chosen Boy King, it looks like a lot of folks are out after our boys' asses, and not in the good way that involves depraved hedonism.

With all those plotlines to lay into place, there wasn't much room for the titular Seven Deadly Sins. This, in fact, was my only quibble with the episode (well, aside from some pacing issues through the last third but that's me being uber-picky). The Deadly Sins were introduced as powerful like woah! with a little temper tantrum from Bobby to reinforce the point, and yet they were dispatched remarkably quickly, albeit with the help of Miss Blonde Thang with Freaky Knife. I think it would have been nice to have explored the concept more deeply, possibly over more than one episode, especially as regards Dean's likely relationship with Lust and Gluttony. I particularly would have liked to have seen the Lust Meets Dean show. They could have a lot of fun having tea and crackers.

Overall, though, I have to say I enjoyed this episode quite a lot. With a very different tone from last season's opener, it's starting us off on the show's new arc with several things to think about, from Dean's deal to Sam's Boy King status to our new mysterious blonde hunter. I'm very much looking forward to next week, and to the rest of the season.

MUSIC:
Oddly, iTunes doesn't seem to have much in the way of AC/DC, but we all know that was Hell's Bells, right?

Mean Little Town—Howling Diablos




You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet—Bachman-Turner Overdrive




"I Shall Not Be Moved" was performed by J.B. Burnett according to the CW website, but iTunes doesn't have him, either. Here's a version by Johnny Cash, because Johnny Cash is totally cool:

iTunes Freebies

The pilot/series premiere of Moonlight is available for free at iTunes. In addition, the season premiere of Supernatural is also up for free download (poke around, it's a bit hard to find) even though it's not airing until tomorrow. I will not be reviewing the show early, though, as I'm watching it live with a bunch of folks and don't want to ruin the fun.

Fall is Near!

Hard to believe summer is almost over. But that means only a few weeks until my favorite shows come back on the air. I have to admit that, aside from Dr. Who, which I've loved for ages, none of the summer shows have really captured me. Saving Grace isn't bad, but I haven't really warmed up to it the way I hoped I might. Eureka is fun but has always struck me as a bit shallow. Burn Notice I've really enjoyed, and it's come the closest to dragging me in, so that show will probably get some repeat viewings. Overall, though, I'll be happier when Bones and Supernatural and Heroes all finally return.

I'm also looking forward to some of the new fall shows, although I don't know how many I'll be able to squeeze into my already full viewing schedule. I went to see Stardust this last weekend (awesome movie, by the way), and they showed previews of Bionic Woman and Journeyman, both of which look interesting to me. I'm also very interested in seeing Viva Laughlin. So it's looking to be an interesting and entertaining fall.

Dude, Ellen's a Cylon!

Okay, she's not. She's a Viper pilot. But it's still Samantha Ferris, who plays Ellen on Supernatural, in the uniform.

Yep, I'm catching up on Battlestar Galactica. I had fallen behind by about a half-dozen episodes, so I thought I'd finish off Season Three. Next season, as we all know by now, will be this show's last, and the showrunners promise a wrapup of the storylines, and possibly a spinoff prequel.

In the meantime, I'm noticing fandom collisions. Aside from Samantha Ferris, there's Kandyse McClure, who plays Dualla (aka Mrs. Apollo). She played Annie, Joshua's doomed love interest, in two episodes of Season Two of Dark Angel. And Nickie Klyne, Callie on Battlestar, was Fixit in another Season Two Dark Angel episode. Grace Park (Sharon), also did a brief turn as a transgenic on Dark Angel. Maybe she's typecast as a genetically engineered person? That could really limit an actor's career.

Now...off to find out what the heck is up with Starbuck.

DVD News

	Supernatural Season 2 is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. It'll be released on 9-11. Season 2 of Bones will be available 9-11 as well, but isn't up for pre-order yet.
	Season 1 of Dexter is also available for pre-order, releasing 8-21.
	Season 1 of Heroes releases 8-28, in standardand HD formats.

Supernatural—All Hell Breaks Loose Part II

Supernatural begins its season finale by revisiting last season's finale, music and all. And poor Sam is still dead. And not looking so good, stretched out on a bed while Dean looks on. Bobby comes in with a tub of chicken. Dean isn't hungry. He seems thirsty, though. At least for the whisky. Bobby suggests they bury Sam. Probably a good idea--he's going to start smelling funny any minute now. (How annoyed am I that the demon stole this joke later? Very. Demons suck.) But Dean's in a mood. Bobby's mention that they needs to go save the world puts Dean into a rage. He's hot when he's pissed. And props to Padalecki for not breathing.

Out in the woods, Jake is hanging out next to a campfire. Dude, we don't like you. You stabbed Sam. That's not good. The YED shows up to chat with him. He calls Jake the American Idol. Does that make the YED Simon or Paula? I can't picture either of them saying "the chewy taste of their own intestines." Okay, yeah, Simon would totally say that.

As Sam lies still dead, Dean chats with him about their childhood, and his responsibility to take care of Sam, and how he's failed to do that because he's a screw-up. Dean is way too hard on himself. Finally he tears off in the car. Looks like he's preparing to make a bargain with the Crossroad Demon. Dean, you moron, why would you do that? (Yes, I yelled at my TV.) After much bargaining, the demon finally offers to bring Sam back, but will only give Dean one year. (There's your Season Three quest!) Dean takes the deal.

Sam wakes up. Dean returns, and there is a heartfelt hug. Fangirls squee everywhere. Sam asks what happened. Dean explains. Sort of. But not really. Sam is all gung-ho to go after Jake and the demon, but Dean discourages him, wanting him to rest up from being dead. He tells Sam about the Roadhouse. Sam refuses to rest, so they head to Bobby's in the Impala. Bobby's a bit surprised to see Sam. His tracking of supernatural developments is giving him results very different from last week--stuff is going down like crazy, everywhere except southern Wyoming.

While Sam looks over the data, Bobby takes Dean out to the junkyard and reams him out for making the deal with the demon. Ellen shows up out of nowhere. Bobby gives her a shotglass of holy water to check her (a very smart move). Ellen escaped the Roadhouse because she had to go out for pretzels. Ash told her to check the safe when he called her, before the Roadhouse was torched. In the safe was a map of Wyoming. Bobby works out a connection to the map and Samuel Colt, who built a series of churches and a rail line that formed a devil's trap. Which is why there aren't any demons in that area. They're trying to get inside the devil's trap, which has a cowboy cemetery in the middle. Dean postulates that maybe the trap was put together to keep something inside.

So we're off to Wyoming. Jake is already headed that way, directed by the demon. Jake is supposed to open a crypt in the cemetery, using the Colt as the key. Jake is supposed to fetch a demon army from the crypt, and if he does he can be all powerful and stuff. The Last Temptation of Jake, let's call this scene. And he fails. Probably because he was worn down by the demon's constant yammering. Dude, that yellow-eyed guy can talk.

Dean and Sam are already in the cemetery waiting for Jake. Sam holds a gun on him. Jake tells Sam he killed him. Sam's a bit perplexed by this news, seeing as how he's alive. Jake has new powers of manipulation, like Andy's, and hey, he didn't even have to eat Andy's brains to get them. He opens the crypt and Sam empties his gun into him. I was thinking Sam was evil here, but it looks like maybe he isn't, but in a way that's even worse. Or not. I'm not sure. Sam just emptied the gun into him, and that was so very not Sam, but then again, Jake killed him and opened the gates of hell, so maybe it was a good call to be really pretty sure the guy was dead. Still... not a Sam-like thing to do, and this worries me.

The devil's gate in the crypt opens and a ton of demons emerge. The iron railroad lines of the devil's trap have been breached, so the demons can get out. YED shows up and flings Dean around. The demons look like the black smoke monster on Lost. Maybe there's a devil's gate on the island, too? I mean, the YED was on the plane, after all.

The demon is happy Sam's back in action, and mocks Dean about his deal. He suggests that Sam may not be all Sam. (See? I was thinking that, too. So yet another demon steals my lines. Demons suck.) We get to hear the, "What's dead should stay dead," line again. The demon prepares to kill Dean, but none other than John Winchester arrives to rescue his son. This gives Dean time to get the Colt back, and he shoots the YED. For good. Mary and Jess have been avenged.

The devil's gate closes. John is briefly reunited with his sons, then disappears again. Let's hope not back to hell. It was nice to see him, but I would have liked to have seen more, and it would have been nice, too, if he'd actually spoken.

In the coda, Sam continues to be not stupid and asks Dean what happened to him. Dean tells him the truth. Sam says he'll do whatever it takes to get Dean out of his bargain. It's his turn now to take care of Dean. And there are zillions of (okay, a couple hundred) demons loose now, swarming all over the place. So the Winchesters have something to do for another year, since they got renewed. In another nod to the pilot episode, Dean and Sam prepare to head out to face the hordes.

There are a lot of callbacks to last season in this episode, particularly to the pilot. It looks to me like Kripke hedged his bets here, because this episode would have played very well as a series finale, if it had come down to it. Thankfully it didn't--the official announcement was made today at the CW upfronts that Supernatural will, indeed, be returning next season. And the episode also played very well as a pilot redux--an introduction to a new direction for the Brothers Winchester to follow next year, and hopefully for more years after that. Some questions were left unanswered--we still don't know why Mary recognized the demon last week--and Dean has gotten himself into a nice mess that they'll have to sort out now. So the stage is set, and while I thought this episode was just a shade melodramatic in places, overall it was nicely done. And Jensen Ackles nailed his intensely emotional scenes once again. He's been submitted by the network to be considered for an Emmy for his performance in this episode. I think he deserves it.

Kansas--Carry On Wayward Son



Boston--Don't Look Back

Good News and Bad News

This week, the networks are having their upfronts, where the schedules for next season are announced. Some good news on the NBC front--Journeyman and The Bionic Woman have been picked up. I'm not particularly excited about either of these, but it's a major network putting out genre TV, so I'm in favor. Plus Bionic Woman has Battlestar Galactica producers in its favor, and I was totally addicted to it as a kid. And Journeyman has Kevin McKidd (Rome) who's totally hot, so I'll check that out. I doubt they'll let him be Scottish, though. I wish they would, because I loves me a Scottish accent.

At Fox, Sarah Connor Chronicles has apparently also been picked up for next season. And although NBC and the CW haven't made any official announcements yet, it appears that Supernatural will be picked up for a third season (yay!), but that Jericho has been canceled (boo).

Supernatural—All Hell Breaks Loose Part I

Please tell me I'm not the only one flailing like an insane person after this episode... (Goes to check LJ. Nope.)

Good grief. Sera Gamble, you have Killed me Dead. And I'm sure Kripke had a hand in that, too. I really don't want to have to wait another week to see how this plays out, but I guess I have no choice. Man, TV sucks.

Our "Then" segment revisits the Winchester boys' previous visits to the Chosen Children, including Ava, Andy, and Max. In the "Now," Dean wants pie. Then the radio acts up while playing Boston, and when it straightens out, something horrible has happened in the cafe where Sam went to not get Dean any pie. Two people are dead inside, throats slit, and there's sulfur on the windowsill. And there's no sign of Sam.

Elsewhere, Sam awakens in an unknown location. It appears to be an abandoned town. Well, abandoned except for Andy, who also doesn't know where he is. Then they find Ava locked up in one of the buildings. She doesn't remember anything from the last few months, since last she saw Sam. She doesn't know her fiance is dead. A couple more folks, Jake and Lily, join the party. Lily is bitter about her powers--she kills people when she touches them. I think I'd be bitter about that, too. Jake isn't forthcoming about his powers. Sam tells them all about the demon.

Dean hooks up with Bobby to try to track down Sam, but there's been no paranormal activity at all for him to track. Dean has Ash on the job, as well. Ash has found something, but he won't tell Dean over the phone. Dean and Bobby head for the Roadhouse.

Jake seems skeptical about the whole demonic apocalyptic war thing, and abandons the others to work things out on his own. He's attacked by a little girl demon in one of the abandoned buildings. Sam comes in and takes her out with a poker. Jake kinda believes in demons now. Based on a landmark, an old bell, Sam determines they're in Cold Oak SD, a town so haunted that everybody left it. I thought the place looked a lot like the town from "Croatoan." Same sets, maybe? Lily is next to depart the group, and she's acting kinda sneaky. I don't trust her.

Dude! The Roadhouse is gone! Looks like it was blown up. This can't be good. The place is filled with burned bodies, one of whom appears to be Ash. Ash? No! That's just wrong. I am officially grumpy about that.

Andy finds a supply of salt. They realize Lily is missing and go to look for her. They find her hanging from the windmill. Sam thinks Lily was trying to leave and the demon stopped her. Andy tries to use his powers to contact Dean by projecting an image into his head. It works, though painfully, and Bobby is able to work out where Sam is from Dean's vision of the bell at Cold Oak.

And then the YED shows up, appearing to Sam in a dream to clarify some things. He's brought everyone here for a competition--only one of them will make it out alive. The demon only needs one of them to lead his army, and he wants Sam. He treats Sam to a flashback of his life, to the night when his mother died. Sam was fed demon blood, and Sam's mother recognized the demon. Okay, there's a twist. What was up with that? Did Mary make some kind of demonic deal before Sam was born?

Jake wakes Sam up. Ava is missing. But she's really evil. She breaks the salt line and allows a demon to come in and eviscerate poor Andy. Ava plays innocent. Sam notices the broken salt line and puts the pieces together because of how he's not a complete idiot. Ava's been in the town for five months, and has been killing other gifted kids as they have appeared. She's the current demon child champion, and has greatly increased her powers. She can control demons, and brings one in to take Sam, but Jake comes in and kills her. I'm kind of bummed by this, because I really liked Ava.

And so arrives the Impala. Dean and Bobby have to leave it behind and walk the rest of the way into the town. Sam says he and Jake have to leave, but Jake proposes that Sam sacrifice himself so Jake can kill the demon, since Jake has soldiering experience in Afghanistan, plus super strength. Sam tries to convince him otherwise, to no avail. Jake attacks Sam. Sam bests him, but can't bring himself to kill him.

Dean and Bobby arrive on the scene. While Sam is distracted by his brother's arrival, Jake comes up behind him and stabs him. Sam collapses in Dean's arms.

Okay, we know Sam can't be dead--or at least not permanently dead--because there's not going to be a show without Padalecki. But I have no idea how they're going to get themselves out of this one. Judging by the previews, next week is going to be a hell of a ride. No pun intended.

Note on the music--I'm almost positive the song in the cafe was not "Stand By Your Man," but other people seem to think it was, so I'm including the link. If I figure out what it really was, I'll link to that. But the lyrics I was able to catch in that scene were not "Stand By Your Man." And they're not coming up on Google, either, so I'm stumped for the moment.

Foreplay/Long Time--Boston


Stand By Your Man--Tammy Wynette

What Happens When You Watch Too Much TV...

You prepare for a nice morning exercising on your stationary bike while watching Season 1, episode 2 of Gilmore Girls. And then freak out because Rory's teacher is the doctor guy from Angel who kidnapped Nina and tried to feed her to all his friends--or wait! Maybe he's the other doctor guy from Enterprise! No! He's both! And Lorelei! Don't date that guy! He's a serial killer and he'll wash your hair and steal your fingernails!

Then Chad Michael Murray started hitting on Rory and my head exploded.

Not to mention my confusion last week when everybody was inexplicably calling Sam Dean.

Supernatural—What Is and What Should Never Be

Wow. Just... wow. Just when I think this show can't get any better, they air another episode and raise the bar again. This episode took several threads that have been running through the season and wove them together to heartwrenching perfection, as Dean was forced to choose between the life he thinks he wants and the life he feels he's stuck with.

The monster of the week proves to be a djinn--and a damn creepy one, with crazy tattoos, glowy blue eyes and funky teeth. As Sam says, not like Barbara Eden in harem pants. (I find it amusing that Dean has the hots for women in all the shows I used to watch after school. Daphne... Jeannie...) Dean decides to go after it on his own. (Dean! That is never a good idea! What are you thinking?) In any case, he tracks the djinn to an abandoned building, and it corners him and lays blue glowy hands on him. That can't be good.

Dean wakes up in bed next to a woman. Then he puts his shirt back on for no really good reason (I consider that a plot hole), and calls Sam. Dean doesn't know where he is. And for good reason--apparently he's in an alternate universe where he has a cool TV and wakes up next to a hot chick named Carmen on a regular basis. And Sam is still studying law. Dean's in Lawrence, Kansas, the old hometown. He's also wearing a different necklace, or at the very least it's on a nicer chain. (I'd like to know what the necklace was, but they never showed a close up. I have to assume, though, that it wasn't the protective amulet he normally wears.)

Freaking Carmen out, Dean runs from his new home and heads for his old home. Where he finds his mother alive and well, and not burning on the ceiling or stranded in the house as a ghost. His father, however, is dead--but of a stroke, and presumably not burning in hell after a deal with a demon. Dean is understandably shaken. When he wakes up the next morning and is still in the alternate universe, he starts to research djinn, trying to work out what has happened to him. Has the djinn granted his dearest wish? Or is something else going on?

Dean falls into his persona in the alternate reality every bit as easily as he's fallen into every other alias he's assumed. And alternate reality Dean isn't the greatest person. It's heartwrenching to me that he accepts this--even says it sounds like him--so easily.

At first, Dean finds lots to love in this new life. Sam is back in law school. Jessica is alive, and she and Sam are engaged. Dean's found a woman who really gets him, he has a normal, everyday job at a garage, and he gets to mow his mom's lawn (with endearingly unadulterated glee). But strange, seemingly dead people keep appearing in odd places, like his closet and the fancy restaurant where they take Mary for her birthday. And worst of all, Sam and Dean are mostly estranged.

It seems to be the latter shift in reality that disconcerts Dean the most. His one wish, that Mary hadn't died, hasn't given him the perfect life he's thought it would. And then there's the kicker--the hundreds of people the Winchesters saved when they became hunters are dead in this world, sacrificed so Dean and Sam can have a "normal" life. Dean is devastated by this. In a scene that had me weeping on my chaise, he talks to his father's grave, wondering why he and his family have had to lose so much.

As it turns out, the alternate world isn't real, but it feels real to Dean. In reality, the djinn has dosed him with some sort of hallucinogen, and is feeding off Dean's blood, as well as the blood of other victims, all hung like slabs of meat from the ceiling of the abandoned building. In the fantasy world, Dean chooses the sacrifice--willingly this time--just before Sam arrives to save him and one of the other victims from the djinn.

Some particularly nice touches--when Dean breaks into Mary's house for the silver, the sequence mirrors Dean's initial arrival in the pilot episode almost exactly--though it's a bit shorter, especially since Sam, being a wuss in this reality, barely fights back. But in spite of their estrangement, Sam tags along with Dean on the djinn hunt, though he doesn't know how to respond when Dean calls him a bitch. Also, Dean still has the Impala, though the license plate is different.

So Dean has, perhaps, finally accepted the burden of his life as a hunter. But even knowing it was the right choice, his scars obviously run deep. And I can't say enough good about Jensen Ackles' performance tonight. Padalecki did a great job, too, though his screen time was severely curtailed.

Led Zeppelin--What Is and What Should Never Be



Lynyrd Skynyrd--Saturday Night Special



Joey Ramone--It's a Wonderful World

Supernatural—Folsom Prison Blues

This week, John Shiban pens another stellar episode, this one named after a Johnny Cash song. We go back to Led Zeppelin titles next week.

At Green River County Detention Center, a cell block is re-opened after a long period of closure. Weird goings-on freak out Randall (guest star Jeff Kober, who had two memorable guest turns on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), one of the inmates. The guard who comes to settle things down is trailed by an apparition. How come ghosts never comb their hair? It traps him in one of the cells. There's a lot of screaming.

Three months later, Sam and Dean break into a museum. Dean has a plan that Sam isn't crazy about. They're arrested for breaking into the museum. Dean does his Zoolander thing for the mug shots (Blue Steel!). Agent Henrickson shows up to tell Dean he isn't adorable. None of us believe him. The public defender turns out to be hot and blonde, and she kicks Henrickson out on his ass.

The Hotties Winchester are going to be held in the Green River County Detention Center until arraignment. Coincidence? I think not. Dean promises not to trade Sam for smokes. He's such a good brother. Holy crap how did they find a guy taller than Padalecki to play Sam's cell mate? In another inside joke, Dean accuses Sam of being from Texas. Of course Ackles and Padalecki are both from Texas. Pot, meet Kettle.

As suspected, the Winchester boys have gotten themselves thrown into the prison on purpose to chase down the ghost. They're hunting the ghost as a favor to Deacon, an ex-Marine who served with their dad. Dean has a hundred percent sure escape plan. Yeah, that'll go well. Dean suspects the ghost is a previous inmate named Moody, who died of a heart attack in the recently re-opened cell block.

After starting a dust-up in the cafeteria, Dean gets put into solitary. While he's there, the ghost makes an appearance and kills Lucas, the inmate Dean dusted up with. Daniels, the public defender, has a chat with Henrickson. She's found witnesses who say Sam and Dean saved their lives. Henrickson is condescending, and dismisses the witnesses as crazy.

Dean plays poker and wins a ton of cigarettes. In talking to Randall, Sam has discovered Moody was actually beaten to death, so there might have been enough blood left behind for a haunting. They'll have to burn it out. It's Sam's turn to have a fun plan (with a reversed dialogue exchange--sometimes not funny, but in this case very funny), as he convinces Dean to goad Tiny, another inmate who's not tiny at all, into a fight, thus distracting the guards so Sam can sneak into an air vent. He makes his way to the old cell block, where he salts and burns the bloody bedclothes from Moody's cell.

In the infirmary, Tiny decides it's time to share his feelings when Dean apologizes for goading him into a fight. The ghost appears again, but it's a woman--not Moody at all. Oops. That can't be good. She attacks Dean, who flings the salt from his lunch on her and scares her off. She goes for Tiny. Poor Tiny doesn't have any lunch salt.

Sam has contacted Deacon to get them out. But they're not done, because they salted and burned the wrong remains. Randall identifies the actual ghost as a Nurse Glockner, who may or may not have killed people in the prison--again deaths by induced heart attack. Dean wants to solve the case before they leave the prison, and asks Daniels to research Glockner for him. Sam insists they're leaving the prison tonight no matter what. Dean says he's going to stay regardless. They get into a tussle in the prison yard. This turns out to be a ruse, as the guard who drags them off--the guard who's seemed to have it in for Dean throughout the show--turns out to be Deacon. He gives Dean a letter from Daniels with the research info he needs. Glockner was beaten to death by inmates in the old cell block and buried in a nearbye cemetery. With Deacon's help, the Winchesters escape.

Henrickson interrogates Deacon, then Daniels, trying to track the boys down. Daniels finally cracks and tells Henrickson about Glockner. The boys are, of course, at the gravesite so they can do the salt and burn. Henrickson heads for the cemetery. The boys dig up the grave, but back at the prison, Glockner pays a visit to Deacon. Sam and Dean burn the body just in time to save him.

In the meantime, Henrickson's pursuit proves fruitless--Daniels sent him to the wrong cemetery.

Henrickson's return provides more continuity, stretching all the way back to "Skin," from season one. He seems dead set on ignoring the evidence Daniels presents, even though he's talked to those folks himself. In some ways he's degenerating into an extreme version of the standard skeptic character. He seemed more layered last time we saw him, so this is a bit disappointing.

That's the only thing I found disappointing about this episode, though. The case felt a bit too familiar, but the backdrop and the interplay between the brothers was extremely well-done. Dean's ease in falling into his role as convict--and his lack of concern about this ability--was both amusing and revealing. Sam managed to act like annoying little brother as well as competent fighter at the same time, while Dean balanced his competent fighter persona with horndog smartass with equal aplomb.

The worst thing about this episode? It's number 19, which means there are only 3 episodes left to this season. It's going to be a long summer.

Of Note:
During the last commercial break, there was an ad for Supernatural: Origins, the comic book tie-in coming out next month. Yep, mine's on pre-order. Check out the preview here. But be careful out there, folks--the Flash presentation gave me motion sickness.

Supernatural on iTunes:



Booker T. & The MGs--Green Onions




Johnny Cash--Folsom Prison Blues




Alice in Chains--Rooster

Supernatural—Hollywood Babylon

There's no point trying to recap this episode, because everything that made it great just falls flat in recap format. Ben Edlund was in fine form, providing a script that skewered his own industry every bit as thoroughly as he did with "Smile Time" (Angel), and all the while maintaining a relevant story and some great character moments for the Hotties Winchester. The episode wasn't so much sprinkled as flooded with inside jokes, some of which would probably go over the heads of all but the most devoted Supernatural fans, but many that were readily accessible to most viewers, making the humor rewarding for anybody who might tune in.

The basic story--Sam and Dean visit a reportedly haunted movie set and tackle ghosts who are murdering folks involved with the production. The twist--the ghosts are being controlled by the movie's original scriptwriter, whose screenplay is being progressively massacred by the suits, who know nothing about storytelling. (And every screenwriter in Hollywood says, "Amen.")

The inside jokes fly fast and furious, from Sam's being frightened off the bus by the specter of The Gilmore Girls (Jared Padalecki was a Gilmore boy for several seasons) to comments that the weather in LA is "practically Canadian" (they film, of course, in Vancouver). I know at least some of the notes mentioned by Brad (Gary Cole) were based on actual notes provided to Supernatural's creators (the comment about the show being too dark is one of them). The movie's director is McG--one of Supernatural's executive producers. In the middle of the episode, we're treated to a fake trailer for the movie-in-the-show, HellHazers II, The Reckoning, from the director of Charlie's Angels (McG, of course). (This film is not yet rated.) Erik Kripke's not-so-stellar horror movie, Boogeyman, is skewered right along with the network suits, so the satire is equal opportunity. And non-stop. And hysterical.

Joining its predecessors, "Hell House" and "Tall Tales," "Hollywood Babylon" provides a brilliantly comedic break from the intensity of last week's "Heart," leading into what promises to be an angst-fest as the season wraps up. I'm glad this show's creators have the inclination and the courage to take these forays into pure comedy from time to time--another aspect of this show that begs comparison with The X-Files. It works every bit as well for this show as it did for that one.

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News

Some news this morning.

Rumor has it Jericho has been picked up for a second season. Please note--rumor. SyFy Portal is reporting this here, again with disclaimers that CBS has still not made an official announcement.

A similar rumor is floating around that Supernatural has earned a season three. While this would not surprise me, and the Magic 8 Ball says, "All signs point to yes," it's still unofficial.

If you'd like to make your voice heard regarding renewal of your favorite shows, drop by USA Today and participate in their SOS survey. It's much more comprehensive than other similar efforts being presented on the net, and also gives voters a chance to talk about why they've voted for their favorite shows, and a chance to be interviewed in a follow-up.

In other news, the new episode of Bones that was supposed to air this Wednesday has been pulled from the schedule because of the horrible shootings yesterday at Virginia Tech. The storyline involved a murder on a college campus, so it was probably the right thing to do. No word yet on when the episode will re-air.

Buy Sam and Dean's Clothes

Dude, this is so cool.

At the CW store, you can buy clothes that are the same brands and styles Sam and Dean wore in different Supernatural episodes. Unfortunately I can't wear men's jeans. I can so wear men's shirts, though... Off to check the credit card balance...

Supernatural—Heart

Madison, this week's damsel in distress, is hanging out in a bar with her friends after work when her boss comes on to her. She handles it smoothly, then freaks and leaves when she catches sight of another man across the bar. The next morning at work, she finds her boss mutilated on his desk.

"Detective" Sam Winchester views the body in the morgue and questions the doctor, who says the man looks like he was attacked by a wolf. Also, his heart was missing. Apparently there's a pattern of mutilated bodies with their hearts removed, the deaths occurring just before the full moon. Dean is stoked--he thinks werewolves are cool and is looking forward to facing off against one. They go to have a chat with Madison. Madison mentions that her ex-boyfriend Kurt recently attacked her boss--Kurt being the man she saw in the bar.

Detectives Landis and Dante (John and Joe, the directors of An American Werewolf in London and The Howling, respectively), head out to investigate Kurt and look in his freezer for human hearts behind the Haagen Dazs. In the street below, a cop is attacked by something growly. Sam and Dean find the cop mutilated.

Feeling Madison needs protection, Sam and Dean duke it out with rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to stay with the "hot chick." Sam wins. Dean's scissors obsession cracks me up. Sparks fly between Sam and Madison, and before it's all over we get one of the hottest sex scenes I've ever seen on network TV. And that includes last season's smokin' hot bit between Dean and Cassie in "Route 666."

As the story plays out, the parallels between Sam and Madison are obvious but not hammered home--it all just hangs there in the subtext waiting until we feel safe and then it all comes out and eviscerates us. And Sam, who has his heart ripped out every bit as thoroughly as the werewolves' victims. (Yes, this is a pretty on-the-nose metaphor, but for some reason it worked, unlike the on-the-nose metaphors in "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things"). Like Sam, Madison has a monster inside her, but with her it's explicit, and no one can cure it. Like Sam, Madison is willing to die to keep from being this monster. And like Dean, Sam must face the necessity of having to kill someone he cares about to save her from herself. Dean offers to take on Sam's burden, but Sam refuses. Faced with the unthinkable, he cowboys up and does what he has to do. If and when the time comes, can Dean do anything less?

I really didn't see anything not to love in this episode. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles both knocked it out of the park, but Padalecki got another spotlight this week and he did it proud. This performance, while not quite as showy, was every bit as good as his turn in "Born Under a Bad Sign." Emmanuelle Vaugier was very good as Madison, and Sera Gamble gave us yet another heart-wrenching roller coaster ride. Kudos all around.


Supernatural at iTunes: