A bunch of things I like about Supernatural so far

[rusty_halo]

I can't get "Wanted Dead or Alive" out of my head. That was the best use of a Bon Jovi song... possibly ever.

I love how well this show uses music. They won a million bonus points for Alice in Chains' "Rooster." Soundgarden's "Fell on Black Days" was awesome to hear, too. "Carry On Wayward Son" in the previouslys before the finales was perfect. And "Back in Black" for the return of the Impala! It reminds me of Life on Mars UK--different genre, but same really effective use of rock music to create a sense of time/place/atmosphere/mood and to reflect what's going on with the story and characters.

I love the aliases--when Dean introduced himself as "Dr. James Hetfield" I choked on my drink, and I love that someone called him on "John Bonham." Hello, these names are recognizable! Also, apparently I spent a disturbing amount of my childhood reading metal magazines.

Oh, and speaking of aliases, I loved them using "Dante and Landis" when they were investigating werewolves! Sam using "Wedge Antilles" kind of pushed the brink of believability, but I'll forgive it because I am always a sucker for a Star Wars reference.

And the "Back to the Future" episode! There is some essay in here about postmodernism and the pleasures of cultural nostalgia, but I'm inarticulate today so all I can say is that it made me happy.

I like that they cite their influences with little in-jokes. I grew up on Ghostbusters and Scooby Doo and (a bit later) X-Files. This show feels like a love letter to all of those things.

Other stuff that made me happy:

* That in the reality TV episode, the boys cursed like sailors. Of course if they would if they weren't subject to network censorship.
* That Dean has calmly faced all kinds of horrible monsters, but had a panic attack when his car was stolen.
* That it took Dean half a season to admit that he didn't want to die and go to hell.
* That Assistant Director Skinner is their grandfather!
* "If you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk." THEY QUOTED THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY. THEY WIN AT LIFE.

I'm still stuck on how interesting the family dynamic is. Even though the father has barely been in the show, his presence looms over everything. It's such great writing--each character is fully realized, complex, and three-dimensional. They all have flaws and issues that make sense given their personalities and life experiences. Their conflicts and disagreements come from who they are as characters--nothing feels forced in order to create conflict. They each have unique and interesting relationships to the others. You get why John is emotionally closed-off and obsessed and wants to teach his kids to protect themselves; you get why Dean hero-worships his father and is devoted to his little brother and wants so desperately to keep the family together; you get why Sam looks up to Dean, why he clashes with John, why he wants to be able to get out and live his own life. (Even at the same time as you're like "John, stop fucking up your children!" and "Sam, stop whining!" and "Oh, Dean.") It's really so well-written.

There's more, but I'm too blurry and tired today to remember what I wanted to say. I'm thinking maybe it would be a good idea to try to sleep more than four hours tonight. Crazy talk, I know, when there is still more Supernatural to watch!

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