Supernatural Season 3

[Starbreaker]

Well, Supernatural is now my favorite show in production. I'm almost done with season 3, and I'll definitely be caught up by the time Season 6 begins.

After a hit and miss season one, with a fantastic season two, I've been mostly impressed with Season 3. Watching Sam and Dean interact is my new anti-drug.

Season 3 has been mostly one-shot humorous episodes, but they've been hysterical. I think Mystery Spot is my new favorite episode. They managed to poke fun at Groundhog Dog and the X-Files episode Monday in the first before turning it into a seriously gut-wrenching second half.

A Very Supernatural Christmas was a great episode with some fantastic flashbacks. Nice to see some of the Winchester brothers childhood other than their mother's death.

The supporting characters are all fantastic. I like Bobby, Henriksen, the Crossroads Demon, Bela, Ruby, etc.

I'm up to Ghostfacers right now. Pretty good rip on Ghost Hunters. Reminds me of the X-Files/Cops episode.

 

[startrekwatcher]

I thought season 3 was uneven. I haven't really decided where it fits in but I definitely remember the snark from Dean went into overdrive this year and really turned me off on him and the comedy episodes were too many. I know I didn't enjoy it quite as much as seasons 1, 2 or 4(still my favorite season)

I thought the opener was decent--not great. Couldn't stand Bad Day at Black Rock, Bedtime Stories, Dream a Little Dream. I liked Katie's Ruby and the much loathed by fans Bela but did not like in the least the two recurring bumblers that went after Sam and Dean early in the season.

I think I might put season 5 ahead of season 3 even though I wasn't too crazy about season 5 either.

Season 3 has been mostly one-shot humorous episodes, but they've been hysterical. I think Mystery Spot is my new favorite episode. They managed to poke fun at Groundhog Dog and the X-Files episode Monday in the first before turning it into a seriously gut-wrenching second half.

It seems you aren't alone with many loving "Mystery Spot" but I didn't like it at all. You could definitely tell it needed a few more passes but the writers strike that year prevented that. The whole repeating loop of time has been imitated over the years from TXF to SG1 to this episode but it will never come close to the TNG classic Brannon Braga-penned episode "Cause and Effect" that was the first to dare to do a show where the same scenes repeat with subtle differences.

I also hate the Trickster so that didn't help. The first 3/4 was just boring. Some of the Sam w/o Dean stuff was passable.

A Very Supernatural Christmas was a great episode with some fantastic flashbacks. Nice to see some of the Winchester brothers childhood other than their mother's death.

This was definitely one of the better episodes. Loved the little callback "Special Presentation" logo animation that started off the episode that CBS used on all its Christmas specials. As became the case with SN over the years the supernatural macguffin wasn't that clever or interesting nor was the cliche of the brothers in jeopardy yet again but the flashbacks and the emotional core is what really worked. One of my all time favorites from the series run.

Malleus, Jus in Bello, Fresh Blood, No Rest for the Wicked and this one were my top picks for the season.

I'm up to Ghostfacers right now. Pretty good rip on Ghost Hunters. Reminds me of the X-Files/Cops episode.

I enjoyed this one too.

 

[mimic]

To me "Jus in Bello" is the standout episode of the season. I adore that "I shot the sheriff" line. The ones I disliked were "Red Sky at Morning" and "Time Is on My Side."

It's funny...two things convinced me to check out Supernatural. One was Starbreaker's original season 1 thread and all the comments about how good the show gets. The other was talking to this random girl at a tailgate before one of my football games last fall...we talked about TV shows, discovered we had identical taste, and she raved about SPN so I thought why not.

Wish they'd release season 5 on DVD already.

 

[Starbreaker]

I just started Season 4... that's 40 episodes over the span of about two weeks. Damn you Route 666 for being such a bad introduction to the series!

 

[startrekwatcher]

You'll really enjoy season 4--it is the best season of the show. Lots of big important mythology/backstory episodes. This season they balanced character with plot as best as they ever did.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

I adored Mystery Spot.

 

[mswood]

I have a love hate relationship with season 3. It suffered from a huge blow by the writers strike. It had some great, great episodes, but it also had some poor to awful episodes.

I also had a huge problem with Dean up until Fresh Blood, and that was how he was showing that it wasn't bothered by going to hell (and his snark). Sure I know it was so supposed to be over the top and forced, but I really got tired of it.

It features the worst opener SN has ever had. And what might be its very worst episode (I still will not type its title). And it featured several early soft episodes, Bedtime Stories, Sin City, for example.

But it also produced Fresh Blood (minus the teaser one of my favorite episodes of the show ever), A Very Supernatural Christmas (which I still wish would have been darker, yeah sue me, but it is still a classic for the show), mystery Spot (of which my main regret is the comedy aspect of the episode lasted too long, I still liked it and I don't usually like comedy much, but the last ten minutes of this episode should have been twenty. I wanted to drown in Sam's despair. Those ten minutes are some of my favorite Sam moments ever. Jus in Bello, their best kick ass action episode, ever. I loved, loved Time is on My Side (in truth a better rounded episode then the season ender), and No Rest for the wicked (which I would like a lot more if they had cut way back the over played Lilith scenes with the family, I didn't care, at all).

But season 4, while some hate season 4 (a very small number), in my opinion its the finest work the show has produced. Its the season that in my mind is a classic season of TV. I honestly think it was my favorite season of any show that year that I watched.

 

[Checkmate]

And what might be its very worst episode (I still will not type its title).

I agree, it's best to force people to become psychic to have any clue what you're talking about.

 

[startrekwatcher]

^Red Sky at Morning I suspect since I know many hated it in large part due to the much hated Bela. Me personally I liked it.

 

[startrekwatcher]

But season 4, while some hate season 4 (a very small number), in my opinion its the finest work the show has produced. Its the season that in my mind is a classic season of TV. I honestly think it was my favorite season of any show that year that I watched.

I would tend to agree although I enjoyed LOST season 5 a lot more so it would be in my top spot. SN probably second.

Prison Break Season Four--the show found its footing again although the episodes when they came back from the winter finale weren't nearly as good and the series finale was a tad weak. SN is probably a tad bit higher up.

Heroes Season 3--a true mess. SN wins.

BSG S 4.5--all over the place. The only thing that saved it was the series finale which was stronger than SN's finale that year. SN wins.

Damages Season two-boooooring. SN wins

The Legend of the Seeker season one--I enjoyed this quite a bit.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

You liked Red Sky at Morning, startrekwatcher? Oh, that episode was bloody awful. There was a lot more wrong with it than just Bela.

 

[Checkmate]

Was that the ghost ship one?

I didn't have a problem with it either. Not a favorite, but not this abysmally world-ending catastrophe some "fans" apparently make it out to be. Felt the same way about Route 666 and Bugs, too.

Even allegedly crappy Supernatural episodes are pretty good.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Yes, that was the ghost ship one. The whole "mystery" fell totally flat for me. Fresh Blood, which followed, was excellent.

 

[mswood]

Actually I didn't hate Bela. I loved the actress and her performance of the character, and I really, really enjoyed her in Bad Day at Black Rock, Jus In Bello and Time Is on My Side.

The big problem with Bela wasn't the actress or the character, but in how the two leads reacted to her. It didn't fit the situation or their history at all. And as such it takes me out of the episode immediately. Its one of the reasons I hated Changing Channels so much.

I mean seriously, in their very first encounter what type of mind set are the boys in. Dean has just watched Sam die. There has not been anything so traumatic happen to him in his life. Period. It was so bad he made a deal with a demon to go to hell. Then we have Sam who has just discovered that Dean is going to spend eternity in hell because of him. He is having to now devote himself to saving his brother (and we see how truly serious Sam is taking this, I mean he is willing to turn himself into an immortal being who would need to harvest the organs of others throughout eternity to live. Thats shows how far sam is really taken this).

So what happens, Bela deliberately and with full knowledge of the consequences cosigns them both to death. With no remorse what so ever. She simply doesn't care (why we find out later). She also takes a firearm and shoots Sam. At a time when setting on a bed can be fatal.

There is no way either character would ever, ever not treat her as a deadly threat (they treat her as an annoyance). Neither would risk it. Period. And the guys have taken women as mortal threats before, so just the fact that she's female isn't going to stop them from taking her as a threat.

So of course this episode they play it for complete laughs. With banter and humor (of which for myself almost all fails flat, I did like Dean's reaction to the Chevy being missing) that makes them seem like rivals who annoy each other.

Take Ghostfacers an over the top comedy episode, yet Sam and Dean stay really true to themselves in this episode, and most of the over the top humor is not at the expense of their character history (but at the Ghostfacers, which is consistent with their history).

I mean just look at how the guys treat Gordon. Both Sam and Dean are a solid front, no question Gordon must die. And why is that, because he is a mortal threat to Sam.

Now by Jus in Bello the guys are taking her as a serious threat (and do for the rest of the series), but it should have happened at the very end of her first episode.

A good comparison would be in Ruby (who I really liked in season three, sorry Mrs. Padalecki). From the very start the guys don't trust her. And its a thread that is utterly consistent through the entire season. Sure they take help from her and sure Sam stays in contact with her, but Sam is trying to use her to get what he desperately needs. ANd both Dean and Sam make it perfectly clear that they do not trust her. Hell Dean tries several times in the season to kill her because of the possible threat to his brother.

 

[L8Nite]

I love this show but this last season was a bit of a let down. There were some good episodes but I just wasn't feeling it as much this season.

Hoping next season will be better. I really liked the second and third seasons.

 

[startrekwatcher]

I love this show but this last season was a bit of a let down. There were some good episodes but I just wasn't feeling it as much this season.

Yeah I've been rewatching season 5 this summer thinking maybe my harsh assessment of it this year was wrong but so far I still thought it was a wash for the most part. There were only a few episodes that are as good now as when I originally watched them(Children are Our Future, Abandon All Hope, My Bloody Valentine) but even some I enjoyed initially weren't as good as I remembered i.e. "The End" or "Good God Y'All" and the ones I didn't like originally I still think suck(Curious Case of Dean Winchester, Canging Channels, Free to Be You and Me, Sam Interrupted, Swap Meat)

 

[mswood]

I had a bit of the reverse. While I still find it to be very similar to season 3 (in being uneven), some elements I wasn't that thrilled with a liked better watching back to back. For example I really liked the flow of the first four episodes much more on a straight viewing (some with the last three, and episodes 13-16). I still have the same problem though with the comedy episodes (in general, though I still like The Real Ghostfacers, its odd as comedy is so not my thing) and several of the stand alones that just didn't sink their teeth into the material.

But what I did do was watched some of those episodes to some of what I thought were average episodes of season 1 and 2 and 3, and I really didn't see much difference in quality. But with the show building their world as a much darker place, it just sticks out so much more as not fitting into the character situations of that time.