Series 1, Episode 6: Skin

Do not readjust your web page. This is not an illusion. I really am watching two episodes in the SAME DAY! I've gone totally mad! Let's do this! 

This one is called "Skin" which isn't giving too much away. I have no ideas...except maybe people's skin starts coming off and walking around like a big floppy hollow zombie?..That would be pretty gross. It won't be that at all, which will come as a great relief.

So here's a random thing I just noticed. This episode is directed by Robert Duncan McNeil who I recognised as the same guy who played Tom Paris in Star Trek Voyager. That's interesting. Never let it be said that this blog is in no way educational. I'm still waiting for my Doctor Who crossover though. I'm hoping I don't have to wait for Mark Sheppard to crop up before I get one. 

It's a shapeshifter! That's cool. He's going round framing people by committing murders whilst looking like the people that he's framing. I'm not really sure why but I guess it will be explained (note from future me: it wasn't!) I'm about halfway through and so far it's another really good episode. I am slightly concerned though. Nearly every shape shifting story will have that scene where the creature transforms into one of the main characters and there is a stand off where they are each trying to convince the other heroes of the episode that they are the real one. "He's the creature, not me!" etc. I really hope that doesn't happen. But assuming that it will it'll be fun to try to guess who he will turn into out of Sam and Dean. I think he'll turn into Dean. That's my prediction. 

In fact I've just remembered there was a flash forward at the start of the episode where Dean is caught by the police for an apparent attack...oh good lord, it's going to happen! 

Dean and Sam chase the shapeshifter through the streets and then decide to split up which is insanely dumb! First of all, if you are in a horror movie type situation and someone suggests to split up then you punch that person square in the face, without a second of hesitation, and tell them not to be so bloody stupid! Splitting up is always bad. Safety in numbers! Secondly, you certainly shouldn't do it if the person you are chasing has the ability to change his appearance! It's just giving the creature an open invitation to morph into one of the characters doing the chasing and thereby infiltrate the gang of good guys! Dumb dumb dumb! Sure enough when Dean and Sam regroup, Dean has a certain giveaway glow in his eyes. 

After losing a massive amount of respect for the pair, I have managed to find some for Sam when he quickly picks up on the imposter. Gold star for him.

This episode has some of the coolest practical effects I've seen in a television programme. Unfortunately a lot of TV effects these days are CGI, which I guess is easier to do. But I always find that CGI takes you out of the story as it never looks as convincing as an actual practical effect happening on screen. As the creature morphs out of the persona of Dean we see some pretty gross but effective effects (I hate that I've said "effective effects" there but I can't think how else to put it. I'm tired! This is why I don't normally watch and blog two episodes in a row!). Skin tearing and teeth popping out etc. It's gruesome stuff! Incidentally, did you know that one of the most common dreams that people have is a dream of their teeth falling out? You see, this blog is being educational again! It's not a dream I've ever had to be honest and I judge, rather harshly, those weirdos who have had it. 

Well that was pretty good. I didn't enjoy it as much as some of the others but it was alright. I'm hoping the series will develop more of a story arc across the episodes. I know we have the story of the missing father and Sam is looking for Jessica's killer but it's not something that is ever really tied into the episodes so far. Hopefully it will become more like that in the future. At the moment it's kind of a "monster of the week" show. I'm still enjoying it though. 

Series 1, Episode 5: Bloody Mary

Right, I really need to pick up the pace here with this blog! I'm only just starting the second disc for goodness sake! It's another bank holiday weekend, I'm shattered after being to about a zillion 30th birthday parties (well, three parties to be precise) and so today I'm going to chill out with a Supernatural. I may even go crazy and watch two! I'm enjoying the series so far but I can't say that it's gripped me yet. But I'm only 4 episodes in so a little early to judge. Besides I said I would watch the whole series even if it turns out I hate it.

Well this episode was bloody fantastic! I really enjoyed it. I've always been slightly creeped out by mirrors and especially that idea of looking up and suddenly seeing someone stood behind you. Couple that idea with a creepy girl similar to The Ring then you have a winner of an episode.

I have to question the decorative style of the house at the start though. Just how many mirrors do you need in one corridor?! In fact, why do you need a mirror in a corridor at all?! It did allow the unnerving scene where we saw Bloody Mary stalking the father as he walked to the bathroom though (to look in yet another mirror!). His daughter then sees blood pouring out from under the bathroom door and bursts in to investigate. We don't get to see what she sees but from her blood curdling scream she has either found her father dead, or viciously masturbating. Both would be truely horrific!

I enjoyed the episode but I think I'm over thinking things again. An example being when I paused the episode for 10 minutes as I desperately tried to work out if Cary Bryman (a name found daubed on the back of one of the mirrors) was an anagram for anything as it seemed to close to the word "Mary". Failing to find any satisfying result I unpaused the episode only to discover that the very next scene dealt with the identity of Cary Bryman and it wasn't an anagram for anything at all! 

We also got some development in the story of Sam and Jessica which was great. For the last few episodes Sam has been having nightmares of the time he found Jessica pinned to the ceiling and then catching fire (oh we've all had those crazy days at university) but now it is revealed that he was in fact having those nightmares BEFORE it actually happened. Intriguing! To be fair though I don't think he should feel too guilty. We all have so many dreams that one day you are bound to have one about something that then actually happens. For example, I had a dream that something went wrong with my car and then the next week it did. On the other hand I also had a dream that Tom Daley left his boyfriend and confessed his undying love for me and that, sadly, has not come to pass....yet...

Series 1, Episode 4: Phantom Traveler

It's the bank holiday weekend! Woohoo! 

It's Saturday night and I'm stopping in for a chilled out weekend as I have three birthday weekends in a row coming up after this one! All my friends are turning 30. It's very depressing. What's even more depressing is that I turned 30 six months ago! 

Anyway I mustn't complain. I had a bit of a health scare earlier on today which isn't completely resolved yet but I'm sure everything will be fine. And if not then I better get cracking with getting through all these Supernatural episodes! 

This one is called "Phantom Traveler". The first thing that springs to mind for me is that it sounds like a ghostly hitchhiker but they had one of them in the first episode and they can't be repeating themselves already. That wouldn't bode well for the many seasons to come if they are already running out of ideas by episode 4!

Something has occurred to me whilst watching this episode. Dean and Sam buy some smart new suits in order to pass themselves off as Homeland Security so that they can gain access to a warehouse. Where do they get their money for the suits? In fact where do they get money in general? Do they get paid by the people they help? I'd love to have seen the moment when the woman in the last episode was presented with the bill for saving her kid with a ps at the bottom saying "sorry your Dad drowned".

I'm really enjoying this episode so far. A demon is possessing people who are waiting to board a plane and then those people are making the planes crash. After some people survive a plane crash, the demon (which looks a bit like the gas monster from Lost. Having flashbacks now as to how shit that show turned out to be!) is picking them off one by one as they board their next flights. Unfortunately one of the survivors was an air stewardess so it's not long before she is back on a flight and after a failed attempt to stop her boarding, Sam and Dean end up boarding the plane with her, knowing that they only have 40 minutes to figure out a way to defeat the demon before the plane crashes. It's all pretty tense!

I thought it was pretty funny how Dean and Sam were having a fairly loud conversation in the airport about how they knew the plane was going to crash. I wouldn't dare speak like that in an airport! You'd get carted off and locked up somewhere. They stopped short of talking about bombs at least!

And again, where do they get the money to buy these last minute flights? Sam's student loan? 

I also like how Dean is scared of flying. His character can come across pretty cocky most of the time so it's nice to see some vulnerability to him as it makes me warm to him a little more. To be fair though, I'm not scared of flying at all but even I would be absolutely crapping myself if I were on a plane knowing that there was demon on board who was determined to crash the plane 40 minutes into the flight! 

Another good episode. No disappointments in this series so far!