The First Time – Supernatural Virgins Watch and React To The Pilot
Believe it or not, there are still some people in the world who have never exposed themselves to the greatness that is Supernatural. Since we just canโt have that, Nightsky and I decided to try and make it right. We each found two friends who had never seen Supernatural and sat down with them to watch the pilot and ask a few questions. While Iโm not sure weโve created any new die-hard Supernatural fans, weโve certainly peaked some interest. Weโre also probably responsible for a few nightmares.
Interview #1
Before watching:
Have you heard of Supernatural before?ย How?
Nightsky told me about it when she described that she was writing for a TV show, but before that I had never heard of it.
What do you think Supernatural is about?
Supernatural stuff – Ghosts, spirits
Do you know anything about the characters or the story?
I read one article by Nightsky so Iโve learned that itโs about two brothers doing good deeds.ย I donโt know anything about the story other than that. [She previously knew and always liked Jared from Gilmore Girls].
What is your overall impression of the show?
Itโs creepy.
After watching:
Now what do you think Supernatural is about?
โCreepy, scary supernatural crapโ
Any predictions about how the plot will unfold?
No. (even after I told her the ending of the Pilot)
What did you like about the pilot?
Sam. (as an afterthought, โand Deanโ).ย โGood looking guys.โ
โMusic.โ
โCar looked pretty cool.โ
What did you not like about it?
โCreepy, scary.โ
โThe story, the ghosts, the fire, the gore.โ
What are your impressions of Sam and Dean?
โJust good looking guys. Seemed like decent characters.โ
โDean is kind of a smart ass.โ
Would you watch more?
No.
Interview #2
Before watching:
Have you heard of Supernatural before?ย How?
Yes, I have seen commercials on TV and I’ve heard Sofia talk about it.
What do you think Supernatural is about?
Two brothers who hunt monsters and ghosts and other Supernatural-type stuff.
Do you know anything about the characters or the story?
Not much. I know they are brothers and that there is something weird going on with their family. I think their mom died, I’m not sure about their dad though. I know there’s an angel.
What is your overall impression of the show?
I know there are a lot of people who are really into the show. I think it’s more of a cult show. It seems interesting, probably a little too scary for me.
After watching:
Now what do you think Supernatural is about?
Two brothers trying to find something that killed their mother and Sam’s girlfriend. They are also looking for their father who is also a hunter. It seems like theyโll be hunting along the way too.
Any predictions about how the plot will unfold?
I really have no idea. I assume they’ll kill whatever killed their mother and probably find their father. After that they will probably continue to hunt ghosts and stuff.
What did you like about the pilot?
I like Sam and Dean. I think the actors have good chemistry. Plus, they’re nice to look at.
What did you not like about it?
It seems a little dark. Also, we donโt get to know much about Dean in this episode. I want to know why he feels more compelled to hunt than Sam.
What are your impressions of Sam and Dean?
Dean seems angry with Sam for wanting to go to law school and be safe. He seems really close to his father. Sam seems ashamed of his past. But it is clear that they care about each other.
Would you watch more?
I think so. I don’t like scary shows but I am curious about what happens next.
Interview #3
Before watching:
Had you heard of Supernatural before? How?ย ย ย ย ย ย
Yes. ย She saw commercials. ย It was a long time ago…then the show disappeared and she lost track of it.
What did you think Supernatural is about?ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Something about spirits. ย Did not think it was about urban legends; more about ghost stories.ย
Do you know anything about the characters or the story?
No.
What is your overall impression of the show?
Neutral. ย She just didn’t know when it would be on to watch it. She could take it or leave it.
After:
Now what do you think Supernatural is about?
Urban legends.
Any predictions about how the plot will unfold?
No. The brothers traveling around the country helping people that are affected by the urban legends. ย She thinks it will be more about Sam; Some connection about Sam and the supernatural; something that Dean will help Sam deal with.
What did you like about the pilot?
The Winchesters were a happy family (before the fire). ย Dean had a great connection with his dad. ย Dean is the person that is the glue between the father and Sam. ย Dean is the one that remembers the mom. He is the one that has the connection with all three members of the family. The pilot by itself doesn’t give a lot of information to base guesses on.
What did you not like about the pilot? ย
1. The mother got killed right away. You never got a chance to know what her character was like and what part of her character would be shared with her sons. She would have liked to know what part of the boys came from the mom.
2. It wasn’t too scary. She expected that the lady in white was a ghost, so wasn’t too freaked out by the scary parts of the story.
What are your impressions of Sam and Dean?
There is something going on with Sam. ย Some ghostly spirit wants to possess him. ย It was too much of a coincidence that the spirit went to HIS room and no other room in the house. ย It was too much of a coincidence that HIS girlfriend was killed and no one else.
Dean is there for the fight; Sam is there for the connection to something more supernatural.
Would you watch more?
Yes. Curious.
Interview #4
Before watching:
Have you heard of Supernatural before?ย How?
Yes, Sofia told me about it.
What do you think Supernatural is about?
These two brothers go around and fight supernatural beings.ย
Do you know anything about the characters or the story?
Brothers Dean and Sam Winchester. ย Something happens with their dad and sister involving death. There is someone on the ceiling. They have a car and fight over chicks.
What is your overall impression of the show?
I think the idea is really interesting, but supernatural topics give me nightmares, so I never invested myself in the show.
After watching:
Now what do you think Supernatural is about?
I still think itโs about two brothers who fight supernatural beings but now I know the reason behind it.
Any predictions about how the plot will unfold?
Sam will never be able to be involved with another girl because heโll be afraid that anyone he gets close to will die. Iโm not sure whatโs going on with their dad and the coordinates. Maybe heโll keep sending them on a trail? It seems like people dying on the ceiling could be a recurring theme. There wasnโt much about Dean in the pilot so I canโt make any predictions for him.
What did you like about the pilot?
It really drew me into the story and made me curious but I absolutely couldnโt keep watching.
What did you not like about it?
Nothing except that it was too scary. Oh, and the Dean name confusion since I knew Sam from Gilmore Girls where he played Dean.
What are your impressions of Sam and Dean?
Dean didnโt have much depth in this episode but what I did get was his gung-ho, โletโs do thisโ attitude. It seems like Sam is going to be bitter and angry now as a result of his girlfriendโs death.
Would you watch more?
I donโt think I can.
So what do you all think of these reactions? I was surprised by how scary this pilot seemed to these newbies. I guess Iโve built up quite a tolerance over the years.ย
Hmm kind of surprised at the reactions. I have never thought the show was particularly scary. I was attracted by the relationships, the devotion of the brothers to each other. The first episode I sat all the way through was In My Time of Dying so I got a big dose of that! The woo woo stuff was icing on the cake. I think you need to be somewhat comfortable with this genre in the first place to get involved in the story. Looks like two possible converts maybe. ๐
Thanks for this Nightsky and Sofia. It was an interesting exercise! Plus it is so nice to see the WFB back to business as usual!
So glad the site is up and running!
I’m thinking that these virgins didn’t watch X-files either. I can think of many X-file episodes that are way creepier than the Supernatural pilot.
Very interesting though. I wonder how many Supernatural fans were/are also Buffy, Angel, X-files fans. Maybe that could be a new MTV numbers survey:)
I got my sister and brother-in-law interested in the show. Season 7 was the first season they watched live.
They are always telling me how scary they think it is but, I have never found the show particularly scary. Also, I am surprised that the relationships and the “where is this going” wasn’t enough to overcome most of the newbies fear.
Hoping they will give it another watch. If not, their loss! ๐
It’s so interesting to see SPN from a new perspective. Also never saw SPN as particularly scary (especially the pilot) but perhaps I have been desensitised to the burning on the ceiling thing by now! Amazing that Sam and Deans’ characters are evident to the “virgins” from the get go. So many reviews of the first season slate the acting, but here you have newbies able to point out pretty accurately, their personalities, so the acting couldn’t’ have been that bad. Also the chemistry between Jensen and Jared is palpable even in the pilot. Just goes to show how important chemistry is for these shows!!! I believe SPN wouldn’t have made it past season 5 if it wasn’t for the chemistry. (Well [i]that[/i] and amazing story telling, amazing plots, amazing directing, crew, casting, fans…..
Wouldn’t the newbies have been more impressed if they had been shown some later episode – more dramatic (like In my time of dying ) or more funny one? The thing is all the stories are so tightly woven together! Hardly understandable without lots of explanations.
Oh my, I can’t stop posting – so happy to have TWFB back! ( Happy tears…)
#1) Welcome back WFB! You were sorely missed while off line. [b]THANK YOU ALICE[/b] for working so tirelessly to restore this site. [u]Your efforts are greatly appreciated.[/u]
#2) Thanks for this article, Sofia and Nightsky.
I think most of us are so tuned in to the brotherly interaction that we have grown somewhat jaded to the horror aspect of the show. An SPN video that I recently found on youtube reminded me of that very fact. Granted the music that was selected really plays up the fear factor, but one look at these accumulated images cements in your mind that our show [i]IS[/i] in the “horror” genre!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_fyhjDvsy4&feature=youtu.be
Wow this is was a phenomenal exercise. I would love to see more :))
So glad to see this site back :))
Would you mind if I tried this exercise myself, with different questions?
I will also credit your site for giving me the idea.
I have a Facebook page Supernatural-Diehard Fans
Thank You
Booklady, I wondered the exact same thing about whether there is a correlation between liking SPN and other shows like Buffy, Angel, etc! I can attest that I was a fan of those shows, plus X-files, all Star Trek, Xena, Star Gates,,,in fact a long line of shows that are on the Creation Entertainment convention list. I never considered the creepy ones “horror” though. I have always considered myself (and my husband who shares an interest in all these shows) to be SciFi fans. Yet the people responsible for SPN categorize it as “horror”. I CANNOT watch other things categorized as horror. For ex. I have NEVER seen any of the Fri the 13th movies even with Jared in them, or any of the other classic horror shows. I don’t understand why, but I have never been scared by SPN. As others mentioned, though, I didn’t start with the pilot. My first show was deep into S4, when Sam’s intrigue was huge, so I fell in love with the drama of the characters first.
I can confirm that [i]neither[/i] of my interviewees like any of the genre shows I mentioned above, and [i]neither[/i] of them like horror AT ALL. The first interviewee was [i]completely[/i] frieked out by SPN’s pilot. I mean closed eyes, turn it off, can’t-watch-the-end frieked out! I felt SOOO bad for asking her to watch it. She had nightmares that evening that kept her awake all night. I would have said the 2nd interviewee had the same preferences going into the show, yet she was not scared at all and wants to watch more. So neither the genre history nor the horror-avoidance history worked as predictors of my two “watchers” reactions.
No. 6 Suzee51
Thanks for recommending that youtube vid Suzee, wow!! that was one of the best fan made videos I have EVER seen. Makes me fall for the show all over again
I have to say that I have never liked scary shows/movies ever since seeing the original Exorcise movie but just watching one episode of SPN and I did not find it scary at all. I am/was more intriged with the relationship of the brothers and dad and the story line. I’ve been a fan since the 4th season and have a massive collection now of DVDs, books, jewelry, t-shirts, and attended my first convention this year. I am a lifer and hope it goes on for many more years. The interviews were interesting that most had the same thoughts and I was surprised that more did not jump on the band wagon with the rest of us obsessers. Oh well, there loss our gain. ๐
Being a fan of scifi/fantasy I of course tuned in to SPN. Exactly why I liked it enough to tune in again I find difficult to remember but now I do. It was when Sam tells Dean he can hunt by himself and Dean replies, โBut I donโt want to.โ Something about the way Dean looked and sounded got to me. It was unexpected and so heartfelt. I felt that this series was going to be different.
Also, all my life Iโve been a major fan of scifi/fantasy and had already watched Buffy, Angel, Stargate etc.
I find most people don’t like this genre. The reason there are now so many of these shows is because you no longer need the giant ratings you once did. You’re a hit with four million viewers-like Grimm.
I agree Nightsky that I don’t think of this as horror. To me horror is “Saw” or “Evil Dead” and other similar movies. I consider “Criminal Minds” to be horror. I can’t watch any of those.
#11Daisymae, I can’t watch Criminal Minds either! It disturbs me for days. It is on my never-again list! I also can’t watch the autopsy shows because they gross me out, but the gore on SPN doesn’t bother me in the least!
I like the idea of introducing new people to the show, cause that’s something I try to do quite often. Was also a little surprised by their reactions. I’ve never thought the show was scary either, but then not a lot of horror scares me anyway.
I’ve always wondered what I might’ve thought about the show if I’d watched the Pilot first (my first ep was Devil’s Trap, so I just had to know what happened next). not sure if I would’ve kept watching or not, though I like to think it would be yes!
[quote]Wow this is was a phenomenal exercise. I would love to see more :))
So glad to see this site back :))
Would you mind if I tried this exercise myself, with different questions?
I will also credit your site for giving me the idea.
I have a Facebook page Supernatural-Diehard Fans
Thank You[/quote]
Glad you enjoyed it, Luciano. Feel free to go ahead with your own interviews. I’d love to see what you come up with!
Hmm. Well, I’ve never seen this site before- glad I found it. So uh- yeah. I’m glad you guys are back up. Neat this study-hall is when I finally find something to do.
I actually just got into Supernatural this year, and it was really my first experience to anything considered ‘horror’
But then my friend showed me ‘Silent Hill’ and I was just kind of bored the whole time, so maybe horror doesn’t get to me.
Being a fan of Sherlock and Doctor Who- I was bound to get pulled into this fandom.
I kind of have a difficult time seeing where SOME of these girls (are they all girls?) are coming from. None of it bugged me at all.
I am, however, very impressed at some of the possible foreshadowing that some of your interviewees saw within the first episode.
Pilot was the first episode I watched, so I immediately felt this sweet-sympathy thing for Sam when it was over. I definitely thought they were both attractive.
They have some of the signs of becoming fans- if you want them to be, I’d say keep pushing them. That’s how I became a fan. I was actually pretty reluctant to watch the first season and a half, but I watched the first season for my friend’s sake. Then for the second season I’m not kidding when I say she tied me down and made me watch six or so episodes.
So maybe don’t push them like my friend did me, but if you want them to be fans- keep at it. They’ll crack eventually.
#15 Copper, Glad you found the site and welcome to the Supernatural family!
I agree, I was amazed at some of the things our interviewees picked up on. (Yes, they were all women.) I’m hoping at least one of them will give the show another chance. It certainly grows on you!
Very interesting. I did the same thing with a friend of mine a few months back. The brotherly relationship is what she picked up on straight away and keep her interested until she was hooked. She was never into anything in the genre but liked ‘supernatural’ type stories. From my experience, when I was given SPN I was kinda neutral through the first season..fun but wasn’t intending to persist with the remaining 4 (at that stage) until the S1 finale, which made me watch 2.01, and that was my gateway episode…a junkie ever since! I don’t like horror, but never found SPN ‘scary’ – there was the occasional Ick moment early on. In NZ it airs at 10.30pm and my man always sees the (gory) teaser and leaves the room muttering about my taste in bedtime viewing haha. My SPN boxed sets co-exist in the drawer with my Buffy and X-files ones ๐
Nightsky: it’s been my experience, among friends of mine, that if you like Supernatural you probably did watch Buffy, Angel, The X-Files and stuff like that.
This newbie perspective is interesting. I think I’ll try this with one of my sisters neither of which watch the show.
I’ve been watching genre TV and horror movies since I was very small, starting with Night Gallery and The Twilight Zone, so Supernatural didn’t strike me as especially scary either, although I realize now that it’s pretty shocking for a primetime show.
Because of my interests I knew I was going to be watching it the moment I heard about it and I expected it to be scarier than it was. My takeaway from the Pilot was the fire on the ceiling scene, which I found upseting because of my pyrophobia and the fight scene between the brothers. It was very well done and I liked the cinematography. The show just looked good.It was very dark. The look of it was what really kept me hooked. Everything else was just icing.
#15 Copper, I actually bought Seasons 1-4 on DVD for the second interviewee because I want to share this experience with someone! She and her husband have gotten to almost the end of season 1, but not yet to the finale. I keep asking her about it (without being pushy) because I am so excited for her to get to the big surprise ending! I don’t think S1 hooks you for life. I think you have to get part way into 2 before you are really curious and keep going on your own. So I want them to get to that point. It’s been about 6 months, so I have to be patient. I am just happy they are watching them at all!
#18 Ikeke35,, I can’t watch Twilight Zone to this day! It always super creeped me out. I never even tried to watch Night Gallery! Don’t even get me started on Dark Shadows! I still remember the nightmares I used to get when I snuck a peek at that show! That’s why I am so stumped as to why I love SPN. It never, ever bothered me (I close my eyes during Bloody Mary’s bathroom scene but still). I just know my heroes will always triumph.
You know, these reactions were more of the underwhelmed variety to me. I agree with whomever it was who suggested showing them a later ep. When I think back to my own semi-virgin experience – since I did see a little of it 2005 but the hook didn’t happen until New Year’s 2012 – I think what did it was a later ep. When I went back to watch season 1, I really liked it, but it was In My Time of Dying that sealed it.
I just read another newbie’s blog post today and THAT was more along the lines of how it was for me. She was stunned and then found herself aching because she had no one in real life to share it with! Yep. Those were the days. ๐ She found her Supernatural soulmate though and so did I so all is happy in SPN land!