The WFB Crew Review: Supernatural 1.01 “Pilot”
10) Though we all have favorite scenes of the pilot, do you have a least favorite scene, or more specifically, are there any particular scenes you would have liked to see done differently?
Elle – Well, that two years line still bothers me. I know it’s meant to have been an error in the script, but still. The one scene I don’t like, or rather that feels out of step on reflection is when the boys find John’s room and determine salt means he was worried. As hunters, and based on their upbringing salt simply means a spirit is hanging around and this is a preventative measure – not necessarily that it’s an uber-concern. They seem to jump here a bit prematurely all things considered about their childhood. It’s a minor thing but it always stands out when I watch the Pilot.
Elle2 – I hate to nitpick, but I’ve watched it so many times that there are things I do notice – even as they don’t bother me that much, mostly because I enjoy the Pilot so much, but, since I don’t want to skip the question whilst my companion writers soldier on, I’ll say this: I wish there was some explanation of how Dean got from the payphone he was at after escaping from the sheriff’s office to where Sam and Candace were just in the nick of time. It seems like they skipped something there and all of a sudden Dean was there. It’s not a huge deal, but since this is pre-Cas, he clearly wasn’t transported there and there was no car and no explanation from Sam of where on the road he was, just boom: Candace gets him and then Dean is there at Candace’s place. I know, I know, they only had 43 or 44 minutes, so it’s not a big deal.
Percysowner – I wish they hadn’t cut the scene of Dean realizing something was wrong when Sam returns home. It’s just a little odd that he drives away and suddenly shows up again.
Metamorphic Rocks – The pilot laid the foundation for the series so effectively, and was so well done, that I don’t really have any least favorite scenes. If I had to nitpick something, the exposition scene when Sam and Dean are walking outside sounded a bit forced and awkward (and this is the scene that Eric Kripke has said in interviews that he wishes he could do over). But the scene was relatively short, and the visually stunning shots make up for the somewhat clumsy dialogue, so it doesn’t take anything away from the excellent episode.
Ultimately, this pilot still stands up to the test of time, and remains a fantastic introduction to the story of Supernatural, and even more importantly, to the relationship of the Winchester brothers.
My favorite scene…the moment it started to the moment it ended. 🙂
Aw I love the pilot. Sure it’s a teeny weeny bit clunky in places but the guys sell it. The entire heart of the show is right there. And ACTUAL horror (ah the good old days)! Scary girl is scary, creepy branch shadow moving impossibly across the side of the house, the two principle women in the boys’ lives to that point both killed so awfully. Revenge now required by the brothers – Dean for his mother and Sam for the mother he never had the chance to know or be nurtured by, and for the woman he loved *cries*. The sheer cuteness of the brothers in the first scene they ever shot together (y’all know which one 🙂 ). The fight on the bridge! Someone should do a retrospective of ‘important brother moments on bridges’ I believe there are a few. If you include ‘important brother moments beside water’ there is a whole thesis to be written.
I love the escape from the police of half of the Hardy boys due to the quick thinking of the other half, and the later rescue of said other half by couple of devious (and illegal) phone-calls. Actually if they broke phones as often back then as they do now the show might have stopped right there.
The lighting and sets were great, the music was great, the atmosphere was great. The guest-stars were great – hey there’s Duane Barry!
I like the pilot a bit (does it show?).
I absolutely love the pilot. It wasn’t my 1st introduction to the brothers. I had seen a episode from season 2 that caught my interest while channel surfing. I thought it was pretty awesome and went out and bought the S1 DVD and sat all weekend long catching up. The pilot has a special place in my heart because it was the birth of an incredible TV show and introduction to two wonderful actors that I love more each year. From the dark grittiness of the lighting to the great music, coupled with an exciting, surprising story I was instantly hooked. The chemistry of Jared and Jensen just jumped off the screen. I wondered for years what Mary meant by “it’s you” and later by her “I’m sorry Sammy” and I am still impressed that it was all explained years later. Sam and Dean look so very young and fresh faced back then.
I very much enjoy these Crew Reviews. Good to see Percysowner included this time. Thanks Nate! BTW where are your thoughts?
I really enjoy these WFB Crew Reviews and am glad you’ve continued them. Nate – why didn’t you chime in with your thoughts? Logged on to the WFB site this morning and it’s nice to get away from the Sam vs. Dean wars taking place in the 10.12 About a Boy synopsis article. I thought the pilot episode did a great job of setting up the series. There were a couple of rough patches – the exposition scene on the stairs was a little clunky, but then again, they had a lot of ground to cover in a short scene. And, at the end, it never made sense why Dean came back to Sam and Jess’ apartment, but I recall later seeing a deleted scene on DVD which explained it; not sure why they deleted that but, again, a lot of ground to cover in that episode.
The one scene that set things apart, at least for me, was the scene of the brothers researching the case, the way Sam pushed Dean out of the way to take over at the PC. It was a very brotherly thing to do, even for brothers in their 20’s, and wasn’t that important in the grand scheme of things. But you could see that the actors “clicked”, and that attention to small details stood out, at least to me.
[quote]Nate – why didn’t you chime in with your thoughts?[/quote]
I’ve been busy and not much to say about the pilot other than “like it”. 😉 Doesn’t mean I won’t chime in in the future.
“What one thing introduced in the Pilot do you wish we had more of these days, (i.e. rock-n-roll, bitch/jerk, urban legends, seeing them scam for cash, be it poker or pool)?”
Haha! ALL of the above! Classic rock for a scene, as in “Renegade” and “Don’t Fear the Reaper”. The brotherly teasing, as when Dean is covered in smelly muck and Sam says
“You smell like a toilet!” LOL.
Would love to see them scamming for cash as it seems there is no need to do since they found the dragons’ cache of gold. They could show them pawning off bits and pieces of it so we know
that is how they are surviving. It was a huge pile and gold is extremely valuable! Always longed to watch Dean hustling pool with some tough guys who would probably want to take his head off later. We did see Sam doing a great job hustle with the poker Witch! Loved that! ALMOST got one of Sammy hustling pool in “I Know What You Did Last Summer” but it was cut way too short when Ruby showed up.
And more urban legends please. Am really tired of dick angels in particular, none have been interesting since Zachariah (great actor). Metatron anybody? And some more disguises than just FBI. Used to be different in almost every episode.
Loved the pilot! Still love it every time! (The boys really WERE boys back then, weren’t they? So damn cute!):o:p:p;););)