The WFB Crew Review: Supernatural 1.01 “Pilot”
6) How many themes that run throughout Supernatural – even to this day – do you see introduced in the pilot episode?
Elle – So many themes are established. Family and brotherhood being the most fundamental. The influence of Mary, and John. The warrior elements of what Sam and Dean do. And, finally, why they do it – in this case, for example they were on a mission to find their father and could have kept going, but stayed to finish the hunt even after they knew he was gone. It’s the foundation of “saving people, hunting things” from the beginning that still runs through. The mission started with a revenge thing and at times takes that turn again, but always one pulls the other back to look at the bigger picture again.
Elle2 – Family, revenge, redemption, destiny, lies: they’re all there. We see the lives of these two young men on the fringes of society, which is where they still exist today; we see them endlessly hunting something, because as Dean said in Shadow (and as exemplified here) there will always be something to hunt. There are three hunts either occurring or spoken of in the Pilot: The Woman in White, John gets a lead on the demon, and upon leaving, leaves Dean coordinates to the next hunt: Blackwater Ridge, Colorado (Wendigo). The same continues today, there is always something to hunt, and the past does come back to haunt you: werewolves, shapeshifters, and vampires remain in Season 10, when they were supposed to be resting, and the demon came for Jessica at the end of the Pilot.
Percysowner – Sam’s desire for a normal life, Dean’s commitment to hunting. Dean’s devotion to John and his refusal to see John in a negative way still comes up, for example in Bad Boys he defends John for leaving him at the boy’s home, in spite of the fact that he could have been angry.
Metamorphic Rocks – There are so many props, trademark behaviors, and show themes that have run through 9.5 seasons introduced in this episode: Classic rock, pop culture references, fake IDs, impersonating law enforcement, the Impala, the victim’s blood spatter, and John’s journal are all there. The dynamics of the brothers’ relationship are already hinted at with “Sammy,” “Jerk/Bitch,” “the driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole,” lines, as well as more serious tensions, including Sam’s rejection of the hunting life, Dean’s unyielding devotion to John, and Dean’s tendency to see Sam’s desire for normal as abandoning Dean.
The pilot did an exceptional job of laying out mythology that would be crucial to the show’s canon for all of its seasons (so far), including the ramifications of Mary’s death, John’s obsessive quest, the brothers strange and dangerous childhood, evil forces targeting Sam for reasons unknown, and of course, Dean’s protectiveness over Sam. The pilot was packed full of all these things, and more.
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;););)