Supernatural
The Winchester brothers.
Created by	Eric Kripke
Starring	Jensen Ackles Jared Padalecki
Country of origin	United States Filmed in British Columbia, Canada
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	47 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Eric Kripke McG Robert Singer
Running time	40-45 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	The WB (2005–2006) The CW (2006–present)
Picture format	480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV)
Original run	September 13, 2005 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Supernatural is an American paranormal drama television series, filmed in Canada, that debuted on September 13, 2005 on the WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup, where the second season premiered on September 28, 2006, and the third season premiered on October 4, 2007.

The show follows brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, who travel across the country in a black 1967 Chevy Impala investigating and combatting paranormal events and other unexplained occurrences, many of them based on American urban legends and folklore as well as classic supernatural creatures such as vampires, werewolves, and ghosts.

Eric Kripke cites Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and American Gods as influences on Supernatural, along with American Werewolf in London and Joseph Campbell's The Hero's Journey.^[1] On May 15, 2007 Supernatural was officially renewed for a full third season of 22 episodes.^[2]

Cast

Main

• Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
• Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester

Supporting cast

• Jeffrey Dean Morgan as John Winchester (2005-)
• Nicki Lynn Aycox as Meg Masters (2005-2006)
• Samantha Ferris as Ellen Harvelle (2006-)
• Alona Tal as Joanna Beth "Jo" Harvelle (2006-2007)
• Chad Lindberg as Ash (2006-2007)
• Jim Beaver as Bobby Singer (2006-)
• Lauren Cohan as Bela^[3] (2007-)
  • Katie Cassidy as Ruby (2007-)

  Recurring guests

  • Samantha Smith as Mary Winchester (2005-2007)
  • Sterling K. Brown as Gordon Walker (2006-)
  • Katharine Isabelle as Ava Wilson (2006-2007)
  • Adrianne Palicki as Jessica Moore (2005-2007)

  Plot

  Season One

  When Sam Winchester was an infant and his brother Dean was only four years old, their mother, Mary, was murdered on November 2 1983 (All Souls' Day). Her husband, John, saw blood dripping onto Sam's cradle, looked up, and found his wife pinned to the ceiling, her midsection sliced open. A moment later, she burst into flames. John told Dean to take baby Sam outside and tried to make a desperate and futile attempt to save his wife while the house was consumed by flames.
  
  After a psychic told John that something of the supernatural was responsible for Mary's death, he became obsessed with finding and destroying the thing that killed his wife and in the process trained his sons to recognize and defend themselves against paranormal entities. At a young age, both Sam and Dean became resourceful sleuths and experienced fighters assisting their father in his quest to destroy dangerous creatures and find the demon that had killed their mother. However, Sam rebelled against the lifestyle his father chose for him, eventually having a falling out with his father and leaving to live a "normal" life. He attended Stanford University on a full scholarship and lived with his girlfriend, Jessica Moore, in an apartment near campus. But when Dean, after two years of estrangement, appears one night on Sam's doorstep during the autumn of his senior year, bearing the news that their father has gone missing while on a "hunting trip". Sam reluctantly agrees to help Dean in the search.
  
  The brothers trace John to Jericho, California, where they find more clues about their father's possible location and help solve the ghost murder mystery their father had been working on before he disappeared. After all was said and done however and John was yet to be found, Sam declines his brother's invitation to continue the search and conduct more hunts, opting instead to return to his life with Jessica. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving back in his apartment, he finds her pinned to the bedroom ceiling, bleeding from the abdomen. As Sam watches helplessly she bursts into flames and dies in the same manner as his mother, twenty-two years to the day afterwards. Dean rescues his brother from the burning apartment, and the bereaved Sam decides to join Dean in the search for their father who may have answers about the demon who killed his mother and his girlfriend. In Dean's 1967 Chevy Impala, the Winchester brothers pick up John's trail, traveling the back roads and small towns of the continental United States in the process.
  
  Eventually the brothers locate their father, and he reveals the extent of his knowledge of the demon that killed Mary, and his intention to kill it. At first he opposes the boys' involvement because he fears losing them, but eventually he yields. Together, the Winchesters search for a special weapon: The Colt, which was created during the Battle of the Alamo and at the time of Halley's Comet passing. Being made by the legendary Samuel Colt, for a hunter, the gun has the ability to destroy any creature, with a well placed shot. All three Winchesters, after recovering the Colt from a band of vampires, band together and start to hunt the demon in earnest. However, due to a series of catastrophic events (beginning with John's capture), they are eventually overpowered by the demon. While possessing John the demon nearly tortures Dean to death before Sam is able to and shoot it in the leg with the Colt. Sam tries to rush Dean and John to the hospital, but a demon then possesses a semi truck driver and plows into Dean's Impala. Demolishing it and leaving all three Winchesters incapacitated inside the wreckage.

  Season Two

  At the beginning of season two, the trio are rescued via MEDEVAC and taken to the hospital, but due to his extended injures caused by both the demon's torture and the car accident, Dean is comatose. John summons the demon to make a deal and trades the gun and his own life for Dean's.
  
  Both Dean and Sam struggle to cope with John's death while trying to continue their job. As they continue to hunt any supernatural spirit they find, they come across many people that share the same story as Sam, a mother who mysteriously dies in their nurseries when the children were 6 months old. These "special children" each discovered recently that they have some sort of psychic power. In the light of these revelations, Dean reveals to Sam that their father (just before giving his life to the demon) had told Dean he had to save Sam or be forced to kill him. Various revelations occur throughout the rest of the season that lead the pair to believe these psychics are being trained to participate in an army that the demon will lead in a coming apocalypse.
  
  After several months of "by-the-book" jobs, Sam disappears while ordering food at a diner. He awakens in a ghost town with four other psychics, two of whom he had met in prior episodes (Ava from Hunted and Andy from Simon Said). There, in a dream, the demon reveals to Sam he has brought all of them to the town to compete against one another and the winner (the only one left alive) would become the leader of the demon's army. The two innocent psychics are killed, before Ava (who has killed Andy by summoning a murderous demon) is revealed to be a demonic familiar herself. Jake, an Army soldier who claims he was abducted from Afghanistan, kills Ava by snapping her neck after taking her by surprise. Dean has been frantically trying to locate his brother, discovering the Roadhouse has been burned to the ground, leaving Ash dead and Ellen missing. With the help of Andy, who can "beam information" directly into people's brains, Bobby discerns where Sam and the others are (a haunted ghost town in rural, fictional "Cold Oak, South Dakota"). Upon their arrival, Dean and Bobby watch in horror as Sam is stabbed in the back by the only other survivor, Jake. Sam dies in Dean's arms.
  
  In the season finale, Dean, distraught and unable to cope with the loss of his brother, believes that he has let Sam down. His mind made up, Dean sets off without Bobby, leaving Sam's body behind. He makes a deal with the demon at the crossroads, his soul for Sam's. The demon agrees and brings Sam back from the dead. However, she tells Dean that she will only give him one more year to live, and if he tries in any way to prevent his death, Sam will drop dead on the spot. When Dean returns, he finds his brother alive and well and unaware of all that has happened. After everything Dean went through knowing that his father had died for him, he wants to protect Sam and decides not to tell his brother that Jake had killed him.
  
  Ellen, who was away when the roadhouse burned down, finds Bobby, Dean, and Sam and shows them a map that Ash had prepared just before his death. They discover that an elaborate gate was constructed by Samuel Colt to bar an entrance from hell. The demon tells Jake that he must open the gate and that the Colt is the key. The whole group arrives to stop Jake, who is beyond surprised to see Sam and insists that he killed him. Jake gets the gate open but is shot to death by Sam.
  
  The demon returns and taunts Dean with the possibility that the Sam that Dean has had resurrected, may not be "one hundred percent pure Sam." He then attempts to kill Dean. However, John Winchester, who has escaped from hell, manages to save his son. Dean shoots and kills the demon with the last remaining bullet in the Colt, and John's soul departs, no longer condemned to hell. Bobby and Ellen are able to close the gate, but not before hundreds of souls and demons escape. Sam is suspicious and wants to know why Jake insisted that he had killed him. Dean is then forced to reveal the deal he had made at the crossroads, and Sam, who is upset over the sacrifice Dean has made, promises to save him.

  Season Three

  Season Three premiered on the CW Network on October 4, 2007. The first episode, "The Magnificent Seven", introduces one new character – a young blonde woman named "Ruby" (played by Katie Cassidy) who uses a demon-killing dagger.
  
  Ruby is possessed by a demon that shows particular interest in Sam. At her urgings, Sam discovers that all of his mother's friends and contacts have been steadily killed off over the years by the yellow-eyed demon. Ruby won't discuss what it is she wants, but says that not all demons are the same or have the same motivations. She also says if Sam helps her she can save Dean.

  Episodes

  Main article: List of Supernatural episodes

  
  
  

  Season	Ep #	First Airdate	Last Airdate
  	22	September 13, 2005	May 4, 2006
  	22	September 28, 2006	May 17, 2007
  	22	October 4, 2007	May 2008

  Production notes

  Supernatural is a Warner Bros. Television Production Inc., in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision. From executive producers McG and Peter Johnson with writer/executive producer/creator Eric Kripke and director/executive producer David Nutter. Though the pilot was filmed in California, principal filming takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia^[4] with post production work taking place in California.
  
  Like other recent TV dramas such as Lost, the show does not have an opening credit sequence or theme music, only a title card, generally following a brief recap of previous episodes. In season one, it appears just as a moving aqua blue text that say Supernatural. In season two, it appears in flames and the "A" in "Supernatural" becomes a pentagram. Each season it changes. In season three, it appears just as a moving silver like text with clouds of spirits as it's background The name of each episode appears before the cast credits, beginning with the episode "Scarecrow".
  
  Periodically, usually when the episode is important to a story arc of the season or entire series, the "previously" sequence before the episode will feature a montage of past events set to various classic rock songs. This started with the episode "Salvation", in which the entire season was recapped to Kansas's "Carry On Wayward Son". [1]
  
  The fan-beloved trend continued with the season one finale and the first three episodes of season two. The production team also created a "coming soon" sequence midway through season two, set to Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog". [2]

  Tie-ins

  • The website featured in the episode "Hell House" is a real website set up by the show's producers.
  • For a time, Dean's cell number was a real number, with Jensen Ackles reading the message: "This is Dean Winchester. If this is an emergency, leave a message. If you are calling about 11-2-83, page me with your coordinates."^[5]
  • Supernatural season 2 was made available on iTunes on December 5, 2006.^[6] The episodes may be downloaded one day after they are aired. It is the first CW show available.
  • The CW has also begun offering the four most recent full, streamed episodes directly from its http://video.cwtv.com/website(Only Available To United State Residents)
  • Network Ten (Australia) began offering full episodes for download via their website, through an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. Television, in January, 2006. It is the first U.S. television show available for free download in Australia. The episodes appear online soon after being televised, and are viewable for up to a month after download.
  • Episode 2.15 "Tall Tales" centers on the tabloid newspaper Weekly World News. Both the print edition (dated February 19, 2007) and online Weekly World News feature an exclusive interview with both Sam and Dean, http://weeklyworldnews.com/stories/78 as well as a spoiler-free sneak preview of the episode. In the article written by Paul Kupperberg, Dean admits he's been subscribing to the Weekly World News since the fourth grade. Also in "Tall Tales", the website, http://www.bustyasianbeauties.com, Sam mentions his computer is stuck on is actually a link back to the Warner Brothers website.
  • In November 2006, Season Two of Supernatural was made available for download on Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace for 150 Microsoft Points (roughly 2 dollars). Similar to iTunes, the entire season up until the most recent episode has been made available.
  • An Official Season One Guide is in production.
  • In June, the winner of the CW and Promax "making the cut" competition was announced. View the winning Supernatural promo here.

  In-Continuity

  • A prequel comic book, , detailing the early lives of John, Sam, and Dean and how they became hunters has been published by Wildstorm, a company under the DC Comics umbrella. It began publication in May 2007.
  • Several Supernatural novels have been announced.
  • Supernatural: Nevermore (August 1, 2007)
  • Supernatural: Witch's Canyon (November 1, 2007)
  • Supernatural Role Playing Game - A pen and paper roleplaying game (RPG) that is in production through Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd.^[7]

  Dean's car

  

  Dean's 1967 Chevrolet Impala features heavily throughout the series.
  Dean's trademark black 1967 Chevrolet Impala was passed down to him by his father. It bears a Sedgwick County, Kansas license (though their hometown of Lawrence, Kansas is actually in Douglas County) plate KAZ 2Y5, a reference to Kansas, the Winchesters' home state, and 2005, the year the show premiered. Starting in the episode 2.20: What Is and What Should Never Be, the car sports a new Ohio license plate (CNK 80Q3) to aid in the brothers' hiding from the FBI.
  
  In an interview at a convention, Ackles said the main Impala they use has a 427 and skid plates.
  
  The car has been prominently featured on the series, beginning with the teaser of the pilot which shows John Winchester holding his two sons as he sits on the car and watches his house burn. The car is Dean's most prized possession, and he protects it with nearly the same ferocity with which he protects his family. In the pilot episode, the trunk is revealed to hold various weaponry to fight the supernatural. On a closer look, the trunk contains at least three machetes, what appear to be Marine Corps Ka-bar knives, an arrow, a spearhead, two silver spikes, several throwing stars with engravings on them, a revolver-type grenade launcher (loaded with police 37mm grenades), two flare guns, two tasers, two double-barrel sawn-off shotguns (another shotgun with long barrels was taken in Hook Man), a pistol grip pump-action shotgun (which is used to prop the door open), and a Heckler & Koch G3A3ZF sniper rifle. There are also several pistols including: a silver Desert Eagle, silver Colt 1911 with engravings, a silver Beretta 92FS (and the matte black Beretta 92FS as well), a matte black Colt M1911, and a Smith and Wesson M645. It is plausible that the knife Sam was packing in the pilot episode was also from the trunk. The car is moderately damaged at the end of the pilot episode and nearly totalled in a crash at the end of the season finale. Dean manages to rebuild the car; the newly restored vehicle is prominently featured in Bloodlust in an extended sequence to the soundtrack of AC/DC's Back in Black. Dean's car continues to play an important role in the series throughout the second season.

  Ratings

  Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Supernatural on The WB and The CW.
  
  

  Season	Timeslot	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Network	Rank	Rank Network	Viewers (in millions)
  1st	Tuesday 9/8C (from September 13, 2005 to February 28, 2006) Thursday 9/8C ''(from March 30, 2006 to May 04, 2006)	September 13, 2005	May 04, 2006	2005-2006	The WB	#127	#05/18	3.8
  2nd	Thursday 9/8C	September 28, 2006	May 17, 2007	2006-2007	The CW	#134	#09/17	3.1
  3rd	Thursday 9/8C	October 4, 2007	Spring 2008	2007-2008	The CW	TBA	TBA	TBA

  International

  Country	Local Title	Literal Translation	Network	Weekly Schedule
  Argentina	Supernatural	Supernatural	Warner Channel	Tuesday 10:00pm, Saturday 5:00pm Sunday 1:00am
  Australia	Supernatural		Network Ten WIN Television	Monday 8:30pm (Season 3 begins 15th October) Saturday 10.30 (Season 1 begins 20th October)
  Belgium	Supernatural		VT4	Wednesday 11:30pm
  Brazil	Supernatural		Warner Channel	Tuesday 10:00pm, Sunday 9:00pm
  Canada	Supernatural		Citytv, , Z Télé (Québec), The WB, The CW	Citytv: Thursday 9:00pm SPACE: Tuesday 10:00pm Z Télé: Wednesday 8:00pm The CW: Thursday 9:00pm
  Chile	Supernatural	Supernatural	Warner Channel, RedTV
  Croatia	Lovci na natprirodno	Hunters of supernatural	HRT
  Czech Republic	Lovci duchů	Ghosts hunters	Prima televize
  Denmark	Supernatural		3+	Thursday
  Dominican Republic	Sobrenatural		TeleAntillas	Weekends 6:00pm (repeats on some Weekday evenings)
  Ecuador	Supernatural		Warner Channel
  Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Supernatural		OBN	Friday 9pm
  Finland	Supernatural	Supernatural	SubTV
  France	Supernatural		TF6, M6
  Germany	'' Supernatural ''	Supernatural	Premiere, Pro7	Monday 8:15pm
  Hong Kong	,	Demon Hunter, Supernatural Files	TVB Pearl, AXN	Thursday 9:35pm, Tuesday 11:00pm
  Hungary	Odaát	Out There / The Afterlife	RTL Klub	Friday 11.15pm
  Iceland	Supernatural	Yfirnáttúrulegt	Sirkus TV
  India	Supernatural		AXN (Season 2), Animax (Season 1)	AXN: Wednesday 11.00pm, Animax: Wednesday 10.00pm
  Ireland	Supernatural		TV3	Thursday 12.00pm, Friday 12.00am
  Israel	על טבעי	Supernatural	yesSTARS, yes stars 2	Monday 9:30pm
  Italy	Supernatural	Supernatural	Rai Due	Tuesday 10.30pm
  Malaysia	Supernatural		TV3, AXN	TV3: Sunday 10.30pm
  Netherlands			Veronica
  New Zealand	Supernatural		TV2 (TVNZ)	Friday 8:30pm
  Norway	Supernatural		TV Norge	Friday 8:30pm
  Mexico	Supernatural		Warner Channel, Canal 5	Warner Channel: Tuesday 10:00pm Canal 5: Monday 10:00pm
  Panama	Supernatural		Warner Channel, RPC Channel 4
  Philippines	Supernatural		Studio 23, AXN	Studio 23: Tuesday 8.30pm AXN: Tuesday 10pm, Wednesday 2am, Saturday 11pm, Sunday 4am
  Poland	Nie z tego świata	Not from this world	TVN season 1 TVN Siedem season 2	TVN: Tuesday 11:45pm TVN Siedem: Thursday 10:00pm
  Portugal	Sobrenatural	Supernatural	RTP1, AXN	RTP1: Sunday 2.45pm AXN: Monday 10.25pm
  Romania	Supernatural: Aventuri in Lumea Intunericului	Supernatural	PRO TV	PRO TV: Monday-Thursday 12.15am
  Russia	Сверхъестественное	Supernatural	REN TV	Sunday 8.00pm
  Singapore	Supernatural		MediaCorp TV Channel 5, AXN	Friday 10.00pm, Tuesday 10pm
  South Africa	Supernatural	Supernatural	ActionX
  Spain	Sobrenatural	Supernatural	AXN, TVE	TVE: Monday 11pm
  Sri Lanka	Supernatural	Supernatural	Channel1 MTV	Saturday 7.00pm
  Sweden	Supernatural	Supernatural	SVT
  Thailand	Supernatural		AXN
  Ukraine	Надприроднє		1+1 (first showing)	1+1: Friday 23.50pm
  United Kingdom	Supernatural		ITV1 (repeats), ITV2 (first showing)	ITV Network: Friday 11.00pm ITV2: Sunday 9.00pm, Thursday 11:00pm
  United States	Supernatural		The WB, The CW	The CW: Thursday 9.00pm, Sunday 9:00pm
  Venezuela	Supernatural		Warner Channel	Tuesday 10:00pm, Sunday 9:00pm

  DVD releases

  Supernatural: The Complete First Season
  Set Details		Special Features
  22 Episodes 6-Disc Set 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: Brazilian Portuguese, French, Latin Spanish English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Audio Commentaries (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) * "Pilot" - Creator Eric Kripke, Director David Nutter, and Producer Peter Johnson "Phantom Traveler" - Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles		Cast/Crew Commentaries * Deleted Scenes * Gag Reel * Easter Eggs * Photo Gallery * Featurettes: * "Supernatural: Tales From the Edge of Darkness" "Day in the Life of Jared and Jensen" DVD ROM Exclusive Web Site * (Access to Online Content, Including a Sneak Peek at the Second Season)
  Release Dates
  Region 1	Region 4	Region 2
  		Part 1	Part 2	Complete
  September 5 2006	September 6 2006	May 22 2006	August 21 2006	October 2 2006

  Supernatural: The Complete Second Season
  Set Details		Special Features
  22 Episodes 6-Disc Set 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish English (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround) Audio Commentaries (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround) "In My Time of Dying" - Director Kim Manners, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles "What is and What Should Never Be" - Creator Eric Kripke "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 1" - Creator Eric Kripke, Director Robert Singer, and Writer Sera Gamble		Cast/Crew Commentaries Deleted Scenes Gag Reel Jared Padalecki’s Original Screen Test The Devil's Road Map Featurettes "Script to Screen" - "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2" DVD ROM Exclusive Web Site (Access to Online Content)
  Release Dates
  Region 1	Region 4	Region 2
  		Part 1	Part 2	Complete
  September 11 2007	October 8 2007	May 14 2007	September 10 2007	September 20 2007

  * Available on region 1 and region 4 Collectors Edition releases only.
  
  The first season box set came out in the US on September 5 2006. It includes all 22 episodes, cast/crew commentaries, deleted scenes, a gag reel and several featurettes. There is also a DVD-ROM "sneak peek" of the second season.^[8] Best Buy bundled an exclusive DVD of the Museum of Television and Radio's 2006 William S. Paley Festival Panel interviewing Kripke, Ackles, Padalecki, and several other producers, writers, and directors from the show.
  
  Although the Season One DVD was released almost simultaneously in Australia, all extras were removed, though there were still many references to their existence inside the case. On October 2 2007, a "Special Collectors Edition" was released with all the special features listed above returned to the set.
  
  In the UK, "Season One - Part One" was released on May 22 2006, followed by the release of "Season One - Part Two" on August 21 2006; "Season Two - Part One" was released May 14 2007 and "Season Two - Part Two" was released September 10 2007, a Complete Season 2 Boxset is due out October 29 2007
  
  A boxset of Seasons One and Two is to be released on September 11 2007 in region 1.

  References

  1. ^ [3]
  2. ^ CW picks up dramas. Variety (2007-05-15). Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
  3. ^

Second 'Supernatural' Hottie Revealed (2007-07-17).
4. ^ HNR - Vancouver & BC Film & TV News, Lists and Links. Hollywood North Report. Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
5. ^ A SUPERNATURAL Number. Cinescape (2005-10-08). Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
6. ^ Supernatural on iTunes. iTunes. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
7. ^ 'Supernatural RPG' from Margaret Weis Productions (April 20, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
8. ^ Gord, Lacey (2006-05-04). Supernatural date and extras for season 1. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.