Supernatural: Season 5 [DVD] [2005]

As one reviewer said of Supernatural, it just keeps getting better and better and season 5 is no exception. It follows on from season 4, as all previous seasons have, with the stakes raised considerably higher. With the culmination of season 4's plot (another stellar season by the way) comes the arrival of the Devil himself and that is serious business even for this little show that could. Played with gravitas and understated honour by Mark Pellegrino (he always seems to play God-like characters), Lucifer is sufficiently evil and creeping made flesh, but there is something lacking until the final act when the body switch is made. Lucifer should be powerful and although he has great power throughout the season, it's not until the end, in another guise, that the true awe and terror of the character is reached. That's a minor gripe as the whole season is packed full of scares, great characters, new and old, laughs, cinematic moments, spot on one-liners, great music and all the rest we've come to expect from the show. Strangely, it starts well but is bogged down by very arc-heavy storylines which are needed in order to explain the finale but things do get quite drab, despite the future-shock episode, 'The End'.A few of the best episodes are:"I Believe the Children Are Our Future" - curious for the fact that we do not see the 'AntiChrist' again but his immense power is interesting, especially when a 6th Season is airing and it is obvious that this character has to return at some point. Great story, too."The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" - Excellent curio episode with an old Dean and a great 'grey-area' baddie."Changing Channels" - Never has there been a bad Trickster episode. But this one comes with added arc..."The Real Ghostbusters" - very postmodern. A Supernatural convention visited by Sam and Dean as an episode of Supernatural with the help of another couple of wannabe Sam and Dean's. Excellent fun. And quite touching at the end."Swap Meat" - a great nod to the 80's body swap flicks. Great fun and also unexpected twists take it beyond the monster-of the-week territory."Dark Side of the Moon" - A trip to Heaven. Worth it just to see Ash again."99 Problems" - excellent episode that brings a human face to the proceedings. People are getting wise to the rise in weirdness and have become hunters to stop the apocalypse. Only problem being that they are being lead by the Whore of Babylon."Two Minutes to Midnight" - for Death if nothing else. What a guy!And of course the finale where everything reaches its conclusion and Dean is allowed to live a normal life. The last shot, however, gave me a shock.Not perfect, but always so watchable. It's the most fun you can have watching TV and that's enough. Great charcters (Crowley is another one of my favourites), some sad losses and an open ending that whets your appetite for Season 6.

Supernatural is one of the great undiscovered treasures of TV - certainly in the UK. It has everything - action, humour, shocks, a brilliant soundtrack, great character development, and a level of ambition in terms of storytelling that is rarely seen. But at its heart it is a story about love, loyalty and family. The central characters are brothers, Dean and Sam, and their wonderful relationship is the heart of this show. If you have never seen Supernatural, go back to season 1, and start from the beginning. I promise you will be immediately hooked and you won't regret it.Season 4 was top quality throughout, but I found it bleak viewing. The story was very dark, and there was a distance between Dean and Sam that I didn't enjoy watching. What a turnaround in s5. The story is still dark, but relationships are healing, the character development is believable and extremely moving, and some of the fun is back despite the impending apocalypse.This DVD set contains some of the best episodes Supernatural has ever done (and there are over 100 episodes). The first half of the season is good, but it really gets into gear in the second half. From Abandon All Hope (episode 10) to the end is a fantastic piece of television writing. The characters are fighting for the belief that free will, loyalty, love and family can triumph over destiny and evil, and boy do they fight hard. The build up to the last episode is intense and unrelentingly exciting.But good as all the episodes are, you have seen nothing until you have watched the season finale. It is quite simply the best constructed, written and acted hour of television I have ever watched. It packed a huge emotional punch - managing to be heartbreaking yet uplifting. I don't want to spoil it - so I will simply say 'buy these DVDs and watch it for yourself'. You won't regret it. And thank goodness there will be a season 6!

This is certainly one of my favourite seasons I loved 4 but this one has so much edge to it.There is the introduction of the new character Crowley Punk ass cross roads demon ( Mark EPIC Sheppard) plus the reload of Meg (Rachel HOT Miner) is seriously ten fold bad assness and funny as hell.The guy who plays "Luci" Mark Ross Pellegrino is so much fun to watch as he torments the hell out of Sam and tries to get under his skin - so to speak hee hee. His characters introduction scene is well beyond disturbing so brace yourselves.I'm so grateful for all cast members including all the good guys, Bobby, The Trickster, Chuck the prophet, Rufus, Cas and of course the ladies Becky, Jo and Ellen. The two leading lads are still as amazing as ever and nailing pretty much any role they are given with conviction. They are both given many different different characters to play and they do it without batting an eye. They never falter. Cas changes quite a bit too and is responsible for more then just a few giggles in this season. Everyone here is just brilliant to the max.The amazing Julian Richings is also introduced among the crowd here dealing out some serious death. He has become a huge favourite character of mine. The episode he is introduced in is so creepy, such an amazing actor. He also puts Dean in his place which is a first for any character in the history of supernatural as far as I remember. For some reason Dean is very stand offish after he is compared to a bacteria. Death has no time for BS.This season is a huge pin point and is not to be missed. Its not just a bunch of really funny or scary episodes with the lads taking out evil, the story is seriously uplifted here and every single episode is incredible. its pure epic that introduces some huge players to the story, not just for this season but for many after this one. The ending is just.....wow my eyes almost fell out of my head. awesome.