The Show
The Complete Fifth Season of Supernatural leads its audience to the end of creator Eric Kripke's half-decade story arc, just as he originally intended. It begins with God Himself missing, and becomes a desperate bid to halt Lucifer from leading his apocalyptic forces on Earth. The Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) will once again risk life and limb to thwart the forces of evil, with a trunkload full of tricks and a remarkably durable sense of humor.
Surely a highlight for the year was the episode wherein a trickster traps the duo in a manufactured reality that requires them to hop from TV show parody to parody and figure their way out. It must have been a blast for the cast and crew to cut loose in a comedic indulgence like this, after the week-in-week-out grind of heavy, life-and-death drama/horror (albeit with strokes of humor). This blend makes Supernatural one of the most entertaining shows on The CW.
The Picture
The widescreen (1.78:1) show is shot on digital video, and the results here are tainted by a fair amount of video noise. Backgrounds exhibit that artificial, compressed look. Easier material, like static close-ups can be wonderfully sharp however, with terrific textures on some of the actors' clothing too, although elsewhere suits and such can take on a distracting twitch. I found the image quality to be neither super nor especially natural.
The Sound
The audio is old-fashioned Dolby Digital but this 5.1-channel mix is surprisingly generous, with musical beats and other compelling information placed in the rears, from the zap of an otherworldly teleportation to a rowdy crowd to vaguer environmental info, with ample incidental fill in the calmer moments. We can even believe that the helicopter phasing behind us is real. Music and all manner of "supernatural" forces are enjoyably spread across the speakers as well.
The Extras
The episode "The End" carries an audio commentary with executive producers Eric Kripke and Bob Singer, and executive producer/writer Ben Edlund. "Supernatural: Apocalypse Survival Guides" is an elaborately produced interactive analysis of key points from the show, with clips, interviews and more. We are required to click through a virtual archive, and for the fans it will be time well-spent.
Ten humorous videos from the faux web series Ghostfacers--would-be rivals to Sam and Dean--total about 32 minutes. These and the ten-minute gag reel are in high definition. Also included is Rob Benedict in a two-minute unaired scene from the convention in "The Real Ghostbusters," presented as low-bitrate VC-1. Disc Four provides access to Warner's BD-Live portal.
Final Thoughts
The final chapter of Season Five, "Swan Song," is a powerful conclusion for Eric Kripke's epic tale. He's stepping down as Supernatural's hands-on showrunner but will remain involved as the series continues. Will future seasons be as gripping as this? That remains a dark mystery....
Product Details
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