Monday, August 31, 2015

SUPERNATURAL - THE COMPLETE 10TH SEASON (2014-2015)

SUPERNATURAL - THE COMPLETE 10TH SEASON (2014-2015) 

Label: Warner Bros.
Release Date: September 8th 2015 
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 967 Minsutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1with Optional English SDH Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Robert Singer, Thomas J. Wright, Jensen Ackles, Jeannot Szwarc, Phil Sgriccia, John MacCarthy, Tim Andrew, Guy Bee, John Badham, Serge Ladouceur, John Showalter, Rashaad Ernesto Green, P. J. Pesce, Stefan Pleszczynski, Steve BoyumCast: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Mark A. Sheppard, Ruth Connell, Curtis Armstrong 

Synopsis: After Dean Winchester lost his battle with power-mad angel scribe Metatron last season, he was resurrected by the power of the First Blade and transformed into a demon, cursed with the Mark of Cain. The road to recovering wayward Dean takes brother Sam down sinister paths himself with consequences that will shake the boys to their core. The Winchesters' angelic comrade-in-arms Castiel must pick up the pieces in the aftermath of Metatron's campaign to overtake Heaven. With his divine "grace" failing and rogue angels still loose, Cas faces the ticking clock of his own mortality while all-new and ages-old threats again push our heroes to their human and otherworldly limits. At the same time, the King of Hell, Crowley, must deal with dissension within his own twisted family. Supernatural: The Complete Tenth Season will unleash your inner demon and hold you spellbound.



I am not typically a fan of glossy supernatural TV shows with gorgeous cast but I did get sucked into the first season of the show and never returned, I liked it but I didn't love it and I tend to limit my TV watching to one or two series a season. Now jumping into season 10 after not having watched seasons 2-9 was off putting to say the least - a LOT has happened through the seasons and the Winchester's have been up to quite a bit over the years, though they still ride around in that sweet Impala! For starters Dean is now Demonic at the start of the 10th season, we have a host of demons, angels are everywhere, werewolves abound, there are scarecrows, ancient supernatural relics and even a musical about the Winchesters... Okay, obviously the show has a rich mythology forged over ten years and I had very little chance of absorbing it all in once sitting with out the benefit of the previous eight season between one and ten. 

Luckily there are quite a few bonus features on this set to enjoy, many of which pay fan service to the legions of Supernatural loyalists out there, which there seem to be many. we have a group commentary on three select episodes, which I didn't have a chance to sit down with. There's an hour long Supernatural Fans featurette spotlighting the fandom of not only the cast and crew but the many enthusiastic and creative fans of the show. There's another 20-minute video piece documenting Supernatural at Comic-Con 2014.

My favorite feature was the half-hour A Very Special Supernatural Special with the creators speaking about their favorite and least favored episodes through the years, which made me want to cue up a few seasons on Netflix and binge watch, but honestly that would be a bit daunting 10 seasons in at this point.  

The show remains at it's heart about the relationship between brothers Sam and Dean, and Dean makes for quite a sarcastic demon-fueled character, his arc is the center of the story this season, and there's a lot of mythology to suffer through for those unfamiliar with the series- like myself - and I wanted more monster-of-the-week episodes, but that's only because of my own ignorance about the series. I might be in the minority about that though, even my beloved  X-Files bored me to tears with the mythology episodes, which were never resolved by the series finale. 

Special Features:

- A Very Special Supernatural Special (30 Mins) HD 
- Supernatural Theatre: Staging the 200th Episode (25 Mins) HD 
- The Winchester Mythology: Battling the Mark and the Blade (21 Mins) HD 
- Supernatural Fans (57 Mins) HD 
- Supernatural at Comic-Con 2014 (20 Mins) 
- Three (3) Audio Commentaries on 'The Hunter's Game', 'There's No Place Like Home' and 'The Executioner's song'
- Deleted Scenes
- Gag Reel (7 Mins) HD

While my lack of familiarity with the show hindered my viewing experience I still found a lot to love about the horror series, the Winchester's are a charismatic pair and they drive a sweet vintage Impala and the supernatural and horror themed shenanigans are fun, but this isn't the type of show I see myself catching up on any time soon. I definitely preferred the monster of the week type episodes as I was not versed with the rich mythology they've created for themselves, but for the legions of fans out there though WB have put together a great looking collection for season ten with superb HD image and sound with loads of extras. 3/5