Pilot

The pilot does everything a good first episode should do. It gives you a flavor of the characters, gives a pretty good sense of the possibilities of the world and makes you want to watch the second episode right away. If I had one complaint about the opening it would be it is not as comedic as the show ended up being. It is true that over the years the show has shifted into more a melodrama, but the monster of the week format that plays for much of the early seasons is used to good effect here. The weeping woman (woman in white) is a good antagonist to build the pilot around as it is lore focused and a ghost with personality. Nutter's direction is very atmospheric. I wish the show kept the washed out look...it is just moodier.

This episode introduced the world to Sam and Dean; it is a classic of the show.

Pilots generally try to do a few things: they introduce audiences to a new world; they establish the tone, pace & stakes, they build-out characters and character-dynamics, and they try to hook a viewer into coming back. Supernatural is successful on every count.

The directing and cinematography of this pilot stand out from the get-go. The first 3 seasons are shot on 35mm film, which really adds to the dark, gritty, horror-esq vibe of the show. And the pilot encapsulates good cinematography. You can tell shots are well thought-out in a way that contributes to the story and the narrative tone. The scene framing was aesthetically interesting to look at, but in a way which helped draw you into what was happening (instead of distracting you from the story at hand).

The acting is good, but does leave room for improvement. This isn't a critique on Jensen or Jared's talent, but they're still feeling out their characters at this point-haven't quite settled into their roles, and the trust that's built up between between actors which can (and will) take scenes to the next level isn't there yet. The bridge scene argument where Dean lunges at Sam in anger feels a bit contrived, for instance. But that said, they overall do nice job.

For a pilot, the writing is pretty decent and very smart. Starting a story is hard. They work a lot of exposition and backstory into 40 minutes, in ways that loop back into the plot. For ex: they address 'how do they pay for hunting?' pretty quickly, but then it comes back around in a way that helps advance the search for their father. From a writing standpoint, there's a nice parallelism in what happens to Mary Winchester at the start of the episode & what happens to Jess at the end of it.

The episode ends by coming full-circle, allowing for the real story to begin. You leave with a sense of who Sam and Dean are as people, with a sense of their complicated relationship with each other and their father, and with a sense of mystery to bring you back. Which-as far as pilot episodes go-is the ultimate success.

Overall a strong pilot, and a compelling introduction into the world that will take over millions of viewer's hearts for the next 15 years.

-Violet Vance.

So, this episode was interesting enough. However, the whole time I was acutely aware that this was an episode designed to get the brothers together as a team, ready to kick supernatural butt. Therefore, the story felt a little contrived. The fact that Sam is roped into this by the death of his girlfriend, rather than naturally making the choice or learning what his true calling is - I didn't love that.

Ghosts aren't the most original idea, but at least they put a nice little spin on it. The show is a little darker than I expected, talking about child murders and whatnot.

I enjoyed the Nutty special effects. At times it looked really trippy.

The chemistry between the brothers is good. However, casting guys that are so handsome is a little distracting.

The dialogue felt a bit clunky and forced at times. Hopefully that gets smoothed out in later episodes.

Does this mean Sam isn't going to law school?

It's kind of hard to judge this episode because it's the first episode of the show. Obviously there are better episodes later in show. If you love Supernatural you need to thank this episode for starting it all. This episode is pretty small scale in comparison to other episodes but it actually works in the episode's favor. You don't need the first episode to be huge in scale but you need it to good and effective and that's what we got. For a pretty small and simple plot it's iconic. The relationship between the brothers is the best part and even though this is the first episode Jared and Jensen's chemistry is so good it's no wonder they made a whole show with these guys. In the end it's a very simple episode but it sets every thing up so well that I can't help but love and appreciate it.

I remember watching the Pilot years ago, and remember getting scared. Of course, I was a kid back then, but the Pilot remains just as intriguing as one can hope for.

I first thought that the whole series would be about this Lady in White AKA Mourning Woman. Being the network the WB was back then, I would have expected that, but then I realized how much of a horror show this was. The Pilot remains one of the scariest TV episodes of all time. It is masterfully executed and directed, it has stood the test of time.

Of course, the series has definitely changed over the years, from being a horror show to a show that has horror, comedy, and much more deeper story lines involved. But the fact remains that this remains the key beginning of a great start!