Posted: Friday 22nd August 2008

Reviewed by Jason Palmer

Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) has made the worst possible deal with the demon at the crossroads. He agreed to have one more year to live in exchange for his brother's life. Season three ofSupernatural picks up directly from the end of season two with the brothers Winchester dealing with the realisation that this could very well be Dean's last year on earth. Having temporarily averted his apocalyptic destiny, Sam (Jared Padalecki) has managed to put that aside and is now concentrating on trying to find a way out for Dean. Dean is resigned to his fate and wants to take down as many demons as possible before his contract is up. Sam isn't having any of that and is looking at different ways to help his brother... even taking advice from Ruby (Katie Cassidy) a mysterious demon who appears from time to time to save the brothers from tight spots. But ultimately she is a demon so what angle is she playing and why does she have such a vested interest in Dean's soul and Sam's powers? Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver) makes a welcome return as the voice of reason this season. With John Winchester gone, it's up to Bobby to be the father figure Sam and Dean need in their fight against the darkness.

Right from the offset, this season ups the ante and really goes for the jugular. Season three starts with the brothers facing off against manifestations of the seven deadly sins in The Magnificent Seven. It's an action packed episode which features a married couple of hunters who the Winchesters have to team up with. The second episode is an instant classic. Titled The Kids Are Alright it features an old flame of Dean's, Lisa Braeden (Cindy Sampson) who has an 8 year old son Ben. It transpires that Dean had a relationship with her around 8 years ago and the kid is a carbon copy of him, interested in rock music, girls and cars. There is a mysterious death in their neighbourhood involving kids possessed by evil spirits and Lisa and Ben could be next on the list so Dean stays on to protect what could be his family from the malevolent force. A Very Supernatural Christmas is a wonderfully disturbing tale of a demon that literally pulls its victims up chimneys like Santa Claus. Usually Christmas editions of TV shows are forgettable fare but this is a really intense story that's told so well. Its still manages to be festive too which is an achievement in itself considering.

There are a decent number of humorous episodes thrown in considering that the general story arc is pretty dark this season. Bad Day at Black Rock is the best of an impressive bunch as the brothers find a rabbits foot that gives the holder unbelievably good luck. But like all mystical charms, there's always a catch when such power is bestowed onto one person. Ghostfacers is a clever take on the current slew of camcorder based ghost sighting programmes. Shot entirely in handy cam and night vision, it's a great, fun departure from the norm and very funny (and creepy) in places as the Winchester boys have to team up with a group of amateur ghost hunters (who also all happen to have the surnames of the real Ghostbusters!) to investigate a haunted house. The Groundhog Day-esq. Mystery Spot is darkly funny. Whilst investigating a local museum of oddities, Dean dies. When night falls the day repeats itself and it's up to Sam to figure out what's happening in this strange time loop. Sam tries everything to prevent Dean from dying but every new day finds a more comical and disturbing way for Dean to meet his maker. Could a familiar face from season 2 be behind this?

The main story arc is enforced by the very impressive Jus in Bello. FBI Special Agent Henrickson (Charles Whitfield) who has been hot on the heels of the Winchester boys since the middle of season two finally catches up to them in a small town. Behind bars in the local sheriff's office, Sam and Dean lay helpless to the horde of demons descending onto the building hell bent on eliminating them and everything that stands between them. It's like a supernatural themed western and the very end of the episode is both exciting and shocking as the new bigger and greater danger of season 3 is revealed.

There is one down point to this season. The introduction of British antiquities expert and general double crosser Bela Talbot (Lauren Cohan) was a tired move by the producers. She added nothing exciting to the season and frequently disrupts the flow of narrative. That said this shorter season of Supernatural really delivers for frights and excitement and the final episode is worth the long build-up. There are some great cameos from famous faces too throughout this year including Buffy and Angel regular Mercedes McNab and veteran bad guy Billy Drago. The cliff-hanger ending sets up the fourth series (on in the new year on ITV2) very nicely. It could also move in a totally fresh direction due to the events of season three so this series definitely has plenty more stories to tell. It's a real shame that the show doesn't get the coverage it deserves. The writers strike didn't help with the initial broadcasts being interrupted but even so this show deserves a far bigger audience. A kind of X-Files for a new generation, Supernatural really ought to be on your watch list and this season is definitely worth buying to fill in any gaps.