Last night, I gave the WB's Supernatural a second chance to impress, and with open-mind tuned in to "Wendigo." In this sophomore episode of the new horror series, brothers Sam and Dean Winchester head off into the Colorado woods to find their missing dad, and encounter a deadly mystery involving missing young campers. Turns out an ancient hunter, a cannibal-turned-subhuman called a Wendigo is attacking campers, eating them alive and - in some cases - storing them for the long, cold winter.
This episode was a slight improvement over the unscary "Pilot." At least the creators of the program this week opted to hide their monster of the week, keeping the frightening-looking Wendigo in shadows for the majority of the episode, and letting our imaginations do the heavy lifting for us. Then, at the episode's climax, the beast appears (in quick flashes...), and it doesn't disappoint. This is a creepy-looking beast, and the final battle boasts a moment or two of real suspense. Well-done.
Otherwise, however, the same flaws that plagued the pilot (about a Lady in White) hold true for this second installment of Supernatural. For one, the Winchester boys don't have to stretch those good-looking brain muscles much, since - again - their Dad has been kind enough to leave them all the information they need to know about the Wendigo in his journal. This is a really underwhelming approach. The glory of such shows as Millennium, and The X-Files was the sense of an investigation in progress; the sense of learning with the characters as they go. That's not to be found here, since everything is in the journal already. It's established there's a Wendigo, Dean tells us how to kill it (fire) and then - wait for it - he kills it. It's just not very interesting.
The episode also reminded me - again - of a decidedly superior X-Files episode. It was one that aired early in the fifth season and was called "Detour," and it involved a mothman in the woods attacking campers, interlopers and others; taking them to its lair and storing them as food. In other words, same story; different monster. In that program, there was an actual theme: Mulder and Scully's sense of trust, contrasted with the obnoxious "team building" of the corporate seminar they were headed to; They had to depend on one another, and - in the end - build a heap of bodies together to escape the Mothman's lair.
The other main problem in "Wendigo" involves the protagonists themselves. The fact that Sam and Dean are virtually interchangeable (save for hair length) is highlighted in "Wendigo" as Sam becomes the belligerent brother and Dean the more sensitive one, the opposite dynamic of last week. That's not character development...it's switching roles. Next week, they'll likely switch again. Also, the dialogue is not really organic to who these young men should be. At mid-show, Sam - a young twenty-something - declares to his brother, Dean. "We need to get these people to safety." In other words, he speaks exactly as though he is a seasoned FBI agent, a fireman, a policeman or some other public official. Yet he is none of those things. He's just a kid hunting monsters - and that line of dialogue doesn't fit his character in the slightest. The creators of this show really need to find some distinctive personalities/world view for their protagonists fast, or this program is going to burn out early.
What remains missing from Supernatural is a sense of fear or heck, even excitement on the parts of the dramatis personae. I never get the sense that Sam and Dean are endangered; or worse, that THEY feel endangered. And that's because the characters have no real or interesting personalities. How would I correct that? Well, I would have made Dean Winchester, for instance, totally irresponsible and nuts. I'd make him an extreme sportsman-type, one with lots of skiing and skateboarding "scars" and who gets off on being in danger for the adrenaline rush. Then his brother, the buttoned-down conservative law student, would have something real to play against. It would be the two world views I want to see: adventure vs. responsibility, and it would give these actors a chance to do something other than look hunky. It would also give the series some kind of subtext (which approach is better), which it desperately, desperately needs.
This episode was a slight improvement over the unscary "Pilot." At least the creators of the program this week opted to hide their monster of the week, keeping the frightening-looking Wendigo in shadows for the majority of the episode, and letting our imaginations do the heavy lifting for us. Then, at the episode's climax, the beast appears (in quick flashes...), and it doesn't disappoint. This is a creepy-looking beast, and the final battle boasts a moment or two of real suspense. Well-done.
Otherwise, however, the same flaws that plagued the pilot (about a Lady in White) hold true for this second installment of Supernatural. For one, the Winchester boys don't have to stretch those good-looking brain muscles much, since - again - their Dad has been kind enough to leave them all the information they need to know about the Wendigo in his journal. This is a really underwhelming approach. The glory of such shows as Millennium, and The X-Files was the sense of an investigation in progress; the sense of learning with the characters as they go. That's not to be found here, since everything is in the journal already. It's established there's a Wendigo, Dean tells us how to kill it (fire) and then - wait for it - he kills it. It's just not very interesting.
The episode also reminded me - again - of a decidedly superior X-Files episode. It was one that aired early in the fifth season and was called "Detour," and it involved a mothman in the woods attacking campers, interlopers and others; taking them to its lair and storing them as food. In other words, same story; different monster. In that program, there was an actual theme: Mulder and Scully's sense of trust, contrasted with the obnoxious "team building" of the corporate seminar they were headed to; They had to depend on one another, and - in the end - build a heap of bodies together to escape the Mothman's lair.
The other main problem in "Wendigo" involves the protagonists themselves. The fact that Sam and Dean are virtually interchangeable (save for hair length) is highlighted in "Wendigo" as Sam becomes the belligerent brother and Dean the more sensitive one, the opposite dynamic of last week. That's not character development...it's switching roles. Next week, they'll likely switch again. Also, the dialogue is not really organic to who these young men should be. At mid-show, Sam - a young twenty-something - declares to his brother, Dean. "We need to get these people to safety." In other words, he speaks exactly as though he is a seasoned FBI agent, a fireman, a policeman or some other public official. Yet he is none of those things. He's just a kid hunting monsters - and that line of dialogue doesn't fit his character in the slightest. The creators of this show really need to find some distinctive personalities/world view for their protagonists fast, or this program is going to burn out early.
What remains missing from Supernatural is a sense of fear or heck, even excitement on the parts of the dramatis personae. I never get the sense that Sam and Dean are endangered; or worse, that THEY feel endangered. And that's because the characters have no real or interesting personalities. How would I correct that? Well, I would have made Dean Winchester, for instance, totally irresponsible and nuts. I'd make him an extreme sportsman-type, one with lots of skiing and skateboarding "scars" and who gets off on being in danger for the adrenaline rush. Then his brother, the buttoned-down conservative law student, would have something real to play against. It would be the two world views I want to see: adventure vs. responsibility, and it would give these actors a chance to do something other than look hunky. It would also give the series some kind of subtext (which approach is better), which it desperately, desperately needs.
I also decry again the lack of "the road" as an impact on Supernatural. If this is truly Route 66 Meets The X-Files, then I want to get a sense of endless, yawning highways, out of the way rest-stops, hitchhikers, all-nighters driving to get to a remote location. I want some road-weary characters; I want the Winchesters to have black-circles under their eyes like they've been going for days. This episode, like the pilot, has none of that, no atmosphere at all. And worse, it's sloppy technically. At the end of "Wendigo," it is black ngiht and Sam insists he's driving the car from now on. The closing shot of the show is in daylight, and it can clearly be seen (by the length and style of his hair...) that Sam is in the passenger seat, and - thus contradicting the dialogue - Dean is driving. This happened because stock footage from earlier in the episode (the Winchesters arriving in the forest...) was cut into the coda inappropriately. In the age of DVD box sets, TiVo and the like, this is a continuity error that is obvious, and should have been avoided.
So, two episodes down. I'm watching three more, and if this thing doesn't improve radically, I'm finished with Supernatural. It'll be another Haunted or Freaky Links - a lost opportunity in a genre in need of new and fresh ideas. Let's hope that the admittedly-slight learning curve from "Pilot" to "Wendigo" continues next week. I remember watching the first several dire episodes of Tru Calling, and sticking with it long enough to see the series make massive and interesting improvements, until - by the end of the first season - it was must-see-TV. I'd like to see Supernatural make the same adjustment; I want it to succeed. But more importantly, I want it to be good.
Tonight, Lost (season two) premieres, along with Shaun Cassidy's Invasion, a series I'm excited about, given Cassidy's involvement in the brilliant American Gothic a decade ago. More on these premieres tomorrow...
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