1.1 Pilot Episode Discussion

[Phoenix_Rising]

I noticed that a few episodes discussions weren't up here, so I thought I'd post so we could discuss them. I hope no one minds.

At a young age, Sam and Dean Winchester witness the unexplainable death of their mother, which in turn leads their father to embark upon a life with the boys of hunting supernatural evil. Years later, Sam has escaped that world by attending college, but is drawn into helping his brother Dean find their missing father. They also investigate the mysterious disappearances of men along a particular stretch of highway with ducs, which is being haunted by a "Woman in White" When Sam returns home, he finds his girlfriend being killed in the same supernatural fashion his mother was, and he decides to join Dean to hunt for her killer.

So lets discuss this great episode!

[smileyone]

Ok then....
Being here in the UK... and after having the show ignored for the first couple of years of it's existence.... have to say it's really good to see it back on TV [Living TV] straight from the start again....

Scary thought though occured to me... that as they are showing approx one single ep a week.... and bearing in mind that to reach the point of being up to date with the show... three eps in, there is approx. 77 more eps to go til start of S5... that's 77 more weeks.... nearly a year and a half til we see S5 on UK TV...

Anyway, I digress.... Pilot.... as seen by me once again, just a few weeks back....
Ok have to admit... the whole Woman in White story didn't intially grab me as a strong opener to a show that had that big a story arc.... it was a bit tame compared to others, IMO... however, maybe it needed to be that so as to put more emphasis on the brothers getting back together again....

Weird, I have to say ... that now... both boys looked so young, so inexperienced.... so raw... so wet behind the ears.... even in looks, they looked about ten years younger a piece....

Anyway... the whole storyline of Mom getting disturbed and going straight into a baby Sam's nursery room to check on him, without first shouting for Dad, of course has sparked constant debate between the fans.... I will add nothing more to this debate other then to state that as a mother, I would have certainly done the same.... child first before all else...
I did find it odd though that she was less vocal as she was being pinned to the ceiling with blood dripping thru her nightie.... Yet Daddy somehow sensed the trouble...

At this point again one could argue wheither either she or he knew much at all about this whole demon 'pin to ceiling, take back your soul' stuff... initially, we all assumed it was primarily him who was the soul hunter etc... later as it turned out to be her, our thoughts of the whole situation maybe have altered a bit....
But more on that later...

And as for the kids... well, Dean... and Baby Sam... Daddy did well to get them both out alive and safe... kind of felt sorry for him alot until we all found out that the lass brought it all on herself by selling her own soul to the YED!!!

It was a good introduction to a show for me, but as a story in an ep... I have enjoyed better.... however... it must have done something right to have pulled me back for a second look...

Good thread... Maybe you could do a few more threads, like maybe a S1 1-22 ep feedback thread or one about S2,3, & 4... etc.... and post them in this section... as I for one am finding what I know now of the show with latest storylines has totally changed my view of the content in that first few eps and for that matter, the whole first season....

[ExtraCookie]

I'm posting this without having read smiley's post because my eyes hurt too much to read right now, but I'll read it later.

The pilot was awesome. I loved the brother fight probably better than anything. I discovered this episode and the show only because I had recently cancelled my satellite and there was nothing at all else worth watching on that night (which happened to be the night the reruns began), so I took a chance. I'd heard of the show, but thought it would be like Buffy or Charmed or whatever. (Don't start in on me about Buffy!) But, wow, was I surprised! There really are silver linings to gray clouds sometimes!

Can y'all believe how much Jared has changed since then?! To me, Jensen looks almost exactly the same, but Jared has really grown up! He was just really cute, now, so handsome!

Loved Dean dazedly pulling the key ring out of his pocket when Constance ("what a bitch!") was drving the Impala!

Still wonder about Sammy talking about John as though he was a drunk. I wonder if it was true or just Sammy code for "I don't care about Dad, I'm not worried, deal with it yourself." Clearly, John couldn't have been a long-time drunk, or he couldn't have been the awesome hunter he was. But is it possible he'd recently begun turning into one? Or was it all just bluster from a Sammy who was trying to hide the hurt? That's very likely.

Wonder why they left in the scene where Jared turned his head too soon? Before blood hit him? Hm.

The kids taking their mom to hell or wherever was creepy. And I get sad when I hear their creepy voices talking to her.

I adore how in this episode, Sammy hates being called that but, over time, we've seen him give up on correcting Dean and actually come to take it for the term of endearment it is.

That dude who played Constance's husband over-acted a bit in that one scene with Sammy, don't ya think?

That is all.

[Calena]

The thing is, I ripped the first disc of S1 boxset from my friend R.'s grip, whom I 2 weeks ago turned on to SPN. He is in the middle of season 2, but refuses to return S1 boxset just yet. Anyway, I took the first disc with me because I want to watch the pilot with the commentary, which I haven't done so far. I wanted to wait to post in this thread until I had done so.

BUT:

'd heard of the show, but thought it would be like Buffy or Charmed or whatever. (Don't start in on me about Buffy!)

This can not go unanswered. I will only give you the short version today. I'm kinda working on a blog entry for Crazy Buckets on this very subject, maybe sometime you can read a 1000+ words essay on this.
What baffles and irks me is: You people, who have never watched a single episode of Buffy, how can you know what Buffy is like? Hm?

I agree with smiley (I actually read her post ) that the pilot ep didn't blow me away. I dind't notice many things until I rewatched it. When I rewatched it I thought Dean was being a jerk for the smurfs comment. He was hitting on his brothers girlfriend! I didn't notice that the first time around, but I think that is because I only understood half of it when I watched it for the first time. My English wasn't that good back then, and I certainly needed a few eps with each new show to get accustomed to the way people talk.
(I watched the second ep of Deadwood yesterday with E. and we took refuge to the method R. has adopted when watching SPN in English - using English subtitles. If I say so myself my English now is fairly good, but in Deadwood there were some characters I didn't have a chance in hell of understanding. The subtitles are of course irritating and take focus away from the acting, but in this case they are direly needed)

R. liked Wedigo much better than the pilot. If after his lukewarm reaction to the pilot I hadn't forced him to watch Wendigo immediately he might have given up on the show.
Overall I liked the pilot , I liked the woman in white story, but after watching it I wasn't quite sure what to think of the show. But the music, the boys and the humour were enough for me to continue watching, and damn am I glad I did!

That dude who played Constance's husband over-acted a bit in that one scene with Sammy, don't ya think?

Nope. I think that was intentional and in character. He didn't want Sam to find out about him cheating on the wife, so he tried to convince Sam everything was great in the marriage, but the character not being an actor screwed up.

Can y'all believe how much Jared has changed since then?! To me, Jensen looks almost exactly the same, but Jared has really grown up! He was just really cute, now, so handsome!

I know, right! It's impresssive. I just wish he would stopp putting on the muscle now. He is more than plenty muscular. I don't want him to turn into Arnold!

Jared complained that his german voice is really girly. Which is true. I now figured out why. They probably just used the same guy who translated Gilmore Girls to do SPN and since he was a teen in GG the was was ok, for for grown up Sam in SPN it's a torture to listen to.

Both guys I forced ... ahm ... persuaded? to watch SPN really loved the "Scully/Mulder" (see I can do the / in a non sexual way, too!) remarks.

I will report back once I watched the commentary.

[smileyone]

I know, right! It's impresssive. I just wish he would stopp putting on the muscle now. He is more than plenty muscular. I don't want him to turn into Arnold!

I was thinking that.... It's not as if a single one of us girlies ever complained about how snug his little butt fitted into those figure hugging jeans in the first place.... he can't blame us... we were all fine with how he looked.... we weren't moaning in the slightest.... but you know... men.... the slightest excuse to flex those muscles....

Have to say... dunno why... but I am in a real 'Today, I am going to not rest until I work out the inner workings of the mind of a man!!!' mood... maybe it's boredom... and God knows, it is very much a futile effort on my part to focus on something as randomly dumb as this so early on a Saturday morning... but I dunno... I'm so bored... really need to dust off some sleeping braincells.... need to give myself a hard challenge for a change....

Jared complained that his german voice is really girly. Which is true. I now figured out why. They probably just used the same guy who translated Gilmore Girls to do SPN and since he was a teen in GG the was was ok, for for grown up Sam in SPN it's a torture to listen to.

That's a kind of funny thought or is that unnerving thought... that there is actually some German heavily accented guy out there somewhere who follows Jared around on every show or movie he has done specifically to regurgitate his every word into another language.... I'm thinking spotty kid with a backwards baseball facing cap myself... as I said... it's kind of funny.... Jensen speaky guy, I'm thinking is some official looking guy with a suit on... Misha... ... It's probably the man himself... doing it all for a laugh... in fact... he is probably making up his own language and pawning it off as German... Did anyone ever really study his voiceovers??? Oh yeah... Misha wasn't in the show back then.... well wow... aren't you all in for a real treat, there in German speaking countries, by the time S4 hits the shelves....

[Suzieq1978]

I also didn't find this first episode very impressive. For example I liked much more the second episode with that awesome Wertigo. But there were a few damn nice scenes there, one of my very favourites was the brothers fight there, I just loved that! And yes, I loved the whole Impala drived by Constance -scene, especially the moment Dean took the Impala's keys from his pocket and the look on his face while doing it. Ooh, that's probably my very favourite scene in that very first episode of the show that has now caught me more than five(?) years and I'm freakin' prayin' there'll be more to come!

But I'm still glad that the first ep I've ever seen of the show was Wertigo. It really caught me and because of it I forgave all that cheap Ring-girl-Samara-stuff in the Bloody Mary which would have driven me away from this excellent, excellent show otherwise. And to explain my antipathy to the ep (even though on my latest Season one rerun from my own dvds I really liked it regardless that little Samara-like moment at the end of it) I have to say I've seen too many Samara-copied ideas since that huge(?) Ring-cult the movie started. Come on, people - don't you have any newer and fresher ideas ???

Originally Posted by smileyone

Anyway... the whole storyline of Mom getting disturbed and going straight into a baby Sam's nursery room to check on him, without first shouting for Dad, of course has sparked constant debate between the fans.... I will add nothing more to this debate other then to state that as a mother, I would have certainly done the same.... child first before all else...

I never even knew there was a debate. I've always found it very reasonable and realistic NOT to shout first for Dad. Shouting could disturbed the stranger in the room and put the baby in much greater danger than without it. Of course one could ask why she even didn't wake him up, but I guess that it is only natural not to wake your husband before rushing to the babysroom where someone stranger (as she first thought) is with your baby. Not much to debate, I feel .

At this point again one could argue wheither either she or he knew much at all about this whole demon 'pin to ceiling, take back your soul' stuff... -- the lass brought it all on herself by selling her own soul to the YED!!!

Question: did she sell her soul to the YED ? I've always thought that there never was a question about selling her (or anyone of the other dealers) soul but more like selling a visit to the dealer's kid when ten years have past. What you guys think? I don't like the idea of her in eternal torture in Hell ...

Good thread... Maybe you could do a few more threads, like maybe a S1 1-22 ep feedback thread or one about S2,3, & 4... etc.... and post them in this section...

I vote for that ! Really good thread, Phoenix, thanks for raising this up .

[smileyone]

I never even knew there was a debate. I've always found it very reasonable and realistic NOT to shout first for Dad. Shouting could disturbed the stranger in the room and put the baby in much greater danger than without it. Of course one could ask why she even didn't wake him up, but I guess that it is only natural not to wake your husband before rushing to the babysroom where someone stranger (as she first thought) is with your baby. Not much to debate, I feel .

I take it then that you are a mum to a kid or are around kids then? You have obviously done the whole up during night for feeds etc... See, on the contrary... this whole issue did spark a big debate about Mother Mary and her priorities.... it especially came to a more heated pointed discussion when S4, we got that glimpse of Mary being more then just an ordinary mum... I lost count of the many who swore blind that she ran into that room, bypassing Daddy completely solely because she had more experience then he had being a hunter.... they totally missed the actual motherly instinct reason... Then when I tried to instill that logic into them, they still disputed the fact saying that.... 'the man of the house' was better at protecting the family then her and that the roles would in fact be equal, if only she had gone to him first.... I know... weird, but as I said... well debated here...

Ok then... As I was in a bit of a wacky mood so early this morning when I first answered in this thread, I am now, after much more serious thought, going to give it a more detailed answer... [you'll all be glad to know, I'm off on one again!!! ]

So briefly a breakdown of how main ep went... Lawrence, Kansas, ummm.... 20 odd years ago... Winchester family home... burnt to the ground after the very violent and quite paranormal death of Mammy Winchester... Daddy woke up from in front of TV, in time enough to grab both kids and winch them both to safety...

Hell bent on a lifetime of avenging her death, Daddy drags the kids from place to place... never actually catching up with the baddie who killed their mum... but having a damn good go at trying.... Sam, being Sam... stroppy younger brother, with the brains decides he wants out... wants a bit more and then goes off to College or Uni or whatever. Dean, still presumably follows Daddy around like a sheep... but somehow has gained Daddy's beloved Impala as payback for his years of loyality!!!

Up to speed so far... we get to present day... Sam is close to qualifying in Uni... [again..or whatever.. I never quite understood the American Study systems] ... A slightly worried Dean turns up on his doorstep, in fact in his front room, late at night trying to quickly nab a beer etc... Sam comes --->THIS CLOSE<--- to battering Dean over his head with a baseball bat... they have a few words... some raised voices which wakens up a still sleepy looking Jess... [Sam's beloved girlfriend... ]... Dean hits on her... startling her with all this talk of smurfs and all... they all laugh.... hee hee hee ... then suddenly music changes to more dramatic tone... do do do ... and Dean forgets totally about the hot near naked chick who is standing before him and tells Sam... Dad's a missing!!!.... on a 'hunting' trip.... Sam kicks Jess out of the room so fast her head nearly starts to spin round all exorcist like.... I guess that happens off camera... but anyway.... Sam agrees to go with Dean to look for Daddy... as long as he gets back in time for some interview [or whatever... I didn't get this bit any better either then the other US school references etc...]...

They go to some town in ummm.... ok hazy here... ummm... lets pick a place for arguements sake.... Springfield... Homer Simpson Land.... but not near the Nuclear Power Plant, cause they didn't mention it].... ok ... some town... Daddy was last seen or heard of in.... They then happen across this woman in white legend ... freaky start... up to then, it had the making of a Gilmore Girls Spin off without the squaky mother & daughter team... but anyway... lo and behold... a story of the supernatural kind.... Daddy had somehow been investigating this one, however... as Sam does strop a bit about Daddy at times being a bit fond of the liquer.... bad daddy must have been a bit useless and more preoccupied here as she was still around... men were still dying... the boys were a little freaky that Daddy had gone the same way.... well, we all were really... til we discovered the beautiful image that is... 'Jeffrey Dean Morgan'.... and it was a total shock, it must be said to find that he was in fact killed off in the show... seriously... the man never dies in any show/movie etc...etc... he's ever in!!!

Anyhow... where was I.... Damn Daddy... he throws me off point everytime... ummm.... Ok... in around this time Dean's a bit naughty... his previously faultless sideline scam of stealing credit card details and impersonating Federal Agents finally got found out and he ends up in the slammer!!! Somehow after getting separated from newly found co-operative brother Sam... who then, quite dopedly actually picks up the hitchhiking Woman in White... Well DOH!!! That was clever.... For those who have just become acquainted with the show.... I must stress here, that Sam actually does become a little more clever and with it in later eps... next ep Wendigo, for example... he's in flying form... totally ruling the roost... however, in this ep... definitely not the most shiniest tool in the box...

Actually, if memory serves me correctly... I'm thinking that Sam.... actually drives right into the WIW... which could actually be another damning reason why the other brother got left the precious Impala... but we won't dwell on that one now.... Water under the bridge as one says... his driving skills do improve thru the rest of season... and OMG... *SPOILER* ..... He is allowed behind the actual wheel of the Impala on a few occasions coming up.... but shush.... don't tell anyone!!!

Apparently, the legend has it that the WIW has this thing about men and their unfaithfulness... her husband had a bit of a wandering eye and something bad happened to their kids which was the thing that started sparking her inner rage.... just goes to show really that it's best not to wind a woman up in this fashion... between the inner rages and the 'monthly power surges' of hormones... plus the gauntly scary white dress... I'm really not surprised men have perished along the way...

But anyway... Sam, to his credit... is in good form... he's a good lad... loves his Jess, more then anything else in the world... he doesn't fall for her spinning eye routine... However, as she is in a pissy mood anyway... cause he actually wound her up previously to that by driving right into her... dopey boy... she goes to kill him.... * All hissing the bad woman now...BOO BITCH BOO!!! *

It's edge of seat stuff... here, we're now thinking ... this show is over before it even starts... Dopey ish brother is about to breathe his last as big brother Dean, [fresh back from his stint in the jail telling the agent who interviewed him that the only real thing about him were 'his boobs!!!'...- quite worrying really... yet reassuring in another way... ]... and then somehow, between them, they get her home to the place where her 'village of the Damned' kids then drag her down to the fiery pits of Hell... which must have been quite comforting and yet truly a bummer for her at the same time....

And just when we think... oh great.... enough excitement for one night... and still as we were reeling over WIW's demise... off they go back to Sam's place... Uni Dorm or Smurfland [or whatever].... leaving us quite disappointed as we were made to think that the boys would indeed hit the road and forget totally about the smurf wench who lives in the nightie... leading to a pile of us, throwing soft things at our TV and getting out the pens & Paper to write our letters of 'WTF.. Kripke?' to our now beloved Master... [For we didn't know him then and didn't love him like we love him now.... yes indeed, we were cross for the next minute or two!!!]...

Story spins back to Sam... flaked happily on the longest bed made in history... wore himself out with talk of cookies and cupboards with monsters etc... and we think... ok... boring story... but yeah... Sam is going to graduate... make the parents proud... we also momentarily have a thought or two that Jess is a floozy who is off with some other guy and not with our beloved Sam... We start to wish evil death on her.... and again Lo & behold... Master Kripke somehow reads our minds and nails her too to the ceiling, leaving her a mess... hair all tangly and spread out in all directions... nightie up around her ears... and with blood dripping from her wonding stomach... complete with gormless look... Sam awakens and has a bit of a freaky moment... he then somehow suddenly becomes very clever... cause he puts two and two together and adamantly swears it's the same baddie creature that also killed his mum half a century before...

Dean comes back... events a bit hazy here ... and the ep then ends with them standing at the back of the Impala, trunk open... with Sam saying the Immortal words... 'We Got Work To Do!!!'..... [or something like that....]

OK then, now that I have general events in ep right in my head... I do have a few things to add... the vast majority of fans of the show are in much the same agreement that this ep was indeed not the best SPN' story ep there has ever been... the whole WIW story was very much a weaker story then lots of those that followed... However, this pilot, on more thought was so much more about other basic things then that.... It introduced us to many basic SPN objects etc.. that are still going strong today...

For example.... The trunk of the Impala... [and you can all stop your laughing here... I'm quite serious!!!]... that last scene when they open the trunk... Sam throws the weapon in, rather then just softly and carefully places it in... and says the words... 'We've Got Work To Do!!'... sort of implies that the trunk has a bigger area space then Narnia or somewhere similiar... we get the impression that the trunk holds all matter of stuff... from huge tanks to water pistols to half a dozen eggs [for the assssssstronaut kids]... etc... ... it's not a clean show... it's grimy and dirty... they don't walk around in suits the whole time... they live in flannel... it could even be debated here that the trunk even has it's own fold down shower as Dean got really clean, doubly quick after his jump into the sewery waters... anyway... Impala trunk is big... beware!!!

Also... Other things like... Daddy's Journal... sure we hear that a lifetime of Daddy's musing are in there... all the info they need to know where he is heading next or more importantly where he's been, yet... they are looking thru the book in total darkness... cause God Forbid... they might let us, mere mortals catch even the slightest glimpse of Daddy's yoda writing!!!

We also have the 'Famous Name Homages'... or at least the start of it... yes indeed you have to be awake to keep up with this show... for the record... I also read or heard somewhere that S1 Ep1's town names etc... were all local areas to Kripkes home town... a nice gesture of sorts... but as I don't live in the US... I can't verify this one...

Then of course we had the music... Higway to Hell & Back In Black by AC/DC... Ramblin' Man by Allman Bros.... and a few others that I can hum now but can't think the names of.... ... All great stuff... the Impala wasn't a beast who liked the up to date stuff... nope, the ep left us thinking quite highly of this car... it was like a third character, we wanted to cherish and to love.... it was around here when our early crushes on both boys started and the debates also started simmering about who was better then the other.... Dean was edging ahead at that start... simply because in the ep he very much came across as the stronger willed, more experienced brother.... Sam came across to many as the brother who was lost, hurting, weak and a bit sad.... Wendigo, folks is where the guys backbone finally started to grow... but that's astory entirely for another day....

And lastly about Jess... I don't think, in all honesty there was ever a place for happy family set up for Jess & Sam here... Jess had to die, simply because the whole... 'Sam, love ya.. see you at six for dinner!' ... etc.... She just had to die... Now, that we know more about Winchester's early life and the role of many around them in getting them specifically where they are now, could be the making of whether Jess was just this baddie demon, just there with him to keep him on this specific path to where he is at the end of ep1.... One could argue that if this were the case then she could have just disappeared at random times like Ruby did etc... and not die by being stuck to ceiling in this vile nasty way... so in truth, Kripke & Co could take or leave her story either way here... I have always thought there was a bit more to her character then just a simple girlfriend in smurf nightie...

Ok... I'm done now.... not much more to say other then to say that although the ep itself may not have been the best SPN ep ever seen... it was a hugely important one all the same for setting the overall tone that was to follow.... !!!!

OK... Follow that folks....

[GemMaeLee21]

Wow Smiley, I am really quite impressed. I really can't add anything to your detailed summary and interesting analysis of the first episode, but I will try a little bit.

I agree that the Pilot isn't the best episode ever but it is better than Pilots I have seen for other shows. There is a lot that is going on throughout this entire show, it has a lot of history that needs explaining and the writers had to find a way of setting up all these ideas, questions and bits of information about the Winchester family and the world that they live in, and cram it all into the space of about 55 mins to try and get people hooked from day one. They did set up the tone of the show very well and showed us how things were going to go and pointed out all the aspects that are important to the brothers as Smiley typed out up there and I think that had quite a tough job and managed to sort of pull it off and get the ball rolling.

The boys do look so much different now than they did back then. Sam has certainly grown up and changed quite a lot in appearance and attitude. I think Dean has changed too. Now I believe that a boy/young man becomes a real mature man when he hits the age of 30 and that's when they are at their sexiest. So Dean is already hit the 30 mark, he has bulked out a bit, his voice is deeper and he is definitely sounding more of a mature man than when he was in the pilot at 26, he still looked quite young and boyish there. Sam is now 27 odd I think so he is finally catching up to the mature man stage and he is really becoming more sexy every year. lol. I just had to write that out, I love seeing boys become men. The Winchester boys are certainly maturing and looking finer with their age.

I think that although the Woman in White story might have been a bit weak, it was gentle introduction to what the boys world is like, I mean you don't want to show your hand too soon, you want to generate interest, by making the hunts more exciting and having each episode build up the story more and more. It did give us a way into how they work as hunters and what to expect will come next. It also gives us a reference point to look back on and see how far they have come in the 4 short years that they have been on the screen, it allows us a starting point to see them grow and evolve as hunters and men. Oh and it shows us how important the Impala is, that is important. So its not too bad really.

The parallels with Jesse's death and Mary's death were an interesting way to pull Sam back into hunting and help giving him that motivation to find his father with his brother.

Well as to explaining why Dean showed up at the end to pull Sam out, after the place went up in flames. I haven't seen the missing scene, so I am just on what I watched in the complete episode. I just felt that although Dean drove away, I think that might have been more for Sam's benefit, that Dean may have turned round to keep watch for a little way when Sam had gone in so he didn't know. So he may have been watching outside and heard Sam scream, busted the door down to see what was going on and saved Sam. He could also have turned round because he wanted to talk to Sam, maybe try to get him to change his mind, something like that and arrived just to hear Sam scream. They are my 2 possible explanations for Dean showing up when it had appeared that he left.

Ok thats my input for now.

[Calena]

I never even knew there was a debate. I've always found it very reasonable and realistic NOT to shout first for Dad. Shouting could disturbed the stranger in the room and put the baby in much greater danger than without it. Of course one could ask why she even didn't wake him up, but I guess that it is only natural not to wake your husband before rushing to the babysroom where someone stranger (as she first thought) is with your baby. Not much to debate, I feel

There isn't a debate. It was just something I mentioned in my Mary thread. No debate! Although I want to state I never meant she should go all the way down to the couch, shake him gently and ask him to go up with her. But she could have screamed "John!" while running upstairs. But no debate at all!

I also didn't find this first episode very impressive.

Why did anyone ever continue watching this show?

I pretty much agree with Gem's post. They did a good job at setting the tone and giving us the backstory. Now when I rewatch the pilot I actually like it a lot more than when I watched it first. I guess I just wasn't sure where it all would go. We got spoiled rotten with great episodes over the course of the serious but we couldn't know that back then.
Of course I noticed the music. And the pilot gave us some of the most memorable Dean quotes, like "Driver picks the music .." and "no chick flick moments".

They also did a good job at introducing the characters, they made a point of portraying Sam as a good guy who is faithful to his girlfriend. Actually I like the Woman in White story.

Did anyone else find it gross and sad at the same time, when Sam ate the cookie the dying Jess had made for him?

I also like what we now have learned in ep "The Monster At The End Of The Book" is literary symmetry: the beginning with Mum burning and the boys outside with the fire trucks and at the end the same scene with Jess, including outside with the fire trucks. That was nicely done.
My friend R. said he saw it coming, it was obvious, that Jess would die, because Sam would need a reason to go hunting. That's true, but I didn't see that coming at all.

[smileyone]

My friend R. said he saw it coming, it was obvious, that Jess would die, because Sam would need a reason to go hunting. That's true, but I didn't see that coming at all.

Yeah... but very much in our defence here... we were also deep into watching that once brilliant show Prison Break at the same time [well at least I was] and we had our minds a little bit clouded by the whole MiSa issue... we would have looked for a love affair even in two ants fighting over a crumb next to our very own feet... On the plus side... at least they die looking very pretty in all those frilly nighties... they aren't once caught out with those ones us girlies use around 'time of the months' or when we are just in need of the warm flannelled jammies that raise our body temps up about 10 degrees... nope... frilliest of white nighties... make up was all done well too... lippy and all.... If only I looked that together that late into the night after being woken suddenly from a deep slumber.... I'll come back though and tell you all how it all was if I do ever wake up and get pinned to my bedroom ceiling... [it's pretty safe to believe that I won't get in Mini Me's room... that room is best left with the door closed and the random things left going mouldy and dying in there... it's like a warzone most of the time...] so it would probably be my bedroom ceiling... but no matter... makeup and all ... both Mammy Winchester & Jess both at least died looking very pretty!!!

Did anyone else find it gross and sad at the same time, when Sam ate the cookie the dying Jess had made for him?

I disagree... it's normally Dean who gets to eat all the food... every single ep following this one, he is throwing sausage roll like things lengthways down his gob at breakneck speed... poor Sam... I can't remember the last time I saw the guy eat or drink a single thing... ahhhh meanie... leave the poor guy his cookie... don't take away the one sugary treat the guy has been allowed this whole show's span....

There isn't a debate. It was just something I mentioned in my Mary thread. No debate! Although I want to state I never meant she should go all the way down to the couch, shake him gently and ask him to go up with her. But she could have screamed "John!" while running upstairs. But no debate at all!

Back up girlie.... ... I wasn't actually specifically just referring to your viewpoint... I was referring to many comments overall in a few forums and general chats etc... I have been a part of over this last while... the ripple of her initial choice to go it alone despite obviously having some intuitive fears that some thing was up... really shocked some... they thought, as you said that she should have called for Daddy... Others, totally understood the reasoning behind her moves... it was merely an observation held over a period of time... one that started off ages ago, seemed to cease for a bit and then came back again when young Mary and her secret life was brought into the show.... But of course, if you would like me to blame you specifically for this one... then I am going all out today... Hell, why not blame you for Global Warming as well.... yep ... and I ran out of milk in my fridge this morning so had to then have a manky black coffee... that's your fault, that is.... for not getting me more organised!!! Yep... ROFL.....

The also did a good job at introducing the characters, they made a point of portraying Sam as a good guy who is faithful to his girlfriend. Actually I like the Woman in White story.

Actually I remember, when I first watched this show for the initial time... having this conversation with someone about the myths behind this WIW story... It was based on some mexican love story with a lass of some standing wanting to marry some Lord or Prince etc...... refusing, he left her to marry someone else and she went all potty and killed off his kids... caught and punished for her wrongs and since then her ghost haunts the highways...she apparently lands herself in unfaithful mens cars and kills them off... only disappearing when they hit a sacred area or whatever.... Yes... I do remember the nerdier conversations I have from time to time in the staffroom in school when we have that few minutes break to forget totally about the kids!!!