Supernatural - Series 1 to 5 DVD Box Set

RRP: £79.99

Best Price: £0

Sometimes great TV is made from domestic drama, offering insight into and reflection upon romances, work life, affairs - all the things that we experience ourselves. Sometimes, great TV is made from things that are absolutely ridiculous, so far-fetched, so other worldly, that they take us into a world completely outside of our own. It’s escapism - the function of drama, particular TV, to distract us from reality rather than reflect it.

Supernatural, as the title would suggest, isn’t exactly set in our reality. It’s a show about demons, ghosts and vampires - evil creatures that lurk in the night and pose a constant threat to you and your loved ones. Brothers Dean and Sam Winchester (Jensen Ackles and Jared Padelecki) know this world all to well, having lost their mother at the hands of what seems to be a demonic creature. They were soon to learn that they descend from a long line of ‘hunters’ - and even as children, they were to learn the skills it takes to defeat their paranormal enemies, honing their supernatural abilities as they went.

As the first season opens, though, it’s important that these two men are equipped with the skills to fight demons but, in the case of Sam, has left his hunting ways behind him to take a degree in Law and settle down with a nice girl named Jessica (Adrianne Palicki). It gives proceedings a bigger sense of scale when, of course, Sam’s dad disappears and Dean returns to drag him back into the fight - and the stakes are higher when Jessica is ultimately put in jeopardy.

Throughout the five seasons included in this box set, the brothers Winchester travel the length and breadth of the United States, battling demons in action-packed fight sequences that always keep the story moving along at a rapid pace. What’s more, there are dark family secrets, untold details that spill out gradually and could quite possibly change these two boys forever.

Supernatural, despite its subject matter, is a show aimed at a reasonably young adult - old enough to deal with mild peril and the idea that there might be monsters under the bed, but not too old to be distracted by how, well, the formula is pretty consistent every episode! That said, it’s a formula that works - stories that keep moving, with characters who are likable, if not a little dull underneath their magical powers.

This DVD box set features seasons one to five as well as the usual range of behind the scenes bonus features.