Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Supernatural: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

"I thought you said that we were like family. Shouldn't trust run both ways?"

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown September 12, 2011

So you prevented the Apocalypse, thwarted the plans of two angelic would-be demigods, and survived yet another trip to Hell and back, and now you're thinking to yourself: finally, I can kick back and take a nap worthy of the new millennium. Not so fast, hotshot. Much as you've been distracted by the heavenly host and the fire-n-brimstone brigade, those vampires you've been staking all these years didn't sprout from angel wings. Those skin-walkers you've been battling didn't give up the ghost when Michael and Lucifer were put to bed. The bloodthirsty beasties and ancient evils you've been tussling with didn't throw up their hands and surrender. Angels didn't shrug their shoulders and say, "so what can we do to help?" Demons didn't take note of the sudden power vacuum and say, "nah, it's not for us. Let someone else fill it." Make no mistake, the Biblical Apocalypse may have been shelved, but there's always a whole new apocalypse waiting oh-so-patiently in the wings of the Supernatural universe. And while Season Six is a bit more uneven than previous seasons, Four and Five chief among them, it still has plenty of gory, ungodly goodness to go around.

Sam and Dean, on the prowl for things that go bump in the night...

You know the drill: previous-season spoilers ahead. When last we left the Winchester boys, the Apocalypse had been narrowly averted, Sam (Jared Padalecki) mysteriously reappeared on the mortal plane after sacrificing himself to bring an end to Michael and Lucifer's family feud, Dean (Jensen Ackles) had decided to settle down with single-mom Lisa (Cindy Sampson) in the hopes of leading a normal life, and Castiel (Misha Collins) was on his way to heaven to clean up the mess his brethren had left behind. Season Six picks up a full year later. Dean, unaware of his brother's resurrection, is having a hard time living off the otherworldly grid, Sam is hunting big game with a pack of hunters led by his once-deceased grandfather Samuel (Mitch Pileggi), Bobby (Jim Beaver) is doing what Bobby does best, Castiel is out-manned, out-gunned and on the brink of civil war with Raphael (Demore Barnes and Lanette Ware), outcast angel Balthazar (Sebastian Roché) is collecting powerful religious relics (to what ends, no one knows), Crossroads demon Crowley (Mark Sheppard) is wearing Hell's heavy crown, and legions of Djinn, vampires, skin-walkers, wraith, werewolves, dragons, ghouls and other creepy crawlies are more active than ever. Worse, a powerful creature named Eve (Julia Maxwell) rises from the ashes of Purgatory, Samuel isn't telling the Winchesters everything he knows, and Dean realizes Sam isn't quite himself, leaving him with little choice but to turn to the one entity he hoped to never barter with again: Death (Julian Richings).

If you thought the end of the Apocalypse might just spell the end of Supernatural, rest easy. Season Six has it all: scene-chomping performances, the looming threat of an all-powerful baddie, near-impossible odds, dark twists and vicious turns, and the same masterclass mashup of campfire horror, character-driven drama and self-effacing, reference-ridden comedy Supernatural fans have come to know and love. Mark Pellegrino may have shuffled off with Lucifer, but Sheppard, Roché, Pileggi and other episode-to-episode character actors keep the series' blood boiling. Padalecki, Ackles and Beaver are as in-tune with their hunters as ever, and Sam's latest descent into darkness gives the battle-hardened trio plenty to work with. Meanwhile, Collins arguably steals the entire season as Castiel's loyalties are called into question again and again and, after a jaw-splintering turn of events, again. (So much so that Season Seven can't come soon enough.) The cast's chemistry is there, and then some. The series' roadhouse action and splatterfest shotgunning is intact. The dialogue cuts deep and racks up gasps, cheers and laughs. The showrunners' management of a scrap-iron budget is as clever as ever. Even the ongoing Supernatural mythos grows and expands in unexpected, dare I say downright shocking directions.

But the path to Hell is paved with good intentions. For every well-calculated left hook and sharp right turn, a filler episode or missed opportunity seems to be lurking in the shadows. Little about Season Six disappoints, but newly annointed showrunner Sera Gamble isn't as daring or confident (or perhaps simply experienced) as series creator and five-season king-of-the-castle Eric Kripke. At least not yet. The sixth season's Big Bad -- the Mother of All -- is unceremoniously left in the dust and doesn't pack the fiery punch of Azazel, Lilith or Lucifer. Don't get me wrong, she serves her purpose, but only as a stepping stone to grander storylines and greater pursuits. It's Crowley and his alliance of twisted troublemakers that hold down the freak-show fort; it's Raphael and his power grab that drives the season along; and it's Dean's suspicions, Sam's "condition," Samuel's allegiances and Castiel's civil war that propels Season Six toward its game-changing endgame. For all the Mother of All hubbub, the Mother of All subplot putters out and stalls in the road. Not that I'm complaining. Much. You can almost feel Gamble's confidence blossoming as the sixth season bears its fangs and each episode takes bigger risks, saddles Sam and Dean with even more burdens, and makes bolder moves, all in a concerted effort to keep the series agile and deadly, Kripke or no. And, more often than not, she succeeds spectacularly, making Season Six's shortcomings growing pains rather than crippling weaknesses.

Long story short, Supernatural's sixth season isn't an epitaph on the series' tombstone, it's a loaded Colt aimed squarely at an intriguing seventh season. The pieces on the board are changing -- scratch that -- the entire board is changing, yet the Hunter's game goes ever on. If nothing else, Season Six proves Supernatural has grown beyond Kripke's imagination and taken on a life all its own. Longevity is relative, particularly in television, but if the show continues to deliver, I suspect I'll still be reviewing new seasons for some time. Whether or not it can last as long as Smallville... well, that's up to you, the Winchester brothers and God, wherever he may be hiding in the Supernatural universe.

Supernatural: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If you currently have a block o' Supernatural sitting on your shelf, you probably already know what to expect from Warner's faithful 1080p/AVC-encoded sixth season video presentation. While shadows consume the light and ominous black levels damn detail to the darkness, the series still manages to impress with bleak but striking colors, lifelike skintones and well-resolved fine textures. The darkness may press in, but only insofar as Gamble and DP Serge Ladouceur allow; detail may dip on occasion, but only as much the show's photography or limited visual effects dictate; contrast may shift, but only by intention. Reds are slick and pulpy, whites are stark and striking, and delineation is as revealing or as restrictive as it's meant to be. Closeups range from pleasing to stunning, edge definition is sharp and satisfying (without any substantial ringing to speak of), the series' grainy disposition is alive and well, and every last hair, creeping vein, spatter of blood, grain of salt, patch of stubble and scrap of bone looks as good as it feasibly could. Significant artifacting and smearing never rear their heads, neither aliasing nor aberrant noise are a factor, and a bit of mild banding is about the only thing worth noting. (If what little banding appears is even notable.) All things considered, The Complete Sixth Season boasts a killer presentation. Fans will be thrilled.

Supernatural: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

What you may not expect is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, which is exactly the heat The Complete Sixth Season is packing. The result isn't the pitch-perfect lossless monster I was hoping for, but, pound for pound, tooth for tooth, it's a fierce and ferocious beast I was more than happy to welcome into my home theater. Dialogue, while a bit scruffy at times, is clean, clear and nicely centered on the whole. Voices are intelligible (except when all hell breaks loose, literally); effects are crisp and, when called upon, jarring; and dynamics elevate the sonics above anything Supernatural has delivered before. LFE output is aggressive and powerful, latching onto any and every explosion, vortex or creature with some weight to throw around. Rear speaker activity isn't exactly consistent (it's actually a wee bit underwhelming on occasion), but directionality is precise, swirling demons and descending angels whisk from channel to channel with eerie ease, interior acoustics are fairly convincing, and ambience is both unsettling and reasonably involving. In fact, any complaints I might muster should be leveled against the series' sound design, not Warner's lossless efforts. Ultimately, The Complete Sixth Season sounds as fantastic as it looks, meaning the show finally, finally has a Blu-ray release that takes full advantage of the format.

Supernatural: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4-disc Blu-ray release of Supernatural: The Complete Sixth Season isn't going to consume anyone's week, but it does serve up a number of worthwhile extras including an episode-by-episode "Hunter's Guide," a pair of audio commentaries, two documentaries, two episodes of Supernatural: The Anime Series, and other tricks and treats, all presented in high definition.

• The Hunter's Guide to Season Six (HD): An interactive, episode-by-episode experience loaded with hours of video and audio interviews, production featurettes (more than forty-five in all), mythology dissections, lore guides, effects breakdowns, hidden goodies, promotional materials and much, much more. Sure, some of the shorter segments amount to thirty-second quick hits, but when combined with everything else "The Hunter's Guide" offers, it isn't an issue. Like several previous Supernatural Blu-ray releases, the Season Six behind-the-scenes suite is quite revealing and rewarding, and makes the most of its inch by bloody inch overview.
• Audio Commentaries: And yet The Complete Sixth Season still sweetens the pot with a pair of audio commentaries. Executive producers Robert Singer, Sera Gamble and Ben Edlund tackle "Clap Your Hands If You Believe" and, perhaps most fittingly, "The French Mistake," touching on the day to day rigors of helming a series, dealing with budget constraints, managing talent and coming up with new ways to keep old fans begging for more. Additional commentaries would have gone a long way -- particularly if they featured Padalecki and Ackles -- but I'll take what I can get.
• Jensen Ackles: A Director's Journey (HD, 27 minutes): Ackles takes a stab at directing with "Weekend at Bobby's" and learns a few valuable lessons while moving in for the kill. This surprisingly in-depth documentary not only traces the star's steps behind the camera, it provides a welcome all-access glimpse into the rapidfire production of a typical episode.
• Supernatural and the Quest for the Soul (HD, 29 minutes): This rather literal "Quest for the Soul" examines the mysteries, origins and nature of the soul with the help of theologians, spiritualists and, of course, the Supernatural showrunners.
• "The French Mistake" Trivia Track (HD): "Fighting on set is not permitted. Bare feet are also not permitted." A pop-up trivia track crams "The French Mistake" full of fairly interesting on-screen tidbits, even though a few gaps prove disappointing.
• "The French Mistake" Alternate Takes and Outtakes (HD, 4 minutes): More supplemental love for "The French Mistake," now with more laughs!
• Supernatural: The Anime Series Episodes (HD, 45 minutes): Two episodes of Supernatural: The Anime Series are included for good measure, subsequently the only two episodes that feature the voice talents of Padalecki and Ackles.
• Gag Reel (HD, 11 minutes): Hijinks and honked-over F-bombs, Winchester style.
• BD-Live Functionality

Supernatural: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, the latest season of Supernatural finally has the mettle and moxie to earn high marks across the board. Yet another terrific video presentation and enticing supplemental package await fans as well, making the Blu-ray edition of The Complete Sixth Season one of -- if not the -- series' best releases to date. It only helps that Season Six is such a blast. With Sam struggling to cope with his own soulless deeds, Dean trying to hold things together, and Castiel leaping into the fray of yet another war in heaven, Supernatural's sixth season only gets better as it plows along and hints at greater, even darker things to come.