SPN Ep: Bloodlines

[the_other_sandy]

So that was the backdoor pilot, eh?

May I say how lovely it is to see Chicago playing itself on TV? Usually when I see "Chicago" on TV, Chicago is being played by Toronto. In fact, I'm so used to seeing Toronto pretending to be Chicago on TV that the one time I actually went to Toronto, everything looked familiar like I'd been there before. [Hee, and the Toronto gods are angry. I just now this second got an email notification about a Supernatural con in Toronto.] Anyway, it was nice to see Chicago on TV and recognize places I've been in real life. I think I even caught a glimpse of a building where I used to work.

As for the pilot itself, I liked the budding friendship between David and Ennis, and I liked the variety of supernatural creatures, but overall I think this (potential) show may be too soapy for me. I don't know. The jury's still out, but nothing in it really grabbed me and said this was a show I'd look forward to seeing.

Comments

[agent-jl36.livejournal.com]

I've never been a mobster-theme fan of anything. It's going to have to prove itself not to be a Vampire Diaries/The Embraced drama of who is sleeping with who. Dang it. I really wanted to like it!

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

This is just the Chicagoan in me talking, but I didn't like the "five families" supernatural mob structure being set in Chicago. The mob family structure is more a New York thing. Chicago has always been a one family mafia town. The only time we ever got mob wars was when there was a power struggle at the top.

[and-ed.livejournal.com]

I was really hoping to like this. I had visions of it becoming a cool, long running show and then Sam and Dean could pop up in it from time to time after Supernatural finally ends.

Alas, it was not to be. This just failed on pretty much all levels for me. I snarked a bit about it in my post but really, I'm very sad that I didn't like it.

Yay for Chicago-ness, though. I've never been there but right now I'm hearing Rory Gilmour in my head (I've been mainlining the entire GG series lately) during her first adorably awkward conversation with her Dean (aka, Baby!Jared) when he says he's just moved from Chicago... "Windy. Oprah." =)

I think "soapy" is a good description but I'm glad the jury is still out for you. Maybe you'll be more into it once it gets going. If I'm not going to like it, somebody should. ;)

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

Sam and Dean could pop up in it from time to time after Supernatural finally ends

That would be cool.

I'm glad the jury is still out for you.

The only reason the jury is still out for me is because I was completely indifferent to this episode. I didn't hate it like burning, but nothing caught my attention in a positive way either.

It really says something about the episode that my favorite part was the scene they shot in the Great Hall of Union Station because I love the Great Hall. Fun fact: when I was a kid, that was where the ticket counters and waiting area for the trains were, since the tracks were outside. They've since built the place up, so the tracks are covered now and the ticket counters were moved into a larger area. They've covered over the old ticket counters (although you can still see the outline of where they were) and removed a lot of the benches because they rent the Great Hall out for functions now. Another fun fact: they shot the baby carriage scene of The Untouchables (the movie, not the TV series) there too.

[mangacat201.livejournal.com]

I kinda had fun with the episode though I agree about the soapy-ness, I'll be giving it a chance at least. I liked David, he's a character that struck a cord and really put on a performance, but I'm not sure about the rest of the monster brigade. I wasn't enarmoured with how little Sam and Dean were involved even if I understand that the character set up was needed.
Still, there were some really unattractive directing choices in there (they get out of the car, they get into the car, and Dean just lets a monster watch his 6, what?) and the blatant paralellism of the fridged-female-squared struck me as a very lazy narrative choice. But the most off-putting thing really was the blatant disregard for the shapeshifter lore of the show. 'Skin' is such an iconic episode and while I get the sleek gossip girl shifters can't be seen shedding all over, it threw me out big time, especially since all the shifts where designed as 'monster intro' without outright saying which kind they were. At least the werewolf-effects were really nicely done and some throwbacks like the wraith's worked.
I'm still giving it a chance, but I think I'll approach it more as another genre show that piqued my interest than a supernatural franchise. We'll see how they do when they're not awkwardly filtering in and out a couple of the most infamous hunters of the states.
Oh, and yeah, Chicago is definitely a nice city, but can we at least have a comment on how that big apocalyptic storm, flooding, high Death toll ca. 2010 worked out for them? I've been waiting for that.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

I'll be giving it a chance at least

I don't know if I will or not. I don't like soaps, and I don't like large ensemble casts (Heroes taught me that), but I do like supernatural stuff. I'll keep following the news about this show to see what they plan to do with it, and if it continues to sound like something that doesn't interest me, I'll skip it.

I wasn't enarmoured with how little Sam and Dean were involved even if I understand that the character set up was needed.

I've seen enough backdoor pilots that I'd prepared myself for minimal Sam and Dean. They were actually in it more than I thought they would be.

Oh, and yeah, Chicago is definitely a nice city, but can we at least have a comment on how that big apocalyptic storm, flooding, high Death toll ca. 2010 worked out for them?

Honestly? It was no different from our actual weather at any other time, so we barely noticed. ;-)

[mangacat201.livejournal.com]

Yeah, maybe I'll let a few eps accumulate and then have a look in... I don't even know if it's supposed to be an off-season show or launch alongside supernatural in fall. Hmmm, we'll see.

So Chicago always has apocalyptic weather? well, at least you built in stone and steel too, so it doesn't look like the Midwest after. Heard tornado season did the whole year's worth of storms in one weekend, I'm so glad that passed me by when i was over yonder.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

So Chicago always has apocalyptic weather?

Let's just say that when I travel, I find the weather elsewhere terribly boring.

[mangacat201.livejournal.com]

Ehehee, that's funny! I was always fascinated with how little it rained every time I visited the UK. There go your stereotypes.

[darkrose-9.livejournal.com]

I kept waiting for Sam and Dean to show up. I think if the whole ep had been from Sam amd Dean's perspective, and then we were introduced to the characters along the way, it would have been better. I can't see this as an episode existing in the supernatural world. It felt like a generic CW show that happened to cross over with spn.

Plus, the shifters changed shape so easily! I kept thinking about Skin and how that shifter had to tear his skin off to shift forms, and how messy and creepy and horrer indcuing that episode was. In comparison? I could barely stomach a whole episode of this, let alone a whole season. It was alright, but that's all it was. In fact, it kinda reminded me of the Tomorrow People - which I lost interest in after the first 6 or so episodes. I feel that spn fans will avoid the spin off, but maybe the general public will like it? *sigh*

It also felt wierd that there's this whole secret angel war going on, and yet no major cities are affected? I mean the apocalypse seasons 4/5 had Sam and Dean going somewhere different each week, just trying to keep the evil at bay. And when they weren't places, there was always something on the news. I don't think there are enough episodes left to really pad out the angel wars storyline, which is a shame, because it had the potwntial to be awesome, and it's just flopped. Next week does look better though. *crosses fingers*

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

I kept waiting for Sam and Dean to show up.

I've seen enough backdoor pilots that I'd prepared myself for minimal Sam and Dean. They were actually in it more than I thought they would be.

It was alright, but that's all it was.

Exactly. I was completely indifferent to it. The pilot of Supernatural didn't exactly ignite the fires of fandom in me (blasphemy, I know), but I was struck by the chemistry between Jared and Jensen, and between Sam and Dean, so I decided to stick around and see if the show did anything with it. It did, and I'm here 8 seasons later. Nothing from this episode caught my attention like that at all.

it kinda reminded me of the Tomorrow People - which I lost interest in after the first 6 or so episodes

You lasted longer than I did. I think I quit partway through the third episode because it was boring me to death.

I don't think there are enough episodes left to really pad out the angel wars storyline

Show has always had trouble like that with pacing. How many times have we complained over the years about filler eps so close to the end of the season when they should be ramping up for the finale? I just hope somebody sticks a fork in Metatron soon, because I'm tired of looking at his smug face.

[darkrose-9.livejournal.com]

I've seen enough backdoor pilots that I'd prepared myself for minimal Sam and Dean. They were actually in it more than I thought they would be.

I was spoiled by Arrow's excellent introduction of the Flash spin off series. I'm looking forward to watching it simply because of how well that backdoor pilot was handled.

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

It was so dull. I zoned out a lot. It felt like such a generic CW show. I can't believe this five-monsters-mob situation has been going on in Chicago forever without the hunter community being aware. I didn't appreciate a woman getting fridged within 5 minutes either.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

"Generic" is definitely the perfect word for it. The Bloodlines actors were all so bland. They weren't particularly good actors either. Some of the lines would have been funny if they'd been delivered by someone who understood the humor.

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

There was a momentary brightening a lot of the times when Jensen and Jared were on, but then we were back to the other amateur hour actors.