Review

A year ago in Seattle on Christmas eve the quintessential Grandfather is dragged up the chimney by something unseen, and before you ask, hell yeah - more bone crunching than a fist fill of Jaws 2 movies. Flash to the present and two further dudes have been dragged up their chimneys in Ypsilanti, Michigan, once again with Christmas closing in. Dean and Sam are on the case with Sam throwing a theory of the Anti-Claus onto the table. Dean misses it, no surprises there, but Sam notes meadowsweet wreaths at both crime scenes. Get ready for some Pagan god goodness as Dean and Sam have to consider if they have been good or bad this year.

In a flashback to a previous Christmas in Broken Bow, Nevada 1991 we learn why Sam isn't into the seasonal festivities. John Winchester let him down as a kid in a big way, but Dean tried to make it alright - though a Barbie doll, dude Bronie not in that year? Queue the dramatic music, Sam gives Dean a necklace that Bobby gave him for John Winchester. Clearly that necklace is going to come into play at some stage, way too much focus there for it not to be. Back to the episode at hand, let's have a merry little Christmas with the Bros.

Two of the most frightening title cards you can ever expect to see at the start of a television show went down as things got rolling with episode eight of season three. Firstly we had the fear inducing "Special Feature" and then just in case you haven't turned into a shivering ball of terror behind your sofa we get "A Very Supernatural Christmas"! Pass horrors flashed before my eyes, The Brady Bunch Xmas family shite, and in case you missed it there was a Star Wars one that may have involved skaters and ice! America, fuck yeah! This sort of thing turns grown men into spit drooling idiots that throw their television sets out of closed windows rather than sit through more of this brain eroding rubbish. I'm sure Xmas specials are financed by television manufacturers and glaziers. However I was prepared to take a bullet for the team and watch the episode, and you know what, it freaking rocked the house down. Finally something I can throw on the player on Boxing Day without having to drink myself into stupor before watching.

While the episode does extend the yuletide concepts to breaking point, in a good way I was grooving out, it also throws a couple of monsters our way that rock the house down and then build it back up yo. Okay I know you are probably going to say this was done previously in Scarecrow during season one, and yes the idea of pagan Gods does rock on, but the approach here is different and the storyline has no redundant recycling feeling to it. When you get a couple that put the zing into Christmas being ye olde demonic Gods after human flesh then you have pretty much underlined my need to check it out. And just in case you are wondering if the tinsel has dulled, Director J. Miller Tobin doesn't hold back on the nasty with the episode on stages verging on gorenography.

And in case you are wondering if the humour is present, then have no fears, Dean and Winchester visiting a Christmas outdoor thing is a hoot and a howler. Especially when Dean confides in one of the Elves that they are only there to watch the kids with Santa! Hello, and to increase Sam's uncomfortable the recurrent homo thing goes down later in the episode. Outstanding! The Santa watching porn and drinking cheap wine in his spare time has pretty much been done to death, but wasn't complaining over here. The Christmas jing-a-ling mixed with the blood and death was working like one big pressie under the tree. If this is what we get during a Writers' strike, then they should keep on hitting the picket line for another season or so.

Surprisingly an excellent episode that has no business being one of the highlights of the season thus far

As mentioned in the plot run down we get a flashback to Dean and Sam as kids, holed up in some out of the way motel waiting on John Winchester to arrive in time for Christmas. Not surprisingly Dean, who sleeps with a gun under his pillow, isn't shocked that John lets the parental requirements slip, but Sam holds out a candle in the long dark night for a Winchester Christmas. Dean tries his best to make his younger brother's situation better, which continues to the present day, but for Sam it's a coming of age time, as he learns exactly what the family business is. The younger Actors really sell the scene, I was a believer over here, you can feel Sam's pain and perhaps note the start of his rebellion against his dictatorial father that rocked through the first season.

Strangely, for what must have been a throw away episode - till it actually got good and all, there's a fair amount of controversy surrounding A Very Supernatural Christmas. So called Pagans, notably of the North American flavour, are up in arms about the portrayal of the old Pagan Gods! Hello, clearly for modern day Pagans it's all about crystals and fracking chanting, I'm with Conal Cochran, bring back the original Samhain, just for the pretend Pagans to get down and poo their pants over. Backing up the stench of false Paganism are the Fundos who are naturally against anyone having any sort of fun, or popular culture displaying the darkness their religion apparently is meant to hold up a light to hold back. Strange bedfellows, though admittedly the Pagans will be nekkid and chanting while the Fundos will be fully clothed and praying for their immortal souls. Guess I've just promoted the flock out of Paganism.

Okay where are we up to? Ahh the presence of mullet rock, hell yeah! "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Rosemary Clooney, just kill me now. But we do get Dean and Sam's rendition of "Silent Night", the Bros can't sing, which is going to be a blessing in disguise when a Studio Suit decides they should really do a Christmas special!

The episode managed to bounce to 3.02 million viewers in North America on release date, which is a pretty good result considering the whole Christmas special thing wasn't going to exactly conjure up the delights Supernatural fans may have expected. While not a season high, it's still strong enough to show the franchise has a solid support base.

Well I'm going to say I had a pretty good time with the episode, wasn't expecting to at the start, but the monsters were good and the reflection on Christmas themes won me over. For non-Supernatural types parts of the episode might seem a little odd here and there but regular viewers will be right in their elements. Another decent episode going through the middle block of the season, are things starting to look up?