Cheers Steve :thumbsup:

Aside from a couple of clangers I'd rate S1 as 'good' up 'till this point but this ep marks a change of gear for me and a great little run of season finale eps :)

One of the things the show largely manages is to get away with using material that's been done to death previously, normally because of the character dynamics between Sam & Dean imo. With this one I'd say they've managed it again, with the 'ooh lets have a vampire ep' bit being second to watching the characters interact (Sam/Dean/John) and a bit more filled in re the main arc.

Yeah, I'm in total agreement with you on that, Dave. Whilst it's not as good a show as either The X Files or Buffy I do think it's latched onto that knack both of those shows had for putting a slight twist on an old story. I also think that it manages to marry the atmosphere of the former with the humour of the latter. Even if it is to a lesser degree it still makes it infinitely more watchable than most of the pap that's around, imo :)