TV Jots

Dare I Say It?

The “Family Remains” episode of Supernatural is the most boring episode of the series to date. Having admitted that, even a dull-as-a-doorknob installment in the Adventures of the Winchester Brothers is more exciting than 90 percent of the other stuff on TV.

During this outing, Sam and Dean encounter what appears to be a ghost girl at a secluded farmhouse. After she bloodily offs an ancient man who lives there in the opening scene, Sam and Dean arrive to investigate and eventually protect the new family of five moving in: Brian and Susan Carter, their two children Kate and Danny, and Susan’s brother Ted.

The boys don’t manage to accomplish that mission until they realize that not only is the “ghost” actually human — she enters a salt circle like it ain’t no thang — but she’s actually the daughter and granddaughter of the dead old man. Nasty, no? It turns out he molested his daughter, her mother, who committed suicide by hanging in the attic, and then he decided to hide the girl from authorities by holding her hostage in the house.

Dean, still torn up over all of the souls he enjoyed torturing during his 30+-year sojourn in hell (inflicting pain was a release of sorts), vows to save Danny from his new ghost buddy when she abducts him, especially after Uncle Ted gets stabbed to death in the throat while in the walls of the house hunting her down with Dean.

So, just when you think the biggest twist is Ghost Girl actually being Savage Girl, you go and learn she has a Savage Brother, whom Dean quickly dispatches before explaining to Sam — again — why his main focus these days is saving as many people as possible. Meanwhile, out in the shed with the womenfolk, Daddy Brian takes care of Savage Girl with her weapon of choice: a rusty, crusty knife.

A nice casting touch in the episode is 1980s Supergirl Helen Slater as Susan. I barely recognized her, but she looks good, and the rest of the guest cast does a typically fine job acting terrified, terrifying, and/or dead on command.

NEXT UP: January 22nd’s very cleverly titled “Criss Angel Is a Douche Bag,” featuring extra special guest star Barry Bostwick (Spin City). He plays one of three washed-up magicians who could possibly be dabbling in that old black magic.

The Brothers Winchester step in to do their usual thing, which this time around means reversing a spell that could wreak some serious havoc on the old-timers. Here’s hoping “Douche Bag” is more intriguing than the last episode.

“Family Remains” Guest Cast: Helen Slater (Susan Carter), David Newsom (Brian Carter), Bradley Stryker (Uncle Ted), Alexa Nikolas (Kate Carter), Dylan Minnette (Danny Carter), Mandy Playdon (The Girl), Gerry Rousseau (Bill Gibson), Mark Wynn (The Boy), Karin Konoval (Mrs. Curry)

“Family Remains” Original Air Date: January 15, 2009