No, it’s not because of the nostalgia that comes with it.
Summary:
When the show has been on the air for 15 years, it’s fair to expect that very different age groups of fans will join the fandom. Those who have been with the characters since the very first season are inevitably different from the fans who have joined in the last few seasons of the show, and that is to be expected. The Supernatural fandom is no different.
Different eras of fandom also come with different experiences. Those who started watching Supernatural early on never knew about streaming services and were more likely to watch the show on The CW or just buy or rent a DVD. Others who have the option of watching the entire series on Netflix have definitely lost some of the benefits.
Some might say that the need to have a physical copy of something you love as a collectible might not be entirely necessary for the 2020s when everything is digital. However, in the case of Supernatural in particular, there’s more to Blu-ray and DVD copies than just the nostalgia they hold.
Any fan of the show will tell you that it just feels different to start the show on disc rather than a streaming service. The key lies in the show’s iconic soundtracks… or lack thereof.
If you’ve ever watched Supernatural and know how the episodes usually sound, you know that what you see and hear on Netflix (or any other streaming service, for that matter) isn’t quite right. It’s hard to put your finger on it at first, but a muffled sound has to do with certain songs being removed from the episodes.
Fortunately, this problem is only present in the first season. However, since the first season is usually crucial for getting into the show, some fans go so far as to say that they feel sorry for those who only experience Supernatural through streaming services.
The most infuriating example that fans recall is the removal of the Allman Brothers or AC/DC, which are so central to the show’s DNA at this point. No one could ever imagine that the production team would do this without a very good reason. The explanation turned out to be simpler than expected: it all came down to money.
The situation was explained in detail in an episode of the podcast Supernatural Then and Now with hosts Rob Benedict and Richard Speight Jr., as well as Phil Sgriccia, and Chris Lennertz as the invited guests.
During the creation of the show, the production team bought the license for TV and DVD copies but never mentioned streaming services because they didn’t exist. While they probably could have rebought the licenses for the iconic songs for season one, it would have been an extremely expensive decision.
As an alternative, the show’s creators, as well as the fans, had to settle for a set of generic rock tunes at a very reasonable price, but without any edge to them. Hence the overall dull sound, and the ultimate decision by many original fans to splurge on a set of DVDs and the player to not miss out on the experience.
Whether you own a Blu-ray or DVD copy of season 1, or have to settle for Netflix’s version for now, it is always a pleasure to rejoin the Winchester brothers on their adventure. So don’t deny yourself a Supernatural marathon if you feel like it!
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