By now you may have already heard the story – the one about those two brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), who travel the back roads and highways of America in a classic '67 Chevy Impala as they fight everything from demons to vampires. Season 3 of Supernatural is now available on DVD, picking up about a week after season 2 left off.

After trading his soul to a Crossroads Demon to save Sam's life, Dean has a year to live before he goes to hell (literally. This is Supernatural). Dean wants as much sex, junk food, and killing of evil things he can fit in before his trip to the bad place. Sam wants to save Dean, but Dean doesn't seem to want to be saved. As usual, the sibling emotional dynamics are at play, at times subtle as a ghostly presence, or harsh as a shotgun blast of rock salt to the chest.

The writer's strike made a stub season of 16 episodes a necessity. Showrunner Eric Kripke and his team whittled the stories down to the ones that dealt most directly with Dean's deal and the mystery of Sam's possible psychic powers. There are monsters-of-the-week, including evil mad scientists, phone calls from the deceased, vampires, and bloody fairy tales. But things keep linking back to time running out for Dean, Sam's desperation, and a recurring theme of grieving siblings. It's not unusual for Supernatural to thematically use the monsters to echo the emotional beats, but Season 3 ramps up the intensity.

Season 3 starts big, as Sam, Dean and their mentor Bobby battle The Seven Deadly Sins in "The Magnificent Seven." Other highlights include Dean's chat with a demon in "Sin City" and another look at Sam and Dean's childhoods in "A Very Supernatural Christmas." "Dream a Little Dream of Me" gives us some back story on Bobby and peeks into Dean's subconscious, while "Mystery Spot" does a genuinely fresh twist on the Groundhog Day premise. "Jus in Belo," which puts the Winchesters into a siege situation, is gripping from start to finish. "Ghostfacers" takes Sam and Dean where they've never been before: serving as supporting characters in someone else's reality TV series. The episode also provides some of the funniest material the show has ever produced, an interlude before the final three episodes of the season as Dean's time starts running out.

Jim Beaver continues to turn in a wonderful performance as Bobby Singer, a surrogate father figure for Sam and Dean. Season 3 introduces two new female characters, Ruby (Katie Cassidy) and Bela (Lauren Cohan). Both actresses turn in good performances, and the characters are intriguing, but the show never quite seems to know what to do with them. Supernatural has a spotty history with supporting and recurring characters (or gets it right but has trouble holding onto them). There are a few rough spots in Season 3, even with the show's usually consistent, careful characterization of its two main characters, but mostly the show is on its game, delivering a fierce, watchable season that works the character dynamics as well as the action. It's also visually striking, whether it's the color saturation in a dreamscape, a creepy cabin in the woods, or hand-held cameras set to night-vision mode.

Meanwhile, Jensen Ackles as Dean and Jared Padalecki as Sam continue to turn in some extraordinary performances, individually and as an acting team. Jared Padalecki shows us Sam's increasing frustration and worry (we also get to see Padalecki's knack for physical comedy), while Jensen Ackles continues to find new layers as Dean's brash denial at the start of the season slowly chips away. Some of the season's best moments are the brothers in the Impala, whether it's an argument or nothing more than a quirked eyebrow and an answering sideways glance.

There are some decent extras, although no audio commentaries. Instead, the set offers "Closer Looks," video clips of members of the show's production team discussing selected episodes. The featurette on the Impala is definitely worth it, as is the "Ghostfacers! Confessionals" extra. There's also a gag reel.

As with Season 1 and Season 2, this is definitely another keeper.


Supernatural: Season 3, MSRP $59.98, Warner Home Video