Supernatural: Roadkill

While Tall Tales might have subverted the standard formula of a Supernatural episode by rendering the Winchester brothers' usual research almost redundant and pitting them against a near-omnipotent foe, Roadkill was a return to first season glory, complete with a ghost hunt, a shotgun full of rock salt and the old "dig up the bones, salt 'em and burn 'em" routine.

Throw in Battlestar Galactica's gorgeous Tricia Helfer as a co-star, a couple of spooky shacks in creepy woods and a story which takes place during a single night and you've got a standalone episode that encapsulates Sam and Dean's mission as well as the show's Pilot.

The vengeful ghost of a dead farmer haunts an isolated section of road, once a year, on the anniversary of his death.

Sam and Dean thus have one night to track him and lay him to rest, but they are flagged down by Molly (Tricia Helfer), whose car crashed after her husband swerved to avoid hitting the ghost of the farmer. Now her husband has disappeared and she's been chased through the woods by the gruesome ghost.

Molly refuses to leave the area until she can find her husband and so tags along with the Winchesters on their ghost hunt - even though she is initially sceptical (and scared) when they reveal their presence on the road was no co-incidence and that they are seeking to vanquish an apparition.

The story, which explores the brothers different approaches to the paranormal as well as the question of what happens to spirits after they are 'set free', has a brilliant twist, which I only began to suspect towards the turning point for the final act.

Roadkill is classic Supernatural; a welcome breather from the overarching through-plot of the season and a return to the show's roots.