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SPN
As most of you crazy kids know, my new obsession last year was Supernatural. I've just spent the last few weeks catching up on the series, and have now seen the whole damn thing through, and some episodes multiple times. Here's a list of things I've come to appreciate about the show:
1. The supporting characters. The usual mantra is the boys, the boys, the boys, but this show has some great recurring, and even one-time supporting characters. That Bobby is love goes without saying, but then there's Pamela, Meg, Missouri, the Campbells, Andy, the demon love birds in Sin City, Agent Henricksen, Gordon Walker (FU IL HIM), and a ridiculous number of other, interesting, efficiently drawn supporting characters.
2. The meticulous fanboying of the horror genre. For the first two seasons, the show spends an insane amount of time lovingly recreating and reinterpreting popular horror movies and stories. Sometimes I think the show is an elaborate love letter to the genre: plots, pacing, character notes, set and costume design, cinematography and music are all straight out of the best (and worst) horror of the 70s and 80s. Even the show's later preoccupation with angels and demons is, well, typical. Supernatural isn't just about horror - there are other genre influences at work - but it is absolutely, unquestionably a horror fanboy, and since I'm a horror fangirl, we get along great. Spot the movie is, I'm not gonna lie, one of my favourite things to do while watching.
3. The silliness. It's obvious that people working on this show: a) have a lot of fun; b) don't take themselves or their work too ~seriously. It makes it that much easier to enjoy the show. And can I just say, Padalecki's pouty face is a seriously underrated comedic tool. Bad Day At Black Rock, people. My god.
4. The (occasionally) explicit rejection of the ethical position of the show's main characters. I really appreciate that the show doesn't fall into the trap of agreeing with its characters: Sam and Dean are both horribly, appallingly wrong about the big (and little) things. They make bad decisions, like selling their souls for each other, and the show frames those choices as understandable but wrong, wrong, wrong. If anyone's a candidate for being the moral/ethical center of Supernatural, I'm going to tentatively go with Bobby, who balances sentiment, humanism, familial love, and pragmatism. No Alamo-stupid heroics for Mr. Singer. (I should note that I'm a bit concerned about how his being paralyzed will affect this - please show, don't have Bobby wallow in bitterness for too long. Someone needs to remind the Winchesters that they are indeed massive idjits).
5. The love for familial love. How much do I appreciate the show's commitment to the bond between siblings, and between parent and child? And further, it's love for extended and found families? Oh man, a lot. In a lot of ways, the relationship that the Winchester brothers share is so damn typical. I see myself, and my brothers in their relationship. The love/hate, push/pull, teasing, tormenting, sticking together against the world absurdity of it all. There's a bit of every close sibling relationship in theirs. Of course, the show amps it up by approximately a thousand, taking it into unhealthy territory, when it dissects how compulsive their relationship has become. This is Greek tragedy territory, so no, I don't think there's anything particularly unique or remarkable about the brothers Winchester. I do really like that we're told, very clearly, that this sacrifice for sacrifice shit ain't gonna fly no more. We're moving to a place where their relationship continues to be central, but isn't an excuse for idiot heroics and self-sacrifice. A healthy place. It only took the Apocalypse.
6. The mega-arc. Eric Kripke says that he had a five year plan for Supernatural. Obviously this smacks of ridiculousness, considering how often the show struggled to stay on the air, and the television's complete inability to plan anything, but I kind of believe him. I think he had a vague plan: a general, mental outline with a couple of the big showdowns sketched out. If you watch the series straight through, it's got a fairly coherent mega-arc. The show also neatly expands ever outward:
Season One: Family business. The search for John, and revenge for Mary. First exploration of Sam's powers. In this season, the Winchester family and the impala are home base and the show's world.
Season Two: Azazel's special kids. The brothers are still looking to get revenge for Mary's murder, and Sam's violation, but they've also got another mission: finding and helping/killing Azazel's special kids. This is a direct outgrowth of season one's family business. The Winchesters are situated in a larger community (hunters, Azazel's victims, humanity).
Season Three: The demon army and Dean's countdown to death. The brothers have an even bigger mission that brings them in contact with new players (Bela, Ruby, Lilith, Henricksen), and the wider world of Supernatural. The Winchester/Impala bubble that the show was stuck in has pretty much burst at this point - we get to see the consequences of their choices. Dean's looming death spurs both the brothers to go to extremes, so while we're learning more about the world of SPN, we're also seeing new (and uncomfortable) sides to the brothers' personalities.
Season Four: The sixty-six seals. The introduction of the angels and their battle with the demons, adds another dimension to the world of Supernatural. In season three we got to see more of the human world (other hunters, occult dealers, law enforcement), season four gives us our first look at this huge conflict that's been going on under the brothers' noses. One that, I think, mirrors the hunter/supernatural conflict, with the angels being the heavenly equivalent of human hunters (ie. driven by obscure compulsions, with not necessarily good intentions). This season makes heaven and hell seem like real places for the first time.
Season Five: Countdown to the Apocalypse. We've gone from the Winchester family, to Azazel's kids, to humanity, to heaven and hell, to now toying with the idea of God and the nature of existence. The Winchesters are still front and center, but now they're at the center of a freaking cosmic conflict over the continued existence of their whole world. They're also one of a number of families working out their issues in this show. See also: the Harvelles, the demons, the angels, Andy and his brother, the Campbells, the creatures in Jump The Shark. Now we have Castiel, odd angel out, searching for his father, God, and Sam and Dean trying to figure out (again) how to be brothers. Lots of shades of season one, here. (btw, I'll be interested to see if Castiel is fully integrated into the Winchester/Singer family unit - can angels and humans be family? Future!Castiel and Dean didn't have a brotherly relationship, I don't think, but it's possible the show could still be going in this direction. Albeit with a Dean who's learned how not to do it).
7. Second verse, same as the first. This show keeps repeating itself. The seasons have similar structures, similar conflicts and dilemmas, and the brothers keep learning the same lessons, over and over. This is more effective than you'd think. It imparts a sense of continuity, I think, and makes for a richer fan experience. The show keeps returning to the same questions (how far should you go to protect family, just what is human) over and over, under slightly changed circumstances. How will it play out this time? How will this bit of character development, or this event affect the outcome? I love how this underlines one of the pillars of the show: there are no easy answers, and there is no black and white. I love too, that it demonstrates the cast and crew's affection for the show - they're paying attention to where they've been, just as much as where they're going.
8. The hideous motels. Where the hell do they find them? Are they building all these hideous motel rooms? I swear to the Great Gazoo, I have never seen such absurd motel rooms. There needs to be a line about Sam or Dean (most likely) Dean, picking the most kitschy, most ridiculous motel rooms he/they can find. It must be commented on.
9. The diners. See above. But let me also point out that both the awful motel rooms and the endless diners (as opposed to Denny's et al) lend so much to the atmosphere of the show. They're another callback to 70s/80s horror. They also situate Supernatural in a particular America. A particular idea of America.
10. The brothers Winchester. Oh man. I really didn't expect to like them both so much. Dean's average guy jerkitude. Sam's put upon, younger brother huffiness. Their shared raw deal of a life, and their man-stupid insistence on talking around all their problems. Ahhh, they're adorable, infuriating, and fascinating.
Yeah. That's it for today.
1. The supporting characters. The usual mantra is the boys, the boys, the boys, but this show has some great recurring, and even one-time supporting characters. That Bobby is love goes without saying, but then there's Pamela, Meg, Missouri, the Campbells, Andy, the demon love birds in Sin City, Agent Henricksen, Gordon Walker (FU IL HIM), and a ridiculous number of other, interesting, efficiently drawn supporting characters.
2. The meticulous fanboying of the horror genre. For the first two seasons, the show spends an insane amount of time lovingly recreating and reinterpreting popular horror movies and stories. Sometimes I think the show is an elaborate love letter to the genre: plots, pacing, character notes, set and costume design, cinematography and music are all straight out of the best (and worst) horror of the 70s and 80s. Even the show's later preoccupation with angels and demons is, well, typical. Supernatural isn't just about horror - there are other genre influences at work - but it is absolutely, unquestionably a horror fanboy, and since I'm a horror fangirl, we get along great. Spot the movie is, I'm not gonna lie, one of my favourite things to do while watching.
3. The silliness. It's obvious that people working on this show: a) have a lot of fun; b) don't take themselves or their work too ~seriously. It makes it that much easier to enjoy the show. And can I just say, Padalecki's pouty face is a seriously underrated comedic tool. Bad Day At Black Rock, people. My god.
4. The (occasionally) explicit rejection of the ethical position of the show's main characters. I really appreciate that the show doesn't fall into the trap of agreeing with its characters: Sam and Dean are both horribly, appallingly wrong about the big (and little) things. They make bad decisions, like selling their souls for each other, and the show frames those choices as understandable but wrong, wrong, wrong. If anyone's a candidate for being the moral/ethical center of Supernatural, I'm going to tentatively go with Bobby, who balances sentiment, humanism, familial love, and pragmatism. No Alamo-stupid heroics for Mr. Singer. (I should note that I'm a bit concerned about how his being paralyzed will affect this - please show, don't have Bobby wallow in bitterness for too long. Someone needs to remind the Winchesters that they are indeed massive idjits).
5. The love for familial love. How much do I appreciate the show's commitment to the bond between siblings, and between parent and child? And further, it's love for extended and found families? Oh man, a lot. In a lot of ways, the relationship that the Winchester brothers share is so damn typical. I see myself, and my brothers in their relationship. The love/hate, push/pull, teasing, tormenting, sticking together against the world absurdity of it all. There's a bit of every close sibling relationship in theirs. Of course, the show amps it up by approximately a thousand, taking it into unhealthy territory, when it dissects how compulsive their relationship has become. This is Greek tragedy territory, so no, I don't think there's anything particularly unique or remarkable about the brothers Winchester. I do really like that we're told, very clearly, that this sacrifice for sacrifice shit ain't gonna fly no more. We're moving to a place where their relationship continues to be central, but isn't an excuse for idiot heroics and self-sacrifice. A healthy place. It only took the Apocalypse.
6. The mega-arc. Eric Kripke says that he had a five year plan for Supernatural. Obviously this smacks of ridiculousness, considering how often the show struggled to stay on the air, and the television's complete inability to plan anything, but I kind of believe him. I think he had a vague plan: a general, mental outline with a couple of the big showdowns sketched out. If you watch the series straight through, it's got a fairly coherent mega-arc. The show also neatly expands ever outward:
Season One: Family business. The search for John, and revenge for Mary. First exploration of Sam's powers. In this season, the Winchester family and the impala are home base and the show's world.
Season Two: Azazel's special kids. The brothers are still looking to get revenge for Mary's murder, and Sam's violation, but they've also got another mission: finding and helping/killing Azazel's special kids. This is a direct outgrowth of season one's family business. The Winchesters are situated in a larger community (hunters, Azazel's victims, humanity).
Season Three: The demon army and Dean's countdown to death. The brothers have an even bigger mission that brings them in contact with new players (Bela, Ruby, Lilith, Henricksen), and the wider world of Supernatural. The Winchester/Impala bubble that the show was stuck in has pretty much burst at this point - we get to see the consequences of their choices. Dean's looming death spurs both the brothers to go to extremes, so while we're learning more about the world of SPN, we're also seeing new (and uncomfortable) sides to the brothers' personalities.
Season Four: The sixty-six seals. The introduction of the angels and their battle with the demons, adds another dimension to the world of Supernatural. In season three we got to see more of the human world (other hunters, occult dealers, law enforcement), season four gives us our first look at this huge conflict that's been going on under the brothers' noses. One that, I think, mirrors the hunter/supernatural conflict, with the angels being the heavenly equivalent of human hunters (ie. driven by obscure compulsions, with not necessarily good intentions). This season makes heaven and hell seem like real places for the first time.
Season Five: Countdown to the Apocalypse. We've gone from the Winchester family, to Azazel's kids, to humanity, to heaven and hell, to now toying with the idea of God and the nature of existence. The Winchesters are still front and center, but now they're at the center of a freaking cosmic conflict over the continued existence of their whole world. They're also one of a number of families working out their issues in this show. See also: the Harvelles, the demons, the angels, Andy and his brother, the Campbells, the creatures in Jump The Shark. Now we have Castiel, odd angel out, searching for his father, God, and Sam and Dean trying to figure out (again) how to be brothers. Lots of shades of season one, here. (btw, I'll be interested to see if Castiel is fully integrated into the Winchester/Singer family unit - can angels and humans be family? Future!Castiel and Dean didn't have a brotherly relationship, I don't think, but it's possible the show could still be going in this direction. Albeit with a Dean who's learned how not to do it).
7. Second verse, same as the first. This show keeps repeating itself. The seasons have similar structures, similar conflicts and dilemmas, and the brothers keep learning the same lessons, over and over. This is more effective than you'd think. It imparts a sense of continuity, I think, and makes for a richer fan experience. The show keeps returning to the same questions (how far should you go to protect family, just what is human) over and over, under slightly changed circumstances. How will it play out this time? How will this bit of character development, or this event affect the outcome? I love how this underlines one of the pillars of the show: there are no easy answers, and there is no black and white. I love too, that it demonstrates the cast and crew's affection for the show - they're paying attention to where they've been, just as much as where they're going.
8. The hideous motels. Where the hell do they find them? Are they building all these hideous motel rooms? I swear to the Great Gazoo, I have never seen such absurd motel rooms. There needs to be a line about Sam or Dean (most likely) Dean, picking the most kitschy, most ridiculous motel rooms he/they can find. It must be commented on.
9. The diners. See above. But let me also point out that both the awful motel rooms and the endless diners (as opposed to Denny's et al) lend so much to the atmosphere of the show. They're another callback to 70s/80s horror. They also situate Supernatural in a particular America. A particular idea of America.
10. The brothers Winchester. Oh man. I really didn't expect to like them both so much. Dean's average guy jerkitude. Sam's put upon, younger brother huffiness. Their shared raw deal of a life, and their man-stupid insistence on talking around all their problems. Ahhh, they're adorable, infuriating, and fascinating.
Yeah. That's it for today.