The Winchester Family Business

Okay, so season six and seven of Supernatural have been unpopular in many ways with the fandom. And understandably so: there were changes to the atmosphere of the show, characters were altered in confusing and non-sensical ways, plots have been dropped at random and character development has been questionable at time. So, with all that can be said to be wrong with this once great and beloved show one has to wonder: why do we stay?

For me the answer is simple – I just can’t help but continue to love Supernatural. This piece isn’t about inciting diatribes about what is wrong with the show, or critiquing the people who have complaints about it, legitimate or otherwise. Rather, it’s about examining what keeps me coming back week after week, year after year, even during the tough times. 

 
It was a moment of deep triumph yet bitter disappointment.  Supernatural won two 2012 People’s Choice awards, Best SciFi/Fantasy show and a big win in for Best Broadcast Drama.  The latter was an award that always has been televised.  However, this ended up being the first year they elected not to air the Best Drama award or even announce the winner.  It reminded me of The Simpsons, when Homer, the only employee not to win the “Worker of The Week” award, lost out his ultimate turn to an inanimate carbon rod.  Disappointment galore, not to mention the ultimate insult.  Except with The Simpsons it was funny.  
 

 

The concept of an academy has a long history in Western Civilization, dating all the way back to Plato. You all know Plato, right? For those unfamiliar with the second most important Greek philosopher of all time (Aristotle being the first, naturally - that’s a pun, but ignore my geekiness), then a quick history lesson. Plato believed in these things called Forms, like ideal things, and he thought everything in the world was simply a pale imitation of its real form. That chair you’re sitting on? Yeah, there’s one out in the ether that is like the most perfect chair, like ever. Anyway, so not important for this discussion. 

You all just need to know that Plato started an academy, which Aristotle attended, and thus the history of the academy began or at least what we know of it. Of course, through the couple of thousand years since Plato, the academy has evolved into universities and secondary schools, into craft houses and movie houses, but still those who inhabit their particular academies are like really arrogant versions of Plato who often think of themselves as the purveyors of a culture, the real readers of texts. 

Of course, anyone who studies popular culture knows this is a bunch of hooey.  I mean, Breaking Bad? I love Vince Gilligan like an ant loves its queen, but Breaking Bad is critically important, why? Same thing with Mad Men. Why? (I have a theory that all the boy shows get critical attention because critics can be misogynistic snobs, but that’s another article.) Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Dexter, True Blood, House, and other such shows get a lot of critical acclaim, and it kind of pisses me off that Supernatural ends up having to vie for a People’s Choice Award. 

Nothing bad about PCA. I love the show, but let’s be honest, in the season of award shows, a PCA is kind of like getting the homecoming crown and the most valuable athlete award at the same time, but in a room full of geeks trying out their science projects. The geeks don’t like the jocks, man, especially the popular ones who get all the girls. However, it’s usually the geeks who build the academies. See the conundrum here? I say if Sam and Dean were dog ugly, they’d so get awards. But because they’re pretty, they just get the girls and the crown. 

Once or twice a year, I go through how this crazy old ratings system works in the US.  Supernatural’s “soft” ratings lately have gotten a lot of people worried and I've been getting a lot of messages.  A few have even suggested dusting off the old “Save Our Show!” posters from the days when a fan effort was truly needed.  I’m going to help calm some fears here.  
 
I’ve been researching lately how much Supernatural has made an impact internationally (thank you all for your amazing responses) and trying to pull together some responsible math for how much approximately Supernatural is making worldwide on the first run and second run syndication markets (it’s a lot).  That article isn’t ready yet (you all have been keeping me busy on this site!) but it’s impressive.  Supernatural has reached the golden goose number, as in number of episodes, where the show can now really make some serious cash elsewhere and not just sustain itself enough to cover a yearly budget. 
 
For now, I’m going to list some of the common concerns that people have shared with me and try to answer the questions the best I can in pure geekdom.  You know how much I love this topic!  

Yes, I said it. Teenagers hate "Supernatural." 

Okay, so maybe that’s a little harsh. When one looks at the fandom, it’s fairly obvious that most "Supernatural" fans are women over the age of 18. A good sized-portion of the fans is made up of teenagers, but for a network that is targeted towards teenagers, "Supernatural" doesn’t tend to do as well with that demographic. And this is a teenager speaking-a Supernatural loving teenager. And as much as I’ve tried to push the show on my friends and have begged them to watch it with me, I’ve only been successful once. And he hated it.

Two brothers fighting supernatural beings and other urban legends-boring. Yes, that is what I was told. My dear friend who I finally convinced to watch the show thought it was yawn-inducing. (Then again, he saw “Jus in Bello”, so maybe that wasn’t really the greatest episode to make him watch.) His exact remarks were that “the plot is cheesy” and “the characters were unrealistic.”

It seems right under my nose a marvellous young actor evolved… and I didn’t know… I first noticed Jared Padalecki in Supernatural. I had not seen any of his previous work. I had not been familiar with Gilmore Girls, Young MacGyver or House of Wax. I found out about those, of course, and watched them with great interest and curiosity. What struck me most was the diamond in the rough Jared was back then. The great emotional depth that would soon become one of his acting trademarks was already palpable. And, most important for me – I noticed significant intelligence in his eyes. Oh, yes, this was an actor I wanted to watch over and over again. 

Please note, this is an open letter to my dear friends who just do not understand (or may not even know about) my SPN obsession. Permission granted liberally to use this text to explain it to your friends, too. 

Friday nights are mine. No, I’m not talking about going out on the town. I am talking a cool glass of wine (or steaming tea, depending on the season), and I hunker down on the couch. Darling husband knows enough to read stories to our daughters and tuck them into bed, no questions asked. 

Supernatural is on. 

I was really eager to read the Sera Gamble interview, because I love spoilers and get extremely curious about what’s going to happen next, and how we’re going to get there.  What really fascinated me though are all the comments.  And they fascinated me in a professional context, because I make my living doing interviews.