Supernatural’s Best Geek Ever, Part One
I so love when I get to do this! This two part article, Supernatural’s Best Geek Ever, is another great guest submission, this time from Elena M. She’s no stranger to the craziness here and had decided to join in on the fun with a rather unique take on the dorkier side of Supernatural. This is part one, part two will be posted sometime tomorrow. Enjoy!
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A Very Uncool Top Ten List
We Supernatural fans, like Dean Winchester, have a soft spot for geeks. As genre fans, some of us no doubt fall somewhere on the spectrum, from a hidden geeky streak to full-blown Sheldon Cooper. I know I do! The idea for this list came from Faellie’s piece on Supernatural Mini-Marathons. I thought it might be fun to do a “Geek Week” marathon, celebrating some of our most beloved one-timers and recurring characters. But I had more than seven, so it turned into a Top Ten list, because I never get tired of them! I hope you’re not, either—Hey, Letterman’s been doing one a night for how many years? Seems to be working for him. Not that I’ve got the comic flair of a late-night writing staff, or Alice, or Randal, or Ardeospina . . . but it’s Hellatus AGAIN, so I went ahead and put this together, in the hope that it helps keep the blues at bay!
I’m using the word geek in a very broad sense here, the common denominator being eccentricity or awkwardness. It’s also very subjective and arbitrary, especially with regard to the order—just my humble opinion. In case you’re wondering about the title, in college I’d study with some mindless TV going, like VH1’s “Best Week Ever.” I can’t resist a bad nineties reference, or eighties, the cheesier the better! You’ve been warned. So here goes:
Honorable mention: Gary Frankel
Claim to geekdom: Where to start . . . Gary’s an amalgam of geek stereotypes. A part-time employee of Patriot Burger (possibly an allusion to Fast Times’ All-American Burger?), Gary sports an astronaut on the wall, comic books in his bag, and a wardrobe of retro Star Wars shirts that immediately cause Sam to conclude he’s a virgin. He never skips his AP classes, and suffers from asthma and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. If he’s cheating on his diet (common for teens with that condition), it might explain why he’s a pasty 98 pounds of nothing. But his violent reaction to one bite of toast–not something you usually see with this disease–makes that unlikely. Excuse me, now I’m the one geeking out.
So what’ll it be, Spicoli?
Initially Gary was #10, mostly because at the time I needed a number 10. Besides, with one lousy spell and a dart gun full of horse trank (I’m assuming, since it made the massive Sam fuzzy enough to hop into a police cruiser), Gary successfully pops into a Sam suit, something freaking LUCIFER has not managed despite months of scheming. He earns an HM for that.
Favorite quote: The entire teaser! “Excuse me, barkeep . . . “
I admit I liked “Swap Meat” better than most, plotholes and all. Generally if you give me demons I’m happy.
10. Demian and Barnes
Claim to geekdom: LARPing
Why they’re #10: Demian and Barnes, named for a couple of moderators at TWoP, were kind of “meh” characters for me. I liked them all right, I just didn’t find them as engaging or memorable as some of the characters farther up, so they get the 10 spot. After all, these guys did save the Winchesters’ lives. More importantly, they saved Sam’s hair, which came perilously close to being scalped by those bratty ghosts. I also liked their moment with Dean, helping him see some value in his life. They showed him that his heroism and sacrifices mean something and inspire others. Sadly, this much-needed boost was quickly decimated by the events of “Abandon All Hope.”
Favorite quote:
“If all these people are seriously in trouble, we gotta do something.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s what Sam and Dean would do.”
9. Becky the Fangirl
Claim to geekdom: Carver Edlund’s number one fan, Becky lives and breathes the Supernatural books—literally, when Chuck enlists her aid. She’s got a poster up for Route 666, goes by the handle samlicker81, and is webmistress of a fansite, the name of which is best left unmentioned. Becky eventually gets together with Chuck. Lucky for him, it’s not a Misery thing . . . we hope. Sam is clearly relieved when she breaks the news to him—there’s nothing more awkward than a girl who refuses to take her paws off your pecs.
Why she’s #9: I was debating whether to put Becky on, but her Galaxy Quest moment in SFTD and fangirl geekout inThe Real Ghostbusters sealed the deal. She’s a polarizing character; some think she’s cute, for others she gets on their last nerve. I try to block her creepier extracurriculars from mind, but otherwise found her pretty amusing.
Favorite quote: “Becky, it’s all real.”
“I KNEW IT!!!”
8. Wesley Mondale
Claim to geekdom: His unrequited love for Hope Lynn Casey causes him to throw an entire town into chaos . . . with his coin collection.
Unemployed and down on his luck, Wes decides to create some luck of his own during a trip to the wishing well at Lucky Chin’s, unleashing the forces of Tiamat on Concrete, WA. I guess he figured things couldn’t get any worse. Things can always get worse, Wes, just ask the Winchesters! Our brothers are quick to point out that their good looks have hardly given them a free pass, they are miserable bastards like everyone else, and that’s how it’s supposed to be.
Why he’s #8: Wes’s poor judgment gives us 40-odd minutes of Edlundian wackiness, from T. Bear to the spectacular demise of Sam Winchester by lightning strike, popping right out of his smoking shoes. With a little, er, persuasion, Wes comes to realize that he needs to set things right. It’s sad to see him let hope go as he lets Hope go, but I think he finds a sort of nobility in the sacrifice. Looks like the Winchester way rubbed off on him.
Favorite quote: “Careful what you wish for.” You know who says that? Good looking jerks like you guys! The ones who’ve got it so easy because they happen to be handsome.”
Nice work, brother Raimi, you totally earned that ride in the Chevy!
Hi ElenaM! Nice to see your article here too! And you submit a top10 list, so this is automatically close to my heart. I just love top10’s, movie-wise, music-wise, tv-wise, book-wise, it’s ridiculous, but they make me happy *heeee* 😀
Ok, so on to this toptenny… Love the idea, a very good topic. Love your picks.
Barry is close to my heart too. School can be hell for kids :/ Poor Barry. I was really hoping that he got in to that vet school eventually and was so sad when they found out he had died. And poor Sam, feeling guilty about that, and later for Dirk too. Thanks for mentioning Barry even though he wasn’t a goofy geek.
Ghostfacers are so lol. I liked them the instant they came on screen in Hell House. These guys have wonderful chemistry, close to J&Js’ and they had the most funniest smugness about them (and few sweet lines too), that always brings a smile to my face. That quote you mentioned is a fave of mine too, the double meaning always makes me giggle 🙂 Also like “Sweet Lord…”-“Of the Rings!” and “The Winchesters still suck ass though.” “Affirmitive. Suckage Major.” lol
Thanks for this and can’t wait to see the rest 🙂
Hi ElenaM
This is fantastic! :geek:
Great picks so far, can’t wait to see part 2.
I also felt for Barry, that he never had a chance to be what he wanted to be. 🙁
Being completely unfamiliar with the world of – what do you call it? – “geekdom,” I can only pass cursory judgment upon this list and profess its adequateness. 😀
I want to wait for the second part to comment (Ghostfacers not higher? Really? I don’t think we can ever be friends, muah), but I love the mix of comedy and tragedy.
Wow! Elena M great top ten. Can’t wait to see your top 5 picks. Of course I love the Ghostfacers, but of the rest, I have to pick Wes. He just seemed to most epitomize the geeks; nice, sincere, and ignored…like all geeks. How sincere the boys treated him.
Looking forward to part 2!!
Great list so far. I look forward to seeing who is in your Top 5.
I didn’t like the Ghostfacers at first. Thought they were annoying, but they have since grown on me – watching their eps multiple times have helped. I’m still not crazy for them but I do like and appreciate them more. And they are majorly geeky so it is interesting to not see them in your top 5. I’m very curious to see who beat them.
😆 😆 😆 Inspired list! Bring on the rest …
Thanks so much, everyone! The Facers are hysterical–Supernarttu, re: top tens, me too (clearly ;-)) Great quotes, I love ’em, the instructional vid especially cracked me up! Checked out the comments on the Facers’ site once, more periodic judicious insults of the Winchesters there 😆 If this were ranked by the geekiest geeks, they’d totally win, but I loved the top 5 even more!