Supernatural’s Best Geek Ever, Part Two
1. Andy Gallagher!
Claim to geekdom: Between monster bong loads and bouts of the munchies, this free spirit likes to peruse the heavy philosophical tomes of Kant, Wittgenstein, and the notoriously difficult Hegel. His, um, mobile home is decorated with a wonderfully tacky tiger painting, hippie beads and a disco ball. There’s also a barbarian queen painted on the side, riding a polar bear. License plate? RU OB 1. As Dean says, it’s magnificent, and comes with a magnificent music cue: Stonehenge!
The Andyvan
Why he’s #1: To state the obvious, I adore Andy! He’s so funny and engaging, your friendly neighborhood Obi-Wan. He’ll cheerfully use his power to lift a cup o’ joe, fend off collection agents or take a joyride in a classic car. The scene where Dean hands over the Impala, without missing a beat, smiling as Andy drives away in his baby is one of my favorites in the series. How’s that for a motivational speaker? Move over, Matt Foley, Andy kicks ass! He even lives in a van down by the . . . down on Orchard Street.
I wonder if Andy was reading all that philosophy to try and understand what happened to him, how his power affects his role in the world. He’s not above misusing it, say, subjecting a total dick to gay porn at all hours of the day, but basically remains a grounded guy who genuinely cares about others and doesn’t ask much for himself. So what would Kripke’s plan be for such an appealing character? A premature and gruesome death, of course!
Favorite quotes: The Best of Andy
“Just go get a cup of coffee, all right? These aren’t the droids you’re looking for . . .”
“I have an evil twin.”
“I can’t calm down! I just woke up in frigging Frontierland!”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Honestly? My fourth bong load . . .”
“Hey. Andy. Also freaking out.”
“Give me a minute. I’m still working through ‘demons are real.'”
* * *
Wait, we’re not done! Soon, though, seriously . . .
Honorable mention: Sam Winchester
I couldn’t complete this list without a mention of Dean’s trusty sidekick geekboy, whose hulking mass is frequently found hunched over a laptop. Sam’s skills allow him to quickly obtain needed information through legal and illegal means. He’s a walking encyclopedia of weirdness with a Stanford education, in-depth knowledge of occult folklore and history, and random talents that appear to include amateur autopsies, botany, functional Spanish, crossword puzzles, and carbon dating by touch (remember that map in The Real Ghostbusters? Although he is psychic . . .)
Why he didn’t make the list proper: While Dean might argue with me, I left Sam off because for the most part he’s a skillful con artist and badass with a shotgun, pyro tendencies and some seriously scary powers. Like his brother, he admittedly has his adorkable moments, but I had to draw the line somewhere! Like Ruby said, he’s pretty buff for a nerd.
What about Dean?
Icon by J. Chagas
Though he tries his best to hide it, we fans know Dean’s got an inner geek as well. The boy spouts more movie references than my crazy college film professor. He even has his own laptop now! Every now and then Dean will say something that gives him away:
“Like, Greek myth siren? The Odyssey? Hey, I read.”
“Slaughterhouse Five Vonnegut or Cat’s Cradle Vonnegut?”
“You mean, like the Vulcan mind meld?”
“I’ve never trusted them less! They come across like shady politicians from planet Vulcan!”
“No, no, bail on the holodeck.”
You heard right: Dean Winchester is a Trekkie. His bucket list of places to go before the Apocalypse? Grand Canyon, Star Trek Experience, and the Bunny Ranch, of course. Poor Dean . . . as far as I know, he hasn’t made it to any of them. So goes the Winchester life.
Nevertheless, Dean doesn’t make the list. He too is pretty buff; in fact, excepting the psychic powers, all arguments for excluding Sam also apply to Dean! Not to mention his super-cool muscle car, muscle rock, muscled bod (oh, sorry, mentioned that already), and a cool haircut styled with industrial-grade gel. But here’s the real reason: Sam will just roll his eyes, but if I tried to put Dean on a list of the best geeks ever, he’d probably grab his Colt 1911 and pistol-whip me! OK, maybe he’d just threaten, and I don’t think he’d make good; he’s a softy underneath, but then, he has been under a lot of strain lately. Last time we saw him he punched a Cupid!
Parting Words
There you have it! It’s a lot longer than I intended thanks to my general gabbiness and appalling lack of focus, but I’m hoping you enjoyed this. Bonus points to the first to figure out why I used a certain caption in the Ghostfacers bit—what’s Carol Ann got to do with Supernatural?
Have I missed anyone? Who do you think is Supernatural’s best geek ever, and how would your order go? Do Sam and Dean belong on the list?
I was going to end with “Happy hellatus, everyone!” Then I realized “happy hellatus” is probably an oxymoron . . . so here’s hoping the suffering has been minimal.
Cheers! — ElenaM
*Screencaps from supernatural.tv, Supernatural Fans Online, supernaturalseries.com, caps.oxoniensis.org, Super-Wiki and Alice Jester
Hi ElenaM
This was great.
I can’t think of anything to add or change.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and hope I don’t get hit with too many rotten tomatoes, but I agree that both Sam and Dean can be a little geeky at times.
But were talking small here, just a smidgen.
After all don’t we all have at least one thing that can be construed as being a little geeky??? Hello?? Anyone??
I came in here with guns-a-blazin’, ready to argue, but after reading part two, I simply can’t. This is freaking awesome and Andy is the undisputed champion and the rest of this list is wonderful and and and “The night is mine!”
Sam and especially Dean are geeks, but when you’re a handsome jerk (right on, Wes), it isn’t so obvious. No one who makes *that* many Star Trek and Star Wars references is sans geekery.
Huge bonus points for referencing motivational speaker Matt Foley. 😀
Isn’t “Step into the light, Carol Ann” a bumper sticker on their RV? Referencing the classic Poltergeist, of course, which Sam wouldn’t recognize because he knows nothing of his cultural heritage.
Fine, fine list, ElanaM. That would be my top three too. I’m so glad dear ol’ Ron made the cut!
I’ll grant you Sam although he is WAY too fit to really qualify but Dean!? Come on girl, that’s a bit much! ( Mind you there are all those Trekkie snippets, no smoke without fire … Hmmm … ) What does everyone else think? Let’s have a row, it’s ages ’til the next episode!
Super cool! ElenaM. Great list. Yes, our boys are geeks too, in their own right. And Ash…always loved him. And of course, anyone who is loved gets killed on SPN. I am always afraid Chuck or Bobby are next! Whoops…lets not go there.
Wonderful article. Hope you do another!
Sam throughout the series I agree should be an honorable mention, but if he was still his Season One self, he’d be on there.
Great top 5 Elena! Andy, I loved Andy. He didn’t deserve to go out the way he did, but who deserves it on this show, it still happens. And Ronald, yes it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had Sam been upfront with him in the beginning. It was also sad to see him go out. :cry::
I can see Sam being an honorable mention. To quote Dean, “he is an encyclopedia of weirdness.” However, I can’t fathom Dean being on the list.
A really entertaining and amusing list ElenaM. Thank you!
I too loved Andy to bits and was really and still am pissed they killed him off. Such a sweet guy with all that power and only taking the bare minimum of his daily needs.
And Ron also. He was so endearing in his conspiracy theorizing and I almost got mad at Sam for putting him down. If only they had confided in him I don’t think he would have gone to the bank to find his “mandroid” himself.
You guys who write articles for this site are so clever and so entertaining for us in our dismal hellatus! Thanks to all of you! 😉
I loved this list, thank you Elena, I think we have found ourselves an Andy girl in you.
So pleased Ronald was up there I loved him too.
I dont mind the boys being included as I think everyone has an `inner geek` some just display theirs more than others. This is when I avert my eyes, at least I admit it and have the walking encyclopedia of weirdness t- shirt which contrary to popular belief amongst my friends does not feature my picture.
Hang in there people Hellatus end in sight!
Andy, oh Andy, loved him!!! And Ash, oh Ash, why did you have to die???
Yes, I do believe EVERYone has a geek sitting somewhere inside. That includes Sam and Dean, too. It’s just that the Walking Encyclopedia of Weirdness and the Dr. Sexy MD Fan have other issues to worry about right now, so the geekyness doesn’t show that much right now. But it’s definitely there.
This was a fun, fun article ElenaM, and I’m still grinning like a geek. …. But I’m okay with that 🙂
Great top5 ElenaM, couldn’t agree more 🙂
And agree with many that all of us have that little geek inside (Samny &Deano too), and I personally am proud of it 🙂
Elena, this was fantastic! I laughed and cried a little when you got to poor Ron, who was such a dumb sweetie and died undeservedly, like so many do in the Winchester world–including Andy!
I wouldn’t change a thing on your list, and WOULD include both Sam and Dean, because they have INNER geeks, and those DO count! Let Dean punch me, if he must, but he’s had way too many STAR TREK refs, plus other refs to reading geeky stuff, to try to claim he is NOT somewhat geeky, at least internally!
As for Sam, well, come ON! His inner geek is forever screaming to be let out!
Loved this list and your snarky comments made it all the more enjoyable!
Love, Robin
Andy, Ash, Ron, Wes & Chuck…love them all!
And I am quite proud of my own “geekness”, of which my family & friends frequently remind me!
Dawn
Yeah, what would Buffy do? Don’t we all ask that when we get into trouble? Hehehehehe….. Love both your lists, ElenaM, well done, keep them coming! I loved how you combined the geeks de luxe with your personal reason why they’re there and a quote. About some I almost forgot…
And welcome! Another writer, ha! Our group is expanding. In the undying words of the Über-Librarian – we’re going for world domination….
I secretly always liked Becky (come on, any girl who dares to keep touching Sam and throwing him a lick (*gasps*) has some balls… ), and Barry was such a moving character. And, hey, who doesn’t love the ghostfacers, going into battle ‘Sweet lord of the rings…’
Thank you for Ed Brewer – I knew the actor from another show, Blood Ties where he played a really weird character as well, and it was such fun to see him again!!! Ah well, he just loves to play the Casio, in his underwear. They don’t come geekier…
Frankly, I couldn’t pick my favourites. I adore Ash, and Andy, and especially Chuck (with ‘I am the prophet Chuck!’ alone he won my heart… And just as Sam and Dean have their geeks inside them (or sometimes out in the open), Chuck is a badass hero within this tiny frame…
And I just realized, given your defining geek moments here, I want to be a geek, too. There hardly is a movie I can’t quote. Does Poetry count?
What a joy to read this was, ElenaM, feel free to give us other impulses of your ‘gabbiness’ at any time.
Great stuff, cheers! Jas
Thanks so much for the kind comments, everyone! No tomatoes, even after all the cheesy refs? You’re all much too nice. prepare for the longest post ever. Wonder if the comment box can handle it? We shall see.
Alice, thanks so much for the editing and extra screencaps!
Karen & Dany, I totally agree, we all have a little bit of geek, and maybe a lot! Sam & Dean are no exception 😀 The connotations of the word actually seem to have become more positive. I was not kidding about my geeky tendencies: Anyone interested in the etymology of slang should check out this article: http://www.ccweek.com/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=1629&zoneid=3 :ugeek: Anyone? Bueller… Bueller?
Congratulations to Randal, we have a winner! I loved the uber-geek bumper stickers on the trailer door(“I’d rather be surfing,” w/ a pic of a mouse). That one seemed to fit the screencap… Yeah, those chiseled mugs and blinding smiles go a long way with us chicks XD So miss the late Mr. Foley! Hopefully he’s with Andy now, down by the river, sharing a cup of coffee, or eight…
Sablegreen: Knock on wood, knock on wood! C’mon, Krip, don’t be cruel, please. I had a lot of fun doing this article, but I think I’ll soon be up to my eyeballs in work so this may be a one-shot thing…
Suze: 😆 “Where there’s smoke there’s fire”–exactly! He’s just hiding it. I think that’s why he took such a liking to Ron and Andy right away, and people who say okie dokie. Maybe he recognizes a kindred spirit? But no worries, he didn’t even get an HM. I didn’t dare 😀
Jojo–that geek’s still in there, he’s just packed more muscle on top of it
Evelyn–gracias! Bet Dean can’t fathom being on it either 😉
Bevie– Couldn’t have got through hellatus (only my second!) without this site, so it was fun to contribute a little something! It’s almost over! Woohoo!
Julie–that you have! Hmmm, maybe I should start some new threads. That Sam’n’Dean are overrated (JK!!!). We can even have fan wars–Shurleygirls vs Andygirls! Anyone questioning my taste in guys after reading this list is quite right to do so. You’ve got an EoW shirt? Awesome! If your friends think you should be on it, even better! You’re in good company 😀
Freebird, right! Dr. Sexy MD!!! That bit where he calls him out on the cowboy boots is classic geek.
Supernarttu, BagginsDVm & Robin– I’m all about the geek pride! Put on your EoW Tshirt from Cafepress and let it all out, Sam. You too, Dean, may you live long and prosper, babe. XD
Jas-:lol: So you wanna be a geek, huh? Woohoo! A convert! Poetry, sure, one can geek out about anything. Have fun in LA!
Thanks again, everyone!!!
Great list, Elena! I didn’t realize the show had so many geeks, but really, I shouldn’t have been surprised. This show does love its geeks!
ElenaM, thanks for the link to the slang article!!!
I see now that I have an eccentric devotion to a particular interest, that is a tv show called Supernatural. The fandom of aforesaid tv show pursues skill (especially writing skill) and imagination, and not mainstream social acceptance (Cult Underground Following, anyone?). We convey specialized expertise and devotion. We “get it done”. Being a geek we choose to celebrate the positive, our “geek chic”.
Proud to be a Supernatural geek in such distinguished geeky company
😀 😀