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hells_half_acreA little late, but here it is....this one coming more expediently after watching the episode...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.....................
I spent a good portion of the episode saying that, so I thought it was fitting to start out that way. Man or man, this was an amazing episode, but horribly heartbreaking...and once again, I do have to question the shows willingness to kill off so many awesome people. I know it's Supernatural, so the body count is always going to be high, but Jesus Murphy!
Ok, let's see...we start out with the truck driver...and as much as Jesus-pushers annoy me, I felt really bad for him...I mean, geez...poor dude. He's going to spend the rest of his life horribly remorseful for a crime he didn't commit. Anyway, the Mother of All - or Eve - is an interesting monster...traveling down the I90 creating havoc in her wake.
It's Bobby and the Winchesters to the rescue. They've been using Bobby's house as a home-base more and more this season, it seems. Anyway, they get all cleaned up pretty (Bobby too!) and go interrogate the poor trucker dude. They find the footage of Eve and I love Dean's line, "Why hello...freakish nightmare! What the hell is that?!" Hahaha
Then the cops all start mobilizing around them...and um, yeah, part of me was wondering about that...it's a small room, and there are 3 "FBI agents" talking about vamps and ghouls? Those cops MUST have been able to hear them...:P
Anyway, Bobby follows the cops to the scene...and, my goodness but Jim Beaver cleans up nicely. Haha, it's hard to recognize him. In truth, in the scene where they were interrogating the trucker, I didn't actually clue in that the guy in the background was Bobby until he spoke.
Bobby runs into Rufus. Rufus says they should team up - I love the line "...it's not rocket surgery." Haha, I think I'll start using that.
You know, as soon as the boys greeted Rufus with such affection, I started really worrying....
That being said, that was a hellofa lot of a genuine affection from the boys. The only time that they've all hung out was presumably after the events of Good God Y'all. So, Rufus must make a VERY nice impression...yes, he and Dean met in S3, but that meeting was pretty sober, and Rufus was a paranoid hermit then.
Of course, it's not as simple as that...because they get inside the cannery and Gwen and Grandpa are already there. I LOVED how Dean just drew his gun and marched into the room to shoot Grandpa in the face - I love that Dean keeps those kinds of promises. It's also cool because last night when I was waiting for the episode to download and it was taking forever, I read the latest Supernatural magazine, and there was an interview with Sera Gamble and they asked her why it was that we haven't seen Dean and Sam go after the two hunters that killed them in Dark Side of the Moon....and she said it was because there wasn't much to that story really: "Well, don't you think Sam and Dean would just kill them immediately? I don't know if that's a super-exciting story, because that's a story where Sam and Dean would find them easily and overpower them easily. You'd have to be a pretty formidable human to be really worth pursuing for Sam and Dean. I think they have bigger worries." That being said, I WOULD love to see it.
Sam, of course souled now, stops Dean though, and Dean goes to wait out in the hall while they discuss things. It's then that Gwen finds out about how Grandpa sent Dean to his death...and she's rightly outraged and goes to apologize and Dean SHOOTS HER! Oh NOOOOOOOOoooooo......I...I kind of liked Gwen. Yeah, she was sort of dumb for not being more of a badass and realizing that Grandpa was a shady shady dude, but but...potential! *sadness*.
Of course, Dean wouldn't have just shot Gwen if he wasn't possessed by an ear-worm monster.
Then we get the classic closed room/locked house murder case - who is the killer amongst them? Bobby's plan of putting the guns in a bag was a good one, but dude, Bobby probably should have realized that if HE wasn't putting all his weapons into a bag, then probably no one else was...except maybe Sam, who I was surprised let himself be as disarmed as he eventually let himself be.
Bobby and Rufus start making calls - and I always love this glimpse into the wider hunting community. Apparently there's a hunter named Raj, who won't speak to either one of them. Nice.
Meanwhile, Grandpa goes off to use the can, and Sam and Dean do the nod-follow thing so that they can corner him in the hall and have words. I forget what it is they actually say, but Grandpa accuses Sam of not being able to criticize him just because he's "Dr. Jekyll" now. My response to that would be: well, if he was Mr. Hyde before, what's YOUR excuse?
Dean spots the ear dripping black goop just before Grandpa attacks with a hidden pistol....and then the chase is on. I loved Sam spotting the booby trap...but then Grandpa pulls a Gordon-Walker and separates Sam from the others by way of a sliding metal gate.
Sam corners Grandpa, and Grandpa offers to tell him all about his "summer vacation"...and you can tell Sam wants to know...and I worried that he's mention something that would lead to another petite-mal or grand-mal seizure for a second there...but then foolish Grandpa kept advancing on Sam without fully dropping his weapon, and that's just dumb. So, Sam shoots him in the head, and yeah, Sam of S1 probably wouldn't have been able to do that, but it's a whole different ballgame now....and yeah, not putting down your gun right away is just dumb - doesn't Grandpa watch any movies?
Sam shows us how it's done when Dean and the other's arrive - immediately putting his gun on the floor with slow movements, and then allowing rufus to cuff him. Though, yeah, I was surprised that Sam let himself be disarmed THAT much...to not even have the use of his hands. I think it says a lot about how much he trusts Dean, Bobby, and Rufus as individuals.
Of course, there's some question as to whether Grandpa was still possessed when they shot him...which Sam kind of freaks out a little at - the thought that he might have just shot Grandpa...but, that's kind of dumb, because whether Sam shot Grandpa then, or Dean shot him after they killed the monster, Grandpa was still going to die.
Bobby gets the cranial saw out of his car, and he and Rufus go into autopsy mode, just to make sure that the monster is indeed inside Grandpa's noggin. While they set up, Bobby tries to apologize for something that happened in Omaha - that caused Bobby and Rufus to stop hunting together, and apparently was Bobby's fault and led to the apparent death of a female that was important to Rufus. This exchange was done brilliantly - I loved Rufus's false smile and discovering that he's friendly nature towards Bobby was partly just an act he put on to get along, even though he still held a crazy grudge against Bobby. Obviously, whatever Bobby did in Omaha, Rufus recognized it as a mistake, because I'm guessing otherwise he would have pulled a "Dean" and just promised to shoot Bobby in the head.
As they start cutting into Grandpa though, his eyes open! Ack! Reanimated corpse! Punches are thrown! Ruckus! Dean uncuffs Sam, so that Sam can BREAK DOWN THE DOOR. Man, you know, Dean is lucky he has his own personal moose. Then Grandpa is thrown into the live-wires and apparently the ear-worm monster flees from electricity!
So, in order to find out who the ear-worm is possessing, they decide that it's time to be electrocuted! Fun!
Personal story-time! Back when I was around 15 years old, I was trying to cram a new-style plug into an old-style extension cord...needless to say, it was not working, and my hand slipped and I basically momentarily grabbed the electrified prongs and was electrocuted. It was...a rush. I sat there for about two minutes afterward wondering if I had the guts to do it again. Thankfully, I decided that it was probably a bad idea...but there you have it, I actually LIKE being electrocuted. Or well, liked it the one time it happened at that voltage. (I do not like being electrocuted by electric fences...or static electricity).
I like how Sam is so badass that he does it to himself. Hahaha...oh Sam. You are as questionable as I am.
Now, that all being said, being electrocuted can really fuck-up your heart. So, yeah, not fun.
Turns out, that it's in Bobby....and Bobby stabs RUFUS! And HE DIES! NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
*sad face forever*
The boys tie up Bobby and start interrogating the monster. And HOLY HELL IS BOBBY CREEPY! Jim Beaver did an awesome job creeping me out completely! Seriously, where was the father-figure we all love and want to hug?!? Apparently Eve wants the boys to know that they're all going to die...and she's trying to create a world where creatures outnumber humans and we're the bottom of the food-chain rather than the top...I guess if I were the creator of a whole bunch of creatures, I'd be pretty pissed off at the people who have made killing them their life's work.
There are a ton of subtle things in this episode that I love...I didn't outright recognize the writer or the director's name, but man, they both did a great job. So did all the actors. I know from Jim Beaver's twitter that everyone (except Jared) was sick while filming the episode, but man, the performances were amazing regardless. But, I've gotten off track...I love the time that Dean presses the wire to possessed-Bobby just a little too long...and you sort of see that the disconnect has momentarily been flipped in his brain, and Sam has to stop him. Dean did spend ten years of his soul's life torturing people for the joy of it, and it's nice to be reminded of that every once in a while. Just like soulless Sam, there are aspects of all of us that we don't care to admit to.
I also loved Creepy-Possessed-Bobby saying how much Sam and Dean love Bobby. Awww...haha, only on Supernatural can creepy moments be so touching.
This episode was also a LOT about what exactly family means.
But before we get to that - the boys plug up Bobby's cranial orifices and basically electrocute him to death in order to kill the monster. As they cut the scene, we have Sam exclaim that he's not breathing, and then we see a grave...and...you freak out for a moment until you realize that they'd have burned Bobby...and then Bobby walks up.
It's Rufus who has stayed dead. He was Jewish (did we know that before?). I think it's really cool that Rufus is Jewish...not only does it break up the monotony of Christians that we usually see, but it still goes against stereotype since people don't usually picture badass black guys when they think of Jews. Anyway, in Jewish tradition, Rufus is buried not burned. I thought that was a nice touch, but at the same time, I would think that Hunter tradition would supersede religious tradition. But then again, as long as Rufus isn't salted and burned, he could return. (Let's all keep our fingers and toes crossed).
Bobby gives us some background on him and Rufus - it was Rufus who was Bobby's white-knight. It was Rufus who taught Bobby about Hunting, and Rufus who was Bobby's hunting partner until the unfortunate incident in Omaha. I like how Bobby compares he and Rufus to Sam and Dean without adding on the "except not brothers"....because then it allows Dean to give his speech, which is that Rufus SHOULD have forgiven Bobby, because they were brothers. I like how Dean "family-is-everything" has fully embraced the idea that family can be defined in many ways.
God, I love that theme so much in this show. The novel that I've been trying to write since high school is partially about that. Family is something that YOU define and YOU maintain and most importantly YOU CHOOSE. That saying "you can't choose your family" isn't true. You might not be able to choose who you are related to, but you can ALWAYS choose your family...and mores the pity for people who don't realize this and either take their family for granted or feel trapped with them when they don't need to be.
Dean tells Bobby and Sam that when he dies, he wants them to know that he blanket forgives them for everything...and Sam rightly points out that that's a LOT to forgive - and Dean just does. At this point, Sam doesn't even know about letting Dean get turned into a vamp.
Anyway, I missed a bunch of stuff that I loved, that fit into this theme: Grandpa trying to be petty by saying that Bobby is "the guy who acts like he's their father" (or whatever he said) and Bobby saying "well, someone should." Which is a total BURN. Also, it really makes me love Bobby, because, once again, I really believe that family is something you choose. I loved the fact that Dean (and to a lesser extent Sam) had turned off that family-connection with Grandpa. I like that Sam said that from what he could remember, "it wasn't good."
Originally, after Unforgiven, I was a little sympathetic towards Grandpa, because Soulless!Sam just steamrolled him completely. Afterward though, when I thought about it some more and read some other people's thoughts, I realized that he didn't really struggle THAT much. I mean, Mr. Bad-ass Campbell can't stand up to one dude? It's the classic case of the bystander who does nothing, really. Sure, they might not have committed the crime, but they didn't try to stop it. And I repeat, at least Sam could blame it on being "Mr. Hyde", Grandpa was a fully intact human who still presumably had the capability of possessing morals.
The one thing I wished we could have seen was Grandpa actually seeing who Sam REALLY was. I felt he didn't see that at all here - because Sam was very cold and business-like with him - probably because of what Dean had told him and what he could remember from Bristol. I'm not asking for some Full House moment or anything, but just something that would have contrasted that Grandpa sold out his grandkid without even knowing him really. Mainly, I wanted it because I always saw Sam as taking after Mary - and I wanted Grandpa to realize it too...but then, I'm not sure how they could have pulled that off.
This second-half of the season is pretty cool, because the Winchester's relationship is actually pretty goddamn healthy (for them). They're forgiving of each other, and supportive of each other, and not bossy or hiding things (and keeping Sam's memories from him doesn't count as hiding things, since Sam knows what happens when he remembers). It's kind of interesting...really ALL they have to deal with is whatever monster they're up against, and occasionally the Heaven Civil War.
Anyway, those be my thoughts...let me know what I missed...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.....................
I spent a good portion of the episode saying that, so I thought it was fitting to start out that way. Man or man, this was an amazing episode, but horribly heartbreaking...and once again, I do have to question the shows willingness to kill off so many awesome people. I know it's Supernatural, so the body count is always going to be high, but Jesus Murphy!
Ok, let's see...we start out with the truck driver...and as much as Jesus-pushers annoy me, I felt really bad for him...I mean, geez...poor dude. He's going to spend the rest of his life horribly remorseful for a crime he didn't commit. Anyway, the Mother of All - or Eve - is an interesting monster...traveling down the I90 creating havoc in her wake.
It's Bobby and the Winchesters to the rescue. They've been using Bobby's house as a home-base more and more this season, it seems. Anyway, they get all cleaned up pretty (Bobby too!) and go interrogate the poor trucker dude. They find the footage of Eve and I love Dean's line, "Why hello...freakish nightmare! What the hell is that?!" Hahaha
Then the cops all start mobilizing around them...and um, yeah, part of me was wondering about that...it's a small room, and there are 3 "FBI agents" talking about vamps and ghouls? Those cops MUST have been able to hear them...:P
Anyway, Bobby follows the cops to the scene...and, my goodness but Jim Beaver cleans up nicely. Haha, it's hard to recognize him. In truth, in the scene where they were interrogating the trucker, I didn't actually clue in that the guy in the background was Bobby until he spoke.
Bobby runs into Rufus. Rufus says they should team up - I love the line "...it's not rocket surgery." Haha, I think I'll start using that.
You know, as soon as the boys greeted Rufus with such affection, I started really worrying....
That being said, that was a hellofa lot of a genuine affection from the boys. The only time that they've all hung out was presumably after the events of Good God Y'all. So, Rufus must make a VERY nice impression...yes, he and Dean met in S3, but that meeting was pretty sober, and Rufus was a paranoid hermit then.
Of course, it's not as simple as that...because they get inside the cannery and Gwen and Grandpa are already there. I LOVED how Dean just drew his gun and marched into the room to shoot Grandpa in the face - I love that Dean keeps those kinds of promises. It's also cool because last night when I was waiting for the episode to download and it was taking forever, I read the latest Supernatural magazine, and there was an interview with Sera Gamble and they asked her why it was that we haven't seen Dean and Sam go after the two hunters that killed them in Dark Side of the Moon....and she said it was because there wasn't much to that story really: "Well, don't you think Sam and Dean would just kill them immediately? I don't know if that's a super-exciting story, because that's a story where Sam and Dean would find them easily and overpower them easily. You'd have to be a pretty formidable human to be really worth pursuing for Sam and Dean. I think they have bigger worries." That being said, I WOULD love to see it.
Sam, of course souled now, stops Dean though, and Dean goes to wait out in the hall while they discuss things. It's then that Gwen finds out about how Grandpa sent Dean to his death...and she's rightly outraged and goes to apologize and Dean SHOOTS HER! Oh NOOOOOOOOoooooo......I...I kind of liked Gwen. Yeah, she was sort of dumb for not being more of a badass and realizing that Grandpa was a shady shady dude, but but...potential! *sadness*.
Of course, Dean wouldn't have just shot Gwen if he wasn't possessed by an ear-worm monster.
Then we get the classic closed room/locked house murder case - who is the killer amongst them? Bobby's plan of putting the guns in a bag was a good one, but dude, Bobby probably should have realized that if HE wasn't putting all his weapons into a bag, then probably no one else was...except maybe Sam, who I was surprised let himself be as disarmed as he eventually let himself be.
Bobby and Rufus start making calls - and I always love this glimpse into the wider hunting community. Apparently there's a hunter named Raj, who won't speak to either one of them. Nice.
Meanwhile, Grandpa goes off to use the can, and Sam and Dean do the nod-follow thing so that they can corner him in the hall and have words. I forget what it is they actually say, but Grandpa accuses Sam of not being able to criticize him just because he's "Dr. Jekyll" now. My response to that would be: well, if he was Mr. Hyde before, what's YOUR excuse?
Dean spots the ear dripping black goop just before Grandpa attacks with a hidden pistol....and then the chase is on. I loved Sam spotting the booby trap...but then Grandpa pulls a Gordon-Walker and separates Sam from the others by way of a sliding metal gate.
Sam corners Grandpa, and Grandpa offers to tell him all about his "summer vacation"...and you can tell Sam wants to know...and I worried that he's mention something that would lead to another petite-mal or grand-mal seizure for a second there...but then foolish Grandpa kept advancing on Sam without fully dropping his weapon, and that's just dumb. So, Sam shoots him in the head, and yeah, Sam of S1 probably wouldn't have been able to do that, but it's a whole different ballgame now....and yeah, not putting down your gun right away is just dumb - doesn't Grandpa watch any movies?
Sam shows us how it's done when Dean and the other's arrive - immediately putting his gun on the floor with slow movements, and then allowing rufus to cuff him. Though, yeah, I was surprised that Sam let himself be disarmed THAT much...to not even have the use of his hands. I think it says a lot about how much he trusts Dean, Bobby, and Rufus as individuals.
Of course, there's some question as to whether Grandpa was still possessed when they shot him...which Sam kind of freaks out a little at - the thought that he might have just shot Grandpa...but, that's kind of dumb, because whether Sam shot Grandpa then, or Dean shot him after they killed the monster, Grandpa was still going to die.
Bobby gets the cranial saw out of his car, and he and Rufus go into autopsy mode, just to make sure that the monster is indeed inside Grandpa's noggin. While they set up, Bobby tries to apologize for something that happened in Omaha - that caused Bobby and Rufus to stop hunting together, and apparently was Bobby's fault and led to the apparent death of a female that was important to Rufus. This exchange was done brilliantly - I loved Rufus's false smile and discovering that he's friendly nature towards Bobby was partly just an act he put on to get along, even though he still held a crazy grudge against Bobby. Obviously, whatever Bobby did in Omaha, Rufus recognized it as a mistake, because I'm guessing otherwise he would have pulled a "Dean" and just promised to shoot Bobby in the head.
As they start cutting into Grandpa though, his eyes open! Ack! Reanimated corpse! Punches are thrown! Ruckus! Dean uncuffs Sam, so that Sam can BREAK DOWN THE DOOR. Man, you know, Dean is lucky he has his own personal moose. Then Grandpa is thrown into the live-wires and apparently the ear-worm monster flees from electricity!
So, in order to find out who the ear-worm is possessing, they decide that it's time to be electrocuted! Fun!
Personal story-time! Back when I was around 15 years old, I was trying to cram a new-style plug into an old-style extension cord...needless to say, it was not working, and my hand slipped and I basically momentarily grabbed the electrified prongs and was electrocuted. It was...a rush. I sat there for about two minutes afterward wondering if I had the guts to do it again. Thankfully, I decided that it was probably a bad idea...but there you have it, I actually LIKE being electrocuted. Or well, liked it the one time it happened at that voltage. (I do not like being electrocuted by electric fences...or static electricity).
I like how Sam is so badass that he does it to himself. Hahaha...oh Sam. You are as questionable as I am.
Now, that all being said, being electrocuted can really fuck-up your heart. So, yeah, not fun.
Turns out, that it's in Bobby....and Bobby stabs RUFUS! And HE DIES! NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
*sad face forever*
The boys tie up Bobby and start interrogating the monster. And HOLY HELL IS BOBBY CREEPY! Jim Beaver did an awesome job creeping me out completely! Seriously, where was the father-figure we all love and want to hug?!? Apparently Eve wants the boys to know that they're all going to die...and she's trying to create a world where creatures outnumber humans and we're the bottom of the food-chain rather than the top...I guess if I were the creator of a whole bunch of creatures, I'd be pretty pissed off at the people who have made killing them their life's work.
There are a ton of subtle things in this episode that I love...I didn't outright recognize the writer or the director's name, but man, they both did a great job. So did all the actors. I know from Jim Beaver's twitter that everyone (except Jared) was sick while filming the episode, but man, the performances were amazing regardless. But, I've gotten off track...I love the time that Dean presses the wire to possessed-Bobby just a little too long...and you sort of see that the disconnect has momentarily been flipped in his brain, and Sam has to stop him. Dean did spend ten years of his soul's life torturing people for the joy of it, and it's nice to be reminded of that every once in a while. Just like soulless Sam, there are aspects of all of us that we don't care to admit to.
I also loved Creepy-Possessed-Bobby saying how much Sam and Dean love Bobby. Awww...haha, only on Supernatural can creepy moments be so touching.
This episode was also a LOT about what exactly family means.
But before we get to that - the boys plug up Bobby's cranial orifices and basically electrocute him to death in order to kill the monster. As they cut the scene, we have Sam exclaim that he's not breathing, and then we see a grave...and...you freak out for a moment until you realize that they'd have burned Bobby...and then Bobby walks up.
It's Rufus who has stayed dead. He was Jewish (did we know that before?). I think it's really cool that Rufus is Jewish...not only does it break up the monotony of Christians that we usually see, but it still goes against stereotype since people don't usually picture badass black guys when they think of Jews. Anyway, in Jewish tradition, Rufus is buried not burned. I thought that was a nice touch, but at the same time, I would think that Hunter tradition would supersede religious tradition. But then again, as long as Rufus isn't salted and burned, he could return. (Let's all keep our fingers and toes crossed).
Bobby gives us some background on him and Rufus - it was Rufus who was Bobby's white-knight. It was Rufus who taught Bobby about Hunting, and Rufus who was Bobby's hunting partner until the unfortunate incident in Omaha. I like how Bobby compares he and Rufus to Sam and Dean without adding on the "except not brothers"....because then it allows Dean to give his speech, which is that Rufus SHOULD have forgiven Bobby, because they were brothers. I like how Dean "family-is-everything" has fully embraced the idea that family can be defined in many ways.
God, I love that theme so much in this show. The novel that I've been trying to write since high school is partially about that. Family is something that YOU define and YOU maintain and most importantly YOU CHOOSE. That saying "you can't choose your family" isn't true. You might not be able to choose who you are related to, but you can ALWAYS choose your family...and mores the pity for people who don't realize this and either take their family for granted or feel trapped with them when they don't need to be.
Dean tells Bobby and Sam that when he dies, he wants them to know that he blanket forgives them for everything...and Sam rightly points out that that's a LOT to forgive - and Dean just does. At this point, Sam doesn't even know about letting Dean get turned into a vamp.
Anyway, I missed a bunch of stuff that I loved, that fit into this theme: Grandpa trying to be petty by saying that Bobby is "the guy who acts like he's their father" (or whatever he said) and Bobby saying "well, someone should." Which is a total BURN. Also, it really makes me love Bobby, because, once again, I really believe that family is something you choose. I loved the fact that Dean (and to a lesser extent Sam) had turned off that family-connection with Grandpa. I like that Sam said that from what he could remember, "it wasn't good."
Originally, after Unforgiven, I was a little sympathetic towards Grandpa, because Soulless!Sam just steamrolled him completely. Afterward though, when I thought about it some more and read some other people's thoughts, I realized that he didn't really struggle THAT much. I mean, Mr. Bad-ass Campbell can't stand up to one dude? It's the classic case of the bystander who does nothing, really. Sure, they might not have committed the crime, but they didn't try to stop it. And I repeat, at least Sam could blame it on being "Mr. Hyde", Grandpa was a fully intact human who still presumably had the capability of possessing morals.
The one thing I wished we could have seen was Grandpa actually seeing who Sam REALLY was. I felt he didn't see that at all here - because Sam was very cold and business-like with him - probably because of what Dean had told him and what he could remember from Bristol. I'm not asking for some Full House moment or anything, but just something that would have contrasted that Grandpa sold out his grandkid without even knowing him really. Mainly, I wanted it because I always saw Sam as taking after Mary - and I wanted Grandpa to realize it too...but then, I'm not sure how they could have pulled that off.
This second-half of the season is pretty cool, because the Winchester's relationship is actually pretty goddamn healthy (for them). They're forgiving of each other, and supportive of each other, and not bossy or hiding things (and keeping Sam's memories from him doesn't count as hiding things, since Sam knows what happens when he remembers). It's kind of interesting...really ALL they have to deal with is whatever monster they're up against, and occasionally the Heaven Civil War.
Anyway, those be my thoughts...let me know what I missed...
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Re: My first thoughts....
Date: 2011-03-06 07:40 am (UTC)Actually, doesn't it seem like 7-seasons is the optimal for any series? It *feels* to me like if you last less than that, you weren't entirely successful, where if you go beyond say the 8th season, you're exceptional. (S8 is iffy - either you're strong, or you stayed on the air too long, depending on the ratings). I wonder where that particular number came from?
I personally think 5 would be a better number. I could have happily accepted Buffy fulfilling her mandate at the end of S5... and I could have been happy (meta-wise) with Sam's tale ending with his sacrifice, too.
Would it have been a real downer of an ending? Yes! But, it also would have made sense to me, so I could have taken it. My point is though, where did the "7-season rule" start?
Re: My first thoughts....
Date: 2011-03-06 07:47 am (UTC)I think as long as your storylines/production value stays strong, you can go however long you like. I also don't think that less seasons is necessarily bad...but then, I tend to lose interest in shows, so it of benefit to me if they have shorter runs. I only watched Torchwood until end S2, and Doctor Who until end S4...like I said, I just lose interest.
I would have been happy if Supernatural ended S5, and I'm also happy it didn't. Yes, ending S5 would have been horribly depressing, but I read this great meta once that explained, using evidence from the show itself, that Supernatural was a classic TRAGEDY, and was destined to end in heartbreak (I read this meta long before the S5 closer, btw). I wish I could find it again, or remember where the hell it was.
Re: Seven Seasons....
Date: 2011-03-06 08:14 am (UTC)Buffy threw herself to her own death in S5, saving her sister and friends from the end of the world.
Sam (edited to correct spelling) THREW himself into Hell, saving his brother and the world.
S6 of BTVS has serious debate on whether it "jumped the shark".
I've seen debate on S6 of Supernatural on whether it is a strong season (I won't enter the fray, because it isn't over).
When Angel was canceled after 5 seasons, it was considered an insult from the WB toward Joss - Buffy's seven seasons was specifically referenced multiple times.
When 'Charmed' surpassed BTVS with a S8, she was mentioned in articles, despite her having far better writers (of course this is my opinion and can be disregarded).
When ER passed into an 8th season and beyond, there were articles about how long it was holding interest....
There definitely is a mystique about 7-seasons (but this could be a U.S. thing - I notice that a lot of non-Americans refer to seasons as "Series"... and often wondered if everyone else sees each Season as a separate story?).
[Not that I know you aren't American, but you include the 'u' in a lot of spellings, which makes me think you're not. Am I trying too hard not to insult? Because I feel at this point I really am! I.E. 'behaviour']
Re: Seven Seasons....
Date: 2011-03-06 08:29 am (UTC)And I'm Canadian (I actually live in Vancouver), we tend to use an odd mix of British and American spellings. ;)
Series is just another word for Season...it doesn't mean the same as it does in American (ie: another story). It's why I always abbreviate to S# because then it can either be Season or Series, whatever floats your boat. I know in the states, a series in the whole run of the show, and a season is just the segment of the series shown between September and May...but in Britain, they don't have regular TV schedules and "seasons" are shorter, and sometimes air in the summer, sometimes the fall, sometimes two years after the first one aired...so they say "series" for any segment shown consecutively...but the next "series" will pick up with the same storyline, just like "seasons" do.
Right now, I'm eagerly awaiting Series 2 of Sherlock, which they're set to film in May.
Anyway, about this S7 stuff...I did not know ANY Of that, but that's probably because I didn't watch any of those shows (except ER, but once again, lost interest around S2 or S3.) Supernatural has been a miracle for keeping my interest, which is why no matter what anyone says, I say S6 is still awesome. (To me, S3 was the weakest season).
Due South ran 3 seasons, but it was Canadian, so that's considered successful. (Two full seasons, two half seasons...so technically 4 years (non-consecutively) but only 3 traditional seasons worth of episodes.)
Anyway, you learn something new everyday!
Re: Difference between Canadian and American TV....
Date: 2011-03-06 08:54 am (UTC)For instance... "Being Human" or "Queer as Folk" would have the 'British Series' and the 'American Series' with each having their 'seasons'.
I actually assumed you were in the U.K. just because you're online so late, so knowing you are actually much closer is sort of cool (no particular reason - I just like Canadians).
I did not know this about British TV. How do they function?! (Wow, us Americans really are addicted to our TV) without regular seasons?!
Due South... see, while having plenty of fans, the fact it "only" lasted three seasons would be seen as a disappointment, if not an 'interesting failure'. (We are also generally harsh on 'half-seasons'... which we would call 'mid-season replacement' ... see BTVS, S1.)
It is a 'sign', to our business model anyway, that the network didn't have complete confidence. This is all about the suits, not about the public (again, see Buffy, and Firefly - which was discounted by the Suits, but has a rabid fanbase).
Re: Difference between Canadian and American TV....
Date: 2011-03-06 08:59 am (UTC)I don't know how the British function either. :P I watch a lot of British shows and it kind of drives me mental...take for instance, Sherlock, which is AWESOME, but aired in three 90 minute episodes in August...and won't have more episodes until *hopefully* sometime this coming fall when it will air three more 90 minute episodes. Crazy, eh?
Though, it opens the actors up to do different things - the guy who plays Sherlock is doing a play, and the guy who plays Watson is playing Bilbo Baggin in The Hobbit.
And yeah, it's 1am here...believe me, I'm sleepy and about to go to bed. :P
Re: Difference between (uh, British) and American TV....
Date: 2011-03-06 09:26 am (UTC)Also, if you're an American 'star' in a TV series, it is expected that interests outside that would be limited to 'breaks' or the summer. [And, you couldn't do anything too controversial because it might impact on your series, which you've committed to].
[It's 4:24 am here - I'm in Michigan, but I think that is in my profile] - But since it is a Saturday night, I can stay up all night... plus being a chronic insomniac helps.
Re: Difference between (uh, British) and American TV....
Date: 2011-03-06 09:31 am (UTC)It's now nearly 1:30am...I really should go to sleep. I've got to be up at 9am tomorrow so that I can go do my errands. Normally, I would sleep the sleep of the dead, but I desperately need a new pair of shoes, which means I must venture out into the world...
I should friend you. I think you'd friended me, and you're obviously a nice chatter...I think that will be my final act before I turn this puppy off and call it a night. :)
Re: Difference between (uh, British) and American TV....
Date: 2011-03-06 09:52 am (UTC)And, I'll always find a reason to respond to a comment either to let you know why you're right (you agree with me) or why you should re-examine (because my brain is always right, and you're not towing the line). :-)
I accept all friends automatically, but I feel like if we lived next door to one another we'd say 'Hi', start talking, and pretty soon would be comparing notes/arguing loudly (and drawing neighbor's attention) about Supernatural.
I would also bring BTVS over and force you to watch the latter season, BTW.... *grin*
Re: Difference between (uh, British) and American TV....
Date: 2011-03-06 05:27 pm (UTC)Well, I've slept now...it's breakfast time, shower time, and then shoe-shopping time...and then I might come home for a nap, because I think I stayed up too late last night talking to you :P
Maybe I should be glad we don't live next to each other...I'm not sure how much BTVS I could take. Mind you, I did always like that shows sense of humour, so I'd probably end up enjoying it some of the time.