Sunday 9 November 2014

Celebrating Supernatural's 200th Episode! A Very Special Preview of Supernatural 10x05 "Fan Fiction"



IT'S HERE! THE 200th EPISODE IS HERE!

It doesn't seem that long since the 100th, to be honest. I remember how excited we all were about the 100th. That's when I started writing about Supernatural. The night before the 100th episode I started my sweetondean tumblr. And the first episode I ever reviewed, was 5x18 "Point Of No Return".  

It blows my mind to think that I've been blogging about Supernatural for 100 episodes now. My life kinda shifted when that happened. Then in 2011 I went to my first Jensen and Jared attended Supernatural Convention and, EVERYTHING CHANGED! 

Now 4 1/2 years down the track, 100 eps on, 8 Creation conventions behind me (and 2 booked for next year)...suffice to say, this show, this little show that could, that I started watching January 16 2006 - when if first aired in Australia - has changed my life completely. Friendship, travel, creativity, crazy love. My life is full and rich and weird and fun, and I've finally accepted myself and embraced my geek and found a community where I feel a sense of belonging like I've never known. All because of this show. Supernatural.



So now we celebrate 200 episodes. I've never watched a show for 200 episodes. Either the show has not gone that long, or I joined it late, or I left it early. It's an achievement for any show to reach 10 seasons; to reach 200 episodes, but to be growing in audience, to be more successful than ever, to be rating higher than it has in years, well that's a rare beast and really, truly should be celebrated. 

I'm so excited about the 200th episode, that I took a leave day! I want to celebrate with the whole fandom! I want to experience this moment with everyone else, and hopefully with the cast, the crew, and the writers all tweeting alongside us. This is something helluva special and I want to make sure I'm right there to revel in every single minute of it.



Of course we all know there have already been celebrations. Warner Bros threw a big party in Vancouver for the cast and crew, and also attended by the LA team, including Eric Kripke and Peter Roth - President of Warner Bros Television - and Mark Pedowitz - President of The CW.





Then there was a second party in LA, thrown by The CW for cast - past and present, crew and a few lucky fans who won a competition. That party looked more like a family get together than anything
else!





Doesn't it feel great to see our show and our guys get this kind of treatment.




It's all so exciting!


So here we are... The 200th episode of Supernatural.

Let's get to the preview!


THEN

I think dad wants us to pick up where he left off, saving people, hunting things, the family business.




When we last saw Sam and Dean...they were talking. Really talking. They were making an effort to be honest, making an effort not to piss each other off, and taking the first steps towards healing their damaged relationship. It was new and it was heart clenching and it was wonderful. It was what they needed and it was what we all needed. *epic sigh*


NOW

It's 200 baby and it's meta and it's a love letter just for us! Oh, and...it's a musical(ish).


Let's check out the synopsis.

"Fan Fiction"

SUPERNATURAL CELEBRATES ITS 200TH EPISODE - When Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) investigate the disappearance of a teacher, they are stunned to see the school is putting on a musical based on their lives. Familiar faces abound in this milestone episode.

Phil Sgriccia directed this episode written by Robbie Thompson (#1005).


SQUEEEEEEEE! It sounds hilarious! And with Robbie and Phil writing and directing...well, they're a couple of the best the show has got. And we all know how Robbie is in touch with the fandom and everything fannish.

I love the concept of the episode. I would have loved to have seen the concept pitched! How hilarious would that have been? It would have been pushing "The French Mistake" jaw drop. Jensen has even said he rang LA to ask "why?". Not to question the episode or because he had problem with the episode, but just to ask what was the thinking behind it. He's also said he's very proud of how it turned out.

Of course, Supernatural has done meta episodes before. "The Monster at the End of this Book" introduced us to the Carver Edlund books that the high school girls (this episode takes place in an all girls school) are using as inspiration for their production. We've also had "The Real Ghostbusters", which involved a Supernatural convention and of course "The French Mistake", where Jared and Jensen played Sam and Dean playing Jared and Jensen playing Sam and Dean! What other show would even try that, let alone create an episode that became an instant classic!

I love how Chuck's books have continued to be referenced since they were introduced. Beyond the episodes with Chuck and super fan Becky, Crowley has read the books, which gave him a whole list of victims to target in the episode "Clip Show" and Charlie has read the books - online - much to Sam and Dean's distress, because now they're on the Internet and someone - presumably Becky, published Chucks unpublished works! The books were a brilliant, awkward and somewhat dangerous addition to the mythology of the Winchester brothers.


Now we have a bunch of highschool girls putting on a musical production based on their favourite books, and like many fan fiction writers, they've taken a few liberties with the lore!

I have a feeling Dean is not going to be impressed! Especially by the singing!

Let's check out the promo.


Gosh, it's super awesome. I'm in love with this episode already, if only for the balls it takes to do something like this!

The thing is, there's such a trusting relationship now between the show and its fans, that the creative team behind Supernatural feel comfortable enough to do an episode like this, to take these kind of creative risks, because they know they have a bunch of intelligent fans who get the joke and (mostly) have their backs. They've openly said that "Fan Fiction" is a love letter to the Supernatural fans, and I love that they want to do that and feel that they are able to do that; to push the creative boundaries of this show that far.


The other super cool thing about this episode is that the songs, for which Robbie wrote the lyrics, are going to be released! Jay Gruska, Supernatural composer extraordinaire has said they will be released as a soundtrack, but is also working to get them released after the episode on iTunes. So we can all be singing "I'm big brother Dean" at karaoke at our next convention!

I wonder if the girls are going to find out that Sam and Dean are the real Sam and Dean? It'd be hard not to figure it out, especially if they're fans! How many Feds run around with wooden stakes! And about that, wooden stakes have been primarily only used on the Trickster, unless you count the Christmas tree stakes that took out the Pagan Gods, or the stake that took out the Whore of Babylon, so it's going to be interesting to discover what the boys are hunting.


So this is it! Supernatural's 200th episode! A show that for the first few seasons, was never sure whether it would be coming back for another season. A show that creator Eric Kripke said, he never thought would make it to 5 seasons. Yet here we are in season 10, with cast and crew openly talking about the possibility of going to season 11 and possible beyond. A show that is performing better now for the network than it has for a long time. A show that in its 9th season came in second for the network and is now sitting second most weeks, below The Flash. IN ITS 10TH SEASON. This in itself is a phenomenal achievement.

So here's to Supernatural. To the Winchester brothers and their epic love. To Cas and Crowley and the layers they've bought to the story. To Charlie, Chuck, Kevin, Gabriel and all the characters we've adored over the years. To Kripke and Gamble and Carver and Singer and Edlund and every single writer, crew and cast member who bring us this wonderful story week in and week out. To Jensen and Jared who breathe life into Sam and Dean and make us love a couple of brave and broken and beautiful brothers with all our heart. And to us, the fans, who tell these people that we love them each and every day, and who have built a family around this extraoridinary show. What we have here is so very special, and this is our moment too.

So happy 200th episode everyone! 

Enjoy, and I'll see you online for the squeefest!
-sweetondean


Oh...one more thing...




7 comments:

  1. Really fitting preview Amy... I'm not embarrassed to say that I have tears in my eyes after reading it & also I'm feeling quite sentimental thinking about how special this week's episode is going to be. The thing I love most about the creators of Supernatural is the risks they take... and, because of those risks, we've had such memorable episodes as the French Mistake and Monster at the End of this Book (two of my all-time favourites).

    This episode is not only a risk, but it's a love letter to us... and that makes it even more special for me. I haven't been in the fandom as long as you (I joined Twitter and started to meet people during season 7) but I love what you wrote:

    "My life is full and rich and weird and fun, and I've finally accepted myself and embraced my geek and found a community where I feel a sense of belonging like I've never known. All because of this show. Supernatural."

    That's how I'm feeling now - yesterday is an example, hanging out with Jules & Megan, laughing our heads off and having such a great time because we've all been brought together by Supernatural (side-note: we did miss you being there Amy - and we definitely needed your Dean, lol, so next time you're in Melbourne).

    Anyhow, I've never been so excited about an upcoming episode - and I know I'll love it :)

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  2. And we must know what's with the robot.

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  3. I can't wait either. The 200th episode is such a big deal and soon we will see it.

    I just love how you wrote about it and your excitement is always catching even to add to my excitement.

    Bring it on!

    - Lilah

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  4. I am so excited for this episode that I have broken my "no spoilers" rule. Just for this one episode. It's been too hard to avoid all the hype, discussion and interviews out in WWW-land. I don't think it will make this episode any less awesome when I see it.

    I had hoped to watch it live, but in an ironic twist of fate I'll be 40,000 feet above the Pacific when it airs, on my way to LA heading to the album release party of my very dear friend Brian Buckley and his band. This is their fourth album and it will be their best yet. But, I digress. I am also going to BurCon because, coincidentally, it's on the same weekend as the album release party. I figured I'd be stupid to not go, right?

    So, I will be catching up on the episode, and all the tweets, once I land and can get an internet connection! Then I can't wait until the weekend where I can ask Jared all about it in his M&G.

    I just love that Show loves its fans as much as we love Show. This episode will truly be a celebration.

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  5. Beautifully said Amy. I was skeptical when I heard it was to be a musical type ep but after seeing the teaser, so excited! What a wonderful tribute to the fandom.

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  6. I love the excitement Amy, I know exactly how you feel. I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about how awesome this episode is going to be! I love that Robbie Thompson is the one to write it, he's always done so well by the fandom. That cutout of Baby looks pretty great too. Oh, and thanks for that great picture of Dean and his baby, my keyboard has been drooled upon! :)

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  7. Happy 200th Show, Fans, Family!!

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