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May. 22nd, 2006 02:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liptonrm_backupI warned you all that I was going to be doing a Supernatural meta/pimp post. If any of you are curious about my new obsession then this is for you.
Thankfully I don't have to do the actually 'pimping' part of the post because![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tripoli8 already put one together that is better then anything I would've come up with. Go over here and read it. It's a great Beginner's Guide to both the show and the fandom that's arisen around it.
Why I Love Supernatural and Why You Should Too
The show starts off a bit rough but there was something about it that kept me coming back for more, even inspired me to download episodes once I didn't have the WB anymore. I've thought long and hard about what prompted me to stick around until the extraordinarily amazing payoff that was the season finale. What kept me around even when the monsters were sketchy and the dialogue was occasionally laughable? I've thought of a couple of reasons (besides the hot factor and the Sunday afternoon I'm-too-bored-to-live factor).
Reason 1 = Brothers. I don't say it a lot but my brothers mean the world to me. I've spent my entire life watching them interact and fitting in with their crazy schemes and laughing at their boyishness and what got me from the very first about Supernatural was how well the brothers were depicted. There's a realistic chemistry between Sam and Dean that comes from both the actors and the writers and it hooked me from their very first shared adult moment on screen. I've been known to bitch and complain about the lack of good sibling relationships on tv but now, with Sam and Dean, I have at least one show that portrays brothers as they really are, warts and all.
Reason 2 = Character. If fandom and fic-reading has taught me nothing else then it is that story-telling can go one of two ways; it's either plot based with the characters being pulled this way and that all so the central story can be told or it's character based with the plot of the story being generated by how the characters react to a given situation. Supernatural's great strength comes from its character focus. No matter how absurd the monster of the week or choppy the dialogue every episode has good, strong character moments that give the viewer a deeper insight into Our Heroes. The character development and evolution during the season is so concrete that by the time the finale rolls around I was completely invested in the Winchesters and their mission. There's nothing two dimensional about the boys or their father and I as a viewer might not always like their choices or actions but I never quibble about it because it's never OOC. Sam and Dean are different by the end of the season and their separate and joint evolutions are organic and real.
Reason 3 = X-Files Withdrawl. No matter what I might say or do The X-Files was my first true online fandom and ever since then I've been looking for something to take its place. Not only does Supernatural share a thematic vibe with The X-Files because of Vancouver and behind the camera workers and creepiness it also has a similarly strong and vocal fanbase. Finding good Supernatural fic is one of the easiest thing I've ever done, it's all over the place. So many of the writers and readers have weathered many a fannish storm in all sorts of other fandoms that they generally don't have the desire to do anything but write fic and wax rhapsodic over their favorite character. Both the show and the fandom make me feel like I've come home, in a strange way, and that's a good feeling to have.
Reason 4 = Family. I stated in a previous post about how much a wuss I am for family-centered genre shows and Supernatural scratches that itch like no other. This show is at it's strongest when it's dealing with the Winchester Family Dynamic and exploring the ebbs and flows in the various familial relationships. The characters and their relationships are all so beautifully fucked up and feel so real that I just can't get enough of them. They aren't perfect but they're trying their damnedest to do their best and you can't ask for more then that from anyone, be they flesh and blood or characters on your TV screen.
In conclusion, Supernatural isn't a technically perfect show but it gets the important things, like character, perfectly right and after the amazing awesomeness that was the season finale I am foaming at the mouth in anticipation over what the next season will bring. There are a million little things I could squee over and if prompted I could talk for hours about how much I love the subtlety of Jensen Ackles' acting and how I'm Dean Winchester except for the way that I'm Sam Winchester except for the ways I'm neither of them but I'll spare you all that particular brand of crazy. Go, watch Supernatural and discover for yourselves why it's the greatest.thing.evar. It's not often that TV shows live up to their potential but The Dean and Sam Show might be one of those that actually does.
Plus, have you seen the actors? Wo. *fans self*
Thankfully I don't have to do the actually 'pimping' part of the post because
tripoli8 already put one together that is better then anything I would've come up with. Go over here and read it. It's a great Beginner's Guide to both the show and the fandom that's arisen around it.Why I Love Supernatural and Why You Should Too
The show starts off a bit rough but there was something about it that kept me coming back for more, even inspired me to download episodes once I didn't have the WB anymore. I've thought long and hard about what prompted me to stick around until the extraordinarily amazing payoff that was the season finale. What kept me around even when the monsters were sketchy and the dialogue was occasionally laughable? I've thought of a couple of reasons (besides the hot factor and the Sunday afternoon I'm-too-bored-to-live factor).
Reason 1 = Brothers. I don't say it a lot but my brothers mean the world to me. I've spent my entire life watching them interact and fitting in with their crazy schemes and laughing at their boyishness and what got me from the very first about Supernatural was how well the brothers were depicted. There's a realistic chemistry between Sam and Dean that comes from both the actors and the writers and it hooked me from their very first shared adult moment on screen. I've been known to bitch and complain about the lack of good sibling relationships on tv but now, with Sam and Dean, I have at least one show that portrays brothers as they really are, warts and all.
Reason 2 = Character. If fandom and fic-reading has taught me nothing else then it is that story-telling can go one of two ways; it's either plot based with the characters being pulled this way and that all so the central story can be told or it's character based with the plot of the story being generated by how the characters react to a given situation. Supernatural's great strength comes from its character focus. No matter how absurd the monster of the week or choppy the dialogue every episode has good, strong character moments that give the viewer a deeper insight into Our Heroes. The character development and evolution during the season is so concrete that by the time the finale rolls around I was completely invested in the Winchesters and their mission. There's nothing two dimensional about the boys or their father and I as a viewer might not always like their choices or actions but I never quibble about it because it's never OOC. Sam and Dean are different by the end of the season and their separate and joint evolutions are organic and real.
Reason 3 = X-Files Withdrawl. No matter what I might say or do The X-Files was my first true online fandom and ever since then I've been looking for something to take its place. Not only does Supernatural share a thematic vibe with The X-Files because of Vancouver and behind the camera workers and creepiness it also has a similarly strong and vocal fanbase. Finding good Supernatural fic is one of the easiest thing I've ever done, it's all over the place. So many of the writers and readers have weathered many a fannish storm in all sorts of other fandoms that they generally don't have the desire to do anything but write fic and wax rhapsodic over their favorite character. Both the show and the fandom make me feel like I've come home, in a strange way, and that's a good feeling to have.
Reason 4 = Family. I stated in a previous post about how much a wuss I am for family-centered genre shows and Supernatural scratches that itch like no other. This show is at it's strongest when it's dealing with the Winchester Family Dynamic and exploring the ebbs and flows in the various familial relationships. The characters and their relationships are all so beautifully fucked up and feel so real that I just can't get enough of them. They aren't perfect but they're trying their damnedest to do their best and you can't ask for more then that from anyone, be they flesh and blood or characters on your TV screen.
In conclusion, Supernatural isn't a technically perfect show but it gets the important things, like character, perfectly right and after the amazing awesomeness that was the season finale I am foaming at the mouth in anticipation over what the next season will bring. There are a million little things I could squee over and if prompted I could talk for hours about how much I love the subtlety of Jensen Ackles' acting and how I'm Dean Winchester except for the way that I'm Sam Winchester except for the ways I'm neither of them but I'll spare you all that particular brand of crazy. Go, watch Supernatural and discover for yourselves why it's the greatest.thing.evar. It's not often that TV shows live up to their potential but The Dean and Sam Show might be one of those that actually does.
Plus, have you seen the actors? Wo. *fans self*
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-22 08:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-22 08:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-23 07:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-22 08:23 pm (UTC)Methinks there may need to be a Supernatural initiation weekend some time. It's your turn to hold the crack pipe, you know.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-22 08:34 pm (UTC)omg we so totally have to have a Supernatural initiation weekend. i have some eps downloaded that i can share around but it would be best to wait for the dvds cause then i could go totally overboard and it would be great.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-22 08:37 pm (UTC)Or something with less gross blood imagery.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-22 08:54 pm (UTC)Life doesn't get much better then that.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-22 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-23 07:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-22 11:47 pm (UTC)Reason #3: WORD word word. It was wonderful when I realized "hey, I'm not just comparing this to the X-Files anymore. Now I love Supernatural for ITSELF."
no subject
Date: 2006-05-23 01:29 pm (UTC)Exactly. The love kind of snuck up on me and when the realization finally hit me it was one of the most excellent Eureka! moments I've ever had. Oh Supernatural, it feels so good to love you so much. =D