Nick C's Behind the Screens

There was nothing about this episode that was not beautiful, from the opening shot of the freeway interchange to the last haunting image of a photo consigned to the flames, and the individual performances of thee actors were each in their own way heartbreaking and profound. But for all the artistry, this was an episode remarkably lacking in substance.
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Ever since Supernatural let the metafiction genie out of the bottle, they can’t seem to shove it back in. This week we get to see the “first annual’ Supernatural (novels) convention, taking place in a real life haunted house. This means we get to see Chuck and Becky the Fangirl, as well as a cast of twenty or so in various Supernatural-themed costumes. Oh, there’s also ghosts, but they’re simply a narrative device.

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Sam and Dean get stuck in TVLand, but not Pleasantville. They’re being zapped around by their old nemesis, the Trickster, who wants them to get on with the apocalypse (as do many viewers), but his version of getting on with it involves accepting certain angelic offers and then killing each other. Unsurprisingly, he turns out to be an angel. Surprisingly, he was always one. Dean and Sam are not amused, but they’re the only ones who aren’t.
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So Sam, Dean, and Bobby meet this guy, right? And the guy is a poker player. Anyway, he makes people bet years instead of money. And…that’s about it. Oh wait. Also, he has this girlfriend, and she commits suicide via poker because she’s tired of out-living her family.
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Childhood urban legends bite people in the ass. Sam and Dean meet the cutest little Anti-Christ to ever grace the screen. Castiel gets turned into an action figure. Supernatural fails to make any Good Omens references, despite the entire plot being indebted to it.
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Sam and Dean  act like brats, and then meet Ghandi and Paris Hilton. Ghandi tries to have Sam for dinner; Sam is mortified. But they manage to kill Paris Hilton, to everyone’s relief. There’s also some ham-fisted attempts at social commentary on celebrity culture and sibling relationships. Bad Supernatural, bad! Anything featuring Paris Hilton’s decapitation shouldn’t be so dreadfully dull.
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I’ve been a fan of Stargate for a long while now, and that certainly has colored my perception of the newest entry in the franchise, especially as it  explicitly wants to break with what has come before. But I cannot look at it with new eyes after ten years of familiarity, and since this isn’t a reboot of the series, I don’t think anyone should be expected to. But I must admit that my perceptions of this newest Stargate are definitely influenced by what has come before; I see many of the same flaws but none of the redeeming features. (more…)

Dean goes Back to the Future, and his life continues to suck. Bobby’s dead, the world is overrun by zombies, his brother is being worn by Lucifer to the prom, Castiel’s become a sex cult leader, and future Dean is a jerk. On the upside, though, he gets investment advice from the Prophet Chuck. (more…)

Dean and Castiel pretend to be FBI agents while trying to find God, though they make time to visit the local whorehouse. Sam feels guilty for starting the apocalypse and getting addicted to blood and spends some quality time with his dead girlfriend, who turns out to be Lucifer,  in between working as a busboy and setting a barmaid’s heart aflutter by being tall, dark, handsome stranger with a mysterious past.

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The end of summer draws upon us, bringing with it the return of the fall season. Once again we’ll swear television has reached new highs or new lows. We’ll applaud the eagerly anticipated debuts and returns, be disappointed by the filler, and look on with disbelief at the zombies that no one has yet put down.

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