Month: April 2015

The Winchesters “Always Keep Fighting”: Supernatural’s The Werther Project

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WB/The CW
WB/The CW

I went into this week’s Supernatural episode already feeling very emotional, thanks to Jared and Jensen’s posted videos celebrating the last day of filming their tenth season of the Show. Seeing them so emotional about the ten years and about how they’ve only grown closer during that time – not to mention sharing some good whisky with their neckties as headbands – was the perfect way to mark that momentous occasion. That they shared what was originally intended as a video just for them with US only made it better.

Jensen: Just finished season 10!!!! 10 years. Same show and same ugly co-star. But damn is he lovable. Here is my post season interview with my boy Jared Padalecki. Cheers everyone!!!

There was a lot of cheering in response to both those videos, that’s for sure.

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The ending episodes of this season feel extra special because it’s such a ‘big year’ for the Show, and it seems like everyone is amping up their game in response. I usually have at least SOME things to pick apart, and there’s usually a whole contingent of fans who dislike any particular episode, but in the last few episodes? Not so much. Supernatural is always good – but recently? It’s off the charts good. It’s like everyone wants to close out the tenth season with a BANG.

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Supernatural Saturday Night Special – VegasCon Style!

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So where did we leave off with this year’s VegasCon fun? Oh, that’s right – it was almost Saturday night.

Kathy and I had dinner with fangirls, and then it was time for the aptly named “Saturday Night Special.” The Saturday night concert has become one of my favorite parts of the conventions, as I wrote in an article here few months ago. VegasCon was probably the most epic Saturday Night Special ever, with cast member after cast member taking the stage and absolutely owning it.

The stars of the show are the band that makes the Creation Supernatural cons the very best – Louden Swain. I’m not a musician, but it doesn’t take one to realize that it’s not every band that can pull off what they do. They not only play their own songs all weekend, but they compose a little song to introduce all the guests, and are never afraid to play some impromptu music to go along with a guest’s request. That’s talent, clearly. But it’s more than that. The band works harder than anyone at these cons – in Vegas, for four days in a row – and they never EVER lose their good humor or their infectious enthusiasm. Rob Benedict, Billy Moran, Mike Borja, and Stephen Norton are immensely talented musicians, but they’re also versatile enough to provide musical punchline emphasis and are sometimes part of an impromptu onstage joke.

Rob can belt out the hardest rock song and make you get up and dance. He can also break your heart with emotional ballads, many of them auto-biographical and all the more powerful for it. Rob is willing to make himself vulnerable because he says he feels safe performing in front of the SPN Family. In fact, the cast has all said that at one time or another. It’s a special thing for them, just as it is for us.

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That’s The Show I Love! Supernatural Gets Real with The Book of the Damned

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WB/The CW
WB/The CW

I was so unspoiled for this week’s Supernatural episode, thanks to an insane few weeks at work, that I didn’t even know who had written it. About three minutes in, I was already pretty sure I knew. Thank you, Robbie Thompson, for an episode so good that even fans who are rarely in agreement are standing up and cheering. I don’t even know where to start. And that’s a good thing.

I guess I’ll start at the beginning, since the opening scene grabbed me immediately (partly because for a second I thought that Stephen Amell’s suggestion about an Arrow crossover had actually happened!) But no, it’s Charlie (clue number one that this is a Robbie episode). I have loved the character from her first introduction, so much that I’m only a little taken aback by her evolution from scared and geeky to scared and badass. And geeky. The evolution seems alarmingly quick from a viewer standpoint, but Charlie spent time in Oz kicking butt with Dorothy, and time passes differently there. Which is to say that her fighting skills are therefore believable. That little niggling taken care of, I’m free to just enjoy who Charlie is now and the meaning of that in a broader sense. She’s who Becky could have become if she wasn’t hijacked in Season 7 – she’s the fangirl who never apologized for her geek ways or her fannish enthusiasm, instead putting all that passion and knowledge to good use to become a heroine herself. She’s the fangirl who is every bit as smart and capable as the Winchesters, in her own way. And every bit as courageous. That’s a really important message, both for the Show and for a culture that struggles with depicting female characters who are real and human and yet able to be truly heroic. We don’t see it enough and we need to see it more.

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Catching Up With Cole: Behind the Scenes with Travis Aaron Wade on Supernatural

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Travis Aaron Wade and his infectious smile
Travis Aaron Wade and his infectious smile

We caught up with Travis Aaron Wade shortly after he did his first convention panel at VegasCon – and right after he had appeared in another excellent episode of Supernatural. ‘The Things They Carried’ was a powerful and emotional episode, and it took the character of Cole and his relationship with the Winchesters in a new direction. At times the episode was hard to watch, thanks to writer Jenny Klein’s ability to make it truly a horror show and Wade and Ackles’ ability to bring intensity to the struggle Cole and Dean are engaged in. We couldn’t wait to ask Travis more about filming that episode and his experience with the Supernatural fandom.

Lynn: It was so nice to meet you in person – and you did a fabulous job at your first convention!

Travis: That’s so nice to hear, it feels great to give back. I teach people how to speak onstage, but I rarely ever do it myself, so it was interesting. But it felt natural, very natural.

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What Happens In Vegas… Part 3 (Saturday Supernatural Shenanigans)

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Where did we leave off? Oh, right, with Tim Omundson being awesome, both onstage and at karaoke. And with him being able to pull off both the gravity of a role like Cain and the humor of a role like the king in Galavant.

At some point in the panel, he put on glasses, and then he was suddenly a version of brilliant (and bloody hot) professor. Who knows what other iterations of Tim Omundson we haven’t discovered yet?

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Saturday happened way too early (or possibly Friday ended way too late) but it turned out to be an amazing day. First up was Sebastian Roche, who really knows how to wake up a room full of bleary fangirls and fanboys. Sebastian rarely actually answers a question, but intrepid fans line up to ask him some anyway. Despite the lack of answering, Sebastian’s panels are always entertaining – mostly because he’s a great entertainer. He sings, he dances on chairs, he tosses around innuendo in response to just about anything, and he generally keeps you both laughing and incredulous (unless you’re dancing yourself and joining him in singing ‘Get Lucky’…)

Interestingly, Sebastian in ‘real life’ is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful actors out there. If you follow him on social media, you know how passionate he is about political and social change; more than once, I’ve learned about something important from his tweets. I rather like the way he can express both sides of himself, depending on the platform. Keep dancing, Sebastian!

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What Happens In Vegas… Part 2 (Jam-Packed Supernatural Friday)

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More beautiful photos from VegasCon, mostly taken by the talented and awesome @MamaPrior. With some help from RitaKF and a few by us. Enjoy.

Friday was a laid back day, kicking off with Curtis Armstrong, who is amazingly nice in real life for someone who plays a jerk like Metatron. (If you don’t believe me, check out our interview with him by clicking his name on the sidebar). Curtis fielded questions from his entire film and television history, with fans getting a chance to geek out over everything from Revenge of the Nerds all the way through to Supernatural. He says that Metatron is one of his top five roles ever, which is really saying something!

Curtis is a fanboy himself, and has been a Sherlock Holmes fan forever, which he proudly proclaimed onstage. He’s also funny as hell. Example:

The crowd groaned when Curtis mentioned Gary Busey.

Curtis: What, did he do something to the boys?

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What Happens In Vegas…. Post #1. Salute to Supernatural Thursday

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This is the first of several posts about VegasCon, because for once we have a wealth of beautiful photographs to share. That’s because we didn’t take them – instead, we were privileged to have a talented photographer shooting for us (You can find her @MamaPrior on twitter). Not only did she take some amazing photos, but we had a great time hanging out with her and her assistant, also known as her hubby.

One of the amazing things about Supernatural is that the passion people feel for the Show inspires many of us to push our boundaries and try new things. In this case, it meant our photographer getting some new equipment and shooting about a hundred times more photos than I think she was expecting to. Can’t say I’m sorry.

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Pulling It All Together: Supernatural Heads for the Season Finale with Inside Man

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WB/The CW
WB/The CW

The first time we met the Supernatural writers, we were immediately impressed with how thoughtful and serious they were about the Show and making it the best it can be. More than once, as we chatted over drinks, one of the writers mentioned that Andrew Dabb would be joining us later. Each time, they added, “He’s the heart of Supernatural.” I didn’t entirely understand what they meant, though when we did get a chance to talk to Andrew later, it was clear that he has a serious emotional investment in the show and the characters. Of course, we’re used to that with fandom. We all have an emotional investment in this show and these characters!

As I watched this week’s episode, the writers’ words kept coming back to me. More than any other episode he’s written, with the possible exception of Dark Side of the Moon, “Inside Man” reminded me of why the other writers consider Dabb the heart of the show. The episode flowed so smoothly, I didn’t realize how much of an emotional impact it was carrying until we got to the end and Sam was tearing up – and so was I. Thank you, Andrew Dabb, for letting us see that, and for letting me feel it.

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Jensen Ackles Meet and Greet Tidbits from SeaCon – Are You Ready for the Rest of S10??

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ja smile crop

More from SeaCon and VegasCon soon, but for now, some excerpts from the meet and greet with Jensen Ackles. Not verbatim, just from recollection, and certainly not a complete transcript – but some highlights from what was a great meet and greet.

Jensen immediately got right to the point of what’s on all our minds – the season finale that will be here all too soon. Mostly because he was really excited about it, which was nice to see. (After all these years, they are as excited about this Show as ever — then again, so are we!)

Jensen said they’re filming out of order so they can accommodate Felicia Day’s busy schedule (he busted on her in an entirely big brother sort of way, which was all kinds of heartwarming). It’s clear that Jensen is very excited about the finale – he even said that for the first time, he’s thinking about calling Jeremy Carver and saying wow, great episode. Jensen then joked “For the first time…. What a jerk I am!”

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