Sera Gamble Tribute Rewatch Twitter Party

It's been awhile since the last Supernatural Rewatch Twitter Party.

But the Twitter party is back on!

Join us in paying tribute to the awesome Sera Gamble 

Sunday June 10 at 11am - Australian Eastern Standard time.

We will be rewatching...

1.12 Faith

5.13 The Song Remains the Same

7.23 Survival of the Fittest

These are all signature episodes by Sera. They are great examples of her brilliant writing and demonstrate why she is one of the most consistent and talented writers of Supernatural. 

As you may notice, they are episodes from different periods of the series.

Season 1's Faith, not only is one of the strongest foreshadowing episodes of the series, pointing towards Dean's purpose and destiny, but it is also the episode Eric Kripke said made him realise just how far the show could go. 

Season 5's The Song Remains the Same follow's on from the foreshadowing of Faith when we meet the Archangel Michael, for whom Dean was born a vessel. It's also part of the brilliant 

Supernatural Back To The Future series of episodes.

Season 7's Survival of the Fittest is the last episode Sera wrote for Supernatural and puts the brother's into a situation that they've never faced, while putting us in good stead for season 8...though we may chew our finger nails to the bone while waiting!

If you're unfamiliar with our Twitter rewatch parties this is how it works....

 We will be watching the episodes at the same time as each other, so get your DVDs or downloads ready. We will count you in so that we all press play simultaneously. Then of course, we'll be live tweeting the episodes! 

You're most welcome to join the conversation, that's really the point of the Twitter rewatch party! 

Oh and don't forget to grab some munchies and drinks!

Come for one episode or 3. Everyone is welcome!

To join the party, follow my twitter account AmyInSydney and my jail account sweetondean. 

Also follow my coconspirator Tiny Winchester at Tiny; Tiny Panic Room and Tiny Flatbread 

Don't forget when tweeting, to use the hashtag #SeraGamble

So, get your DVDs or downloads ready and join us in paying tribute to and farewelling in style, 

the wonderfully talented Sera Gamble

Sunday June 10 at 11am AEST on Twitter! 

Be sure to check your timezone via the world clock here.

Plus stay tuned! We will be announcing our Jeremy Carver twitter party a bit later. So watch this space!

HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE MONSTERS

The episode starts with something running through Wharton State Forest in New Jersey. A couple of glampers are “roughing it” in a tent with their cherry wood, four poster bed and widescreen TV. (Do people really do this kind of glamorous camping? I’m appalled! I thought we were living it up when we bought blow-up mattresses to sleep on in our tent and our entertainment involves playing Skip-bo by lantern light while we eat Smores cooked over the fire.) Before you know it, a snoozing Mr. Glamper is hung upside down in a tree, wrapped tight like a burrito in his sleeping bag, while a mystery monster munches on him.

The Winchesters and Bobby find themselves another hell hole to hide in. The lack of amenities and being forced to stay so far off the grid they don’t even have the luxury of hot food or showers is really getting to Dean. After stopping the world’s end, twice, he wonders if they shouldn’t just let it finally bite the dust.

“Stop wrestling with the big picture, son, you’re going to hurt your head. “ – Bobby to Dean

The Jersey Devil is making headlines in the area due to a rash of strange deaths. It is Jersey, after all. Anything inexplicable has often been attributed to the urban creature which is described as human-like with bat wings and sometimes a tail or horse head.

“I took a look at the cadaver, what’s left of it, not a happy camper.” – Bobby

The boys interview Ranger Rick at Biggersons, a local restaurant. The warden seems stoned and completely unconcerned that his assistant might be missing. After being no help whatsoever, Rick leaves and Bobby joins the boys for dinner. A testy waiter named Brandon delivers food to “Big Bird, Ken Doll and Creepy Uncle” before mouthing off to his boss and storming out. An unperturbed Dean gleefully inhales a Pepperjack Turdunken Slammer.

“You don’t shoot Bambi, jackass. You shoot Bambi’s mother.” – Bobby

The trio of hunters head out into the woods where the brothers are impressed with Bobby’s survivalist skills. They find what remains of Rick’s assistant and call the ranger in. The dude’s unfazed that his partner’s dead. Just as Rick’s radioing in the crime, Bobby hears a noise. Quicker than you could scream “watch out!” an unseen force yanks Rick off his feet and hauls him up into the trees. All three guys train their rifles upward, but the night lamps don’t show a thing. Bobby instructs them to go dark. He closes his eyes, carefully listens, then takes a blind shot and—blam!—knocks it out of the tree. It appears to be a man with glaucoma fogged eyes and a cannibal’s appetite, not a Jersey Devil. (I'm intrigued, but kinda bummed.) The boys haul the corpse back to their cabin where he suddenly springs up in a rage. They riddle him with bullets and he finally dies. A crude, not to mention grody, autopsy by Bobby and Sam reveals a lot of gelatinous goo, a mongo adrenal gland (which explains his brute strength), bit and pieces of Rick, a pine cone and a—hork!—cat’s head. (Poor kitty.) While the two surgeons look green around the gills, Dean seems strangely uninterested and even more ravenous than usual. Not good, methinks.

“I think you pissed off my sandwhich.” – Dean

They go back to Biggersons because Dean is craving another Slammer. As he moans in ecstasy over his sandwich, Bobby and Sam start to look around the diner and notice the other patrons are equally enamored with their turducken. Much to Dean’s horror, they take away his meal. At home it erupts into purple snot. Yack! It’s the same goo that was in the dead body.

“If I wasn’t so chilled out right now, I’d puke.” – Dean

The guys stalk a Biggersons’ meat delivery truck. Dean’s passed out in a tryptophan coma in the back seat so Sam asks Bobby if he’s concerned about him. Bobby says the boys spend so much time worrying about each other that neither one of them is living.

Meanwhile, Biggersons bitchy Brandon (say that ten times fast) attacks a girl, but someone stops him before he’s able to chow down. Turns out it’s Edgar the Leviathan. What better way to create widespread chaos then through food?

“The world’s a suicide case, we save it, it just steals more pills.” – Bobby

Sleep and coffee have cleared Dean’s head. (But he’s so cute and goofy when he’s stoned) While Sam scouts the area, Bobby takes Dean to task for his shitty attitude. He says Dean’s talking like a hunter who’s about to die. Dean says he’s talking like someone who’s had it and can’t figure out why he once thought any of this mattered. Point blank, Bobby says he needs to find a reason to get his head back in the game because if Dean dies first Bobby will kill him. (Awww.)

THE RISE OF DICK (best TV news subtitle ev-er)

Dick shows up at the warehouse and everyone’s atwitter waiting for his arrival. The boys do some research and find he’s one of the Top 35 businessmen in America. A corporate shark billionaire Leviathan. Awesome.

He asks our trusty doc Leviathan about the failed subjects in their experiment. You know, the one’s with hyper-adrenalized cannibalism. Dick is pissed that these failed test subjects have made the news. His number 1, golden rule, is that “there are no monsters.” To punish doctor demented, and to set an example for his other employees, Dick “bibs” him, which means he’s got to open that razor-sharp maw and consume himself, leaving all the black goo on a bib. Niiice!

More spying gets Bobby nabbed. He figures his chance of being rescued is slim since Sam and Dean don’t have back-up and don’t know how to kill these big bads. Fortunately for Mr. Singer, a cleaning truck pulls up to the warehouse. The Winchesters hijack their cleaning supplies and bust through the front door spraying Leviathans as they go. The toothy monsters burn up, which at least slows them down. Dick goes to see what the commotion is. Bobby reads the files on his desk and blanches at something he see there, then he nabs a second gun Dick left behind. He shoots Dick’s assistant and heads into the fray. Between soap and shots the brothers manage to escape with Bobby slowly pulling up the rear. Why’s he hesitating? Bobby never hesitates.

Finally he runs out the door and heads for the side van door. Dick chases after him and shoots. Shit, shit, shit. Is Bobby hit? The boys are talking to him as they speed off, but he’s not answering. Sam starts to pass him back his ball cap, but notices a bullet hole in it. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The preview for Death's Door, the winter finale next week, shows Bobby in the hospital and things do NOT look good.

Okay, this has been my worst fear. If Sera kills Bobby I may have to hunt her down. I love that old coot and he better make it through this. It’s bad enough we lost Cass, but I understand it with us going back to the type of Season 1 stories we’ve been doing. But DO NOT kill Bobby. He has to continue being their surrogate father and he has to get together with Sheriff Jodi. Period. Other than my general freakedoutness over the ending of this episode I enjoyed it. Bobby had some of the best lines and stoned Dean was a hoot. What did you think and do you think Bobby will pull through or is this just one more thing the writers are going to take away from the boys to make them ill at ease and defenseless against the Leviathans?

Meta Madness

On Michael Ausiello's TVLine he was asked if there would be any more meta episodes of Supernatural. Sera Gamble responded by saying, "We have not put the kibosh on meta. It’s completely about somebody pitching a story that would work for us.” Sera said the French Mistake would be hard to top but adds, "I thought we were never going to be able to do meta again long before ‘The French Mistake.’ And then that got pitched, and we had to do it, of course. I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point in Season 7 or beyond, someone pitches something that enables us to do a fun episode like that again.”

Okay, so what kind of meta episode would you like to see? How would you break down the fourth wall?

Captioned photo credit: Tim Surettte, TV.com

SPNews

The big news this week comes from PaleyFest:

TV Overmind has a must-read write-up of the festival, including some fun behind-the-scenes info on The French Mistake, as well as great tidbits about the show in general. Some highlights: Bobby almost didn't make it on the show, there's going to be an episode entirely from Castiel's POV and it's Ben Edlund's directorial debut and the finale will be two back-to-back episodes, the first written my Sera, the second written by Kripke!

The Examiner offers another review. Here's another review of PaleyFest. Most interesting scoop - Dean's jacket is MIA because it was stolen at a photoshoot.

Eep! Entertainment Weekly talks about the finale. Nothing really spoiled, but apparently they've saved the scariest for last. We better get a season 7 because they promise it's one heckuva cliffhanger.

An Inner Space video interview with Jared and Jensen discussing Season 6.

Entertainment Weekly's TV Survival Scorecard for returning shows has Supernatural in the "Could Go Either Way" column. Let's see a renewal already CW!

A disgruntled SPN fan write's TV Guide's Matt Rousch for his opinion on Season 6.

E! Online's Watch with Kristin talks about the likelihood of a seventh season.

TV Guide talks about the season finale. Bad news - "two unexpected deaths." Good news - Kripke says, "We're actually enjoying that, for the first time in a long time, the brothers are a really strong, cohesive unit, so we're going to keep them like that for the foreseeable future."

Hope that last bit of news keeps you happy for awhile. :)

News for the Week of Thank God the Show is Back...Oh, Wait

Originally, I said "Yay, it's back! But I'm already sad." Now I'm doubly sad, as (according to EW) due to pre-emptions in Chicago and Baltimore and Vampire Diaries going up against American Idol for the first time, the return of Smallville and Supernatural got pushed back so the CW could air VD and Nikita in rerun. This article talks about how well that worked out (or didn't).

While I prepared this post last week, I ignored all the articles about "Like a Virgin," because it was supposed to have aired by now. Suffice to say it sounds AWESOME, exactly what we've been craving all season, and supposedly we'll have a new appreciation for Jared Padalecki's first-half performance. I can't wait.

The new episodes were scheduled to last through February 25th, with a new hellatus for the entire month of March (now possibly altered due to this push-back). CW's schedule here. SPN-centric list of episode titles here.

Sera Gamble did an interview with The Winchester Family Business. I didn't want to read it, as it contains spoilers, but I couldn't help myself. I particularly loved this general comment:

WFB: Is the brotherly relationship ready to go back to the path of healing, or does that road still have a lot of bumps ahead?

SG: There are always bumps. It’s Supernatural. But they’re not feed-you-to-vampire sized bumps.

She did another interview with Maureen Ryan that I did not read.

TV Line (Michael Ausiello's new site) has a newrenewal scorecard that lists Supernatural as a sure thing for next season. Yay!

Actors are always asked if they'll return to Supernatural, and always say that on this show, anything can happen. It came up re: Mark Pellegrino last week. He's now on Being Human.

Missing Jeffrey Dean Morgan? To further ensure he'll have no time for an encore appearance on Supernatural, he's soon to be starring in a new drama on Starz (unless those final negotiations fail).

In casting news, Sonya Salomaa (Watchmen) will play a tough angel in a potentially recurring role. Also, Death will be returning (like we couldn't guess that) as will...ELLEN!

SPN News...We're Getting Closer!

I got my Season 5 DVDs on Friday! Like MJ said in the comments last week, Best Buy sucks. No, she didn't say that. She said they didn't send her order. My BB didn't have any copies at all. I'm not sure if they sold out in two days, or what, they just said none came on Thursday or Friday.

BUT! I got the set at Target, and the Target exclusive is a 100th episode featurette. It's no Impala keychain, but...

The WB has early seasons of Supernatural on DVD for only $19.95!

PLUS, don't forget the Supernatural Soundtrack is finally here! You can get it at iTunes or Amazon.

Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly had some spoilers that I didn't read. EW also gave our show a half-page box in their Fall TV Preview that came out last week.

If you watched the premieres of Vampire Diaries or Nikita last week, you probably saw the promo for the Supernatural premiere. If not, here's a bootleg (with review). (I didn't watch it!)

Buzz Focus posted some teaser spots. They say there are "blink-of-the-eye" spoilers so I didn't watch them, either.

Jared answers fan questions for CW Connect. NO spoilers!

Curious how Sera Gamble's doing so far? Jared and Jensen had some comments. The budget one is especially interesting to me.

Google Alert linked me to some photos a fan took of the filming of episode 6.6.

Zap2it the Js at Salute to Supernatural Vancouver, about how their characters will be different this season.

SPNews

Check out the DVD cover for the anime series.

In this video, Jensen talks about the start of Season 6 and how Dean’s the last to know about Sam.

Some behind-the-scenes pics from season 6.

TV Squad has a great interview with Sera, who reveals—HORROR—that Dean won’t be driving the Impala!

More on Sebastian Roché’s role as Castiel’s angelic friend in Season 6.

Finally, you have to watch this awesome fan video with birthday wishes for Jim Beaver who turned 60 on August 12.

This Just In...From Comic-Con

Sorry this post is late! I kind of forgot this was my day. Actually, last week, I asked a friend about guest blogging. She said yes, then forgot about sending me the post, and I forgot to remind her, and I've been working a new job (always stressful), and I let this fall by the wayside. So sorry!

But it works out! I have 19 Google Alerts that have links to Comic-Con reports. I've been letting them sit because I had so much important stuff to do! But now I'm "forced" to read through and find the best links to post here. So here they are!

First check out The WB's Supernatural at Comic-Con video—high-quality vid with interviews with the boys, shots of them doing autographs, bits of the panel, and an interview with the show's music supervisor.

Some caveats: "Best" really means "best first," because if I see a decent article and then I come across another decent article but it says the exact same stuff, I won't link to it. Doesn't mean the first one is really better than the second. Also...BEWARE OF SPOILERS. I won't post spoilers here, but once you click through, you're on your own! :)

Okay, first up, Digital Spy live blogs the Supernatural panel. This hits all the big stuff: Kripke's take on the finale and the upcoming season, how long after the finale the premiere starts, what Castiel's up to, Jensen's directing, and a couple of jokes by Jim and Misha. :)

Zap2it interviews Sera Gamble, who elaborates on where the season starts, and tells us a whole lot about how they're taking on vampires this season. There's a report, but the actual video is at the bottom.

Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune posts tweets, interviews, photos, and panel report, and an audio file of the panel.

TV Squad/AOL TV has interviews from the round table discussions that were held before the panel.

Here is a Livejournal community post with a compilation of tweets, photos, videos, and another audio file of the whole panel.

buzzfocus interviews Misha outside of Comic-Con. Three minutes of Misha being Misha. :)

I also came across this funny Misha's Minions recruitment video.

Want spoilers? This report from TV Squad gets heavy with the details. Proceed with caution!

Zap2it interview with Jared and Jensen.

Want more? Man, you're insatiable. Okay, go here. SuperWiki compiled links to everything! :)

We're a week past halfway to the season premiere...

SPNews

The big news hit last week with official confirmation of season 6 and Eric Kripke (along with his co-runner Robert Singer) stepping down as the showrunner. However, we trust the show is in great hands with exec producer/writer Sera Gamble and, thankfully, both Kripke and Singer have stated they’ll still be involved.

So what does this mean for a post-apocalypse SPN? Well, according to an interview Buddy TV did with the writers, season 6 “won’t have the scope” of this season. Instead Sera says, “You just turn left and go a whole other direction. The show has never really been about God and the angels and demons, it's a show about Sam and Dean." She further added, "There has always been a deep well to jump into in the boys' relationship...We have the opportunity to go back from the epic to a more intimate story." The idea is to go back to more stand-alones and Ben Edlund for one, is happy he can be “be funny again.”

The next natural question is this…if they’re going back to the basics, where does that leave Castiel? According to E’s Kristin, Misha only has a contract through season 5, but sources close to the show are “hopeful” he’ll be asked to stay on.

And finally, according to Vegas News Jared was spotted at LAVO celebrating his bachelor party. He’s supposed to marry costar Genevieve Cortese next week in Idaho. (Darnnit couldn't find any pics of the party!)

Mostly Spoilery News!

Shooting hiatus apparently means increased promotional activities, because we’ve got a bunch of interviews this week.

First, though, some casting and contest news:

FlashForward viewers might have gasped, “Hey, it’s Kubrick!” during the so-called fall finale.  He plays the infamous D. Gibbons, someone with an apparent connection to the blackout.

According to this article, Alona Tal joins Daneel Harris in the voice cast of Night of the Living Dead: Origins.

Buddy TV is having a holiday trivia contest, with prizes including signed DVDs and photos.

The episode 11 promo (“Sam, Interrupted”) can be found here.

Okay, interviews galore. Spoilers are marked with **, and I didn’t read those! :)

Misha Collins (I read this one, no spoilers)

More Misha**

Eric Kripke** (referencing a Nov. 20 USA Weekend article)

Sera Gamble** and another Sera Gamble** (might be same stuff)

Upcoming Episode Titles** (5.14 makes me squee. :) )

Misha Collins and Julie McNiven**

Here is a short vid interview with Jensen Ackles.  It looks like it’s old, from nearly a year ago, but who cares?  It’s Jensen on film, and we can pretend it’s recent and he’s talking about season six. :)

Ask Ausiello on the 100th episode.

Scroll down in this article for Four Horsemen spoilers.

A "Supernatural Magazine" review for 100-page issue #12 (I might need to get my hands on that!).

This thread posts a casting call for episode 5.14 (SPOILERS) and also posts a recent TV Guide article about the episode.

There you go!  Hopefully that will tide you over for a while.  Or at least today.  Two weeks down, we won’t say how many to go…

Supernatural News

We're going to be starting a new regular feature here on Supernatural Sisters, a compilation of the latest news (with links) about our favorite show, the actors, pretty much anything related to Supernatural. Though Friday isn't going to be our regular day, I thought I'd give you a taste of things to come. And if you all hear any juicy gossip, see any fabulous new images, etc., let one of us know.

Evidently, Paris Hilton is going to be appearing on a Supernatural episode this season. Wait, before you cry in agony, let it be known that it actually sounds like it'll be funny. She's playing a demonic creature that takes the form of...wait for it...Paris Hilton!

Still sad you weren't at Comic-Con this year? Well here's a little taste -- clips from the panel made up of Eric Kripke, Ben Edlund, Sera Gamble, Misha Collins and Jim Beaver. These are some funny talented people, and I was happy to hear Kripke say that this upcoming season will be the most optimistic yet, with the boys coming back together, though slowing and not without angst.

Kripke, Edlund and Gamble talk about Season 5 (and possibly beyond), and we get a glimpse of what's in store for Castiel this season in this article. Have I mentioned I love Castiel? And if you're not following Misha on Twitter, do. He's hysterical.

I looked up the latest IMDB (Internet Movie Database) listings for Jared and Jensen and found some interesting info on Jensen's page:

Jensen's page has two rumored roles -- as Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil: Afterlife and as Steve Rogers/Captain America in The First Avenger: Captain America. Wow, Jensen in tights? :)

Season 5 Episodes

I was supposed to do a recap of "Bloody Mary" today, but I've not had time what with the RWA conference last week and being under two deadlines at the moment. But I did notice that we're getting some episode titles for Season 5. Here's what IMDB is listing so far:

Season 5, Episode 1: "Sympathy for the Devil" set to air Sept. 10 (Only 50 days away!), written by Eric Kripke

Hmm, interesting title. Who is sympathetic toward the Devil? I can't imagine it would be the Winchester boys, but I could be wrong. Perhaps just Sam? The cause of more friction between Sam and Dean?

Season 5, Episode 2: "Good God, Y'All" set to air Sept. 17, written by Sera Gamble

Have to say I love this episode title since I'm from the South. Interesting that we have the Devil mentioned in the first episode and then God in the second. Part of me thinks they wouldn't cast anyone in the God role, but who knows?

Season 5, Episode 3: "Good to Be You and Me" set to air Sept. 24, written by Jeremy Carver

On first glance, this seems like it might be a brothers-focused episode. Maybe this is when they start healing the rift between them? Maybe they go up against something that causes them to realize they really are on the same thing and that it's good to be them instead of whatever they're facing or people in worse situations.

In casting news, I saw where the role of the archangel Raphael -- a mechanic who is possessed by one of the most powerful beings in the universe -- is being added as a recurring role.

Things That Would be Worse Than Bad Supernatural

A little while ago, we talked a little bit about the possibility of a season six without Eric Kripke. Many people would rather have no SPN than bad SPN, but I thought there are some things that could be worse:

1. Jared and Jensen in other jobs…that film in Vancouver.

2. Jared on a show like According to Jim.

3. Jensen on a generic crime drama.

4. J&J never get another real gig, just spend all their time traveling around to Supernatural conventions, becoming a better-looking but even more pathetic version of the Galaxy Quest crew.

5. Jensen joins Star Trek. I couldn't imagine Jensen in that world. Then I pictured him in uniform. At attention. And...um...yeah, never mind.

~~~~~~~~
Okay, so...I'm not very good at this. That was all I could come up with.

So then I thought, well, I'm in the minority, but I'd be okay with Kripke-less writers and half-hearted stars. I don't think the show would stray too far from what makes it so compelling for me. But what would make the show too horrible to watch?

1. They replace Sam and Dean.

2. They bring back Bela (that's a bone for the Bela-haters--I liked her).

3. The boys decide they're tired of traveling, sell the Impala, and settle down with the 90210 kids.

4. To nail ghosts in a daycare center, they pose as teachers. ... Wait, that could be funny.

5. They do an episode where the "fight" is cringing in an attic spraying fire at bees while the fastest night in history passes.

~~~~~~~~
The thing is...

First, we don't get to say "stop now, the show's on top, it can't possibly be as good next year." So that leaves us to either watch it or not. Secondly, we can't know what a season six would be like. What if Sera Gamble gets promoted to showrunner? Doesn't she do much of that already? She oversees the writing and seems to be of like mind with Kripke.

I personally can't cut off my nose to spite my face and say I wouldn't watch it, at least to find out how they do.

~~~~~~~~
Now it's your turn. Tell us what you think:

a. would be worse than bad SPN

and

b. would render SPN too bad to watch.

Review of Supernatural: The Official Season Companion Season 3

The Official Companion Season 3 didn't come out until March 2009, as we were heading for the end of season 4. While I'd really like to get these closer to the release of the season's DVDs, having a context with the new season actually enhances the experience.

Well...it's always better to live positively, right?

Long lead time notwithstanding, the wait is definitely worth it.

I've seen people remark that the writing in these companions isn't that great. I work as a freelance editor and proofreader, so I tend to be really sensitive to that kind of thing, and I'm a little baffled why they say that. It may be the journalistic style, which focuses heavily on presenting the words and information from their sources, rather than on pretty prose. It may be that I overlook it, delighted as I am with the tidbits and viewpoints we get.

The companions get us closer to everyone involved in the show than any other source. We start with a foreward by Sera Gamble, formerly a writer on the show, now the executive story editor and a supervising producer. The foreward is followed by an overview setting up the season, giving insight into how the studio, showrunner, and writers interact to figure out where they're going and how, along with a postmortem of the previous season.

The bulk of the book delves into the episodes, with "A Closer Look" sections on 10 of the urban legends, monsters, and mythologies that fed the season. That's followed by nine in-depth discussions of the main characters, sections about the crew, and a chapter on one of the companion novels (Bone Key). The book wraps up a bit weakly, rehashing "Do You Believe" and "Scary Stuff" that's been addressed in the Supernatural magazine and in previous companions and just about every interview conducted by a non-fan.

For intense fans like us, who seek interviews and convention reports all through the season, a lot of the information is duplicated, and the episode recaps are probably the least valuable sections. But the behind-the-scenes access is amazing. Every episode section talks to the writers and crew and actors, who explain how they approached certain scenes, made special effects happen, found locations, etc.

I'm always amazed at how a show set all over the United States can film in one small area of Canada and still make me forget that every week. So it's fascinating to see how they reuse certain places (the bar in "The Magnificent Seven" was also in "Sin City"), track down new places to film, and change up the ubiquitous motels.

There are sidebars about things like the prank wardrobe played on Jared Padalecki, dressing up his dogs in bandannas and a pink western shirt, and about connections between actors and other things they've done, and old names for certain episodes, and the music that's in each episode (because I'm a music dunce and only recognize about half the stuff they use).

The print is tiny, even for someone whose eyes are just barely starting to hint that they might soon be wanting me to move stuff a bit further away when I read it. On the other hand, when they use tiny font, they pack more in. Some people--I won't name names--wouldn't want to read this because they don't want to ruin the magic of living in the show.

But for those of us who can't get enough details, the companion is a must.

Supernatural
The Official Companion
Season 3
by Nicholas Knight
Published by Titan Books
ISBN 9781848561038







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a side note, in case you haven't yet seen, Supernatural scored a FULL FEATURE ARTICLE in this week's Entertainment Weekly! It's the 4/10/09 issue, with Jennifer Hudson on the cover, and is pretty decent, even if the writer mixes up Sam and Dean a couple of times.