Classic Episode Review: "The Kids Are Alright"

When fans heard the premise of this episode, there was--of course--an uproar. Sure, everyone agreed, Dean's a dog and it's highly likely he left something behind somewhere--but don't bring it permanently into our show. No car seats in the Impala!

This was probably the first instance of me hearing a spoiler, watching the fandom freak out, and just trusting Kripke and Co. to do it right. And they did!

Understandably, Dean wants to get his fill of all the good things in life. Bacon cheeseburgers and sex, primarily. And there's this chick in this town where there also happens to be a job.


First we have to focus on the Dean-as-father part. There are a few elements to this. First is Dean fearing he is one, as Ben displays many common traits. Music, girls, cars, and food, to be specific. Lisa insists he's not Dean's, but Dean doesn't seem convinced. Later, Ben displays courage and leadership that also emulates Dean. Lisa's explanation of "having a type" works, but the whole possibility has Dean thinking. He begins to long for a normal life, a life where he could do all the fatherly things his own didn't do with him. But there's a wagonload of poignancy when he says he could never have it.

The "skeery" plot, the job they're there to do, is one of the most creepy ones, and I found it excellently handled. Anything to do with kids is tricky (unless you're a horror flick where that's the whole point, I guess). The girl who played Katie totally creeped me out. Kathleen Munroe, who played the freaked-out mother, was amazing and sympathetic even as she tried to drown her kid. The effects of the changelings was horrific yet subtle, for the most impact.

Oh, yeah. That was the monster-of-the-week. Changelings. Someone was taking the kids and replacing them with these things that sucked on the mother's synovial fluid. The really cool thing is that when Sam and Dean tracked them down, they didn't have to flame the kids. There was a kick-ass mother--no, a literal mother--who beat them up pretty good before they torched her, which made the changelings go fwoosh without anyone having to flame them on the front lawn. Very cool.

The final element of the episode was Ruby, who showed up all cocky and stuff, flashing her black eyes at Sam and giving hints about a deeper mystery, some of which, despite Ruby's revelation and termination in the season 4 finale, remains unresolved. She also claimed she could help save Dean. Thus began the Great Ruby Debate.

Some favorite lines:

"Gumby Girl...does that make me Pokey?"

Ben: "Only bitches send a grownup."
Dean: "You're not wrong."
Ben: "And I am not a bitch."

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What are your favorite parts/lines of this episode? Did you like it? If not, why not? What did I miss? Weigh in, in the comments!

SPN Alum on the Screen Pt. I

The show keeps our boys too hard at work for much else, but the extended cast has been busy, busy, busy. This isn’t everyone or everything, by far, but I thought I’d give you a sneak peak at some upcoming projects from SPN alum. Thanks, mostly, to the prodigious Jeffrey Dean Morgan, I’ll be doing this in two parts.

Ruby might be dead, but look for Genevieve Cortese in December’s American Empire. An indie “film noir, dark comedy of errors” with one heckuva hot cast.

Our beloved Jeffrey Dean Morgan (John Winchester) continues to be one sizzling star with at least six things on the slate.

First up is July’s All Good Things. This mystery has Jeffrey playing a detective trying to unravel a missing person’s case that could doom the heir to a NY real estate dynasty.

Come August, we’ll see him playing the lover of a closeted gay man who inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert of 1969 in Ang Lee’s awesome looking, Taking Woodstock.

Then in September, Jeffrey does this thing we wish he’d quit doing--he dies--which acts as the catalyst for his best friend (John Cusack) to return to Shanghai in the months before Pearl Harbor.

And, OMG, in 2010, he’s playing a stalker landlord with an obsession for his new tenant, Hilary Swank, in Invasion of Privacy. (Wicked Jeffrey is just so yummy.)

Also in 2010, Jeffrey’s turn as a “twisted, sado-masochistic henchman” in a yet-to-be-titled Beatle Boyin project.

And, finally, his first 2011 project is another graphic novel adaptation in which he’ll play a CIA black ops agent who’s out to get those responsible for attempting to assassinate his team in The Losers.

Katie Cassidy (former Ruby) has yet to bite the dust on Harper’s Island, but even if she never makes it to her wedding day she’s got a bright future ahead of her.

First, or maybe never, is the super secret Chris Carter project she filmed. Fencewalker was written, financed and directed by the X-Files scribe who says it’s a "coming-of-age semiautobiographical character piece with no supernatural elements." Hmm. Clear as mud, eh? Recently Katie called the script “amazing” and said it was a challenging, emotional role for her and she thought the film would be out at the end of the year. Let’s hope so!

This fall she’ll return to blonde and the CW when she stars as Ella Flynn, a bi-sexual publicist whose tongue is as sharp as her stilettos in the Melrose Place redux.

And since slasher remakes are all the rage, as Jared and Jensen proved this summer, watch for Katie in next year’s A Nightmare on Elm Street where she’s sure to fall victim to Freddy Kruger’s grisly glove.

Finally, keep your eye out for Samantha Smith (Mary Winchester) in next month’s blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen where she’ll reprise her role as Sarah Lennox. (That’s the wife of hot Army Captain William Lennox (Josh Duhamel), in case you didn’t remember).

So, which of these grabs your interest? ‘Til next time….

An Introduction To Harper's Island

7 years ago, 6 people were murdered by John Wakefield.

They were the first murders in the history of the island…

…They will not be the last.

So begins Harper’s Island, CBS’s new “event” murder mystery. Likened to a cross between Lost, Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians and One Tree Hill, the show strikes me more like Clue meets Scream with a vicious Survivor tribal council thrown in each week.

The show was originally conceived by Ari Schlossberg, but since this was his first TV venture Jeffrey Bell (Angel) was brought on board to retool the script and Jon Turteltaub (Jericho) took the executive producer reigns and directed the pilot.

The series opens in Seattle where we’re introduced to Patricia Wellington (a brunette Katie Cassidy) and Henry Dunn (Christopher Gorham), a happily engaged couple who are ferrying their family and friends to Harper’s Island for a week of wedding festivities. Reluctant to join the party is Abby Mills (Elaine Cassidy), Henry’s best friend and the daughter of one of John Wakefield’s victims. Abby hasn’t been home since her mother’s death and she’s not sure she’s ready to return. Too bad she doesn’t listen to her gut instincts. As the boat motors up the audience is privy to its first murder as missing cousin Ben has his head chopped off by the propellor. The rest of “Whap” hits on the traditional horror movie components you’d expect: false scares and jump moments, sex and skin, bad personal histories, an anonymous figure watching from the shadows, a creepy kid with a questionable new “friend,” threatening notes, love triangles, lots and lots of secrets and poor Uncle Marty (a hammy Harry Hamlin) ends up sliced and diced in half.

In the next 13 weeks people will be killed off in every episode. There are 25 suspects, guests and locals, and the killer will be revealed in the finale. This kind of close-ended series is a brilliant idea because viewers know right off the bat they’re going to have instant gratification at the end of the season, unlike shows like Lost and Heroes where viewers often get frustrated with convoluted storytelling and little pay off and the show’s ratings suffer for it. Should Harper take off, a new stint could easily be created by changing the setting, mystery and cast, with maybe a couple survivors staying on as is often done in slasher sequels. The real fun of Harper’s Island is going to be seeing who bites it each week while you whittle away your suspect list and try to figure out whodunit.

Random impressions:

* It’s odd seeing Katie as a non-kick ass chick, but she’s got incredible chemistry with Christopher Gorham.
*I know Christopher is best known for Jake 2.0 and Ugly Betty, but I’ve never watched him before. He’s too adorable for words!
* I like that the actors were kept completely in the dark from script to script. Their character’s fate and the killer’s identity was as much a mystery to them as it is to us so there was no chance of accidentally skewing their performances with inside knowledge.
* Jim Beaver plays the island’s lone Sheriff and Abby’s estranged father. We only see him for a short time, but the scene between him and Abby in his truck, when he tries desperately to reconnect with her, is physically painful and poignant. Their words were few, but the emotional punch in that tiny scene was amazing.
* I could swear…and I’ve watched it several times…that I saw Jared on the boat. Just after Mr. Wellington tells the captain to start the engine you see a guy leaning against the railing in a green army jacket. They don’t show his face, and I may be crazy, but he sure looks familiar. The show is filmed in Vancouver and Jim has said he was going back and forth between the shows so I think it’s plausible….

Finally, CBS has a Pick the Victim game you can plays for a chance at $1000 and Harpers Globe is an online show and social network meant to give you a deeper understanding of what’s happenin’ on Harper.

What did you think? Did you like seeing SPN alum? Do you plan to stick with it?

Coming this week

I think we had a first week of going to three posts per week. Thanks to all of you who commented. Coming up this week, we have:

Monday -- Terri will be talking about the new show, Harper's Island, which has several Supernatural connections. Katie Cassidy and Jim Beaver star, and Gina Holden, who was a guest star way back in "Wendigo," also has a role.

Wednesday -- What's your hunting style? Tanya will help you find the answer.

Friday -- Natalie shares her thoughts about what she foresees for the rest of the season and beyond.