Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Making Lists & Checking Them Twice

We're coming up on not only the end of another year, but another decade, so naturally everyone and their brother's magazine are releasing all kinds of lists and superlatives--influential people, biggest catastrophes, best dressed, sexiest man alive... (Look, I loved Captain Jack, but I've seen the cover of People, and no way is that photo sexier than Dean Winchester.) And as you probably already know BuddyTv.com compiled their top 50 television episodes of 2009, which featured both Changing Channels and Monster At The End of This Book --which both rocked, not only because they were hilarious but because they weren't just throwaway funny, they furthered the story in big ways.

It's not uncommon for us to do lists here at SPN Sisters. In just November, MJ listed her fave and not-so-fave eps and I'm pretty sure that in our archives there's a list of great Impala moments. So I wanted to share a few slightly more obscure lists and superlatives. (These are, of course, strictly my opinion. Feel free to agree, disagree, and share your own in comments!!!)

Horror, violence, and the occasional sex--Supernatural is definitely not children's television! And yet, from that early scene in the pilot when young Dean has to carry baby sam out of the burning house, kids have always had an impact on the show. Best child actors on Supernatural (in no particular order):

1. Nicholas Elia--this potential mini-Dean stole my heart and certain scenes in Season 3's "The Kids Are Alright."

2. Margot Berner-- The girl who played Katie on the same episode, however, was chilling enough to make me nervous around my own daughter the next day. (Hey, I'm not proud of that, I'm just sayin'.)

3. Sierra McCormick-- Of course, the creepiest child they've ever had on the show, IMO, is this adorable little blond girl who was possessed by Lilith in the season 3 finale "No Rest For the Wicked." YIKES.

4. Ridge Canipe-- First seen in the flashbacks of Season 1's "Something Wicked," this younger version of Dean portrays his emotional conflicts about his dad and brother just as compellingly as the adult Dean we all know and love!

5. Gattlin Griffith-- This season's "Jesse Turner" and the potential lynchpin for the apocalypse, this kid was utterly believable, a little eerie, and a lot heart-wreching. I hope they bring him back for more episodes!!!


But of course, it's not only the under-eighteen guest stars who shine on the show. Here are my five favorite (old enough to vote) guest stars:

1. Richard Speight Jr (Trickster/Gabriel)

2. Mitch Pileggi (Samuel Campbell, aka Dean and Sam's grandfather!)

3. Charles Malik Whitfield (Agent Henricksen) This determined FBI agent truly thought his was the side of justice when he pursued "dangerous fugitives" Sam and Dean, finally catching them in Jus In Bello, where he learns the truth and sets up the best line in the whole episode when he stammers, "I shot the sherrif."

4. Samantha Ferris (Ellen Harvelle) While we didn't see her as much as the boys' awesome father figure recurring character Bobby Singer, this tough but caring maternal character was a great addition to every episode she was in!

5. Lauren Cohan (Bela Talbot; Hey, it's my list, I can include her if I want to!)

Honorable mentionts to Julie Benz (season 1) and Amy Gumenick (season 4).


Clearly the producers have no trouble getting great guest stars! But we fans can't help hoping that some other actors we enjoy land on the show. Here are the five people I'd most love to see pop up in a well-written role:

1. Alan Tudyk- This guy can be either terrifying or hilarious, both areas in which SPN excels and I love seeing him on TV! (Which is looking less likely since his guest character was killed off on ABC and the show in which he had a guest character was cancelled on FOX.)

2. Jason Dohring

3. Lee Pace

4. Alexis Denisof

5. Mary McDonnell - BSG Alumni Callum Keith Rennie, Tricia Helfer and Mark Sheppard have all appeared, so why not madame president herself?


While it's no secret that I am a weenie and Supernatural IS part horror-flick, every once in a while, the gore just seems a bit more nauseating than it had to be. I give you my top 5 Dude, was that really necessary? episodes:

1. Skin

2. On the Head of a Pin (the violence and blood was definitely plot-related, but this one was seriously difficult for me to watch)

3. Wendigo (to be fair, I'm guessing on this one--my eyes were covered for a lot of it)

4. Time Is On My Side

5. No Rest For the Wicked

It would have been nice to list my favorite Sam and Dean moments, but I'm not sure I could narrow that down to the top fifty! What are a few of yours?

3 comments:

Kim said...

Your top three wish list for cameos is like it came right out of my head! The world needs more Jason Dohring, imho. :)

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Your lists are awesome! I can't argue with any of them, really, though for one of the best kids, I'd include Colby Paul (recently seen on The Mentalist and Fringe, and he's grown up nicely so far :) )

And I'd put Metamorphosis near the top of the gore list. *shudder*

Anonymous said...

Kim--couldn't agree more!

Natalie--I think I repressed Metamorphosis from memory because of the mental trauma :-)