I Just Gasped Really Loud. BIG (HUGE!) Supernatural News!

My inbox was just flooded with news stories that Sera Gamble will be stepping down as showrunner and Jeremy Carver will take over.

Where the heck do we begin?!

First, the show seems almost guaranteed to have an 8th season. The new CW head had intimated as much, and Jared recently said so in an interview, and now they're announcing a new showrunner. Since they're close to filming the finale (if they haven't already), that's pretty strong evidence of a return.

Far cry from our held breath for seasons 2-5, huh? :)

Let's take a look at saying goodbye to Sera Gamble. I liked a lot of her early episodes. I liked her. I loved the show having a female showrunner, and thought it amusing that no one ever expected her to "girl" it up. In fact, we all feared how bloodthirsty she is...and she more than lived up to that fear. Some of the articles out there mention fan dissatisfaction with the "convoluted" plots of the last two seasons, but honestly, I don't think they were any more convoluted than Kripke's five-season arc and individual season mini-arcs. I thought a lot of the plot threads were clever.

No, the problem with Sera has been, of course, that she took away the things we loved most. She made Dean a dick in the truest sense of the word (ref. "Weekend at Bobby's" and his treatment of Cas). She killed every major character and took the car off the show. The humor got a little less sharp. So some of the things that were done well didn't necessarily hit us the same way because of all the rest of it.

Now let's see what Jeremy Carver brings to the table, beyond 60 episodes of Supernatural and 26 of Being Human. Here are the SPN episodes he actually wrote (source: IMDB):

Sin City
A Very Supernatural Christmas
*Mystery Spot
Long-Distance Call
*In the Beginning
Family Remains
*Death Takes a Holiday
The Rapture
Free to Be You and Me
*Changing Channels
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
*Point of No Return

The *s indicate some of my favorite episodes. To me, this bodes VERY well. If Carver can bring back the perfect blend of humor and wrenching emotion of Mystery Spot on a more regular basis, Season 8 could be a return to the show we've missed for the last two seasons.

And that's something very few shows of this age can achieve!

So what do you think? Joyful, annoyed, or cautiously optimistic? How do you feel about this announcement?

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?