Thursday, March 31, 2011

Hero Showdown

So MJ and I had a month-long discussion at our personal blogs about heroic traits as portrayed in certain fictional characters. This week, we've been having a showdown of those characters—all the ones she and I talked about, plus all the additional ones brought up in the comments.

Dean Winchester has made it to the final "four"! It's actually the final 5, because he and Booth tied the first time around. And oh, no, this time, he's losing!

Help Dean make it to the championship tomorrow! Poll closes at 9:00 p.m. EDT.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Creepiest Supernatural Monsters Evah








Please welcome guest blogger Lisa Paitz Spindler to Supernatural Sisters!


Week in and week out, the Winchester boys kick some monster ass and deal with angsty family issues, all the while driving one heck of a cool car. Not too long ago, TV critic Maureen Ryan called the show "unheralded but excellent . . . packing meaty thrills, dude-tastic humor, and solid storytelling into each episode."

While it’s easy and fun to get caught up in the Padalecki-Ackles axis of eye candy and the classic rock soundtrack, the show also, as another reviewer points out, “effortlessly mixes traditional horror along with schlock and B-Movie” thrills, while “[S]imultaneously parodying and honouring the genre at the same time...”

In other words, we wouldn’t get to so often watch the brothers Winchester flex their muscles if it weren’t the tremendously creepy and formidable monsters they’ve had to face down. After all, a hero is only as good as the dragon he must slay. So, while we wait for Supernatural to return, let’s take a look at the top five most dangerous, nasty and creepiest monsters Sam and Dean have had to fight yet.

Vampires

The vampires of Supernatural aren’t the beautiful and flawed fiends à la Ann Rice and Paranormal Romance. (The exception to this rule is, of course, Dean’s brief stint as an undead bloodsucker.) Nope, these monsters have several rows of nasty looking fangs rather than two elegantly sharp incisors.

Left, open wide vampy.

They infect others virally with their blood and younger vamps often cart victims off to their nests to be enjoyed by vampire elders for weeks. These immortals can smell human blood and hear a heartbeat a mile away.

In “Dead Man's Blood,” Daddy Winchester said that a vampire has a person’s scent for life. The only way to kill a vampire is by beheading – and the Colt, of course.

Wendigos
The scariest aspect of a wendigo is that it was once human, but after embracing cannibalism was transformed into a monster that craves human flesh. They can mimic the voices of humans and are impervious to knives and guns.

Right, wendigo claw sharpening 101.

Wendigos are described as standing over fifteen feet tall and possessing glowing eyes and yellow skin, as well as overly long tongues. The only way to kill them is to burn them to death.

Doc Benton
Thomas Benton creeped me out so much in the episode “Time is on My Side” that he deserves his own entry. A doctor in the 1800s, Benton discovered the secret to becoming immortal. It’s simple, really. Just steal other people’s organs when yours wear out.

Left, a facelift, Doc Benton style?

If you wake up in a hotel bathtub full of ice with one kidney gone, blame Doc Benton.

John Winchester cut out the man’s heart years ago, but that didn’t stop the doctor, nope. Benton kidnaps Sam with the intent to harvest his organs and offers Dean a chance to avoid Hell by joining in his immortality.

Djinns
Not your average genie in a bottle, djinns in the Supernatural universe can pass as humans, but in their true form have tattoos and scars over their entire bodies. Their eyes glow blue when they attack and they possess superhuman strength.

Right, is that Khan herpe tattoo on his cheek?

Rather than granting wishes, they poison their victims and convince them the hallucinations that result are the victim’s dreams come true. In the meantime, the djinn feeds on the blood of the victim. The only way out is for the victim to commit suicide in their alternate reality. These cave-dwelling monsters can only be killed with a silver knife dipped in lamb’s blood.


Khan Worm
Nicknamed the “twelve inch long herpe” by Dean, the Khan Worm was created by Eve and enters a person’s body through the ear. Then it controls their actions, which usually involves killing the victim’s friends and family.

Left, Khan!!

The only way to remove a Khan Worm is to electrocute the victim near to death. This monster isn’t really scary until you see it—on the floor in a puddle of icky goo.
Then it just gives me the heebie-jeebies. Reminiscent of the Centaurian worm from Star Trek and the Ceti eel from Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, this worm looks like a freaky cross between a snail and an eel. Plus goo. Ewwww.

I need to wash out my brain now, thanks. As I mentioned above, just keep in mind that without all that scary stuff, we wouldn’t get to watch Sam and Dean sending these nasties packing. Case in point:




What about you? What do you think is the scariest monster on Supernatural? What’s your favorite Sam or Dean monster fighting moment?

Lisa Paitz Spindler is a science fiction author, web designer, blogger, and pop culture geek. Her debut space opera novella, THE SPIRAL PATH, will be released March 28, 2011, from Carina Press. In addition to some fun science underpinnings and a moving love story, readers will find a bonus deliciously creepy character buried deep in a mysterious wormhole.

She also contributes book reviews and television recaps to SF Signal and maintains the Danger Gal Blog hosted by her alter ego, Danger Gal, whose stiletto heels are licensed weapons and whose ninja stars travel faster than light. Lisa can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Buy THE SPIRAL PATH now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Carina Press


As part of her Out Of This World Blog Tour, Lisa is giving away a copy of THE SPIRAL PATH and this Retro Saturn T-shirt to one lucky reader. Everyone who enters will receive a door prize: THE SPIRAL PATH electronic trading cards depicting the four main characters in the story.
Click here to enter.

On Sunday, April 3 Lisa will draw the winning name.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Guest Blogger Lisa Paitz Spindler

Tomorrow we are honored to have a special guest! Lisa Paitz Spindler (who is celebrating her release this week of her book The Spiral Path from Carina Press) will talk about The Creepiest Supernatural Monsters EVAH! Be sure to come by!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Supernatural News

Some fun ways to survive the current hiatus can be found in this piece at BuddyTV.

The list of Supernatural-related guests at Dragon*Con is growing, now up to four: Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, Mark A. Sheppard, and Julie McNiven.

Another fun hangout for fans of Supernatural, BuddyTV's Supernatural Insider page on Facebook.

News is a little thin, so here's an extra tidbit that doesn't have anything to do with Supernatural but does include supernatural beings. SyFy's Being Human has been picked up for a second season. Yay!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Reasons to Watch

I just remembered it's my recap day, but we've already recapped this episode, so I'm copping out and linking to an excellent article you can use to encourage others to watch. (Since if you're reading this, you probably already do! :) )

Really, though, all we need is this:

Monday, March 14, 2011

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. :)

Friday, March 11, 2011

Partying Supernatural Style

This was supposed to be my day to recap an episode (since MJ was was kind enough to cover when I was CW-less last week). But there will be no new episodes until APRIL freaking FIFTEENTH. So instead of a recap, you get a Random Musing, although not as random as it first appears, I promise.

I recently threw an Oscar party. I had nine dishes (such as Cheesy True Grits) and a bottle of Black Swan Cabernet, something to represent each Best Picture Nom. Minor confession: my nod to 127 hours wasn't so much a "dish" as a backpack on the table filled with Band-aids, bottled water and granola bars, but that's neither here nor there. When my guests arrived, I had my movie soundtrack playlist on the iPod. We ate and talked, then settled into my living room with the Oscar Bingo Cards I'd typed up (which had spots for stuff like "The Fighter Wins An Award," "Car Commercial" or "Helena Bonham Carter is shown with crazy hair.") A good time was had by all.

Unlike some die hard fans of Supernatural, I didn't start watching it as soon as it aired. No, my friend Trish got me hooked a couple of seasons in. In turn, I got two of my good friends and my sister hooked. (Supernatural is kind of viral that way, isn't it? But like good virus-y. Not Croatoan virus-y) It's come to my attention that in my current circle of friends, there are about 3 women (all of whom attended my Oscar nite) who have never seen Supernatural but are intrigued by the show, who've been wanting to watch it but haven't got a hold of the early eps yet. So I'm thinking...Supernatural party!

Playlist is easy. I've already got one on my iPod and I'm sure you could put one together if you don't have one yet. Snacks? Hmmm. Well, pig in a poke comes to mind (defined in a southern food article as sausage and potatoes). I could also borrow my calamari dish from Oscar Night (The Squids Are All Right, for the Annette Bening/Julianne Moore movie that shares its name with the season 3 SPN ep where we first meet Gumby Lisa). Of course there would have to be pie, as well as Devil's food cake and Seven (Sins) Layer Dip. And I still have some for-fun wine labels from Halloween that you can wrap around a bottle--proclaiming "Zombie Juice," "Bad Blood," "Night of the Living Red."

The bingo card would be fun, as well. A friend of mine recently pointed out a dialogue quirk of the show that I'd never noticed--how almost every character from Dean to Bobby to Ruby doubles up on the verb for emphasis. "I want to help--I do!" or "I really have tried, I have!" So that would have to be one of my bingo squares. Others would probably include a shot of the Impala cruising down the road at night, Bobby using the word "ijit," any song of AC/DCs playing, Dean's eyes glistening with manly, unshed tears...

What about you? If you threw a Supernatural viewing party, what snacks and games would be on the list?