Supernatural
You Have Been Watching…
Hitting the high notes
Supernatural episodes old, and boy is it looking good for its age. While most sci- fi shows seem to suffer from irreversible creative malaise somewhere around the 100- episode mark, Supernatural has gone from strength to strength since its transformative eighth season. All the better then that the angels at E4 stepped in to save Supernatural fans on this side of the pond from a world without the Winchesters, as season nine starts on E4 this month. Huzzah!
The reason this is important ( beside the obvious): I’m about to gush over the fifth episode of season ten. So, if you don’t want one of Supernatural’s most rewarding episodes ruined come back in about a year. I’ll wait…
is 200
Still here? Then chances are you already know just how spectacularly lovely “Fan Fiction” is. Few shows could get away with the meta plots that Supernatural deploys on a semi- regular basis, but it’s easy to forget that for every 42 minutes of self- referential bliss (“The French Mistake”, “Changing Channels”) there was horribly misjudged meta trudge “Season Seven, Time For A Wedding!” to sour the show’s otherwise remarkable track record.
Fortunately “Fan Fiction” gets everything just right. Written by Robbie Thompson, the meta- musical episode is a heartfelt and hilarious tribute to the show and its fans. As
bonus features
Star Turn: Katie Sarife is wonderful as Supernaturalobsessed school girl Marie, and even makes a mean Sam!
High Flyers: Only four other SFX shows are part of the 200 club: Smallville ( 218), Stargate SG- 1 ( 214), The X- Files ( 202) and, of course, Doctor Who ( depends who you talk to).
My Eyes, My Eyes: Do not Google “Supernatural Fan Fiction images” in the hope of finding pictures from this episode. Unless that kind of thing floats your boat, of course.
Best Line Calliope: “Supernatural has everything. Life, death, resurrection, redemption – but above all, family. It isn’t some meandering piece of genre dreck, it’s… epic.” well as telling an inventive monster of the week tale the episode celebrates the brothers’ unbreakable bond in tear- jerking fashion and is loaded with dozens of fan- pleasing references and in- jokes to the point that, three viewings in, I’m sure there are plenty I’ve still yet to see.
There are no limits to Thompson’s mining of Supernatural fandom: even Destiel and Wincest are tackled, complete with spot- on deadpan reactions from Sam and Dean ( but mainly Dean). Crucially the musical numbers are also ace. Much like Buffy’s “Once More, With Feeling”, “Fan Fiction” has tunes that hold up as accomplished examples of earwormy song writing in their own right, even before weaving the Winchester life story into their lyrics.
It’s astonishingly clever, laugh out loud funny and has a humdinger of a final shot too – the return of Chuck, presumed dead after his disappearance at the end of season five. A simple cameo, or has he been god all along? It’s a shame there’s no space for Cas ( the real one), Crowley or a few other familiar faces from the show’s past, but otherwise “Fan Fiction” is note perfect. Jordan Farley
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