Our Boys Sure Know How to Celebrate 10 Years Together
Dean and Sam have been steadily courting their fans for ten years now. The first few dates brought the expected cuteness and awkward moments that all relationships begin with, but we did manage enough moments to give a commitment a go. Here we still are ten years later. This relationship has always been easy. We both have had our ups and downs, but forgiveness has always been key. We forgave them for the bugs episode and damn near all of season six. They forgave us for our over active imaginations where Wincest and Destiel were concerned.
Then the 200th date came upon us, and we should have known those boys would have had something special in mind. When the boys intend to treat us they go all out. This was no exception. They took us out to a show. A show that brought us down memory lane. And like any good couple, while the majority of the time was fun and entertaining, both sides slipped in a few sarcastic jokes over the other’s faults that held just enough venom to show that while we have forgiven, we have not forgotten. The boys let us know that there was no sex in subtext, and we reminded them that they still had another brother.
Before the show aired, we, the fans, knew that this occasion was coming. The show runners wouldn’t tell us everything about the 200th episode, but it did state that it would be a love letter. And what a love letter it was. Even after word got out that the episode would have musical elements, everyone was hyped that we would see Sam and Dean singing, but even that was curbed in the most amazing way. The episode created a musical based on the Chuck Shirley books that just happen to be written novels of the boys lives since Dean pulled Sam out of Stanford to when Sam made with the swan dive into the cage. The boys didn’t sing, which honestly, worked out better for their characters. I know fan girls would drool over themselves to hear Jensen Ackles serenading them, but outside of Dean’s demon lust for karaoke, how manly and badass would that have made him look. Dean’s character can be the butt of the joke at times, but I think the show did a good thing with keeping the melodies to these school girls.
Sure, Misha Collins or Mark Sheppard weren’t in the episode. Regardless of the favoritism that the fans hold towards these characters, the episode did right by taking it down to the basics that are our boys. Hell, they recreated the “we got work to do” scene, which was just lovely. It was well written and well done, filled with every element that Supernatural has come to be known for. I’m sure this was a weird trip for both of the characters, but it reminded them as well as their fans what is so damn important about this show, family. The fans are a part of that family too.
This episode showcased one of the main reasons I am such a loyal fan. It showed how much all of the people that put together Supernatural truly love their fans. I have seen plenty of shows express their love of their fans in little articles or behind the scenes specials showcasing crew expressing that love. I have never seen a show in all my 30 years of nerdom actually incorporate the fans in the manner that this show does. The damn fourth wall of this television show has been broken so many times, I have lost count at this point. The French Mistake is a massive fan favorite, but it is was ultimately an apology for the lost directions and brittle plot lines that season held. The show knew it had been a rough season, and created an episode that lay all of that dirty laundry right out on the table. The fans ate it up and commended the show for it, hanging on for what would turn out being a pretty fantastic seventh season. The 200th episode held all of those crazy antics that fans love to bring to the table and made the show damn near interactive. Hell some of the cast live tweeted during the episode to add an even more intimate level for the fans. It has become a truly powerful family.
I will continue to watch this show, because it reminds me of how much I matter to it. Whether I’m on my sofa or at one of the conventions, my love and enjoyment has always been reciprocated. So thank you Supernatural for this amazing gift of television and entertainment. It has been one hell of a road trip, and I don’t see this road ending anytime soon.
80’s Music Wednesday
If you asked my very tiny, child self what my jams were, this would definitely be on that list. I used to belt out what words I knew and some that sounded close enough to my tiny ears. This is damn near an essential 80's track. I give to you Belinda Carlisle's Heaven Is A Place On Earth.
Supernatural Fail.
When Supernatural came out, Kim was pretty much watching it from the start. I remember she had this phone background of a man (who I now know to be Jensen Ackles), laying on his stomach with just a peek of butt hanging out. I thought the guy was gorgeous, but I didn't watch must tv and didn't watch the show.
Fast forward to 2014. I keep seeing more and more on this show. They are previewing their 10th season this year. I decide to pick it up. My goal was to finish all 9 seasons in two months before the 10th premiered.
I am not going to lie to you. Those first few episodes were hard. Sam was whiny, Dean was cocksure. Sam just wanted to live his life. This was Dean's life. The whole situation was baffling. If you have liked our Facebook page, you will have seen my complete bafflement the whole time.
Truth be told, I truly didn't get into it until Season 4 Episode 8 Wishful Thinking. Supernatural fans will understand why.
But I perserviered and while I was an epic fail at getting all the episodes in (I believe I am at season 7). I understand why everyone loves this show so much. First off. Lemme talk about Dean/Jensen Ackles.
Dean is my absolute favorite. Him being absolutely gorgeous, bowlegged and brooding is only part of it. Everyone wants loyalty in their friends and family. Dean is loyal to an absolute fault. I feel like his loyalty will be his downfall. He wants to save everyone. You can't save everyone in this show. Plus..he's fine. Have I mentioned how fine Dean is?!
Sam, I feel for. He was too young to fully understand the impact that the tragedy of his mother had on both Dean and his father. He just wanted a normal life as a lawyer, have a wife, and distance himself far from his hunting family. He deserved it. Both him and Dean deserved it.
Instead, Sam was pulled back in. He is good at it. It is what he knows, it is (literally) in his blood. Don't we all come back around to what we know?
While their are many charachters we can talk about, It always comes back to these two. These two saving each other, fighting for each other. Their each other's weak spot and I truly believe it will kill them both in the end. In the meantime I will sit here and enjoy their happiness, sadness, pain, anger, and hilarity.
So yes, while my challenge was a failure, it truly wasn't one. It introduced me to some of the most complex charachters I have seen on TV in a long time. I am a converted fan and I will continue to watch.
I had to put a pic of Cas up. He makes me laugh the hardest.
Wish List Friday
I just found this and fell in love. I didn't realize the amount of Supernatural merchandise the Hot Topic had. I didn't know they had more than the occasional t-shirt until Misha Collins posted the Castiel costume dress. I live in Las Vegas and it gets damn hot. Back home in Indiana, no vehicle was without an ice scraper. Here in the desert, no vehicle is without a sun shade. This is fantastic! How I will covet thee.
80’s Music Wednesday
In honor of Monday's post, it felt only right to make this week's song As the World Falls Down by David Bowie from the movie the Labyrinth. Go on and get your swoon on. I will.
Why Do Your Crazy Friends Love Labyrinth So Much?
Growing up in the 80’s you were very aware of Jim Henson and his many wonders varying from the Muppets to Sesame Street. But Henson came out with this other little movie during the decade called Labyrinth. This particular movie changed many a childhood, but the love and loathe for this particular film became split.
The half that detest the film usually lean on two reasons. One, they don’t really like fantasy. Two, David Bowie freaks them out. There are plenty of fellow geeks and nerds that fall into either category, but mostly lean towards the David Bowie reason, because they do truly enjoy fantasy. These individuals are at a loss as to why in the hell their friends not only love it but loooooove it.
One of my best friends cannot stand this movie, which I forget about until she reminds me. I can’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that she hates it. She loves tons of fantasy fun and weird. Hell, she loves The Dark Crystal. Then I remember she is not a fan David Bowie. To be fair, Mr. Bowie was handling weird long before this movie, and the Jareth look didn’t make him look any saner. Even though my friend is not alone in her distaste of this movie, she just can’t understand why I love it.
Of course there were the Bowie fans that naturally gravitated, but the movie itself was our main pull. Many of us became fans of Bowie because of Labyrinth. So what exactly draws us into this fantastical story of a bratty teenager quickly coming to terms with her oldest child syndrome so she can save her baby brother from the chester that wants to keep her forever?
I realize where selling is concerned, that little synopsis didn’t help much. Chester or not, I didn’t see that when I was younger. Hell, I didn’t see the damn pants when I was younger. I saw a girl living the story she based her life around simply because she asked. She asked for someone to take her away, and Jareth came for her. So Sarah wasn’t exactly serious when she told her baby brother that she hated him and wanted to be rid of him. Sarah was going through a lot, emotionally as well. This story was about her growing up and fighting to want to.
Jareth’s world was the fantasy she had always dreamed about. He gave her adventure. Hell, he gave her friends. Based on how close she was with her dog and immersed in her imaginary world, I don’t think Sarah had any friends. There were no pictures in her room either. Scrapbooks had her face littered all over it, but no one else. Most importantly, he gave her a reason to take her brother’s existence seriously.
Jareth certainly gave her everything, but not exactly out of the kindness of his own heart. He wanted her to be with him forever. It's not long at all. Whether Jareth was capable of love or not, he certainly moved heaven and earth around her to give her what he thought she wanted and ultimately to get what he, himself, wanted . Again, this still doesn’t answer why this movie is so great.
No it’s not David Bowie’s endowment that did the trick. It was the ball scene. Everything was fun and playful with all of the goblins and other creatures up until the moment Sarah took a bite out of that forbidden fruit. When Sarah finds herself in the middle of that ball wearing that insane yet coveted 80’s ball gown with hair that probably took out its own personal chunk of the ozone layer, well, that was when shit got real.
Sarah stood for many a geek. We related to her. Dreamed like her. And then, we got to dream with her and, most importantly, David Bowie. No ,kids, he wasn’t Jareth in this scene. He was straight up David Bowie all because of that damn amazing song. The song that makes the hearts of nerd girls everywhere pause. That damn song spoke to us. It tore into our very souls. It ripped out every sad unrequited love we ever had and all of the lonely and dark tidbits that followed, twisting it up into a melody that would forever draw us in like a damn pied piper. How we wanted what that man was selling. It didn’t matter how many times we watched it or how old we’ve gotten. That song gave us the ultimate fantasy we and Sarah dreamed about it. And since Sarah was our well placed avatar, we lived that scene and song like David Bowie, the bad boy rock god, made it just for us. Our hopeless romantic tendencies went into overdrive, and we just didn’t care.
Most of us that are big fans have the soundtrack, which we love and sing along to. I don’t think I am the only one that takes a moment when the opening synthesized notes of As the World Falls Down start. This ain’t no A Whole New World. That song is charming and fluffy, appropriate for all ages. Bowie wrote a song that would evoke feelings and tingles that most of us wouldn’t even begin to grasp for another five to ten years. It built a bubble that we would do anything to keep firmly intact. This song was grown. So what if people don’t find Bowie attractive. I have always said that there is a difference between hot and sexy. Hot will only get you so far, but sexy is self-reliant. And Mr. Bowie/Jareth had plenty of sexy with that song and scene.
That scene and song is the main reason we overlook Jareth’s pedophile tendencies and sit back and enjoy the whole damn ride that is Labyrinth. This is why there is a damn masquerade ball in LA every year in Jareth’s honor. I’m telling you, everybody wants a piece of that.
As awesome as that is, we all root for Sarah when she says, “You have no power over me.” Jareth was spinning some crazy talk like a shady misogynistic boyfriend, and she put him in his place. While we as fans are certainly tempted by Jareth's wiles, we still get our priorities straight along with Sarah.
Maybe there are some of you out there that watched this when you were a kid and never really watched it again, just kind of disliked it since. Challenge yourselves to give it another whirl. If you still don’t like it then okay, but who knows, maybe you will.