Written or photographic proof of the existence of life after death - 16 points

June 28, 2011 9:22 PM

In February, Supernatural supporting actor Misha Collins promised his 200,000+ Twitter followers pieces of a live rhino if they got the stars of Supernatural on the cover of TV Guide. They succeeded, and followers who sent in an SASE received a piece of a rhino jigsaw puzzle. Holders of the puzzle pieces were entered into a most unusual scavenger hunt. (Full story via Fandom Wank.)
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn (57 comments total)

Well, all that money sounds mighty tempting, Marty, but I think I'm going to have to go with the elephant.
posted by anarch at 10:01 PM on June 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

So it's a typical PR-driven ARG except light on A and run by a guy who's kind of a prick?
posted by delmoi at 10:10 PM on June 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Ha ha, you read fandom_wank? Even I don't read fandom_wank.

I do read fandomsecrets, though.
posted by pts at 10:12 PM on June 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Hello, Mish-Amigos!
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:16 PM on June 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Ha ha, you read fandom_wank? Even I don't read fandom_wank.

Nope. I've developed an inexplicable Supernatural addiction, and wanted to see what the AV Club said about one of their most meta meta-episodes (the one where the Winchesters end up on the set of Supernatural). Someone linked this there.

Apparently Misha tweeted IRL the same things 'he' was tweeting in that episode. Makes me wish I'd met him when he was in Sydney.

The show is partly written by Ben Edlund from The Tick, so its cool....
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:19 PM on June 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've been sucked in too, love the meta episodes (like when they ended up at their own Con), and follow Misha's twitter feed. I completely missed any and all rhino references, though. This is pretty funny.
posted by tracicle at 10:28 PM on June 28, 2011

Misha Collins is a national treasure.
posted by kmz at 10:33 PM on June 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

But anyway yeah, man, making fun of people who've structured their life around totally unironic and wholehearted appreciation of your work is hilarious. Fucking dorks. Look how much they care.
posted by pts at 10:36 PM on June 28, 2011

But anyway yeah, man, making fun of people who've structured their life around totally unironic and wholehearted appreciation of your work is hilarious. Fucking dorks. Look how much they care.

I think you're sort of missing the point. Absurdity is the way Misha Collins rolls. The man's first forays into twitter went like this:

"We had an earthquake this morning. Fortunately, i live in a windowless underground bunker, so i am fine.

However, my periscope isn't working so i can't tell whether the rest of los angeles is still standing or not.

I'm glad you all think it's so funny. I'm 120' underground with nothing but my laptop and stacks of gold bullion waiting out aftershocks

Right, yes. I'm down here with my computer and my gold and my pony. And i'm tweeting and cleaning my guns.

The laptop is powered by the pony on a treadmill. I planned it all out very carefully.

Minions, the pony gave out. I consumed the haunches while still warm. very little power left on my laptop. Very little oxygen. I'm so weak."
posted by colfax at 10:52 PM on June 28, 2011 [21 favorites]

Supernatural is the only franchise I can think of that both takes its fans very seriously AND makes fun of them and the things they do/like regarding the show....and they get away with it, because they do it so well.
posted by nightchrome at 11:34 PM on June 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Supernatural is the only franchise I can think of that both takes its fans very seriously AND makes fun of them and the things they do/like regarding the show....and they get away with it, because they do it so well.

Avatar: The Last Airbender?
Community?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 11:50 PM on June 28, 2011

Supernatural fandom is wacky. You find out weird things if you go too deep, like Jared and Jensen - the actors playing the Winchester brothers - bought a house together (with a mortgage).

The minor characters on Supernatural are often played by fantastically good actors.
posted by subdee at 12:09 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

LiB: I know nothing about Avatar, as I don't watch it, but I'd say Community is close but hasn't really broken the wall much yet. Certainly has the potential to do so, however.
posted by nightchrome at 12:16 AM on June 29, 2011

Supernatural fandom is wacky. You find out weird things if you go too deep.

Is it true that Castiel was originally going to be John Constantine, but they couldn't get the rights to the character so they just made him dress the same? Or did I imagine that?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 12:18 AM on June 29, 2011

Reading through the scavenger hunt, I was thinking "WHOA...I could do this". I think I need to be made privy about crazy scavenger hunts. I know where the PM hangs out, I can walk 3 mi to a rhino, I know a friend of an old friend who has access to a non-operational MIG.

I need to do scavenger hunts on the internet.
posted by hal_c_on at 12:26 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Strangely I started thinking about where I could get a sheep and a german flag. Purely for the scavenger hunt, just to be clear to future googologists.
posted by gryftir at 12:59 AM on June 29, 2011

15. A photo of a child swimming/bathing in a tub full of cranberries - 22 points

what? no thanks.
posted by XhaustedProphet at 1:00 AM on June 29, 2011

Community?

Six seasons and a movie!
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 1:06 AM on June 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

Is it true that Castiel was originally going to be John Constantine

No idea, I'm not in the fandom, I just know people who are (or were). There is - or was? - a pretty famous anonymous community on LJ where SPN-related gossip was shared.

I've seen a couple of episodes and I was struck but how DARK the worldview is. The characters live in a malevolent universe where every person they meet could be (and if female often is) an enemy. Even saf
e familiar characters can be possessed by demons and suddenly turn evil (very unsettling in the episodes I saw).

I think the shooting schedule must be pretty rough on the actors too - particularly on the Winchester actors during the first season when there were no other reoccurring characters - because it's almost all night shooting; there are very few scenes set during the day.
posted by subdee at 1:23 AM on June 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

It really says something about Supernatural fandom that there are people who could possibly be disappointed and upset that Misha Collins didn't kill an endangered animal just so that they could have a chunk of it.

I'm not unfamiliar with fandom and I've even gone to some conventions, but Supernatural has that little something extra that draws in the most rabid and obsessive people. People in other fandoms look on them in amazement and wonder, and not always in a good way.

(I'm not a fan of the show, mainly because women on SPN are only things to be fought or killed.)
posted by i feel possessed at 2:25 AM on June 29, 2011

Hear about this story a while back and it has made me love the man a bit. I mean there's trolling and there's trolling.
posted by litleozy at 3:24 AM on June 29, 2011

Additionally, tale of Misha calling fans 'flithy proles' and being affectionately evil at a con.
posted by litleozy at 3:34 AM on June 29, 2011

Castiel's look is based on Constantine, but the character isn't. The confusion stems from Misha, who is.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:26 AM on June 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

Crap, should I be watching this show? Is it something a Buffy fan would like?
posted by schoolgirl report at 4:46 AM on June 29, 2011

Yes, but keep in mind the show's uneven beginnings. The middle seasons are in my mind the best. I'm not a huge fan of the most recent season for spoliery reasons we'll leave aside for now.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:52 AM on June 29, 2011

Crap, should I be watching this show? Is it something a Buffy fan would like?

It depends what you watched Buffy for.

If it was for the fighting-monsters-as-metaphor-for-battling-life's-problems - yes.

If it was for the strong, complicated, layered and flawed female characters - no.

If it was for the hot guys - yes.

If it was for interesting recurring female characters - no.

If it was for drama, angst and broody men - yes.

If it was for cool female characters that just last one episode - probably not.

If it was for a monster-of-the-week show whose later seasons' story arc actually found some dramatic weight in its, errr, supernatural premise - I highly recommend it.

I just wish it had a female character in it that was three-dimensional and lived.
posted by crossoverman at 4:59 AM on June 29, 2011 [10 favorites]

It would be nice if Dean could get past an episode without calling a woman a bitch, wouldn't it?

Don't get me wrong, I dig this show. I dig this show in the way I dig Fringe: sub-par concept initially (MoTW) and then turning into something really interesting when it finally starts to play and explore the mythology that's going to make it run. I do wish, however, that it ended when Kripke wanted it to end. I love the Winchester brothers, but at some point, that angst is going to wear me out.

Also, I was hoping that with Sera Gamble taking over the showrunner reins, women would be better treated as characters. Alas.
posted by Kitteh at 5:27 AM on June 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

My wife started us watching this show because of she thought it would be a decent x Files replacement and, hello, Jared and Jensen. I liked the use of the classic rock riffs, Kripke's never-ending homage's to his favorite band whose songs he couldn't afford, and the way the show set the rules for its mythology and universe and then never abused them (something X Files utterly failed at). But by mid-season two, the mythology went into high gear and then I was really in for the ride. Like the end of season 5 of Buffy, the ending of the great story arc in season 5 was the point where the show should have ended. That was one helluva ending. But CW realized that as long as the show got decent ratings, it would stay on. So now we're looking at season 7 next with Castiel gone a little over the deep end.

Spoilers ahead:






Yes, all the women die (Ellen and Jo did make it to season 5) but hell, every major human character other than the boys and Bobby died. Parents, grandparents, friends, allies, fellow hunters, etc. Oh wait, the prophet is still alive but who could kill someone so delightfully meta. And Dean's one true squeeze is still alive but he had her memory wiped to protect her.
posted by Ber at 6:33 AM on June 29, 2011

I love this show, even the cheesy early episodes, but it really lost me this season. It didn't get bad, I just don't care about it enough to keep watching it. Total agreement that the previous season should have been its last. There's no way they could have outdone that, and they aren't even trying.
posted by cj_ at 6:48 AM on June 29, 2011

Yeah, this isn't the first stunt he's pulled like this. A while ago, he asked all of his twitter followers to watch his friend's documentary, and if they sent in their ticket stub, he made them truffles.

More recently, he's challenged all of his followers to words with friends. I'm sure there's going to be more wackiness involved in that one, but I haven't seen that come up yet.

As for supernatural: I get irritable about them killing off ALL their supporting characters, and then introducing other, new, characters to fill the same roles the old ones did (Gabriel->Balthazar, for example). (Henriksen would have come in handy, as would have Rufus, and Jo and Ellen and Pamela. . . )

To be fair, they also kill off the main characters a ridiculous amount, but they come back.
posted by dinty_moore at 6:49 AM on June 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

I do wish, however, that it ended when Kripke wanted it to end.

Naming and Necessity alone should've entitled him to sole creative control.
posted by octobersurprise at 6:49 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, and criticism of this season aside, I was happy to see Mitch Pileggi (AD Skinner) show up. In a show that owes quite a bit to X-Files, that is cool. I just wish he'd done so when I still cared.
posted by cj_ at 6:55 AM on June 29, 2011

I would like to add that the nickname TWoP gave to the Winchester muscle car hasn't failed to stick with me: the Metallicar. Every time I see a similar vehicle, I do fangirl "ooh pretty" eyes and salivate with car envy.

Has anyone checked out the Supernatural animated series yet? I sort of want to.
posted by Kitteh at 7:07 AM on June 29, 2011

For the first three years, the impala was my favorite character on the show.
posted by dinty_moore at 7:18 AM on June 29, 2011 [4 favorites]

I still can't tell which one is Sam and which one is Dean.
posted by Nomyte at 7:21 AM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

One's hot and one's freakishly hot. And tall.
posted by Kitteh at 7:38 AM on June 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

I am desperately trying not to think of them as "the sensitive one" and "the macho one," but that seems to be their only substantial difference.
posted by Nomyte at 7:42 AM on June 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

The Buffy franchise also made fun of their fans.

I like this Supernatural. It's one of my guilty pleasures.

The show needs more hotty females though. Hotty males don't work for me. (Which is too bad because Sam is ripped!).
posted by cjorgensen at 7:44 AM on June 29, 2011

Sam starts with "S" which is for Sasquatch, which is a nickname of 6'4" actor that plays him.

Dean starts with "D" which is for Drunk, which the character usually is (spending some time in Hell will bring out one's inner alcoholic, I guess.)

(To be honest, there is actually a lot of nuance in the way the actors play the characters, but you really have to commit to the show to see it, because it is most noticeable in the episodes where they play against the character...)
posted by quin at 7:45 AM on June 29, 2011

Has anyone checked out the Supernatural animated series yet? I sort of want to.

I got halfway through the first episode before losing interest. It's kind of . . . meh? It's not horrible, but I haven't met anyone who loves it yet. Others more dedicated than I have let me know there's a Stanford-era episode and that the monsters are grosser in a horror anime sort of way.
posted by dinty_moore at 7:48 AM on June 29, 2011

Almostveryone who has ever watched this seems to recommend it. I want to watch it, but I can't convince myself to get around to it. Though I should, as a sort of penance for the time I almost ran over Jared Padalecki and his Sur La Table purchases with my Corolla. I honestly didn't see you, man, and I still feel bad about it.
posted by Xere at 7:55 AM on June 29, 2011

I'm sure it's okay. Trying to run over Jared is just something Supernatural fans do, like throwing toast at the movie screen.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:14 AM on June 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

This show just doesn't quite do it for me, but it does have its moments.
posted by homunculus at 8:39 AM on June 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

21. A photo of a person holding an authentic rhino puzzle piece in a small, motor-less watercraft on the Yangtze River - 27 points

I like that she specified a motor-less watercraft. Too little too late, tho...
posted by FatherDagon at 8:47 AM on June 29, 2011

This show just doesn't quite do it for me, but it does have its moments.

If you're going to show clips, you must show the greatest thing I have ever seen on television.

I know it is seven minutes long. It is worth it.
posted by Shepherd at 9:16 AM on June 29, 2011 [6 favorites]

My son was a devoted X-Files fan, so he was excited about SPN when it debuted... and never could get into it. Fast forward to last year, when my wife and I were looking for a series to watch and I suggested SPN. Most fun show we've watched in a long time. Now I'm trying to get my son to try it again using these suggestions:

Power through the first season and a half. It took that long to set up the backstory, mythology and find its feet.

Watch several episodes at a time. Single ep dosage just isn't the same.

Don't get too attached to anybody...
posted by Enron Hubbard at 9:21 AM on June 29, 2011

Has anyone checked out the Supernatural animated series yet? I sort of want to.

I got halfway through the first episode before losing interest.

What an amazing coincidence. That's how far I got, too. It's really not very good.

posted by Karmakaze at 9:53 AM on June 29, 2011

Dean's one true squeeze is still alive

Yes, and his name is Sam Winchester.
posted by elizardbits at 11:09 AM on June 29, 2011 [6 favorites]

Yes, and his name is Sam Winchester.

Until Dean met Cas, of course.
posted by kmz at 11:52 AM on June 29, 2011

Though I should, as a sort of penance for the time I almost ran over Jared Padalecki and his Sur La Table purchases with my Corolla. I honestly didn't see you, man, and I still feel bad about it.

He's like, 6 foot bajillion, HOW DID YOU NOT SEE HIM? You can even see him from space!
posted by Kitteh at 12:33 PM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Until Dean met Cas, of course

internets fisticuffs!
posted by elizardbits at 12:35 PM on June 29, 2011

Disco stick. Also note the burger.
posted by Nomyte at 12:50 PM on June 29, 2011

It would be nice if Dean could get past an episode without calling a woman a bitch, wouldn't it?

Ugh, is he still doing that? I gave up on the show after season 3, when its attitude to women went from mildly troubling to downright unpleasant, and Dean's constant bitch/slut/skank/whore insults were a big part of that.

Supernatural fandom does have a (fairly well-deserved) reputation for being alternately viciously misogynistic and batshit insane. Back in the day, it generated some classic Fandom Wank discussions (like this one). I'm glad Misha Collins revels in the craziness, because lord, if there's one place that's needed...
posted by Catseye at 1:03 PM on June 29, 2011

Dean starts with "D" which is for Drunk, which the character usually is (spending some time in Hell will bring out one's inner alcoholic, I guess.)

It's not a guess - Dean 'jokes' to Sam about how he could become an alcoholic to deal with what happened to him. It's clear that Dean really does use alcohol to self-medicate though.
I like how dealing with all this supernatural shit really weighs on the characters. I don't like how the directors can't make anything scary.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 3:28 PM on June 29, 2011

He's like, 6 foot bajillion, HOW DID YOU NOT SEE HIM? You can even see him from space!

Sidewalk blind corner at a parking garage's exit. I applied the brakes, he looked surprised, I was shocked ("OH GOD I ALMOST RAN OVER SOMEONE! Wait, why does he look familiar...), and he gave me a tiny wave and kept walking. To his credit, he didn't give me a dirty look for almost taking him out. Maybe he thought my shocked face was Supernatural Fan Face.

Or maybe Jared Padalecki just has a doppelganger who almost gets run over by cars, and shops at Pasadena's Sur La Table.
posted by Xere at 5:25 PM on June 29, 2011

I still can't tell which one is Sam and which one is Dean.

Sam is the one that played Rory's BF Dean on the Gilmore Girls,
posted by Sparx at 8:02 PM on June 29, 2011

Sam is the one that played Rory's BF Dean on the Gilmore Girls,

Yes, this is why my wife and I will always refer to this show as "The Supernatural Adventures of Dean and Dean."
posted by Jugwine at 8:38 PM on July 8, 2011