In Where I Promote

[moonshayde]

Fall Season is starting soon for TV and we all have our personal faves, so I am going to take just a brief moment to promote my current fave on-air show: Supernatural.

Just hear me out, please ;)

I would love more of my flist to give the show a try. I never pimp lightly. It's a great show and I would love to be able to have some conversations with you since you so rock in the intelligence and depth department. If you've been on the fence about the show, here are a couple of thematic highlights that hooked me and may hook you:

1. Free will vs Destiny
2. Parallels between demons and humans (what is humanity?)
3. The fear of hunters becoming what they hunt
4. Who you are vs who you appear to be
5. Consequences for actions taken

There are many many more, but these are the ones that really stand out for me.

What cemented me to this show is the story about family. X-Files took the complicated relationship and bond between a man and woman who worked together and pretty much perfected UST/partner relationships for this genre. SPN follows the same angst-ridden formula as XF (and Farscape) but uses it for familial relationships.

We have repetition and parallels. There are the sins of the father inherited by the sons. There are codependency issues. And everything has consequences. The emotional depth between John, Sam, Dean, and some other characters is so strong it's painful to watch. It literally makes me ache. Very few shows have done that for me. And then I ache when I realize what people could be missing.

ETA: Plus, like XF and my other fave shows, it's funny and fun and doesn't always take itself seriously :) Thanks anon commenter for reminding me!

I am first and foremost a storyteller. I look at everything in terms of story. Story and character drew me into this show. Therefore, I find story and character this shows biggest strengths and it's one of the more tightly written shows on TV. If you are looking for romance or other angles, this show is weaker on those fronts. And yes, the boys are pretty, but that isn't what hooked me. In fact, I thought they weren't very attractive when I started watching. It's the plot, character, and acting that changed my mind.

I know it's not everyone's cuppa. It is a horror show and has scenes that can be gory in a similiar vein as The X-Files. It follows a particular point of view and mythology. But if you like character-driven and atmospheric shows with awesome acting that tends to go beyond regular TV, I can't recommend this show enough. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't have problems since every show does - and if you have some concerns I can give you an honest answer on them - but the work that is put into this show doesn't stop impressing me. And it takes quite a bit to impress me ;)

So if you're like me and are avoiding the show because people won't shut up about it, try not to be the same. I'm kicking myself over being so stubborn now LOL

And that is my pimping for the fall. Thank you for listening. Moving on...

Comments

[meg-tdj.livejournal.com]

Woohoo! Very well said. *applauds*

[twasadark.livejournal.com]

There are many many more, but these are the ones that really stand out for me.

But you forgot the most important one!!! The utter and COMPLETE hotness of the boys!!!!!

LOL. :-)

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry, but lately I just want things to enjoy, not things that are going to prompt all sorts of thought on theme and what have you.

[meg-tdj.livejournal.com]

Well, then you can just ignore the thinky stuff and focus on the pretty people and funny dialogue. There's something in it for everyone. :)

Or, you know... just don't watch it. That works, too. Moonshayde was just trying to encourage people to watch who have been avoiding it because they think it's shallow or teen-fare. There was really no need to be an anonymous buzzkill. ;)

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I just think a lot of people who are craving good tv might be missing out on something. So I wanted to share my joy :)

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

Dean approves!

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

Well, there's that ;)

To be honest, that is not what appealed to me when I first started watching. I didn't even think they were good looking!

Obviously, I was deranged ;)

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

Well, naturally I wouldn't be pimping it if I didn't enjoy it ;)

I'm a thematic person and I find themes in everything. I blame it on being a writer.

I know it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. But I feel compelled to promote it because it really is an amazing show and I'm sure some people on my flist would love it given the chance. I believe a show can be thoughtful, funny, shallow, and enjoyable all at once.

But you did remind me that I forgot to mention how much fun it is too. So I'm going to be sure I add that in there :)

[dawnfirenight.livejournal.com]

I want to steal this and make everyone read it, because my attempts at conversion have so far been thoroughly unsuccessful.

This is such an underappreciated show, and I would love nothing more than for it to reach a wider audience through any means possible. :)

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

Go right ahead and knock yourself out. i don't mind. Spread the love! Poor show *pets it*

Hee. Like your icon. Nice scene ;)

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

Oh man, this means I'm going to have to make a point of dragging my season 1 DVDs (still unviewed but open) and watching them. I am such a wimp. The one in the insane asylum still freaks me out a little bit, thinking back on it.

[seacrystal.livejournal.com]

Having heard so many amazing things about SPN, there's only two things keeping me from actually checking it out: the usual "I have no time!" AND the fact that it's a horror show -- I'm just hopeless when it comes to the gore and all that stuff. I did watch an episode once and I just kept covering my eyes and it's no fun watching like that, lol.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

HEARHEAR!!!!

*hugs*

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

squee!

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

It's an awesome show. I cannot believe the depth in the acting and how the show isn't afraid to hit hard. Very awesome. I don't usually fall for shows this hard. (I've always been a Superman fan so me liking SV was pretty much a given.) It makes me wish SV had used Jensen Ackles to his fullest ability.

But I also understand it's hard to watch something not in your genre. I like horror, but not gore and S3 was kinda gory, even for me.

I know there must be some amazing non scifi/fantasy/horror shows out there that I can't get into for the same reasons - no time and lack of investment in the genre. So I totally understand.

I just have to pimp it anyway. It's part of my yay! Thursday line up. Heh. :)

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

It's soooo good. I am very happy I got into this show and finally gave it a chance. S1 is more formulaic and fun where they hop from town to town and save people, but by the time the last third of the season comes around, they delve more and more into the Winchester family secrets and focus on the complexity of the family itself. That's where I started to pay more attention. Then of course, the finale is great and the consequences from S1 ripple throughout the rest of the series. It's alot like Farscape in the sense it's not a full serial, but it relates back to prior stuff in the show all the time.

And they still get to have their funny episodes too, like making fun of Ghosthunters and copying XF's "Bad Blood."

One complaint is that there aren't enough women or minorities in it. I agree that is problematic, but it's hard to do because the show is about two white Midwesterners traveling the country. And since it's a show about family, their family is white, etc. Minorities and women tend to be guest characters or recurring, many of which are villains due to the nature of the show. Some are great gray area characters though (like Mr X from the XF) and I really enjoy seeing them when they come around. SPN has a problem of finding awesome actors and those actors then become regulars on their own shows.

Anyway...babbling.

I would give it a try. Yes, it can be gory sometimes, but most of the time I would say it's on par with XF. I don't get freaked that easily, though. I'm not a fan of gore (and I admit that S3 was kinda gory), but the story and the characters are enough to keep me going.

In the end, I just say it's got good story, fleshed out characters, and excellent acting. The writing is pretty tight :)