Five Torches (Out of Five)
Warning: This review contains spoilers for the “The Real Ghostbusters” episode of Supernatural.
Let’s get one thing very clear up front, shall we? It’s impossible to parody something that isn’t either really good or really bad. For parody to work, people have to have a very clear, very specific idea of exactly what’s being parodied.
“The Real Ghostbusters,” tonight’s terrific episode of Supernatural, proved yet again what a fantastic show this is. Why? Because by parodying themselves, they showed just how indelible and original this show really is.
When it comes to humor, the characters, the storylines, and the overall look, there has never been a show on TV quite like Supernatural. All the details are great too, and made for easy humor: Dean’s love for his Impala, Sam’s and Dean’s FBI pseudonym’s, and on and on and on.
The tone of a TV show is often invisible, because it seems so effortless, like it just “happened.” But I believe that creating something that feels genuinely fresh and new is actually an extremely difficult thing to do. This is why most TV feels so hackneyed, like you’ve seen it all before (because you have!).
I also have to give a lot of credit to this specific episode. On the surface, it sounds like this episode would write itself: Sam and Dean go to a “Supernatural” convention — a convention of fans of the series of books-within-the-show based on Sam and Dean’s lives.
How could the writer miss, you say? Oh, please. There were a million different ways they could have screwed up this clever premise.
But again and again, the episode got it exactly right. Mostly it did what I most love about this show: it deftly alternated between perfect humor and genuinely scary or touching moments.
The names of the panels at the Supernatural convention? “Frightened Little Boy: The Secret Life of Dean” and “The Homo-erotic Subtext of Supernatural.”
Hilarious.
Meanwhile, the twist about which ghosts were the real villains was nicely unexpected. And it was truly touching that by the end of the episode, the “fat guy and the dork” get to be the heroes.
Indeed, after the real Dean tells Fake Dean that Dean’s life “sucks,” Fake Dean sets him straight:
No offense, but I’m not sure you get what the story’s about. In real life, [my partner] sells stereo equipment, and I sell copiers. Our lives suck. To be Sam and Dean, to wake up every day and save the world, to have a brother who would die for you … Well, who wouldn’t want that?
In other words, the character of “Dean” is being told by a role-playing fan of his “character” what his life is really all about. That’s some really complicated stuff. But, of course, it makes perfect sense — who better than a Sam and Dean “LARP” player to get to the heart of their story?
Likewise, it makes sense that “super-fan” Becky, who has surely pored over every word in the books, would know and remember some details about the Colt that Sam and Dean have forgotten. A nice, seamless way to add some important exposition for the show’s arc.
My hat is off to the writers of this episode: creator Eric Kripke (who scripted) and Nancy Weiner (who wrote the story).
TV doesn’t get much better than this.
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clearly this was supposed to be a “funny” episode — a lot of those this season! But I found it really moving too!
>it deftly alternated between perfect humor and genuinely scary or touching moments<
Yes, and ditto to everything you said. So much could’ve gone wrong with this, but Kripke & the writers managed to put the exact right touches together. This season is turning out to be amazing and wonderful, with the kind of writing that I wish we saw in more shows.
Too bad this show isn’t seen by more folks.
Yes, “The Real Ghostbusters” is yet another great episode. The only thing that I did not like about this one is when Dean told Chuck to screw you. I like Chuck. But, I can actually also see it from Dean’s point of view and why he said that. I’m conflicted about that one. As soon as Chuck saved that one guy and Becky was looking at him like that, I knew what was going to happen. I don’t think Sam will be to upset about that.
All in all, I would have to give this episode 4 out of 5 stars.
Actually, the information Becky provided was not something they’d forgotten. It was something included in the books by the omniscient narrator that Sam and Dean didn’t know. My first thought was that they need to read the books and see what else is in there that they don’t know.