Why So Serious: Or Why SPN(and Other Things) Didn't Crash and Burn---As Much As They Could Have

I will be the very first to admit my fandom of the television show Supernatural borders on obsession--to the point that I bought the first five seasons on DVD within a week of seeing the Pilot. Yeah...I was a late SPN fan. I saw about twenty minutes of one episode from the first season in high school; but I didn't seriously get into it until my second semester in college. And now I can't get enough of it. Only now it's on "hellatus" and so I have to wait. Boo.

Season 10. They are on Season 10, with an eleventh season already on order. HOW?! A lot of the shows I used to watch went off the air, or got cancelled(Boy Meets World, Home Improvement, Red/Green--gosh, am I that old?), but it looks like Supernatural isn't going anywhere. Sure, there were those two---questionable seasons where ratings....plummeted. But, even with that, the fan base is still strong, and it's still on tv. Why? Well, part of it could have something to do with this:

DEANMON!!!!!!!

My cousin and I talk about this, a lot. We used to text each other during SPN episodes with our own commentary, and no one wants to sit near us at family holiday gatherings, because of our running commentary about how amazing this show is. But what makes it so amazing?

 Better question, what makes television shows, or plays or films, so amazing, and why--even if they crash and burn at say, the box office, do they still get a fan base and become "cult"?

Being a film and television buff, I want entirely too much TV. Maybe it has something to do with a class I took back in my sophomore year when we had to watch a movie a week and analyse it to within an inch of it's life(the process of which I will discuss in a future post). I have seen some shows that were really really good get cancelled due to the newtworks poor airing choices(*cough* Firefly *cough*), or the studio head doing something stupid(Star Trek), but sometimes it is easily solvable. EASILY.

Guys, here's the secret: DON'T TAKE YOURSELF SERIOUSLY.

Ok. Show of virtual hands: who sat through ever single episode of SPN season six and went "...what...(insert appropriate words here)is...this..."? Me! Me! And you know, even back in season one, some episodes were just....BAD. Like, "why did I waste 45 minutes of my life" bad. The premise is awesome--two brothers traipsing across the country killing monsters--so much yes!!!! And the first five seasons had a great story arc, and a great ending--but the network ordered more, so what do you do? You say yes! And they did! And the sixth season was....ok. All right, see previous quote. Ratings are dropping, and you've got two incredible actors you have to pay and you can let the show tank. So, writers, what do you do?  RELEASED A FULL ON META EPISODE THAT'S WHAT THEY DID!!!!!!! And people ran with it, because it worked.

Second example. The new TMNT movie. Yes, I did go see that film, and yes, I  did buy it on DVD. For two reasons. One, secretly, I am twelve years old and will probably stay that age for the rest of my life. And two, it didn't take itself seriously. I went and saw it the day it came out with two of my friends(who are just as nerdy as I am--probably moreso) and we sat through this two hour movie. Because it was two hours of fun. That's it; every single member of the cast was enjoying the heck out of every second of screen time.  Like this(hopefully it works, but in case blogger's bring stupid here's the link--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ6UT3w-aEE):

Guys, the tv series, the comics, the films are about walking talking turtles. That know ninjutsu. That isn't something that is supposed to be taken seriously. But it took off. This comic that was created as a joke took off and is expecting a reboot sequel next year(Side Note: I will be seeing this one too, because Beebop and Rocksteady. That's all.)

And then there are those shows that don't take themselves seriously and are strictly cult. These I LUV because they don't have to prove anything to anybody. There are no expectations, no "target audience", no nothing--just one or two writers that want to entertain themselves. Ladies and gentlemen, this is how Red Dwarf was born.

The cast of Red Dwarf: Cat(yes, I said "cat", as in the animal), Rimmer(hologram), Lister(last man on earth--literally) and Kryten(android)

I've already mentioned Red Dwarf in a previous post, so what I'll say here is that these two writers Bob Grant and Doug Naylor just wanted to have fun. So they wrote nonsense about four men. In space. And they got TEN SERIES out of it. Probably because of little gems like the above clip. It has no storyline, makes no sense and yet---it's an amazing way to entertain yourself!


So all you little "failing" films and tv shows out there, here's a tip. There will be people who hate you. Fact of life. Stop trying so hard. Entertain yourself. Have fun. Maybe your ratings will boost? Just a final thought, brought to you by Red/Green, because childhood.