2007-2008 Season Post-Mortem Part 10: “Supernatural”
This season, I’ll be summing up this unusual 2007-2008 season with a post-mortem on the majority of the shows I’ve reviewed during the year, ranking from the very worst to the very best. In some cases, the term “post-mortem” is all too applicable. This is Part 10 of this 11-step journey, focusing on the third season of “Supernatural”.
Despite two seasons of increasingly strong storytelling and rich characterization, the third season had a number of fans up in arms before the premiere was scheduled to air. A remarkably vocal segment of the online fan population heard about the plan to introduce two female recurring cast members to the show, and the hate mail and character assassination began post haste. To this day, disagreement with that storytelling choice typically includes personal attacks on the actresses playing the roles.
This is notable because this reaction was ironic on several levels. Many of the same judgmental fans had been campaigning for months (if not years) for people to watch the show based on the near-absolute trust and adoration for the choices of creator and showrunner Eric Kripke. Yet here they were, openly chastising Kripke for making such a horrible and ill-advised choice regarding his own story, based on rumor and innuendo. Considering the many complaints about the irrational stridency of “Supernatural” fans on several entertainment boards, it’s reasonable to wonder if those same fans drove away more potential eyeballs than they attracted.
The first two seasons earned Kripke the right to tell his story as he saw fit (which, quite frankly, should never be a question in the first place). While legitimate complaints about the third season could certainly be made once the episodes began to air, the pre-premiere hatefest was one of the more embarrassing moments in the recent history of fandom. Seldom have fans of a struggling show done more to undermine the object of their obsessive affection.
Kripke’s best response would have been a season that eclipsed the first two masterpieces. Unfortunately, a few unexpected issues brought such hopes back to earth. The third season was not horrible by any measure (despite the ongoing complaints about the new female characters from some quarters), but it was not an improvement on the second season, which remains the best.
The first problem was the reduced production budget. The story of “Supernatural” has been escalating since the very beginning, so the demands of the story continue to escalate in lockstep. Because of the struggles of the CW network, as the production costs shift from the studio to the network, the budget is slashed accordingly to keep the network bill down. The end result is a war that must take place on the small scale.
The second problem was the massive effect of the writers’ strike. “Supernatural” lost six episodes out of the season arc, which amounts to nearly a third of the season disappearing without a trace. The decision was made to bring the season to the same endpoint regardless of the disruption to the story’s integrity, and generally speaking, the seams were showing in the end result. Then again, how could they not?
The third problem was, again ironically, the treatment of one of the new characters. Ruby, the demon hottie with endless ulterior motives, worked within the needs of the story as a recurring character. Bela, on the other hand, was never meant to have recurring status and was elevated to that honor after pressure was applied by the network. The writers never had a strong sense of how to handle Bela, and it was evident on-screen. This was a shame, because despite the criticism, the character had potential.
At the end of the season, however, it was still “Supernatural” and the story was able to deliver the usual character-driven goods. The Brothers Winchester were as angst-ridden as ever, and the season finale should serve to catapult the series in some unexpected directions. The Critical Myth average rating for the third season was 7.8, which represents a slight decrease compared to the second season. That’s gives great hope for the fourth season, however, since only the budgetary issue will remain in play.
As you note, the budget was slashed significantly – to the point that the signature soundtrack for the show was missing. I’d rather have more money for the music and production than needlessly add random characters. That was my first objection to the addition of Ruby and Bela.
My bigger objection came from the belief that the female characters were needed so as to up the ratings – as if men can only be interested in a show when you add T & A. Its offensive to men and undermines the validity of women who already watch the show. The meddling came from the network. To say that the fans affected Kripke is valid to a certain extent – but when even he admits that Bela was an abject failure, the blame falls on his shoulders, not the fans.
Regardless of the budget issues and the writers strike, the show also suffered from needless one offs – why make one of the last 4 episodes a spoof when that can be done easily the next season? The writing as a whole was sub-par, and that has little to do with either the fans or the budget. It is possible to make great television on a small budget (i.e., BSG), so I don’t buy that as an excuse.
I also don’t buy that people got “scared” away from the show because of fandom. Likely, most people don’t even know the show exists because the network so shoddily promotes it. Given the money they throw at Gossip Girl and now the 90210 remake, its obvious where their priorities stand – and its not with this show.
So while I agree with some of your post, on the whole I believe most of the problem lies in poor network management and sub-par writing.
Thanks for writing this blog.
Personally, I have not noticed any change in budget on screen, and I really liked the season, although it seemed rushed at the end. I also absolutely adored the character of Ruby and Bela.
What has changed on screen is that the show is visually brighter, and that makes it more appealing to the channel surfers. That’s a little too late; the first two seaons were quite mono chromatic.
I had indeed seen a bit of the discussion of the fans against them once on the cw site, but I do not really follow this. Isn’t this a phenomena where some young female viewers turn overly protective of the male characters on-screen? A vocal minority dealing with growing up and fantasy. Ironically, In my region, the show was marketed to that young female audience originally. (The tv ad talked about “hot guys”!) What a huge mistake; it has much broader appeal.
This show will stand the test of time, I believe, and it’s gorgeous in HD. let’s hope bluray’s coming up for this.
I will be missing our blond Ruby. Bela, the evil tomb raider, was iconic.
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