In my recent interview with Sera Gamble, Writer and Supervising Producer for Supernatural (in its fourth season airing Thursdays at 9pm on The CW), I asked her an off the wall question that transpired because of an intense discussion over the season three episode “Mystery Spot” on my website, The Winchester Family Business. I asked whether she believed writer Jeremy Carver implied multiple meanings in his use of “Pig in a Poke," when Sam Winchester is forced to watch his brother Dean order that unusual breakfast over and over again while stuck in a time loop (trust me, theories over that were pretty wild). I still haven’t had the opportunity to verify this with Jeremy Carver (which is why I didn’t publish this question and answer initially), but her response is golden:
I certainly wouldn’t put it past him, in theory. But in practice? Bet you a hundred bucks he picked the food because the name is funny, and people are reading way too much into it. Whoever came up with that should consider applying their gifts to pursuing a graduate degree in Comparative Literature.
So why do I bring up this amusing anecdote? It ties in perfectly to the latest book available this week from BenBella books. In The Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural is the latest installment of their Smart Pop series, and this time Supernatural has earned its shot at worthy deconstruction. A lot of thought (and possibly over-thought) is put into these pieces, which strive to look well beyond the initial premise of the show, which concerns two brothers traveling cross country fighting supernatural evil while dealing with their own personal demons. The book manages to pull together 22 essays from a wide spectrum of writers, plus a foreword from author Keith R. A. DeCandido and an introduction from Supernatural.tv. I was sent a review copy last week and have spent plenty of mind-blowing time analyzing each one of these well written and brain twisting collections.
It’s interesting this book came to me when it did. Recently I’ve run into some issues with Supernatural fandom burnout. Fans are restless and coming up with less than ideal ways to pass time between new episodes on Thursday nights, especially during this latest five week hiatus. Lately, I’ve seen intense fan squabbling over where Sam’s character is going vs. over where Dean’s character is going, or how lead actor Jensen Ackles' (Dean) acting is better than other lead actor Jared Padalecki's (Sam) acting. In the process I’ve seen several fans that just want to love their show walk away from all this madness. These essays can help with such hiatus boredom in that we fans are challenged to think about the show we love in introspective and constructive ways.
Article comments
1 - Mary (Bardicvoice)
I blush, Alice! Thank you!
Your reaction to the collection is very similar to mine, and we had the same favorite essays. I definitely enjoyed the book, and I'm happy I submitted an essay for it, even though mine didn't make the cut. It was a challenge trying to convey all the desired points given the strict length limit on the contest essays (rather like your limit here on BlogCritics!).
I hope folk looking for good mental diversion give the book a try. I can think of worse ways to pass the end of the latest hiatus - and the book is definitely preferable!
2 - Deej1957
***"In just the first three episodes of season four, the show had already radically revised both its cosmology and its backstory ... and rendered half a dozen carefully crafted essays not just out of date, but borderline incorrect." ***
well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thnks they were watching an entirely different show!
I had given some thought to buying this book, curious about viewpoints from people I don't hang with online, but before it came out I'd made the unhappy decision to stop watching the show. I'm pretty sure I'll keep to that come tomorrow night, but it's hard to give up an addiction no matter how unhappy it makes you!
There's a very good Sam Meta here.
The author mentions that it wasn't really his mother's death that 'destroyed' his life--after all, he didn't know her!--but his discovery of hunting at age 8. Give it a read, I found it very interesting.