MeeVee Visits the Set of Supernatural

One of our first stops was a visit with Supernatural's stunt coordinator, Lou Bollo. His incredibly diverse background includes teaching for 10 years, living as a wilderness guide in the Arctic, and building log homes. He also attended the Banff School of Fine Arts as a writer, and eventually wound up doing stunt coordination. He was nothing but complimentary to stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, as was everyone on the set. When asked if the guys actually perform their own stunts, he had this to say:

These guys are really intelligent about what they want to do, or what they feel they’re capable of doing. They never brag, "We do all our own stunts," or anything. They look at something, and I’ll say, "Do you feel like doing this?" and they’ll go, "No, this is for a stunt double." They’re not showoffs, these guys. I’ll say that also knowing that these guys are really gifted athletes — they’re some of the best I’ve ever worked with. Hands down.

Fans of the show are taken very seriously on Supernatural - so much so that the production office maintains a full time employee (Lesley DeHaan), who is dedicated to answering letters, emails, and packages. To say that the fans are devoted to the show is an understatement. Upon arriving to the office, we noticed a massive wall plastered with postcards. In addition, there were several interesting cards and packages. One uber fan painstakingly folded paper cranes, which according to Japanese legend affords the artist one wish (perhaps to meet Jared and Jensen?).

As regular fans know, the props and sets of Supernatural are just as much characters on the show as the actors. The most obvious example is the Winchesters' Chevy Impala (which by the way is as badass in person as it appears on screen). Upon our inspection of various sets, I found the set designers’ attention to detail to be truly impressive. The set of hunter haven Harvelle’s was chock-full of items that even viewers with 50-inch HD flatscreens wouldn’t be able to make out. Vintage hunter bowling ads, jars of pickled eggs, postcards from disgruntled customers, and more filled out the carefully decorated set. Other highlights included bits and pieces of campy motel sets, graves, tombstones, and mausoleums.