If there’s one thing I’ve learned since I hooked into this online fandom, if anyone includes the Winchesters in a poll, prepare to be bombarded. Kristin Dos Santos from E! Online found out the hard way in January. She put out a poll telling online users to vote for the best show of the season, and promised she would cover that show in her upcoming columns. Her choices included a long list of all the top shows on the major networks and also included the CW shows. Supernatural ended up emerging victorious with 29%, while One Tree Hill came in second with 28%. After that, no show came close. Kristin responded by removing these two shows from the poll and relisting it, calling these two very active fan bases for these low rated shows “motivated”. The resulting backlash in the comments and from email was brutal. The underlying message? Don’t mess with the fandoms!
There’s plenty of fun stuff for the fan girls. I got a notice of a new poll yesterday on TV Guide, the Sexiest Stars of 2008. They actually had a category for sexiest brothers, and listed Sam and Dean Winchester. That’s a sure fire way to get traffic to the site. They were winning by 80%, but now the ridiculously wide margin has shrunk to 71%. That’ll spark a rally, I’m sure. Also, the CW source set up a hottie bracket, putting Sam in one bracket and Dean in another against other CW heartthrobs. It was no surprise that the final ended up being Sam vs. Dean, and they even had to include a third option for those of us who couldn’t decide between the two. I appreciated that greatly. How wrong is it that I actually considered voting?
Some of these posts trigger deep sympathy from me for Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. News about them sometimes pushes into their personal lives too much. Sure there’s harmless news, like Jared taking the lead role in the new Friday the 13th remake, but a few weeks ago the sites had lots of pictures of him courtside at a Lakers game with his girlfriend Sandra McCoy and both were wearing rings. The speculation over that was way too much. If they had news to share, well, I wouldn’t tell the fans either. Then there was Jensen Ackles’ recent trip to Australia. I was getting links twice an hour about that visit. All I want to know is did the guy get a decent vacation in between all the press coverage?
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - katie
Oh just give it a bit of time, you'll totally get over the 'but come on, they’re brothers!' squick. ;D
2 - coltshot_1
Its great fun surfing the Supernatural fandom, isn't it? You didn't mention the icons --little emoticon pictures/art made by fans. I have no artistic talent myself, but I love them. I have collected hundreds and hundreds of them and LJ only lets me have like 30 userpics!
(I'm with you on the whole slash issue - its been two years now and I'm not over the squick)
The CW board is also a fun place for some excellent discussions -- and a fair share of 'Who's hotter?' threads. ;)
3 - Anonn
Thank you so much ALice!, for taking the time to delve into 'our' fandom universe. I really appreciate the positive comments you put forth and great understanding you have shown of and for the fans of the show.
We are more than fanGirls, even Mr Kripke, Director of Sueprnatural has said it.
He says we are the smartest/best, funniest etc fandom out there, and I agree entirely.
I'm so glad you do too.
Thanks again.
P.S- Maybe you could also do an article about the other SN related phenomena us Supernatural fans cook up in another article.
Would you please also, if you could send this off to Mr Eric Kripke?
4 - Roger
Great article!
Don't suppose you managed to find Plastic!Winchester Theater....
(I love to pimp it out. haha)
5 - Erin
How fun and enlightening to read a relative newcomer's journey into the SPN realm. Welcome to the madness! LOL, it is a place you kind of have to pick and chose where to step, but on the whole, it is a fun, rowdy, warm-hearted fandom filled with some really amazing people. Thank *you* so much for a fair and balanced look at the fandom. I can tell you that we really appreciate some honest press. Thank you!
Heh, and I hear you about the slash. I know some very dear people who write and read it, and more power to them. But having come to SPN from the LOTR fandom, I was honestly surprised at how many people (and how easily) people embraced the incest thing. I guess it's because the Winchesters' lives are already so damaged and screwed up, they figured taking that lack of normal human relationships and (total reliance on just each other, with few other people to trust) to the next level wasn't that great a reach. So ... *shrugs* Incest is grotesque by any definition, but I've learned to just close my eyes as I go by slash in the SPN realm. I value the people, fellow fans, more than I'm squicked by the stuff some write. ;-)
Again, thank you for a terrific article!
6 - Alice Jester
Roger - I love Plastic!Winchester theater. It's a riot! There were so many things to write about when I did this, I forgot that one. Feel free to provide a link and pimp it out! It's worthwhile. That's true for anyone. I couldn't do the entire fandom justice in one short article, so tell everyone what I missed.
7 - gg
Thank you for the wonderful article. The SN fandom is pretty diverse and multi-faceted. I love Plastic!Winchester theater, too. Also, thank you for the Supernatural.tv mention. :)
8 - nancy
haha thanks for the great fandom review Alice! i have to agree, i fear the fandom way more than any monster Kripke can cook up (fandom demon? haha)
though i just have a few things to point out. most of the reason we're kinda urked about the rings is cause we wanna know! most of the fandom loves Sandy just as much as Jared and really, we want them to be happy!
as for the slash... lol. you're right, they're bros. that's nasty, IMO. buuut there's the amazing RPF that kills me dead. and the regular gory, angst ridden fics are also so well done. we're really blessed to have such amazing authors.
and if you want to continue your exploration, try a few other things like The Society for the Continuation of Limp (And Redeemed) Sam, and Team Winchester. Beware of the CW boards. they can get just as nuts as the TWOP boards. but of course, we usually come back together for a good long oogle.
have a great one!
9 - Dee
Great article!! I'm glad you liked the Supernatural fandom!
--Dee
10 - Anon
We'll convert you yet. *grins*
*sings "Brothers On A Hotel Bed"*
11 - Sabrina
"this community has way too much slash (if you don’t know what that means, you don’t want to know). I have nothing against slash in other fandoms, but come on, they’re brothers!"
I completely agree! Way too much, and it often drives me crazy. I try to ignore everything slashy and to focus on the gen sides of the fandom...
Anyway, great article :)
12 - Lisa
In case you haven't found them yet, kroki refur's Episode Reviews of Doom and Ten Expressions are a thing to behold (and her fic's pretty shnazz, too..and her comic, The Awesome Adventures of Andy and Ava is good. Well, you get the idea). You can get all her Supernatural shtuff.
13 - Kay
Make sure you check out Sam's drunken letters to Stephen King. I laughed until my sides hurt.
14 - Missyjack
Great article - we are indeed a diverse and talented fandom! As an admin, and fellow geek, at the Superantural Wiki, I am so glad you enjoy it. And of course, I have now linked to this essay on the Meta page!
15 - Alice Jester
I've finally found the link to Plastic!Winchester theatre. I should be taunted heavily for forgetting this, for it's the most unique and outrageous thing I've seen in any fandom.
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, and keep them coming. Sorry, but I'm still queasy about the slash!
16 - Ve
Thank you for such fun, insightful and respectful article on Supernatural fandom that also showed that you know the show and love it as much as we do.
One thing that is really particular - and special - about our fandom is that we are very protective of our show and the boys. Even they recognize that.
I am a brazilian fan and seriously adore Supernatural. I like Chuck, too, but Supernatural has a very special place in my heart, and honestly, in my life too.
Thanks again for the wonderful review/post!
Best regards!
17 - xan
Oh God~ I got peter petrelli too~~ *facepalm*~ argh the only reason I stick to internet till now is because of SPN fandom~ I'm addicted! XD thanx for the wonderful review hon!:D
18 - vicki
Podcasts are popping up as well, like Supernatural Podcast.
I love this fandom! We are some of the wittiest, smart and interesting people around.
19 - Shay
"this community has way too much slash (if you don't know what that means, you don't want to know). I have nothing against slash in other fandoms, but come on, they're brothers!"
While I have absolutely no problem with someone having a problem with slash (and especially incest slash) but to say "you don't want to know" is a little judgemental. You can't know that someone doesn't want to know what to slash is -- and truth be told a variety of aca-fen had to learn the hard way to find the fan/academic discussion because people are scared to define and/or understand the issues that contextually are referenced in slash and slash fandoms because of its "problematic" nature. Just because something is linked to relationships about homosexual pairings does not make it an automatic freak show.
20 - Sophie
Overall a very nice article, covering most of the main fandom outlets.
However, I wish I could say I was surprised by your rather judgmental one-liner about slash. The tone was troubling, but I feel Shay addressed that very well above. So I'm just going to take a moment to address the way you glanced right over slash with a tiny, obligatory mention.
The fact is, whether you're comfortable with it or not, most of the online Supernatural fandom is slash oriented, especially when it comes to fanfiction. All you have to do is take a look at the daily Supernatural Newsletter to see that this is true. The newsletter is a thorough compilation of virtually everything Supernatural related posted on livejournal each day. The volume of Sam/Dean and Jared/Jensen stories is much greater than any other genre or pairing. And yes, both incest and RPF squick a lot of people. I understand that and I'm certainly not trying to force people to read something they're uncomfortable with. I just think that passing over slash in our fandom with barely a mention is a disservice to and misrepresentation of our community.
21 - Analin
I second the commenter that said you should check out Team Winchester! It's comprised amazingly dedicated, proactive fans that are physically out promoting Supernatural, as well as spreading the word online.
22 - LindsayW
What boggles my mind is that folks constantly miss the CW Lounge - the message board on the website of the NETWORK that the show is on! There are so many thoughtful threads and not nearly the negativity TWOP is notorious for!
23 - MM
Just a quick comment about Jensen's trip to Australia. He was there promoting the show. He was there to do tv, radio and press interviews. He combined it with a little vacationing, but his reason for being there was to promote the show for Australia's Channel 10, so don't feel too sorry for him. He was supposed to be attracting attention to Supernatural and he did his job well. :) There were no pictures or reports of him during private time, just public appearances.
24 - Marie
Good article. I'm on your side with the incest thing; it makes no sense to me. I think what's kind of sad is that, as with pretty much any other fandom, those of us who are bothered by it or don't like it are unconsciously pushed into silence because it would be "politically incorrect" to voice our opinions. Not to mention a lot of slashers can tear off your head in piranha-esque frenzy if you express your disapproval in more than just a passing one-liner. (Or even with a one-liner, as your article demonstrates.) Slash debates always end up being ridiculously long and downright ridiculous....
Personally, I'd like to think in Supernatural fandom, slash is confined to the internet. Fans who are mostly uninvolved with online fandom don't ever really go there. And why should they? I kind of know what you mean by the whole "you don't want to know" comment. My friends, who have never been involved in online fandom, learned about the existence of slash (and incestuous slash) through me, and they still can't get over the "ew" factor every time it gets brought up, even after a couple years.
What continues to bother me, after years in all kinds of fandom, is this weird undercurrent that keeps popping up in discussions: there's always gotta be at least one slasher that hints at wanting to convert a nonslashing fan. As if not slashing is uncool.
But anyway -- as for Supernatural, this one fan made an amazing survey of all the fanfiction in the SPN Newsletter not long ago and created a pie chart of the results! Check it out!
25 - Sherry
Alice, you said something about cop show in your review, I was wondering what is your favorite cop show or do you have one? I'm a huge Starsky & Huch fan, I think that was the the best cop show on TV in the 70s. I love Supernatural! Great fandom review Alice!