You know, there’s nothing like going to a fan convention immediately after seeing an episode of your favorite show mocking a fan convention to completely change perspective on an episode.
When I left for the “Salute to Supernatural” convention in Chicago on Friday, my initial impression of “The Real Ghostbusters” was it was a so-so comedy episode with some great lines and funny bits that ended up overall being filler. But after spending a weekend observing the Supernatural fandom in general and actually having discussions about how things have changed in the Supernatural universe in the last year, I’ve totally changed my mind. The real meaning of the episode is this show appeals to fans for a reason and that reason comes with a deep involvement and connection. Considering how mundane many of our lives are, that can’t be all bad. It actually can be very, very good.
Sam and Dean’s initial experiences at the very first Supernatural convention weren’t unlike my own this weekend. Okay, no, there are no books about my own life around (unless you’ve read Erma Bombeck) and fans aren’t buying merchandise with my likeness on them (thank heavens!). Once they got past that though, the brothers came in thinking everyone was a bunch of kooks and came out with a new appreciation for these fans. At the Chicago con this year, most fans were so excited to be there. Many either had no idea about the recent online quibbles or they did and stuffed them in the back their minds. They didn’t care about the fan gripes over the mytharcs and angels or the Sam fans vs. Dean fans skirmishes going on in the online communities. They were there simply because they fell in love with this show. They couldn’t wait to get together with others and share that love in all sorts of ways. Okay, many were also there because Jared, Jensen, and Misha are hot. But I digress.
There was another type of fan at the con too, for every fandom has cynics. This was the long time fan, the one who knows every episode inside out, backward and forward from the beginning and has something to say about the way things are going. It usually isn’t good. This is the fan that stirs up crap on the fan sites and nitpicks absolutely everything, taking their negativity to the max. This fan becomes German dude in the episode. Despite all that bitter frustration though, they’re still at the con. They’re not ready to give up. They have hopes of getting their show back.
Article comments
1 - Rachel
Awesome. Pretty much how I felt about the episode from the get go.
2 - Huppy
I also thought it was a cute episode, although (nitpick here) I did think it was odd and abrupt when Becky blurted out to Sam that Bela had given the Colt to Crowley, not Lilith. That was out of left field.
Otherwise, I thought it was a cute episode, even though I haven't ever attended a fan convention. But I understand the gist of the conventions. Always good to see Chuck, and I thought the ghost story and convention attendees were interesting.
3 - Phira
I thought the episode was all right. I didn't find it as amusing as I found Changing Channels (I watch CSI: Miami because it's so bad it's hilarious, so you can imagine I was dying at the Horatio Caine impressions). But there were three things that really bothered me.
First and foremost, I've been incredibly unhappy with how women, people of color, and queer people are portrayed on Supernatural, or how they're not portrayed (I think this was the first episode with any queer main supporting characters). Playing the same-sex romance as a joke in order to laugh about a) the slash fiction out there and/or b) Dean's obvious discomfort was entirely inappropriate of the writers. Finally, queer characters, and they're meant to be a joke. It left me with a terrible feeling afterwards.
Next, I don't understand the purpose of the character of Becky. If it's to poke fun at obsessive fans, I still don't get it. Her obsessiveness about Sam was especially unnerving; she knows he's real, and has no problem harassing him? It felt fake, like a bad joke that should have been on another show.
Finally, like Huppy, I really felt like the very end, with "OH, by the way, do you know where the Colt is?!" was totally out of nowhere. Not even remotely believable!
I DID, however, love seeing how there were both men and women in suits asking questions and showing fake IDs. Made my day.
4 - Robijean
I didn't feel Becky mentioning the colt was out of left field. Earlier in the episode we saw her sitting there listening when the boys explained to Chuck they had more important things to do like hunting for the colt.
I think she remembered then what happened to it and would have told the boys if they hadn't gone off with Chuck to discuss things. She told Sam the first real chance she got.
And I can see Bela telling Dean she gave it to Lilith instead of saying I gave it to Lilith's right hand man to give to her, a bit of verbal shorthand.
5 - AmMo
Great article Alyce! It was really interesting to read it filtered through your recent con experience, and gave me some things to think about that hadn't occured to me.
6 - Nitewoman
great article talking about the relationship between Supernatural and fandom. You stated everything excellently. I am a fan convention goer and I loved this episode. I thought everything was said or shown with great respect to us fans. How many shows even acknowledge they have fans uh?
Robijean, I so agree with you about the colt and Becky's role in telling Sam. in the Then segment talking about the colt, I knew something was going to come up about it, and yes Becky telling Sam who had the colt was a surprise but a good scene to set up this week's episode.
I was not upset with the fake Dean and Sam admitting that they are partners and I never felt that Dean was dissing them. I felt he found a new understanding when people who have the same likes become friends or partners. His so called discomfort to me was not having thought about these people who wanted to live their lives in fantasy. He only just heard about slash a short while ago in TMATEOTB.
It was really clever on Eric's part to have these normal guys explain to Dean what the story was all about or in this case Sam & Dean's life. They gave Dean another perspective to think about things and realize their lives weren't that bad. These guys would be the only ones who could say this and have Dean actually listen and learn.
Happy we've had a few fun episodes because playtime is now over and I'm going to be dying with fear, sadness and all those things Eric throws at us.
7 - Mary (Bardicvoice)
Loved your take on this one, Alice! I came down in much the same place. This show is about relationships, the families we build as well as the families we're born to, and what we'll do to help them and make all our lives better. No wonder it speaks to all of us who get what the story's about!