Here’s Part 2 of our Supernatural interview from San Diego Comic Con — and it’s a good one! We talk to show runners Robert Singer & Andrew Dabb about what to expect in Season 13 (which starts NEXT WEEK! October 12th on The CW)! They tells us what they can’t wait for us to see, talk about Charlie’s potential return, John Winchester’s hopeful eventual return, an animated Sam & Dean working with the Scooby Gang, how an Arrow cross-over might work, Wayward Sisters, and more!
Don’t start Season 13 without watching this interview (& if you haven’t seen part one with Jared, Jensen & Misha — go watch that too!)
Supernatural will begin it’s 13th Season on October 12 on The CW. That is only three weeks away! So to catch you up to speed, here is our interview with Jensen Ackles (Dean), Jared Padalecki (Sam), and Misha Collins (Castiel)!
The possible spin off that was announced at SDCC, Wayward Sisters, is mentioned briefly. We’ll bring you more info on that when we have it, but so far we know it will be an episode during this season of Supernatural that will serve as the pilot. It will star Kim Rhodes as Sheriff Jody Mills, Briana Buckmaster as Sheriff Donna Hanscum, Kathryn Newton as Claire Novak, Clark Back as Patience Turner, and Katherine Ramdeen as Alex Jones.
It’s true that 2016 was kind of a dumpster fire, but thought we’d think really (really, really) hard about it & come up with the best things of 2016. And after like an hour, we realized that there were some great moments.
Like we started high school at OCSA, went to Hawaii, got into Club 33, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Universal Studios, we were extras in Hairspray, saw Hedwig, Book of Mormon, Beautiful & Newsies, had some great times with our friends, got to interview some of our favorite writers & actors, went to a bunch of cons, and took in some amazing memes, TV, comics, books, & movies. Things were really good when they weren’t bad and we’re grateful.
So this week, we give you the best of last year….and look ahead to more good stuff in 2017.
Here’s part 2 of Maddy’s interview with the cast of Supernatural. She talks to Misha Collins, Jared Padalecki and new showrunners Robert Singer and Andrew Dabb about Season 12.
Anya also reports on what Misha told her about her favorite show, Cooking Fast & Fresh with West.
editor’s note: this episode of Tweeks should have gone live on Thanksgiving, but the editor was in a food coma so please enjoy this bonus episode a little late!
The absolute highlight of Comic Con for Maddy was easily interviewing the cast of Supernatural about Season 12. As you’ll see in the video she was barely keeping it together. In part one of her SDCC roundtable interview she chats with Ruth Connell (Rowena), Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) and Samantha A. Smith (Mary Winchester). They were all incredible, of course.
Be on the look out for Part 2 of the interview with Misha Collins, Jared Padalecki and show runners Andrew Dabb and Robert Singer.
I love when things get meta in a clever way. Like, remember that episode of Supernatural where the brothers found their life story being sold in the bargain bin of a comic book store, via novels with hilariously old-school dramatic covers? And the store owner thought they were LARPing as themselves? And then they tracked down the author, and he turned out to be a prophet of the Lord named Chuck? But he didn’t believe he was, and thought he was hallucinating Sam and Dean, or had somehow written them into existence and into meeting him? And then later we found out he actually was God, who they’d been seeking unsuccessfully since meeting Chuck, and he totally knew more than he was letting on at first? Good times!
Or remember how the brothers tried to figure out why all these weird events based on urban legends that they knew weren’t “real” in their world were happening in a small town? And it turned out it was Loki basically being a dick? And then later he trapped them in a TV world that they had to act their way out of? And then it turned out he was really the angel Gabriel? Man, I love that kind of stuff – even if it does make your head spin after a while!
So what could be better than the actors who played Chuck/God (Rob Benedict) and Loki/Gabriel (Richard Speight, Jr.) starring in a new show that is totally meta – namely, Kings of Con.
Kings of Con is, as explained by the two geniuses/crazy dudes who dreamed it up, a comedic TV show based on the real experiences they’ve had while being “super famous… thirteen weekends a year” at real-life Supernatural fan conventions. Unlike that time on Supernatural where Chuck went to a Supernatural fan convention and there was a fake ghost hunt but then a real ghost showed up and Sam and Dean had to hunt it down with two guys cosplaying Sam and Dean. Although that was pretty awesome. But of course, it doesn’t stop there – because the versions of themselves they play on Kings of Con are exaggerated fictional versions: “Rich, a thrice divorced former actor who’s love of the game is fueled by the faux fame he experiences at the hands of a gaggle fans who still think he matters, and Rob, a recent divorcee back on the circuit to cover the costs of his failed marriage and stalled career.” And on top of that, the show they’re making about going to Supernatural cons was funded by Supernatural fans, some of whom undoubtedly go to the cons, as well. Whew!
So what we have here is a couple of actors on a TV show who go to fan conventions for that show (at which they’ve carved out a unique niche for themselves and become progressively more known by e.g. creating and hosting a karaoke party, MCing events, and performing at rock concerts), who then raised money via the fans of that show to do a new TV show based on going to cons for the original show. But on this new show, they will be acting as well, so it’s fiction too – which means that someday down the line, maybe there could be a third show, and
… ow, my head hurts.
Anyway, these two dudes are incredibly nice, funny, warm people, and Kings of Con sounds like it’s going to be hilarious, ridiculous, fantastic meta fun. From the stories they were telling me in the interview I did with them at SDCC 2016, and the first trailer, I can tell that I’m going to have to watch Kings of Con, and that probably everybody else who likes good things should too.
And although Kings of Con isn’t out yet, right this minute you can watch the interview I did with Rob Benedict and Richard Speight, Jr., the Kings of Con themselves, right here.
Like what you saw? Be sure to check out Kings of Con, which is being produced by Lionsgate and SDCC, at Comic-Con HQ, when it airs in the fall.
And until next time, check out my continually growing collection of Comic-Con pics, stay tuned for even more SDCC recaps, and Servo Lectio!
This past weekend I attended the annual Sherlock Holmes fandom celebration, a.k.a. the BSI Weekend in New York City; a time I always thoroughly look forward to and enjoy. The weekend is great both for the setting (so much to see and do in NYC, both Sherlockian and otherwise) and for the friends (new and old) that attend.
A non-Sherlockian highlight of my weekend was getting to see the current production of The King and I on Broadway. I was especially happy to be able to see Hoon Lee in the title role of The King of Siam, as I was already familiar with and had been privileged to previously discuss with him his excellent portrayal of Master Splinter in Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a voice acting role that requires an actor with both excellent sense of comedy and timing, and a broad emotional range. Both main roles of The King and I, i.e. The King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, fall into this category as well, and I was delighted to see both Hoon as The King and Kelli O’Hara as Anna absolutely killing it in their respective parts.
Both actors ably embodied the show’s by turns humorous and poignant or serious elements, and brought immense presence to the stage; and the other characters were also incredibly well acted. The sets, costumes, and choreography were beautiful, and the music and singing was phenomenal as well. I highly recommend seeing the show if you have the opportunity.
And finally, a huge highlight of my weekend which ventured into both Sherlockian and non-Sherlockian territories was the opportunity to sit down for a chat with actor Curtis Armstrong(of Revenge of the Nerds, Risky Business, The Closer, Dan Vs., American Dad, King of the Nerds, Supernatural, and much more).
During our interview we got to discuss the new Amazon series, Highston, in which Curtis plays a main role as Uncle Billy (and the first episode is already available to watch here). We also talked about his role as Metatron on Supernatural, and what it’s like to work on an established and ongoing TV series. We chatted about how Curtis prepares for roles; and about his experiences with fandom. And, of course, we talked about being Sherlockians, as Curtis is a big fan of Conan Doyle’s clever consulting detective, and that’s how we met in the first place! (Sherlock Holmes, bringing people together since 1887.)
I had a great time talking with Curtis, who is an absolute delight; and I’m sure you will think the same if you give the full interview a listen right here.
So check it out! And until next time, Servo Lectio!
Halloween is our favorite holiday, so while we decorated the house this week, we decided to share our list of the 13 Best Not Scary Halloween Movies….because we don’t do scary. (This week’s Scream Queens had us sleeping in the same bed, which we think illustrates our level of scary show discomfort.)
We hope you don’t feel cheated, but we’re doling out our list the way mean moms dole out Halloween candy. We give you numbers 13 through 7 and a bonus mini-review of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which we just saw in the theater for it’s 40th Anniversary. And then next week we’ll be back with 6 through number 1 and probably some honorable mentions — because really, Halloween movies are the best!
Even though Supernatural has been on for 10 seasons, I only started watching last August.Though I quickly became a devoted Supernatural fan and by June I wrapped up Season 9. I figured, “Hey, I’ll just wait until season 10 comes out on Netflix,” but when they announced that the Season 10 DVD would be coming out in the Fall at the Comic Con panel, I was like, “No!”And when I got the Blu-Ray (which was released on September 8th), I watched it all in like, a week, because that’s what I do.
The Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Blu-ray, Digital HD and DVD release of Supernatural: The Complete Tenth Season is well worth owning. It contains 23 episodes and over four hours of bonus content.It picks up after Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) was transformed into a demon and cursed with the Mark of Cain.And of course, Sam (Jared Padalecki) & their angel buddy, Castiel (Misha Collins) must help his brother. This is the detour on the Road to Recovery.Well the scenic route on the road to curing the Mark of Cain.We also get family drama with Crowley, the King of Hell. You probably need to watch Season 10 a couple times. There’s a lot to little stuff in there that you notice after you KNOW the episode.It’s the stuff the internet is filled with.You can’t properly fill the world with Tumblr gifs without watching these episodes many times.This is why you need to own the Season on DVD or Blu-Ray.
Plus the quality is great.In HD, you can see each and every one of Jensen’s freckles.And some might enjoy seeing how silky and soft Jared’s hair looks.Not me, necessarily, but I did notice the Impala changing from a 2-door to a 4-door periodically.What the what?Though maybe you could see that on the regular DVD too.
For those who want to watch on their phones or laptop (out of habit, maybe or because you don’t have a Blu-Ray player in your room and you need to watch with your door shut so your family doesn’t bother you), there is a code with the Blu-Ray to get the episodes on Ultraviolet. You can then watch on all compatible devices & take the Winchesters with you on the road. Yay!
There are lots of bonus features on the discs, like the much awaited gag reel, unaired episodes, episode commentaries, the ComicCon 2014 preview for the season, stuff on mythological influences this season, and more. I was most excited about the behind the scenes for the 200th episode. You should most definitely buy this on Blu-Ray or DVD if you are caught up and start watching the show if you are not. The 11th Season will start this Fall on The CW, so you might want to hurry up. Remember these are the Winchesters, not the Losechesters, so you can’t lose with Supernatural: The Complete Tenth Season.
Maddy’s Commentary & Synopsis of Season 10: For those not afraid of some potential Spoilerishness
Okay,as far as a Season, this one was so amazing!We picked up where we left off in Season 9 with the Mark of Cain turning Dean into a demon after his run-in with Metatron (where he died again), so now Demon!Dean and Crowley are living it up singing karaoke in bars. Meanwhile, Sam’s going nuts and torturing demons, trying to find his missing brother, not knowing he’s a demon, so there’s that. Once Sam finally gets to Dean after being kidnapped by some dude, he locks him up in the Bunker and cures him of his demon-osity. And while all this is going on, our angel buddy Castiel’s stolen grace is fading and his fellow angel, Hannah, hunts down rogue angels while she tries to get Metatron to reveal where the rest of his grace is, but to no avail.
After an episode of regular hunting, we reach my favorite episode: “Fan Fiction”. This is the fabled episode where my two favorite things, theatre and Supernatural, come together.An all girls school performs a musical version of the Supernatural books by Carver Edlund (a.k.a Chuck Shurley) and people who try to shut it down are captured by Calliope. Also in this episode, Sam and Dean are introduced to the popular concept of Destiel (if you read The Tweeks’ column on shipping, you know it’s the Dean/Castiel ship).By the way, you can download the Supernatural: The Musical soundtrack!I also really enjoyed the the next episode, “Ask Jeeves” which is like Clue meets Pretty Little Liars. Everyone is a Liar and they’re solving a murder in a mansion with a bunch of rich people, it’s rad.All the old rich ladies love Sam.
Let’s move on to “Girls, Girls, Girls”. Enter Rowena, a ginger witch who has enemies in high places in Hell’s monarchy, as shown when there are loads of demons chasing her and eventually taking her to Hell’s dungeons. At the end of the episode it is revealed that she is Crowley’s mother and she abandoned him as a child.
In “The Hunter Games,” The Winchesters and Cas attempt to torture the cure for the Mark of Cain out of Metatron who agitates everyone and leaves a cryptic message—“The river ends at the source”. Well, okay, crazy angel scribe. But then next up is an episode where Charlie, my fave, has returned from Oz after fighting a war. She had split her soul in two, good and bad, and she teamed up with the boys to help defeat her rogue bad side.
Then we get some regular hunting episodes, but I want to mention one of them, “About A Boy”.The witch from Hansel and Gretel turns Dean into a teenager, which is very funny. But the fun doesn’t last for the next ep. Castiel discovers that Cain’s been killing people and Crowley,Cas, Dean, and Sam work together to kill Cain. This is when things start to get rough. Sam can tell that the Mark is overpowering Dean and that he’s trying hard to fight it.
The stories move on with more hunting and a continuation of the Rowena sub-plot. Rowena has been banned from practicing magic by the Grand Coven, so Crowley captures Olivette, the High Priestess of the Grand Coven so Rowena can make her case to practice magic. After, she turns Olivette into a hamster and puts her in one of those hamster cages with the wheel that they run around in. Sam decides that he and Cas should sneak around behind Dean’s back to try to find a cure. YOU GUYS DO THIS EVERY SEASON! Can’t you ever learn that none of the Winchesters like being kept from things?But still, they decide to go try and torture the information out of Metatron who reveals that he doesn’t know how to cure the Mark and his message before was utter nonsense. Thanks a lot, Metatron. The only thing he was good for was leading Castiel to his grace, which had a good and a bad side. Cas got his grace back, but Metatron got the angel tablet. Booooo.
After that, Charlie is back, and she has found The Book of the Damned, a book that is believed to hold a cure for the Mark of Cain, but apparently it belongs to the Styne family and so they track Charlie down. I won’t spoil it, but what happens is what drives the rest of the season.There’s some drama about the Book. Dean wants it destroyed, but Sam wants to keep it because he’s still trying to find a cure for Dean even though his brother has given up.
In the midst of all this, Crowley has kicked Rowena out of Hell. Sam brings the Book of the Damned to her and asks if she can read it. She says yes, but in return she wants Crowley dead.She also says that she needs Nadya’s codex. She said that the Men of Letters took it from the Grand Coven’s archives and it’s in their archives. Easy, right? Nope, this is Supernatural. The codex is locked in a box which is protected by a very powerful spell. When you open the box, everyone else in the vicinity starts to hallucinate and is driven to suicide. Creepy. Sam doesn’t know this and so he opens the box. Guess who’s in the house with the box in it? You guessed it: Dean. Also the owner of the house who opened the box when she was a teenager and killed her family. Dean starts to hallucinates that he’s in Purgatory with his vampire friend Benny. Ah, Purgatory. Season 7 was nuts, man, with all those Leviathans.
In the next episode, Sam gives the Book to Rowena who says that Nadya was a very selfish witch and encoded her codex. Sam decides to bring in the big guns to help crack the code. Welcome back, Charlie! The boys have captured one of the Stynes, Eldon, and are trying to get information out of him. He reveals that Syne is not their real name, they are actually the Frankensteins. They had to change their name after Mary Shelley discovered them and wrote a book. Rowena eventually drives Charlie nuts, so she asks Cas to let her out. He says no, but she sneaks out anyway, because she’s Charlie. She cracks the code, but Eldon escapes the Winchesters and starts to attack Charlie.R.I.P Charlie. You were my favorite ginger to ever grace my television, except for Amy Pond, but I’m sure she’s your favorite too.
Dean and Sam give Charlie a proper hunter’s funeral and Dean orders Sam to stop searching for a cure for the Mark of Cain. Sam calls Castiel to tell him of Charlie’s grim end but discovers that her last act on this earth was emailing the code to Sam. He decides to keep going behind Deans back (?????) now that Rowena can read the book. Dean has vowed to kill the entire Frankenstein family and slaughters most of them, then returns to the bunker to find the last three raiding the archives. He kills two of them and listens to the youngest plead for his life, then kills him. This shows that the Mark is truly changing him because the Dean we have gotten to know for ten years would have spared his life. Castiel then shows up and tries to talk to Dean but Dean beats him up and comes very close to killing him while simultaneously breaking my fragile nerd heart. Here we are, the end of the line. The last episode is honestly the best one. There’s this one part where Dean feels like he’s trapped in a place where he doesn’t feel guilty for hurting his friends and after a vampire kill he washes his hands. He does a whole insane Lady MacBeth “Out damn spot” thing. I love Shakespeare so I recognized it immediately. He looks up into the mirror and sees his friends that he’s hurt all bloody and scrubs his hands harder and harder for each person. God bless the writers. He then summons Death, whom I love, and demands that he kill him. Death says that he cannot but he can send him away so he can’t hurt anyone ever again. He then decides to kill Sam so he doesn’t try to rescue him from this far away place. Death hands Dean his scythe to kill Sam, but he kills Death instead. Who knows what this means for people? Is everyone immortal? Rowena then casts the spell to cure the Mark of Cain, which unleashes the Darkness, a pre-Biblical force that is released when the Mark is removed. End of season. Major cliffhanger here, people.
It’s hard to believe Comic Con was a week ago because we’re still tired from all that running around, squee-ing, shopping, interviewing, and nerding it up. Here’s a our video report full of our favorites from Hall H (Mocking Jay, Supernatural, Doctor Who), Maddy asking John Barrowman to sing as Captain Jack, the Welcome To Night Vale Tumblr Meetup, and other assorted vloggy goodness. But never fear, there was so much going on last week that this is only Part 1. We will be back later with our haul, interviews, and observations.
