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★ 2006 Paley Television Fest

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Official name: 23rd William S. Paley Television Festival Location: The Museum of Television & Radio (The Paley Media Center), John H. Mitchell Theatre, Los Angeles, California Time: Saturday, March 4, 2006, 7:00pm (GMT-7) Panelists: David Bushman, Peter Johnson, Kim Manners, John Shiban, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Robert Singer, Eric Kripke Last episode: 1x16 “Shadow”- 2/28/2006 Next episode: 1x17 “Hell House”- 3/30/2006

Question Index: 1- (10:37) SPN Origins (Kripke) 2- (12:28) Sam and Dean Motivation (Kripke) 3- (14:18) Firsts Impressions "J2," Auditioning Sam and Dean (Kripke) 4A- (16:11) Auditioning for Sam and Dean (Jared) 4Aa- (17:01) SPN Appeal (Jared) 4B- (19:24) Auditioning for Sam and Dean (Jensen) 5A- (22:13) SPN Start (Manners) 5B- (26:07) SPN Start (Shiban) 5C- (27:38) SPN Start (Singer) 6- (31:05) SPN Mythology/Formula (Shiban, Kripke) 7- (34:18) Pre-Finale Thoughts (Kripke) 8A- (35:38) Location Significance- John in Sacramento (Shiban) 8B- (36:13) Location Significance- Lawrence Kansas (Kripke) 9- (36:59) Fear "Paranormal"- (Manners, Shiban, J2, Kripke) 10- (38:55) Continuity Mistake "4 years vs 2 years at Standford" (Kripke) 11- (40:40) Network Censorship "Gore"- (J2, Kripke, Singer) 12- (43:57) Paranormal on Set (J2) 13- (46:10) Network Censorship “Sex” (Kripke) 14- (47:20) Pre-series Sam and Dean (Kripke) 15- (49:07) Samulet (Jensen, Kripke) 16- (49:55) Special effects, Gag Reels (Jensen, Jared, Manners) 17- (53:17) Religion “Jensen,” Dean Winchester cellphone # (Jared, Jensen) 18- (55:39) Impala 67 (Jensen, Manners) 19- (56:16) SPN Music (Kripke, Singer) 20A- (58:42) Acting Advice “Start” (Jared) 20B- (1:00:09) Acting Advice “Start” (Jensen) 21- (1:01:03) Props "Alcohol" (Jared, Jensen) 22A- (1:02:15) Favorite Scene (Manners) 22Aa- (1:04:13) Acting Challenges “Shadow” (Jensen) 22B- (1:05:01) Favorite Scene (Shiban) 22C- (1:06:15) Favorite Scene (Jensen) 22D- (1:07:35) Favorite Scene (Jared) 22E- (1:09:19) Favorite Scene (Singer) 22F- (1:10:19) Favorite Scene (Kripke)

(transcript below the cut)

(*if you notice any mistakes in the video transcripts please point them out thanks*👍)

◘Supernatural Season 1 - Museum of Television & Radio's Paley Television Festival Q&A by Supernatural Insider◘

(0:08)

David Bushman is standing alone on stage in front of a mic reading off a script.

Bushman: Um, hi, everyone. My name is David Bushman. I'm television curator at the Museum of Television and Radio. And I want to welcome all of you to the museum's 23rd am-annual William Paley television festival. (thumbs to his right)

That clip that you just saw is from “Route 66,” which is one of the shows that, um, the creator Eric Kripke of, um, of “Supernatural,” um, often cites is one of his influences and that explains why we picked it. (thumbs to his right) That's part of our collection. We have 120,000 television and radio, uh, programs in our collection. And I would encourage all of you to visit the Museum in Beverly Hills, and in New York w-when you're there.

Um, tonight we're really excited to be honoring “Supernatural” which was named one of the top five new series of 2005 by Entertainment Weekly. “Supernatural” is aaa- a vibrant fresh exciting show that combines all sorts of genre elements: family drama, comedy, suspense, and on top of that it just scares the hell out of you. (audience laughs) I really want to thank Warner Brothers for all they did in helping make this night happen, particularly the PR department Holly Ollis and Winson Seto. Thank- thank you very much.

Um, what we're gonna do tonight is we're gonna, um, introduce right up front the cast and the creative team, our panels for the evening. Introduce them very briefly. Um, Eric is going to say a few words about what you're going to see. Then we're gonna.. watch an episode of the program, which Eric will talk about. Then we'll bring the panelists back up. I'll ask some questions and then you guys are on. So, start thinking of questions now. Okay?

(1:42)- first introductions

Bushman: Um, so, let me start with the panelists’ intros. First, uh, one of the producers of “Supernatural,” please welcome Peter Johnson.

Audience claps and cheers. Bushman looks to his left. Johnson walks on to the stage. Bushman meets him and shakes his hand. Johnson waves then goes down the stages stairs to sit in the front row. Bushman returns to the mic.

Bushman: Uh, next we have co-executive producer and director Kim Manners.

Audience claps and cheers. Bushman walks away from the mic. Manners enters on stage with his hands fiddling with his pants’ pockets and walks off the stages stairs to sit in the front row.

Bushman: Next we have co-executive producer and writer John Shiban.

Audience claps. Shiban walks out on stage waves to the audience and goes down the stairs to sit on the front row.

Bushman: Next, he plays Dean Winchester. Please welcome Jensen Ackles.

Audience screams and claps. Jensen walks out on stage and waves. He then jogs down the stage stairs to sit in the front row.

Bushman: Next, Sam Winchester. Please welcome Jared Padalecki.

Audience screams and claps. Jared speed walks out on stage, but walks passed the stairs a bit. He grimaces then bends down to look for the stairs while laughing a little, and then jogs down the stairs to sit in the front row.

Bushman: Next, the executive producer and director, Robert Singer.

Audience claps. Singer comes out on stage and waves to Bushman. Then he walks down the stairs to sit in the front row.

Bushman: Finally, the man whose vision, uh, created “Supernatural,” is the creator, executive producer, and writer. Please welcome Eric Kripke.

Audience cheers and claps. Kripke walks out on stage. He waves to the audience then walks to Bushman and shakes his hand. Bushman walks off stage and Kripke takes over the mic.

Kripke: Hey everybody. (audience responds back) Thank you so much, uh, for coming. Uhhh, it's a little, uh, overwhelming and- and amazing, uh, quite frankly.

This is to my knowledge, I mean, the first gathering of any “Supernatural” fans anywhere. So, thank you to you and give yourself (audience cheers and claps) a round of applause.

Uhm, just quick story from the set of “Supernatural” ‘cause it just happened last night. Uh, which is they were, uh, they shoot up in Vancouver. And, uh, they were shooting up at Stanley Park or about to begin production which is a-a public park up in Vancouver. Um, and, uh- uh, we're about to start filming when they got a call that, uh, there was a man about 100-200 yards from the film company, uh, with a handgun and, uh, they called, you know, Jared and Jensen. Said, you know, “Don't come to set. There's a man with a handgun.” And- and they shut down the whole production for two hours. They called in the police. They called in the SWAT team. Uh, they stormed-

This is all true. (laughs) (audience laughs) Very true. This all just happened last night. Uh, they all stormed Stanley- you know, SWAT teams storm Stanley Park, uh, looking for this man with a gun. Uh, and it turned out to be a, uh, member of our special-effects crew. (audience laughs) (laughs) So, good times from the set of “Supernatural.”

Ehahm, anyway. So, uh, I'm supposed to introduce the episode. So, let me- let me do that. Uh, the episode we're showing tonight is, uh, “Scarecrow.” Uum. (audience claps) (nods) All right, “Scarecrow” fans in the house. Uh, “Scarecrow,” uh, was written by the, uh, very brilliant, uh, John Shiban. Uh, (audience claps) so, round of applause for John. And it was directed by the very brilliant Kim Manners. (audience claps) (clears throat) Um, and so the reason, uh, we chose “Scarecrow” is we sort of felt it was, uh, just a good mix of sort of everything that the show is about.

Um, you know we think there's really some good drama between the brothers. We think there's some good comedy. Uh, we think there's, you know, good mythology about Dad and this is the char- is the episode that introduces Meg which people online had problems with (audience laughs) I seem to remember.

Um.. and, uh- And it's, you know, just, we think a-a scary, uh, damn good episode and- and- and based on a-a good series of, uh, you know, very fun urban legends about scarecrows. And so, I'll stop rattling on. Enjoy “Scarecrow.” We'll talk after. Thank you (audience claps)

Kripke goes off stage. Video fads to black.

(6:05)- second introductions

Visual comes back. Audience is clapping while Bushman walks on a lit stage with seven empty chairs and three round coffee tables each with bottle waters on top.

Bushman: Um, are there any “X-File”fans out there in the audience right now? (audience cheers and claps) It’s, uh- Every time I see this episode I feel like shaking Dean and saying, “What are you doing trusting the cigarette-smoking manager.” (audience laughs) (looks down to read his script)

Um, I'm going to bring our panelists back up on stage. Um, our first panelist is co-executive producer and director on “Supernatural.” He's directed nearly 300 hours of television, including 53 episodes of the “X-Files” which he also produced. Please welcome Kim Manners. (audience claps and cheers)

Manners walks on stage from the front row. Bushman shakes his hand and directs him to “move all the way down, please.” Manners follows the direction and sits on the farthest chair from the stairs.

Bushman: Our next panelist is a co-executive producer and writer on “Supernatural.” He began his career as a staff writer on the “X-files,” writing or co-writing over 20 episodes, and eventually serving as executive producer. He was also co-creator and executive producer of the “Lone Gunman” and supervising producer of “Harsh Realm” and is written for and produced “Star Trek Enterprise,” “Threat Matrix,” and “USA Network's Frankenstein.” Please welcome John Shiban. (audience claps)

Shiban walks on stage from the front row. He nods at Bushman and briefly holds a hand out to the audience and then walks to sit beside Manners. A stage assistant stands behind his chair to help Shiban with his clip-on mic. The footage then switches goes back to Bushman reading his script.

Bushman: Our next panelist portrays Dean, (audience squeals and claps) (laughs) wisecracking older Winchester brother. Before “Supernatural” (laughs at audience still chuckling) (one audience member briefly screams) Before- (laughs) Before “Supernatural” he was familiar to WB viewers is Jason Teague on “Smallville.” (audience squeals and claps) I don't know if I'm going to get through these intros. (audience laughs) He had a recurring role on “Dawson's Creek” and was a regular on “Dark Angel.” He- (audience claps and cheers) (smiles and laughs) He received three Daytime Emmy nominations for his role on Days- (audience cheer) (briefly laughs, lowers his script and then looks audience) Pl-please welcome Jensen Ackles. (Audience screams, cheers, and claps.)

Jensen waves at the audience as he walks on stage. He shakes Bushman’s hand and then goes to sit beside Shiban. He shrugs at Shiban and Manners. Before he sits down he takes off his leather jacket and says, “For you Jared.” The audience laughs. Bushman laughs and then looks back down at his script.

Bushman: Um, our next panelist portrays Sam, the rebellious- (audience screams) (Bushman and the audience laugh) rebellious younger Winchester brother. Before “Supernatural” he was best known as Rory's boyfriend Dean on Gilmore Girls. (audience screams) His- (laughs) His- (laughs) (audience laughs) His film credits include-

Audience member: I love you! (audience laughs and Bushman smiles)

Jared: (from his seat) I love you!

Bushman: (increases dialogue speed) His film credits include: “House of Wax,” “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “Flight of the Phoenix.” Please welcome Jared Padalecki.

Jared walks on stage and shakes Bushman’s hand. And goes to sit beside Jensen. Jensen holds out his hand to Jared, which claps it before he sits down. The audience laughs. Jensen shakes his head and then thumbs at Jared, who’s scratching his head. The camera goes back to Bushman.

Bushman: Our next panelist executive produces “Supernatural” and directs episodes of this series. Formerly- (audience laughs) (glances at the panelists) Uh, formerly vice president of NBC drama development. He later teamed with Daniel Blatt to produce films and TV series including “V the final battle” (audience woo’s) and Stephen King's “Cujo”. On his own, he has executive produced “Midnight Caller,” Lois Clark- “Lois & Clark the new Adventures of Superman” (audience claps and cheers) and “Reasonable Doubts” which he also created. Please welcome Robert Singer.

Audience (or possibly J2 screaming) screams, claps, and cheers. Singer walks up the stairs and shakes Bushman’s hand while walking to his seat beside Jared. Singer mimics a repetitive smacking motion with both hands towards Jared and Jensen. The audience laughs. Singer and Jared shakes hands before he sits down. The stage assistant gets Singer’s attention. J2 are smirking. The camera goes back to Bushman.

Bushman: Um, our final panelist today is the creator of “Supernatural,” in addition to executive producing and writing for the series. His previous TV credits include the WB series “Tarzan.” He also wrote and co- (Jared? woo’s) -produced (audience and Bushman laugh. The audience claps and cheers.) He also wrote and co-produced the feature film “Boogeyman.” (audience starts cheering) Please welcome Eric Kripke.

Kripke walks up stage and shakes Bushman’s hand. Then he walks to his seat beside Singer. Bushman then goes to the last seat at the end and waits for Kripke’s mic to be clipped on his jacket by the stage assistant.

Bushman: Okay. I'll start with a few questions before (gestures at audience) we open it to you guys. Eric the first one would be for you.

•(10:37)- PaleyFest06;Q1 – SPN Origins (Kripke)

Bushman: I'm just kind of curious how- how this the idea for this series, um, the genesis of it. And-and how it evolved from concept to, uh, what we see on the screen.

Kripke: Um, I, eh- For a really long time I wanted to do a show about, uh, American folklore and urban legends. (Bushman nods) Sort of (gestures) kind of a subject that, you know, even back to elementary school I've been, you know, kind of obsessed with.

As a matter of fact the very (bounces his pointer finger out) my very, very first TV pitch when I first started in town when I was 23- (shrugs) 24 was a-a-a (gestures) urban legend show and I kept (gestures) trying different versions of it and kept getting Smackdown. (audience giggles and Jared smiles) Um, I tried to do it as an anthology (taps his pointer) and then I had this idea of like a (gestures) bunch of reporters in a van, like “Scooby Doo” style. (audience laughs) A-all these sort of terrible ideas.

And then, uh- And then I was, you know, working with Warner Brothers and- and- and just come off of, uh- uh, (fake coughs) ”Tarzan.” And- (audience laughs. Jared laughs.) (Kripke laughs) And, uh- and they said, you know, “What do you- What- What show would you want to do?” And I said (gestures), “Well, an urban legend show.” And they said, “Well, what- what's the concept?”

And I had this (gestures) really long elaborate storyline that I'd spent weeks and weeks on, uh, on about (gestures) a reporter. Um, and it was almost exactly (laughs and gestures) “Night Stalker.” (audience laughs) which was hilarious. Um, and, uh- and, uh, they- they (tilts his head) kind of looked at me and they were like, (shrugs) “Nah.” (audience giggles) There’re like, you know, (shrugs) “Any other, you know?” (shrugs) “What else?” and I said, “Well” (mimics writing) Because I-I'd literally scribbled it my notebook the day before, which was- I said, “Well, you know, it could be like Route 66. Like two guys on a road trip.” And they're like, (stop gesture) “We love that do that.” (Jared and audience laugh) And I-I- So, just kind of came out of nowhere, and just sort of, uh, developed from there.

And- and it turned out to be just the- the right, uhh- You know, the right way into this show. Because they can just drive it- You know, the boys can just drive in and out of a different horror movie every week, so. (audience chuckles)

•(12:28)- PaleyFest06;Q2- Sam and Dean family motivation (Kripke)

Bushman: Did you- Did you, um, at that point know w-in terms of characters who those two guys were? I mean, how did the whole this whole family element, which is so important to the show. I mean even, you know, um, you know, Jared says to-to the girl in this episode, uh, “I've got to go back because it's my family.” How did that whole family aspect-

Kripke: Um, just you know you- you write what you know. And- and I'm from a very, uh, close-knit, (Bushman clears his throat) uh, family and I have a (gestures) big brother. Um, and, uh you know, and I have, you know, a lot of, you know, really great friends and s- and just you know sort (gestures) of the way guys talk and the way they communicate without (gestures) ever really communicating anything. And.. (audience laughs) (smiles)

Um, and, uh- So, (gestures) it just kind of- It- it kind of grew- grew out of that. And, uh, so I knew I wanted to do, you know, uh- You know, in terms of characters, I knew I wanted you know the- the little brother to, you know, (gestures) be conflicted and have a lot of, you know, a lot of the angst and problems which I (gestured to Jared) threw right to Jared. (audience laughs) (J2 smile. Jared nods and clears his throat)

Um, and I wanted a- and-and- I wanted a big brother just be a total smartass. (audience laughs) I mean, that's how I started you know? (Jensen smiles, chuckles and turns to his right. Jared nods and then claps Jensen’s knees. The audience laughs.) Um, and— (Bushman: mm) and so you know and-and-and- it's- and it's, you know, w-w-with a show like this it’s, you know, the, eh, with the genre and it's sort of out there it's-it's- it really needs like a grounding influence. And so, to ground the show into family and elements of family. Um, and that (gestures), you know, that care that these brothers have for each other, uh, (Jared offers to pour Jensen water in his glass. Jensen gives him a go ahead gesture.) really helps us because these two guys. (audience giggles) (Kripke stops and looks at J2 and J2 are biting their lips)

Shiban: They hug. They hug.

Singer and Kripke look at Jared. Jared smiling makes to put the water bottle behind his chair, but then sets it on the table. The audience keeps giggling. Kripke: Oh. Bushman: He’s pouring him a glass of water. (Kripke looks at Bushman) (mimics pouring water) He’s pouring him a glass of water.

Kripke: Yeah. (gestures) Because these two guys, I mean, the- (J2 are silently laughing) the relationship they have. I mean sometimes we have, you know, (Jensen scratches behind his ear. Jared is biting his finger and silently laughing and then Jared slaps Singer’s thigh) good subject matter and sometimes, you know, we don't. Um, (laughs) (audience, J2, and Singer laugh) but the- but the- the relationship with the brothers- these two actors always sees us through, so.

•(14:18)- PaleyFest06;Q3 - first impressions “J2”, auditioning for Sam and Dean (Kripke)

Bushman: Did- Um, were you familiar with their work? Um, or did you just bring in a ton of actors to audition for the roles?

Kripke: Uh, we, uh, auditioned everybody in town. Um, as you always do kind of on these pilots. (Bushman: uh-huh) Um, my, uh, my wife was quite the “Gilmore Girls” fan. So, (audience laughs) (Kripke looks at Jared) I, uh, I knew, uh-

Jared looking around at the audience. Audience laughs and claps. Jared points around the audience. Then smiles and laughs.

Kripke: (laughs) So, uh, I knew, uh, I-I knew Jared's work. And Jensen, uh, our director David Nutter, (Bushman: uh-huh) who directed the pilot, um, knew Jensen from, uh, (looks over at Jensen) either- Was it “Dark Angel?” From.. (Jensen: mhm, yeah) And he knew him from “Dark Angel” and so, uh- (gestures to the audience) “Dark Angel!” (gestures to Jensen) Jensen in Dark Angel!

The audience claps and cheers. Jared woo’s and claps. Jensen gives the audience two thumbs up. Jared then goes to drink his water. Jensen looks down chuckling.

Kripke: And, uh- So, when we were, you know. (Jensen scratches his forehead. Audience member laughs.) When we were casting the characters it was- it was David Nutter who said, you know, “We have to- we have to fly down Jensen.” Who was up shooting “Smallville” at the time. So, he wasn't really in the- in the- in the pilot pool. And, you know, (shakes head) thank God we did. Because he walked- eh-uh (holds up his hands) Actually the story, which was funny, is Jensen walked in the room and-and met with us and-and-and David and Peter Johnson and I. And-and we talked to him and talked to him and we walked out the door and we looked at each other we were so exciting we're like we found and we found Sam.

Audience ohs and laughs. Jensen raises his eyebrows and nods. Kripke looks over at the boys.

Jared: I didn't get flown down. I had to ride myself (Kripke laughs: Yeah. Yeah.) Soo. (Kripke: And, uh-) I just wanted that to be known. (laughs) (Jensen is looking down smirking)

Kripke: And it- and it was- and so, you know, these things just kind of form as-as puzzle pieces come together. And it wasn't until we met Jared that we're like, “Well that's Sam!” And we're like, (Jared chuckles) “And then, you know, Jensen could be Dean!” And then, it all just kind of, you know, it all kind of came together from there.

Bushman: That’s real interesting. Well, how about you guys, Jared and Jensen? Can you tell the story of-

Jared: (thumbs to Jensen) I’ll let Jensen take that one.

Bushman: from your, um-

Jensen: Uh (points to Jared) you go ahead. (scratches the bridge of his nose)

Jared: (swipes hand in the air) Oh, Jensen (laughs) (Jensen: Oh no) that’s- that’s totally you. (pets his pants leg) What was the- (Jensen: honestly.) (looks at Bushman) What’s the- What’s the exact question?

Bushman: the question is-

The audience laughs. Jared rolls his tongue laughing and then turns his head down to scratch his hair. Jensen is smiling.

Jared: W (laughs to Jensen) I can-

Jensen: (to Jared) Is it a (briefly throws his hand up) spelling Bee? (Jared laughs and looks back at Bushman)

Bushman: Can you, uh, Can-

Jared: Can you use the word in a sentence?

Kripke: Spell. Spell leopard.

Jensen: Yeah, can you use that in a sentence? (straightens his shirt)

Jared: Leper?

Kripke: Leopard.

Jared: Leopard.

•(16:11)- PaleyFest06;Q4A- Auditioning for Sam and Dean (Jared)

Bushman: No, no, no. The question was, uh, Can you talk about the audition process from y-your perspective.

Jared: Well, it’s interesting, actually for me, hearing it from Eric's perspective. Um. I, uh, I’ve obviously been working with Warner Brothers for “Gilmore Girls.” And, um, the five years prior to doing the show I worked on Gilmore Girls to sort of developed a relationship with, um, some of the people at the Warner Brothers offices.

And I had kind of heard about a few of the pilots coming out. And I read this one in particular and I really enjoy the- the characters. And it really struck me as something that- I remembered hearin’ sort of (gestures) once in its breakdown of like it's (gestures) kind of a supernatural. It’s called “Supernatural” (Kripke laughs). And I was thinking like great (briefly throws up hand) “Charmed” or “Buffy,” (audience laughs) which are all great shows, but not the show I wanted to be a part of, you know? I didn't want to do “Roswell” or “Charmed” or “Buffy.” And then, when I read it I was like wow this is- this is very interesting and- and so much more than just like, “Ooo, scary show.” So-

•(17:01)- PaleyFest06;Q4Aa- SPN Appeal (Jared)

Bushman: what- what, uh, appealed to you about it?

Jared: Well, I sort of, uh, I grew up son of an English teacher. So, she was always big- and she would actually taught heroes myths and legends. So, I was familiar with mythology and sort of, uh, the Joseph Campbell taught, teachings. (turns to audience) The taught-teachings of Joseph Campbell. (audience laughs) And, uh, (Kripke chuckles) (scratches head)

Singer: Didn’t- didn't rub off that she was an English teacher. (Jensen mimics closing a film clapperboard)

Jared: It didn’t rub off. (looks down smiling and claps) (Kripke laughs)

Shiban: Yes. (Singer clears throat)

Jared: Uh, yeah. It didn't. It didn’t. I just work till 4:30 this morning in Vancouver. So, I’m a little worse for ware.

Bushman: It’s kind of interesting that you mentioned Joseph Campbell, cuz there's a little bit of “The Reluctant Hero” in your character.

Jared: Very much. I mean there's more than- there's so much more than just the Reluctant Hero. I mean, when you get into the archetypes they're sort of- each script is just bursting at the seams with archetypes and (briefly throws his hand up), you know, last thing I think these people want to hear is me going to a (Bushman chuckles) explanation of- (Audience laughs. Jensen fakes snoring) (briefly throws his hand up) I love the script. (turns to Jensen) I love the character. (shakes Jensen’s leg)

Bushman: Did, uh, so- (Jensen mimics waking up with a shout)

Jared: (leans towards Jensen rotating his pointer finger in the air) We're doing a- we're doing, um, a answer-

Jensen: (shrugs and frowns) I’m awake (reaches for the water)(audience laughs)

Jared: Okay. (turns back to Bushman, smiling and scratching his head)

Bushman: So, uh- Well, so your agent sent you script and you were- you were auditioning for Sam all along?

Jared: Uhh, right. (hits his knee) Right. I guess- I guess w-where the- where the process.. or how the process- where it was when it reached me was: read the script, see if you like the character, see if you like the script. (gestures) It was sort of like do you, you know, do you mesh with this- (gestures) Do you feel you could mesh with this script. And I felt I could and so I went in (thumbs towards Kripke) and I- and I met some of the guys, and I re-met Nutter and.. you know, sat in an office with- Who was it Kripke? (Jared leans forward than back to see Kirpke)

Kripke: (leans forward than back, in response Jared starts rapidly leaning back and forth) It was, uh, Me, Nutter, Peter Johnson we were at the-

The audience laughs. Kripke then notices the movement and starts mimicking Jared. Singer hunches down. Jensen starts laughing to himself while looking away.

Kripke: Wonderland. Offices. (Jared and Kripke stop. Audience laughs) And, uh.. Uh, yeah. And he- he came in and he had at such energy and- and just so, uh, (gestures) lived the character. (gestures) Just so was the guy. You know, it's a (gestures) cliche to say that but he really was. So, it was- it was an easy choice.

Bushman: (to Jared) And did you feel real good about it coming out?

Jared: Uvh, well (push his hair behind his ear) yeah. I-I-it was- it was b-by no means that short process, you know? I mean, that was sort of the beginning of a week or two week long (gestures) finding of scripts and characters. And I think the scripts are still being rewritten. I remember I'd seen a script and they’re like, (gestures) “This is changing. You know. Read the script, but (gestures) that's nothing to do with this.”

Kripke: (laughs) Right. Yeah. (audience laughs)

Jared: “It’s gonna change so much.” (gestures towards Jensen)

Kripke: (nods) This is true.

Jared: Which is much like it- it is nowadays. You know, (Kripke: Yeah) we get a script and they're like, “Okay, we're shooting this in a week, but it'll be a completely-“ You know? (audience giggles) (gestures) It’s just like- it-it can always can get better. And- and everybody's always working hard (flings his hand) up to the very last second, you know? Till they call action. (points up) People are working here. People are working in Canada. Just, you know, sprinting.

•(19:24)- PaleyFest06;Q4B- Auditioning for Sam and Dean (Jensen)

Bushman: Okay. (Jared nods) Jensen, what was your experience?

Jensen: (resting his head on his fist, briefly points to Jared) Pretty much the same.

Jared immediately fake sleep-snores and leans his head on Jensen’s shoulder. Kripke and the audience laugh. Jensen smirks. Jared sits up, laughing, and reaches for his water.

Jensen: Uhhh

Jared: Well said Jensen.

Jensen: (rubs his chin, laughs, sits up) Yeah. (rubs his hands) Uh, w-well, (thumbs to Kripke) like-like Eric said, they- they had originally brought me in for, uh, for the role of Sam. And, uhm, I- I knew David Nutter very well. Uh, I-I worked on, uh, testing for some- a number of pilots, um, before that. So, I-I felt very comfortable with him and with his recommendation to me coming in. And he feel good about it. (gestures) And I had a conversation with him on the phone before I come- before I came in and just he kind of gave me a spiel about Sam and, uh, (rubs his mouth) and what he thought. And- and then I read the script. And-and I was just like, “W-what about Dean?” (audience laughs.) “I liked Dean.” (audience laughs) “He's funny.” (audience laughs)

And-and, uh, it's- but (gestures) I, you know, I study for Sam. And-and I went in there and I actually kind of studied for (rubs his tear duct) Dean a little bit too just in case. And, um, I went in there and I read for Sam. And-and, uh, like Eric said. And they were like, you know. They were pleased with it. And then.. went home that evening and got a phone call and he said, “Well, uh- uh, there's this guy, Jared, uh, Pada- Pada- something-” (audience laughs)

Jared: I said Pada-something.

Jensen: (nods) Pada-something. (Smiles)

Jared: Pada-something

Jensen: and uh (grins)

Jared: Pada-some- (laughs)

Jensen: “And-and-and they really ar-are liking him” (gestures) “for-for one of the brothers.” And I'm like, “Okay.” So, of course I look him up online (audience laughs) and I'm like (throws up his hand) “He’s- he’s-“

Jared: (to the audience) He thought I was hot. (audience laughs and claps)

Jensen: He’s- (Jared laughs and scratches his head) “This guy's smoking hot.” (Jared leans back and laughs clapping his hands) “I can't play his brother and-“ Uuum, no. And-and-and- and then they said- (Jared facepalms) they'd said, “But would they like to bring you back in for Dean.” And, I of course was.. very excited about it and I came back in. (Jared clears his throat) And-and I was thrilled. So, uh, (gestures) that's kind of how it all. (gestures)

Bushman: Sut- So by the time you guys actually performed together you had already had the parts. They weren't auditioning-

Jensen: Well, no. We hadn't- we didn't have it- we didn't have it (gestures), uhh, officially.

Jared: (leans forward, to Kripke) Did we? (Jensen leans forward)

Kripke: No. We had-

Jensen: We had to do the-

Kripke: We were the on- (nods his head towards J2) they were the only actors we brought in to network. Because we- (gestures) You have to have a network audition.

Jensen: Formality of the network.

Jared: It’s usually a really terrifying process of (Jensen: Yea.) sort of (Jensen: Yeah.) these guys and gals at you audition with all year long. And it's five people that you're very, very afraid of, sitting in the room with you going for the same part. (Looks at Jensen) And when we got there it was like, “Hey.” “Hey.” “Where's everybody?” “Uh, there is nobody.”

Jensen: “Just you and me pal.” (audience laughs)

Kripke: Right. (briefly turns to Bushman) Yeah.

Jensen: And, uh-

Jared: We started (mimics writing) typing numbers down on a page- (shakes his head) I’m just kidding.

Jensen: Yeah, well (gestures) we went in and-and-and (scratches tear duct) that was yeah that was the first time we actually met. (gestures) And then we (gestures) (Jared: mhm) did a scene together, uh, for a- a-a roomful of executives and, uh, that was that.

Bushman: Okay.

Jensen: (points at Jared) and we’ve hated each other ever since. (reaches for his water) (audience laughs)

Jared: (nods) Yeah. (turns to Jensen) I poisoned your water, so.

The audience laughs. Jensen pauses and stares at his cup. Audience laughs. Jensen inspects his cup by slightly tilting it. He shrugs, takes a drink, and then sets his cup back down on the table.

Kripke: It’s a little unnerving. (Jared laughs)

•(22:13)- PaleyFest06;Q5A- SPN Start (Kim Manners)

Bushman: How about everyone on the panel? Kim, we could start with you and Ben. Talk about how you became involved with, uh, Supernatural.

Manners: I read for Sam. (most of the panelist and the audience laugh)

Jared: (throws his hands up) did everybody read for Sam or?

Manners: Well, David Nutter, who directed the pilot, is a good friend. He did season 1 of “X-files” And, uh, he called and asked if I would do a favor and, uh, come in and do one episode. Because I was kind of semi-retired after X Files. Uh, (nodding) very semi-retired. (audience laughs) And I, uh, came in did a show, uh, called “Dead in the Water,” uuh, enjoyed myself fell in love with, uh, (points to J2) Jan and Dean or is it Sam and Dean? (Jared and audience laugh. Singer pours himself some water.) Uhm, and I was driving home to my home in Missouri and they called me and said, uh, “We want you to come on as a part of the team.” And I turned around and here I am. So.

Jensen: Thank God.

Manners: And I’m having a good time.

Jared: (nods) Yeah. Thank God.

Manners: Yeah.

Kripke: Yeah, I don't know what we’d do without Kim up there. He's unbelievable.

Shiban: (nods) Yeah.

Bushman: Kim, uh, John.

Manners: I know whatchu do, you get another guy. (most of the panelist and the audience laugh)

Shiban: No, there is no other guy.

Jensen: No.

Kripke: Not true. No other guy.

Jared: There's no other guy.. named Kim.

Manners: (nods) Yep. (audience laughs) (points towards Jared and then clears throat) You know if this whole thing fails you guys can go right into stand-up. (audience laughs)

Jensen: Yea. (nods) (Jared claps his hands laughing) (points at Jared) I don't want to stand up to him another time. (audience laughs) I got to stand up on apple boxes all the time. (audience laughs)

Jared: (scratches ear) I'm pretty lazy. I’d rather sit. (Manners and audience laugh)

Bushman: John how did you-

Jared: (points to Jensen) Meanwhile! What-what (Shiban: Meanwhile?) what he- want he- what he doesn't know- what he didn't know about this whole process is that after we had him direct, uh, the- I guess it was our fourth episode we had: (counts his fingers) “the Pilot” (Jensen: yep.) with David Nutter, “Wendigo” with David Nutter, “Hookman” with David Jackson, (Manners: and then) and then (points at Manners) Kim came in.

And immediately I think from day one we were on the phone with everybody. (Manners takes a drink) (gestures) We were on the phone with (thumbs to his left) Peter and (points to Eric) with Erik and saying, “This guy is incredible.” (gestures) “Sw-Who is this guy?” (Manners sets his glass back down) And David Nutter had sort of given him this very.. sort of mysterious.. “You'll love Kim,” kind of sentence (audience giggles) at the very beginning.

Because we were going over this list of seven dir-

Jensen: Yes, the Jedi (waves his hand)

Jared: Very Jedi. (audience laughs) Yeah it was like-

Jensen: You’ll love him.

Jared: (mimics reading a script) “Who is Kim- Who is this guy?” “Oh, (waves hand) I knew him from this.” (mimics reading a script) “Who is Kim Manners?” (nods and waves hand) “You'll love Kim Manners.” (audience laughs) And sure enough, we were like, (double takes) “What?” And, um and he- and he- (his mic clip falls off) came on. And he was just incredible. (picks up mic by hand and talks directly into it.) And he was just incredible. (Jensen takes off his mic and hands it to Jared) And um, (nods to Singer) Can I- (reaches for Singer’s mic) Can I borrow? (audience laughs)

Singer: Sure. Yeah (But Jared doesn't take it and takes back his hand)

Shiban: Wow.

Jared: And, uh, (hands Jensen back his mic) And so we- w-we, uh, we basically begged and pleaded (J2 attach their mics back on to their shirts) to get him, um-

Manners: (fake mourning voice) A job! (throws his hands up) (Shiban pats his back) Just a job. (Jared: A job.) It’s all I wanted. (audience laughs)

Jared: He was hungry. (Manners laughs while rubbing his brow) He was, you know. He kept trying to bite my arm. (audience laughs) I was really worried about him (laughs).

Bushman: Yeah, I don't want to embarrass Kim, but what was so incredible about him?

Manners: about- (Bushman: about-) Who?

Jensen: Well, I-I think that- I think that, uh-uh, Jared and I just- w-we just responded well to him. I mean, he-he directed in a fashion that-that, uh, we really liked. And, uhm.. You know, it was kind of a set where guys could be guys. (thumbs at Manners) And he wasn't someone who-who directed, you know, behind a (throws hands up) screen with a (makes a phone hand gesture) telephone somewhere in LA, and was like, you know, (gestures and mimics a LA director) “Do it over and over. And then a closed up and a close up and let's get out of here and move on in the next set.” He was- (Singer reaches for his water) he was in there.

And-and you know a-a story about another, uh, episode that he directed, “Bugs,” uh, (Manners shakes his head) this was a-a scene where we had to get in (Manners mimics putting a gun in his mouth. the audience laughs) to a room with-

Manners: (turns to Jensen and waves) s-sorry.

Jensen: Yeah, no that’s-

Jared: It’s alright.

Jensen: I mean, ah, you know we get in this-this tiny little room with 65,000 bees and, uh, (Jared: ?Billions?) (gestures) the whole camera crew and (gestures) the sound crew (Manners laughs. Shiban smiles) and (gestures) then everybody's got (gestures) full bee outfits on. (audience chuckles) Then they're like, “Alright, Jared, Jensen, hop on in.” (audience laughs) And, uh-

Jared: And don't swat them, ‘cuz it makes them angry.

Jensen: And, Yeah. And I'll-and I’ll give it to Kim. He said, “You know what? If-if you guys don't have bee suits on. I'm not either.” And he went in there with, uh, (Jared: Right.) shorts and a t-shirt and a monitor.

Kripke?: Wow.

Jensen: And sat down on a box and directed us from inside the room (Manners silently laughs) with bees crawling all over our faces. (Manners and Shiban nod)

Kripke: Woah.

Jensen: It's just- it's-it that- it's that kind of relationship with Kim.

Bushman: Okay.

The audience cheers and then claps. Shiban and Jared clap. Manners briefly salutes two fingers to the audience.

•(26:07)-PaleyFest06;Q5B- SPN Start (John Shiban)

Bushman: John, how'd you get involved?

Shiban: Uh, I was going through the, uh, annual ritual of staffing season. Uh, I had a-a pilot that didn't go. So, I was available and reading all the pilots and taking meetings. And.. and read the script. Aaand loved it. Uh, and met Eric and loved him.

Kripke: Awww. (audience aw’s)

Shiban: Annnd- (smiles) I know. Aaand-

Kripke: John’s my guy. (audience laughs, Shiban, Jared and Manners smile)

Shiban: Yeah, it’s that. It’s true. Um, and, uh-uh, eh- there are a lot of- Uh, you know, I spent a long time on the “X-Files” and, uh, (gestures) I’m-I'm offered a lot of.. (gestures) scary television shows every year. It's like, (gestures) “Will you do this. Will you-“(Bushman: Yeah) And this one just struck me right away. Ehh, especially (gestures) when I finally saw the- the-the cut of the pilot.

Because it had those two things that I think (briefly pets his beard) you need to have a successful show like this. One is a great franchise, (gestures) which is the engine that runs the show. The idea that the two brothers on the road trip with a very personal agenda, eh-uh, is just great. And you can imagine- I can see instantly five years of suffering for these guys-

Jared nods. The audience chuckles. Jensen dramatically throws his head back. Jared smirks and nods. Kripke?, and audience laugh.

Shiban: And, uhhh, episode after episode. Uhh, and the second thing honestly is- is, uhh, is casting.. and chemistry. And chemistry is something you can't (rubs his hand) manufacture. And these guys have it. And they're so great to write for and they're so fun to write for.

Jensen slowly looks at Jared. Jared with a pressed smile, looks back. Audience woo’s and laughs. Shiban shrugs. Jared moves his face closer and puckers his lips. Audience laughs. Jensen shakes his head no and points to the audience. Jared stops halfway and looks down laughing to himself, and then looks up scratching his nose with a big smile. The audience laugh and clap. Shiban and Manners are smiling.

Jared: Worth a try. Worth a try.

Shiban: Yeah. (Jared chuckles) So, I said, “Yeah. I'm coming up.”

•(27:38)- PaleyFest06;Q5C- SPN Start (Bob Singer)

Bushman: Okay. Bob, how about you?

Singer: (Jared laughs) (gestures to J2) I-Can I just watch them, I don’t. (J2, Manners, and Audience laugh) Uubm, t-they had actually made this pilot. And, uh, I saw the pilot and, uh, really liked it a lot. And I think, uh, what the studio wanted was, um- (gestures) After they saw it and I got picked up, and the studio one point probably said to themselves-

Singer holds up his hands but then stops when audience starts laughing, raising an eyebrow.

Jared: (laughs) Just keep it (unintelligible)

Kripke: (opens his hands) You can't get anything done.

Jared: I can’t- (sets down his glass and then repositions himself)

Singer: (gestures to J2) This is what it's like to direct them too. (audience and Kripke laugh) Uhh- uh, the studio said, “Well, we-we-we can't give ff-40-plus million dollars to Eric Kripke.” And-(shrugs)

Kripke: (laughs) Yeah. (Jared laughs and claps his hands) Very true. (laughs)

Singer: And let him run wild. So, they said, “What we need i-is” (shrugs) “You know, some-”

Audience laughs. Singer stops and briefly looks to his right and up. Audience laughs. Singer rubs his chin and closes his eye laughing to himself. Kripke scratches his lip, looks at Singer, and laughs.

Singer: (shakes his head and then looks up at Kripke) This is so hard. (rubs his brow) (Kripke, audience, and Jared laugh)

Singer leans and reaches over and briefly covers Jared’s face, then returns to his original position. Jared laughs. Jensen is holding a glass of water and reaching for another.

Shiban: These people are very tired.

Jared: Yeah. (laughs)

Singer: Um. So, they thought they needed some, uh, you know, uh, a-a-an experienced hand to guide the young man through these rocky waters. (Jared laughs) The young- the young man of course felt what do I need this old fart for. (Jared and audience laughs)

Kripke: No way. (Singer laughs) He-

Singer: Um, anyway (gestures) we met and we met a number of times. And, um, finally our-got comfortable enough with me for, uh, for us to join up and, uh-uh, partner on this thing. And, um, (shrugs) it-it's interesting because I mean we are sort of from different generations. (gestures) And we approach, uhm, (gestures back and forth) drama in kind of a different way.

Um, but (gestures) as we sort of work together we found (gestures) that we always we really arrived (Kripke nods) at the same place even though kind of the methods (gestures) are a little different of how we get there. And it's a-

Bushman: Can you explain what you mean when you say that (Singer sits up) coming from different generations you approach drama in different ways?

Singer: Well, I don't know if that's a generational thing but I'm very, eh..

Kripke: Sober. (audience and Singer laugh) (Shiban?: And uh) compared to the drunk.

Singer: (nods) There's that, yeah.

Shiban?: (?low court?)

Singer: Um…eh- t-t-this is so boring, but, um, (audience giggles) for, um- I-I-I kind of come in (waves his hand) everything from a character standpoint of view. It’s-it's all about character to me. And I'll kind of (gestures) let the plot work itself out given (Kripke nods) what the characters are-are gonna do.

And what I'm interested in the scenes is how.. that, you know, it drives the plot. But I'm most interested in how the characters react to it. Umm (scratches brow) and-and-and so the (laughs) stories I do (wiggles his hands up in the air) to tend to get a little like-like this but (shrugs) the character stuff is probably interesting.

Eric really works very, very hard on the stories, um, and gets the plot down. And knows that once his plot is good the-the character stuff will come naturally to that. (Kripke nods) So, we sort of go-go like this (Kripke nods) when we're in the room together. And we’ll arrive at that place which both things are serviced. And-and-and I think you- we’re really sort of one voice now (Eric nodding: mhm) that we-we rarely disagree on stuff. And it's a- (shrugs) You know, I've worked alone for a long time, so it's kind of really cool to have a partner. (shrugs)

Eric: (looks at Bushman and nods) Yeah. And (points to Singer) tah-tah blow smoke up his ass for a minute. (audience laughs) He brings a depth, uh, and-and maturity of care- of character of just depth to the drama that I could not do, you know? It-Me on me alone like is “Boogieman.” (Bushman and audience laughs) And.. and.. and like all of a sudden with him like, you know, we have a-a show where you have these characters that are psychologically rich and true and-and-and- and Bob is-is behind huge amounts of that. So, uh, we- (shakes his head) this show would not succeed, uh, at all without him. So.

Singer: Aw.

Kripke: Aw.

Audience aw’s. Singer leans over and rests his head on Kripke’s chest. Kripke holds him for a sec.

Jared: Aw. (Audience claps)

Shiban: Come on give him a kiss, would yah?

Singer: (turns towards J2) You guys can do it. We can do it.

Jared: No, it’s alright like that.

Jensen: Hey. Hey.

Manners: You guys wanna mow the lawn?

Jensen: Yeah. Around the curtains?

•(31:05)- PaleyFest06;Q6- SPN Mythology + Formula (Shiban, Kirpke)

Bushman: Let me ask one more question before I- before I open this up. But this is for the writers mostly. Um, which I guess is Eric and John. But, um- you know, Eric, you've been quoted, um, as saying that, uh, you know this show differs from a lot of the other, uh, suspense or supernatural shows that you (Kripke nods) say there, because you don't want to get involved so much in those long drawn-out stories or-or the mythology so much as you just- I don't know whether these are accurate quotes but you want to, um, just focus on scaring people and on the- on the urban, uh, folklore and-and so on and just scaring people.

But, um, I think I-I- speaking for myself, and-and maybe some people out here too, I find the mythology, uh, with the-the kids with their mom.. (Kripke: mhm.) and their dad, and, uh- um, you know, one of the really compelling parts of this story. So, um, I'm wondering how you just- an-an-and, you know, you start to see even with the last episode that-that (Kripke nods) aired last Tuesday. You're starting to see you guys are coming back to that. (Kripke nods: mhm)

Um, and I'm wondering how do you decide when it's time to sort of veer away from what “X-Files” used to call the “monster of the week” story and come back to the.. mythology of the show. So it's really for John and Eric. How do you decide when it's time to do that or-

Kripke: John?

Shiban: Uh, two things I made a lot of painful, uh, hair-pulling discussions and arguments and when should we when shouldn't we. But part of it is driven to, by just the nature of television you want to save some of your big.. moments for sweeps. And so you kind of.. work the season around that. Works a actually a very nice five or six episodes that are.. (finger quotes) “non-mythology” and then you can- you can pull the Mythology back. And, uh, and, uhh, again do the nature television. You want to end the season with some- something astounding.

And, uh, (gestures to Singer) also going to back to what Bob was saying, eehh, the mythology is all about character. It's all about.. what the boys are going through and family. (shrugs) And, so that's where we are going to head when we want to do something spectacular. So. (Singer drinks his water)

Kripke: Yeah. we- we had a- we have. And surprisingly have stuck to it. We have a, uh, a-a m-mythology plan for season one. We also have, y-you know God willing a pickup, we have mythology plans for season two and season three. But.. we have this plan of where the story goes in-in- (audience starts cheering) Yeah!

Shiban: On the CW. (Jensen is holding out a hand)

Kripke: On the CW!

Jensen: (to Shiban) When do we get to see this? (Shiban whispers to Jensen)

Kripke: Um, and-and so, you know, it was sort of the plan, which is the first.. (Jensen elbows Shiban while laughing, then Shiban keeps whispering to Jensen) seven ur- sev- about, really, the first seven (Jensen throws his head back and softly laughs) episodes you wanted to be the self-enclosed stories so you could kind of pick up new viewers. And then you start threading in a little bit more mythology.

But I think it's a balance. Because, I mean, it's my own just, you know, kind of personal taste, which is- I mean, I like a- you know, I want a satisfying story every week too. And-and um, you know, I mean “Lost” is (waves hand) an untouchable show. I mean, it's an- it’s-it's a (waves hand) brilliant and unbelievable show, but I-I- I find the endless mystery, my own, taste frustrating.

Bushman: mhm

Kripke: And- and if you're going to give ongoing mystery- (audience claps) Alright, people who believe. And, if you're going to give ongoing mystery, at least give, like, a rollicking badass story… apart from it that can have a beginning middle and end. And you can be satisfied. And the good guys can win. And you and you can have the experience being told a story. (waves hand) And then, you know, thread in the ongoing mystery.

So, I think it's-it's-it's keeping a lot of different plates spinning. And it's not- it shouldn't be any one thing er-or another.

•(34:18)- PaleyFest06;Q7- SPN Ending, Pre-finale thoughts (Kripke)

Bushman: Do you know where the story ends?

Kripke: Um, I do actually. Yeeeah.

Bushman: Does anyone else on this panel know where the story ends?

Singer: Yeah, but we tell you, we have to kill you.

Kripke: Yeahh. Yeah. (Audience and Bushman laugh. Jared smiles) I mean, it's hard it- because you never know when you're gonna get cancelled or if you're gonna go, you know, 37 years like “Gun Smokers” (audience laughs) Or something. (Jensen chuckles)

Shiban: Oh, god. Please.

Kripke: But, uh.. Yeah.

Jared: Oh no.

Manners: The boys are in walkers. (mimics walking in a walker)

Jensen: (gruff voice) Sam! (audience laughs)

Kripke: Yeah. (nods) Right. (Kim laughs) (laughs) They’ll finish up the season and then they'll slowly die.

Jensen: Yeah. (laughs)

Audience laughs. Jensen is scratching his forehead smiling. Jared is drinking his water.

Kripke: And, uh.. So but-but yes we have, you know, really a-a-a fi- if-if I could somehow find out what the last season was going to be, or-or a five, six year plan, I mean, I sort of know that, you know, the-the final, you know, battle as it were t-that all shapes up. And, uh- But yeah, you know, it’s sort of-

Bushman: We’re gonna have to wait.

Kripke: Yeah.

Bushman: Okay. Let's take some questions from the audience. (holds hand over eyes and looks at the audience) Um, I'm gonna.. to call on two people, um, first question, a second question. Please wait for the mic, because this event is being taped, so we need to be able to hear you.

Uh, (points to the back of the audience) okay there's one all the way in the back over there, and (points his other hand towards the left of the audience) then there's one in a green shirt right down here.

(points to the green shirt again) We can start down here with the green shirt and then go to the back question.

•(35:38)- PaleyFest06;Q8A- Location Significance: John Winchester in Sacramento (Shiban)

Fan: Sorry, I had to take out my gum. Hi, um, I'm- Let me just say, I'm originally from Sacramento so I w-I wanted to know if there's any significance with their dad, John, being in Sacramento twice or just random or.. spoilery or.. Shh

Manners?: Joohn.

Kripke: You wrote it, John. Why did you use Sacramento? (audience laughs)

Fan: It’s-

Shiban: I don't want to give it away, yet. (Kripke? laughs)

Jensen: So, yes there is.

Kripke: No there’s-

Shiban: (points at Jensen) I'm gonna tell you either. (Jensen throws his hands up)

Jensen: I want to know.

Kripke: Yeah. Why?

Shiban: After. After.

Jensen: Ah, thanks a lot.

Singer: Tickets for a Sacramento Kings (Jensen: Yes.) game. Eh. (shrugs) (J2 laugh)

Bushman: So, their-their- the answer is that there is, but you're not gonna say what it is.

Shiban: Exactly.

•(36:13)- PaleyFest06;Q8B- Location Significance: Lawrence Kansas (Kripke)

Bushman: Okay. And speaking of location is there any significance to Lawrence Kansas? That it started in Lawrence Kansas?

Kripke: Um-

Shiban: (points to Kripke).. I’d have to give that to him.

Kripke: Uh, I would say, well, uh-uh i-if anyone does a, uh-uh, w-

Jared: In other words, yes.

Kripke: Yes. (audience laughs. Jared and Manners laugh.) There-there is and-and the-and the one thing I'd say is, because we tend to be really research oriented in our show (Bushman: uh-huh) and about American urban legends and there's a- there's a very famous, uh, urban legend, uh, near Lawrence Kansas. Um, that, uh-

Bushman: That somehow factors?

Kripke: Yeah. (to the audience) You know, if you guys go home and do Google searches on Lawrence (Bushman: Right) Kansas and stuff will come up. (nods)

Bushman: Okay. (points to J2) Do you guys know what it is.. Jared and Jensen?

Kripke: I don't think I've ever told you.

Jared: (looks at Jensen) Y-yeah.

Jensen: Uh, yeah.

Jared: Good gosh. (blows)

Jensen: Yeah. Yeah. Of course. (nods and leans back to rub his chin) (Bushman, Kripke, and audience laugh)

Jared: I haven’t decided when I'm gonna tell Kripke what it is.

Jensen: Yeah. (audience and Kripke laugh)

Jared: I’m mean, honestly. Tell him, “Hey, uh-

Bushman: (laughs) Okay. In the back all the way.

•(36:59)- PaleyFest06;Q9- Fear “Paranormal” (Manners, Shiban, Jensen, Jared, Kripke)

Fan: Hi. Uh, I just want to say I'm from Texas too. So.

Kripke: Wooo!

Jensen?: (J2 raise their hands) woo! (audience laughs)

Fan: Anyway I had a question, um, for everybody. What urban legend or folklore really does scare you guys?

Kripke: (points to Manners) (Manners shrugs) Kim?

Manners: Um, mm- nothing scares me. (audience and Shiban laughs)

Jared: That's true.

Manners: I direct television.

Jensen: Yeah, I believe it.

Manners: And I- so (shrugs) (audience laughs) You know, if-if you- if you can live through that nothing scares yah. (shrugs) Really.

Shiban: Good answer.

Manners: Yeah. Well, it’s true. (Shiban laughs) What scares you John? ..Late scripts? (laughs)

Shiban: You do- Yeah. (audience laughs) Yeah. You do. Yeah. When you call me and say, “Where's the damn script?” (audience chuckles) That's frightening. (audience chuckles. Shiban and Manners take a drink)

Bushman: Any-any urban-

Shiban: (bumps Jensen’s arm) What about you guys?

Jensen: (shrugs) I-d-I'm dealing with him all season man. (Kripke and audience laugh) I’m scared of them all. (Kripke: All of em.)

Shiban: What about those bees?

Jensen: Yeah, bees that’s what I’m s-

Jared: You know I have a c- I'll- I’ll say something. I- uh, my daddy used to make me watch a show called, “Shadow Man,” or something, when I was growing up. And it was about a shadow that lived under this kid's bed. And, uh, he was sort of- (audience giggles) What's that? (audience giggles) (Jared smiles) And anyways and, uh, (audience laughs) it was his buddy.

Shiban: And he’s here tonight.

Jared: he wasn’t very popular in school. And so the shadow man started kind of getting all the bullies for him. And then one day came another.. kid’s shadow man got- (sniffs) Yeah it’s probably not as scary as it seems. (laughs, ducks and scratches his head) (most of the panelist and the audience laugh) (hides face behind his jacket)

Kripke: (thumbs to Singer) You wanna? You?

Singer: (laughs) Go ahead. (audience aw’s)

Kripke: (gestures to the audience) Someone has to give her a straight answer. (Jared: Y-yeah.) Hook-Hookman freaked me out when I was a kid. The killer with the hook. All the different stories of the killer with the hook of, uh, you know, the-t-the “Aren't you glad-” “Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?” I thought was really cool. And there's, uh, (gestures) the licked hands. If you ever heard the licked hand, which is a really cool one. (briefly looks down) And um, so (gestures) like that- that was always, you know, really sort of- sort of freaky for me.

Bushman: Okay, let's take two more questions. (points to the audience) Um, we'll get this one down here and there's one all the way in the back. Right- right next to you. Right… (points) Go ahead.

•(38:55)- PaleyFest06;Q10- Continuity Mistake “4 years vs 2 years at Stanford”

Fan: Um, in the pilot we know that, uh, when Sam wanted to go to college John told him to get lost. And he's in as presumably his fourth year because he's interviewing for Law School. Um, but d-he says that he hasn't talked to Dean in two years. Is there an answer to what happened two years ago? (Kripke is smiling and looking down at the other panelists)

Jared: Uhhh, y-you mean does that-

Kripke: I-I actually-

Shiban: Eric.

Kripke: (looking down at his lap) I have an answer to that. (nods) (audience laughs)

Fan: Do we get to know?

Kripke: Well, I know you're supposed to.. You know, (gestures to Shiban) do what Shiban does (Shiban nods) which is kind of go, “you'll find out.” (audience laughs. Shiban smiles and nods) But, uh, fact of the matter was is, uh, it-ii- (gestures) you know, these things happen so fast and furious. (mimics writing) And you’re- and- and that it was actually a mistake. (audience giggles)

Shiban: Oh no. (Shiban whispers to Jensen and then Manners)

Kripke: We-we wanted it-d.. Jared is or Sam's character supposed to be a junior in college and starting the interviewing process for, uh, the interviewing process for law school. (Jensen whispers to Shiban) And, uh, so hasn't seen him since he left- So he spent his freshman year and his sophomore year away from Dean and hasn't seen Dean. Then this is beginning of junior year. (briefly looks at the panelists) This is.. fall of junior year.

So, it's been technically two years as he's beginning (gestures) th-the process. But, because, I think.. Because what happens, eh.. You know, you guys, you know, the-the you know- (gestures) I’m-I'm-I’m lying, (audience chuckles) like, sort of putting it all- Eh, because what happened 22 years ago he-he was slightly older than a junior should be. So, no one sort of bought that he was a junior and, uh, (Jared smiles. Audience giggles) so there's a (gestures) lot of discussion of these two “lost years.” And you’re just- and I just like, (hunches down covering his mouth) “he he.” (shrugs) “Like, just a mistake.” (panelists and audience laughs)

Jensen: (?Hey, uh, I really wanna back this.?)

Shiban: That’s right (unintelligible) (Jensen laughs)

Kripke: But hold on let me give the real answer. “You'll find ouut.” (Jared and audience laugh)

Shiban: (gives him a thumbs up) Now you're talking.

Bushman: Okay. In the back.

•(40:40)- PaleyFest06;Q11- Network Censorship “Gore” (J2, Kripke, Singer)

Fan: Are there any stories about, uh, t-the show being too scary. Like, do you do trade-offs with the network? Like, they say, “Well, you can have two seconds of this, you know, bloody face, if you do this or that.” (?Jared?:mhm)

Jared: Yeah.

Jensen: Yeah, we’ve run into a few-few times that season- this season. (looks at Kripke) Haven’t we?

Kripke: You talking about Night- The Night- the.. On Nightmare was the first time.

Singer: (looks at Kripke) Oh right. Yeah. Yeah, you get into strange dis-discussions of, um, “Can we not see the decapitated- decapitated head (rolling gesture) roll?” (audience and Kripke laugh) And then you start arguing about, “Well.. can it do a half a turn?” (audience and Kripke laugh) Then say, “Okay. You can do a half a turn but the blood gush can't be for two seconds. It has to be for once sec-” Uh- um, so those are ongoing discussions, but a-a-actually the network's been great. We really push the envelope (Kripke: Yeah) in-in every sense. And, uh, they let us get away with more than I thought they would.

Jensen: There was also the, uh, when-

Jared: The gun rig.

Jensen: Yeah, the gun rig with me when I- uh, when Dean was shot in the head.

Kripke: Yeah. The- Night-Nightmare- The episode “Nightmare” was the first and only time that we’ve ever had issues with standards and practices. And so, everything else they just were like, “Give us more.” And we- again we were shocked by that. But there-the-the- there's a scene where, it's a- it's a vision it doesn't really happen, but where Dean gets his brains blown out (gestures brain splat) (audience giggles) in “Nightmare” (audience laughs) and-and… (Kripke briefly looks to his left) And we actually rigged it. And we thought, like, you know- We rigged it so-

Jensen: Yeah, the rig was awesome.

Kripke: Yeah. You-you rigged it so (mimics the shot going through his forehead) the shot actually goes into his forehead and-and the blood explodes out the back (laughs) (audience laughs) on to the wall. And we're like, (makes an excited gesture) “Haha, this is our lead and we're just, you know.” But and-and-and- and network was like, “No way.”

Jensen: Yeah, this giant- this giant backpack filled with, like, grapes and-and corn syrup (audience ughs) and, uh, and- and it was this tube (partial turns and gestures at the curve of the back of his head) just kind of coming right- right out of the back and, uh, from the head on. And I had a little button in my hand. And they just yelled action. (mimics the scene) And, we timed it with a gunshot, and I hit the button, and gave reaction, and the whole wall went splatium.

Shiban: Yeah.

Kripke: Heheh

Singer: By the way-

Jensen: It was an awesome rig, but then they ended up having to cut to (box gesture) just the splat (Kripke nods) and then back to me with the hole in the head.

Singer: (point to his center forehead) Back to him with a hole. (Jensen: Yeah) But, the, uh, the director of that episode is here tonight, (pointing at the left side of the audience) sitting next to my wife as it is.

Jared: Where is he?

Kripke: Phil Sgriccia.

Singer: And- Phil Sgriccia.

Jared: Phil! (claps)

Kripke: Really good job. (audience claps)

Jared: Wooo!

Kripke: Stand up!

Singer: And, uh, when I looked at those dailies, uh, and I called Phil and I said- he said, “How are they? How are they? Is-” You know, because (swipes at Manners) Kim can tell you all us directors are.. so self-confident (Manners laughs) that we don't need constant approval or anything. (audience chuckles) Um- uh, he said- I said, “They're great, Phil. But what the hell are you doing?” (audience chuckles) And he said, “Well, you know, they look at that and they'll give me all the rest of the stuff.” So (gestures) (J2 and audience laugh)

Manners: We actually play a game with BSP broad-broadcast standards and practice where we cut the show and we cut it way too violent. (Kripke chuckles) So then they come in they go, “Well, you have to take out four frames of that shot.” And you go, “Oh god, not four frames.” “Yes, four frames.” So you take it out, but you always knew that you didn't need those four frames. (laughs) (audience laughs) So, we kind of stack the deck. (audience chuckles)

Bushman: (points) Okay, there's a question over there in the corner. (points) And there's one back there. Over there too.

•(43:57)- PaleyFest06;Q12- Paranormal on Set (J2)

Fan: Oh, okay. Um, well, we've had the question about what urban myths scare you. But for those of you who are actually on set regularly, has there ever been… you know, a blood splatter or that freaky scarecrow or anything that just really creeped you out just to be around on set even though you knew it was plastic or, you know, karo syrup or something?

Jared: I know one- and just one time randomly we're, uh, we're filming “Skin” the episode where (points at Jensen) he's a shapeshifter. (audience giggles) And we're inside this house- this brilliant house. (audience claps) Yeah. (Jared looks at Jensen and claps) It was a great episode. And, um, we were inside this house. And just this clock on the wall just up and leaned over and fell off. Just this round clock no one was near it. No one was (mimics hammer) hammering on the wall outside. It just kind of fell off and everybody sort of looked around. But instead of kind of going, “Who did that?” we're all just were like, (mimics scene) “Ignore it and go back doing business.” (audience laughs) Just tried- decided to not look into it any further. (audience chuckles) The way real brave people do it (audience laughs) this round.

Jensen: So, the, um, the show “Asylum,” uh, was.. (Jared: Oh, yeah.) Um. (Audience claps) (nods) Yeah. (claps) that was- that was shot in an actual abandoned, uh, mental institute and so.. Uh, the-the halls and the rooms and-and we're all very used at one point. (audience giggles) And-and, uh, you know, it said that-that-that- (gestures) the crew says not to go up to the fourth floor (?entrance?). (audience giggles) And, you know, don't-

And-and I remember we broke for lunch. And, uh, I thought I'd be (gestures), you know, clever and take a shortcut (nods then shakes his head) (audience laughs) I’d-I came down a stairwell and went into one door and it was just a (gestures) long dark hallway, because the-there's (Jared chuckles) no lights on. The only lights on it are what the-the film crew puts out. And, uh, that- I was like, (mimics looking back and forth in the hallway) “Well, it's not that long.” (audience laughs) “I can make it.” (audience laughs)

That freaked me out. (nods) (audience laughs)

Bushman: Okay.

Manners: (points at Jensen) Dean W-Winchester, ladies and gentleman.

Jensen: Yeah. Thank you. (Jared and Shiban clap. Audience claps and cheers)

Kripke: Goodnight. (Jensen bows) Afraid of nothing. (Shiban takes a drink. Jensen laughs)

Bushman: In the back over there. Yeah.

•(46:10)- PaleyFest06;Q13- Network Censorship “Sex” (Kripke)

Fan: Now that there's a new network that you're probably going to be moving to, the CW, are they gonna and loosen up and give us a little more NC-17 like we got the Jensen storyline the other week. (audience giggles and some woo)

Shiban: Bob? (Jared chuckles)

Jensen: I'm confused. (audience laughs)

Audience member: Next episode!

Fan: Sex.

Audience member: Sex.

Jensen: What?

Fan: Sex.

Audience member: The sex.

Jared: Oh right.

Jensen: Aaahh. (audience laughs) (adjusts his position, shrugs) How can I forget. (audience laughs) (leans forward to look at Kripke) Thank you for that, man. (audience laughs) (Jensen shakes his head, leans back and hides a laugh behind his hand)

Kripke: (briefly holds his hands up) Sure… Happy birthday Jensen.

Jensen: Yes. (nods)

Jared: (laughs) Happy birth-

Kripke: Um, yyou know, I mean, CW is huge on full frontal male nudity. (Jensen is looking down hiding his mouth behind his fist. Jared chuckles into a laugh and then claps and goes to take another drink. The audience screams and cheers.) Well, uh, I think there's a lot in store. (gestures) Stay tuned! (Jared laughs while drinking his water. Jensen laughs) (shrugs) You know, I mean, we'll give ‘em- you know, we'll give ‘em love interests and (Jared coughs) love stories as it's appropriate.

Jared curls up and coughs behind his arm. Jensen reaches over and pats Jared’s back. Audience laughs. Jared folds over and continues coughing. Jensen with his arm on Jared’s back, makes a “come here” motion towards the audience.

Jensen: We're gonna need it. (Kripke laughs)

Jensen continues to pat Jared’s back. Jared sits up, looks around and coughs one last time behind his fist.

Bushman: Um, okay. Uh, we’ll (points) take one there and one in the middle.

Jared: (wipes his eye and then his forehead) Oh jeez.

Bushman: (points) One down here and one in the middle. (nods) Yeah. Yeah. You just-

•(47:20)- PaleyFest06;Q14- Sam and Dean pre-series (Kripke)

Fan: Hi. Um, first of all thanks so much for being here. Um, if you guys are always like this, can I come work on your set? (laughs) (Manners laughs. Audience chuckles)

Jared: (throws his hands up) Yeah.

Fan: uh-

Jared: Thank y'all guys for being here. This is-

Jensen: Yeah. Thank you. (claps)

Jared: Yeah.

Manners: Thank you! (panelists clap)

Fan: No bother.

Jared: Honestly.

Fan: Um, so we came into this story, uh, when the boys are already adults. And I know there's a lot to explore in the future, but I was wondering about the past. Um, because I know that.. there's a lot of speculation about what their childhood (Jensen nods) was like growing up, (Jared nods) moving around. How much Miller time dad was doing. (Jensen nods: mhm) (Jared smiles. and audience chuckles) And how Sam and Jess met. Stuff like that. So, I was just wondering, um, if you were gonna explore that aspect of their lives?

Kripke: We just- Uh, it's funny you say that. We just yesterday, uhh.. Actually (points to the front row) I think, uh, I'm talking to Brad, who's at the network. I think you're getting a cut on Monday. (audience giggles) Um, of-of an episode that, uh, not only do the boys in-in present day, you know, deal with a creature, but, uh, (gestures) it's a creature they dealt with in the past. (gestures) And there's extensive flashbacks to, uh-uh, Sam and Dean. And John is there, you know, as the boys were children and dad and you get to see a, uh, an element of-of what their past was like or what their childhood was like. (Jensen nods)

Um, and it was- I really happy with how it turned out. And it- You know we won’t- We wanted to try it once. And I think it'll be happening a lot more. (gestures) Because there's this great (Manners and Jensen are leaning forward, looking at Kripke) 22 year window of-of what happened. And-and-and that's- there's a lot of story there that you can- you can flesh out. (nods then shakes his head) So, I think we're definitely to go there.

(nods and gestures) Because it's coming up in, uh, (briefly looks up) I think, uh, April, that episode. And it- I was really pleased with how it turned out. So, yeah. We’re really doing it-

Jared: Another positive is that if little Sam and little Dean filming, big Sam and big Dean are sleeping

Kripke: (laughs) Yeah. Right. (Jensen smirks. Audience laughs. Jensen holds up two thumbs.) (Jared: Soo-) So, there's that.

Jensen: This is good. This is good.

Jared: So, keep pushing yeah (rocks fist)

Jensen: Yeah, keep pushing.

Jared: Keep pushing.

Kripke: Yeah.

Jensen: (nods and raises eyebrows) Flashbacks.

Jared: Very important. (laughs and scratches back of his head) (audience chuckles)

Bushman: Okay. (points) There was a question there in the middle.

Fan: (off mic) Um, Dean always wears this like- (audience giggles)

Kripke: Aw.

Audience member: What?

•(49:07)- PaleyFest06;Q15- Samulet (Jensen, Kripke)

Fan: Oh, okay. (voice cracked giggle) (Manners laughs. Kripke smiles) Dean always (laughs)- Dean always wears a certain necklace does it mean anything?

Kripke looks down at Jensen. Jensen is leaning on his knees looking back.

Jensen: (to Kripke) You gonna hang me out to dry on this?

Singer: Oh yeah. (Jensen looks down. Jared laughs. Audience laughs.)

Kripke: I mean we can’t s- I mean it does but we can't…say.

Jensen: (looks at fan) Yeah. It-it-it does have significance and it- it’ll..(rubs his brow) it- but it we can't talk about it.

Kripke: Yeah. (laughs) (audience laughs) (Jensen rests his head on his hand)

Shiban: It's from Sacramento.

Jensen, Kripke, and the audience laugh. Jensen pats Shiban’s shoulder.

Bushman: That's a great question, though, that you picked up on that necklace. So. (Kripke: Yeah.) (Jensen nods. A few of the audience give woo’s.) Um-

Fan: (off mic) I always notice weird stuff. (audience giggles)

Bushman: Okay. I'm trying to spread ‘em out. Uhh. (points) You got somebody back there? Okay. (Points) And then this woman down here in the red shirt… (points) But go ahead in the back first.

•(49:55)- PaleyFest06;Q16- Special effects, Gag Reels (Jensen, Jared, Manners)

Fan: Um, I thought I heard you guys m-mention on a show one time you guys do green screen, blue screen, that kind of thing for special effects. Is that gotten a lot easier for you to do and kind of.. You know… fake it? (laughs) (audience laughs)

Jared: Yeah.

Fan: And, um, and the second part to the question was, uh, when the DVD set comes out are you guys gonna have a lot of.. behind the scenes jokes, cuz, yeah, this is funny. (audience laughs)

Jensen: We, uh, we-we actually just had a film crew on set with us, uh, this past week doing behind the scenes stuff for the DVD. (nods) So. (audience cheers and claps)

Um. (gestures) Going back to your first question the green screen and, uh, and stuff, we.. we do, do a lot of-

Jared: You-

Jensen: (leans back and looks at Jared) I said doo-doo. (Jared presses his lips. Audience laughs.)

Manners: He said doo-doo. (Jared smiles and shrugs)

Jared: He said doo-doo. (shrugs) (Jensen looks at the audience and briefly raises his eyebrows) (chuckles)

Jensen: (licks his lips and leans forward on his knees) Uumm.

Jared laughs. Manners laughs. Jared then throws his head back, laughing, and claps. Jensen closes his eyes and bits his lips. The audience laughs.

Jensen: We do (gestures) work a lot with- (Jared snorts)

Manners: Doo-doo. (Jensen looks over) (shrugs) (J2 laugh)

Jensen: (quickly sits back and points at Jared) Jared you can take this one. (Jensen stares at Jared with a smirk)

Jared: (laughing) Yeah. (sits up with his feet on the table) Uumm.. (claps his knee) as Kim and Jensen were saying, we doo-doo. (audience laughs) And, uh- No. We do- it was- it was- (puts his feet back on the floor) I guess it was a big learning process for everybody. Just- You know, it's-it’s a very interesting.. sort of task to be given to- Especially these kind of crazy either emotional sequences or these crazy physical sequences when they're like, “Alright. Now, um, you're in the woods.”(Jensen nods) “And, uh, you know, it's dark, and it's scary, and you're hearing things.”And then you look behind you and there's just this (gestures) big blue wall with (gestures) tape (audience chuckles) And, you know, a couple crew guys standing back there smoking cigarettes. (audience laughs) You know, cursing and.. showing off tattoos (audience giggles) And so it's-it's- it's, uh, I think I've- (briefly looks to his right, then gestures to the audience) speaking for myself, I-I hope I've gotten more of a hang of it.

Jensen: Aside from just the actual green-screen of it that w-we can just be in a normal set and-and they're going to, um- visual effects will-will then put in something (Jared: Right.) like, uh, “Phantom Traveler” with the, uh, (gestures) the smoke that would come out of the vents (Jared: Right.) and-and stuff like that. That's not something that we obviously see. Um.. so we have to pretend that it's there. And that there's no real green screen work going on there.

But, uh, there's also an episode coming up (thumbs to Manners) that Kim directed called, uh, “Shadows.” And we deal with, uh- (audience starts murmuring)

Kripke: Yeah, it just aired.

Shiban: It aired (?).

Jared: (leans over) It aired, Jensen.

Manners: (to the audience) Well, what happened in “Shadow-” Did you see-

Jensen: (adjusts his seating position) I haven’t seen it. (audience and Kripke laughs)

Manners: (points to Jensen) He loves my work.

Jensen: Yeah. That’s right. And we hadn’t- (nods)

Manners: Uhh, If you remember the shot wheree Meg did the high fall (gestures)… (audience’s says yes) (shakes his head) they hung her six feet off the ground. And she was.. (gestures to his belt. Clip on mic falls in his lap) picked- Wah- we call it picked, with two wires on her hips. And she was looking up at the cabin or doing this (looks up and clawing at the sky). (looks down and pats for his mic.) Hello. (audience chuckles) (picks up mic from his lap) She was looking up at the camera doing this. (claws at the air with one hand) (audience laughs) And she just laid back and (leans back) she just laid out and flattened out. And they dropped her visually w-, uh, with the computer seven stories. She never went anywhere. That was all just.. in one place, I guess. True story. (clips mic to his jacket)

Jensen: And then when we ran up to the window.. she wasn't even there and we were actually staring at a.. a big.. red X.

Manners: yeah. (audience laughs)

Kripke: So, Jensen, does that mean that you guys actually have to act? (audience gives mixed reaction)

Jared: No, no, no. No. I'm actually not here right now.

Kripke: (chuckles and then to the audience) Oh, I’m kidding.

Jared: We're actually in Canada. (Jensen: Yeah.) (gestures) This is- this is-

Jensen: These are our body doubles (Jared and Singer chuckle)

?Kripke?: yeah. (Jensen nods)

Bushman: Yeah, over here.

•(53:16)- PaleyFest06;Q17- Religion “Jensen,” Dean Winchester cellphone # (Jared, Jensen)

Fan: Um, actually I have two questions. The first one is, Jensen in a past interview he said you were a Christian. I was wondering is it hard to do this kind of show like.. having that background?

And the other question is in an episode, I don't remember which one it was, you gave the phone number what you're trying to reach your dad you're like, “Give me a call this is my number.” But whenever you call you can- you- y- it says, “This is Dean Winchester.” And it says, “Leave your coordinates.” Did you ever hear- like, you- Can you actually voice ‘em on there? Did you hear like- Did you have a lot of fans leaving messages at that number? (Jensen points to Kripke) Because it wasn't a five, five, five number.

It was very small to pick up on, because my sister and I we watch it- She watches it her place. I watch it at mine. (audience giggles. J2 smile.) And I was like “Did you see the number?” She's like, “Was it a real number?” And so anyway that was my question. (Jensen gives a one-handed shrug and then looks at Kripke. audience laughs)

Jared: If you want to actually call him it's 800-Wet-Legs. (Kripke laughs and audience laughs) So, that’s- this is- (Jensen leans over to talk in Jared’s ear)

Kripke: Don’t- don’t give out his number. (Manners laughs)

Jared: Oh, he changed- Oh, you changed it. (audience chuckles) Oh, scratch that. Scratch that. (scratches his head)

Jensen: Um, (readjusts his position) I’m lost.

Shiban: What was the question?

Jensen: What was the- what was the question? (picks up mic from lap) Wha?

Jared: Something about-

Manners: (leans over) You're a Christian!

Jared: (?subliminal worshiping?)

Jensen: (clips his mic back on his shirt) Uh, Yes. Okay. Uhhh, (gestures) Your first question. Uh, y-yes I-I was raised, uh-um, with a very religious family. (gesture) And-and in that, uh-um.. I mean, (open hands) what I do this is, you know.. W-we.. This is acting. (gestures) We're telling stories. I’m-I'm- I portray a character. Um, you know, does my grandmother cringe sometimes? (nods) Yeah. (smiles) (audience giggles) Um, but at the end of the day I'm-I'm, you know, it's- it's something that I'm cool with.

Uhh and, uh- and then as far as the- the-the phone numbers (gestures and looks at Kripke) and I think there’s even websites- there's a-a-

Kripke: Yeah. Yeah. When they called-

Jensen: (looks at fan) Email.

Kripke: Yeah, every so often.

Jensen: There’s actually been a (looks at Kripke) huge response to it.. from what I know.

Kripke: Yeah. Yeah. We got a couple. Wuh-uh- I listened- I mean we couldn't listen all of them, but there’s was a couple thousand voicemail messages. (audience chuckles) (Jensen: Yeah.) of people who called. And-and, uh, I mean I listen to you know maybe, you know, thirt- twenty or thirty of them.

Jared: (to Jensen) Two thousand (Jensen smiles)

Kripke: But some of our hilari- They're like, you know, (dramatic voice) “Sam and Dean! There- there's a ghost in my attic!” (audience and Jared laugh) “You have to come quick!” (Shiban coughs) Those are- those are my favorites.

Jared: (laughs) That’s funny.

Jensen: (scratches head) That's awesome. (audience giggles. Jared laughs)

Bushman: Alright, uh- (more hands in the audience are raised)

Jared: Woah.

Jensen: Woah.

Jared: Wow. (audience chuckles)

Jensen: Yes.

Jared: Can you do that again? (Jensen and audience laugh)

Bushman: Um, take one all the way in the back up there. And one right here in the front.

•(55:39)- PaleyFest06;Q18- Impala 67 (Jensen, Manners)

Fan: Hi. (Bushman: ?second?) My son and I are really big fans. And you guys are great. And I want to know what kind of car it is you drive. It's- it's great.

Jensen: It's a, uh, 67 (?Jared?: Impala) Chevy Impala. (J2 nod. Audience cheers and claps)

The audience starts yelling out, “Metallicar!” Jensen smiles. Kripke laughs. Jensen laughs. A few more Meallicar response are said.

Jensen: The Metallicar.

Manners: They’re gonna sell well.

Jensen: Yeah. (shrugs) There it is. And we've got about- (looks around)

Manners: We've just bought our fifth one.

Jensen: (nods) Fifth one. We got about five of them. Yeah.

Jared: that's why you can't find him on eBay. Cuz we’ve been buying- (audience laughs) (Jared takes a drink)

Jensen: Yeah. We have them all. (nods)

Jared: (while drinking) mhm (sets down glass)

Bushman: Right there.

•(56:16)- PaleyFest06;Q19- SPN Music (Kripke, Singer)

Fan: Okay so let's talk about the music.

Jensen: Yeeesss. (audience and Jared clap)

Fan: Yes. Yes. Alright, I grew up in the 70s. I grew up on the mullet rocks. So, yeah. Let's talk about where the inspiration.. came from with that.

Kripke: That.. That was something that was r-really important to me, uh, coming into the show, coming into the pilot. Um, you know, I'm from a small town in Ohio and (gestures) this is the music I listen to. And I was a huge, huge Zeppelin fan. And.. and-and so, ehhh- You know, and so, uh, (gestures) when it came time to write the pilot I-I- and-and produced it, it was- it was so important to me that it had that music. And- and not have, you know, (gestures) all-all due respect to my beloved Network, not half the music that's usually on that network. (audience chuckles)

Um, and-and it was so important to me. (gestures) I was so like rabid about it that in the original draft of the pilot I even wrote in the- in the script. (mimics writing) I wrote, “Cue music. And you can take your anemic alternative pop and shove it up your ass.” (audience laughs, claps and cheers. Manners and Shiban laugh)

And, uh.. and the r- and the reason I wrote the scene when they're in the-in the pilot

Jensen: (? It’s how I knew??) (Jared nods and laughs) (briefly raises his eyebrows)

Kripke: they have the scene where they're talking about tapes and he's like, you know; ac/dc, you know, uh, Motorhead, Metallica. And the reason I wrote that in is I said, “Well, if we shoot that and it gets from the pilot then we have to use my music.” (audience laughs) (frantically gestures) “Because it's already in the- it's already in the sh- it’s in the show and they can't, you know. They can't put in some, you know, Sarah McLaughlin in the- in the- in post.” (Manners laughs)

So, uh- So I- You know, this is- y-you know- (turns to Singer) And we’ve-we've had a great time I mean in-in- with, you know, Phil also in post-production and with Bob (gestures) of figuring out these songs. And coming in one morning and being like, “Oh! Billy Squier! What about Billy Squier?” (Singer chuckles. The audience laughs.)

And, uh- and I think it's like a real signature to the show. And-and is-is the real- (gestures) plus it's Midwestern. You know, it's like two guys in- (thumbs to J2) from Kansas in a muscle car. (shrugs) And this is the music they listen to. So, um, but it's- I- I mean I- I love it. There-there was- The other night was Joe Walsh “Rocky Mountain Way” (Jensen nods) and I'm just laughing my ass off. (audience laughs) “Yeah! I Rocky Mountain Way on The WB! It’s-“ (Jensen and audience laugh)

Singer: It also, uh- It also spreads. Because one of the editors, uh, said to me- And he's a very hip guy and really good musically. (laughs) He- I walk into his room. We were going through songs. I said, “Well, do this song. Do this song.” (unintelligible) Two days there I walk in, he goes, “Do you know Bad Company's really good.”

The audience cheers and claps. Kripke laughs. Jensen nods and smirks.

Bushman: Okay. Let's take two questions from the middle. One- (points) One over there and (points) one on the other side. (points) O-on this side and then (laughs) one on that side.

•(58:42)- PaleyFest06;Q20A- Acting Advice “Start” (Jared)

Fan: Mm, hi, I'm an inspiring actor. And (giggles) I wanted to know-

Singer: We’re sorry. (The audience laughs. Kripke laughs then aw’s)

Fan: I wanted to know, um, how hard was it for you two to get started acting? (Jared looks at Jensen)

Jensen: (gestures to Jared) Go ahead. (audience giggles)

Jared: Uuh. Alright, I'll feel this. I-It’s a it's not the first time I've actually heard that question and I'm- I'm so at a loss for what to tell you. (scratches knee) I have a very interesting story. When I was in high school I won a contest to being on the Teen Choice Awards. (some of the audience laughs) And hold trophies and give them to Freddie Prinze Jr. when he got (audience laughs) “Best Hottie of.. the World”

Jensen: Pretty much went downhill since then. (audience laughs)

Jared: It’s basically gone down, yeah. (Kripke laughs) Yeah, and I just- (laughs) I rode on Freddie Prinze's coattails. (audience giggles. Jensen smirks) No. Um, and I- and I met an agent at the, uh, at the show. I met a manager actually. And-and, Dan Spilo, I'm still with to this day, sitting with my girl Sandy over there. Um, he- we- (gestures) We started kind of talking over the phone with sides. And he had faith in me and I was going back to high school. And I've mommy that's a teacher and a daddy that was an accountant. (audience giggles) And they were like, “He's finishing high school. He's finishing high school.” And I was like, “Why can’t I go act? Why can’t I go act?”

And anyways, I flew out for about a week during pilot season. And I booked a pilot and then I used that money to go out during the summer. So, I had a really kind of crazy interesting story, but I have a lot of buddies who are, you know, much more talented and-and more committed than I am that are still struggling to make it. So, uh- It's a- It's a.. tough, tough industry but just, you know, keep working hard and keep making yourself better. (nods)

•(1:00:09)- PaleyFest06;Q20B- Acting Advice “Start” (Jensen)

Bushman: Jensen how did you get started?

Jensen: Um. Well, I mean like Jared said there's- there's really no set formula, uh, for- for.. how we, you know, we've gotten to where we've got. Um, mine was kind of a (throws up hand and shakes his head), um, sheer luck thing as-as well.

I was, uh, doing theater in Dallas and I happen to have a-a (throws up hand) talent agent from- from LA sitting in and came up to me afterwards and gave me his-his.. (throws up hand) pitch and I said, “Nah, you're full crap.” (Bushman and audience laugh. Jared smiles.) I told him to bugger off. (audience chuckles) And, uh, h- And then he went up to my-my folks and kind of gave him their pitch as well. And I guess they seemed a little bit more interested in a-

And so a few years later after his, um, persistence I-I finally said, “Ah, maybe I'll go out there for a couple of months and check it out. See if he's, uh- See if he'll talk the talk.” And, uh, I came out. And-and started working right away and that was about eight or nine years ago.

Bushman: Mm. Okay. So, question on that side.

•(1:01:03)- PaleyFest06;Q21- Props “Alcohol” (Jared, Jensen)

Fan: First of all, um, “Shadow” was a kick-ass episode. (audience claps followed by J2 and Shiban clapping) And I want to thank you all for that one, cuz it's awesome.

But let's get down to, like, what really matters. What alcohol do you guys like to drink? (audience laughs. Kripke and Singer look at J2.)

Jared: What alcohol do you got? (Kripke shakes his head with opens his hands at the audience, and then laughs with the audience)

Fan: Because I see a lot of beers and stuff in the episode. And it's always my thing to place what y'all are drinking. So, I was just wonderin,’ you hard guys? You light guys?

Jared: (laughs and then claps. Jensen smiles at Jared) Uh, my mom would kill me. (audience laughs) Umm-

Jensen: Yeah, can we cut the tape like right now? (audience laughs)

Jared: Yeah, could we? We were rolling. Check. Check. Actually (Jensen adjusts his position) one of the funny things about the, uh, about the beers is our-our prop master, Chris Cooper, um, he's.. some of the (gestures) (a clicking noise is made) beer labels they're always fake labels. (audience laughs) (Jared looks up) God?

Jensen: (?somebody get?) a staple gun. (audience laughs)

Shiban: (?Give me a minute.?)

Jared: And, uh, (chuckles) They're always fake labels and it usually have some do with the city that we're filming that episode in. You know like if we’re in Texas it'll be like, “Lone Star Logger,” or if we’re in.. (one person laughs) Minnesota it'll be like, “Timber Wolf Ale” or something (audience chuckles) like that.

But, you know, (looks at Jensen) we’re Texas boys. I- I think-

Jensen: Yeah, we, you know, would probably drink what you imagine a couple Texas boys drink. (J2 smirk. Audience giggles)

Jared: Put in a cup. (audience laughs. Jensen nods)

Jensen: That’s right. (Jared rubs his hand over his face and laughs. The Audience laughs)

•(1:02:15)- PaleyFest06;Q22A- Favorite SPN Scene (Manners)

Bushman: I have a question for you guys. (audience laughs. Jared nods while pressing his lips together. Jensen scratches his ear) Um, I'm curious if, ueh, this is possible to answer this question, if you could pick a scene that you either wrote or acted in or directed that's probably like your favorite scene that you've worked on since this show started and if you tell me why. Um, (Jared?: mm) anybody want to.. take. (Manners gestures at Bushman) Kim go ahead.

Manners: I'll take that, um. (rubs his tear duct) “Shadow,” where the boys finally f- saw their father. Uhh d- (audience claps and cheers) (shakes his head and clears throat) “Shadow” was- u-uh, I'm incredibly proud of because there were four great scenes. The scene where the boys were arming up and, uh, Dean blows at Sam and says, “Why do you think I-I got you out of Stanford in the first place?” “Why do you think I came to get you? Because I want us to be family again.”

And, uh, (Jensen dramatically wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. Audience laughs) I'll tell you Jensen had a tough time with that and we kind of arm wrestled over it. And he- and, uh- (Jensen nods) tooo get him there and, you know, because- because Dean is, uhh, you know, he's got his walls up. And-and to break down that wall for (gestures) just a minute to look in the Dean’s heart was- was magical for me.

And then when they met dad in the apartment, uh, and in the alley it was just- (nods) We worked very hard. (Jensen nods: mhm) (Jared nods) The boys- they- their game of tennis improves 2000% when they work with Jeffrey Dean or somebody like Niki.. (audience woo’s and claps. Jared claps) Aycox. (shakes head and then scratches nose)

You know, we find the nuances and, uh, it-it- in acting i-it becomes the crap that it is and it becomes real (Jensen nods), uh, life. And the words become (points at J2) their own and the emotions become their own and that's special, for me. (Jensen nods then looks at Manners. Manners looks back)

Jared: And not just to say this, but having a great director to.. tell you exactly what to do doesn't.. make it hard. (briefly looks at Manners) So you know (Manners: Thank you.) I think (tilts his head at Jensen) Jensen and I would tell you.. a thousand times every day like.. you know.. “Kim got it out in that episode.”

Jensen: (scratches head) (unintelligible) Yeah. (?That happened?)

•(1:04:13)- PaleyFest06;Q22Aa- Acting Challenges “Shadow” (Jensen)

Bushman: Hey, Jensen. Did you not want to do that scene because you thought that Dean wouldn't.. say that?

Jensen: Umm, yeah. Sometimes I-I- I guess I can be a little protective of just of-of Dean and-and him (open hands) showing emotions. And I, you know, I always, um… A-and as an actor as you grow with a character on the series you- you really- you really kind of become close to it. (gestures) And You- you protect it. (Bushman: mhm) Em, you protect that character.

And, um, I guess that, that was probably what-what- what that was. And, uh, I just didn't- I wasn't (gestures) real sure how.. uh, how much of the layers, uh, to peel away (gestures) in that scene. And I guess in that confusion I just- I-I kind of put up my own barrier. (Thumbs to Manners) But, uh, if there was anybody to get me through it, it was Kim. So, I'm glad he was there.

Bushman: Great.

Jensen: Yeah.

•(1:05:01)- PaleyFest06;Q22B- Favorite SPN Scene (Shiban)

Bushman: John you have a favorite scene?

Shiban: Uuuh, there was a moment in “Skin” that-that I'm.. proud of. And actually it- in the- it sort of says something about how we (sniffs) tell our stories because we're always saying, “Okay, we want to do this type of episode. We want to do this monster. But how would Supernatural do it? How is it special for our show?” And I rremember being in- in Kripke’s palatial office of Warner Bros. (audience and Manners? chuckle)

Kripke: Not so fam- fountains and- (Jared smiles)

Shiban: Yeah. And uh- uh- (The audience, Jensen, and Manners chuckle.) We're (gestures) talking through the story of “Skin,” and the shapeshifter and obviously, you know, there's all kinds of (gestures) shape-shifting that's been done on television and movies etc. And he said, “We got to find our own.” And, uh, we kicked it around and came up with that scene, uuh, where Shapeshifter Dean goes down in the sewer.

And.. and I remember reading a, um- uhh, some online posts some friends send me that someone else (mimics writing) -a fan was watching the show and giving her impressions as she watched it, (mimics typing) “Oh my god! Dean's taking his shirt off!” (audience laughs. Kripke smirks) and then followed immediately- followed immediately by, “Oh my god! He's taking his skin off.” (Jensen and the audience laugh) I knew then that we, you know, we had it. (Jensen takes a drink) And I was very- I was very pleased with that.

Jensen: (places his glass down on the table) Oh, the things we do.

•(1:06:15)- PaleyFest06;Q22C- Favorite SPN Scene (Jensen)

Bushman: Jensen, you have a scene?

Jensen: Uuum.. (smacks lips) Yeah. I-I- one of my favorite, uh- um, it's not really a-a- a full scene but it's-it’s more of a shot. Um, and it was in, uh, it was in “Dead in the Water” (scratches arm) with, um- (points at Manners) Kim directed. Um, where I-I saved the little boy out of the lake. (nods) Uuh (some of the audience aw’s and then giggling) and coming- coming up out of the water. Uhm, and that was- It was just- It was, you know, slow-motion shot. It was very emotional, coming out with water and it was- That was really neat, um, but the build-up to that shooting it was, uh, (Manners chuckles) was really- (chuckles) (audience chuckles)

Uhhh, I had this 10 year-old boy in my hand and I'm keeping both of us (mimics holding the boy while swimming with one arm) afloat with one- one arm, uum, (rubs his chin) because I came with my feet (mimics holding a foot) because I got two divers holding my feet below me who were about to pull me under. And-d (one hand shrug) , you know, I-I'm fine. I grew up swimming in lakes and j- and all my life. But tah.. to have that sensation of somebody pulling you under water, um, especially when you've got the life of a-a 10 year old, you know, little actor in your hand and-and you're trying to keep him afloat. And he's got to play dead it was just- (shakes his head and rubs forehead) (audience murmurs) It was, uh- (looks up at Bushman) it was a little overwhelming. And.. and it was definitely unforgettable.

But, uh, we got through it. (throws up hand) We get- and it turned out to be an awesome shot. (thumbs at Manners)

Bushman: That's a great story.

Jensen: Yeah.

•(1:07:35)- PaleyFest06;Q22D- Favorite SPN Scene (Jared)

Bushman: Jared?

Jared: uhh, you know what? I've had some time to think while.. (Kripke chuckles) (scratches head) (audience chuckles) they've answered their questions. And I'm gonna go back to, uh, a scene in “Wendigo” that we did at the very, you know, (throws hand up) second episode of the year and I member there was just such (gestures) a long period of time between the “Pilot” and “Wendigo.” It was.. What? From m-March-April till July. (Kripke: mhm)

And, uh, there were so many (gestures) questions in my head when I found that we were getting picked up. Like, what's gonna happen? Where are we gonna start? Like, how do we.. start? How do we finish? How do we continue this story that we started a pilot with so many things going down? How do we.. keep the momentum going?

And there was this one particular scene that, uh, (points at Jensen) Jensen and I did on stage where he's got (gestures) dad's journal he's saying this is what it's about (Kripke nods) and Sam is saying, “I got to find Dad.” And I remember we, uh- We had a huge day that day. We had like eight or nine (turns his head towards Jensen) pages of dialogue. (Jensen nods) And, uh, Jensen and I realized we had to do the scene. We're like, “Oh, crap.” (J2 turn towards each other) Like, (laughs) “W-what? Let’s go memorize this in my trailer.” (gestures) We sat down in my trailer. And there was an acting coach that I-I work with whenever I can, named Karen Thorpe, up there with us. (Kripke nods)

And, uh, you know he kind of pushed and prodded me a little bit. (throws up hand) And I don't know what he did to Jensen. (audience laughs) But, uh..

Jensen shakes his head. Jared makes a grimace. Kripke? Giggles. The audience laughs. Jensen smiles into his hands. Jared smiles and scratches his head.

Jensen: I don’t want to talk about it.

Jared: It was noisy.

Jared and the audience laugh. Kripke laughs. Jared claps and then looks down, hiding his face behind his arm and scratches and combs his hair.

Jensen: Never again.

Jared: That’s between y’all and the wall. (audience laugher and ughs?) But, anyways we ended up- we ended up kind of getting the scene and-and putting something there. (scratches leg) And I think, um, it was one of the first times I ever felt like (throws up hand)… um, I was- I was hopefully doing what Kripke wanted, you know? Like, I think, like, I felt like, “You know, I think this is what Eric was envisioning.” Like, I really felt, for some reason, there's one of those times when you finish a scene and you're like, “Wow. I don't know where that came from but.” (shrugs) “I don't know.” (Kripke nods) “Whatever.”

Kripke: I remember seeing the dailies on that too. Uh, we were just through the roof. It was incredible. (Jared pats his knees with his fingers)

•(1:09:19)- PaleyFest06;Q22E- Favorite SPN Scene (Singer)

Bushman: Bob?

Singer: Um, I think, um, my favorite scene is a really quiet scene. And It's at, um, is at the end of the “Faith” episode. And-and (gestures) that whole episode was really about (Kripke nods) (gestures) I think, very… topical for today about what's.. what's real faith. And, uh, Julie Benz comes in has a, uh, scene with Jensen. And, uh, Jensen says to her, um, “I-I'm not much for praying, but I-I'll pray for you.” (Jensen nodding: mhm) And (gestures) she said, “Well, that's a miracle right there.”

And, uh, (gestures) I-I thought that, that kind of- I-I thought that was really sweet. I thought it was incredibly well acted, um, with both Julie and Jensen. And-and I thought that, um, I probably.. If people were listening, I think that probably was our.. You know, our finest moment to, uh, say something semi political and-and be, um, on the right side of that. (shrugs) I just hope it affected people the way it affected me. (audience claps. J2 and Shiban clap.)

•(1:10:19)- PaleyFest06;Q22F- Favorite SPN Scene (Kripke)

Kripke: Um, I-I (slice gestures) agree with.. all of those. All those are incredible scenes I would also add, uh, the scene when, uh-uh, Dean first calls his father in “Home” and tells him that “Come to Lawrence” and just the way that Jensen was able to try (gestures) to put up those walls, but the walls kept breaking down and that was amazing. (gestures)

But all those amazing scenes aside, (gestures) everyone's given such classy answers. (audience giggles) I have to say that when the when the dude stuck his hand the disposal in-in “Home”. (j2 and audience laugh. Jensen claps) And-and then the monkey starts clapping and- and (mimics camera) we had that shot beneath the sink and you could actually see all the goo come out. (audience ew’s) And I said I- and we shot it in dailies. I said, “They'll never let us use that.” And we used it. And, uh, it's- it's more probably- than any other scare sequence in the show. (Manners laughs) It's the one that people watch (Jensen: Yeah) (mimics viewers cringing and blocking the scene from their eyes) And they just- they can't even, you know, keep their eyes on the screen. (gestures to himself) And, you know, to me that's sort of the fun at getting the effect out of the audience. (to Bushman) So, I'm going to say the (gestures) garbage disposal scene in the “Home.” (audience laughs and claps)

Bushman: It's great because that explains what Bob was talking about before with the two different approaches to dra-

Kripke: See. (gestures) There you go.

(1:11:24)- closing

Bushman: Alright. (to audience) Okay, I want to thank you guys. You guys have been a great audience. (audience, Manners, Singer, and J2 clap)

Kripke: Can I say-

Bushman: Uh, also, uh, Before you go! Before you go! Don't go yet. I also (two security personnel walk on stage) want to thank Er- First of all Erik's got something to say.

Kripke: (holds up hand) Well, I just wanted to say, uh, we have a lot of, uh, the people who work in- on “Supernatural” in the audience. And I want a round of applause for them for this unbelievable season. (audience and panelists cheer and clap) All of them have done such a- They’ve all.. (gestures) They’ve all murder themselves to-to (gestures) bring you this show. And-and we couldn't do it without any of them. So- so, thank you to them. We-(gestures) it's-

Audience member: Are we getting (?pics off?)

Bushman: I- I also want to thank (gestures to panelists)-

Kripke: Hope so.

Bushman: I want to thank you guys, all of you, for.. not just being here tonight, but also for the great work that you're doing.

Jensen: (bows head) Thank you. (audience claps and cheers)

Bushman: And you’re obviously touching our cords. Thank you very much.

Singer: (nods) Thank you.

Kripke: Thank you. (audio cuts)

Jared’s clapping. Jensen is taking off his mic. Shiban is clapping. Manners is sitting up. Four security personnel walk and stand in front of the panelists, along with a woman and two stage assistants. The panelists all take off their mics and stand and mingle with the people on stage. The audience is also standing and exiting. Video fades to black.

#spn #supernatural #paleyfest 2006 #spn transcript #jared padalecki #jensen ackles #eric kripke #robert singer #kim manners #john shiban #peter johnson #david bushman #2006 #Youtube

27 notes · View notes

surshica · 2 years

Text

invitational — SHE KNOWS

ᘓ︵ꪒ⑅ꪒ

“seriously?! another party?” yn had groaned flopping onto the couch. “yeah we told you..anddd..” ann crossed her arms sitting on the kitchen countertop, “you/i forget.” ann and yn had said at the same time, a small smirk like smile formed onto ann’s lips as yn had a pout.

“i means they kinda plastered your name all over this saying you would be here..it’s too late to ditch.” kyuma slithered his hands through his hair as his head rested on the back of the single seater couch chair, his gaze fixated onto yn occasionally looking back at ann who was drinking her pineapple juice.

“but i’m tooo lazyyy~” yn groaned whined, “well too late start getting ready we need to go soon or we’ll hit traffic.” tatta’s tone was stern, he knew it was annoying but at the end of the day if yn had personally said yes to doing it. yn frustrated got off the coach walking to her room finding something nice to wear.

“don’t forget you have a media party to go to at the [company name] chairman’s house—kuina will be there and unfortunately dispatch as well!!” kyuma reminded her, yn’s eyes widened ever so slightly. she had forgotten about that as well. “well shit.” she groaned to herself shaking her head closing the door to get ready.

“even after being in the game for what 10+ years? she is quite forgetful…” ann had commented as she sipped on her pineapple juice in a plastic cup, “i mean cut her some slack you can already see the grey hairs on her head from all the scandals dispatch gets her in” tatta joked as kyuma laughed lightly.

“she isn’t even 30 and has more grey hairs—its funny but sad..she’s so..” kyuma put his hand on his chin, “overworked” the three of them said in unison earning laughs at how synced they were.

“she agrees to literally all of it..” tatta had sighed before lifting his eyebrow slightly, “..agreed to all of it except the drama, which she could’ve said no too.” tatta’s statement cause ann to stop drinking her pineapple juice; he stare beamed into tatta’s skull.

kyuma got the message giving tatta the what do you mean look. tatta has never sweated so much before—he had two people who scared him staring straight into his skull as if a red laser was going to be shot through him im sorry HAHAH.

“what do you mean by that?” ann questioned never taking her eyes off tatta, “she could’ve said no but she caved in since the new manager saw potential..” he had nervously licked his lips. “and did you tell yn this.” kyuma’s question felt more as a demand.

“I DID! she didn’t listen to me though she felt as if she needed to do the drama..” tatta nervously smiled wanting something good to happen, oh god he hated this so much. he was mentally curing himself for being it up.

“and what did she say.”

“she said she has too..she hates this new manger tho.” “DONT LOOK AT ME LOOK AT HER OR YKW BRING IT UP WITH THE MANAGER IM JUST HER DRIVER.”

ann had just hummed in a acknowledgment bushing her hair behind her ear. “we’ll talk to her when she gets back from her activities.” ann stated as kyuma nodded getting up from the seat patting tatta on the shoulder, “thank you for telling us” he tried to sound cherry but hell under all that he was upset

“YN HURRY UP OR YOULL BE LATE.” kyuma yelled causing yn to shuffle back over to the small living room, “jeez jeez i was just doing my hair—is this please-able?” yn said standing in front of them. she was wearing a black puff sleeve mini dress and white high tops, she really didn’t want her feet to hurt plus she thought it was cute.

“yes you look fine now go!! you’re going to late and you wouldn’t want that out..” ann warned her pushing her towards the door as tatta followed along-suit. “bring her back in one piece no scandals tatta or i will shoot lasers at you!” ann warner smiled at him, tatta just nodded.

ᘓ︵ꪒ⑅ꪒ

“we’re here!” tatta smiled at yn who looked a little nervous, there was a grip she held on her dress that looked like she wanted to quit. “stage fright?” tatta hummed looking outside seeing many people lined up to take pictures of her.

“no. just the paparazzi, i just get nervous because what if i trip and fall and i look stupid?!” she had groaned as the grip loosened she looked out the window getting more anxious. “fuck I CANT DO THIS I HATE THEM” she complained.

tatta ended up slapping yn, “shut up. you look fine, now go in there and do that performance so we can get out of here.” tatta unlocked the door leaving the car to go open the door for yn, a little shocked tatta slapped her. a small giggle left her lips, “thank you for the reality check.” yn had smiled at tatta.

the lights were blinding—she couldn’t even see where she was going the only thing she could see is the carpet the led inside, quickly making her way inside. she made her way to the back where the other performers were getting ready.

her name was being called so much she would’ve thought she won an award or something. “i’m here!!” she had exclaimed raising her hand. the stage director smiled giving her the ear pieces she needed. quickly putting in the ear pieces she made sure they were put on properly.

she grabbed a picture that she kept in her spandex pockets, giving it a small kiss as goodluck—she was ready to perform. but as her name got announced a wave of nervousness washed over her again. she had to shake herself, those nerves are meaningless she told herself.

as the person said her name you made your way up to the stage with a bright smile on her face, waving to everyone or trying too. the lights were blinding..a little too blinding. you looked over to the person who was in control and motioned them to turn it down slightly. they got the hint and were more dimmed out.

“hello everyone!! hopefully you are enjoying the party!” yn had her hands around the microphone standing walking around the small stage, the screams from fans who made it in were evident. “that’s good to hear” yn had chuckled, “i’m going to be performing one of my personal favorites and one that i think everyone will enjoy…Romance!” she has exclaimed, a bunny like smile formed onto her lips.

the crowd was very static to hear you sing the song since it was one of your most popular one! “woah i didn’t know you loved this song so much!” yn had gotten to her position as the lights dimmed, closer her eyes a breathe of excitement made her bones shiver. it wasn’t cold by all means but those goosebumps from performing has merely came.

opening your eyes you were waiting for the music to que, a momentum was sounded in your earpiece to keep you on track. her eyes wandered around and had noticed a white hoodie that resembled chishiya, the comfort feeling washed over you knowing he was here, regardless that be he was invited or was here to watch you perform.

the music started causing yn to put on her stage demeanor, a very flirty yet calm fun loving presence. yn had her eyes following chishiya the whole time, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. but the show must go on, not wanting to cause a storm she pretended to flirt with the male and female fans. there was nothing wrong with some harmless fan service.

ᘓ︵ꪒ⑅ꪒ

after her performance was over, it was rather quick with 3 songs nothing too much and nothing over the top, she had rushed off backstage wanting to take off the earpiece. a part of her wanted chishiya, there was this urge to go hug him and thank him for simply being there even if it was the smallest gesture.

you somewhat got tangled in your ear pieces; slight curse words were mumbled through her lips as she untangled herself; she started rushing to the door looking at the crowd trying to find that white hoodie that ended up not being there anymore. a frown was shown apon her lips. disappointed she made her way to the back door where tatta had been parked waiting for her.

she had pushed the door open a little too roughly, a groan was heard on the otherside causing yn to widen her eyes. she had quickly closed the door behind her looking around “IM SO SORRY I DIDNT KNOW YOU WERE HERE” yn worriedly squared down to their side.

the person shook their head with their hand on top of their head, “it’s fine it’s my fault for walking so close..” he groaned. his voice was soft yet low enough that made her blush. she stared at the person closely, the blonde hair and white hoodie looked so fimilar and it finally hit her, “CHISHIYA. OH MY GOD.”

she had moved his face towards hers, she felt the need to look at him to see if there was any injuries. blood was dripping from the side of his face; “you’re bleeding..” she pointed out, she was close to his face. the blush was streaming from her cheeks to her ears, the faint scent of a vanilla like strawberry cologne was evident.

“i’ll be fine it’s just blood, plus i’m a doctor.” he assured her getting up holding out his hand to pull her up, she took the offer getting off the ground. his cold hands were wrapped in his. he made no effort to remove his from hers, his steps were a little wonky. he felt a little lightheaded but tried to shake it off—it didn’t go unnoticed by yn.

“chishiya i need to clean it up..i cant just let you walk home with blood on the side of your head.” yn argued walking over to the busy tatta who was too busy playing on his phone. “TATTA HURRY UP AND TAKE US TP THE CHAIRMANS HOUSE I NEED TO CLEAN UP CHISHIYA!!” yn had exclaimed worriedly, she was talking so fast tatta only caught some of it but hurriedly started up the car.

“COME CHISHIYA COME.” yn pushed chishiya inside who ended up closing his eyes, the dizziness had became too much for him, “i just need water..” chishiya mumbled still holding yn’s hand. the sound of tatta honking was loud alongside the sharp turns.

“TATTA do we have water?!?” yn unbuckled crawling over to tatta, “no but we have juice box!” tatta didn’t bother to look back.

“JUICE BOX?! DO WE NOT HAVE ANYTHING ELSE??”

“NO BECAUSE THATS ALL YOU LIKE TO BRING WITH YOU.”

“YOU SHOULF COME PREPARED.”

“THATS HARD WHEN ALL YOU PACK JUICE BOXES.”

they bickered some more causing chishiya to groan “just give me a fucking juice box.” the grip on his and yn’s hands tightened causing yn to look back at him, a sorry escaped her lips.

she had handed him a juice box that had been in the mini cooler tatta carrie’s around for yn, “thank you” chishiya opened his eyes slowly to drink from the juice box. “fruit punch? hmm” he said as if he was critiquing her. “yes i think fruit punch is the best go to flavor from any brand~” yn had hummed sitting back down at the seat next to chishiya.

yn had started rubbing her thumb in small circle motions, “tatta can you drive any faster..” yn cleared her throat not wanting to annoy chishiya, “IM TRYING. there is a thing called traffic.” tatta scowled.

ᘓ︵ꪒ⑅ꪒ

the three had finally made it to the chairman’s house, ushering chishiya into the house thankfully everyone had been outside at the moment. tatta went outside to go tell kuina yn was here alongside chishiya.

yn had ushered chishiya into one of the empty rooms near the backyard. “i don’t know who’s room this is but i don’t care.” yn said pushing chishiya down onto the bed rummaging to find some alcohol wipes and bandages,

she had found some and cleaned up the wound, casual hisses escaped chishiya’s lips “i thought you were a doctor..surpised you are in pain.” yn had snarked a comment as she went to go throw away the used products, “i’m a doctor not superman.” chishiya clarified back pulling out another juice box from his pockets.

yn had raised an eyebrow, “isn’t that mine..” she looked at him, “yeah but i took it” he smiled cheekily casually drinking it. yn rolled her eyes in amusement, her phone had been spammed by kuina asking where she was and that they are asking her to come perform now.

a sigh escaped her lips “i need to go..” she said as she looked at her phone, chishiya simply hummed knowing she had to do her job. “i’ll be back to pick you up and drop you off at home” yn akwardly smiled at him, before skipping off into the backyard.

yn made sure nobody saw her and sighed in relief, shaking off any nerves that might of been there. she saw kuina and skipped towards her earning a pinch from her, a pout was evident. “i’m sorry i am late..i got wrapped up in something hehe..” yn tried to seem less akward.

she shook the chairman’s hand, “lovely party by the way!” she wanted to be nice when in reality it was a burning business party. the chairman smiled at her positive comment, “don’t worry about being late, if anything everyone was just here early.” he laughed at his own statement and kuina stiffened a chuckle.

yn had just nodded grabbing the guitar that had been propped next to the wooden stool, this was where she had to perform one of her unreleased songs. i mean she’ll get what she’ll get. tuning the guitar she strum in it make sure it sounded nice.

yn had tapped on the microphone gently, “hello hello?” she talked into the mic, “is this working??” she asked looking around. people gave her thumbs up; “well great! hello everyone welcome to the party even if i’m half an hour late welcome!!” she giggled.

chishiya heard some commotion come from outside and it had sounded like yn’s voice, something inside him told him to go outside onto the balcony. and so he listened to those urges and walked onto the balcony leaning against the railing, hands crossed—hoodie draped over his head (WE ALL KNOW THAT SCENE FROM S1 EP3.)

“this is one of my unreleased songs..i’m a little nervous to play this but HERE WE GO HAHA” yn’s voiced boomed from the small speakers. “this song was actually dedicated to one of my crushes i’ve had since my childhood..so do enjoy.”

“it’s called the glue song.” yn had a smile so bright it would light up the whole room. the soft strumming of the guitar with the gentle vocals lured chishiya into it. its almost as if he was being serenaded—and he wasn’t complaining.

ᘓ︵ꪒ⑅ꪒ

SHE KNOWS — masterlist — next

AN : yes this whole chapter is based off like a 15 minute scene in starstruck YES THIS IS WHERE THE PLOT DEVELOPS AND YES I AM FINALLY OUT OF MY WRITERS BLOCK. AND YES YES YES IT TOOK ME 3 DAYS TO WRITE THIS. i hope you enjoyed <3

tags — closed ❤️‍🩹

@eshtravagent @lunsyeah @aftrnoot @trinmadol @asoullessentity @akowbt @noxceleste @eissaaaa @dr3amscap3 @captivq @arizzu @happyjuhyun @parkersmyth @bwnniidump @r3iverse @le000xxgrd @crinklypink @cherriwn @mxbrahms @parcqq @ikon-teen @jade-flower-edits @scaramilk @yanfei-kisser @seiksyyki @nostalgisters @kokoscutie @elakari @milkkteary @coffeeangel13 @yvrikoo @kozuluvbot @rainbowsaz @naegisimp @kerenz @brdpch @minyoungieee @xashiui @ehddsnys @saltysoftgrungeofscience @hadesdaughtwr @rainqissedd @saiewithakatana @vernon-dursley @kittyrai @shinobuily @kalstar @huachengsbestie01 @xxoperatexx @luvvsnae @celery-o @hy0ukka @odin-hatesu @luv4kuina

#— ୨୧ ˖ ˚ she knows #- surshica ♥︎#chishiya x reader #aib chishiya #alice in boderland x reader #chishiya shuntaro #chishiya headcanons #chishiya fluff #chishiya imagine #chishiya smau #chishiya shuntaro angst #chishiya x fem!reader

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dweemeister · 10 months

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November 15, 2023

By Jonathan Mahler, James B. Stewart, and Benjamin Mullin

(The New York Times Magazine) — It was April 2022, and David Zaslav had just closed the deal of a lifetime. From the helm of his relatively small and unglamorous cable company, Discovery, he had taken control of a sprawling entertainment conglomerate that included perhaps the most storied movie studio on the planet, Warner Brothers. The longtime New Yorker had always loved movies, and against the advice of several media peers, he had moved to Hollywood and taken over Jack Warner’s historic office, hauling the old mogul’s desk out of storage and topping it off with an old-time handset telephone. So far things were going great. He had met all the stars and players, was widely feted as the next in line to save the eternally struggling industry and was well into the process of renovating a landmark house in Beverly Hills. “You’re the dog that caught the bus,” the billionaire octogenarian cable pioneer John Malone, one of Discovery’s largest shareholders, told him. All he needed to do now was pay back the $56 billion in debt that he piled onto the new company to make the deal happen.

Money is never just lying around Hollywood, and the town was still reeling from the pandemic. But that was OK. Zaslav had set a “synergy target” — cost cuts, essentially — of $3 billion in the next two years, and now, with the clock ticking, he got to work. To help, he had brought along his chief financial officer from Discovery, an amateur pilot and former McKinsey consultant named Gunnar Wiedenfels. As spring turned to summer, they laid off hundreds of workers, shuttered or reorganized divisions and suspended or canceled hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of programming. Anything we don’t think is awesome, Zaslav told executives, stop production right now. Turn the cameras off.

Cuts are the norm after a merger, but Zaslav and Wiedenfels were pushing things hard, and in sometimes unorthodox directions. By shelving several nearly completed projects — including the animated, direct-to-streaming movie “Scoob!: Holiday Haunt,” and the fourth season of the postapocalyptic TV series “Snowpiercer” — they saved millions in postproduction and marketing costs, as well as residuals down the line, and they locked in hefty tax breaks up front. Like so much of what happened in Hollywood, all this was reminiscent of a Hollywood production — in this case, the beloved 1967 Mel Brooks comedy “The Producers.” There, the producers, Max Bialystock and Leopold Bloom, realized that under the right circumstances, a producer could make more money with a flop than a hit. For Zaslav and Wiedenfels, the money would come from making sure that no one would get to see the shows in the first place.

Then they came for “Batgirl.” The big-ticket streaming project had just finished filming in Scotland when Zaslav took over, and he and Wiedenfels had immediately identified it as a target — a “free ball,” as Zaslav described it to several colleagues. The audience test scores for a very early cut were not encouraging. Still, a number of executives warned him not to shelve it. “Batgirl” was a $90 million entry in a multibillion-dollar universe of movies and television shows based on DC Comics. Michael Keaton was reprising his role as Batman, and sequels were already in the works. Plenty of movies had tested poorly but still earned millions. Killing an all-but-completed movie would alienate the people Zaslav — or at least Hollywood — needed most: the people who made the movies. It was to no avail. On Aug. 2, the word came down: “Batgirl” was dead.

As predicted, the backlash was immediate and emotional. Stunned, the film’s up-and-coming directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, tried to look at their footage, but their access to the production server was denied. The head of the DC unit, Walter Hamada, who was not consulted on the decision, asked to be released from his contract and would leave before the end of the year. Courtenay Valenti, one of the most respected development executives at Warner Brothers, was equally devastated and would be gone in a matter of weeks, ending a 33-year run at the studio. The news dominated the Hollywood trades for days. Under fire, Zaslav defended the decision in an earnings call with analysts, saying he shelved “Batgirl” to protect the DC brand. More quietly, Zaslav also sought cover in the authority of Bryan Lourd, the powerful co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency and a leading arbiter of Hollywood mores. As Zaslav told it to several associates, Lourd had supported the decision, observing that it wasn’t in the interest of C.A.A. clients, like the film’s star, Leslie Grace, to be associated with a bad movie. But a C.A.A. spokeswoman denied that. “Bryan Lourd was not consulted in advance of the studio’s move to cancel ‘Batgirl,’” she said.

At Discovery, producers referred to having their budgets slashed as “getting Gunnared,” and Wiedenfels maintains a hard-boiled, McKinsey-esque attitude toward the bottom line. “It’s hard work,” he says. “You don’t make friends.” Zaslav, a born salesman who would prefer to make friends, is more reflective. “You do sometimes get bloodied,” he said in a wide-ranging interview at Warner Brothers Discovery’s corporate headquarters in New York. But business is business. “We have made unpopular decisions because they were necessary.”

That joke about selling to Saudi Arabia in the end. Just... no.

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thehooliganhangoutspot · 5 months

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Ok so the Anon that said he “pays black fans dust” that an out right lie. Because he definitely sees and acknowledges his black fans at the shows and I’ve been to several and seen it myself. He definitely sees and acknowledges Lydia aka SilkyGyrl fka Treasureu2 and Monica aka Mo Warner. He acknowledges them every time they are at the concerts and he definitely knows them. There are others I’ve seen him acknowledge also, they are not so active on the social medias but every time I’ve been to a concert since 2013 he knows his loyal black fans and smiles, points, waves and has pick many to do his “Pretty girl pretty girl” move in front of them. Also has thrown many towels to them, including myself and the girls you mentioned. You also apparently haven’t seen his Twitter follow list. No offense, but I’m guessing you’re a newbie in this fandom because you have no idea! Also, anyone remember him inviting a couple of his black fans up into his VIP a couple years ago where they took pictures and hung out with him and the guys? He also gave away free tickets to some of his black fans in NYC for the Apollo Theater private nationally televised event. So yea maybe not make such remarks if you don’t know the truth.

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thephantomcasebook · 1 year

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When you dislike Olivia Cooke so much as a person (because she “disrespects” you as a fan), why do you keep talking about her? Sorry, but if she annoys you that much just don’t talk about everything you hate about her.

I really liked your blog but now it’s full of negativity and bad vibes. I’m not trying to be disrespectful towards you. But besides the whole negativity about HdtD actors, i like hearing your opinions etc, and i liked that you were even critical about some stuff. But when it’s only negative things, it’s hard enjoying this blog.

Hmm

Fair and true.

I guess my whole thing is kinda two fold.

It's a frustrating feeling to know - with every fiber of your being - what is about to happen to something you've gotten reattached too whether you like or not and wanted to be or not, and know that you're helpless to stop it cause no one who can understands what's about to happen.

It's almost as if I can see it, as if it's happening right in front of me.

Let me tell you, Nonny, what's about to happen.

Amazon is losing money and prestige on "Rings of Power". They know they've been humiliated by HOTD and their studio head just got a hit piece written about her in "The Hollywood Reporter. Trying to save face, and bloody the competition, they'll payoff "Vanity Fair" and other "Journalists" to smear "House of the Dragon" in order to boost "Rings of Power". These trash Journos will use rage bait to knock out the core fanbase of HOTD and turn the audience against one another.

They'll use Olivia Cooke and Emma D'Arcy's activism as a catalyst to do so, knowing that both are too stupid to understand what they'll touch off. When they do press for Season 2, a Journo will ask about Feminism and Patriarchy, and how it relates to today and even fan responses. Cooke and D'Arcy will be lulled by their indifference to the fanbase and show and be hyped up for a chance to virtue signal and will insult and belittle men and fans by claiming fake victimhood in ordinance with their bimbo feminism.

The fans will retaliate ten fold, going hard at the actress on Twitter and Youtube - Conservative and Independent media on social media will excoriate them and it will be a huge Culture War story. Cooke and D'Arcy will double down and lash out. Then, the media that started the whole thing will release dozens of articles saying that HOTD fans are misogynists and Transphobes.

That's when fans will organize and boycott, while Twitter bots and stans defending Cooke and D'Arcy will create a toxic environment that drives normal people away from the show. Youtube heats up with negative videos and take downs of Cooke and D'Arcy that creates animus till a majority of people - former viewers - will actively root for the show to fail. And when the entire show's reputation is in shambles and the fandom tears itself apart. That's when Warner comes in and cancels HOTD.

And why?

Cause the two people who should care the most are too dumb and self-absorbed to see that they're about to be the Typhoid Marys' that will be used to destroy the show and the fandom.

There's something haunting, futile about it, stony in quality - as if it's already happened and we're just waiting for the Stone Burner to go off.

I just find it harder and harder to stay positive about something that I really did enjoy that is built with cracking and crumbling foundations. I've seen Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and DC Comics - things I loved deeply - ruined by the same type of people that are now in key places of HOTD and I was already burned badly by the way that "Game of Thrones" ended. Believe it or not, I was once on several "Game of Thrones" podcasts and a regular - and sometimes major contributor - to fan media at GOT's height. And I brought that same enthusiasm to HOTD when it was getting good around 1x03.

But lately, I'm seeing a coming repeat of Season 8 of "Game of Thrones" but worst - much worst. Cause at least the actors of "Game of Thrones" actually cared about the fanbase, and cared about the characters they played. I just don't see it that way with this cast. I don't think you'd see Coster-Waldu, Gwendeline Christie, Kit Harrington, or even Emilia Clarke, disparage their character or the fans. They had a passion for the show and their work. Most of these new actors just see HOTD as a stepping stone to something else or an excuse to go drunk-fooling with other cast members.

They're certainly a far cry from the professionalism, class, and charm of the Downton Abbey cast - who I could watch all day.

But, I think you're right Nonny. I've let my growing bitterness of what will most likely be inevitable cloud my ability to see that I've let off a bit of too much steam lately. And while being a cynical person and extremely hardboiled about people and life in general, I should probably reel it back in ... or at least as much as I'm capable of in my old age of 33 years - which is ancient on this site.

Though, to be fair, I have 84 Asks piled up since my birthday in late-December and a lot of them are either hate toward me personally or people as cynical as I am about the show. So, it's not like I'm exactly fielding any positive energy out here.

I'll do my best to reign it in, but I also have asks to answer and I'm gonna be honest as I can be. No bullshit, not ever. So, if people ask, I'm gonna tell them how I feel.

You can either live with that ... or you can't.

#House of the Dragon #Olivia Cooke #Emma D'arcy #Alicent Hightower #Game of Thrones

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daemosghost · 2 years

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I unironically did not hate the first two episodes of the Velma series. I actually like some of the design and was interested enough in the plot for it to not become background noise. The big thing here though is that they fucked up the characters the way that The CW fucked up all the Archie comics characters when making Riverdale, with that in mind, people could latch onto this in the same way they do Big Mouth and Riverdale and that garners it more seasons, or it flops after the first season.

Anyways, here's what I do have gripes with about the show:

Mindy Kaling stop adding your self inserts and stereotypes into shows you make challenge(impossible)

Why are they teenagers? Why are there sexual and nude scenes and talk of teenage character's genetalia? Why couldn't they be in college considering Kaling's other show does take place in a college setting?

Fred is rich and racist on top of being an incompetent child-like late bloomer for some reason. Like yeah he's still a himbo but his character in this show is.......... :/

Norville is a stoner in all Scooby Doo media except this one. They made him black and anti drugs in this one despite his food reviews still attracting the stoners. His dad looks more like Shaggy than he does. Also they made Norville's character an incel.

Daphne is no longer filthy rich and her adoptive parents are two incompetent gay cops. They thankfully didn't make her the dumb rich girl stereotype, but she deals drugs in order to raise enough money to find her biological parents. Her and Velma went on a childhood friends to ex friends to enemies to lovers in the span of two episodes??? I shipped them through watching all the other shows during my childhood but......??????

Velma is needlessly a judgemental and snarky asshole for literally no reason, she also for some reason comes from a broken household, her mom disappeared and her dad is a lawyer who spends more money on the waitress he got pregnant, the waitress cares more about her than he does tbh. Don't understand why they felt the need to add a scene of waitress woman stripping booty naked for pregnancy photos in front of Velma who is a teenager in this series tho...

There's a cop that looks like Don Knotts but doesn't sound like him? Yes the guy is dead but there are always imitators, you can't tell me Andy Griffith was such a successful show that does reruns to this day and no one in the past 60 years who saw him in that or other Scooby Doo media tried to imitate him. Essentially if people were able to find people that sound like Vincent Price or Michael Jackson, you definitely could've had someone at least try to to imitate Don Knotts voice.

The meta jokes are genuinely not funny, neither are the sex jokes are jokes about Fred's genetalia. [I laughed like twice and it was only when Daphne kept getting interrupted in the middle of her sentence by toilet flushes and the long pause when the person came out the bathroom to wash and air dry her hands before joining the rest of Daphne's group and some other time that I can't remember right now.]

The show feels overall like it wanted to be its own thing. I've heard small rumors that Warner made them include the Scooby Doo ip in this bit that is just a rumour. Though if it's true, it's wild that Warner set them up for so much failure and negativity like this.

#txt post #txt #text post #velma show #review #hbo #long post #cartoon

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denimbex1986 · 1 year

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'Warner Bros Japan has criticised what it called “extremely regrettable” Barbenheimer tweets shared by their US counterparts.

It joins a growing backlash in Japan against the conflation of Greta Gerwig’s playfully marketed film with Oppenheimer, a biopic of the scientist behind the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

A translation of the statement, which was posted on Japan’s Twitter account for the Barbie film, reads: “Because the movies Barbie and Oppenheimer were both released in the US on 21 July, there is currently a movement driven by overseas fans to watch them together (#Barbenheimer), but this is not an official movement. We find the reaction to this fan-driven movement from the official US account for the movie Barbie to be extremely regrettable. We take this very seriously and are asking the US head office to take appropriate action. We apologise to those offended by these inconsiderate actions.”

The release of Barbie and Oppenheimer resulted in millions around the world seeing the two vastly different blockbusters as an ironic double bill dubbed “Barbenheimer”.

On social media, users have been sharing memes and art combining the fun pink imagery of Barbie with mushroom clouds and fiery explosions in Oppenheimer.

But the hashtag #NoBarbenheimer has been trending in Japan in the last week, with some social media users criticising the concept of Barbenheimer as trivialising nuclear weapons and the impact the bombings had on Japan, the only country to experience a nuclear attack. One #nobarbenheimer post, viewed 7m times, reads: “The official Barbie movie account is completely on board with the atomic bomb and mushroom cloud memes, so Barbie is a no-go as well.”

Warner Bros Japan’s statement came after the official US Twitter account for Barbie, a Warner Bros film, reacted positively to several Barbenheimer images shared by fans, including a fan-made poster depicting Oppenheimer actor Cillian Murphy carrying Barbie star Margot Robbie in front of a backdrop of flames. In response, the @barbiethemovie account wrote: “It’s going to be a summer to remember.”

It's going to be a summer to remember 😘💕

— Barbie Movie (@barbiethemovie) July 21, 2023

Twitter later added a community note to the post highlighting the historical context of the image: “At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945 (Showa 20), an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima for the first time in human history. The particular nature of the damage caused by the atomic bombs is that mass destruction and mass murder occurred instantaneously and indiscriminately.”

Barbie is due to be released in Japan in August but Toho-Towa, Japan’s largest distributor of Hollywood films, has yet to announce a release date for Oppenheimer. Despite the sensitive subject matter, the country often shows foreign films depicting the events of the second world war without backlash. But Nolan’s film has been criticised by some for not showing the extent of the devastation wrought on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where it is estimated up to 220,000 people died in the bombings and their aftermath.

Barbie has so far made $775m globally and is already the third best-performing film of the year, while Oppenheimer has made $400m, already more than Nolan’s previous film, Tenet.

Warner Bros in the US has declined to comment.'

#Warner Bros #Barbie #Oppenheimer #Tenet #Christopher Nolan #Greta Gerwig #Barbenheimer #Twitter #Cillian Murphy #Margot Robbie

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therafanatics · 5 months

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WARNERMEDIA UPFRONT SHOW - (2019)

NEW YORK, MAY 15: Daveed Diggs, Donna Speciale, Niecy Nash, Rafael Casal, Shaquille O'Neal, and Eryn Allen Kane pose onstage during the WarnerMedia Upfront 2019 show at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 15, 2019 in New York City.

Pics by: Getty Images

#rafael casal #daveed diggs #eryn allen kane #donna speciale #niecy nash #shaquille o'neal #warner media up front #live performance #old photos #photography #getty images

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popculturebuffet · 2 years

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Watchemen Retrospective Finale: Zack Snyder's Watchmen (Comission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy capes.. and welcome to my final review of 2022 and my grand finale to my look at Watchmen. I've looked at all 12 issues with a brief April Fools detour to look at the unmade Sam Hamm version, but there's still one last piece of Watchmen media I want to look at as the Clock strikes 12. Yes folks we're talking about the divisive, loyal as it could possibly be, greatly soundtracked, 2009 film Watchmen.

Filming the Unfimable

As the fact I had a full script to review should show, attempts had been made to adapt the Watchmen for decades. The Hamm script was pitched with Terry Gilliam of all people who considered the project unfilmable as a movie, and better as a mini series.

The biggest attempt was made with David Hayter, voice actor and writer, aka Metal Gear's Solid Snake, Zangetsu in Blodostained, and Captain America in Spider-Man TAS. He also was a writer on the first two x-men films, the scorpian king, and an executive producer on of all the things i've reviewed, A Christmas Horror Story> I knew NONE of this when looking him up and i'm incredibly impressed. This is one hell of a career the man's gotten. His draft really impressed executives, but attempts at paramount, rogue pictures and others stalled until eventually Warner Bros scooped up the rights.

Hayter's script had a few diffrences from the final product as Alex Tse, who'd go on to make wu tang an american story, would do some touch ups. His was set in modern day, at one point Nite Owl straight up killed Adrian, and at one point Adrian's plan ivnolved a MASSIVE SOLAR DEATH RAY

Yeah I mean I get why Christ Almighty it's the goddman watchmen gets mentioned more, it's objectively funny.. but the fact Adrian used a solar death beam at one point still should come up more. Don't get me wrong, the idea of using the power of the sun is awesome: Jonathan Hickman's run had Iron Man build a dyson sphere to potentially smash planets. But there's a difference between taking a real world floated concept and making it high concept sci fi.. and having your morally complex if ultimately evil despite his claims villain have a fucking death ray powered by the sun. The other ideas.. are also not my forte. The 80s setting and the 50s start to mystery men are integral to things, as the films eventually director agreed, and having Dan kill adrian just feels a step too far. What the film goes with is still cathartic and we'll get to it, but Adrian should live not to reap the benefits of his actions.. but to live with both the guilt of what he's done and any consequences should the truth come out.

As for who would direct this, with the recent success of 300… Warner Bros tapped Zack Snyder to direct. We'll get into Zack Snyder himself in a second, but to his credit, he was a huge fan of the graphic novel and most tweaks to Hayter's script were out of reverence to it, though he did keep that ending which again we'll get to.

The resulting film was.. divisive. Some critics loved it, some hated it and fans were split on everything from the performacnes to.. that ending. It's part of why I wanted to dive into it. See when the Younger Me saw it over a decade ago.. he dug it. He liked it a lot and thought it was a great adaptation. So I wanted to see if it held up: if it was still good a decade, a through yearlong re-read of the source material, and Zack Snyders lesser adaptations after it later. So let's answer that question shall we as I watch the Watchmen one final time.. at least for this year.

Watchmenmaker So yeah.. before we can even get into the film we have to unpack it's director. And I'm not one to take the side door, I'll come right up front and knock: Zack Snyder is a kind generous man who uses his massive fanbase to help charities, seems to really love his fans and his work, and who generally seems to be an upright guy. He's hard to hate on his own. That said while as a person I have nothing but respect for the guy, his other superhero works i've seen Man of Steel and Batman V Superman are not great films, especially the latter. If you like them great, your allowed to disagree with me but their just not the best superhero films and I for the life of me can't understand why some people are so ride or die on them.

Man of Steel is.. fine. It's a flawed film with a palette that can best be described as "Hope you like grey!", and easily the worst Jonathan Kent in the characters history, a selfish dumbass who has the sheer gall to berate his son for saving lives and who stupidly throws himself into a tornado for reasons that make entirely no sense and who clearly fucked his son up to the point he's traveling the world and the seven seas instead of living a normal life because SOMEBODY felt he never could. It's not a film I really fondly remember, but it's one I felt okay about coming out of the theater. It's alright. It's not the best take on superman, but I can see why some may like it.

Batman V Superman on the other hand.. is giant mess. I liked it a bit out of the theater, but the more i've thought abotu it the less it's become. Part of it isn't entirely his fault: it's clear DC wanted to FastTrack the justice league and shoved as many heroes in as they could. Wonder Woman, while a great part of the film, feels just kinda there, and while Ben Affleck gives it his best, his version of batman just doesn't work. It's clear Zack Snyder has the same reverence for the Dark Knight Returns as Watchmen.. but fails to get that that's not necessarily how to approach batman, nor that even THAT batman does not kill and will not.

His lex luthor is also just baffling, with it being hard for me to figure out just what he was going for. The idea of a younger luthor whose a tech bro was brilliant.. but the resulting writing has a luthor who sounds and acts like he did a literal, not figurative, mountain of cocaine before every scene, whose plans are needlessly convoluted , and who thanks to said cocaine thinks a jar of piss is a good statement. Seriously I did not realize he pissed in a jar the first time around, probably because Lex Luthor pissing in a jar and leaving that jar wired with explosives is not the kind of thing that usually makes it past first draft. There's a reason we never got Superman fighting a giant spider-man while Braniac wrestled a polar bear after all. Trying to jam Death of Superman in there without having properly built up to it doesn't remotely hep and the film that results is just an overly long, overly dour mess that is more concerned about tlaking about superman being a god for 40 minutes than actually telling a good story. It's overly long, overly self indulgent and ultimately just.. just bad. It's bad.

And look I don't begrudge Snyder himself for wanting his cut of Justice League. He only left the film due to the worst tragedy that could befall a parent, and had it cut to shit behind his back. What I begrude is the cultlike beahvior that's formed out of it. While there are likely fans of Zack Snyder's dc work who are nice, kind, and don't mind if someone has a difference of opinion and if your reading this, I value your existence, there has been a foaming, loud, asshollish horde of fans that has not shut the fuck up since getting said cut. Wanting more of something you love is fine. Right now as an Owl House Fan we're hoping desperately Disney gives us more of the series in some form and actually listens. Sometimes you have to scream to be heard.

The problem is instead of accepting the snyder cut as the cool what could've bene it is and being happy with what they got.. they gnash their teeth at ANYTHING they percive outside it. They've taken the screws to Shazam for not being as edgelord as the films they like, and lately have been just outright insufferable. They have gotten RABID since James Gunn was made one of the heads of DC and made the decision to get rid of Henry Cavill… a decision I udnerstand as the snyder verison of superman has a LOT of baggage and while Cavill did his best, I can understand James wanting to start fresh and using a new actor as a way to do that. It's an understandable decision from a guy who was given the hard task of coming in and steering a ship that has no direction in a company that's on fire thanks to David Zaslav's escalating selfish, terrible and downright baffling decisions. He did not come in guns a-blazin to gut everything: Gal Godot and The Rock are still on board, with his black adam announcment merely being that their going to hold off on using him again at first, rather than "your fired get out" as many are intepreting. And while I get it's weird to fire cavill after the stinger to black adam, it was included more because Dwayne Johnson wants to fight superman than being a coherent plan for a sequel, and I say that with all the love I can to the rock whose an awesome dude. I just don't care about seeing Black Adam fight superman. That's not who he has a connection to.

It's just been so draining. I get liking a film but I doubt Snyder wants .. any of this. He's fine. He's moved on from his superhero work. You are NEVER going to get what you wanted back> Let someone genuinely talented who will likely pull out some weird, wonderful cuts do what he wants and give him some room to do it. Zack Snyder is not a bad filmmaker but like superman. .he's not a fucking god. He doesn't want a fucking cult in his name. He just wants you to enjoy his films and support them. Just.. do that. Love his dceu work if you like but accept it's over, move on and for god's sake stop harassing people for it. I shouldn't' have to say this but it's gotten bad, and I felt it couldn't' be ignored. When Snyder fans are, no joke, going up to a tweet Gunn made trying to get support for charities and saying "DON'T CARE WANT CAVILL", I have to say.. SOMETHING, when I have the chance to speak to said fanbase. To those of you not doing this shit.. thank you. Thank you for being good people like Zack likely actually wants. Your awesome.

Now you may be asking yourself "Well how did I get here?"… or more likely "Okay nice speech and all Jake but what does this have to do with the film your actually reviewing" or

If your a tad deranged. My reason is that while I can see bit sof the DCEU in here, particularly Zack Snyder preferring to deconstruct superheroes than actually play it straight, Watchmen.. zigs a lot of places he'd later Zag. It's shockingly colorful while still being grounded, still having the gaudy outfits, but keeping them because he knows their important. The only change he made to them was to make them more like something you'd see in a superhero film of the past, to help evoke these costumes come from the past: Nite Owl and Ozymandis in particular have outfits that come out of a Burton Batman and Schumacher Batman film respectively. Laurie's is more shiny latex, and the Comedian thankfully keeps his domino mask during his full career and either wears your standard Sterling Archer spy turtleneck on missions or his costume rather than bringing out the gimp. I do think it clashes a LITTLE with the 60's and 70's these costumes are supposed to come from but I get that putting them in say, a 60's batman style outfit would be a bridge too far given the tone of the work, and that the original outfits, while neat, were also intentionally goofy in a way that just dosen't work on flim. It's why you only saw The Scarlet Witch, Vision and Quicksilvers full silver age costumes as halloween costume easter eggs in wandavision or Steve Roger's classic cap outfit as his uso outfit. These are iconic looks.. but they just don't work on screen. You can still hav ecolor and flair as the MCU has shown us, but you have to rework it to fit the present.

This way Snyder gets to both have pops of color.. while also having the costumes still get the slightly dated look in a way people who haven't read the comic will get. It's honestly a stroke of brillance and while his works aren't my forte and he slapped a palette of grey over them, his later works do have neat costumes.

His watchmen shows a respect for these characters and world his DCEU work dosen't quite have. He replicates panels, only didn't replicate the costumes beyond rorshachs for the reasons mentioned, and really tries to get as much of the story in as he can. Which brings us to

The Times they Are A Changing

The film is for the most part a fairly straight adaptation of the Graphic Novel. There's a big change to the ending I keep ominously hinting at and we're almost there just hold on, but there are changes either stylistically or just for compressions sake. It's why I tilt my head at reviews that said he was overly reverent to the graphic novel. I agree he could've used a touch more of his own take.. but Snyder still put his own spin on it and his own style. There's some bits of his trademark slowmo and some quick pans and he does brilliantly find ways to incorporate scenes into motion. The opening scene of the comic is a great example of this, as he somehow manage to pan up in the exact same way David Gibbons does while accounting for having to show EVERY frame going from the street to the Comedian's penthouse.

There are some goofy touches, for some reason he thought adding whipcrack sound effects to some fight scenes was neat, likely to parody it being used in 80's and 90's superhero films, which Watchmen takes some style cues from, but it jus tdosen't mesh when said scenes are played dead serious. This is a deconstruction, not a parody and there's a fine line between the two.

Out of his personal style touches my faviorite is easily his use of music. While there are only a handful of sequences, Snyder picked his soundtrack masterfully. It's nothing but the hits but often used in ways that help play off the scene beautifully or create just the right dissonance.

The first and best example of this is the Times They are a Changin scene. Even people who don't like the film admit this scene slaps and for good reason. It's easily one of the best openings in any superhero film ever if not THE best. In just a few minutes of montage, nicely set to one of the iconic songs of the 60's (not a huge Dylan fan myself but I can't deny this song rocks), it takes you through both ages of superheroes easily, gives you all the exposition the film couldn't thanks to Under the Hood being something they couldn't fit in easily (Maybe a tv movie or something but it would've come off obvious to me), and just looks gorgeous: it breaks down the triumphant rise and tragic fall of the minutemen, the hope of the new era of supermen and it's sad fall beautifully. The imagery just does not leave your brain and it's easily a beautiful little mini movie in it's own right. While the film is still good after this, it's easily the best part of it, kind of like how Up's intro is easily it's best part too for similar reasons but the rest is still fantastic.

That said, the next sequence with this.. is no slouch. The Vietnam flashback with ride of the valyrkyes, as Dr. Manhattan looms over the Vietcong and explodes anyone in his path, is masterful, taking an already great one panel image from the comic and IMPROVING on it. Seeing him in motion really sets in the dread of this giant, looming all powerful godlike figure coming towards you and you can do nothing to stop him and really helps set in the scope of manhattan. I also noticed when writing this section that Manhattan has a nice motif of classical music, to establish a timeless feel, using Phillip Glass' music to really set things in motion.

Dan's sequence is no slouch though, as it amazingly uses the funk classic "i'm your boogie man", and is part of why I love that song so much. It both nicely contrasts with the protest going on.. and nicely matches to Comedian horribly responding to it by violently beating up the protestors. Granted said protestors are pro police, which is especially odd given some are POC.. but I write this off as Snyder, like many of us white dumbasses, not fully grasping the history of police violence on people of color at the time. It's not great in hindsight but I can't say many knew much better and he still shows off that someone with undue power and no checks and balances, i.e. the Comedian, going into a crowd and wailing on them is as horrible as it should be seen.

Then we get a long break, just one sequence with Manhattan i'll talk a bit more about later, before we get the next one.. which stuck out in my mind for the wrong reasons and I was ready to give Zack Snyder all the shit for.. till I learned out why he did it. If you've seen the film you know and if not.. the film takes Dan and Laurie's sex scene.. and make sit into… an over the top, in tense and gratuitous as fuck sex scene.

It's just so ludicrious, so unecessary, so out of nowhere it's parody.. and that… was ex-zactly the point. Yeah turns out Zack Snyder did not ask for this scene, the crew did not ask for this scene and i'm pretty sure Dan Steven and Malin Akerman did not ask for this scene. No one wanted to do this except the executives, who demanded

So Zack pulled a Sean Micheals and decided to give it to them in the goofiest, dumbest, most over the top way possible. It's likely why EVERY movement dan makes seems to make laurie orgasm. Akerman was likely in on the joke, and I salute her for it. Like if your forced to do a gross fanservice sex scene, you might as well make it hilarious and honestly the sequence is: you've got Hallujeah blaring over it, Malin going 80 times over the top, dan stevens just .. rolling with it and the gloriously stupid finish when Laurie climaxes as she hits the flamethrower button. The Silk Spectre has a FLAMING orgasm that is seen by ongoers in the night sky. I.. I can't even add to that. I didn't know Zack Snyder could make a funny but here we are. Good on him.

The last music sequence is a classic and a pretty obvious drop… like while all the songs are pretty well known in a song called the watchmen that pulls heavily from the 70's and 60's to evoke a sense of nostalgia a lot of the characters clearly have… All Along The Watchtower was a perfect pick. It's how I first heard the song and it is fucking dynamite and setting it to Dan and Rorschach's descent into the artic.. fucking perfect.

We get two more songs in the credits. The first is an awesome cover of Desolation Row by My Chemical Romance. I loved them since hearing Danger Day and love Gerard Way's awesome comics work after MCR, so I do like the song.. but it's also a touch too modern to really fit with the film. It was clearly made because the studio wanted a soundtrack tie in.. but it's also very hard to hate because it's so awesome and the first issue's title directly references this song.

The other is We'll Take Manhattan, which I feel was likely Snyder's first choice and is a nice cheeky nod to the horrors that just happened.

Okay so now we've cued the music , let's talk about another change.. one i've been omniously hinting at all film and one where I can't help quoting a certain critic I admire's theme song

They Made Watchmen Without the Slimy Squid

Yeah out of all the changes, one bit of casting, and other various things… this is the single most divisive part of the film. See most of the plot and even the ending is the same: Nite Owl and Rorshach find out Adrian was behind it, confront him at his arctic fortress, and while him kicking their asses is mostly omitted, it's for a good reason we'll get to, and while they plan to not let him do it but..

And thus his plan goes off and while Dr. Manhattan also confronts him, ultimately our heroes are forced to back down for the sake of the world. The big diffrence is WHAT the plan was. See when the Hayter script was made .. it was intended for 2003, complete with a screen test. This was two years after 9/11 so showing what was likely minutes of bloody bodies lying in the streets of new york after an attack.. was something they really coudln't do. They coudln't drop NYC either as it's grimy 80's exterior is as much a character as our heroes. So he came up with something else that made it all the way here.

So instead of Dr. Manhattan having harnessed his power to change the world, he's just getting to it as the film is in progress and is working with Adrian, who goes from a psychic alien attack.. the much simpler plan of using his energy to simulate Dr. Manhattan attacking the world, still giving humanity a common enemy.

Now while I like the squid sequence.. I get why a change had to happen. Even in 2009 9/11 was still fresh in minds. It was likely hard enough getting just dr. manhattan exploding people through. And besides just being sensitive to a reall life tragedy by making things more fantastical… the Squid thing is convoluted as fuck. Like Adrian does lay it out… but it requires a psychic's brain, kidnapping scientists and artists, and genetically cloning it into a squid. It's a BRILLIANT scheme, as it was made to be as believable as possible, and I love it dearly.. but when your trying to streamline an already beefy narrative to fit three hours, it's a LOT to unpack and something not everyone might get and understandably so. I even missed the whole psychic part till adrian brought it up. It has that many moving pieces.

You also have to remember this was pre-guardians of the galaxy. Studios were very gunshy about weird shit and they'd already let the naked blue man hanging dong pass inspection. Zack and Hayter likely didn't want to push it too far. So changing it from the slimy squid while sad.. was necessary.

That said the replacement.. just dosen't work for me. I get using Dr. Manhattan.. but how he pulled it off just raises a LOT of questions and leaves a hell of a lot more holes that could be traced back to him than in the original verison. For one thing the project wasn't some secret project on a remote island and then the arctic but a HIGHLY public clean energy project. I'm not sure they knew manhattan was powering it, but a bunch of scinetests going mising from that suddenly.. isn't going to go away forever. I mean sure Adrian can probbaly bury it with his money, but iwth the journal, there's every chance someone might look into it. Now i'm sure Nixon and later Regan after him would likely gladly shoot anyone who questioned this for world peace.. but i'm also sure someone could leak it eventually.

In the comic.. part of why Adrian won besides assuring world peace.. is he covered his tracks emacuatley: Everyone went missing long before he killed them, he could always fake bodies if needed given his genetic engineering and the squid was so convincingly alien, no one would really THINK to investigate something else. I do get Dr. Manhattan is so throughly. .not human it's supposed to be the same principal, but i'm also not convinced someone wouldn't buy the continence of it.

Not only that is trips away the ambigiutiy of Adrian getting caught as if he does.. Jon could just show up, go ooga booga and confirm the plan. It wipes away any chance of him blowing this away. Unless Jon intentionally lets Vedit hang out to dry, which dosen't seem likely, he gets away completely. It just.. dosen't work for me. I get what they were trying to do but it just dosen't add up.

There's one other adjustment to the ending, but this one I like: LIke the comic everyone but Rorshach agrees to keep quiet but for one thing it's even clearer Dan and Laurie aren't on board with this. We also get a nice adjustment to Rorshach's death as Dan follows.. and sees it happen… crying for his death. Even if Rorshach wasn't a great perosn.. he was still his friend and didn't deserve to die like this. While I like dhis lonely death in the comics.. this still works.

The part I like the most though.. is Dan storming in afterword's and beating the shit out of Adrian. Adrian dosen't fight back and it's left ambiguous: Does he feel guilty or is he just patronizing him like a father whose child is having a tantrum. It's what Dan says though that I really love

"You haven't idealized mankind, but you've deformed it, mutilated it.. that's your legacy.. that's the real practical joke".

Just Dan, tears down his face, knowing he can't get the justice that's required.. but not being content to just.. let Adrian smugly step away. He's given humanity utopia but before marred it with it's cost and will forever carry that burden as he damn well should. It's not QUITE as satisfying as "nothing ever ends".. but it still works with Vedit left just as stunned wondering if he really won. Which nicely brings us to

Under the Hood:

While snyder brought the core of the story well enough to screen, his character work was a bit more.. mixed. Some actors soared, others fell, and some were just let down by the script

We'll start with the character both most prominently used in marketing and whose often see as the franchises mascot, Rorshach. Jackie Earle Haley's performance.. is stunning, it's absolutely perfect to screen, having a nice gruff batman-esque tone that still sounds coarser more tired, and perfectly growly. It fits his uncomoromising mindset, blunt nature and perfectly captures that Rorshach needs help more than he needs to be murdering people. Haley PERFECTLY captures the character, and while he spends most of the film under a mask, he emotes greatly. He also BEAUTIFULLY excutes one of the best scenes of a comic, Rorshach's death. His response is growly.. but when taking off the mask.. he looks utterly destroyed at first, nicely replicating the crying and the fact that despite being so resolute.. even rorshach is sad not only is he passing.. but that a horrible man has gotten away with everything and his scream of "Do it!" is just.. perfect.

Writing wise however.. it's a mixed bag. Hayley does a lot of the heavy lifting.. but a lot of Rorshach's character and backstory was cut. We see flecks of it in his psychological examination but the darkness of mere being itself.. is largely cut out of the film. Malcom Long gets nothing of an arc, a huge shame given he was the only POC character of note in the piece (something Snyder could've rectified and didn't), while the context for Rorshach's fall is mostly gone. The change to what he does to the villain works, having been switched from the saw like handcuffs for understandable reasons ot him savagely meat cleaving the guy, but the slow slide from a man with a tragic past being a vigilante to a man who badly needs a therapist but is so far gone he can't accept the help he needs. .is gone and it takes weight for the character. A lot of what makes Rorshach so neat is gone.

Also gone.. are his right wing leanings. While his opening monologue his kept his homophobia, sexism and general other unpleasantness. This is a double edge sword.. on one hand it makes him more likeable.. but on the other hand it robs the ending of some of it's punch as even if Rorschach sucks.. the fact he's throughly RIGHT hit hit harder coming from someone so often wrong and his right wing fanaticism makes it less obvious if his words will carry weight givfen his various prejudices. The character only still works so well.. because Haley does such a phenomenal job in the roll that the various sanded off edges don't come off as bad as they should. He's just so good and so perfectly cast it helps. It's still not the strongest version of Rorschach, but damn if it isn't memorable.

Less well translated is Dr. Manhattan, who I feel gets the shaft despite his sticking out. I mean at least he probablyg ot some nice resduals form his condoms

Yeah while I feel bad people often overly focus on the character hanging dong, as the whole poitn of that is that he is so far beyond human concerns he dosen't evne care he's hanging dong anymore, I can't knock dc for having a perfect tie in with that.

Look dick jokes aside Dr. Manhattan's representation is really spotty. Some moments are translated perfectly: the aforementioned ride of the valyrkye scene, his spotlight with Watchmaker which shockingly shows off his sense of time despite being portrayed in a fraction of it, and his ending return as a giant blue man.

But a good chunk of his scenes are muted. Part of this is on Billy Crudup. He tries his best.. but ultimately just HOW good he is at portraying a detached godlike being.. varies on the scene. Sometimes he sounds perfectly alien and emotionless.. and other times he sounds like he's just.. bored. The latter just dosen't really work.. I mean sure he's lived through all of this but part of the characters mistique is he's often very hard to read. He also stumbles on the time he is, still coming off emotionless during his ephinany about Laurie or , most damingly when shouting for everyone to leave. Crudup just coudln't figure out the righ totne to match the scnee sand the character dosen't come off well.

Writing wise he's mostly fine.. but the Mars bit is completely botched. Like out of all the stuff the film adapts it's easily the issue that is done the absolute worst. See in the comics it looks like this

Nice crystaline but still pink and otherworldly. Easy enough toa dapt for some reason…. Zack Snyder went with..t his

yeah not only does mars look crappier as while ti's more realistic it's also all brown and muted, taking away a lot of the planets haunting majesty from the comic, but the palace for some reason is entirely made of glass, and cgi.. and as a result it looks REALLY bad. LIke I get using CG, I do, and Manhattan himself is an amazing effect. They got him to screen beauituflly, hanging dong and all. But this is just.. I can't tell if it was just the tightly stretched budget or terrible design choices but it just looks ugly and the scene is so cut down in the theatrical cut it just drains the whole phislocpiacal argument between Manhattan and Laurie. It's just..awful and when you cut a characters best scene down to ribbons he's bound to not come off great. Manhattan looks great but just.. feels souless

So speaking of laurie, stop me if you've heard this one: They cut out most of her backstory. Yeah that's a problem with the film as a whole: I get having to streamline things but not finding some way to intergrate the backstories as well damaged most of the cast. With Laurie it's especially bad as the pressure form her mother, the strained relationship and her painful history are all either underplayed or in the latter case gone entirely. Most of what character she did have is gone.

There is a TINY bit of good as she no longer breaks out into hysterics over most thing, an unfortunate trait I noticed that I don't think Moore or Gibbons thought through for you know, one of only two major female characters in the piece, and the other.. is defined ENTIRELY by nearly being raped then having sex with her rapist so not too good on either account.

That said they replace it with

Malin Ackerman tries her best, but even she admitted that she regretted taking the role, citing it was out of her comfort zone and being the only none shakesphere experinced one in the group and the work's importance, got a bad case of imposter syndrome. I just feel bad for her and her feeling out of her depth shows in her performace. it feels stilted like she dosen't know what to do.. and it's one of the times I blame the acting on Snyder himself. Sometimes acting can be bad direction but not helping an actor whose clearly struggling and not having the good sense to give her way more to work with and an actual character.. that's on him. He had no probelm adjusting the script when needed, so laurie coming out this underbaked is inexcusable. The fact she comes off more as a sex object thanks to her outfit and sex scene without having any AGENCY in said sexuality does not help.

WE then have Dan.. and he may be the only one tha'ts a full on improvement. Patcik Wilson is perfect in the part, not only looking exactly like dan but playing him well: he comes off just a touch more confident.. but not so much he isn't still the insecure, withdrawn nerd the story needs him to be. HE's still a painfully shy man, but he not only has a closer friendship with adrian that helps give him more to do in the plot, and more reason why he's more doubtful he's behind it at first, it also makes Adrian's actions hit harder. IN the comic it wasnt' clear if Adrian was all that close to any of his collegeues. Here the betryal feels personal. He also has great chemistry with ackerman. Wilson is the mvp of the film. And like I said he dosen't just sorta.. collapse and go along with the plan at the end, but is actively spiteful about having to and leaves Adrian devistated. This is easily the better version of dan, and it's likely because unlike the others we didn't get a ton of his backstory, so we only gain more of him instead of loosing a lot.

We then have our mastermind Ozymandis and he's done.. fine. Goode dosen't look the most like him, but did put a lot of effort into the roll. Granted he also infamously told people against his casting "Suck my dick because I don't give a fuck"

But he still did his best and I support his casting: he dosen't look like the superman of the books but more gaunt.. yet he does in the past, giving the feeling the weight of his actions and what has happened has worn on him. While he puts on the cold vener of detachment he dosen't have the smug ego. It makes the character diffrent.. but not in ab ad way, coming off as someone who is doing the grim work necesary to save the world instead of a smug egotist who thinks he's the only one who can. Neither is a good person, but both versions ar eintresting. Admitely Goode slips in an out of an accent but it came from the good idea of having Adrian be german and hide his accent in public to blend in more, as well as distance himself from his nazi parents. I wish this was more texual than just something he thought of but poitns for effort

Finally for the main cast we have our boogie man himself, The COmedian. Along with Stevens and Haley, Dean Morgan not only perfectly matches the role in apperance.. but just ooze sinto it. And since we get his full backstory bit, he's one of the few not as badly marred. The only issue I have is changing his attempted rape to have him be older: him being young and still trying to do something his awful signified that he'd ALWAYS been this cynical, selfish asshat and age only made him worse. The roll was a departure for Morgan who was best known for Grey's Anatomy at the time, but nicely blended into the roll and I wouldn't be shocked if, while not having seen him in wlaking dead, this roll landed him negan as I have read the comic version and the two characters are just similar enough for it to be perfect casting. Ther'es not a lot to say about the comedian I havne't in the comics reviews, Morgan is just perfec tin the roll and desreves more love as an actor.

Finally we have the only two minute men of consequences. Stephen McHattie does a great job as hollis mason though sadly his best scene was cut out of the film, as his death was done BETTER in the extended cut, which I almost reviewed but decided for KEv's wallet and times skae not to. It shows Hollis going down swining, imagining the top knot's as his foes. IT's a great death and I wish it'd been kept in.

Carl Gugino does great as Sally and while she dosen't get many scenes, she is great and I like adding a line about Sally having not regretted her one night stand with Eddie because of wha tit gave her, making her reconcilation with her daughter feel way more plausable.

So with that we just have a few odds and end to

The Cutting Room Floor

As you can probably guess the film exercised a lot. in addition to the various backstories, under the hood and tons of other stuff, pretty much every subplot is excised; The Newspaper Man, the kid with him, Malcom Long, the Lesbians, everyone is gone. The newspaperman and malcom long are unfortunate and it's asd to see them go.. the lesbians not so much as their subplot came off untiotnally homophobic. They also removed mustache cop and you can just imagine my reactoin

Most cuts are understandable. And with that

The Clock Strikes one

So overall Watchmen is a decent film: It has visual flair, some decent aditions, and cast that mostly tries their best even when some aren't given a lot. Is it a GREAT superhero film? Honestly.. no. The cut portions mute the story a bit and Gilliam was likely right that a mini series was a better fit, not to mention there's some tarnish of the time with the executive mandated sex scene and general poor writing for laurie as well as that freaking mars cgi. It's far from a perfect film.. but I still maintain it's pretty good and I still enjoyed it. It's not the best adaptation of the work.. but it's the best it could be within the time, budget and paramenters given and it's a clear labor of love. It's clear Snyder loved watchmen and while he amde some changes, he did his best to get the spirit of it down on film. THe result is a real treat if your a fan of the graphic novel or just a superhero fan in general and if your a fan of snyders, you'll likely enjoy this even more than his justice league works. Doubly if your not a fan. So check it out, it's on HBO max and.. thanks for reading all this way. This has been a decent retrospective and one of th ebiggest and most ambitious project si've done.. But it's time to put away the doomsday clock, let it chime to one in storage.. and stop watching the watchmen. It's been a long road but now.. I rest. See you in the new year.

#watchmen #warner bros #zack snyder #david hayter #david gibbons #jackie earle haley #malin ackerman #dan stevens #matthew goode

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toycollectornz · 1 year

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One of the Worst McDonalds Toys Ever

In my opinion one of the worst McDonalds toys ever promoted were those in the Warner Bros Anniversary happy meal that came out in January 2023 and continued until about April in a variety of countries excluding the US.

There are 24 Warner Bros iconic characters in the 12 pairs set including DC Superheroes, Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry and Teen Titans Go! Sounds good right? Well yes and no.

Open the pack and you will find a head with the body of two different characters front and back. The body (made of card) is the same deal allowing for mixing and matching. So you can, for example, put Superman's head on the body of Tom of Tom and Jerry fame. Or how about The Joker and Jerry switching bodies.

This is kind of fun. The concept in itself is fine per se. If these had been plastic they would have been a really popular set to rival Sonic, TMNT or other McDonald's DC Superheroes of past promotions but as paper toys they really suck.

The trouble with this set though, is not just that they are made from card, the heads are the real problem. In some countries these are aluminium which is pretty strange for a sustainable toy line don't you think?

In Australia and NZ though it got even worse because Maccas, out of choice or not, I'm not sure, but they distributed the Warner Bros toys with paper heads rather than metal.

Guess what happened? Most of these happy meal toys got binned before they even left the restaurant. Massive deforestation for what???

There has been some commentary in social media about below par McDonalds toys in 2023. I happen to believe that if you make a decent plastic toy of collectible characters like Mario Bros, Disney, or Superheroes then people are more likely to hold on to them. And, of course, as we know these are the kind of McDonalds toys most sought after by collectors too.

But we need to save the planet so plastic toys will have to eventually be phased out. In the meantime though I would like to see Maccas come up with toys that are worth taking home not crap like this!

As far as I am concerned the Warner Bros McDonalds toys 2023 are a massive failure. And truly are an example of sustainability that has good intentions but doesn't work in practice.

If you want to take a look at these Warner Bros happy meal toys in more detail head over to the toycollectornz website for lots of pictures and details of worldwide release of Warner Bros happy meal toys 2023.

#warner bros #happy meal toys #mcdonalds toys #mcdonald's toys #dc superheroes #the joker #tom and jerry #superman #batman #teen titans go #starfire #maccas #scooby doo #aquaman #cyborg

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phantom-le6 · 3 months

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Episode Reviews - Gotham: Season 1 (1 of 4)

At last, having sorted everything out at home by way of decoration stuff, I’m back to reviewing, and as promised, we get to start in on a new series, namely DC and Warner Brothers’ Batman-based prequel series Gotham…

Episode 01: Pilot

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Selina Kyle is prowling through Gotham City. After stealing a carton of milk and a wallet, she flees into an alley and hides in a fire escape. She watches Thomas and Martha Wayne with their son Bruce walking through the alley as they are walking home from seeing a movie. An unknown assailant approaches them, demanding Martha's pearl necklace and Thomas' wallet. After being given these items, the assailant shoots Thomas and Martha, leaving Bruce shocked in front of his parents' bodies while Selina watches.

Rookie detective James "Jim" Gordon and his partner, Harvey Bullock, are sent to investigate the crime scene. Gordon talks with Bruce and promises to capture the killer after Bruce explains to Gordon what happened when the Waynes' butler, Alfred Pennyworth arrives for Bruce. When they have no clues, they go to see Fish Mooney, an underling of Mafia Don Carmine Falcone, but they receive no information.

The next day, Bullock calls Gordon as he got a lead in the case. The suspect, Mario Pepper, flees from the apartment and nearly kills Gordon with a knife until Bullock fatally shoots him in the chest. During an inspection of the Pepper residence, they find the pearl necklace. As a result, Gordon and Bullock receive acclaim from the media for apparently solving the case. However, a low-level mobster Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot gives information to Major Crimes Unit investigators Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen, revealing Mooney framed Pepper for the murder. Montoya thinks Gordon and the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) are corrupt and plans on bringing them down.

Realizing Pepper is innocent, Gordon confronts Mooney, only to be kidnapped. Bullock goes to save his partner, only to be knocked out and tied up by Mooney's bodyguard, Butch Gilzean. Meanwhile, Mooney confronts Cobblepot and beats him with a baseball bat for being an informant. Gordon and Bullock are saved by Don Falcone, who says Mooney should ask him first to kill a cop. Falcone then reveals he saved Gordon due to a prior mutually respectful relationship he had with Peter Gordon, Jim's father. When Gordon accuses Falcone of killing the Waynes, Falcone retorts that it would not be in his financial interest to do so while also tacitly admitting to his compliance in framing Pepper.

To show his adherence to the corruption going on within Gotham City, Gordon is ordered by Falcone to kill Cobblepot at the Gotham Docks. Gordon fakes Cobblepot's death by throwing him in the river, telling him to never come back to Gotham. Gordon visits Bruce in his Manor, revealing Pepper was framed and promises to find the real killer. As he exits Wayne Manor, Selina is seen on an outside wall. The episode ends with Cobblepot climbing out of the river and killing a fisherman to steal his sandwich.

Review:

Gotham is an interesting take on the world of Batman in that we’re not focusing on Bruce Wayne and his costumed alter ego as we normally would in most Batman-based story-telling. Instead, the show’s primary focus is Jim Gordon, the future police commissioner, trying to handle being a police officer in Gotham back before Bruce could grow up to be Batman. It’s an interesting conceit, and the pilot episode for the series does well to introduce it, starting off with the iconic murder of the Waynes and letting that bring fans of the source material and new fans into this world.

Of course, to make such a show work, elements of the familiar get jumbled around a bit, and in most cases, these work well. Havey Bullock is now a veteran cop who has some seniority over Gordon rather than working under him, Montoya and Allen are rival cops, Penguin and the Riddler are present in their pre-villain personas and so on. We even have Selina Kyle present as a child pick-pocket, putting her at a comparable age to Bruce so that the option for Bruce-Selina romance down the line is open and acceptable. The nature of the show also allows a bit more exploration of Gotham’s organised crime situation instead of routinely having to go in on the Batman’s gallery of rogues, though as the show goes on, a lot of Batman’s notable foes do start coming to the fore one way or another.

Now I should note that this is a show I only saw the first two seasons of when it originally aired; owing to not catching advertisement for when the third season would hit UK television, I missed the remainder of it, and I’ve not come across repeats of the show since. Due to this, watching through my Blu-ray copy of the series is very much a first-time viewing for me. As such, I may not give every story line its full due at the time. For this episode, I think it’s a solid start and doesn’t seem to have any major issues, but does it blow me away as a top-scoring piece of television. Probably not, if only because this is just the first instalment of the show, and most shows don’t hit their stride right off the bat. On balance, I think 9 out of 10 is a reasonable score for this one. Would be 8, but the clever way Gordon manages to fake his shooting of Cobblepot really raises that part of the story very nicely.

Episode 02: Selina Kyle

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

On the streets of Gotham, two people Patti and Doug, pretending to be volunteers from the Mayor's Homeless Outreach Project, kidnap two kids and kill a homeless war veteran while a third kid, Mackey, escapes. Doug follows him until he accidentally throws Mackey in a restaurant window, forcing him to flee. Gordon and Bullock investigate the war veteran and interrogate Mackey, although Bullock is sceptical of his testimony. Meanwhile, Cobblepot makes his way back to Gotham City hitchhiking. Two boys pick him up and give him a beer, but when the passenger tells him he walks like a "penguin", he kills him, and keeps the driver, bound and gagged with duct tape, as a hostage.

In the GCPD, forensic scientist Edward Nygma reveals a high level of ATP, a knock-out drug with no recreational value, in Mackey’s system. This prompts Captain Sarah Essen to order Gordon and Bullock to investigate but not to reveal any information to the media. Montoya and Allen investigate Cobblepot's disappearance and upon interrogating his mother, Gertrude Kapelput, they deduce he was killed by Mooney and the corrupt cops.

Don Falcone talks with Fish Mooney telling her Cobblepot told him she was going to turn against him. While talking with Butch Gilzean, Mooney plans on killing Falcone. When Gordon shows his frustration to his fiancée, Barbara Kean, she gives the information to the press as an anonymous tip. Gordon and Bullock ambush Patti and Doug in a facility and although they escape, they rescue the children.

Mayor Aubrey James decides to send the kids to the juvenile service. However, one of the buses being used for the children, including Selina Kyle, is taken by Patti and Doug. They take them to a storage container, planning on sending them to "Dollmaker". After trying to get Selina, they're captured by Gordon and Bullock after receiving a tip from their worker, Morry Quillan. At the police station, Selina reveals to Gordon she saw who killed the Waynes in the alley.

Review:

Given the relative lack of Selina in this episode, it feels like a bit of a let-down to have her name be the title. It’s also a little concerning that this episode is somehow praised for being more original than the pilot, yet it involves a bus-related kidnapping amid a mass relocation that is clearly derived from Christopher Nolan’s Batman film The Dark Knight, which by the time of Gotham’s first season was six years old. How can this episode be said to have originality if it’s recycling Nolan’s plot-points? That said, the episode does continue to give us more about the characters in a slow-burn pattern more akin to what the CSI franchise typically does with its characters. Everything that’s meant to be developing continues to do so at one level or another, and we get a pretty good cliffhanger moment on the end of the episode. As such, I’d probably give this episode about 8 out of 10.

Episode 03: The Balloonman

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Cobblepot returns to Gotham City. A breaking news report on a nearby TV reports that a businessman Ronald Danzer is out on bail awaiting trial for a Ponzi scheme that bilked its victims out of a combined total of half a billion dollars. He tries to escape when he is intercepted outside the building by a man with a pig mask. The man ties Danzer to a weather balloon and Danzer floats in the sky.

As Gordon and Bullock investigate the "Balloonman" case (where he kills corrupt citizens), Gordon works with Selina on the Wayne murder case. He takes her to the alley and explains what she saw but Gordon is not convinced that she was really there at the time of the incident. When she reveals she stole a man's wallet before going to the alley and recalling when the man reported it, she says the wallet fell in the sewer. Gordon handcuffs her and goes down the sewer to look for the wallet. He finds it but Selina frees herself and flees.

Fish Mooney is questioned by Montoya and Allen about Cobblepot's whereabouts. She suggests it was Gordon who killed him, which makes them realize it was Falcone who ordered the hit. While practicing fencing with Alfred, Bruce decides to lead his own investigation of the murder of his parents.

Cobblepot gets a job at Bamonte's Restaurant as a dishwasher under the alias of Paolo, after having killed one of the employees. He is surprised when he sees mob boss Salvatore Maroni using the restaurant as a base of operations for his businesses. Maroni notices him and befriends him as Maroni sees Cobblepot as a younger version of himself. Lt. Bill Cranston is the next victim of the Balloonman. Barbara is visited by Montoya, and it is revealed that the two of them were formerly lovers. Montoya tries to tell Barbara of Gordon's involvement in Cobblepot's disappearance but Barbara refuses to believe her.

Gordon and Bullock arrest Carl Smikers, the manufacturer of the balloons, and take him to the station for questioning. They realize that social worker Davis Lamond is the Balloonman and they get orders to arrest him. Arriving at a facility, Gordon and Bullock ambush him. However, Lamond holds Bullock at gunpoint, confessing to having become The Balloonman to stop put an end to the city's corruption. After a fight, during which Gordon and Lamond are carried into the air holding the weather balloon, Bullock shoots the balloon and both Gordon and Lamond fall. Lamond is then arrested.

Bruce and Alfred watch the arrest of Lamond with Alfred praising The Balloonman's actions, but Bruce says that as he killed people, he's a criminal as well. In the Gordon's Penthouse, Barbara opens the door to reveal Cobblepot outside, asking for Gordon.

Review:

This episode somewhat mishandles the plot thread left from the previous one regarding Selina being an eye witness to the murder of the Waynes. Whether we put this down to Jim Gordon being a rookie detective, the show being new and not yet having found its stride, or the need to keep the Wayne murders unsolved for a while, there were probably better ways to handle this. However, this episode does do something right in that it starts to show us that some people in Gotham also want to make it better, but like a lot of Batman’s rogues, they feel that their ends justify the means they use. This thread seems to recur a little in this first round of episodes, providing perhaps some basis for why Bruce ultimately chooses to become the Batman rather than taking some other route.

Now on Wikipedia, I notice one critic claimed that Gotham being constantly shown as a place of corruption makes it hard to care for anyone, and that it seems to routinely foreshadow things for a show that won’t come, that everything is “going nuts way ahead of schedule.” Clearly, this critic didn’t get a couple of memos. One, Gotham is about James Gordon dealing with pre-Batman Gotham City. Once Bruce becomes Batman, that is it; series over. As such, we’re not getting foreshadowing for a series that won’t come; we’re getting Bruce’s path to becoming Batman instead of skipping over it. If you want to watch this show, you need to get that in your head, or there’s no point.

Also, why does Gotham have to wait for a Batman before going nuts? Most story-tellers and fans would agree that Gotham is inherently mad, that Batman is a response to the madness of Gotham rather than the lunatic villains being a response to Batman, so having someone like this “balloonman” show up is hardly “ahead of schedule”. This is Gotham City; buy into that or don’t, your call, but if you don’t buy into it, why even watch the show? Again, a decent episode but not the best. I’d give it another 8 out of 10.

Episode 04: Arkham

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Gordon berates Cobblepot after showing up at his apartment. Cobblepot tells him a mob war will happen with the Arkham Plan, which convinces Gordon. It's revealed that Falcone and Mayor James are backing the project as originally proposed by the late Thomas and Martha Wayne, but a counter-proposal is being backed by Maroni. If the Maroni plan goes through instead of the Wayne plan, it would make Falcone appear weak and begin the mob war Cobblepot predicts.

A councilman, Ron Jenkins is killed by a hitman. Gordon tells Bullock and Essen that the Arkham District is a battlefield between Falcone and Maroni. Later, the same hitman kills Councilman Zeller, who was on the opposite side of the Arkham vote to Jenkins, leading Gordon to theorise that Falcone and Maroni both used the same hitman to try and swing the Arkham vote their way. Upon visiting a prisoner who knows the hitman, Gordon and Bullock look for Richard Gladwell, a possible suspect. They find a paper that reads C.L.M.

Bamonte's is attacked by three masked men, which forces Cobblepot to protect the money until they flee. Cobblepot is promoted to restaurant manager by Maroni after the manager is killed in the attack. It was discovered by Bullock that the real Gladwell was dead for five years and that the hitman was using his name. Gordon figures out that Mayor James will be the next target, due to the C.L.M. referring to the initials of the officers sent to protect the mayor. While protecting James, Gordon fights the hitman until Bullock arrives to back him up. The hitman is killed by Bullock and Gordon.

Meanwhile, Mooney pairs up two possible women for her nightclub job opening against each other where a woman named Liza wins; in reality, she is trying to create someone to use as a weapon against Falcone. Mayor James holds a press conference about the Arkham Plan, which is now a combination of the Wayne and Maroni plans. Cobblepot reunites with the masked men who attacked Bamonte's, turning out he hired them so he could get the promotion. They then die after Cobblepot serves them poisoned cannoli. During the episode, Gordon falls out with Barbara over his secrecy, and she gives him an ultimatum; to let her in or to lose her.

Review:

As the title of this episode implies, we finally get the Arkham region of Gotham brought into play. Unlike some incarnations, where Arkham just refers to the asylum housing Batman’s more deranged opposition somewhere outside the city proper, Gotham makes Arkham into a region of the city itself, the asylum therein being just one part of the city. It’s put at the centre of conflicting agendas in the Gotham underworld, which nicely ties together and accelerates a number of the on-going plot-threads at hand.

Now the critic I noted as not getting the memos on the last episode is being quoted again on Wikipedia, and again has missed a key memo. He notes that it seemed strange for both Falcone and Maroni to hire the same hitman, and for them to hit councilmen one-by-one rather than hitting several on one side or going straight for each other. Clearly, said critic hasn’t read or watched anything involving organised crime in fiction, or at least not enough of it. Top dons like Falcone or Maroni tend to be well-guarded, making a direct hit on a rival boss next to impossible. This is why Mooney is preparing a honeytrap-style weapon in the form of Liza; to bypass with subtlety what the violence of goons or a hitman cannot.

As to why you only target one councilman at a time and not several, that’s because Gotham’s organised crime works within the city’s infrastructure. Take down too many people in any part of that infrastructure at once, instant chaos, which is not what Falcone or Maroni want. Falcone wants to retain control of Gotham, Maroni wants to seize control. What we’re seeing in this episode is more a crude form of chess, especially in comparison to Cobblepot’s more subtle gamesmanship that we see come into play in this episode. For me, this was the first time Gotham has really fired on all cylinders, and I’m inclined to give it 10 out of 10.

Episode 05: Viper

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Bruce plans to find a way to speak to the board members of Wayne Enterprises to learn their connections to the Arkham District Project, as it seems strange to him that Falcone and Maroni would each get deals in the project without intervention from WE. Later, a new drug called "Viper", a prototype of the super-steroid Venom, is hitting the street, which endows users with super-strength but eventually kills them by draining their bones of calcium. Maroni plans to rob a casino owned by Falcone, and Cobblepot reveals his past which results in Maroni assaulting him, and Maroni’s lieutenant Frankie confronting Gordon, telling him to come with him or else he will reveal that Cobblepot is still alive, which could put his life in danger if Falcone were to learn about it.

Gordon is made to tell his own version of past events to Maroni; if it matches Cobblepot’s story, both men live, but if not then they both die. Luckily, Gordon’s story matches and Maroni allows both men to live, delighted to know that Cobblepot’s survival is a secret, enabling him to use Cobblepot’s insider knowledge against Falcone. Gordon and Bullock learn that "Viper" is being distributed at a charity event held by WellZyn and its parent company, Wayne Enterprises, which is targeted by former WellZyn employee Stan Potolsky, who is planning to reveal Wellzyn's involvement with "Viper" by exposing it to everyone present. Gordon shoots the canister on the roof and Potolsky is exposed, jumping off as he suggests they check out Warehouse 39, where Gordon and Bullock later find nothing. During their search, a WellZyn board member was watching them from afar. As Mooney makes plans to conspire against Falcone with her lover and Russian mob boss Nikolai, a disguised Liza visits Falcone in the park, where she bonds with him while sharing her supposed love for Giacomo Puccini's aria "O Mio Babbino Caro."

Review:

As the gang feud plots nicely continue, we get to see Wayne Enterprises come into events more, but in a very negative light as it seems the company may be as corrupt as wider Gotham. We also get another element being brought in from the source material for fans courtesy of the title drug of the episode being a precursor to Venom, the super-steroid notably used by the infamous Bane. The episode is also the second, thematically speaking, to show someone using their ends to justify horrific means, setting up the notion that prior to the example set by Batman, vigilantism in Gotham was certainly a bad thing. This helps Batman’s eventual acceptance by the GCPD to make more sense, as he’d be the one person taking any kind of positive approach to such a practice. It’s a decent episode, albeit not quite up to the top level we got with the previous instalment. For me, this one earns an 8 out of 10; if a follow-up on Barbara’s issues with Gordon had been included straight away instead of left to the next episode, it could have been 9.

Episode 06: Spirit of the Goat

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The episode begins with a flashback set 10 years ago. A young Bullock and his partner, Dix, are sent to rescue a girl, Shelley Lawson, who was kidnapped by a serial killer known as the Spirit of the Goat, who kills the firstborn of Gotham's elite. They discover her dead and have a fight with the vigilante, revealed to be Randall Milkie. Dix falls through a trapdoor while Bullock kills Milkie.

In the present, the body of a girl, Amanda Hastings, is discovered with a pattern very similar to the Spirit of the Goat. This convinces Bullock that they are dealing with a copycat, but when a key omitted detail turns out to match the original murders, it appears that Milkie wasn't working alone in his crimes, or not even dead after all. After another girl is kidnapped, Gordon and Bullock go to the same place ten years ago and they arrest the vigilante. The identity of the person is a janitor, Raymond Earl, who had no relation to Milkie. Bullock then discovers that both had the same psychiatrist, Dr Marks, revealing that she hypnotized them to do her bidding, which consisted of having the murders committed in an effort to shake Gotham out of its corrupt ways.

Meanwhile, Gordon agrees to let Barbara know all he can so the two of them can reconcile, but when a longshoreman confesses witnessing Gordon killing Cobblepot, Montoya and Allen file an arrest warrant for Gordon. They arrest him in his apartment and they take him to the GCPD. Bullock tries to defend Gordon that he didn't kill Cobblepot and as everyone argues, Cobblepot appears in the door. Bullock then berates Gordon for his actions.

Review:

This episode gives us some great character development for Bullock, who it turns out used to be quite like Jim Gordon in his younger days. The fate of his former partner Dix, combined no doubt with general life as a Gotham cop, seems to have pushed Harvey into becoming the surly and slightly corrupt cop that he now is. Sadly, this episode is another example of TV and film villainising hypnosis, this time as a means to create a serial killer to slay spoiled rich kids. Seriously, this doctor couldn’t have maybe just hypnotised the one-percenters she worked with to donate more to charity? Mind you, the episode is right to note that hypnosis can only make people do things they already want to do, and how many of the rich and powerful ever want to surrender wealth?

Really, this episode probably more notable for bringing the MCU investigation of Gordon for Cobblepot’s murder to a very interesting cliff-hanger. With Cobblepot now revealed as alive, any criminal case against Gordon is sunk, but it’ll be interesting to see how Gordon weathers the fallout in relation to Bullock, Mooney and the Falcone crime family. This should make the episode score highly, but as anything showing hypnosis in a negative light tends to grind my proverbial gears, I’m taking the score way down and only giving 7 out of 10.

#gotham tv show #episode review

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