TV GUIDE: Ask Matt: Supernatural, USA vs. NBC, Lights Out, Nikita, Criminal Minds and More!
Mar 14, 2011
by Matt Roush
Send questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow on Twitter!
... Question: Hoping you might have some thoughts on Supernatural this season. Like a lot of fans, I've been seriously disappointed by the fact my favorite show seems to be floundering without Eric Kripke at the helm. I'm finding season 6 to be an incohesive mess, with little apparent "through line" when it comes to plot and characterization, and disappointing underuse of both Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins. I'd love to know how you see things, and what your thoughts are for the show moving forward to a seventh season? As you know, the Supernatural fandom is very active online, and I'm getting the distinct impression from go-to fan forums that a good proportion of the fandom is underwhelmed by season 6, and have either jumped ship or plan to if things don't look up after the show starts airing again. — Kate
Matt Roush: I gather you weren't part of the crowd at Sunday's PaleyFest lovefest in L.A., huh? These are almost fighting words when you consider how passionate the fan base for Supernatural is. I can't speak for any fan consensus, because I rarely seek out those forums so as to keep my own perspective untainted. But I'm not surprised to hear this season has been a letdown to many — although it doesn't get better than the recent "meta" episode, which I enjoyed greatly, in part as a commentary on doing a "season 6" when the fifth season was for so long regarded as the show's likely endgame. I'm not as engaged in this post-apocalypse season as I have been in past years, and part of that may have something to do with a sense of anti-climax, a feeling that a show like this may have been better off ending on a high. Sam's soul aside, I don't feel the stakes are as high — and I often find myself wishing I were spending time with the civil war taking place in Heaven, as the stuff happening on Earth isn't as thrilling or intriguing as it used to be. (So without getting into the middle of those tiresome "not enough Dean" debates, I guess I would have to agree I'd like more Castiel — and according to reports from Paley, we will get a Castiel-centric episode soon.) But do I think longtime fans will or should bail? In a word: No. In a genre like this, you never know when the next knockout episode will happen — I'm especially looking forward to the upcoming Western-themed hour — and even mediocre Supernatural is a better diversion than most. But if you're missing Fringe for this show on Friday nights, then we have an issue. Fringe is on fire this season, and anyone with an interest in the future of TV fantasy/sci-fi/horror should be watching.
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