Watching Supernatural

The LA Times recently published an article following the inception and current state of financial affairs over at the CW. Among other things, the author seems content to point to the WGA strike as a major factor for the lack of advertising money that the CW is now suffering from.

While I’m sure the WGA strike is taking its toll on the CW, I applaud the author for also pointing out that the CW mismanaged their advertising.

“”Their shows are very good,” said Shari Anne Brill, programming director for ad-buying firm Carat. “It almost seems like people don’t know that they are there.” Source

Yes, they are very good. Gossip Girl is looking to become the next O.C. Aliens in America is a quirky and fun portrayal of life in suburban America. Smallville is a proven fan-favorite. America’s Next Top Model is certainly holding strong as the number one rated show on the CW.

But where the hell is Supernatural in that list?

In the words of Paul McGwire, The CW’s network communications executive:

“The CW is very supportive of Supernatural and continues to be. The show continues to deliver strong episodes viewers like yourself have embraced.”Source

If that’s so, why hasn’t there been more promotion of Supernatural? I distinctly remember seeing large posters for Reaper and Gossip Girl on train platforms, but I’ve yet to see one for Supernatural.

For a show that consistently yields ratings of about 3 million viewers, and even picked up some excellent ratings this week with “Malleus Maleficarum,” the treatment the show has been getting from the advertising department has been absolutely deplorable.

Yes, Supernatural is a genre show that isn’t aimed at simpering fun like Gossip Girl, quirky comedy like Aliens in America, or even tomfoolery like Reaper. It’s serious, it’s dark, and it’s frighteningly real.

I suggest you advertising folks pay attention to the possible runaway hit you have in your hands. If you don’t, you’ll get rid of it, and then you’ll kick yourself very hard for losing the only show that actually had a hope of standing up against Grey’s and Lost.

Even if you aren’t a part of a Nielsen family, and even if you are a fan of Lost, PLEASE consider watching Supernatural as it airs tonight instead of Lost. Lost will always be a ratings master, but this is one of few chances we have left to show our support for Supernatural.

Supernatural airs tonight on the CW at 9 ET/8 CT.

TAGS: supernatural, the cw

Last Saturday, Globe and Mail released a harrowing article about the hardships faced by workers and crews for American television shows filmed in Vancouver (one of which is Supernatural) now that the WGA strike has halted their jobs indefinitely. Even Canadian actors like Shane Meier who is now “selling jeans in Vancouver’s Yaletown district,” are facing the crunch.

“‘I always thought working a 15-hour day on-set is difficult, but try working an eight-hour shift on Boxing Day,’ Meier said about his introduction to the retail work force. He said he doesn’t mind when customers recognize him and ask him what on earth he’s doing working in a denim store. He’s just glad to have an income.” (Source)

Interestingly enough, the Hollywood Reporter posted an article the same day, in which they stated that native Canadian television series are actually benefiting from the American strike. It seems that Canadian viewers are so bored with consistent reruns that they’ve been tuning into their homegrown material in greater numbers recently.

“New action-adventure drama The Border bowed Monday night [Jan. 7th] with 710,000 total viewers, impressive in a market where 1 million viewers amounts to a popular hit series.

‘We’re thrilled. The one hour drama genre is a very hard nut to crack in Canada and these numbers are a real indicator of success,’ Kirstine Layfield, CBC executive director of network programming, said.” (Source)

Who cares you might be asking yourself right now, especially if you’re an American. This has nothing to do with Supernatural! Well, you’re wrong, and here’s why:

Let’s break down those statistics from the Hollywood Reporter. Only a few of the newer Canadian shows are showing increased ratings, but who’s to say that those ratings won’t sink the moment the strike is over? For a real shift in ratings, there must be a decrease in the number of American shows shown in Canada. In other words, there has to be a significant period with no new American television material for Canadian shows to truly pick up the slack. That means, for the Canadian television industry to really benefit from the strike, the strike must continue indefinitely.

Now, do we really want a longer strike? It’s true that the strike has given us a shortened season, which is a shame, but is that really where it ends?

Countless times from the DVD extras and behind the scenes videos, we fans have seen that everything about the working environment on the set of Supernatural contributes to making it the well-loved show that we know. How many stories have we heard from guest actors who’ve not only raved about Jensen and Jared but also how nice the crew in general was? Remember the stories about how hockey is played on the set between takes?

Supernatural relies on more than its actors and its writing to make it the impressive show that it is: it also requires a dedicated crew. Most, if not all, of that crew in the Vancouver locations are Canadians, not Americans. A longer strike not only puts them out of a job, but it also means that we might lose them to other shows. Essentially, the Supernatural ‘family’ in Vancouver will soon be broken up.

Don’t forget the recent scheduling changes that the CW has made for the mid-season. While I don’t believe it was a direct snub to Supernatural, I do believe that the CW is severely impairing the show’s ability to garner new viewers by refusing to air repeats. In their attempt to raise the ratings for Reaper in this shortened season, they have deliberately shelved Supernatural.

In my opinion, the scheduling changes, the affects on the Vancouver television industry, and our own lack of new episodes offer only one solution: the strike must end.

How do we do that? As fans, all we can do is GET LOUDER. I do not mean that we should ridicule or bash the writers for being on strike; in fact, I fully support their cause. But as we’ve seen with the return of Jericho and the own impact our fanbase has had on Supernatural, our voices count in corporate ears. Even if you feel that you’ll be ignored, remember that to be ignored, you have to speak first.

Check out fans4writers and see what you can do to help.

For Supernatural alone, check out Supernatural Underground for promotional campaigns. You can also send emails to the CW at feedback@cwtv.com. But to take a page from the Jericho handbook, PLEASE BE POLITE AND CONCISE.

TAGS: supernatural, fans4writers, wga strike

(Protest sign of Ben Edlund, co-exec producer of SPN,
thanks to Emmett Furey)

Even though production shut down on December 5th, our Supernatural crew hasn’t been idling by. Ben Edlund, co-executive producer of the show, has been nearly everywhere in the strike. Last Friday, December 7th, Edlund joined his fellow former-and-present-members of Mutant Enemy, the production company that produced Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly, in their protest at Fox studios. According to IGN, he was joined by other writers, actors, and fans of Joss Whedon.

Also, TV Guide recently interviewed SPN creator Eric Kripke on the new episode tomorrow night, as well as the fate of the few future episodes ahead.

It turns out that Ridge Canipe, the actor who played young Dean in Season 1’s “Something Wicked” (the first episode where the young Winchesters were featured) is returning to star in the flashbacks for the upcoming “A Very Supernatural Christmas.” Unfortunately, Alex Ferris, who played young Sam in “Something Wicked” is being replaced by Colin Ford for “A Very Supernatural Christmas.” If you ask me, Ford looks more like a younger Sam than Ferris did, which is nice.

According to Kripke, there are four more episodes left after tomorrow night’s (a total of twelve episodes for this season) until they start running repeats. Now, for the remaining episodes (more…)

(Ben Edlund with daughter Ezra on the picket lines.
IImage by Jim Stevenson, from here)

This news broke on Friday the 16th, but was confirmed over the weekend. Both sides will meet after Thanksgiving to negotiate once again. Hopefully this will bring about a swift resolution to the crippling strike!

There are also some new campaigns underway to show fan support for the strike. The Pencils2MediaMoguls campaign involves pooling money together to deliver huge boxes of pencils to the six men who run the media conglomerates in the U.S. By taking a page from the Jericho campaign, concerned fans hope to make a huge impact in this way.

All pencils are made from sustainably harvested wood (not deforested) by the California Republic Stationers. To donate (it costs $1 a box), visit this page and add it to your cart.

TAGS: supernatural, pencils2mediamoguls, WGA strike

In light of the ongoing WGA strike, many Supernatural fans have responded to writer Sera Gamble’s comments about the strike and opted to show their support by sending food to the strikers along with the “Write No Evil” flyer above in support.

If you live in the L.A. area and would like to send some food to our writers, contact toastedtravesty@gmail.com. If you don’t live in the area but would like to donate money to purchase the food, you can access the Paypal account.

TAGS: write no evil, supernatural

Operation: Winchester is a project that aims to support the hard-working troops overseas by sending them care packages that include a few of the comforts of home, along with copies of the “Supernatural” Season 1 DVD sets. In the process, we put some much-needed supplies and quality entertainment in the hands of a lot of deserving people, and help spread the word about “Supernatural” at the same time. (Source)

Operation: Winchester has launched it’s second phase, which is a collaboration with the Staten Island Project Homefront to send Supernatural DVDs to U.S. troops overseas. If you’d like more information on how to help out, please check out the above links and make a donation!

As a side note, I’d first heard of the Staten Island Project Homefront in conjunction with the similar campaign to send nuts on behalf of Jericho fans. In fact, that campaign was particularly successful, as you can see in the video below (taken by fan JerichoBaginz):

For more joint fan promotions between Jericho and Supernatural fans, check out the We Are Fandom Campaign.

TAGS: supernatural, operation winchester, we are fandom, staten island project homefront, jericho

From hancoll at promote_spn

Today, we’re kicking off a new project that’s like nothing we’ve done before. In fact, we’re not sure it’s ever been done before:

Welcome to We Are Fandom.

(more…)