Watching Supernatural

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