Top 5 List (a long time coming and yet another long post...sorry)

I have been a horrible blogger lately from both a writing and a reading standpoint. I'm hoping to fix that, but when I have something itching to come out of my brain, I have to write it, and this is one of those times. I felt like doing a Top 5.

I think I've rambled enough about my love for Supernatural. It's not the same kind of love as Once Upon A Time...it's really not a 'feel good" kind of show, but it's entertainment/escapism, which is what I need, especially now. Sometimes I just don't want to feel good, I want to forget, even if it's only for a few hours.

Supernatural tackles every single scary tale, folklore, monster, religious iconology, mythology, and just about every other mystical subject you can think of. Everyone dies, sometimes they come back, sometimes not. But it does have a funny side, which isn't something you would expect from what is basically a weekly horror movie. And, even I have to admit that the special effects in Supernatural, even back in 2005, were always WAY better than anything in Once. Sad, but true.

The 13th Season of Supernatural came out on Netflix and, although I'd usually wait until I got the Blu Ray, I figured, since it was a long weekend, what the heck (and, per usual, I was done by mid Saturday anyway). But by the time I got to the Scoobynatural episode, I started thinking about the best episodes of the show that make fun of itself. To be honest, that's why the show has lasted so long...it can be serious, but it can also ben amazingly funny at times by making fun of itself.

This Top 5 is my 5 favorite self-depreciating, yet hilarious episodes of Supernatural. I'll try not to give too many spoilers for those who have never seen the show, but it's going to be hard, so brace yourself for spoilers.

#5: 8:08 Hunteri Heroci

The basic premise of this episode is that a former friend of Sam and Dean's father, who is a telepath, has now grown old and gotten dementia. He's in a nursing home, in and out of consciousness, spending his days watching old Bugs Bunny/Road Runner cartoons and basically lives in them (and anyone who gets too close to him gets the same sorts of weirdness). The doctor who runs the nursing home has decided to use the telepath to rob banks and the homes of other patients (in very Wyle E. Coyote style...dropping anvils, black disc holes that allow you to go through walls or vaults, etc). The boys have to fight back Road Runner style. Here's part of the big fight scene and some highlights:

And I kind of like this clip of the Castiel (who is an angel) highlights of the episode (because he literally made that episode with his total uncouthness that tends to make him a total dork, but in a weirdly sexy way):

Of course, they defeat the bad buy and, because of the danger of the dementia-ridden telepath, Castiel had to step in and help to relieve his mind in a way that won't kill him. Gotta love Cass.

This episode makes my list because it reminds me of the good 'ole Looney Toon days. Despite being a Disney girl, I never missed a single episode of Looney Toons and I know those classic episodes as well as the classic Disney ones. It's just sad that they are now considered inappropriate for children because of their violence and political incorrectness. I don't understand this world now. But anyway...that is a lost cause now I guess.

#4: 5:08 Changing Channels

Sam and Dean get sucked into TV Land by the Trickster (aka Loki (and let's leave that alone for now), aka something I probably shouldn't reveal yet, but you'll figure out with the last video...just not who). But they get trapped in a sitcom, a soap opera, a Japanese game show, a procedural crime show, and several other shows/commercials. They realize the only way to get out is to play along to get out of each show and get to the Trickster.

And, I'm adding this one because it's my favorite and it's not in the previous video ("Dean, that's uncomfortable"...classic!):

Eventually, they capture the Trickster, he lets them go and his true identity was revealed.

#3: 3:11 Mystery Spot

Anyone who is old enough to remember Groundhog Dog Day will love this episode. Again, the Trickster is involved (gotta love him!), but in an effort to teach Sam the lesson that he is going to have to live without Dean eventually (long story involving soul selling and a short trip to hell later on), Loki traps them in a time loop, forcing Sam to live Dean's death every single day, only to wake up and it be Tuesday all over again. The funny part is how many different ways Dean dies (although there are several missing from this video). My personal favorite? "These tacos taste funny to you?".

Needless to say, the Trickster lets them move on to Wednesday, but something else bad happens and Sam has to fight his way back to that particular Tuesday again to fix everything (which obviously he does).

#2: 10:05 Fan Fiction

Up until Season 13, this was my all-time favorite Supernatural episode. If you are 10 seasons invested in a show, and the 200th episode rolls around, it's always a special one, but they decided to make it a dedication to the fans, something other shows don't tend to do, and it was the best love letter of all. It was a musical episode, but not in the way of Once Upon A Time, but in a way I've never seen before. They addressed shipping (which I don't usually have issue with, except the Sam/Dean stuff...they are brothers and, well, that's just...ewww), fan fiction (hence the title), and the original songs written specifically for the episodes are actually really good.

The basic premise of the episode is that there is a kidnapping at an all girls school and the boys go to investigate only to find that it is centered around the school's musical production based on the "Supernatural" books (a meta story-line in the series...there are a series of books written about the boys by an author who later turns out to be EXTREMELY important...and let's just leave that alone for now). The villain of this piece turns out to be Calliope (there's a mystery in that one for all you Greek myth fans out there). The funniest part though is when the boys first see the musical. The first time I saw it, I laughed so hard I almost wet myself! I guess it would be weird seeing someone perform your tragic life story in musical form right in front of you!

And here is a lot of the musical as it was performed...I'm showing this because I do really love the songs and it shows the story of the boy's life. At the end of each season, toward the big finale episodes, Carry On My Wayward Son is the song that plays as a recap song for "The Road So Far". The final version of the musical song is a fitting dedication because it's softer and again, it's the ultimate love letter to the fans.


#1 13:16 Scoobynatural

I wanted to not like this episode. I felt this was pushing the envelope way too far, even for this show. But what I discovered pretty quickly, especially as a person who watched Scooby-Doo religiously as a kid (although I did grow out of it, unlike Disney stuff), was that there were no two shows that could have crossed together as well as these two did.

Watching Dean try to constantly hit on Daphne and never get anywhere was hilarious! He always gets the girl, but she couldn't see past Fred. But on the opposite side of that, Sam couldn't keep Velma off him! When the boys finally have to explain that ghosts are real, there is a total classic Scooby moment and, like Fan Fiction, a love letter from Supernatural to Scooby Doo.

To make the Scooby gang happy, they give the Scoobies their typical ending, and then solve the mystery the Sam and Dean way.

Honorable Mention - 6:15 The French Mistake

This episode used to be #5 on the list, but I guess now it's #6. In an effort to hide a relic from the Archangel Raphael, Balthazar (another angel), opens a portal to another world and throws Sam and Dean into it. Problem is, it's "our" world where Sam is his "real" alter-ego Jared Padalecki and Dean is Jensen Ackles. The hilarity ensues because they are trying to be actors playing "themselves" in a world without magic. But watching them trying to act...OMG! What adds to the hilarity is that all the "backstage" people are named after the real directors, producers, writers, and etc from the show.

And when they meet with Cass and his real persona of Misha Collins, even more hilarity:

Since Jared married Genevieve Cortese (aka the demon Ruby version 2.0) in real life, that adds to the funny.

They end up back in "their" world and fix things enough to move forward with what was happening in that season, but it was a nice "break" from the heaviness of that season.

Normally, I wouldn't do a spoiler like this, but here is every single "The Road So Far" from seasons 1-13. If you haven't seen the show ever, I probably wouldn't recommend you watch this (because you probably won't understand it anyway, they go by awfully fast), but I absolutely adore recaps and the highlights of all the best of every episode does show how amazing it actually is, so what the heck! Besides, it is interesting to see how young they look from Season 1 to Season 13. It is the longest running American sci-fi show ever (only topped by Doctor Who). Oh, and get used to hearing the same song 13 times in a row. Sometimes, there are mid-season Roads, but these aren't included in this video (it would probably be an hour long then). I'll leave with this.

Comments

Linda said…
Sounds like an interesting show Keiley. I have never seen it.

Linda
It does sound interesting.
Tiffstitch said…
Someday I'll get back into this, I keep meaning too and something else comes up. Great post!
Bethan said…
One of my oldest friends loves this show. I know I'd enjoy it, but I find scary stuff way too jumpy! x
I love these 'funny' Supernatural episodes. The show is so dark and dramatic most of the time, so a little comic relief is much appreciated. The musical episode was great - it starts of so cringy, but I loved what they did with Wayward Son, such a great song and ever since we started watching Supernatural it gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. I think the Groundhog Day episode was the most fun for me, especially since I saw a subtitled version of it that added funny things like 'casually dies in the shower', that's where I broke down laughing!