ABC Marvel ‘SHIELD’ Pilot — Joss Whedon To Co-Write, May Direct

More awesome news about the Avengers-related TV show! ABC has ordered the pilot for S.H.I.E.L.D., which will be co-written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen. (Which of course will make it pretty amazing!) Schedule permitting, Joss will also direct the pilot.

Since bringing his brother and sister-in-law already makes this a family project, what actors from Whedonverse family would you like to see cast in the show? And before you can say “all of them” or “everyone from Firefly,” let’s try to narrow things down by only casting actors who aren’t already a regular on another show (like Nathan Fillion) or have a busy movie career (aka most of the main actors in The Avengers – I can see some of them guest-starring, but not playing major cast).

This means that TWO of my thoughts for what would make a great Avengers TV show have been implemented, Joss Whedon and S.H.I.E.L.D!

ABC Marvel ‘SHIELD’ Pilot — Joss Whedon To Co-Write, May Direct.

Ben and Kate – Pilot

Fox has put a few of its new fall premieres online early, including sibling comedy Ben and Kate (which you can watch now on Hulu and starting September 25, on Tuesdays at 8:30). Irresponsible Ben Fox has a habit of crashing into his uptight younger sister’s life at the most inopportune moments, but he genuinely loves her and her five-year-old daughter, Maddie. His latest visit brings upheaval to both siblings’ love lives.

Nat Faxon and Dakota Johnson do a good job at playing the brother-sister duo, and it’s a nice change having the zany brother be older instead of younger. There’s some room for growth for their relationship to really zing, though, especially since Fox has another sibling comedy coming mid-season, The Goodwin Games. Daughter Maddie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) is a bit underused in this episode, but her presence and the show’s dynamics give off a bit of a Bent vibe, though Ben and Kate isn’t as snappy or as risque as the ill-fated NBC show.

Rounding out the cast are Ben’s friend Tommy (Echo Kellum) and Kate’s friend and coworker BJ (Lucy Punch). Tommy doesn’t get much screen time in this episode, but he seems a likeable enough character. BJ initially turned me off a bit, but I think it was mostly because her abrasive personality and accent reminded me of The Office’s Nellie (Catherine Tate). Also, the only thing I’d seen Lucy Punch on before was Ella Enchanted, where she plays an evil stepsister (which probably didn’t help my opinion). I think I’ll warm up to BJ, and when a show leans on the heartwarming side, it’s good to have a character or two who bucks the status quo.

The humor in the pilot was more of the smiling type instead of laugh out loud, but the show feels genuine and organic. I definitely plan to stick around for a few more episodes. Since Fox is the only broadcast network with an 8PM comedy block, there’s a good chance this show will get ignored by most people who don’t watch its lead-in, Raising Hope (which is a pretty compatible show to pair it with). At least the premiere will be sandwiched between two new episodes of New Girl, but most viewers will typically be watching NCIS, Hart of Dixie, The Voice, or Dancing with the Stars results during that hour. Ben and Kate will have to keep improving to survive, but it’s off to a solid start.

TV Duos Bracket – Round One, Day 1

Our TV duos bracket kicks off with Eureka’s Zane and Jo versus How I Met Your Mother’s Marshall and Lily, as well as enemies-turned-allies-turned-lovers-turned-friends Spike and Buffy the Vampire Slayer up against the original mismatched duo, The Odd Couple’s Oscar and Felix.

Reminder: While there are romantic pairs in this bracket, that’s only one possible aspect of a duo’s relationship. Duos have fun together, work well together, and/or have hilarious interactions. Simply put, they spark.

You can find a full list of upcoming TV duos matchups here. Round one matchups are in teal. Each of the round one matchups will be open for 72 hours (3 days), so spread the word quickly so your favorite pairs will make it into the next round! Our toolbar at the bottom of the page has lots of quick links to help you to get the word out!

Which is your favorite TV duo? Round 1.1

  • Marshall and Lily - How I Met Your Mother (64%, 68 Votes)
  • Zane and Jo - Eureka (36%, 39 Votes)

Total Voters: 107

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Which is your favorite TV duo? Round 1.2

  • Spike and Buffy - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (76%, 94 Votes)
  • Oscar and Felix - The Odd Couple (24%, 30 Votes)

Total Voters: 124

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TV Duos Bracket – Day 0

The first polls in our TV duos bracket launch tomorrow! For our first round (whittling our 64 duos down to 32), we’ll have two polls a day in one post, and they’ll be open for 3 days. Each poll will pit 2 pairs of TV characters against each other. The order in which contestants will face each other was determined by Random.org.

View the entire TV Duos Bracket here.

The pairs chosen for this list are comprised of classic TV duos, characters from shows this site has featured, and your nominations. Nearly half made it into the bracket thanks to our Wild Card poll, which helped settle debates about which character should be paired with whom.

Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will win their matchups! Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Get creative!

Fall TV 2012: When Are Your Favorite Shows Coming Back?

Fall TV kicked off a little early this year, with NBC showing early premieres of new shows Go On and Animal Practice, and launching the second season of Grimm mid-August. But when do the other shows come back? Keep reading!

As per TV Breakroom’s focus, this list only includes live-action, scripted shows. (For those who simply must have their competition TV: The Voice comes back 9/10; The X Factor, 9/13;  Survivor, 9/19; DWTS, 9/24;  and The Amazing Race, 9/30.) We’re also listing by day of the week, so you can get a better idea of which shows you can watch live and when you’ll need to start using your DVR or watching some shows online later. This is mostly for broadcast shows, but a few cable ones will be listed as well. All times listed are Eastern, and new shows are in bold.

SUNDAYS

September 16:

9PM – Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

September 30:

8PM – Once Upon a Time (ABC)

9PM – Dexter (Showtime)

9PM – The Good Wife (CBS)

9PM – Revenge (ABC)

10PM – 666 Park Avenue (ABC)

10PM – Homeland (Showtime)

10PM – The Mentalist (CBS)

October 14:

9PM – The Walking Dead (AMC)

 

MONDAYS

September 3:

8PM – Switched at Birth (ABC Family)

September 17:

8PM – Bones (Fox)

9PM – The Mob Doctor (Fox)

10PM – Revolution (NBC)

September 24:

8PM – How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

8:30PM – Partners (CBS)

9PM – 2 Broke Girls (CBS)

9:30PM – Mike & Molly (CBS)

10PM – Castle (ABC)

10PM – Hawaii Five-O (CBS)

October 8:

8PM – 90210 (The CW)

9PM – Gossip Girl (The CW)

 

TUESDAYS

September 11:

9PM – Go On (NBC – time period premiere)

9:30PM – The New Normal (NBC)

10PM – Parenthood (NBC)

10PM – Sons of Anarchy (FX)

September 25:

8PM – NCIS (CBS)

8PM – New Girl (Fox – special episode)

8:30PM – Ben & Kate (Fox)

9PM – NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

9PM – New Girl (Fox – time period premiere)

9:30 – The Mindy Project (Fox)

10PM – Private Practice (ABC)

10PM – Vegas (CBS)

October 2:

8PM – Hart of Dixie (The CW)

8PM – Raising Hope (Fox)

October 16:

9PM – Emily Owens, MD (The CW)

10PM – Covert Affairs (USA – season resumes after 9/18 summer finale)

October 23:

9PM – Happy Endings (ABC)

9:30PM – Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23 (ABC)

 

WEDNESDAYS

September 12:

10PM – Guys With Kids (NBC – preview sneak peek)

September 26:

8PM – Animal Practice (NBC – time period premiere)

8PM – Criminal Minds (CBS)

8PM – The Middle (ABC – one hour premiere)

8:30PM – Guys With Kids (NBC – time period premiere)

9PM – Law & Order: SVU (NBC – two hour premiere)

9PM – Modern Family (ABC)

9:30 – The Neighbors (ABC)

10PM – CSI (CBS)

October 3:

8:30PM – The Neighbors (ABC – time period premiere)

9PM – Supernatural (The CW)

October 10:

8PM – Arrow (The CW)

10PM – Chicago Fire (NBC)

10PM – Nashville (ABC)

October 17:

9:30PM – Suburgatory (ABC)

 

THURSDAYS

September 13:

9PM – Glee (Fox)

September 20:

8:30PM – Up All Night (NBC)

9PM – The Office (NBC)

9:30PM – Parks and Recreation (NBC)

September 27:

8PM – The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

8PM – Last Resort (ABC)

8:30PM – Two and a Half Men (CBS)

9PM – Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)

9PM – Person of Interest (CBS)

10PM – Elementary (CBS)

10PM – Scandal (ABC)

October 4:

8PM – 30 Rock (NBC)

October 11:

8PM – The Vampire Diaries (The CW)

9PM – Beauty and the Beast (The CW)

 

FRIDAYS

September 21:

10PM – Haven (Syfy)

September 28:

8PM – CSI: NY (CBS)

9PM – Fringe (Fox)

9PM – Grimm (NBC – time period premiere)

9PM – Made in Jersey (CBS)

10PM – Blue Bloods (CBS)

October 19:

8PM – Whitney (NBC)

8:30PM – Community (NBC)

9PM – Nikita (The CW)

October 26:

8PM – Touch (Fox)

November 2:

8PM – Last Man Standing (ABC)

8:30PM – Malibu Country (ABC)

‘Grimm’: Sasha Roiz talks latest episode, what’s next for Renard | Inside TV | EW.com

Sasha Roiz, Grimm’s Captain Renard, talks about Monday’s episode “The Kiss” and the jaw-dropping reveal about his character. He confirms exactly what he is (I thought it was pretty clear from the episode, but I’ve seen comments from people who had other theories) and hints at future episodes.

‘Grimm’: Sasha Roiz talks latest episode, what’s next for Renard | Inside TV | EW.com.

Suburgatory Casts Malin Akerman as Tessa’s Mother — Season 2 – TVLine

After several episodes of last year’s under-appreciated comedy Suburgatory hinted that Tessa wasn’t quite as cool with this “not knowing her mother” thing as she professed, it’s no surprise that the show is bringing in her estranged mom for its sophomore season. Malin Akerman will play the role as Alex stops by for this year’s Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes.

Suburgatory Casts Malin Akerman as Tessa’s Mother — Season 2 – TVLine.

Arrow Casts Jessica De Gouw as Huntress in Season 1 – TVLine

My experience with comic books is pretty limited (I usually read ones based on TV shows and web series, not the other way around), so I have little knowledge of the Huntress’ role in the Green Arrow comics. It is kind of nice not to have to compare movies and TV shows to their respective comic canons, though.

I’m also not familiar with Australia actress Jessica De Gouw, but her role as the daughter of crime boss trying to destroy her father’s empire sounds interesting.

Arrow Casts Jessica De Gouw as Huntress in Season 1 – TVLine.

Warehouse 13 Casting News — Lindsay Wagner, Jaime Murray – TVLine

Next Monday’s Warehouse 13 episode (8/27) will feature two returning characters – Dr. Vanessa Calder (Lindsay Wagner), Warehouse 13’s official doctor (who Artie’s sweet on), and one of the creepiest villains the show has produced, Lewis Carroll’s Alice.

Also, H.G. Wells (Jaime Murray) will return for this season’s 7th episode, due to air 9/3.

Warehouse 13 Casting News — Lindsay Wagner, Jaime Murray – TVLine.

The Office’s Last Season — Ending After Season 9, All Questions Answered – TVLine

Well, it’s official – this coming season of The Office will be its last. I’d pretty much given up on the show, but since I’ve stuck around this long, I may see it through to the end. Making the character of Nellie Bertram (who I hated) a regular on the show made me write the show off, but I hear that next season Andy will be tormenting her for what she put him through last season, and be trying to get her to quit. It might be okay if she’s sort of the villain of the office instead of the show trying to get us to feel sympathy for such an unlikeable character.

The final season will bring back some familiar faces (Roy is already scheduled to appear early in the season) and offer a look into the documentary crew who’s been filming all these years. We may not say goodbye to all the characters, though, as the Dwight spin-off The Farm is still very much a possibility.

The Office’s Last Season — Ending After Season 9, All Questions Answered – TVLine.

Grimm – Bad Teeth

I’ve started reviewing Grimm over on the TV show review site Billie Doux. I’m working on the current second season right now, though I do plan to go back and review season one, too.

Does anyone else absolutely hate the new intro for Grimm? It has a cool visual look, but the voiceover (both content and tone) and music is terrible. It’s a good idea to give new viewers a quick idea of what they’re in for, but did they have to make it sound so 90s?

Monroe: Cats don’t play possum, do they?

Full episode review: Billie Doux: Grimm: Bad Teeth.

Continue reading Grimm – Bad Teeth

TV Duos: Wild Card Poll

In one week, we’ll launch our TV Duos bracket tournament, but first we have to select the 64 pairs of characters who will be competing for favorite TV duo! I’ve already selected 30-some pairs of characters from live-action scripted shows, but I need your input to select the rest!

To keep things fair, we are only including a maximum of two sets of duos from any one show, and no character will appear in the bracket twice. Because of that, this wild card poll will accomplish 3 things:

  • It will be the deciding vote between two duos that contain the same character, for example, whether Hawkeye from M*A*S*H will be paired with B.J. or Trapper John
  • When there are many pairings in one show, it will help me see which one(s) to include
  • It can tell me which shows to eliminate completely

This post also gives you one last chance to weigh in with any additional nominations. Look through both the list and the poll below, and if one of your favorite duos is missing, mention them in the comments! If they’re eligible, I’ll add them to either the confirmed list or the poll. (An ineligible nomination could be a duo with one character already in the confirmed list. For example, in Psych, you could nominate Shawn and Juliet as a duo, but since Shawn is already a part of the Shawn and Gus duo on the confirmed list, that nomination would be ineligible.)

Additional note: While there are romantic pairs in this bracket, that should be only one aspect of their relationship. Duos should have fun together, work well together, and/or have hilarious interactions.

Here, in no particular order, is the confirmed list for our TV Duos Bracket:

Pete and Myka – Warehouse 13
Troy and Abed – Community
Sherlock and Watson – Sherlock
Castle and Beckett – Castle
Booth and Brennan – Bones
Peter and Neal – White Collar
Shawn and Gus – Psych
Kensi and Deeks – NCIS: Los Angeles
McGarrett and Danno – Hawaii Five-O
Rizzoli and Isles – Rizzoli & Isles
Harvey and Mike – Suits
Nick and Monroe – Grimm
Max and Caroline – 2 Broke Girls
Liz and Jack – 30 Rock
Chuck and Sarah – Chuck
Annie and Auggie – Covert Affairs
Peter and Olivia – Fringe
House and Wilson – House
Benson and Stabler – Law & Order: SVU
Jane and Lisbon – The Mentalist
David and Maddie – Moonlighting
Reese and Finch – Person of Interest
Kirk and Spock – Star Trek
Dean and Sam – Supernatural
Mulder and Scully – The X-Files
Lorelai and Rory – Gilmore Girls
Leonard and Sheldon – The Big Bang Theory
Hardison and Eliot – Leverage
Walter and Leo – The Finder
Nikita and Michael – Nikita
Laverne and Shirley – Laverne and Shirley
Robin and Much – Robin Hood
Klink and Schultz – Hogan’s Heroes
Meredith and Derek – Grey’s Anatomy
Tony and Ziva – NCIS
Merlin and Arthur – Merlin

Now vote for which ones I should add to reach our final list of 64! Remember, not all of the top vote-receivers will make it in, as two-duos-max-per-show and character-can-only-appear-once rules still apply. This poll will be open for one week, and you can vote for up to 10 duos!

Which TV duos should make it into our bracket tournament? (Choose up to 10!)

  • The Doctor and Donna - Doctor Who (14%, 257 Votes)
  • The Doctor and Rose - Doctor Who (12%, 208 Votes)
  • JD and Turk - Scrubs (5%, 91 Votes)
  • Marshall and Lily - How I Met Your Mother (5%, 85 Votes)
  • Spike and Buffy - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (4%, 71 Votes)
  • Nate and Sophie - Leverage (4%, 68 Votes)
  • Howard and Raj - The Big Bang Theory (4%, 65 Votes)
  • Gibbs and Abby - NCIS (4%, 64 Votes)
  • Angela and Hodgins - Bones (4%, 64 Votes)
  • Buffy and Angel - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (3%, 56 Votes)
  • McGee and Abby - NCIS (3%, 53 Votes)
  • Mozzie and Elizabeth - White Collar (3%, 47 Votes)
  • Hawkeye and BJ - M*A*S*H (3%, 47 Votes)
  • Ted and Marshall - How I Met Your Mother (3%, 47 Votes)
  • Angel and Cordelia - Angel (2%, 42 Votes)
  • Spike and Drusilla - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2%, 41 Votes)
  • Jim and Dwight - The Office (2%, 35 Votes)
  • Jim and Pam - The Office (2%, 34 Votes)
  • Sam and Callen - NCIS: Los Angeles (2%, 28 Votes)
  • Casey and Morgan - Chuck (1%, 26 Votes)
  • Dwight and Michael - The Office (1%, 26 Votes)
  • Hawkeye and Trapper John - M*A*S*H (1%, 26 Votes)
  • Veronica and Logan - Veronica Mars (1%, 22 Votes)
  • Claudia and Jinks - Warehouse 13 (1%, 20 Votes)
  • Zane and Jo - Eureka (1%, 20 Votes)
  • Jerry and George - Seinfeld (1%, 19 Votes)
  • Cagney and Lacey - Cagney & Lacey (1%, 19 Votes)
  • Mork and Mindy - Mork & Mindy (1%, 18 Votes)
  • Claudia and Artie - Warehouse 13 (1%, 18 Votes)
  • Eric and Nell - NCIS: Los Angeles (1%, 17 Votes)
  • Hank and Evan - Royal Pains (1%, 17 Votes)
  • Oscar and Felix - The Odd Couple (1%, 16 Votes)
  • Brenda and Fritz - The Closer (1%, 16 Votes)
  • Burns and Houlihan - M*A*S*H (1%, 16 Votes)
  • Veronica and Wallace - Veronica Mars (1%, 15 Votes)
  • Mary and Marshall - In Plain Sight (1%, 14 Votes)
  • Walt and Jesse - Breaking Bad (1%, 13 Votes)
  • Evan and Divya - Royal Pains (1%, 12 Votes)
  • Wes and Travis - Common Law (1%, 10 Votes)
  • Franklin and Bash - Franklin & Bash (0%, 9 Votes)
  • Crews and Reese - Life (0%, 8 Votes)
  • Chloe and June - Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23 (0%, 8 Votes)
  • Crocket and Tubbs - Miami Vice (0%, 7 Votes)
  • George and Noah - Suburgatory (0%, 3 Votes)
  • Tessa and Lisa - Suburgatory (0%, 3 Votes)
  • Tessa and Dahlia - Suburgatory (0%, 2 Votes)
  • George and Tessa - Suburgatory (0%, 1 Votes)
  • George and Dallas - Suburgatory (0%, 1 Votes)
  • Jack and Devon - Midnight Caller (0%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 436

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2012 TV Olympics Results

The results are in and the votes have been tallied! Tied for the most medals in our 2012 TV Olympics are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, with 9 medals each! But since Supernatural got 6 gold medals to Buffy’s 4, Supernatural is the winner!

In all, 31 shows went home with medals! Bones received the most medals without taking home a gold, 6. Angel, NCIS, and Psych each took home 5 medals. Once Upon a Time earned 4 medals. The remaining 24 shows took home 3 or less medals, with 20 of those shows only garnering one medal. Castle and Doctor Who took home 3 medals, while NCIS: Los Angeles and Fringe earned 2 each.

See below for the final medal count per show and individual winners for each event, with links to each of our 21 completed mini-polls.

 

Medal Count

[table id=1 /]

 

Poll Medalists

Cutest Couple Name

Gold – Tiva (NCIS)

Silver – Densi (NCIS: Los Angeles)

Bronze – Caskett (Castle)

 

Best Married Couple

Gold – John and Mary Winchester (Supernatural)

Silver – Snow and Charming (Once Upon a Time)

Bronze – Angela and Hodgins (Bones)

 

Favorite Newborn to Five-Year-Old Character

Gold – Hope (Raising Hope)

Silver – Christine (Bones)

Bronze – Michael (Bones)

 

Favorite Elementary-Aged Character

Gold – Henry (Once Upon a Time)

Silver – Young Shawn (Psych)

Bronze – Young Gus (Psych)

 

Favorite Musical Episode

Gold – “Once More With Feeling” (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Silver – “My Musical” (Scrubs)

Bronze – “Song Beneath the Song” (Grey’s Anatomy)

 

Favorite Animated/Alternate Media Episode

Gold – “Smile Time” (Angel)

Silver – “Lysergic Acid Diethylamide” (Fringe)

Bronze – “Digital Estate Planning” (Community)

 

Most Annoying Teen Character

Tied for Gold – Connor (Angel) and Dawn (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Bronze – Harmony (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

 

Favorite Crossover Episode

Gold – Doctor Who (Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures) – The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End

Silver – NCIS: Los Angeles (NCIS) – Random on Purpose

Bronze – The Finder (Bones) – Little Green Men

 

Favorite Halloween Episode

Gold – It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester (Supernatural)

Silver – Code of Conduct (NCIS)

Bronze – Mummy in the Maze (Bones)

 

Favorite Thanksgiving Episode

Tied for Gold – Child’s Play (NCIS) and Pangs (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Bronze – Slapsgiving (How I Met Your Mother)

 

Best Vampire Effects and Rules

Gold – Supernatural

Silver – Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

Bronze – True Blood

 

Best Werewolf Effects and Rules

Gold – The Vampire Diaries

Silver – Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel

Bronze – Teen Wolf

 

Favorite Dual Role

Gold – Angel/Angelus (David Boreanaz) – Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

Silver – Willow/Vampire Willow (Alyson Hannigan) – Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Bronze – Snow White/Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) – Once Upon a Time

 

Favorite Switched-Body Performance

Gold – Jared Padalecki as Lucifer – Supernatural

Silver – Matt Cohen as Michael – Supernatural

Bronze – Joanne Kelly as Pete and Eddie McClintock as Myka – Warehouse 13

 

Favorite TV Animal

Gold – Dragon (Merlin)

Silver – Satchmo (White Collar)

Bronze – Marcel (Friends)

 

Favorite Dad/Daughter Duo

Gold – Castle and Alexis (Castle)

Silver – Eli and Ziva (NCIS)

Bronze – Max and Temperance (Bones)

 

Favorite Mother/Son Duo

Gold – Martha and Castle (Castle)

Silver – Emma and Henry (Once Upon a Time)

Bronze – Madeline and Michael (Burn Notice)

 

Favorite Father/Son Duo/Trio

Gold – John and Dean/Sam (Supernatural)

Silver – Henry and Shawn (Psych)

Bronze – Walter and Peter (Fringe)

 

Favorite Mother/Daughter Duo

Gold – Ellen and Jo (Supernatural)

Silver – Jackie and Rose (Doctor Who)

Bronze – Amy and River (Doctor Who)

 

Favorite Hero/Villain on Different Shows

Gold – Timothy Omundson: Carlton Lassiter (hero) on Psych, Phil Constantino (villain) on Jericho

Silver – Jensen Ackles: Dean Winchester (hero) on Supernatural, Ben/X5-493 (villain) on Dark Angel

Bronze – Nathan Fillion: Malcolm Reynolds (hero) on Firefly, Caleb (villain) on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

 

Favorite Cast-Performed Song

Gold – “Shout” sung by Shawn and Gus (Psych)

Silver – “Thinking of You” sung by Eliot (Leverage)

Bronze – “Dead or Alive” sung by Dean and Sam (Supernatural)

Supernatural – Home

Okay, I’d heard this was a good episode, and it was one of the better ones I’ve seen so far, but as it ended I felt rather ambivalent. What, really, has changed?

This episode, thanks to one of Sam’s prescient dreams, takes the brothers back to Kansas, where a mother and her two young children have just moved into the boys’ childhood home. Early creepy indications include scratching noises and the sighting of a figure wreathed in flames.

Dean and Sam make some inquiries around town and finally meet with a no-nonsense female psychic who knew their father. Missouri’s presence in the episode shows again how hard it is to connect to a show when there are only two main characters. She made a good addition to the team for the episode, and made me wish for a consistent third character to liven up the relationship dynamics.

Okay, after watching this episode and the Heroes pilot, I am going to have a lifelong fear of garbage disposals. The monkey with the cymbals was pretty clichéd, though.

I figured out early on that flame-figure was Mary Winchester, thanks to coming across spoilers while verifying facts for polls. So that part of the episode didn’t have the impact on me that it could have. And seeing Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s name in the credits let me know that good ol’ dad would be showing up at some point – unfortunately it was in a closing scene with Missouri, so no family reunion just yet. Plus his excuse for not seeing his sons seems incredibly lame. There’d better be a good reason for why seeking this “truth” is keeping him apart from his sons when it didn’t for the first 20 years after the fire. Especially after Dean’s phone call to him, which was some of the best acting I’ve seen on this show so far, by Jensen Ackles or anyone else.

And so Dean and Sam faced their fears, went back home, and saved the day – but what do they have to show for it? Yeah, it was cool that they saw their mom, but a) they already knew she was dead, and b) they already were pretty sure she loved them. It’s interesting that we as viewers now know that John Winchester isn’t locked in some hell dimension, but his sons don’t know. So as far as I can see, nothing changes. Maybe I’m just too used to Joss Whedon shows, but after a pivotal episode like that, isn’t something (even if it’s a tiny shift in a relationship or a new fear a character will have to overcome) supposed to be different?

Well, there is the fact that now Dean knows about Sam’s dreams. Would have been nice to touch on that near the end. But I guess I’ll have to see if this episode has much of an impact on later ones.