Saving People, Hunting Things: The Family Business (Media Meditation #7)

Supernatural is indisputably the best show on television (no, really, try to dispute it with me). Highly underrated and bursting with potential, this television program is currently in its fifth season on The CW. It follows the trials and tribulations of the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean, as they travel across the country in their ’67 Chevy Impala hunting the supernatural and saving the day.



Unfortunately, despite a thriving cult fan base, this series has struggled each season to maintain viewership and secure a renewal for each season. Ratings have lately been on an upswing, and healthy for a series on The CW, but on a competitive basis with other networks the ratings are low. In television, “an industry in which networks, producers, and distributors target, guarantee, and ‘sell’ viewers in blocks to advertisers” (pg. 176), ratings are extremely important. If advertising money gets pulled from Supernatural, the result may be cancellation.

However, it doesn’t seem likely to happen this season!

Supernatural is a great show that engages all three brains. The story is very complex and takes a lot of twists and turns, so the neocortex is used a lot. Also, the limbic brain is appealed to through classic ‘scary’ music that leads up to the frightening scenes in each episode. Also, the reptilian brain is continuously engaged by the action: guns, blood, running around, lots of adrenaline.



Production techniques are given much thought in this series. First, all the filming takes place in Canada, mostly in the Northwest Territories. This cuts down on cost. The show benefits from using the same writers and directors over and over, which gives continuity to the story and the characters. Also, lighting and camera angles are used to heighten the tension in the show and allude to the conflict.



In a show like this, where the premise is the supernatural—ghosts, angels, demons, ect.—there is a large amount of reality construction. The audience has to buy into the stories in order to enjoy the episodes. Whether you believe in the actual existence of these entities is unnecessary, this show only seeks to momentarily suspend your disbelief.

I connect with this show because of the emotional transfer and the humor. Their lifestyle, going across country to risk their lives, is very difficult. The characters are very sympathetic and heroic, which makes them easy to side with. Also, there are several episodes that are definitely lighter. The premise is comical, there's an extended joke throughout the episode, or they have to wear funny outfits!



I think this is the reason I keep watching this television show. I hope that it remains on air for a long time.