Rewatch S5: DVD Extras
It's time for the obligatory DVD extras post!
S5 DVDs come with:
Gag Reel
Ghostfacers
and Supernatural: Apocalypse Survival Guides - Bobby's Exclusive Video Collection
Gag Reel
The gag reel is everyone's favorite part of the Supernatural DVDs. So much so, that it's usually the first thing to leak onto the internet in the weeks before the DVDs are released. Surprisingly, this year the DVD Gag Reel is actually SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT than the version that was leaked onto the internet. It's interesting - there are a couple of shots that weren't in the leaked version, and there is at least one shot that was in the leaked version that didn't make it onto the DVD.
It's a good reel. I suppose if I were to critique it, I would complain that some of the clips just move far too fast for me. I like the gag reels with fewer shots, but the shots they do have are longer. Also, the actual blooper bit is shorter than in years past. I don't know if that's because they had less footage to use, or maybe the boys' mistakes have gotten less amusing, so they just had less amusing footage to use :P In any case, they fill up the time with pictures of the crew, which is actually kind of nice. It really highlights the more familial feeling that comes with Supernatural.
My favorite bits: when that leaf gets stuck on Jensen's nose; misha complaining about the foot on his balls; Jared's pout behind the jail-bars; Jared sexually assaulting Misha while Jensen gives the camera a look of horror; and "So I jerk off Jensen? On to the ground? And then I give him a shot in the face?" (What? I might not be a SPN/RPS slash fan, but I love a good bit inadvertent innuendo.)
Ghostfacers
I could go through the whole webseries like I would an episode of Supernatural and critique it that way, but I'm sort of burnt out after spending the last month and a half doing that with the episodes!
I was mad when Ghostfacers came out, because I had to wait for them to leak to YouTube, because apparently Warner Bros. hates everyone who lives outside the US, because they region lock all their video-webcontent. Primarily this pissed me off, because I felt that it meant that Warner Bros. wouldn't get an accurate picture of the interest in the Ghostfacers. But anyway....
I really get a kick out of the Ghostfacers. I know not everyone does, but personally I love how these guys are able to take these too absurd comical characters and somehow ground them in an emotional reality that makes them at least somewhat realistic.
In these particular episodes, I love the fact that they QUESTION themselves - they question whether they're doing the right thing, whether Sam and Dean are right...and more than that, there's an emotional follow through with Corbett's death. Personally, although I don't like SPN slash, I've always personally shipped Ed/Corbett...in that I totally think that Ed actually did have feelings for Corbett, and in my head he's totally angsty over dealing with that as well as with Corbett's death. So there you go...my guilty little shipping secret.
Supernatural: Apocalypse Survival Guides - Bobby's Exclusive Video Collection
The coolest thing about this feature is that they make it all fancy and you get to walk throw Bobby's kitchen and "library" (ie: that all purpose room where he has his desk and his bed in S5, and where he used to have that nice red couch in S4). You can also go down to the Panic Room.
There's an old tape recorder on the kitchen table that tells you it's the apocalypse so you should do some research on how to survive...then you go to the library and you can click the desk or the bookshelf. On the desk are two books "Kripke's Guide to the Apocalypse" and "Ride of the Horseman"
"Kripke's Guide to the Apocalypse"
This video is the writers and actors talking about Kripke mostly, and his vision for the show. Kripke talks about his typical day. The thing I liked most about this video is the fact that his whiteboard outlines for episodes actually look pretty much exactly like my outlines for my own writing. In that they are vague and all over the place and only bare a passing resemblance to the finished product.
Or as Kripke says "it has the appearance of intelligence."
The other quote from Kripke that I liked was "This town - it rewards insanity. It's what it does and it's not a good thing, but it is what it is."
"Ride of the Horsemen"
This video starts off with a Christian priest talking about the apocalypse, and then it shifts to the writers talking about how they tackled the theme. As you can guess, it's mostly about the horsemen.
The bookshelf in Bobby's room has what appear to be Beta video tapes. Hilarious. Anyway, they are all old documentaries from the 70s to 90s from public access TV and like...you know, those midnight programs that used to come on that would have a whole bunch of kooks debating some sort of weird theme. As you can guess, they're all on the theme of the apocalypse. You have one on whether Lucifer and Michael were actually brothers, one on Apocalypse Preparations, one on Angel/Demon Visitations, and one on the Search for Lucifer. I didn't watch them all, because they are all about 15 minutes long, and yeah, those things never ran in primetime for a reason...also KOOKS!
Then you can go down to the Panic Room, and there are two videos down there. There is one where Russ Hamilton (the Locations Manager) takes you on a tour of the old Watchman set...which is now the Supernatural backlot. You can see how he's really very excited that they now have a backlot - it must make the shooting the show so much easier for those guys, and probably helps with the budget too, since they probably don't have to shut down Columbia St. in New West as often as they used to.
There is also a video with Eric talking about mythology episodes versus what he calls "self-enclosed" episodes (and what we call MOTW episodes). Apparently even in their heaviest myth seasons, they'll only at most 7 mythology episodes, and 15 MOTWs...but what makes a MOTW episode good is when it has an emotional tie-in to the myth-arc. So, although it's not related to the myth arc by plot, it's related to the myth arc by the emotional undercurrent.
Over all, this feature is cool, but could have contained much much more. I would have loved to see more from the writers and actors. I would have loved to have a feature on the 100th episode, instead of that just being released to people who bought the DVDs at a certain place (promotions like that always piss me off, because I'm only going to buy these things once, and also they aren't always available to people outside the US.)
Wishlist for things that weren't included:
-I really wish there had been commentary from Eric on Swan Song.
-I know Jim Beaver did a behind the scenes video of Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid - I wish they had included some stuff like that.
Wishlist for S6 DVDs
-More commentary episodes. As always, I'd especially request to hear from the boys, as they haven't done commentary since S2. Aside from the boys, then I'd really love just more commentary in general - I really like commentary. I know Joss Whedon doesn't, but I don't watch his shows, so what does he matter! (Ok, I lie, I've watched two of his projects, but still)
-A feature on Jensen's directorial debut (which apparently is definitely going to be on there, so I'm happy).
-A gag reel that's slightly less seizure inducing...seriously, slow down your clips!
And there we go, finito.