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agt_spookyNow I actually haven't read what Tina Charles has to say about Ghostfacers, because Chicago didn't end up getting the episode until nearly 1 am last night and it's somewhere on the tape I threw in the VCR before finally giving up and going to bed.
But I wanted to go ahead and post this now before I forgot, and let you guys leave your comments about the ep, which I'll then actually read tonight after work, after I've watched it.
Wow. Was that a long two months or what? This latest hell-atus is finally a thing of the past and we can now get down to the business of the remaining four episodes of this shortened season. I have to say I would have preferred if "Ghost Facers" (GF) had aired in the middle of a complete 22-episode season instead of what we got, but things happen. We don’t always get what we want. After a long hiatus, I would have preferred to jump right into the action and the angst and Dean’s deal and the whole Lilith vs. Sam showdown. But I will say this: I’m just happy that our show is back on the air with new episodes. "Ghost Facers" was a cool experiment – a funny homage to SciFi’s Ghost Hunters and movies like the Blair Witch Project. And it was great to see Sam and Dean from an outsider’s perspective.
It was also good to see Harry Spengler and Ed Zeddmore – the geeks from Season 1’s "Hell House." "Hell House" was the very first Supernatural that went strictly for the comedy. Oh there were plenty of laughs before – take "Phantom Traveler" for instance. But you show Sam and Dean pulling pranks and introduce two awesome yahoos like Ed and Harry and you’ve got instant comedy. This show has come a long way since then. It has often abandoned the formula in the name of entertainment. Eric Kripke and his writing team occasionally turn the show over to feature concepts like "Tall Tale’s" Weekly World News angles; or throw in something on a much smaller scale like breaking into the regularly scheduled recap in "Night Shifter" to cut to a Milwaukee bank robbery that just so happened to involve Sam and Dean; or even the way they paid respect to those holiday specials of yore in this season’s "A Very Supernatural Christmas." So it's no surprise that this whole "show within a show" theme worked really well.
GF was an episode I could just sit back and be entertained. I didn’t take many notes, but I totally found myself laughing out loud numerous times. It seemed like it was probably really fun to film. What I loved:
• The chaotic camera work.
• That it was a leap year ghost.
• Harry and Ed referencing the writers’ strike. Genius.
• All the bleeping that went on every time someone cursed. And then there were the tiny skull graphics that popped up at the same time. Hilarious.
• The GF Theme Song: Somebody please tell me what that theme song sounded like. I know I’ve heard something like it before, but I can’t place it. And we finally got Jared and Jensen to be part of an actual open instead of the usual 5-second Supernatural title page (which is awesome in its own right). I especially loved Dean flicking the camera.
• Even while our eyes were on the GF gang, you could hear the Impala arriving on the scene. Beautiful.
• I liked the dynamics with Harry’s adopted sister Maggie, Spruce and Corbett (poor Corbett!). Good for Harry, he got to hook up with Maggie.
• The music: Classic rock made a comeback to the tune of the Impala blasting Grand Funk Railroad’s "We’re an American Band." There was also a bit of a western-themed instrumental piece towards the beginning. It just reminded me of interviews where I hear one of the Supernatural cast or crew mention this show is part Western.
• The creepiest part was that birthday dinner full of dead people and Sam. That MOTW was a sicko freak, wasn’t he? And, of course, there was Corbett getting killed. When they ended the GF episode with his picture in memoriam, I was sad!
• The show’s credits were at the end; I totally forgot that we didn’t get that in the beginning.
• The entire episode I kept thinking how Sam and Dean were going to let the GF-ers get away with filming them since they’re supposed to be dead. So that ending where the Winchester brothers sabotaged everything was so cool. It put my mind at ease.
• The Ghost Facers bumps to break were also a nice touch.
• Poor Sammy had to wear a birthday hat.
• I loved when cranky Dean would just address the camera.
• When Harry was scared he sang the GF theme song. Awesome.
I just had one minor issue: When I really wanted to see more of Sam and Dean, we were forced to watch the GF gang. We were at the mercy of where they were pointing the camera. And except for a couple of times it was mentioned that Dean had two months to live, we didn’t have any quality Winchester conversations. I’m spoiled. That’s one of my favorite parts of the show. But I would have felt different had this been episode 13 of 22 instead of 13 of 16. We have precious little time left to this season; we haven’t had a new Supernatural in a couple of months; I missed Sam and Dean’s classic avoidance and abandonment issues.
Favorite lines:
"Listen here, chiseled chest!"
"Rats are like the rats of the world."
"We know you’ve had it hard during the crippling writers’ strike." "Lazy fat cats." "Who needs writers when you’ve got guys like us?"
"Ghost. Ghost Facers. We face the ghosts when the others will not."
"Good morning Ghost Facers." "It’s 7pm, dude." "It’s morning to a Ghost Facer."
"There’s some salt in my duffel. Make a circle and get inside." "Inside your duffel bag?" "In the salt!"
"Wow, you’re strong."
"Seriously. You’re still shooting?"
"All this time you were teaching us about heart and dedication and about how gay love can pierce through the veil of death and save the day."
"You know I think it was kind of half awesome."
"Don’t be Facer haters…"
One more thing: Did you catch the previews for next week? Um, the clock is ticking. I cannot wait. I’ve watched it four times already. Also, please add any great lines I may have forgotten.
There's more Supernatural to be found. Just check out our Online Guide.
But I wanted to go ahead and post this now before I forgot, and let you guys leave your comments about the ep, which I'll then actually read tonight after work, after I've watched it.
Episode Recap: "Ghost Facers"
It was also good to see Harry Spengler and Ed Zeddmore – the geeks from Season 1’s "Hell House." "Hell House" was the very first Supernatural that went strictly for the comedy. Oh there were plenty of laughs before – take "Phantom Traveler" for instance. But you show Sam and Dean pulling pranks and introduce two awesome yahoos like Ed and Harry and you’ve got instant comedy. This show has come a long way since then. It has often abandoned the formula in the name of entertainment. Eric Kripke and his writing team occasionally turn the show over to feature concepts like "Tall Tale’s" Weekly World News angles; or throw in something on a much smaller scale like breaking into the regularly scheduled recap in "Night Shifter" to cut to a Milwaukee bank robbery that just so happened to involve Sam and Dean; or even the way they paid respect to those holiday specials of yore in this season’s "A Very Supernatural Christmas." So it's no surprise that this whole "show within a show" theme worked really well.
GF was an episode I could just sit back and be entertained. I didn’t take many notes, but I totally found myself laughing out loud numerous times. It seemed like it was probably really fun to film. What I loved:
• The chaotic camera work.
• That it was a leap year ghost.
• Harry and Ed referencing the writers’ strike. Genius.
• All the bleeping that went on every time someone cursed. And then there were the tiny skull graphics that popped up at the same time. Hilarious.
• The GF Theme Song: Somebody please tell me what that theme song sounded like. I know I’ve heard something like it before, but I can’t place it. And we finally got Jared and Jensen to be part of an actual open instead of the usual 5-second Supernatural title page (which is awesome in its own right). I especially loved Dean flicking the camera.
• Even while our eyes were on the GF gang, you could hear the Impala arriving on the scene. Beautiful.
• I liked the dynamics with Harry’s adopted sister Maggie, Spruce and Corbett (poor Corbett!). Good for Harry, he got to hook up with Maggie.
• The music: Classic rock made a comeback to the tune of the Impala blasting Grand Funk Railroad’s "We’re an American Band." There was also a bit of a western-themed instrumental piece towards the beginning. It just reminded me of interviews where I hear one of the Supernatural cast or crew mention this show is part Western.
• The creepiest part was that birthday dinner full of dead people and Sam. That MOTW was a sicko freak, wasn’t he? And, of course, there was Corbett getting killed. When they ended the GF episode with his picture in memoriam, I was sad!
• The show’s credits were at the end; I totally forgot that we didn’t get that in the beginning.
• The entire episode I kept thinking how Sam and Dean were going to let the GF-ers get away with filming them since they’re supposed to be dead. So that ending where the Winchester brothers sabotaged everything was so cool. It put my mind at ease.
• The Ghost Facers bumps to break were also a nice touch.
• Poor Sammy had to wear a birthday hat.
• I loved when cranky Dean would just address the camera.
• When Harry was scared he sang the GF theme song. Awesome.
I just had one minor issue: When I really wanted to see more of Sam and Dean, we were forced to watch the GF gang. We were at the mercy of where they were pointing the camera. And except for a couple of times it was mentioned that Dean had two months to live, we didn’t have any quality Winchester conversations. I’m spoiled. That’s one of my favorite parts of the show. But I would have felt different had this been episode 13 of 22 instead of 13 of 16. We have precious little time left to this season; we haven’t had a new Supernatural in a couple of months; I missed Sam and Dean’s classic avoidance and abandonment issues.
Favorite lines:
"Listen here, chiseled chest!"
"Rats are like the rats of the world."
"We know you’ve had it hard during the crippling writers’ strike." "Lazy fat cats." "Who needs writers when you’ve got guys like us?"
"Ghost. Ghost Facers. We face the ghosts when the others will not."
"Good morning Ghost Facers." "It’s 7pm, dude." "It’s morning to a Ghost Facer."
"There’s some salt in my duffel. Make a circle and get inside." "Inside your duffel bag?" "In the salt!"
"Wow, you’re strong."
"Seriously. You’re still shooting?"
"All this time you were teaching us about heart and dedication and about how gay love can pierce through the veil of death and save the day."
"You know I think it was kind of half awesome."
"Don’t be Facer haters…"
One more thing: Did you catch the previews for next week? Um, the clock is ticking. I cannot wait. I’ve watched it four times already. Also, please add any great lines I may have forgotten.
There's more Supernatural to be found. Just check out our Online Guide.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-25 10:56 am (UTC)Gotto love Ed and Harry and the Sammy dimples at the end!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-28 03:13 pm (UTC)And the best part from the script sides never made it into the episode, where Dean talks about John, so that was a total bummer for me. :-(
I understand why they did this ep, since it was already written before the writer's strike, but it would've fit better before the strike, since I was hoping for a better ep to come back to after all these months.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-25 11:25 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-28 03:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-25 11:49 am (UTC)I love this show :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-28 03:10 pm (UTC)And the best part from the script sides never made it into the episode, where Dean talks about John, so that was a total bummer for me. :-(
I understand why they did this ep, since it was already written before the writer's strike, but it would've fit better before the strike, since I was hoping for a better ep to come back to after all these months.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-25 02:55 pm (UTC)At the LA convention Eric said you (the audience) would either love or hate this episode, I know which group I fall into. I know why they filmed it (it had already been written at the time of the strike), but at this point in the game with Dean's deal I just want more drama and scenes with the boys. Comedy can come next season. *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-28 03:07 pm (UTC)And the best part from the script sides never made it into the episode, where Dean talks about John, so that was a total bummer for me. :-(
I understand why they did this ep, since like you said it was already written before the writer's strike, but it would've fit better before the strike, since I was hoping for a better ep to come back to after all these months.
Who you gonna call? Not these guys...
Date: 2008-04-25 09:42 pm (UTC)But "GF" was pretty damn funny, kind of a "Blair Witch Project/"Cloverfield" evil twin. Loved Harry and Ed's "Masterpiece Theatre" intro, with sneakers and brandy snifters. And Maggie's "adopted" ID, like the audience couldn't figure out how this Asian girl was Harry's sister (and that kiss, how very Woody Allen...). And the cursing. Who knew the guys were such potty mouths? (Somebody owes a BUCK to the swear jar!) At first I thought Dean was going to play up to the cameras, but when he flipped it off I thought, "Uh, guess not." Really reminded me(yep, I know, 'God, not another X-Files/Buffy moment!)of "X-Cops"; Dean practically burns a hole in the film glaring at whoever's filming.
AND GAY LOVE WILL PIERCE THROUGH THE VEIL OF DEATH. Ohh, our show, our show.
Re: Who you gonna call? Not these guys...
Date: 2008-04-28 03:02 pm (UTC)And the best part from the script sides never made it into the episode, where Dean talks about John, so that was a total bummer for me. :-(
I understand why they did this ep, since it was already written before the writer's strike, but it would've fit better before the strike, since I was hoping for a better ep to come back to after all these months.
OMG - Long Distance Caller ep. 3.14
Date: 2008-04-25 11:33 pm (UTC)http://www.sfuniverse.com/2008/04/25/supernatural-314-first-look/
I can't wait to see this Jeremy Carver/Robert Singer/JDM episode! And oh yeah, angsty Sam & Dean!
Re: OMG - Long Distance Caller ep. 3.14
Date: 2008-04-26 04:00 pm (UTC)Re: OMG - Long Distance Caller ep. 3.14
Date: 2008-04-26 04:31 pm (UTC)Re: OMG - Long Distance Caller ep. 3.14
Date: 2008-04-26 04:34 pm (UTC)Review of Ghostfacers
Date: 2008-04-26 07:25 pm (UTC)Go here for the review:
http://www.afterelton.com/blog/lylemasaki/supernatural-goes-gay-with-ghostfacers?&comment=39238
Re: Review of Ghostfacers
Date: 2008-04-28 02:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-26 01:05 am (UTC)It wasn't horrible, and there were some good moments. I rolled my eyes at the gay thing, because it didn't feel like any kind of respect for Corbett's feelings, it felt like a bunch of twelve year olds snickering in a corner over some dirty joke.
Still, I didn't hate it either. It was kind of a "meh" for me. Okay, but nothing standout. And I really had a hard time with some of the camera work; it was making me nauseous.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-28 03:01 pm (UTC)The gay thing bothered me, too, simply because Harry didn't have feelings for Corbett. If he HAD it would've been really poingent, but it lacked any meaning because Harry didn't.
And the best part from the script sides never made it into the episode, where Dean talks about John, so that was a total bummer for me. :-(
I understand why they did this ep, since it was already written before the writer's strike, but it would've fit better before the strike, since I was hoping for a better ep to come back to after all these months.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-27 06:07 pm (UTC)Well, OK, maybe to watch Dean get bleeped while cursing. That did make me happy. Sue me, I'm shallow!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-28 02:35 pm (UTC)And the best part from the script sides never made it into the episode, where Dean talks about John, so that was a total bummer for me. :-(
I understand why they did this ep, since it was already written before the writer's strike, but it would've fit better before the strike, since I was hoping for a better ep to come back to after all these months.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-28 09:43 pm (UTC)I am not spoiled at all for the rest of the season, so I can't wait to see what's in store!