TV Goes to Hell: An Unofficial Road Map of Supernatural by Stacey Abbott

TV Goes to Hell: An Unofficial Road Map of Supernatural Reviews

• 
  Gabrielle

  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X_2I...
  
  Warning: this is a very, very geeky review.
  
  On the long list of TV shows I love, I think “Supernatural” gets the “guilty pleasure I love to binge” award: I won’t watch it for long periods of time and then out of nowhere, I’ll marathon three seasons and listen to a lot of Led Zeppelin (and the occasional AC/DC tune) for a month. It’s a show about two cute guys (predictably, I’m #teamdean) who drive around in a sweet classic car while blasting old school rock and roll and kicking the ass of all the bad guys folktales and urban legends have ever dreamt up. It’s often very funny, moving and even pretty spooky. What’s not to like? The fact that it constantly makes fun of itself and features a lot of smart, strong, take-no-bullshit female characters only adds to it’s appeal, in my opinion. My husband had never watched it at all, and we are, like a lot of people, slowly running out of new TV shows to watch in lock-down – so I dusted off my DVDs. And being a pop culture nerd, I also dusted off the copy of “TV Goes to Hell” I found in a used bookstore ages ago, and never got around to reading.
  
  This is not really a companion book to watching the show, and considering the various subjects it touches on, it’s actually more targeted towards fans and people who are at least passably familiar with the “Supernatural” universe. But if you are one such person and are interested in analysing the show’s (brilliant) use of music, the way they create modern stories around classic mythology and folklore and the way gender is represented on the show, do yourself a favor and find a copy of this book.
  
  OK, I’m going to geek out pretty hard now.
  
  The richness of the essays in this book really shows that as silly as it sometimes gets (thank you, Ben Edlund, creator of “The Tick”, for bringing your wacky sense of humor to this show, especially season 4), “Supernatural” is a show that is created very carefully, thoughtfully, and has a lot of layers to dig through. You can’t have critical discussions and analysis like the ones in this book about a vapid show, after all. I used to watch it with a friend of mine who had a very thorough knowledge of occultism and mythology, and he was often impressed with how accurate and impeccably researched the various creatures and situations were in “monster of the week” type episodes. This meticulous attention to detail goes in every other aspect of the show. It couldn’t have lasted 15 seasons if it had not been a labor of love.
  
  This deliciously geeky collection of essays looks at the distinctive elements of the show and explore them in depth. The comedy, the use of music, the representation of gender and sexuality, the reinterpretation of folklore and mythology, the main characters’ transient lifestyle and its inherent weirdness, their place on the gradient of the American class system, how angels have been represented through history and on the show, pop-culture references through the show and its relationship with its fans; there is also an great essay about all the classic 70s horror references that the show uses, and the meaning behind some of the symbols in those movies in relation to their historical and socio-cultural context.
  
  One passage actually made me laugh out loud: in the essay titled “Rebels, Rogue and Sworn Brothers”’ the author discusses the target demographic of the show (reasonably well-off women between 18 and 35 years of age) and then writes “Bearing this demographic in mind, we might wonder why these women are so invested in two non-middle-class men.” I mean, really, dude? How is that even a question.
  
  I also facepalmed at myself when I got to one of the later essays, discussing Kripke’s love of Neil Gaiman’s work and the similarities between “American Gods” and the “Sandman” graphic novel series and “Supernatural”. Somehow, even though I basically worship Gaiman, those parallels had never occurred to me, and I felt very silly for never having noticed the huge overlaps between one of my favorite novels (
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) and a beloved TV show. Bearing the similarities in mind, no wonder I love them both so much. Gaiman has written about the mythical road trip in America, but also about unusual angels (
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), apocalyptic showdowns (
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) very messed up fairy tales and how myths interact with our lives by being just out of sight (with someone often accidentally falling through the cracks and realizing there is something out there much weirder than they could have imagined…
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). And he also liberally borrows from his predecessors, like Lewis Carrols, Rudyard Kipling, H.P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury. His homages are shameless and loving, and so is Kripke’s homage to Gaiman, in my humble opinion.
  
  Warning: this is definitely academic writing, and not everyone has patience for that. To me, it was tasty brain-candy that I read as I enjoyed catching up with the seasons I hadn’t watched yet. Also, it was published in 2011, so the material discussed is only the first 5 seasons; no complaints from me – those are my favorite seasons, but that means the rest of the show’s story doesn’t feature at all in the essays. This was deliberate, as those seasons form one large narrative arc that concludes at the end of season 5. Perhaps now that the Winchester brothers’ saga is coming to a definitive end, there will be an updated edition? Does anyone know of a wishing well nearby?...
• 
  Dionisia

  Bringing together elements of the road movie and the horror genre, Supernatural follows brothers Dean and Sam Winchester as they crisscross America, struggling to protect humanity from what lurks in the dark by battling monsters, witches, demons, angels, the Devil, and sometimes even each other.
  
  First things first, I am a BIG fan of this show! I thought it would be nice to relive the highlights from past seasons but wasn't quite sure what to expect of this television tie-in. It turned out to be so much more than a simple episode recap (though it had that too!). The essays were really thoughtful and gave me a lot to chew on. A quality collection overall.
  
  The book's contents are grouped into six main sections:
  
  - "Bon Jovi rocks...on occasion": Comedy and Music
  - Skin Mags and Shaving Cream: Sam and Dean on the Fringes of Time and Place
  - "Jerk...bitch": Representations of Gender and Sexuality
  - The Gospel According to Chuck: Narrative Storytelling in Supernatural
  - "What's the lore say?": Exploring Folklore & Religion*
  - Cruel Capricious Gods: Auteurs, Fans, Critics
  
  It was obvious early on that this would not be a light read. As a fan of Supernatural, I'm all for the myriad ways the essayists turned a critical eye toward the show. It made for some tasty tasty brain food. I also found it impossible to resist the urge to revisit earlier episodes of the show after reading through the book. Not a bad side effect, me thinks.
  
  *A topic I find of particular interest.
• 
  Stephanie Graves

  Is it disingenuous to be a fan of a book you contributed to (even in a small way)?
  
  Actually, the most of the essays are really good, tight and thoughtful. And face it--the subject matter can't be beat.
• 
  HadiDee

  ** Received as a First Reads Giveaway.
  
  Really enjoying this - not abook to be read in a sitting but have been dipping into it for the last few weeks. SOme books of this type are really good (thinking Buffy & Philosoply and the LOTR & Philosoply) and some have been disappointing (Firefly). This is one of the good ones. It adds depth to the charcaters and points out much that I have missed or not properly appreciated. Read it if you're a fan!
  
• 
  Stepha

  I loved the essays in the book. It gives great insight into the characters, they are more real now then just watching them on TV or DVD. No wonder this particular show has such a following, if your a fan of the show you MUST read this book.
• 
  Joy Bishop

  Great book for a Supernatural fan.
• 
  Kat!

  it was good! i genuinely love reading academic articles about supernatural, as if liking spn alone wasn’t embarrassing enough. i even took notes on each chapter and felt that i learned a decent amount through researching some the topics deeper/watching some of the films mentioned/etc and making more connections btwn spn and gothic literature and horror movies and the bible and folklore etc etc! i’m being so earnest right now i’m not sure why! this collection of essays made realize that i do actually love early season castiel and how goddamn GOOD the first five seasons are. goddddd it was literally all about family and free will and love! how could u not enjoy this show! so much thought and love was put into it :(
  
  that being said the organization/curation of this collection was a bit hit or miss w me? especially towards the end a lot of the passages felt repetitive. multiple essays used the exact same episode and scene for their examples, and would even repeat the same quotes for the same purposes. and the grouping of the essays didn’t always make sense.
  
  anyways those are more minor details i guess. i think i will always love spn in some way and in this case i love the fandom as well, for all these people to come together to write essays for a CW show that made an inexplicably large impact on our lives.
• 
  Kelly

  Have you ever reached blindly into the fridge for your drink , expecting it to be - lets say Mountain Dew - and instead swallowed something else - we'll go with coconut milk? Do you remember the shock? The bit of throw-up you swallowed immediately after? The promise to yourself that you will never, EVER, drink before looking? That's kind of how this went down, with the swapping out of a serious headache in place of the vomit.
  
  I expected a companion piece to the show, Supernatural. A more in-depth look at the show itself, the characters, etc. You know, the hows and whys of it all delivered in a fun, but informative way. Like Ovaltine; tasty, but healthy. What I received instead was a philosophical breakdown of each and every aspect of the show in the format of a college thesis. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that the book itself was bad; it was simply not what I had anticipated. Geared more towards Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy enthusiast, this books breaks down the show Supernatural and examines the remnants to such a degree that for anyone else to enjoy it, in my opinion, would require a grocery list only Hunter S. Thompson could provide.
  
  So, that being said, the ratings are as follows:
  
  5 - For fans that enjoy sitting around analyzing the layers upon layers of hidden meanings, religious aspects, archetypes both present and absent, and what each reveal about our society as a whole - both past, present, and future- of popular fiction (ie. The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Battlestar Galactica). I will say, though it was a struggle for me at times, it was very informative; raising some valid questions and answering plenty of lingering ones that I didn't even know I had.
  
  3 - For fans of Supernatural who want to add to their collection of memorabilia, were given a "shout out" in an essay and want to show their mom, or who really, really love them some Dean and Sam. Otherwise, wait for a more...fluffier version to be published.
  
  Now, while I didn't get what I wanted and you, the fan, might not have either, here's a present from me to you...
  Merry Christmas!
  
• 
  Corrina

  Read my full review at wadingthroughbooks.wordpress.com!
  
  I’m a pop culture junkie, especially science fiction pop culture and fandom, so I love essay books like this. I’d have done my masters in pop culture studies instead of library science if I could have figured out a job to use it for…Well, maybe one day just for fun, when I’m old and retired (which will be never, at this rate). I really enjoy active participation in fandom as opposed to just passively and individually watching the shows (though if that floats your boat, whatever). This kind of academic study is really broadening to me. Due to the nature of Western post-secondary education, it tends to be quite difficult to take a wide variety of classes and subjects–the ideal is to take only degree & subject-specific courses and to get out of school as soon as possible, as opposed to actually learning something interesting. I’ve only taken one film studies course, but this and other television show essay books have taught me a great deal about film studies and history and concepts. It’s easy to say “I love this show!”, but these kinds of essay books help to articulate why I love this show, and to help me think about things about the show that I never noticed on my own. For example, the essay about Supernatural‘s connection to the 1970s is interesting because I missed the 70s, on account of not being born yet, so it explains references that I didn’t catch from lack of familiarity.
  
  This book will appeal to academic nerds and pop culture and fandom studies junkies, but likely not to the casual viewer of the show.
  
• 
  Lori Schiele

  Not what I expected when I saw the title (I bought it online). I expected this to be one of those unauthorized books about a TV show with episode guides, photos, interviews, etc. Although this book *does* have an episode guide from season 1 -6, there was far more to it.
  
  As quoted from part of the back cover: "...this collection of essays, written by leading scholars, situates the series within debates surrounding folklore, religion, comedy, gender and sexuality..."
  
  Some of the contents include essays titled: Music and Character Development; The Representation of Women in Supernatural; Exploring Folklore and Religion; Metafiction Strategies and many other topics all written as essays by a multitude of University professors with PhDs or MBAs, film education lecturers, doctoral candidates, folklorist and other professionals.
  
  Not what I would consider a lazy, easy read, but definitely worth reading if you're a Supernatural fan.
• 
  Debbie

  for fans only - lots of fun.
• 
  Anne

  This was both a terrible and a delightful read. The terribleness is definitely a me thing, as in, non-fiction of this nature is really not something I enjoy. I mean, I've forgotten what my brain was into when I started this in 2015 (though I think the massive four-year gap in reading provides a wee hint) but here in 2021, over-reliance on scholarly language and tone makes my mind glaze over. Sometimes I saw a word (like eschatology) and there weren't even enough context clues to figure out what the word means (it definitely doesn't mean anything shat-y) other times I thought they were just making words up (sorry I didn't mark the egregious examples - I'm not going to re-read to try to find them). So sometimes it was just so, so torturous to slog through even individual sentences.
  
  But the delightfulness in reading this came in when the authors connected all the scholarly shit to my beloved Supernatural. And to be really, really clear, some authors made this a lot more fun than others. Themes/chapters relating to white trash, comedy, angels, and fandom were particularly intriguing and interesting. It was those that made me happy to have actually stuck with the endeavor.
  
  Now excuse me while I go to celebrate ***king finally getting this off my currently reading shelf with a rewatch of some of my favorite episodes - almost all of which (in the first five seasons) I learned from this book were written by the same person. LOL, things like that made this worthwhile.
  
  If there's a second volume, please don't tell me.
• 
  Elizabeth Taylor

  An interesting mix of discussion of the television series "Supernatural" that covers a range of topics including the mythology of the series, the use folklore and pop culture, the significance of religious allegory and how fans interact with the series. For a fan of the series, this is a informative read that provides plenty of food for thought even if you don't agree with the conclusions of all contributors.
• 
  C.S. Wilson

  I love all things Supernatural. Except this book. Though I expected it to be a bit academic, this is over-the-top. To me it reads like the author is the same as the person in college literature class who has to prove they're smarter and more perceptive about the subject than everyone else in the room, including the instructor. It's rare for me to walk away from a book, and I debated about it for a few days, but I'm not certain that this book has anything to offer me outside of a bad memory.
• 
  nicole

  not bad. some of the essays could have benefited from a lil more editing but that's a minor nitpick. i definitely outgrew this book since i bought it/before i finished it but it was still cool to read such passionate pop culture analysis about a show i used to be hugely passionate about myself.
• 
  Liz Murphy

  it really wasn't what I thought it would be, but still some interesting thoughts
• 
  Liza Robertson

  Interesting, but too clinical. I liked the quotes from the show though.
• 
  Juanita Campbell

  So many basic errors in this book made it hard for me to read. As a fan of the show it drove me nuts to read them.
• 
  May

  Needless to say, this book is a must read for Supernatural fans, although as I pointed out to one friend, in this case, I mean the TV series called Supernatural, and NOT the overall paranormal activities associated with the supernatural.
  
  Okay, now that I got that out of the way, I have to admit that I was like "meh" for much of the book. Watching TV is akin to reading books for me. I watched a lot of TV and read a lot of books. I don't really like to dwell too much on them because quite frankly, I would never get any actual work done. That being said, the essays were very academic and tried to get you to think beyond just the typical message of "good vs evil" and "free will vs destiny/fate". It certainly helps to be a fan of the show since all of the essays do a fair amount of citing individual episodes. For me, the problem seems to be that I don't think any of the essays go far enough in trying to explain the appeal of this series. Why are we so obsessed with demons and angels? Why is the "bromance" between Dean and Castiel so fascinating? Why have we not encountered more female hunters or why isn't there a hunter academy? Why not "legitimize" demon-hunting and open up a training school of sorts or set up a network where the boys don't have to hustle for money or stay in run-down motels?
  
  See, this why I don't spend a lot of time trying analyze this series...I tend to come up with "stupid" questions. Anyway, this book isn't going to be everyone and will likely just appeal to Supernatural fans. A good read, albeit disjointed and not as entertaining as one fan would have liked it to be.
• 
  Rachel

  Although I didn't really understand the ordering of essays, this is a nominal point that I don't even really need to mention. Editors Stacey Abbott and David Lavery present a well-compiled set of viewpoints that cover everything imaginable from seasons one through five. (But, alas, nothing substantial on my favorite episode, "Changing Channels"!) Definitely a recommended read for anyone interested in exploring further meta-analysis of Supernatural.
• 
  Orlanda Thompson

  Late to the series ....
  
  .. however, I'm a fan for life. Enjoyed the different points of views regarding the show. Just wish that some of the other SUPERNATURAL books (official companions), were available via the Kindle.
• 
  rebecca

  Fun & often insightful snapshot of the direction Supernatural analysis was taking at the close of the show's 3rd season.