Accommodations of Supernatural Season 7 (Part Two)
Part One
7.12 Time After Time
Accommodation 1: I'm confused about where they are in this one.
Location: Unknown
This is tricky. The shot of Dean makes it look like he's in Rufus's cabin. The fridge is identical - as is the window (including the bottle in the corner), however the bed doesn't seem to belong in the cabin. I can't figure out where it would be in relation to where Dean is sitting. This could be an abandoned shack that happens to look a bit like the cabin? Or it could be a continuity error or an attempt to create a "new" set by combining other ones.
7.12 Time After Time
Accommodation 2: Abandoned house
Location: Canton Ohio
One of my favourite things about this house is the stain glass windows. I love that the boys have brought the green cooler inside. The Coleman lamp can also be seen - a nice reminder that they are without electricity. It's certainly one of their less dingier squats.
It's great that we get to see the original house. It's absolutely gorgeous.
7.13 Slice Girls
Accommodation: Century Hotel
Location: Seattle, Washington
Another richly decorated set. I love the textures in this room. The wallpaper looks like it's been peeling off and has been stuck back on, the room divider creates wonderful geometric patterns on the wall and the lighting fixtures create an old fashioned elegance. Those bed covers remind me of the ones my grandmother used to have. I think they are a good choice to create a homely feel (especially in an episode where Dean has a daughter). They are also seen in 7.12 Time After Time and 5.04, The End. The kitchen cabinets can be seen again in 7.19, Of Grave Importance. Metal bed frame also seen in It's a Very Supernatural Christmas (3.08) in the flashback.
Outside motel sign
7.14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie
Accommodation: Tiki Motel
Location: Wichita, Kansas
Woot! This is probably one of my all time favourite rooms. Look at it! It's a classic SPN themed room. It's decorated in Polynesian Tiki style - there are tikis found all over the room. They seem to be mocking Sam's fear of clowns - very appropriate for this episode. I love the additional grass skirted women and palm tree wall paper, the rock lined walls and bedside table. The lighting is also significant - red symbolising danger (or "stop") and the green symbolising safety (Sam would rather stay there than face the clowns!). Awesome room. I'd love to stay in this one.
7.15 Repo Man
Accommodation: Unidentified motel (Room 113)
Location: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
This room is a little plainer than the last one, but it's still interesting. The green and red colours are a major feature. The bedspreads have been seen a number of times, as has the outside brick wall. The painting on the wall is also seen in 6.15, The French Mistake
The curtains are seen later in Amelia's room in season 8 and in 5.05, Fallen Idols.
It's great the hallucifer takes time to notice the motel decor: "It's nice. Kind of like a men's room with beds (peels a green mark off the wall and puts it in his mouth). Hmm, avocado grime. Takes years to build up a patina like this". Teehee
7.17 The Born Again Identity
Accommodation: Psych hospital (Sam)
Location: Northern Indiana
Oh Sam. You do end up in some rather unpleasant places (Bobby's basement comes to mind). I wonder if the painting of the yacht on the water is there to remind patients of the freedom they are missing out on.
Accommodation: Rufus's Cabin
Location: Whitefish, Montana
I have an ashtray almost identical to this one (in green)! And no, I don't smoke - I collect glass things *g*. I'm not sure I've mentioned how much I love that beaten up fridge. Such a classic.
7.18 Party On Garth
Accommodation: Mark and Diane's Last Resort Motel
Location: Junction City, Kansas
Another AWESOME motel room. I'd love to know who Mark and Diane are (connected to the show maybe?).
They sure had a thing for rocks on the wall in this season. This room is dominated by red. I'm not sure if they were aiming for some significant here (danger maybe?) or whether they were simply aiming for the rich feel that red brings to a room. Either way it's another classic SPN motel room - the checkered floor, matching red bedspreads, carpet and sofa. I think it's one of the few rooms that features a bar (the only other one I can think of is Tiki Motel in 7.14). Very appropriate of course as the MoTW was linked to alcohol.
7.19 Of Grave Importance
Accommodation: Crow's Nest Motel
Location: Bodega Bay, California
This is another room to feature rocks on the walls. We only get a peak at them (along with the hint that there's a mural in the room), but they are definitely there. The weathered white furniture along with the seagulls and shell wallpaper add to the overall sea theme in this motel. The seagulls under the mural are significant because they are most likely a reference to Hitchcock's film, The Birds. They are both set in Bodega Bay. Wonderful!
I seem to remember a just-out-of-the-shower Dean in this episode too. Always a nice addition to the motel room…;D
The pink stripped bedspread was also used in 3.15, Time is On My Side
7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo
Accommodation: Rufus's Cabin
Location: Whitefish, Montana
This is a great exterior shot of Rufus's cabin. Love the autumnal colours.
7.21 Reading is Fundamental
Accommodation 1: Rufus's cabin
Location: Whitefish, Montana
Another episode where they stay in the cabin. I am so happy we get this overhead shot - look at that awesome wagon wheel light fixture! This is also seen in 7.03, The Girl Next Door and 4.08, Wishful Thinking.
Accommodation 2: Abandoned Warehouse
Location: South Chicago, Illinois
I love the way we often see interesting windows in these abandoned buildings. It allows them to create wonderful light patterns in the shots. The Coleman lamp has become quite the accessory to the boys this season.
7.22 There Will Be Blood
Accommodation: Buffulo Hump Motel
Location: Missoula, Montana
The final motel room for the season sees them staying in another classic SPN motel. The theme is buffalos - with buffalo covered bedspreads, a giant buffalo head on the wall, buffalo print curtains and a photograph of a buffalo above the bed. There are added rustic touches like the horse shoe coat rack (and there's a horseshoe on the door), the lamp shades, fireplace (with a brick feature above it) and wooden furniture. This is possibly a tenuous link but the buffalos reminded me of a 1971 film called Bless the Beasts and the Children". It's a about a group of children freeing buffalos from hunters. This episodes features children in need of rescuing, with hunters trying to free them. Probably no link whatsoever, but I like the idea that it might be.
The bed heads are very similar to the ones we've seen many times now. This room isn't as outlandish as some of them, but it's obvious that great care has been taken to create a cohesive theme.
So, there we have it. We are beginning to see fewer motels as the seasons go on.
Motel tally by seasons:
Season 1 = 21
Season 2 = 16
Season 3 = 13 (from 16 episodes),
Season 4 = 17
Season 5 = 17
Season 6 = 12
Season 7 = 11
They used the cabin quite a few times this season and next season the bunker is introduced. I wonder if this is a budgetary constriction or if it simply fulfils the script requirements.
(If you spot any errors who know the names of any of the unnamed motels I'm all ears!)