Random Thoughts on SPN's "Family Remains" ep...

[trailer_queen]

(first, a pretty picture by morti_hp )

I watched the Seven Signs of the Apocalypse, DVR'ed from the History Channel, and the Supernatural ep  "Family Remains" in the same week.  Know what that does to your brain? You are about to find out.

Warning: rant from a middle-aged curmudgeon(hey, maybe I should rename my LJ that!!):

In these times of global warming, terrorism, recession, and war, we now have shows that concentrate on the supernatural (Ghost Whisperer, Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State, Supernatural) and the corrupt (Leverage, The Mentalist, Lie to Me, even Smallville).  Instead of the Brady Bunch goes to Hawaii or the hokey ruggedness of Magnum PI or Starsky and Hutch, we've got cynical, darkly-lit shows that exploit our fears of armageddon, satan, deceit,  and evil.    Way to ruin family tv night!   Not that we should be in front of the tv instead of tuning into our families and children.  But I digress...

Just check out this episode description from the Supernatural Fan Wiki: "Sam wakes up to discover Dean has pulled over and is eagerly looking for another case to take on. Sam figures that his brother is trying to keep occupied to avoid thinking about his time as a torturer in Hell."

What the...  If I had read that blurb in TV Guide like a hundred years ago in my childhood (1976, to be exact), I would have run screaming to my parents and slept with the lights on for the next 10 years.  What is going on?!?!

We are terrified, folks.  Everything feels out of control.  So actors like Jensen, Jared and cast portray the human embodiments of our projected fears and desires.  Dean is the embodiment of our world, lost and broken and irrevocably scarred.  Sam is the voice of reason, the scientific enlightener that Dean reluctantly listens to and ridicules.  Why is prime time television trying to be so perversely profound?   We just want entertainment, damnit!!!!

Anyway, less high falutin' discussion of the ep:

1. Why did Kripke and Co tack on that bizarre ending?  Dean's Hell speech contradicts what he said in the episode before hiatus.  This felt rushed and cheesy but proves Jensen Ackles is a trooper in every sense of the word.
2. Is Kripke channeling X-Files again with the bastard children in the farmhouse?  He needs to get new material.
3. Sera, how did you get such an awesome job at such a young age,  making guys like Jensen and Jared your own personal plot toys?
4. Who was that hottie playing the dad, Brian, who bought the farmhouse?
5. Why would the world's most dysfunctional family ever portrayed on tv (besides Sam and Dean) have a freakin' housekeeper?!?!?!
6. Why am I a grown adult talking about this?!?!?

I have run out of material, thank God...

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