Supernatural: Season 5 or Season 6?

[Joe Washington]

I've been seeing a lot on the internet the debate on whether Supernatural should end with Season 5 or Season 6 and I wanted to bring that debate here.

Now if Supernatural ended with Season 5, it would do right by Kripke's five-year plan for the show and may give us a proper sendoff for the characters who we've been following for the past four seasons. But there are those who fear that one season won't be enough to wrap up the loose ends of the show and that Season 5 will rush things rather than giving things their natural pace.

It is you people who want Supernatural to end with Season 6. Season 6 may give us a more proper sendoff for the show than Season 5 and give things a non-rushed resolution. But the Lucifer arc will be resolved in Season 5 according to the people of Supernatural so Season 6 would have to reboot the series with a new mythology to play with like Stargate did after Season 8 when Richard Dean Anderson left and the Goa'uld and the Replicators (the series' Big Bads) suffered crippling defeats. The brothers would have to be given a new arc and some new plan would have to be made for the series ending since it won't end with Lucifer's defeat.

Now in my opinion, I think a show should end on a high note and not at the point in which it has overstayed its welcome just to please members of the audience who have difficulty letting go of the show. If Supernatural ends with Season 6, it will end on a whimper than a bang which Smallville will one day when the CW finally have the mercy to put it to death. Or Scrubs. Or Nip/Tuck. Or many other shows that felt it needs to run out of all its creative juices in order for it to end.

Now if you want to know an example of a show that ends on a high note and knew when it was time to end when the iron's hot, there's Six Feet Under, the Shield, Battlestar Galactica (I know the fourth season wasn't perfect but at least they didn't let the quest for Earth go on past the point in which the audience would have stopped caring if it did or not), Life on Mars, and the UK Office.

That is what I think. What's your thoughts?

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Season five. The only people desperate for it to end with season six are those fans who consider Jensen and Jared their tv boyfriends....and, ironically after all these years of neglect, the desperate CW.

Kripke's contract is up at the end of five. He won't re-sign. If you listen to what Jared and Jensen say at the cons (which can be found on youtube all over the place) they do not want to do the sixth season--but will because they're obligated on their contracts. It's not arrogance, it's fatigue at the 15 hour days, at living in Vancouver 9 months out of the year away from their girlfriends, and the fact that they both don't want the show to overstay its welcome. They're polite, but it's obvious they don't want to do it.

Where do you go after Lucifer? There's nowhere that isn't anticlimactic. So, you either go back to monsters of the week after the biggest bad has been defeated and the brothers have overcome their biggest personal trials with the destruction and rebuilding of their bond and with their pain and guilt over their inadvertent roles in allowing Lucifer to rise. They've made it over the other side of the mountain--where do you go emotionally for story? Once again, it's anticlimactic.

What I'm afraid of is that the story will be dragged out with Lucifer for 22 more episodes. Who knows if Pellegrino will be available? Somebody besides Kripke will be at the helm (someone who could potentially take network advice for story....yikes 18-34 female demo appeal ) and the emotional impact of what could have been if Kripke is allowed to build to the conclusion he wants--this year because he knows when the end date is-- is completely blunted. He'll have to hold back. That's no good for the story. He swears he's going to tell the story he wants this year. I hope he can.

One comfort is that Jensen and Jared absolutely won't re-sign after season six. There won't be nine seasons a la Smallville. They both have talent enough to get other work, unlike poor unfortunate Tom Welling. Still, knowing that they don't want to be there will be a drag.

 

[bigdaddy]

Everyone's best bet is not to watch it, tell everyone on Earth not to watch it so the ratings are so bad there won't be a season 6.

Right now I think it's a guarantee that there will be a 6th season no matter what.

 

[The Evil Dead]

I enjoy the show enough that I would love it if they did a 6th season. Season 4 was so good, they seem to have so many adventures left to send the Winchesters on, it'd be a shame to end it after season 5.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

I, for one, hope the show ends after season 5 and end it right. But if they do go ahead and do a season 6, they need to avoid the anticlimactic stories and maybe do a follow-up season dealing with the fallout. (Kind of like STTNG's "Family" hot on the heels of "The Best of Both Worlds.") Maybe finding a solution/cure for Sam's "demonic blood" in him. Or maybe John and Mary's souls aren't at rest in the afterlife and Sam and Dean need to find a way to help them after Lucifer's fall. I could hear Dean saying something like "Come on, Sammy, we took care of taking out Lucifer now we need to follow through and take care of our family and tie up the loose ends so they can rest in peace. They deserve that much after all they've sacrificed."

 

[mswood]

Well frankly they idea that they can't manage a lucifer arc for two season seems, shocking to me. As Kripke has over the years adjusted his own planned arc to both speed up and slow down big elements of the story (for both personal reasons and for business reasons).

One of the things they have always had to deal with is how to plan their year. How fast do they move through the events or how slow do they.

I will seriously be surprised if Kripke doesn't resign for one year (especially knowing that Jensen and Jared are really fairly series about not resigning once their contracts let up).

Simply put if they show can keep the quality its had through season 2 - 4, then I would be very happy with a season 6. If the season is still about Lucifer, or going after a bigger bad (hello I am God), or if it goes even to dealing with the aftermath (which could be done well, but it would be very difficult). I can live with either of these options as long as the brothers story ends how it's designed to.

But frankly we should have a very solid idea of a 6th season will occur by November. SInce at this time we will be able to judge its own performance and the performance of the CW as an entity. That will really help the writing staff prepare about 14 of the 22 episodes.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

But will Pellegrino be available for 2 seasons, mswood? I'm just......I understand wanting more because this last season has been so good, but to be able to sustain this for two more seasons instead of one when the two J's are so exhausted? I just don't know. Like Padalecki said at con, it's best to end and leave them wanting more. Plus, the idea of a final season without Kripke at the helm (CW will probably try to rope him in for *2* more like they did with Amy Sherman Palladino for Gilmore Girls, thus losing her for that show's last season) scares me. I just want this show to break the mold and quit while it's ahead. So few shows do it, and Smallville is such a frightening example of a genre show that absolutely went to hell. That "fight" between Clark and Davis that they were touting that lasted what? One shove and a couple of seconds? It's beyond pitiful when compared to how Dean and Sam beat the living hell out of each other in "When the Levee Breaks."

 

[sidious618]

Make the fifth season its last, I say, and make the decision now. If we know going into it that it is the last season then the stakes seem a lot higher.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Yeah, but now that the CW is desperate it's wanting SPN to stick around. All of a sudden there's budget for guest stars again. Warners is wanting to feed that cash cow, too. Thank the maker the guys' contracts are only for six seasons if the worst comes to the worst. They aren't for seven. No way it goes for nine like Smallville.

 

[LeahBoBo]

Why do people always want to drag things out past the shelf life? I think the show should end with Season 5 as planned, while the actors are still hot and giving their best performances, and the show is at the top of its game.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Amen to that, LeahBobo. Didn't Lost finally start getting better when they decided on an end date?

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

could the angel, Zachiariah be a potential big bad at some point?

 

[The Evil Dead]

If they make a sixth season, and it sucks, big deal, don't watch the sixth season in 5 years when you rewatch the show. If they make a sixth season and it's great, well, awesome! We as fans can't lose, we have nothing at stake.

 

[mswood]

But will Pellegrino be available for 2 seasons, mswood?

Well on this issue, who the hell cares. We have no evidence of how this actor will perform in this role. He could be awesome, good, average, poor, or Genevieve Cortese. And on a story front, well thats even more meaningless as we have had both demons and Angels be played by more then one actor/actress so clearly that can happen (and Lucifer certainly fits either mold).

As for fatigue (both in front and behind the camera) this does occur but it is something that they can work a little around. Basically they just need to have story elements in place that allow the two to either not be in the majority of the scenes of all the episodes. Or (and this being more likely) have the story situation require more time spent apart for the leads (thus giving some time off while the other shoots. But in some ways I wonder if long drawn out hours actually helps give the guys some actual help. In getting the world weary, tired of the fit, weight of the world weighing heavily on my shoulders atmosphere. I know of several shoots where the physical conditions of the shoot have actually helped the performances.

Of course it sucks for the actors (and the crew, but they want the work), but it is what they signed up for.

Again I am certainly not arguing this show being an X-Files or a Smallville, or 7th Heaven all examples of shows far, far past their shelf life.
But If we can have a season where the thrust is simply finding Dad, mixed with two seasons of trying to find out and kill Azazel, then I seriously don't see why it would feel dragged out in having an Lucifer arc take two seasons. Again if we saw evidence of the writing, production and acting being worse this last year then I would all be for getting it over before we see a big decline in quality. But the opposite occurred. I think we got across the board the best season of the show. I don't feel the quality has suffered I think its reached new heights.

 

[mswood]

Yeah, but now that the CW is desperate it's wanting SPN to stick around. All of a sudden there's budget for guest stars again. Warners is wanting to feed that cash cow, too. Thank the maker the guys' contracts are only for six seasons if the worst comes to the worst. They aren't for seven. No way it goes for nine like Smallville.

Well like it or not it is a business, and for the CW for the first time this year it really performed well, not only increases in total audience but increases in the four primary demos the men and women of both the 18-49 and the CW coveted 18-34. Even if the rest of the lineup performed better, Supernatural would have gotten some love from the CW for that.

Now warners, warners has always made money off the show, and any increase for them also wants them to keep a show around.

I think the key point is that its is almost assured that there will be no 7th season, so the idea of the show going long after its stop being good isn't a valid argument. Again unless you feel we are already seeing a decline (I know a few people who didn't care for this season), or if you feel the 5th season is going to suck.

The CW isn't going to pony up a ton of money to try and keep Jared & Jensen. THe shows done better, but it isn't doing that good. Nor is Warners gonna pony up that difference (it truly is their choice as they set the price the CW pays).

I think the four biggest concerns are:

1. Eric does not renew.

This I honestly don't think will happen (but some times it truly does). So if it did happen what would be the impact. Well probably a lot of the writing staff (as well as the production staff) would stay. THey would either hire from within or hire outside the show. I don't really worry about hire within the staff (as I often think they are better writers), the other scares the hell out of me.

2. They don't give production enough lead time (in either ending the show or giving it a 6th season), thus playing havoc on the flow of the season And perhaps either rushing an ending or prolonging one at the last minute. Witness season 3 for that (which did suck but also produced some great episodes in that time frame).

3. They give the early word to renew, and then at the last minute the CW folds, and we never get a proper ending. And this is certainly possible.

4. For one of the reasons above we don't get the ending that Kripke envisioned.

Out of those options I am more worried about 2 and 3, then 1 and 4.