ERICA LAND

May 20, 2003 marked two milestones in my life. One, my 25th birthday, and two, the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show that for me, and several Facebook groups, will always be the greatest show ever. Joss Whedon created Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), one of the strongest female leads I’d ever seen on television, and her Scooby Gang to fight vampires, demons and psycho robot boyfriends, mixing horror and comedy in his own unique way. As the screen faded to black and the credits rolled on the finale, I was left with one question, now what?

A void had been left that seemed impossible to fill. I mean, yeah, we still had Angel, but it just wasn’t the same. Then, September 13, 2005. Supernatural premiered on the former Must-See Teen channel, WB. I remember sitting on my couch, arms crossed, thinking, “It’ll never be as good as Buffy.” Two minutes in, I realized, this is not Buffy. Not even close. This show was in a league of its own. They weren’t blatantly ripping off Whedon like I assumed they would. This was a new chapter in horror storytelling.

Created by a then little known writer, Eric Kripke (who as it turned out wrote one of my favorite horror movies, Boogeyman), Supernatural didn’t just have demons. They had demons that haunted airplanes. There were ghosts. Wendigos. Vampires weren’t killed with stakes, they were beheaded. The biggest twist came when they introduced angels into the mix. These weren’t cherubs with halos. They were straight up dicks. And that’s just how Kripke wanted it.  

I had no idea where Supernatural was gonna go, I just knew I was along for the ride. 300 episodes later, I’m still riding with Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) while they continue the family business of “Saving People” and “Hunting Things.” The show has repeatedly pushed the envelope, not afraid to go meta with episodes like “The French Mistake” or even animated with last year’s Scooby-Doo crossover. It’s also undergone many changes behind the scenes with Kripke going from Showrunner to Executive Consultant when he passed the torch and went off to create Revolution and co-create Timeless, both of which managed to build their own following.

February 7th, 2019. Supernatural’s 300th episode will air on the CW, reuniting Sam and Dean with both of their parents who at one point were both dead. But this seems to be a family trait since the Winchester Boys have probably died a few hundred times and come back. In fact, there’s a Groundhog Day-inspired episode, “The Mystery Spot,” where Dean died at least 100 times alone. 300 is a milestone very few shows can boast. The cherry on this pie, the show has just been renewed for its 15th season. Tonight, I will sit on my couch with my arms uncrossed and a glass of wine, though the boys would probably prefer a beer, and toast this milestone. Congrats you idjits.