I am stunned. I had no idea he was fighting cancer. That is a tremendous loss.

That's just crushing news. My heart goes out to those who loved him... and his work.

Awful news. He'll be missed.

Misha Collins alert: he's playing a kidnapper on NCIS, airing right now on the USA network.

I haven't seen anything official but this is being reported as a statement by Kripke. The statement is almost beside the point though. The real treasure is the picture of Kim and the boys. Once again, one hangs on his words, while the other--well, I think the other one just had some candy.

[link]

I just watched In My Time of Dying, with the commentary by Kim, Jensen, and Jared. Really sad now.

Oh, wow. That is so sad. His talent will be greatly missed.

That really is terribly sad. Much healing and dealing -ma to his family and friends. And, on a shallowly selfish note, I'm sorry he won't be making any more telly.

On another note - do we know if there's going to be a season five? I'm rather torn as to whether I WANT one. Because I'm enjoying the narrative arc and I don't want them to fuck it up just to get another season - would rather have a killer Season 4 than a so-so Season 4 and a so-so Season 5. And I honestly don't know where they could possibly go after Huge Celestial Showdown Of Apocalyptic Proportions. (I mean, yes, sure BtVS did that most seasons - but we were operating within a context where you needed to know the plural of apocalypse.)

otoh, I am obsessing a wee bit over the brothers Winchester and their various demonic and celestial acquaintances. So that makes me dread the end of the show. Gah.

Oh, show. Don't be crap! You are flawed, but this whole angel-demon thing (and the Castiel-Dean thing, and the Ruby/Sam thing, and the Ruby-Dean thing) is like fucking CATNIP.

As has been related first and second hand by various members of the Supernatural manufacturing collective, the writers' strike put a serious gap in the number of episodes Kripke had planned to tell the S3 arc of his 5-year story. He's always been ready to wrap the major arc up at short notice, but there are always side issues he's wanted to explore, and has done.

The CW gave him a big bump in budget after S2, but then when the strike cost them money, they yanked a chunk of that budget back, so he had to scale the big effects for the apocalypse and other supernatural stuff way back. At the same time, they greenlighted S4, but reduced his budget even further. As an aside, this makes me happy because I'd much rather rely on human interaction and invention (writing and acting) to get a story across than oooh!ahhh! over splashy FX.

With the ratings as low as they were last season (lost momentum due to the strike, and a very unfortunate character arc made stronger than originally intended by missing storybuilding with the skipped episodes) and the money problems the CW has been having, S5 was seeming iffy. Even if the network was ready to give them a fifth season, there was speculation the network itself might go bankrupt. So Kripke planned S4 as his Big Finale, planning to wrap up as many story arcs and tie up as many loose ends as possible.

I will give the man this--he's always known where he's going, and when things get tight, he concentrates on the big picture, and gets his story told.

Then the ratings went sky high for S4, and the network said, "In all likelihood you'll get S5", so they've been backing up the big mythic story arc and putting in more small story stuff--not padding, exactly, just a more relaxed pace toward this season's finale-cliffhanger. The Big Finale is now slated for next season, with lots of family and thematic goodness in between.

...As nearly as I've been able to parse from interviews and offhand remarks.

And I honestly don't know where they could possibly go after Huge Celestial Showdown Of Apocalyptic Proportions. (I mean, yes, sure BtVS did that most seasons - but we were operating within a context where you needed to know the plural of apocalypse.)

There's something in me that wishes that SOMEONE will take an action that will completely thwart the Apocalypse pre-HCSOAP. I know that that doesn't fit TV structure, but... nobody involved really *wants* the Apocalypse, you know?

signed, Everything I Know About The Apocalypse I Learned From Good Omens

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