I got to talk to the creator of Supernatural, Erik Kripke! Yup, I was gonna play it all cool, but really, the truth is I had an opportunity to ask him a few questions (along with a few reporters and blogger types) and he was charming and excited to talk about the show. In another one of my lives I’ve gotten to work with ridiculously famous people, and they are generally a good lot, and I am generally chill about it all, but getting to talk to one of my television heroes made me all giddy (and a wee bit nervous). It was fun, and I’m gonna tell you all about it. Merry Christmas to me.

The press call was to promote a new book by Nicholas Knight called “The Essential Supernatural: On the Road With Sam and Dean.” An obsessive book that pretty much has everything you have ever wanted to know about the show up to now, with a very generous forward by Kripke. Pretty, pretty pictures of the boys and all the other fan faves, and the most comprehensive list of weapons, monsters and angels that you could ask for. The writing can be a little flat at times, but it is a wonder to look at and is chock full of juicy quotes from the cast and crew.

As far as the book itself, Erik said that the conceptual art and the creature work were the things that he enjoyed the most. He also felt that looking through it was like “looking at old family photos” and it made him proud that they had “created something special.” He makes regular mention of co-showrunner Bob Singer in the foreward, and mentioned several times during the call that he felt that Bob was the reason the show was as successful as it was. In other words, Erik thinks Bob Singer is a CHAMP!

Erik also had a lot of nice things to say about Sera Gamble’s work on the show, both as a writer and as showrunner. When I asked him how he thought Jeremy Carver was handling season eight, he thought he was “doing a great job” and was again very proud of everyone who had taken the reins of the show after he left.

He talked about how he had a five season plan, and had mapped out the story to have the boys meet Lucifer and God and to fight the apocalypse. He mentioned that the writers had pitched the Angels several times before he finally relented, as he had never even considered them (How crazy is that?). He was adamant that they were not part of his story, but he conceded that it was important to be open to other ideas, and “allow for happy accidents.” He said that bringing in the Angels caused the show to “take a left turn,” and that he was thrilled by it. Being open brought us Castiel for goodness sake!

I got a chuckle out of him when I asked about who keeps track of the dense mythology of the show, saying that I envisioned the writer’s room walls being covered with pictures and string like a crazy serial killer’s wall. He gave great credit to the writer’s assistants and script co-ordinator who had compiled the Bible of the show, and referred to it as the “Satanic Bible.” (hee.)

When asked about how the show has deepened over the years, he felt that the mythology of the show, and the myriad of characters made him proud, and he felt that it could now be compared to the Whedon and Start Trek universes as far as richness of the stories, and the loyalty of the fans. I AGREE.

It was very obvious that Erik was proud of what he helped create with Supernatural, and was quite humble in giving great credit to the cast and crew of the show. He was also very proud of the loyal fan base, and seemed to be quite happy with the idea that the show could continue for several more seasons. I did a little research on the author of this particular book, and it turns out Mr. Knight has written several books on Supernatural, and has been doing extra work on the show for years, so I was impressed that Erik did a press call for a book by someone who was not only a part of the show, but a fan as well.

That’s it! I have a couple of recaps to do, which I promise to get to before the show returns on Wednesday, January 16th. Happy Holidays everyone!