We've all heard the news, right?

[feliciakw]

The news has broken that Sera Gamble (who has been with SPN since S1) has opted not to renew her contract and will be (from the sounds of it) leaving SPN to pursue other development projects. She is being replaced by SPN veteran Jeremy Carver. I'm not surprised she opted not to renew her contract, given some of the very vocal opposition (some of which has been expressed with extreme and violent hatred) from the fandom. Or this could be the politic way of describing a different series of events.

I'm nonplussed (in the non-standard meaning of the word). While her skills as a showrunner are perhaps questionable, she has without question written or co-written some of my very favorite episodes of their season, if not the series (my favorites in bold):

1.03 Dead in the Water
1.12 Faith (one of my favorite eps, period. With one of the best lines describing faith that I've ever heard in broadcast TV.)
1.14 Nightmare
1.21 Salvation
2.03 Bloodlust
2.08 Crossroad Blues - (She well and truly freaked. me. out. with this one. Ask Izhi.)
2.13 Houses of the Holy
2.17 Heart
2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One (along with Part 2)
3.02 The Kids Are Alright
3.07 Fresh Blood
3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me
3.12 Jus in Bello
3.15 Time Is On My Side
4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester
4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer
4.17 It's A Terrible Life
4.21 When The Levee Breaks
5.02 Good God Y'All
5.07 The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester
5.13 The Song Remains The Same
5.21 Two Minutes To Midnight
6.01 Exile On Main St.
6.11 Appointment in Samarra
6.21 Let It Bleed (Yes, as painful as this one was, and as dubious as the ending was, I liked it.)
7.01 Meet The New Boss
7.10 Death's Door (arguably the best dramatic episode of S7)
7.17 The Born-Again Identity

Actually, all the eps on this list are pretty good to varying degrees. Those bolded are just my very favorites of the ones listed.

There has been much rejoicing, complete with extremely rude send-off wishes from some. I'm not dissing people for their delight that there will be a change in showrunners next year (which, renewal now seems to be all but a formality), or their happiness that Sera is stepping down. To each their own. Her seasons had some clunkiness, but then, Kripke got a little out of control, too. I wish her well on her next project.

This does lead us to something Bob Singer (the real one, not the one who wears a trucker cap) said earlier about next season, that they're going to get away from the All Angst, All The Time, and get back to the Saving People, Hunting Things. This? I cannot argue with. This makes me happy. This I look forward to.

So, best wishes to Sera. Maybe we'll see each other around.

Yay! for saving people, hunting things, the brothers working side-by-side and fighting back-to-back! Maybe we'll get a little more insight into the stuff Dean has (not) been dealing with the past three seasons. Maybe we'll get some of the incidental humor back into the flavor of the show. Sera gets blamed for a lot of stuff that I don't think is solely her fault. However, if bringing Jeremy Carver back will get us back to Saving People, Hunting Things in a fleshed out, creative way, I'm all for it!

Comments

[gluisa88.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've never been sure what things that the fandom blames on Sera are actually her fault or not.

Nevertheless, I'm thrilled about the change- it's always good to have new blood and I can't wait to see what Carver does :D

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

The change caused me raise an eyebrow (or rather, it would, if I actually *could* quirk one eyebrow), but otoh, I'm not entirely surprised. S6 was rocky in places, and I don't think she ever really got her sea legs when it came to showrunning. But I do think that fandom took a lot of stuff out on her that wasn't solely her fault.

But regardless of her showrunning capabilities, she's been one of my favorite writers on the series.

I think the change makes sense and will be good for the show. Jeremy is familiar with SPN, has written some wonderful eps, and has perhaps been away from it long enough to be "new(ish) blood."

Here's hoping for a S8 that gets the boys back to Saving People, Hunting things, with a dish of angst/mytharc on the side.

ETA: Huh. After checking Jeremy's writing credits for SPN, only two or three of his eps jump out at me as making me squee. In fact, one of his eps presented me with one of my least favorite turns of events, though I can't totally blame him, since it's mytharc-related. And I do really like the first half of that particular ep. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[leelust.livejournal.com]

I don't get why all starting to list her eps. She wasn't a writer the last 2 years, she was a showrunner and she was BAD doing it. That's why she should step out a long time ago. Her inability to run a show and her bias toward one character ruined the show and made a lot of fans to go away.
I hope carver will be better *fingers crossed*

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Sera was a showrunner who also wrote episodes for the past few years. As a writer myself--one who hopes to work in TV--it frustrates me when people don't understand that in television writers often fill different roles at the same time. Many showrunners also write for their show.

And whatever one might think of Sera's showrunning skills, she's certainly a talented and skilled writer.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

You and I have very different attitudes toward Ms. Gamble. However you might feel about her as a showrunner or personally, she has been one of my favorite writers on the show since S1, which is why I took the time to find a list of her writing credits for the show and post them. I think it's worth remembering that she's not evil incarnate and has, in fact, written some excellent episodes. And yes, she HAS written episodes the past two years, and of the six she's credited with writing (thus far), I've really liked four of them--more than half.

I do think S6 was rocky in places, and that she never really got her sea legs under her as far as being a showrunner is concerned. The fact that she does not, imo, interview particularly well didn't really serve her well as the face and spokesperson for the show, either. But that does not change the fact that she has written some of my favorite eps, as recently as 7.10, "Death's Door."

I'm not particularly surprised by this change in leadership, and it's encouraging that they're getting a SPN alumn to head up the as-yet-unannounced S8. Here's looking forward to a rollicking S8 full of Saving People, Hunting Things, with a side dish of angst and mytharc that doesn't completely overshadow the boys or their brotherhood.

[tahirire.livejournal.com]

Are we confirmed that she isn't writing for us anymore? I hadn't heard if she was just stepping down as Showrunner or if she was leaving entirely. I'd really hate to lose her as a writer. :-/

I too REALLY hope this is not because of the fandom crazies. :-/ :-/ :-/

HOWEVER. I love Jeremy, he is brilliant and honestly I feel that as a showrunner over all, he will do a better job. I love s7 and I think she really pulled it around, but it's STILL all angst all the time, even now, and damn but those boys deserve a break. I want one, final GLORIOUS season of the boys firmly on the same side and kicking some massive monster/demon/watever ASS.

*Firm Nod*

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

The article I read said that she opted not to renew her contract so that she could pursue other developmental projects. That sounds to me like she's leaving the show completely. Either she opted not to renew her contract, or that's the politic way of saying that she was let go (i.e., fired).

I agree that S6 had its issues, and I do think that Jeremy will make a good showrunner. But I've long liked Sera-written or co-written episodes, so while I think it's probably a prudent move to remove her has showrunner, it's kind of a bummer we'd lose her as a writer.

That said,

those boys deserve a break. I want one, final GLORIOUS season of the boys firmly on the same side and kicking some massive monster/demon/watever ASS.

This. ^^ *nod*

[ficwriter1966.livejournal.com]

My guess is (and it's backed up by nothing concrete) that she was *asked* to leave. It feels to me like, if she had a specific other project(s) she wanted to devote her time to, they'd be mentioned in the write-up. It feels to me like, the network looked at declining ratings and a lot of fandom complaints (which would logically lead to continuing declining ratings, to some folks) and pinned the blame on the person at the top. ("The buck stops here," if you will.) Networks have a habit of doing that, for good or ill.

I wonder, too, if Bob Singer knew this was coming when he gave that interview to EW two weeks ago, talking about how they'd done enough angst and he wanted to see a rolicking, wild west-type tale next year.

My wish is that they go back to a scenario where Sam and Dean LIKE each other. And that they stop creating adversaries the boys have no reasonable ability to conquer without the use of a miracle they've pulled out of...the Impala's trunk (harking back to the end of "Changing Channels").

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Oh, it wouldn't surprise me at all if she was asked to leave. This kind of feels like the diplomatic way of couching such an announcement to the public.

I don't follow ratings info too closely, but I thought we were pretty steady this year, what with being second only to TVD. But the grief she got from a very loud portion of the fandom seems to me that it would have fed into the decision, whosever it was. I hope not, but that's just my impression--fans screaming for her head on a platter, followed by news that "she's opted not to renew her contract."

Yes, the buck stops here. I get that. I just get so tired of reading fan opinions about how things were so perfect and brilliant and flawlessly executed under Kripke's reign and how the show went to Hades in a handbasket once Sera took over. Kripke was not all that and a bag of chips, and Sera was not evil incarnate. They both had their strengths, and they both had their weaknesses. Unfortunately, Sera seems to have been placed in a position for which she was not suited. She's always been one of my favorite writers for the show, but S6 was rocky in places. Still, for it's roughness, I didn't loathe it with every fiber of my being the way some fans seem to.

I expect that Bob *did* know about this change when he gave that interview. It just sounds like he did. When he says "we haven't even talked about this," it just sounds to me like he's avoiding mention of this change in leadership, since it had yet to be announced.

My hope is that they address some of the things I've been longing for them to address--mainly, Dean's state of mind and his unique "Dean-ness" in the world of the supernatural, and that they get back to the Saving People, Hunting Things \o/ and the sharp, clever execution of urban legends and the humorous flavor and the brothers standing side-by-side and back-to-back and Yay! \o/

As I said, nonplussed. Not particularly bothered. Glad that it's a SPN alumn taking over, so we shall see.

[sarcasticval.livejournal.com]

Your journal is the first I've heard about this, as I tend to avoid the fandom due to its fringier elements.

That said, I do find it endlessly fascinating that as a whole this is a fandom that looooooves to wail about the lack of female representation in Show, yet turns it on a dime to vilify the head female honcho behind the scenes. Curious and curiouser.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Avoiding fandom's fringier elements: A plan I cannot argue with.

That said, I do find it endlessly fascinating that as a whole this is a fandom that looooooves to wail about the lack of female representation in Show, yet turns it on a dime to vilify the head female honcho behind the scenes.

Indeed. I agree in general terms that her seasons have felt a bit rocky and somewhat lacking in consistent coherence. And I don't necessarily think she should be cut a lot of slack because she's a woman. But considering that she's pretty much the only female in a position of creative leadership on the show, it does make for a really weird perception of the fandom.

It will be interesting to see how long it will be before fandom starts bemoaning the direction Carver decides to take the show and demanding that he step down for whatever reason.