Supernatural at 200: Eric Kripke Reminisces

Ten years ago, Eric Kripke created a television series that is hitting its 200th episode on Tuesday night, November 11.

The series, Supernatural, focused on two brothers who were “saving people and hunting things.” Kripke guided the Winchesters for their first five seasons before passing the drivers’ seat to others and going on to create the NBC series Revolution, but he returned for the 200th episode party in Vancouver, BC last month.

We caught up with Mr. Kripke on the red carpet, where our questions are posted in bold, and his answers are not.

The CW has also released more photos from the 200th episode this morning – find them here!

KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: What do you think of the notion that a new generation of young people has now discovered Supernatural via Netflix and other formats, including the episodes from your era?

KRIPKE: It’s astounding, man. I’m grateful to Netflix! I think people have found the show who were 4 or 5 years old when the show started, and now they’re going in, they’re catching up on nine seasons’ worth of story. So, I think it’s incredible. I’m just grateful that they’re able to connect with the show, because I think the show’s just about family, and I think that’s ultimately universal. No matter whether the show aired in 2005 or 2014, I think there’s something really emotional and relatable for them to connect to.

Is there anything that’s come after Season 5 that surprised you in a really good way?

All of it did. I’m so proud of Sera and then Jeremy. They each took the show and made it their own, and I think it’s a format that can really allow for different writers to put their fingerprint on it. It’s always been a show that’s been able to reinvent itself, and I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to stay on the air for ten years without getting repetitive. So, I’m proud of them. I think the thing I love most about the show since I left was how each of them really embraced it and made it their own.

Was the classic rock on the show something you brought to it?

Yeah, that was super important to me. I’m an Ohio kid, and so for me, classic rock is really important, and then at the time, we were starting at what was The WB, which had a ton of shows with really sh!t music, and I was terrified that I was going to end up with, like, Coldplay, and I really wanted the music that I loved on the show. Plus, it fits the show’s identity, because they are two motor heads from Kansas. That’s the music they would have listened to. And so, even in the pilot script, I wrote this stage direction which said “cue music, and you can take your anemic emo you-know and shove it up your ass. We play classic rock, we play it loud.” And then later on, sure enough, The WB at the time said “kids don’t listen to this music, we’ve got to put in,” I don’t know, f-in’ Death Cab for Cutie or whatever people listen to today, I have no idea. There’s very few times in the show’s history where I threatened to quit, and that was one of them. I said “I walk if we can’t put this music into this show. I’m not going to do every other show on The WB,” and luckily, we were able to get the music in the show, and the rest is history.

What was the reaction in the production the first time that “Carry On Wayward Son” was incorporated into the show?

Funny enough, in Season 1, it was the second to last episode that we cut the first “Road So Far,” and I think Phil Sgriccia deserves a lot of the credit. I can’t remember who picked the song. It might have very well been Phil. But what I remember was, we knew that we wanted to cut this epic recap for the season, and it was the second to last one that someone found “Carry On Wayward Son” and it was beautiful. It was so anthemic and big. And then what no one remembers is, for the finale, we did “Triumph, Fight The Good Fight,” and no one gave a sh!t. [laughs] There was just something about “Carry On Wayward Son” that we looked at, where we were like, that was the one that worked, and so, we started to use it every season.

Have you had the temptation to return to write a script for Supernatural?

I don’t extremely rule it out. Revolution was all-consuming, and I have to say, in the last three or four months, I’ve been a human being again, and I really enjoy that. So maybe when I’m done being a human being, and want to get busy again, there’s always a possibility, but right now, I’m very proud and happy to be cheering on from the sidelines.

You mentioned Revolution… would you ever like to continue that story in some form?

Yeah. We’re talking about that. We’re certainly paying attention to the fans on Twitter, and how passionate they still remain. We’ve seen the petition… we’re aware, and I’ve really been nudging Warner Bros. and talking to them about how we can provide some kind of closure to the fans. It won’t be a TV show, it won’t be a movie… unfortunately that’s a financial [thing].

Like a comic book or something?

Yeah. I’m hoping for something like that, but stay tuned. I’m trying!

The 200th episode of Supernatural, titled “Fan Fiction,” airs Tuesday on The CW. To get yourself prepared, and in tying in with this interview, how about a compilation of the “Road So Far” segments?