A new episode of Supernatural titled “Everybody Hates Hitler” airs on Wednesday night, February 6, and to promote the episode, fan favorite writer Ben Edlund, who penned this installment, participated in a press junket via the phone with members of the press. What do we have to look forward to? Read on..
“It’s got a lot more funny, I think, than maybe I’ve had for a few episodes, because even though it revolves around some very dark material, as all of the episodes do, in it is this natural comedy team of a giant Golem with an old-school sense of purpose, and a young Jewish man, who’s supposed to be a Rabbi by the rules of the awakened Golem, but he’s far from it. It lends itself to some of my favorite kind of writing,” he says when answering the question of whether or not this episode will be funny (as if the title wasn’t a hint before). “The boys, dealing with this new sort of comedy team, get to be comedic themselves, so there’s a good bit of that. Even in exploring the new home, there’s a couple of moments. I think it’s got a higher comedy potential than the last handful of scripts I’ve done,” he admits.
In addition to some humor in the dialogue, you can expect some good physical comedy in the episode as well. “People are batting each other great distances can sometimes be funny,” he laughs, “and in this case, there are a couple of things that function that way. I mean, the Golem is so physically present. The guy we got to play him, Tom DeSantis, is amazing. He’s like 6’11.” You know, usually when I’m writing something for Sam and Dean, and I say ‘oh, and this person towers over Sam and Dean,’ I’m in a really bad place to begin that discussion, because Jared is 6’6″ or something and Jensen is really tall. They’re just both very big. And so, trying to get them to be towered over is pretty much an impossibility; or to get them be towered over and then have any acting quotient is an especially unfortunate assignment for casting, but this fellow was great. He was amazing, and has this voice that sounds like a church bell rolling down the hill. It’s great. He adds such presence to the intent of the comedy that’s written in the script, that it really just is amazing,” he says.
A new standing set for Supernatural is introduced in this episode, following the events of the last episode. This new set was the former home of the “Men of Letters,” and it contains a lot of knowledge for the Winchester boys, should they choose to seek it. “Sam’s really excited that they’re in this place, and he’s really jazzed about this wealth of information, and the library there, and everything that comes from inheriting the Men of Letters headquarters. Dean is a little less geeked out in that regard, and kind of points out that all of the information kind of terminates in 1958,” he laughs. “So how it relates to the present day is a mystery to him, in a sense, but then the case actually stems from what they learn by going over the files, with Sam, connecting the dots and trying to figure out what is relevant today, gets a hit on something that draws them into the case that they wouldn’t otherwise have pursued. So ultimately, the story stems from their inheritance of the Men of Letters,” he says.
Within the guest cast for “Everybody Hates Hitler” is Barney Miller star Hal Linden as a rabbi. Had Edlund been a fan of the award-winning series that ran through most of the 1970’s? “I really loved Barney Miller a lot,” Edlund admits. “I was there in the audition when he came. He’s a really wonderful guy. I didn’t spend days with him, but we got to speak for a moment. I’m really pleased… I am proud to have a piece of work that he appears in, because I watched Barney Miller, in a way, religiously, as a little kid. I just really loved it. They had a werewolf episode, so they had their little Supernatural moment, but ultimately, yeah. That was a big part of my youth,” he says.
Don’t miss Supernatural’s “Everybody Hates Hitler” Wednesday, February 6 on The CW! Here’s a look at some images:
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Ooo Sam geeking out over the library sounds awesome, can’t wait. I’m loving the introduction of the Men of Letters legacy stuff and how it relates to Sam and Dean, SPN is finally getting back on track this season.