With equal doses of pitch-black dark humor and historically-based, skin-crawling tales of the paranormal, plus a few demons, angels, shape-shifters, vampires and Lucifer himself, thrown in for good measure, the fourth season of the Emmy-nominated Supernatural is the funniest, scariest season of the series so far.
Currently filming Season Five in Vancouver, the San Antonio, Texas-born Jared Padelecki (one half of Supernatural’s Winchester brothers team) took a little time away from vanquishing ghosts and summoning archangels to chat about fans’ undegarments, his own superstitions, the paranormal, and a certain species of godless killing machine. Plus: this week’s DVDs and BDs after the jump.
Supernatural chronicles the ongoing quest of the Winchester Brothers — Sam (Jared Padelecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) — to avenge the death of their “hunter” parents and protect humans from the nastiest, evilest demons this side of Hell. In fact, the vampires from Twilight are just pesky mosquitoes compared to the bad-ass fangers on the Eric Kripke-created progran. In the 22 episodes of the fourth season, the siblings tried to figure out how Dean escaped Hell, dealt with Dracula, killed a few dozen demons, interfered with a pair of angels who were trying to pull a modern day “Sodom and Gomorrah” job, fought with each other over Sam’s tiny addiction to demon’s blood, helped a fallen angel get out of jail free and, as the season closed, prepared for the oncoming Apocalypse. Whew. Bonafide cult heroes and reluctant sex symbols, Padelecki and Jenson are returning for another hell-raising season of Supernatural later this month (rumoured to be the last).
Your role of Sam Winchester on Supernatural has turned you into something of a sex symbol. Do you have a lot of wild, crazy, stalker-like female fans? Any strange experiences like women sending panties in the mail?
“I’ve gotten like bras thrown at me and stuff like that, which was kind of fun.” [Laughs]
When you are just walking down the street?
“No. One year, we did MuchMusic in Toronto and we had like underwear pieces thrown at us. I’ve gotten like pairs of underwear. I don’t think I’ve gotten like girls giving me their panties, but sending me underwear like they want me to wear it. Maybe I’ll give it to my buddy or something in case they put something in it. For the most part, I guess the nature of the show, it’s just pretty flattering when fans will come up. They’ll say very sweet things like they’re fans of the show. I’ve gotten some kooky things. It depends where you are, too. Like if it’s just little high school girls, they just want to take a picture, have you sign something so that they can tell their friends. But if you’re at a bar and it’s like some girl who wants in your pants, you know, because they think you have money or something and they’re kind of more up front with it.”
Have you had any experiences with the supernatural?
“I have not. And I wish the more I hear the question, the more I wish I had, but nothing that I’ve decided is supernatural. Maybe I have, but maybe I just tried to explain it to myself that it wasn’t. But I guess I believe. I had a funny experience a couple years ago. When we wrapped shooting for nine months, I went down to Texas to visit my family, and I was sitting there with my mom and my dad and we were watching the Season One’s season finale, and all of a sudden the lamp on the table started flickering. I looked over and I was like ‘The demon.’ I said it out loud and I was like, ‘Man, this is in my blood.’ Of course, it’s just a light bulb that needed to get changed or something.”
Are you a superstitious kind of guy?
“Yeah. A little bit. I find myself when I get on planes or going under a yellow light, I kiss my finger and touch the ceiling. I don’t know what that is. I think I saw someone do it one time and now I have to do it. Like getting on a plane, if I have luggage, I’ll put it down and kiss the door when I walk in.”
Right in front of people?
“Yeah. I’ve had some weird looks sometimes, because I’m a pretty big guy and so the flight attendants will see me in and they’re kind of like ‘Hi,’ and I’ll stop and go like kiss the door and they’re all, ‘Okay. Like I hope — like I guess that’s just good luck or something.’ But other than that, not like black cats or anything like that. I don’t walk under ladders. I’ll find myself just walking around them.”
Like a pail of paint drops on your head?
“Exactly. I mean superstitious enough, but not with everything. Like if a black cat crosses my path, I’m just like ‘Oh, that’s a cat.’ I want to go pet it.”
What have you learned about yourself doing Supernatural?
“Oh. That I really like to sleep. [Laughs] That’s the first thing that comes to mind because that’s what I’m most deprived of and I found myself — I remember I used to watch my father or something just like go to sleep watching television and I’m like ‘How can you sleep? It’s not even dark in here.’ And I could go to sleep right now, here right. Like if you all just started making thunderstorm sounds or something. No. I mean that’s sort of a cheesy answer. There’s been a lot of self-discovery just both through playing the role and through sort of the nature of the show we shoot. We’re in another country [Canada] and living in a hotel. I’m sort of living life like Sam right now. I don’t really know what’s coming up in the next week or two and living in a place I’m unfamiliar with and away from my friends and family. And you learn a lot about yourself just because you don’t have your normal vice s so readily available and you’re working so hard. I’ve actually learned pleasantly that I’m capable of working a lot harder than I thought I was because we’re working crazy hours and doing crazy, crazy things. So I found that I am up for it, so that’s good.”
Have you ever been to one of tarot card readings or something like that?
“I actually have. I went on a blind date. I went to a palm reader years ago, and I don’t remember exactly what she said. I was going to be rich and have a bad love life. And I was like ‘That’s crappy. Can you switch it?’”
Poor and a good love life?
“Yeah. Who knows what else? So, you know, good news and bad news. But it was kind of kooky and funny and she was kind of crazy, but I haven’t forgotten it.”
What it’s like working with your costar Jensen Ackles?
“It’s great. He loves the work. I love that he loves it. He takes it very seriously, and he will pick me up when I’m down, and I’ll do the same for him. Like if we both have had hard days and hard times and, you know, something is going on in our personal life or whatever, we’ve had bad sleep and we’ll have to kind of pick each other up, ‘Like, Dude, come on. Get with it.’ He and I both take it seriously. He’s obviously a talented actor and we find ourselves — I find myself saying to him sometimes ‘Dude, you’re faking it.’ And he’ll say the same thing to me. ‘Hey, you’re bored with the scene. Quit being bored with the scene.’ I sort of work better with that like tough love more than ‘Hey. remember this is a character.’ Like someone needs to say sometimes, ‘Hey, buck up. I know we’ve done this scene 40 times, but we’re going to do it 15 more, so let’s not — this last 15 more are going to go on camera, so let’s not put crap work on film,’ and we’ll both be there for each other. We get along great. We just kicked it off for whatever reason.”
What are you afraid of in real life, what scares you?
“What am I scared of? Bears. Bears are scary. They can climb trees. They can bite. They can scratch. I think bears are what I’m scared of. They are godless killing machines.”
Season Four ends with a real cliffhanger. Did that give the show any kind of leverage when the network was deciding whether to bring Supernatural back for Season Five — which begins in a couple of weeks?
“Kind of, kind of, but I think one of the blessings of the show, for those who haven’t seen it, is that our creator Eric Kripke really hates the normal TV process. He hates like, ‘Shall we kill everybody on the show?’ it’s like I’ve died, he’s just like, ‘Oh they loved that, let’s kill him.’ Like he doesn’t just go like, ‘Oh what’s going to happen?’ Answer — ‘Oh this is going to happen, but what does that mean?’ He’ll answer questions. He’ll go like, ‘Hey, why don’t we make something happen, kill somebody, you know?’ He don’t just keep on going for the same… He didn’t want it to be a 30 season show. You know, we’re not making it small, though. We’re not making like Bonanza where they could just go for 50 years and be good. He’s like, ‘Listen, let’s tell a good story. I don’t care about if I’m supposed to cliffhanger or not.’ Like, ‘If you’ve been cancelled, you’re all going to die. It’s like let’s put some finality to this.’ But we’re back for another year, and I’m happy about it.”
What are some of the things we can expect from Sam in the new season?
“It’s been clear to me that Sam’s going to go darker, so to what end I’m not sure.”
You’ve done the movie remakes of Friday The 13th and House Of Wax. So, do you want to do more horror movies?
“I’d love to. Horror films have been good to me, and I’ve been really excited about shooting them. Like I said, I’m a fan of the genre. But I don’t necessarily look for just horror films. If a script comes my way, I certainly wouldn’t shy away from a horror film — if I enjoyed it.
Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season on Blu-ray/DVD. Bonus Features: Three featurettes on “The Mythologies of Supernatural: From Heaven to Hell,” audio commentary on three key episodes by Executive Producers and writers, extended/unaired scenes and a gag reel.
State Of Play
A timely political whodunit, complete with a titillating sex scandal and a gruesome murder, at its core State Of Play pays homage to the old-school, responsible way that major newspapers used to research and uncover those little indiscretions that once brought down the mighty in Washington, D.C. Featuring great performances from Russell Crowe Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams, State Of Play takes equally big bites out of the spin-doctors, the ambitious reporters and wealthy politicos. Bonus Features: (DVD/BD) Deleted scenes & “The Making of State Of Play” featurette. (BD Only) BD-LIVE! And U-Control
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Ninth Season
The past season marks the end of era for CSI — one of the best procedural crime dramas on the airwaves — as the series waves goodbye to Gil Grissom (William Peterson), and LVPD’s CSI welcomes award-winning actor Laurence Fishburne (as Dr. Raymond Langston) to the fold. Watching these two acting titans working side-by-side is truly a sight to behold. As the team (now led by Marg Helgenberger) learn to deal with departures and deaths, they learn to take control of their destinies. On DVD & BD. Bonus Features: Five featurettes (including the celebration of the 200th episode and “Goodbye Grissom) and audio commentary on two episodes.
Meteor
What do you do when an object three times the size of Mount Everest is headed right for you? Well, if you can’t simply step out of the way, you do everything possible to save the planet and every living being on it. Meteor — packed with special effects — stars Christopher Lloyd and Marla Sokoloff as scientists who must not only find a solution to survive the potential apocalypse but they must fight corrupt government officials who are hell-bent on squeezing the last dollar of a money-making event like complete annihilation.
Two and a Half Men: The Complete Sixth Season
How has this sitcom (about a care-free Malibu bachelor, his stiff-neck chiropractor brother and his overly-mature kid nephew living under one roof) remain a number one hit? It’s all about the chemistry between its three costars — Charlie Sheen (party-boy Charlie), Jon Cryer (uptight bro Alan) and Angus T. Jones (the 35-year-old teen). In Season Six of Two and a Half Men, Charlie finds a woman who could make him an honest man, Alan ends up in bed with his receptionist’s mom and Jake gets a big wet smooch from the gorgeous girl next door. The only problem? Her dad is Mad Dog, a BIG football star. Bonus Features: “Growing Up Harper” and “The Women of Two and a Half Men” featurettes and gag reel.
Outrage
The brainchild of documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick — the fine cine-journalist behind This Film Is Not Yet Rated — Outrage is an exposé that yanks major American political figures out of the gay closet and shines on a spotlight on their hypocritical homophobia. Filled with interviews with a number of Washington, D.C.’s more prominent gay politicians, the film acknowledges the “outrage” many of the gay community feel against the corruption and bigotry that is going on behind closed door in America’s capital by self-hating gay lawmakers. A provocative and eyebrow raising documentary, Outrage gives new meaning to “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Brothers & Sisters: The Complete Third Season
With performances from an cast that includes Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths, Rob Lowe, Calista Flockhart, Balthazar Getty, Ron Rifkin and Patricia Wettig, and first-class writing and storylines, Brothers & Sisters continues to please audiences by remaining one of the most unique and compelling family dramas on television. B&S chronicles the day-to-day lives of the Walker family and its grown children, five dissimilar siblings who must contend with consequences of successful and failed romances, infidelity and divorces, as well as addictions and even death. For three successful seasons the show has cleverly avoided falling into a primetime soap and remained a smart and passionate story about the strength of familial bonds. Bonus Features: Three featurettes, bloopers & outtakes, audio commentaries and deleted scenes.
The Game: The First Season
After countless television seasons filled with one failed sports sitcom or drama after another, The Game is a refreshing artistic touchdown. A spin-off of the hit show Girlfriends, The Game not only focuses on the excitement and humor that occurs on the gridiron and the locker room, but also takes a peak at the so-called glamorous life as a spouse or mistress of a pro-ball player. With Tia Mowry, Coby Bell, Hosea Chanchez, Brittany Daniel, Pooch Hall and Wendy Robinson, the series reveals that the real games are always played by the women behind the men. Bonus Features: Spin-off episode from Girlfriends, two exclusive filmmaker interviews and audio commentary.
Sin Nombre
Gritty, poignant and riveting, Sin Nombre (executive produced by Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal) tears the Band-Aid off the gaping wound of the America’s south-of-the-border immigration problem — but in this motion picture, the story is shown through the eyes of those seeking wealth, freedom and the promise of care-free America life. For those brave enough to make the treacherous journey, they are usually met with danger and violence just traveling through the most deadly parts of Latin America. Gut-wrenching, if you plan on watching foreign films this year, make sure Sin Nombre is at the top of your list. Bonus Features: Deleted Scenes, audio commentary with director/writer Cary Dukanaga and producer Amy Kaufan.
Russell Simmons Presents Brave New Voices
If you’ve never experienced “slam poetry,” then you are in for the time of your life. Using such contemporary subjects as the economic crisis, crime, justice, becoming a young adult and falling in love for the first time, forty-five teams of teenage “slam poets” compete in the Brave New Voices 2008 National Slam Poetry Championship. Held in Washington, D.C., the teen slamers — from Los Angeles and New York to Philly and Honolulu — use the competition (a seven-part HBO series produced by Russell Simmons and narrated by Queen Latifah) compose and perform their poetry to not just win the competition, but to transform their communities and themselves. Bonus Feature: “Rhyme & Reason – ten complete performances exclusive to the DVD.
People Like Us: The Complete Series
A hysterical British mockumentary (produced long before The Office), People Like Us finds comedian Christopher Langham toting a video camera and a microphone across England to talk to everyday folks in “normal” situations. Of course, from photographers, teachers, vicars to bank managers, no one is close to being average, they all have hilarious stories to tell and are wonderfully eccentric in the way that only the British can be. Containing both seasons of the fictional British series, People Like Us is filled with sly and wily performances from such actors as David Tennent, Bill Nighy, Sarah Alexander and Jessica Jones.
Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin • Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannerman • Doctor Who: Image of the Fendahl
Three classic Doctor Who episodes from the Tom Baker (1974-81) and Sylvester McCoy (’67-‘69) eras of the long-running English science-fiction series about the ingenious Time Lord. Each disc comes loaded with a load of rare and exciting bonus features. All three DVDs feature audio commentary, deleted scenes, interviews, text/photo galleries and production notes. The Deadly Assassin and Image of the Fendahl come with additional DVD ROM features.
Desperate Housewives: The Complete Fifth Season
Just when you thought the ladies of Wisteria Lane couldn’t get more anymore deliciously deceptive and backstabbing, Susan (Teri Hatcher), Lynette (Felicity Huffman), Bree (Marcia Cross), Gabrielle (Eva Longoria Parker), Katherine (Dana Delaney) and Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) take their provocative and wicked antics even further. Share all the juicy secrets of the neighborhood and laugh yourself to tears as each of the housewives get themselves involved in one scandalous event after another. What started out as a tongue-in-cheek take on suburban life, has become a highly-rated, primetime phenomenon. And, judging by Season Five, it’s easy to see why Desperate Housewives remains such a favorite with TV viewer across the globe. Bonus Features: Bloopers, deleted scenes, four featurettes (including the celebration of Episode 100), and audio commentary.
NOW ON BLU-RAY
Heroes: Season Three
After an unfairly maligned third season, Heroes mutated back into the series we all knew and loved from its inaugural season. Focusing on such Heroes favorites such as Claire, H.R.G., Sylar, Matt, Peter, Nathan, Mohinder Hiro and Ando, Season Three also introduced fans to a slew of great new villains, including the evil head of the Petrelli clan — Peter and Nathan’s dad, Arthur. The storylines are near flawless and the visuals are stunning. (Also on DVD). Bonus Features: Nine featurettes; deleted scenes, alternate stories, commentaries, bios, interviews, exclusive “Building Coyote Sands” featurette, “Season 4 Sneak Peek,” U-Control and BD-LIVE!
High Crimes
A high-profile defense attorney (Ashley Judd) enlists the help of retired military legal eagle (Morgan Freeman) in order to defend her Marine hubby (Jim Caviezel) against charges of slaughtering innocent El Salvadorians. As she digs into her husband’s past, she discovers a shocking cover-up. A fast-paced, suspense-filled courtroom thriller, packed with twists and turns, the Carl Franklin-directed High Crimes transformed Ashley Judd from an indie queen to a Hollywood A-lister. Bonus Features: Audio commentary with Franklin, Judd and Freeman, original theatrical trailer and seven featurettes.
Earth: Combo Pack
A trio of unforgettable stories, set against some of the world’s most spectacular vistas, Earth is a breathtaking film that offers viewers an unmatched opportunity to view the planet like never for. From filmmakers Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, and narrated by James Earl Jones, Earth tells the stories of a mother polar bear searching for food for her two cubs in the quickly melting Artic, a herd of African elephants looking for water in the arid Kalahari Desert and a humpback whale and her calf taking a 4,000-mile migration journey. Bonus Features: Filmmaker Annotations, Earth Diaries and a DVD copy of the film.
M*A*S*H
Director Robert Altman set the tone for ’70s filmmaking with his audacious, counterculture masterpiece set in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital on the front lines of the Korean conflict. Based on the best-seller by Richard Hooker and starring Donald Sutherland (as Hawkeye) and Elliott Gould (Trapper John) — amazing surgeons but lousy soldiers, who deal with the daily carnage of the war by raising hell — plus Sally Kellerman (Hot Lips) and Robert Duvall (Major Burns), M*A*S*H is a freewheeling, over-the-top and sardonic comedy tackling a serious subject matter. Bonus Features: Four featurettes, audio commentary with the late Robert Atlman, interactive features and the original theatrical trailer.
Gladiator
Another Best-Picture winner, director Ridley Scott’s extraordinary tale of an ancient arena gladiator (Russell Crowe) who fights against the emperor and the system to gain his own freedom. The winner of a total of five Oscars, Gladiator is an unparalleled combination of vivid action and extraordinary storytelling and is presented in the original theatrical version of the film as well as Scott’s extended version (both in 1080p High Definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Audio). Bonus Features: Audio commentary (two separate commentaries accompany the original theatrical and extended versions), “The Scrolls of Knowledge” trivia track, “Visions From Elysium: Topic Marker,” the “Strength And Honor: Creating The World of Gladiator” documentary, six featurettes, abandoned sequences and deleted scenes.
Braveheart
Mel Gibson’s exhilarating historical epic absolutely comes to life on 1080p High Definition. The five time Academy Award-winning film (including Best Picture) about Scotland’s most legendary warrior, William Wallace, ranks as one of his best performances as an actor and his greatest work as a director. One of the biggest money-makers of all time, Gibson’s take on Scottish history is bloody, brutal and brilliant. Bonus Features: Interactive Timelines — Production, Historical & Fiction, “Braveheart: A Look Back” — interviews with cast and crew, the featurettes “Smithfield: Medieval Killing Fields” and “Battlefields of the Scottish Rebellion.”
Girl Next Door 
In this lteen sex comedy, Elisha Cuthbert stars as Danielle, a totally hot and mysterious girl next door and Emile Hirsch plays Matt, the straight-laced overachiever with political aspirations who falls head over heels in love with her. The harder Matt falls for Danielle, the more he wants her to be his gal. But, when his porno-obsessed best friend informs him that Danielle is an adult film star, Matt is determined to straighten out her life and turn her into the Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes he always envisioned her to be. Bonus Features: Audio commentary, featurette, outtakes, alternate scenes, deleted scenes, trailers and interactive features.
