Finish Supernatural at the end of Season Five

To:  The CW television network

To The CW television network and relevant parties,

We, The Undersigned, have been troubled in recent weeks by suggestions that your hit show "Supernatural" may continue on into season six and beyond regardless of the wishes of the show's creator, Eric Kripke. We therefore ask that you respect his intentions for the show and allow it to end at the close of Season Five, when Kripke departs as showrunner. For the past four years, Supernatural has consistently been one of the most exciting and entertaining shows on television. Season Four, in particular, has showcased a perfectly consolidated writing team who have a full understanding of the premise and tone of the show and produce, consistently, episodes and stories that are thrilling and moving in equal measure. This writing has been brought to life on screen by directors who are fully engaged with the mood and intentions of the story and by actors who, whether series regulars or guest stars, have excellently conveyed both the very human motivations of their characters and the difficulty of the moral dilemmas that they face. In turn, viewers have responded positively and ratings have increased. It is therefore understandable, in view of the success of the show, that the CW would want "Supernatural" to continue for as long as possible, but we would ask you to reconsider.

Kripke has long expressed his intentions that "Supernatural" would run for five seasons only, and had mapped out the narrative structure of the show accordingly. The cast and crew, and in particular the writers, have been working under similar assumptions. The entire narrative thrust of the show, and the momentum that has built over the last four seasons, have been based on this five season structure. Because of this clarity in the plot, Supernatural has never been guilty of cheating viewers out of the answers to the mysteries presented within the program's mythology. Similarly, the standalone episodes are uniquely original, coherent and well-paced for a show that partly consists of a 'monster-of-the-week' format now going into its fifth season, precisely because the existence of a clear narrative arc has allowed the characters and their relationships to change over the show's history. As a result, storylines can never be repeated because the way characters react to the situations they find themselves in has changed. These changes in character are believable and complex, rather than superficial, because there is no fear of reaching a 'point of no return' with a character; the existence of an end date means that characters can move from point A to point B as opposed to moving in endless circles in which changes of behaviour last little more than a few episodes.

We have outlined the many strengths of "Supernatural" in order to demonstrate that the reasons viewers have built up their trust in the quality of the show and the ratings have risen are the very reasons why it cannot continue past Season Five. Enjoyment of the show is largely based on the knowledge that momentum has been building to a clear and definitive conclusion next year. "Supernatural" has been able to retain its audience from Season One, while at the same time gaining new viewers, because the show has remained varied and unpredictable and the audience knows the answers they want will all be given in good time. Reaching the end of Season Five and forcing the plot to remain open-ended would be a betrayal of the loyalty of The CW's audience. It would badly affect audiences' future trust in The CW as a brand by forcing a classic of its genre, which "Supernatural" undoubtedly is, to succumb to a gradual loss of pace and momentum and an irrevocable decline in quality, to become yet another one of those many shows in recent years whose concept was stretched to breaking point until audiences simply lost interest and stopped tuning in. If the show is renewed now only on the basis of its ratings, the only reason for its cancellation in the future will be that its declining viewership no longer justifies the costs of its production. Therefore, an eventual, and considerable, dip in quality for the show and an abandonment by its audience becomes inevitable. We ask that you do not let this happen.

We do not make this request because we are insensitive to the employment that "Supernatural" provides to its cast and crew or have no interest in their feelings on the subject of the show's renewal. We are grateful for the years of entertainment that they have provided us with and look forward to any and all future projects that they engage in, and we understand that some may not agree with our position. As loyal fans of "Supernatural" we sign this petition, not in disregard of the feelings and opinions of others, but in order to express our desire that it is allowed to go out in its proper blaze of glory, that it gives us the satisfaction of having seen a story well-told in its entirety, and that it be referred to in future as a perfect example of how episodic television should be done. In the same way that "The Sopranos"' (HBO) infamous cut-to-black is still discussed as a seminal moment in television drama, we want "Supernatural"'s ending, whatever it may be, to be considered an 'event' in the history of genre television.

Which brings us to our concluding remarks. It seems to us that television in the United States is reaching a turning point. With new media, and particularly the Internet, increasingly challenging the television set's supremacy in the American household, television networks are having to find new ways to draw audiences to the content that they create and provide. At the same time, American television has recently experienced a near glut in high quality programming with shows such as the resurgent "Lost" (ABC), "The Wire" (HBO) or "Mad Men" (AMC) thrilling audiences both at home and overseas. We do not believe this is mere coincidence. With so many other mediums to engage them, audiences are able to exercise choice in what they watch, and when they watch it, like never before. What they have shown is that, time and again, they exercise that choice in favour of quality, creativity and originality. "Dollhouse"'s (Fox) improved ratings performance once Joss Whedon fully took the reins halfway through its first season is prime example of this. Even where the most critically-acclaimed shows are not the highest-rated, the respect with which those shows are treated by the network that broadcasts them becomes a benchmark of the goodwill with which that network is regarded by fans and critics alike. The softening of attitudes towards the Fox network with their renewal of "Dollhouse" being, again, a good example. The line between those networks that will sink or fail in these difficult times will be between those who choose to engage in a short-term grab for easy ratings winners or those who choose to invest time and attention in creative minds and truly original ideas and, once that time is invested, trust that those minds know far more about engaging and entertaining an audience than a group of business executives. It will be drawn between those who see themselves as running a business and those who see themselves as patrons of art. We believe that now is the time to make American television the true art form it has always had the potential to be.

We understand that the future of "Supernatural" is only a very small part of the changes currently taking place in the television industry, but it is one that we hold very close to our hearts. Therefore, we ask again that you join the creative charge of the television networks, understand that a television drama is more than just a product, and allow Eric Kripke to end the show as he would choose to end it; at the close of Season Five.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Finish Supernatural at the end of Season Five Petition to The CW television network was created by and written by Ellen Buddle (endspn5@googlemail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.