CW’s "Supernatural" and Getting Silly with “Shut Up, Dr. Phil:” A Television Review

Director: Phil Sgriccia.

Writers: Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming.

Once in a while, even a fine show like "Supernatural" goes over the top with its humourous take on pop culture. “Shut Up, Dr. Phil” is a dead giveaway to the television show, where the good doctor, a psychologist, offers advice to turn people’s troubled lives around.

That is not going to happen anytime soon for the Winchesters. The problems that they have feels too far-gone to ever get fixed. But maybe the problems of Maggie (Charisma Carpenter) and Donald Stark (James Marsters), a wealthy couple who lives the high life, might get resolved. They were happily married once, but during the episode, they are in the process of separating for good.

The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" mini-reunion is mostly a ratings booster as the series hits episode five. And in what one generation of fans want, another may not be as interested. Carpenter and Marsters certainly still have what it takes to light up the screen, and their in-character eternal feud is certainly fuel for the fire. They make ideal candidates to the Dr. Phil show.

The best part is in seeing the brothers attempting to council the witch and the warlock. The chuckles from writers Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming helped stifle the concerns from an episode that sounded bad ever since the title was announced.

Instead, the well-written dialogue is a witty tribute to everything that is from the Dr. Phil talk show, from the first moments of the show to the climax. The Winchester brothers make far too many self-referential nods to their own problems, but they are not willing to admit or open up to them. Now if the script went "Jerry Springer" that would be something to see. Fan fictions do exist with this other talk show host, but just how many people really want to read that?

Fortunately, the stage is being set for the next episode where the Leviathans make a comeback. The one that has been pursuing the brothers since “The Girl Next Door,” finally catches up with them and he gets stunned, thanks to the iron man, Donald Stark. As he pointed out, there is a way to at least temporarily stall these monsters from the deep. Stark suggested that it should be thrown into a bottomless pit. And apparently, electrocution is a good spell to know. Now the question remains: did the Winchesters even bother to ask what spell Donald used? Nope.

The brothers had a chance to learn about how to deal with the Leviathans, and they blew it.

The Supernatural on the CW

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