Suggestive Letter to Kripke#2: Grown-ups needed
Dear Mr. Kripke,
Last week, I saw Sci Fi's list of genre shows on network TV by ratings and to my horror, Supernatural was last on the list. It looks like the temporary Sunday schedule did not help Supernatural much. Here is an unsolicited suggestion about how to improve Supernatural's ratings.
First of all, I think that Supernatural has low ratings not because it doesn’t get enough promotion and not entirely because of it's timeslot, but mainly because this excellent show is painted with the same label as most shows on The CW- it is seen as a teen program showcasing pretty, young actors. With this label, it is never going to be given serious consideration by your average time-constrained, adult viewer when they sit down to watch TV. From the looks of things right now, the new season 3 additions will only cement that reputation.
As an adult viewer myself, I don’t dare tell my contemporaries that I watch Supernatural. While my coworkers talk about shows like Desperate Housewives, The Office and Lost, I keep mum about watching Supernatural. To be honest, I think I would be laughed out of the room, if I admit to watching any CW show other than Gilmore Girls.
I don’t see Supernatural lasting beyond the third season unless something drastic is done to distinguish it from The CW label and broaden it's audience base. What Supernatural needs is a “grown-up” leading character. That is, someone over age 30, but under age 50. Jeffrey Dean Morgan could have been it, but his character was killed off…still sad about that. 
Now, the real reason I bring up this topic…Nathan Fillion (Firefly). When I saw Nathan Fillion in the short lived Fox series, Drive, I thought, “this is a guy that belongs on Supernatural“. He could be just what the show needs to break out of it's teenybopper audience box. He has that strong, rugged, man-of-hard-fought-experience look that made Harrison Ford a star. I can see Nathan Fillion as a charismatic hunter, driving up in that awesome, souped-up car from Drive (epi#3+), effortlessly seducing Sam into hero-worship, perhaps even recruiting Sam to go on a hunt, and at the same time making Dean crazy with jealousy. We all know Dean would never be jealous of a girl in Sam’s life, but another hunter…oooh. (Wouldn't that make a great parody episode- having these 2 manly men competing for Sam's "affections". I am laughing just thinking about it.) Anyway, if there were any hint later of this charismatic hunter replacing Dean when Dean's demonic bill come due, the fans vitrolic reaction would be sure to generate a heck of a lot of publicity.
Of course, being 35 years old, Nathan Fillion not likely to get a recurring role on Supernatural or star in any show on The CW, for that matter. So this is all just wishful thinking on my part. *Sigh* I guess I’m destined to remain a closet Supernatural fan at the office.
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