To spin-off or not to spin-off?

[rogueslayer452]

Joss Whedon created Angel as a spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And while I know there were certain opinions regarding the differences between the two shows, there was a level of development of the characters that transferred from BTVS to Angel. They actually underwent some fascinating character growths and transformations that wouldn't have happened had they remained on BTVS, since they would have been minor characters and, not that minor characters didn't have growth over there, but on Angel it was a different level of development. The transition from one to another really did help these characters to have such rich material (Angel, Cordelia, Wesley and Faith respectively) that otherwise wouldn't have been thoroughly explored had they remained on BTVS.

So why can't the same happen for Castiel from Supernatural?

Judging from the comments that have been made, not just from today via the recent interviews but in general, there is a massive split between the fandom about whether the show should have characters like Castiel staying or that it should always be about the brothers and no one else. The show has always been neglectful with their minor characters, many of which had much potential and they just never fully developed them or took advantage of such amazing opportunities. Having a spin-off would bring those opportunities to life that the show wouldn't even consider, let alone allow them to have. Which doesn't make sense since SPN isn't even a huge ensemble show anyway so this shouldn't be a common occurrence of abandoning/killing off characters just for the because factor, but I digress.

Castiel is a fan favorite, the majority of the fandom fell in love with him the moment he was introduced and have been rallying, campaigning and showing love and support for him ever since. You'd think that they would take the hint that perhaps people want more Castiel elsewhere instead of on the show where his storylines often get pushed off-screen. And since this is all about the money nowadays, this would double their chances at more viewership and the ratings, which is precisely what the network wants.

I mean come on, if the Ghostfacers can have their own webseries I'm sure Castiel can most definitely have his own spin-off. I'm just saying.

Comments

[cottoncandy86.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I'm late on this but you make a especially good point about ghostfacers. People liked them enough to spawn a web-series. Surely Castiel is popular enough for a spin off too.

It doesn't have to go on and on like Supernatural, maybe just a web-series or a mini series. Run by Edlund of course. Yes please!

Seriously though, I've been a pushing a spin off for a while because SPN has a bad rep when it comes to minor characters and I got tired of seeing Cas' story-lines (which were in some cases, more interesting than the Winchesters) pushed to the side. A spin off would be beneficial and very business savvy, imo. It makes sense.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

If anything they should have done webseries during S5 or S6, showing Castiel doing his own thing that was separate from the Winchesters. To give us more insight on what he was doing, just giving us something like that so it all connects to what is happening on the show. I mean, Heroes did something like that when they released a graphic novel strip every week to coincide with their episodes, just for a little background information that wasn't being shown on the aired show. It's not beyond the realm of possibility, even with a limited budget.

And you're definitely right, having a spin-off of that sort would be beneficial and business savvy, it would have expanded their franchise more than ever.

Of course I'm biased. I love and care about Castiel way too much, and I'm more partial to loving and wanting more of the minor characters these days. The Winchesters are kinda old news to me. There's just nothing really worth telling about them anymore, not at the rate the show has been going lately. I would rather have a spin-off with Castiel and his family dynamic because we hardly know enough about them. Same with the demons and their hierarchy, as well. Something I never understood -- the show has had demons on their show since the first season, and yet we still know very little about them. I would like to know the inner workings of demons, and I would actually like to see a demon that isn't evil for once; Crowley comes very close to that, but it's not enough. That's one of the many gripes I have about this show, in fact.

But I'm rambling in my rant now. Sorry about that. As you can see, I have many opinions on what this show has done, or rather not done and after the recent promos and interviews popping up.....I feel my emotions and opinions bubbling to the surface again.