We are finally here - the last day of the Ultimate Supernatural Episode Tournament. After today we crown our winner. It's been a long process. We started the ranking polls all the way back in November 2011 and finished them in May 2012 once season 7 had finished. All wildcard rankings were done by June 1 and the contest officially started on June 2, 2012, running pretty much daily except for during the STV Favorite Show tournament in July. Of 149 episodes, 128 made it into the contest and now 2 remain. Thank you to everyone who participated. It's been fun whiling away hellatus with you and hearing your wildly varying opinions. Thanks for sharing your passion for Supernatural and being a great group of people who understand that opinions differ and that's what makes things fun. I can't wait until October 3 when we can start sharing about new episodes too! Until then, thanks for making my hellatus more bearable and giving me a chance to discuss Supernatural every day without getting rolling eyes and deep sighs (my family just doesn't get it.) And now on to the finale....
In the left corner is....Changing Channels.
It earned its way into the contest by defeating Sex and Violence, Simon Said, Jus in Bello, The Monster at the End of This Book, All Hell Breaks Loose Part2, and Bad Day at Black. It's easiest win was over Simon Said with 86.69% of the vote. It's hardest win was against All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2 with 54.09%.
In the right corner is....Lazarus Rising.
It earned its way into the contest by defeating Of Grave Importance, In the Beginning, Appointment in Samarra, What is and What Should Never Be, A Very Supernatural Christmas, and The French Mistake. It's easier win was over Of Grave Importance with a whopping 92.74%, the highest of the contest. It's hardest win was against A Very Supernatural Christmas with 56.75%.
Let the voting begin!
Don't forget to nominate your favorite quotes from Fallen Idols while you're at it. I know many people didn't like this one as much as I did but there are some great quotes. As always, happy voting!
List of episodes in contest
Print your own bracket.
Contest results so far
Season 1 Quote Nominations Form
Season 2 Quote Nominations Form
Season 3 Quote Nominations Form
Season 4 Quote Nominations Form
Season 5 (so far) Quote Nominations Form
Screencap by Home of the Nutty
My blog
SPN Asylum
SpoilerTV
And so it ends. Thanks so much everyone for participating. This contest has been almost 1 year in the making and it's been awesome getting to know everyone better through the comments. I appreciate you spending all these days making hellatus go by quicker and for being a great bunch of conversationalists. I love how we can passionately disagree yet still get along. That's a rare combo in the SPN fandom and one of the reasons why discussing Supernatural with you is always a high point in my day. I hope you had fun too even if your own particular favorite didn't make it the winner circle. Mine didn't either but the journey was enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteIn my last vote, I choose Lazarus Rising. I love both episodes. They are both in my top 20, but Lazarus Rising had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. In it I sighed with contentment, gasped in shock, awwwed in amazement, and laughed at the one-liners. The introductions of Pamela and Castiel were well-done. Bobby had me laughing with the holy water test and heart sighing with the hug. Sam's new powers absolutely shocked me and Dean's coffin shock was powerful. I spent the summer knowing Dean would get out of hell but this premiere exceeded my expectations in ways I never imagined. 42 minutes of pure awesomeness and Supernatural at its best.
I love so many Supernatural episodes (Changing Channels and Lazarus Rising included) and I'm happy with the finalists. I'm okay with either one winning, they are both fantastic episodes in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI voted for Lazarus Rising.
ReplyDeleteEasy for me since I really dislike most of CC, so keeping fingers crossed that my #2 ep after Swan Song wins, drum roll please....Lazarus Rising.
ReplyDeleteCould not have said it better, Lazarus Rising was very powerful from start to finish. Thanks again for all your hard work on getting this poll up and running.
ReplyDeleteHum, I meant to vote for Lazarus Rising but my finger slipped and I voted CC, which I hate. Great.
ReplyDeleteLazarus Rising, no question. Such a powerful episode, and one of my absolute favorite premieres. What a fun ride this contest has been! I always love reflecting on Supernatural, especially when I have to watch the episodes in question to break a tie ;)
ReplyDeleteYikes! Sorry that happened. With any luck it won't matter.
ReplyDeleteAny excuse for a rewatch I always say.
ReplyDeleteLazarus Rising. Obviously. I love morally-ambiguous Sam. I love the build-up throughout the episode to Castiel's introduction. Love everything about the scene in the barn. I remember how I felt the first time I saw it and Cas said, "You don't think you deserve to be saved." As a Dean-girl I was moved and intrigued and thrilled. And "Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you," gave me chills. I've watched season 4 through three times, "Lazarus Rising" itself five times, and the last ten minutes of the episode a good ten times. It never gets old.
ReplyDeleteI like both, but for me, there are better episodes... I chose Lazarus Rising because I think it captures more the essence of SPN
ReplyDeleteI am not submitting quotes cause I dont have time, but today it's Fallen Idols, so I have to submit all the lines in Spanish haha
ReplyDeleteYay! My favorites made it from the last round. :D
ReplyDeleteI voted for Lazarus Rising, of course. Changing Channels is a great comedy, but I enjoy dramas more, and Lazarus Rising is one of the best dramas there is.
..IS NOT FARE..SNIF,.,SNIF..I LOVE BOTH..BUT LAZARUS FOR ME..(REWIND.THE SNIF,SNIF,)
ReplyDeleteQuick get a random person to vote for LR. lol
ReplyDeleteI don't think it'll come down to 1 vote. Those close ranges of votes rarely happen.
Easy for me. I love a good supernatural comedy and changing channels is one of the best. Add into that the trickster who is my favourite non-Winchester character and my vote is sold to the Japanese game show, David Caruso sunglasses and bad puns and the herpes add just to name a few.
ReplyDeleteGreat competition dahne thanks so much for doing it all
Fallen Idols Quotes:
ReplyDelete17. Dean: "Four score and seven years ago, I had a funny hat."16. Dean: "Hey world's smallest violin pal. I spent the afternoon up Christine's skirt. I needed a drink."15. Dean: "I'm sure the Apocalypse will still be there when we get back."14. Dean: "Let me get this straight. Your, uh ultimate hero was not only a short man in diapers but he was also a fruitarian?"13. Sam: "Need a flashlight." Dean: "No. Don't do anything. Just go away." Sam: "Yeh..uh okay." Dean: "Don't speak alright. In fact, don't even look at her. She might not like it."12. Dean: "What are those? Seeds." Sam: "Yeah they were in both vics' bellies." Dean: "I hope you washed your hands."11. Dean: "It gets better. Sheriff's putting out an APB on Paris Hilton. That ought to be good."10. Dean: "Well I hate to break it to you sister but, uh…you can't eat me. See, I'm not a Paris Hilton BFF. I've never even seen House of Wax."9. Sam: "They're unlike any seed I've ever seen before Dean." Dean: "Wow, just when I thought you couldn't get any geekier."8. Consuela: "Abraham Lincoln kill Mister Hill."7. Dean: "Famous ghosts?" Sam: "Maybe." Dean: "Well that's just silly."6. Sam: "Dude, you just got whaled on by Paris Hilton." Dean: "Shut up."5. Dean: "Is that Gandhi?" Sam: "Yeah!" Dean: "Dude he's squirrelly."4. Dean: "Okay Baby. I'm not going to hurt you so don't hurt me."3. Dean: "Yeah I guess these days nobody gives a flying cr** about some backwoods forest god huh?" Paris: "No. Not since they cut down my forest and built a Yugo plant." Dean: "March of progress sister."2. Paris: "No you…you people, you're the crazy ones. You used to worship gods, but this? This si what passes for idolatry? Celebrities? What have they got besides small dogs and spray tans? You people used to have old-time religion. Now you have US Weekly."1. Sam: "Says here to chop off his head with an iron axe." Dean: "All right, let's go gank ourselves a Paris Hilton."
Awesome work Dahne, and thank you for dedicating so much time and effort into this. It's really very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteLazarus Rising. It's not in my top 1 but this was the episode that changed the series...forever.
ReplyDeleteIt expanded the scoop of the series, it introduced my favorite character, and it was simply a kickass episode.
I think it's my second favorite episode too.
ReplyDeleteEasy decision for me. Lazarus Rising. I love Changing Channels, but Lazarus Rising represents more to me what Supernatural *is* as a show. Humor, angst, fun supporting characters, and it was a great premiere episode.
ReplyDeleteChanging Channels has a ton of wonderful moments, but I personally love Lazarus Rising more, so it gets my vote.
For me it'll always be AHBL2, no matter the poll, which result seems to change year to year.
ReplyDeleteI have to rank Changing Channels above Lazarus Rising. (Dahne, it's my %minute reasoning again. :-)
ReplyDeleteSo, what _will_ we do during the next hiatus? >my most innocent smile<
I like so many more episodes over these two
ReplyDeleteTwo good episodes, although many which I personally prefer have fallen by the way-side but I'd be happy to vote for either of these.
ReplyDeleteHowever there's no doubt. I go for Lazarus Rising.
I remember the first time I saw "No Rest For The Wicked".
I was flabbergasted at poor Dean really going to hell and Sam crying over his body. Luckily I had bought all 5 seasons on dvd so I was able to find out a minute later what happened. :)
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I sometimes wonder how the story would have played out if the writers' strike hadn't disturbed things. There was Sam's mysterious resistance to Lilith's power in NRFTW which was never really explained. If she knew he was going to be Lucifer's vessel, why try to kill him.
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I wish the writers would be more careful.
In that instance the strike messed things up, but there's no excuse now for making little errors in continuity ,which may be at times irrelevant, but which annoy those who have followed the whole Winchester Odyssey and notice these inconsistencies.
Quotes:- FI
ReplyDeleteX
While this isn't right up there among my most loved episodes, it's very watchable for me.
It has to get the thumb's up for the two quotes anyway, especially the first one because after the depressing GGYA and FTBYAM and the chilling scene of what would happen with Lucifer/Sam in "The End", I was just happy to see the brothers working in near-harmony together and baiting one another..
Thus quote no.1
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[ Dean: "It's just... this is our first, real case back at it together. You know? I think we need to ease into it, put the training wheels back on."
Sam: "So you think I need training wheels?"
Dean: "No, we. We need training wheels, you and me. As a team. Okay?"]
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The second one just because I thought it was funny.
Then what would Dean do if he didn't have Sam around to make a little fun of. :)
[ Dean: "Let me get this straight. Your, uh, ultimate hero was not only a short man in diapers, but he was a fruitarian."
Sam: "That's not the point."
Dean: "That is good. Even for you, that is good." ] :)
Lazarus Rising is my favourite Supernatural episode of all, so pleased to see it in the final poll and being able to vote for it.
ReplyDeleteI Love changing channels but the first grand entrance of Cas top everything.
ReplyDeleteLazarus rising \o/
AHBL2 was one of my alltimefav - but in this case Lazarus Rising
ReplyDeleteFor me, it'll be Changing channels, because it represents supernatural: the humour, the angels, the mythology, etc etc...And because Gabriel is THE character B). But my favorite episode of all time will always be Mystery Spot!!!! For the same reasons XD.
ReplyDeleteLazarus Rising - my favorite episode, so i am glad that i can vote for it in the final :) Also would like to thank Dahne for hosting these polls - you have done an excellent work.
ReplyDeleteAnd what is your favorite ep??
ReplyDeleteA little over 12 right now.
ReplyDeletei'm so happy that changing channels made it to the finals!i love this episode!
ReplyDeleteChanging Channels has a special place for me as one of the best comedy episodes this show has done but for an ultimate episode, I would have to say Lazarus Rising. Dean's death was heartbreaking and his return (though it had to occur) was done very well and didn't feel like an easy way out 'oh we'll just get an angel to pull him out!'. Little did we know that angel would become someone we grew to love and hate, only because of how human he was, he made mistakes and was a best friend to Dean. I also enjoyed that Dean was still himself as much as he could be when he came back.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that I've praised Lazarus Rising enough times,so I won't do it again.It's my all time favorite episode(along with The End),so naturally it gets my vote.
ReplyDeleteI'm also happy that Changing Channels reached the final though.Best comedy episode for me,with one of the coolest twists.
The polls were awesome Dahne,thank you so much!I wish I could participate more towards the end but there's work and semester exams and not enough time to sleep.I want season 8,it'll make everything better...
Almost here! : )
I love both episodes but my vote goes to Lazarus Rising.
ReplyDeleteQuotes:
Paris: "No you…you people, you're the crazy ones. You used to worship
gods, but this? This si what passes for idolatry? Celebrities? What
have they got besides small dogs and spray tans? You people used to
have old-time religion. Now you have US Weekly."
Sam: "Says here to chop off his head with an iron axe." Dean: "All right, let's go gank ourselves a Paris Hilton."
I agree with all your points. Lazarus Rising is a powerful and important very epi. Changing Channels was entertaining but doesn't compare to Lazarus Rising.
ReplyDeleteI've chosen to vote for Lazarus rising, since it is one of the best episodes of the entire 7 seasons. As fun as Changing Channels is, for me it can't compare to LR.
ReplyDeleteI want to thank everyone who has made this poll what it is. It's a lot of fun to read people's comments about the different episodes. It's made me think a little differently for sure.
A special thanks to Dahne of course for running the poll. Your hard work is very much appreciated.
Swan Song lol.
ReplyDeleteLazarus Rising without a doubt. It was a brilliant start to a brilliant season, one of the best SPN premieres (if not the best one - I'm still undecided about it) and overall an episode easily in my top 10 or maybe even top 5. It's actually great to see it winning.
ReplyDelete..think lazarus rising like the first episode of season 8.in these case..DEAN IS A FULL THROTTLE HUNTER,COMPLETELY EDGE AND HIDDEN SECRETES .SAM IS MORE CALM AND ALSO HAD A STRONG ROMANTIC RELATION THE QUESTION IS SAM TELL THE TRUTH TO THIS LADY ABOUT HIS PAST.???..AND HOW DEAN REACT WHEN SAM TELL HIM IS LEAVING HUNTING..OOOOO...YESSSS..THE SNEAK PEEKS ARE VERY CONFLICTED DEAN AND SAM REACTION VERY FAR OFF..HOW THESE TWO BENT HIS DIFFERENCE WILL BE EPIC AND AWESOME...WOOOW
ReplyDeleteEither of these could win as far as I'm concerned, but I'll have to throw my vote to Lazarus Rising for a few reasons. 1) I knew Dean would be saved from Hell, but I had no idea how they would do it. I loved the way the switched up the mythology by introducing the angels and the seals (at the time), and having Dean reunite with Bobby then Sam was a long awaited relief. 2) Written by Kripke and directed by Kim Manners, this was SPN in its purest form. A drama filled with mystery, action, humor and family. 3) The introduction of characters that became important in the SPN mythology ie: Castiel, Ruby 2.0, Pamela. Just a well done episode.
ReplyDeleteChanging Channels was also well done, one of the funnier episodes, in my opinion, and even when they turned sharply into drama with Gabriel at the end, it was still chocked full of everything SPN I love. But, to me, Lazarus Rising is the more solid SPN episode.
Thanks for participating every day. It was great to read your comments.
ReplyDeleteThanks and thanks for allowing us to do these polls. They make hellatus go by a little faster.
ReplyDeleteI'm good with either of the two winning also. So glad there are two I like in the finals. It doesn't always end that way.
ReplyDeleteThe quotes nominations will remain open at least until January and maybe until March so feel free nominate at any time. The links are at the top of the page.
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating. It was fun discussing with everyone. My favorite part of Changing Channels, aside from the Gabriel reveal, was the CSI spoof. Mostly because I can't stand David Caruso.
ReplyDeleteLazarus still packs a punch no matter how many times I see it and Sam returning the amulet always makes a lump in my throat. For someone who doesn't get emotional easily that's saying something.
ReplyDeleteAHBL2 is in my top 5 every time so I was rooting for it to go far too. I personally prefer What is and What Should Never Be but basically any of the season 2 high points get my vote.
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to kill me? Next hiatus? This one hasn't even ended. :-P I know we will continue quotes nominations during the hiatus and we have the best song and best song-to-scene contests to run still. However I think Adam is going to try to run the Character Cup over winter hiatus. If he does, I imagine that will take the majority of the time and it's likely to get heated quickly. It always seems like 2 Supernatural characters go against each other relatively early.
ReplyDeleteHa! We were just discussing continuity issues the other day. There seems to be several that bug people. I was thinking of doing an article about that over the winter hiatus. Any particular issues you'd like to discuss?
ReplyDeleteAh someone who is completely happy. Love it. It's hard to do in competitions like these where favorites get knocked off early. So glad for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. AHBL2 has a lot of supporters. Quite frankly I'm surprised it wasn't in the finals. My guess is that if we did these polls over and over again there would be a different winner every time.
ReplyDeleteI had picked Mystery Spot to go to the final four. It was definitely in a tough bracket. One of the hardest so I think it would have gotten farther if its ranking had been different. It was the eighth most popular episode in our ranking polls.
ReplyDeleteHa, a kindred soul, my #3 is On The Head of a Pin, big fan of Alastair. lol
ReplyDeleteThanks. I appreciate you sharing your opinions throughout the contest. So glad you could vote for your favorite episode and the winning one at that!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the polls, Dahne. They have been fantastically fun. I've loved all the quotes and discussions and the fact that I think you've watched every episode approximately 400x and then memorized them. It is very impressive. But you set a great tone in the discussion and have kept this fan from getting too high strung over the summer. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI never thought it would make it into the finals but it's awesome we ended up with a comedy and a drama, and two of the best episodes of the show.
ReplyDeleteEh. I expected worse for the "ultimate episode" winner but I can live with this.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I completely understand about real life taking up Supernatural time. I'm going to have to see the second episode of the season late because work is getting in the way. May be time for me to buy a DVR. I hope your schedule gets better and you find time to sleep.
ReplyDeleteI know many people hated the fact that Paris Hilton was on Supernatural and to be honest I was not thrilled at all when I heard that too. Still to have Paris Hilton give a speech about how stupid people were to idolize people like herself was inspired. I love this speech all the more for her saying it.
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me how varied the Supernatural fandom is and how/why people love different episodes. I've been in a lot of fandoms before and it always seemed there was a fairly consistent reaction to certain episodes. Not so much with Supernatural. To be able to discuss the finer points of an episode with people here is one of my SPN fan highlights even when my opinion is usually the minority. Maybe especially since then.
ReplyDeleteYou're going to have to make that top 10 list concrete. That's one of my to-do lists for discussion over the winter hiatus. I'm hoping everyone who participated in this contest will be ready to discuss their top 10 at least in late December/early January.
ReplyDeleteSeason 8 certainly does seem to have a lot in common with season 4 - at least the beginning part. I'm hoping there's more joy and less despair this season though.
ReplyDeleteI think that switch from all-out comedy to all-out drama/mytharc is the reason why Changing Channels is so popular. They proved in 42 minutes how effective they could be at both genres and blended them seamlessly together as well. Although I also voted for Lazarus Rising, I would have been satisfied if Changing Channels had won also.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have enjoyed about these polls are the comments that give me a new way to look at an ep that I have loved and thought gosh that is an interesting concept.
ReplyDeleteAw, I'm blushing. Thanks! However I readily admit that while I've seen the first 3 seasons far to much, I tend to forget major parts of seasons 4 and 5 episodes since I don't watch them near as often. Thank you for encouraging great conversation and your thoughtful answers. I've had a lot of fun thinking about the show in depth because of it. I'm actually hoping to do some articles along that vein so if you have topics you'd like to discuss let me know.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty high praise from you, especially since you tend to have differing opinions from the majority a lot of the time. Do you think you could have a top 20 or top 25 list done by winter hiatus for seasons 1-7? We have such differing tastes I thought we could do a pair of articles debating our lists.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The comments are my favorite part because they give the whole competition necessary depth and keep me engaged in Supernatural even when there are no new episodes. I'm so glad to be a part of this community where we can disagree and still converse. I often find myself challenged by what others say too.
ReplyDeleteWe could probably work something out. Although, I have a counter-proposal. You've already got the list thing well in hand and debating an entire list could be very cumbersome, so how about this:
ReplyDeleteWe collectively decide on a handful of episodes which we have differing opinions of and do a point-counterpoint scenario, one taking either a positive or negative stance on a particular episode and the other offering an opposing viewpoint.
It's too bad hellatus isn't until the holidays because we could make the debate a "Supernatural Election Special."
Yikes. Character Cup. Yeah that never goes without a few nasties.
ReplyDeleteYay LR WON
ReplyDelete..my opinion will be each part of both same intensity.no middle point one side to another and all this future crazy and unique storylines I imagine the forums full of fans opinion good and bad..very cool
ReplyDeleteHey, you keep making me make nearly impossible suggestions...this was my only revenge. But it does sound like you have the ammo for 2 or 3 more of these Supernatural specific contests already in the bag. Weeee.
ReplyDeleteexactly!
ReplyDeleteI just want to add my thanks to that of everyone else for the huge amount of time you must have spent on organising this poll. Hats' off to you!
ReplyDeleteX
X
Well, the first thing that comes to mind this morning,is the whole Dean as a heavenly weapon thing.
That always bugged me because the writers led us, well me, to believe that Dean was more than just a vessel for Michael but had some other power especially in the episode with the Whore of Babylon.
He was designated the "Heavenly Weapon" the only one pure enough to take her out which he did.
At that time I thought that maybe it would turn out that Dean had some sort of semi- angelic power, just as Sam's was demonic. Some angel mojo or something, making him a sort of an opposite to his brother in this too.
Then when he took out Zachariah and his eyes weren't in the least affected by the explosion of the angel, plus the fact that Uriel had said in a previous episode back in season four that only angels could kill other angels, confirmed this sensation to me.
But then all of that was ignored and it turned out that not only angels could kill other angels
That has always annoyed me because as you said in the discussion you had the other day, the "Supernatural" world doesn't have to have the rules that our world has but it has to be at least consistent with the rules of its own world and not break them whenever it suits the writers.
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Another thing that comes to mind is Sam having to drink all that demon blood in SS to accommodate the devil. If he was the perfect vessel for Lucifer then what was the need for that?
.The blood originally was supposed to make his powers stronger so that he could kill demons, not to strengthen his body.
If Dean had become Michael's vessel would he have had to drink gallons of angel blood to be strong enough to host him?
Did Adam have to guzzle some angelic blood too?
That might be a challenging task. I know which episodes of SPN I love most, but whenever I try to do a list, it's never a clear 5 or 10 or 15, it's always like I come up with top 8 and when I try to figure out 10, I end up with 13. When I try to come up with 15, I end up with 19 and so on. And I don't think I'll ever be able to define that one ultimate winner. I love too many episodes equally. Them being so different from each other doesn't help either. But for you I might try come the winter hiatus ;)
ReplyDeleteHere is another poll that Sam and Dean are losing to Merlin and Arthur.
ReplyDeletehttp://tvbreakroom.com/tv-duos-bracket-round-three-day-30/?utm_source=TV+Breakroom+Updates&utm_campaign=3412837cac-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
I agree Dahne. I've found some very interesting points of view towards episodes that I never really thought so much about and it made me think twice. I really can't wait for the news season. Hopefully I'll have time to stop by and discuss the episodes.
ReplyDeleteyep, that's one of my favorite scenes in all of Supernatural, Sam giving Dean back the amulet. Oh...my heart!!! So precious.
ReplyDelete