Interview with Sera Gamble
When Supernatural started, the name Sera Gamble was a new one to most of us
watching the show. Now, by this fourth season, her name is as well known as
that of Eric Kripke, Kim Manners and Robert Singer! Sera was kind enough to
take time from her busy schedule to answer some questions for us.
Feel free to link to this interview, but DO NOT copy it anywhere else on the
web without express permission.
General Questions
Is there any TV show, either still running or not, that you would like the
chance to write an episode of?
Definitely-there are several shows I very much admire. Mad Men pops immediately
to mind. If I could go back in time… Six Feet Under. The Muppet Show. And
I would have paid money to be in the writers' room on Twin Peaks.
If you weren't a writer, what do you think you would be doing as a career?
This is a highly theoretical question. But I think I might have eventually
ended up in some kind of medical field, Eastern or Western, or maybe psychology.
I find myself reading a lot of psychology-related books, especially Jungian
theory. Some of it is pretty hard for me to wrap my head around-the guy was
clearly a lot smarter than I am-but a lot of what he talked about is very helpful
when you write about demons and monsters for a living.
How did you get into writing for TV?
I started out writing screenplays. My then-writing-partner and I were finalists
in a screenplay competition, and an agent who read our script offered to work
with us. She turned out to be Sue Naegle, who was a deeply fantastic TV agent
until she left the business to run HBO this year. She was the one who first
said to me, "I think you have the temperament to work in television."
I still don't know if that was a compliment, but it turns out she was right.
Do you believe in ghosts?
Not right this second, no. But sometimes around an hour into watching a scary
movie I suddenly do.
Supernatural
You've written some of the most powerful episodes of the show. Where do
you get your ideas from?
Thanks! But I can't take all, or even most of the credit. Writers on our show
don't own their ideas-some of my pitches have ended up being written by other
writers, and vice versa. So several of my episodes were originally pitched by
other writers, or brought to me by Eric.
Sometimes when I start thinking about an episode, I'll run through monsters
I'd like to try my hand at. Mostly, though, I'll start with a picture in my
head of some situation I want to put the brothers in, and I'll work backwards
from there. For me, the key to the show isn't really the monsters. It's always
Sam and Dean.
Dean and Sam are very different characters. Do you find it easier to write
for one than the other?
Not really. They basically sit on my couch and bicker and I transcribe it,
at this point.
If you could have a psychic ability like Sam's, what would you choose?
The persuasion one seems useful. Actually, all the ones that don't lead to
killing people with your touch have their charms. But none of them are worth
it, because eventually some hunter would show up and kill me.
Other than the ones you've written, what is your favourite episode of Supernatural?
I don't have one favorite episode! There are several that stick out in my
mind, and I can't pick one. But I do have to say that this year's season premiere
is one of my new faves.
With so many of the recurring stars being killed off, can you tell us (without
too many spoilers) if Bobby is safe?
Look, I'm not saying this to be coy, but-we're a horror show. No one is safe.
Ever. I mean, we've killed all the Winchesters, most of them several times.
That said, Bobby's head is not, as far as I know, on any kind of chopping block.
Do you have a show "bible" (and not in the religious sense!) that
you use for keeping character developments and minutiae straight when you're
writing?
Yes, we have a bible, and it is updated on a regular basis by our script coordinator,
Michael. He's the one we send looking for the obscure detail we're not sure
we referenced back in season one. He's very patient.
Would you ever consider going to a Supernatural convention and meeting
the fans face-to-face, or does the idea frighten you a little?
Sure, I'd consider it. But it does seem more like something for actors. If
I were a show fan, I wouldn't be going to a convention to go meet some writer
chick, I'd be going to freak out over the likes of Jensen and Jared and Misha.
Thank you very much to Sera for agreeing to this interview.
Feel free to link to this interview, but DO NOT copy it anywhere else on
the web without express permission.
This interview was done in November 2008.
