I always pay attention to the writers on shows that I like.  I look for them on other shows that I watch.  The good ones write good scripts wherever they go.  The best might even land showrunner gigs, like Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul).  

My favorite Supernatural writer is Ben Edlund.  Edlund came to tv writing from a different angle than most tv writers.  While still in high school he created a comic book that became a cult classic, a satirical superhero comic called The Tick.  The Tick was adapted three times for tv.  First as an animated series that ran from 1994-1996 on Fox.  It was a kid’s show.  Then Fox revived it as a live action sitcom aimed at adults.  Alas, that version only lasted 9 episodes in 2001-2002.  Finally, there was an Amazon Prime series that ran 2 seasons from 2016-2019.  The Fox live action show starred Patrick Warburton as the Tick.  The Amazon show starred Peter Serafinowicz as the Tick.  I love both of those actors but I kind of forgot about the Amazon show after watching a couple of episodes.  I need to revisit it.  It is streaming on Prime and FreeVee.  The Warburton Tick is available to buy on Prime.  There’s also a DVD.  The animated Tick is not streaming anywhere but it is on DVD.

Edlund wrote 24 episodes of Supernatural, more than any other show he’s worked on other than the animated Tick.  I watched Supernatural from the beginning all the way through… season 13 maybe?  Somewhere around there.  I kind of burned out at that point and still haven’t gotten around to watching the last 2 seasons.  Ben Edlund left Supernatural after season 8 to work on Eric Kripke’s then-new show, Revolution.  I didn’t watch Revolution beyond a couple of episodes and I never saw any of Edlund’s episodes. He also wrote for Angel, Firefly, The Venture Brothers, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Gotham.

Here is a list of bingeworthy Ben Edlund Supernatural episodes in chronological order:

• S2:E12 “Nightshifter” – This episode always felt pivotal to me in terms of the show’s strengths finally clicking into place.  The first year and a half of Supernatural is a bit of a mixed bag.  There are some good episodes but some cringey ones too, usually involving a forced romance with guest-actress-of-the-week.  With this episode they found their rhythm.  Sam & Dean get caught in the middle of a bank robbery with a shapeshifter.  They end up on the evening news, attracting the attention of an FBI agent who thinks they are serial killers.  They have to find and kill the shapeshifter hiding among the hostages and somehow get out of the bank without getting nabbed by the FBI.  Great use of the Styx song “Renegade”.
• S2:E18 “Hollywood Babylon” – In this episode Sam & Dean investigate a haunted movie set.  Edlund’s funny side begins to emerge here with a satire of the movie business.  Gary Cole guest stars as a studio guy.  This would be a good double feature with the X-Files movie spoof episode, “Hollywood A.D.”
• S3:E3 “Bad Day At Black Rock” – Someone breaks into one of John Winchester’s storage lockers and steals an unknown object.  Sam & Dean track down the thieves and discover that the object is a rabbit’s foot.  A ‘lucky’ rabbit’s foot.  But the good luck only lasts as long as the bunny foot is in your possession.  As soon as someone takes it from you, the good luck transfers to them and you get nothing but bad luck until you die.  Sam holds the rabbit’s foot and has amazing good luck until his luck suddenly changes.  He lost the foot.  This is the episode that introduces Bela (Lauren Cohan), a dealer in cursed objects.
• S3:E13 “Ghostfacers” – The blogger dorks from S1:E17 “Hell House” are back, now shooting a pilot for a Ghost Hunters type reality show.  Naturally they cross paths with Sam & Dean in a haunted house.
• S4:E5 “Monster Movie” – Fun tribute to the Universal monster movies of the 1930s.  While investigating a potential vampire murder, Sam & Dean land in a small town celebrating Oktoberfest.  The whole episode is shot in black & white and Dean wears lederhosen. Todd Stashwick guest stars.
• S4:E8 “Wishful Thinking” – While investigating a bigfoot sighting Sam & Dean discover a whole town where people’s wishes come true, including a little girl who wished her teddy bear was alive. The teddy is the cause of the bigfoot sightings but he is filled with existential dread at the state of the world.  Possibly my favorite Supernatural episode, definitely in the top three.

• S6:E9 “Clap Your Hands If You Believe” – Also in my top three, this one is hilarious.  Sam & Dean investigate several disappearances linked to crop circles.  This is during the period when Sam has no soul and can’t seem to fake caring about anything, including Dean.  Robert Picardo guest stars.

• S6:E15 “The French Mistake” – Sam & Dean are sent to an alternate reality by the angel Balthazar where they are actors on a show called “Supernatural”.  Very meta episode in which Sam & Dean are Jared & Jensen, Jared is married to the actress who played the demon Ruby (Jared’s wife in real life), and Misha Collins plays himself, or a goofy version of himself, instead of Castiel. Brian Doyle-Murray plays Bob Singer (the director). Eric Kripke (played by an Micah A. Hauptman) makes an appearance. The title is a Blazing Saddles reference.

Edlund wrote and directed the “Smile Time” episode of Angel (S5:E14), the one where Angel turns into a puppet.

Today is Ben Edlund’s birthday. Happy birthday Ben!