Sam, Interrupted (21 Jan. 2010)

When a former hunter calls Sam and Dean for help from inside a mental institution, the brothers get themselves admitted as patients to check out his claims of supernatural phenomena. When ... See full summary »

Director:

James L. Conway

Writers:

Eric Kripke (creator), Andrew Dabb,

Stars:

Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jon Gries

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Jared Padalecki	...	Sam Winchester
Jensen Ackles	...	Dean Winchester
Jon Gries	...	Martin Creaser
Lara Gilchrist	...	Nurse Foreman
Malcolm Stewart	...	Dr. Aaron Fuller
Michelle Harrison	...	Dr. Erica Cartwright
Gwenda Lorenzetti	...	Susan Bishop
Juan Riedinger	...	Ted
Holly Hougham	...	Wendy
Tanja Dixon-Warren	...	Night Nurse #1
Bronwen Smith	...	Night Nurse #2
Veronika Hadrava	...	Susan
Kevin O'Grady	...	Orderly
Claire Lindsay	...	Patient

Storyline

When a former hunter calls Sam and Dean for help from inside a mental institution, the brothers get themselves admitted as patients to check out his claims of supernatural phenomena. When their incarceration pushes them both to the breaking point their personal issues send them over the edge.

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Plot Keywords:

dropped pants | hanged by the neck | psychiatric examination | playing checkers | begging for help | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wonderland Sound and Vision, Warner Bros. Television, Kripke Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam's alias at the hospital is Alex. Alex is the name of the protagonist in the futuristic book "A Clockwork Orange", in which is Alex is sent to an asylum due to his violence and anger issues.

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Quotes

Dean Winchester: Alright look, Nurse Ratchet, let's get one thing straight. I've seen Cuckoo's Nest, so don't try any of that soul crushing, authoritarian crap on me, hmm?

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Connections

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

User Reviews

Let's talk about our problems

So this episode of Supernatural involves the boys helping out an old friend in an insane asylum (taking a break from the hunting down Lucifer/finding God story line), where, after starting their hunt, they start questioning their own sanity and are forced to confront other deep seated issues.

I was disappointed with this episode. After the long break, I was hoping for a good way to jump back into the season. I found the story line to be ill conceived, and not well thought out. It was all over the place. The script was barely believable at best. There were a few weak attempts at humour, and even fewer and much weaker attempts at soul searching moments, in an episode which had great potential for the latter. Come on, an asylum chock full of psychiatrists? Even though I have a tendency to squirm during the "mushy" stuff, I was hoping for some proper insight into the fascinating characters of the Winchesters.

A last frustration: they never develop the story line of the mysterious "friend of Dad's who needs help and we owe him". Really? It's an "I wonder: what exactly *did* happen in Albuquerque?" kind of moment? I found that quite contrived.

However, this is just a bump in the fantastic road I'm sure Supernatural will lead us down soon enough.