The CW
Let me just preface this post and say that I will be writing with my head hung low, the burden of regret weighing heavily. Why? I don’t watch Supernatural.
When it premiered several seasons ago, I watched most of the first episode and thought it was pretty good, if not slightly hokey at the end. It didn’t move me enough to give it a second look. And to this day, I can’t figure out why, because I was still reeling from the void of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel both being off the air. What was I thinking?
Now, when I read Brett’s reviews of Supernatural, I find myself wishing I had stuck with the show for a little longer. Brett’s reviews are really well-written, but something tells me even Brett couldn’t spin it so a crappy show looked so damned good. Here are the things about Supernatural that tempt me, and have me wondering if Supernatural would have filled my Buffy void all this time:
1. It seems to have a really complex back story. I like the fact that there are characters that come and go throughout the seasons, playing an important role in developing the story of these two brothers. I wish I knew more about it.
2. Even if there isn’t much story arc involved in a particular episode, the show seems to be creative with plenty of twists to keep the viewer involved with the stand-alone characters and plot. Brett is never disappointed when this show tries something different.
3. An obvious point, perhaps, but there’s tons of supernatural stuff going on. Cool.
4. Some specifics that caught my eye and made me think of Buffy were some of the crazy, tongue-in-cheek baddies introduced: giant teddy bears, zombies, body-jumping souls, demons; aw, heck, I’m getting nostalgic just writing this one.
5. It seems to have a little bit of everything, exploring familial relationships with the brothers, romantic relationships, and even some characters that are hazy-gray when it comes to classifying them as good or evil. Again, cool.
6. Snappy lines and other comedic elements injected into the darker storylines is just what Buffy did to make a perfectly well-rounded 43-minute viewing experience.
7. Reminiscent of Buffy‘s “Once More with Feeling” musical, which hit it out of the park, Supernatural tried an old-fashioned black and white monster movie episode this season. Can I say cool again?
8. Um, if I understand it correctly, one of the brothers went to Hell for a bit. Ah, the good old days, eh Angel?
9. With character names like Azazel and Castiel, I can’t help but want to know more about how these guys fit into the story. Are they demons? Incarnations of the Devil himself? Or maybe just nobodies with really jazzy names.
So, as much fun as it has been enjoying Supernatural vicariously through Brett’s reviews, I think it is about time I invest in the DVDs and start catching up; something tells me that I won’t regret it. But tell me, is Supernatural as good as Buffy?
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Nov 15, 2008 @ 17:51 EST5EDT
Supernatural surpasses Buffy in every aspects and can maybe even surpass Angel, which IMHO was leaps and bounds better than Buffy… Don’t take this the wrong way, Buffy was amazing but Angel was pure TV genius and Supernatural hits the same genius chords… You won’t regret getting involved in the adventures of the Winchester brothers.
I agree with everything you said.
“With character names like Azazel and Castiel, I can’t help but want to know more about how these guys fit into the story. Are they demons?”
One is the other isn’t… Don’t want to spoil, but watch the show! The introduction of one of those characters was the most amazing twist ever.
Oooh, what a great question. Like Jorge, I’m going to say that Supernatural is even better than Buffy, as of now, anyway. We haven’t seen how Supernatural will end, and all signs point to another season next fall, so theoretically it could just go off the rails, but I doubt that.
The reason I would say Supernatural is better, is that after all these years, they are yet to have a really bad run of it. I can’t say the same for Buffy. I’m certainly not a Buffy hater. I never missed an original broadcast of the show, and still count it among my favorites, but it did have stretches where it really didn’t work for me.
The comparison of the two is also apt because I think they are going to have similar lifespans with DVD. I know quite a few people that eventually discovered Buffy on DVD and grew to love it. And I think it will be the same for a lot of people with Supernatural. You already have a good feel for the strengths of the show, as evidenced by the post. So, what are you waiting for? Order up those DVDs!
*POST AUTHOR*
I agree with the bad run parts of Buffy, even though I’m a crazy fan. Inca Mummy Girl? C’mon, really? But when Buffy really started to take a nose dive for me was the later seasons (damn that Dawn …); it was still in its prime in season 4, so Supernatural may have a nosedive in it yet! ;-)
“Supernatural” is one of the best shows on TV – and like “Buffy” is constantly overlooked because it’s a “fantasy” show. This season has been exceptional as far as the storytelling with the “mythology” story involving the brothers and what God and/or Satan has in store for them. The episode where Dean went back in time and met his parents was reminiscent of “Back to the Future” but offered some surprising information about the boys’ parents. The stand-alone eps are also terrific this season, and the show really deserves more recognition than it gets. I know the rumor at the end of last season was that this season could possibly be the final run for the Winchester brothers, but I hope more people tune in and keep them in the demon hunting business for a few more years!
I find the characters in Supernatural more compelling than the characters in the Buffy universe. Also, IMO the acting across the board is far superior. Ackles and Padalecki have put forth some spectacular, heartfelt work while the guest stars have been second to none: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, (“Weeds,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Watchmen”) Jim Beaver, (“Deadwood”) Julie McNiven,(“Mad Men”) Robert Wisdom, (“The Wire”) Misha Collins, (“24″) Loretta Devine, (“Waiting to Exhale”) Mitch Pileggi, (“The X-Files”) Amber Benson (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and Sterling Brown (“Army Wives”) are just a taste of the quality in casting. Buffy had its merits, but the fierce fraternal love between the brothers Winchester, even when their relationship is strained as it is at the moment, is visceral. The fraternal relationship is a separate entity unto itself, and I can’t help but admire how stark Supernatural can be. When the brothers meet a woman who is cursed with being a werewolf, there is no pretense that she can be kept in a cage forever because she’s “nice.” She is resigned to her fate and shot in the head. I admire such honesty.
*POST AUTHOR*
Yeah, that’s an awesome guest star list. But are you poking fun at Oz? Don’t do that, man. ;-)
I think Supernatural is absolutely outstanding. I’m one of the rare people who didn’t catch all or even a lot of Buffy and Angel, though I did like what I saw of those shows. I think Supernatural is along that vein and has masterfully brought us to an amazing season 4. It’s funny, it’s scary, it’s dramatic and escapist and powerful. It’s also very cracky, so be prepared to lose a weekend or two on the couch.
If you’d like to whet your appetite: Are You Watching Supernatural has 60 little promo vids which are very well done and showcase the show from every conceivable angle.
What everyone else said. Plus…if you like pop culture references, watch the show. If you like good acting, deep relationships, far reaching stories and stand alone eppys, watch the show. Quick wit, emotion, humor and drama. Very much like Buffy, but a bit deeper. They are older than the kids in Buffyverse, and it seems to make a difference. The characters aren’t easily swayed from their convictions, not interested in what others think.
The episode someone else mentioned about the back story where Dean meets his parents in the past, was absolutely fantastic. I’m not sure yet that they have reached the individual ep quality of Buffy (The Body, for instance), but overall it is a much stronger show week to week and season to season. It just keeps getting stronger, and that is very rare in television.
Having watched both series, I’d have to say that Supernatural is the better series, hands down. Buffy was a lot of fun for me to watch, but Supernatural is so much more than fun. I’ve never been so invested in a TV series, and never felt more attached to two fictional characters than I have Dean and Sam Winchesters. Like others have said, it’s the Brothers’ Winchester and their every evolving relationship with each other that is the heart and soul of the series. Great writing and beyond fabulous acting have resulted in the creation of two characters who are so real that sometimes I have a hard time believing that Sam and Dean aren’t really out there hunting the supernatural on the backroads of America. And the situations these characters face feel just as real – miracles don’t always happen, in fact, often they don’t, and the events of one episode can lead to a series of other consequences down the road; it’s wonderful touches like these that make Supernatural above and beyond most television series I’ve ever watched.
In my opinion, the talent of Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki alone would be reason enough to watch this series, but combine great talent, with fabulous, complex stories that blend drama, action, horror and humor all into 40 minutes, high-reaching themes which leave you wondering for days on end all wrapped up in a great classic rock soundtrack and a cool car, and you’ve got a series that is as near perfect as you’ll ever find. Hope you enjoy the series, and can’t wait to hear what you think!
I enjoyed Buffy the first couple of seasons, but my enjoyment of the show started to wane after a while. As tends to happen sometimes. I loved SN from the get go and four seasons in my feelings haven’t changed. I truly care what happens to the Winchester brothers. More than I ever have for any tv character. This is the first tv show where I have never missed and episode when it airs and I own all three seasons on DVD.
IMHO, Buffy is way more campy than SN.
Btw, did you know that Julie Benz aka Darla and Amber Bensen aka Tara have both guest-starred on SN?
As Did Amy Acker and Mercedes McNab.
Wow, I feel like I don’t even need to write anything. I’m probably going to catch some flak here, but I absolutely HATED Buffy. Those vampires just reminded me of the Klingons from star trek and I really don’t see how you could call Supernatural “hokey” in comparison to Buffy. I guess I really just didn’t understand how they could take such a tongue in cheek film from the early 90s and try and turn it into something Serious. But to get to the point–I didn’t want to give Supernatural a chance at first because it was on the dreaded WB, and just from watching commercials it was like….ok, the guy from Gilmore Girls and ghosts…not interested. But I ended up watching it a couple of times and slowly but surely, it sucked me in and I was hooked. This is the best season yet, BUT you do have to go back and watch from the beginning if you want to really appreciate it.
Is Supernatural as good as Buffy? Good question. I watched Buffy and Angel and I still wish Angel would have been renewed because season 5 was amazing and I get never tired of watching it again and again on DVD. Buffy and Angel always were my weekly fantasy addiction.
When Supernatural started I saw the promos but never got interested enough to actually watch the show but then I saw one episode of season 2 and I was blown away. It had everything I liked from Buffy and Angel (great characters, supernatural beings, cool atmosphere, great music, great storytelling etc.). Usually Supernatural is always compared with the X-files but I never watched this series so I cannot say if they have something in common. In my opinion, Supernatural has easily surpassed Buffy and Angel because I totally love the brother’s relationship, the gore, the 70’s music, the great guest stars, the low-budget but cool look of the show, the kind of “realistic” approach to supernatural beings and the most important third character in Tv-history THE IMPALA 67 – THE METALLICAR.
There are always a few episodes especially in season 1 which I don’t like but if Kripke writes the episode and Kim Manners directs it, it’s amazing.
PS: Ben Edlund usually gets to write a funny episode per season that always reminds me of the craziness and humor of “Smile Time”.
I was a Buffy/Angel lover too (but like jorge, i thought that Angel was far better and even now i regret that it’s gone… can’t say the same from Buffy)
I see waaaay to many tv series, but Supernatural is my top 1. I second all the good things that the other commenters said, but what really does it for me is the amaizing combination of drama/comedy that really make’s these show unique, and the bond that the two characters have (you really can’t find better chemistry betwen two actors). People quickly dismisses the show because the actors are too good looking, or because is sci fi (The best shows of history are!!!), and in the cw, but they really have been missing out.
Hope you catch the show from the beggining and then you can tell us what did you though about the show, you won’t be desappointed.
PD: Mercedes McNab (Harmony) was in the show too!!! (Guess what monster did she played! :)
It is sacrilege just to ask…
*POST AUTHOR*
Because Buffy is such an iconic show, or because Supernatural is that good? ;-)
IMO, Supernatural is superior to Buffy. It is consistently good, has very few off episodes and the characters are compelling and in character. I would really recommend you watch the whole series. If you have Netflix start renting, if not the rumor is that Circuit City will have seasons 1 and 2 on sale Black Friday for $14.99 and Best Buy will have season 3 for the same price that day. The series is really worth the investment.
Wow.. now I don’t feel so alone… :D
I only know one person who also loves this show: my brother… I SO often find my relationship with him plastered all over the screen when watching the Winchesters, that it’s a little creepy.
I’ll jump in on the conversation! What a great topic…
One of the main differences between Supernatural and Buffy is the way the storyline plays out over the seasons. Buffy essentially reinvented itself several times. IMHO the show peaked in the high school years. The later years did not flow naturally out of that original vision of the show. For instance, the characters of Dawn and Glory were cool, but you can tell that they had nothing to do with the core premise of the show. By the time we got to season 4 or 5, the overall story started to peter out.
So far, Supernatural still feels as fresh as the first season. It seems like there are miles to go in the story (in a good way). Most of all, I really admire how the story they are telling flows so smoothly. Each season builds organically out of what has come before. I love a story that knows where it’s going from the beginning. That’s why Battlestar Galactica is so good and the same goes for Supernatural.
I think a better show to compare Supernatural to is The X Files. It has the same concept and people behind the scenes. Both shows have two main characters who fight monsters on a weekly basis. The episodes are mostly stand-alone with a hint of the overall mythology woven in. I think the two shows have a similar sense of humor. The main difference is that Supernatural learned from the mistakes of the X Files. Its mythology is far simpler and better presented.
Ok, I think that’s enough from me! Try to pick a less interesting topic next time. Thanks!
I think part of the problem with Buffy after season three was that Joss, IMHO, has a hard time balancing more than one show. Season 4 of Buffy was… meh but Angel season one? Stellar! Then when darling Firefly came along, both shows suffered tremndously and sadly, there just wasn’t enough time to fix Buffy at that point and Angel was horribly canceled (And it’s nice that the WB openly regretted doing that).
*POST AUTHOR*
OK, wow. Wow! Now I am even more excited to catch up on Supernatural. So my husband made me a deal (since we already have so many shows on your plate …)– if Supernatural gets another season, we can start getting the past seasons on DVD and catch up. If they are canceled, we have to wait for the whole series to come out as a set on DVD. Just one more reason to hope Supernatural gets another run!
What a great post, Debbie. Like I mentioned before, I wasn’t a Buffy fan but I know how loyal they can be and I was pleasantly surprised by how many people think Supernatural is the better show? Are ya convinced now? :D Supposedly Kripke has the show mapped out for 5 seasons, and plans to end after that. I don’t see the show getting canceled before then, it gets great ratings for the CW and has a super loyal fanbase. Of course if I were you I’d save watching for the beginning of the summer when there’s noooothing good on tv…..
Supernatural WILL be returning for a season five. Word was that this current season was going to be it’s last because of ratings, but they’ve been blowing those numbers out of the water each week so Kripke is going back to his original, five year plan.
Ack, Debbie, don’t wait that long! They’re getting another season…they’ve had their highest ratings ever lately (and, of course, there was that vague deal Kripke signed with WB).
Wait. Okay. Just knocked on wood to be careful…
Supernatural is definitely as good as Buffy. I’m going to stop short of saying better because Buffy had a lot of other things going for it. Namely, a kick-ass heroine that excited (and not just in a naughty way) viewers as much as any male hero. An extremely likeable supporting cast. Based off a silly (though, admittedly, also surprisingly entertaining) movie, it blew my expectations out of the water. Remember the first time Angel went evil and he killed Giles’s girlfriend? That was some good tv (and don’t even get me started on how hot Nick Brendan was in the hyena episode).
Buffy (along with the x-files) helped pave the way for Supernatural. Watch it, Debbie, watch it now!!!
I had the same void after Angel finished, and Buffy was on about the nth showing on repeats, so after briefly watching the approx half a series of Firefly that was shown, I watched Supernatural precisely because of that, and now I prefer it to both Buffy and Angel. The leads are better actors, and it hasn’t yet got to the stage of “not another apocalypse, how many times is that not, that we have we saved the world? If you preferred Angel, you will probably prefer the later series, 4 in particular, as the first three are very much along the same lines as Buffy’s, simple premise, lots of MOTW episodes, but series 3 and 4 go on to a more sophisticated mytharc and more unusual MOTW episodes, like the black & white one and the reality-TV one, using an interesting trick of some sort, similar to OMWF and Hush.
I recently read a blog – it was on Jack Meyers.com. It compared the overall mythology of Supernatural to that of other genre shows. Whereas in later seasons other shows keep adding or reinventing mythology or mysteries to solve thus making following them convoluted (ahem Heroes). Supernatural is deepening the layers of the same simple story. So it is like an onion each year you learn a little bit more about the same underlying mytharc. You also have some of the most intense brotherly love and some great humor. I did not watch Buffy so I can’t compare but I think Supernatural has one of the most compellingly thought out storylines, writing and acting of any show on tv.
I’m a huge fan of Joss Whedon and will always love his shows, but I do think Supernatural has become the better show. The first season I wasn’t really sure what to think. One week I loved it, the next, not so much, but by the season 1 finale and the season 2 premiere I was hooked, and it has only gotten better since.
This show has so many layers, and Ackles and Padalecki are both amazing. There aren’t very many shows on tv that have actors who can convey such a range of emotions without becoming campy. The only others I can think of right now are Battlestar Galactica and now True Blood (okay, maybe TB is a little campy, but it’s supposed to be and they do it really well).
I love Supernatural. I hope we get several more years of it. At least seven seasons, since that seems to be about as long as a sci fi show can run unless it’s got ‘Star’ in the title somewhere (Trek, Gate, etc.).
Supernatural will be ending after Season Five.
Oh I wasn’t poking fun at Oz, Debbie. I just meant that Supernatural dealt with the problem in what I considered to be a more realistic manner that risked offending the sensibilities. There wasn’t any pretense that such a thing could actually work, trying to incarcerate this poor unfortunate young woman every full moon. When you first said “Oz” my mind went to the HBO prison drama starring Christopher Meloni. :) Then I was like, “Oz! Sweet little Oz the werewolf.”
FYI, I’m not a guy. Everyone always thinks I’m a guy online. ;)
Honestly, I love Buffy, and Angel. Loved ‘em both, a lot. However, SPN is one of my favorite shows of all time, right behind my favorite, Firefly. No show has engaged me on so many levels and sucked me in so fervently as Supernatural has SINCE Firefly, and I doubt any will.
So in answer to your question, yes, Supernatural is, in my opinion, better than Buffy.
I’m not sure about a Buffy void – I didn’t have any since BtVS became so terrible in the last seasons that it’s ending was a mercy. But Supernatural has certainly filled my X-Files void that’s been killing me from insude for years.
The amazing thing about Supernatural is that it gets better every season, it really does. You finish the first one, full of myths and family secrets just to jump in the second one, packed with action and new legends. And when you are done with the third, the one with a great arc, touching drama and lovely comedy episodes, you are in for the fourth with a — well, an even better drama, even more lovely comedy episodes and a bunch of cool new storylines. It’s all uphill as Rupert Giles would probably note.
I’m not even going to start about the amazing soundtrack and atmosphere on the show – too much has already been written on this.
So, to sum up, I do enjoy Supernatural more than I enjoyed Buffy. I hope you try it and find what you are looking for.
okay, I’m starting to be convinced by the complete lack of Buffy love here that either a) Supernatural totally kicks more ass than it appears to or b) this is predominantly read by Supernatural fans who happened to have watched Buffy before their real favorite show was invented. Nothing wrong with that, but I loved every minute of Buffy, even the bad parts, and some of the comments here seem like the opposite opinion of a Buffy fan, like saying the show peaked in 4. But I’d still like to add that Buffy came before, and Smallville and Supernatural owe their very existence to shows like Buffy and X-files, which might be inferior now, but that’s like saying Death Cab is better than the Beatles. Can we ever compare shows that aren’t contemporaries of one another?
Amy Acker guest starred on the first episode of Supernatural I ever watched. The show gave me nightmares. Any show that does that wins my viewership. But is it better than BtVS? In many ways yes, and in others no.
Yes: As many have remarked there is more consistency in writing. They are scary. Buffy was entertaining, engaging and powerful. And I loved the final season and Joss’ solution. But it wasn’t scary. Supernatural isn’t the gorefest/shock horror of most torture rape movies of the cinema, but the gore involved is a necessary level for the nature of the story.
No: The view the show has towards many women is borderline misogyny. All witches become demons. Dean’s high school jock mentality of calling Sam a “p***y” or “girly” if he shows fear. All women are targets for Dean. I know that is the character and I did know many like him growing up and now. But Buffy was about strength and tackled real issues (like rape).
They’re both really good shows, with agreeably Angel betwixt them. But I stand by the yes and no with my last comment: Supernatural’s score rocks harder.
I don’t doubt for a second that Buffy is better than Supernatural. In fact it’s not even near the same level of greatness.
I won’t get carried away and write a huge post justifying what I just stated, cause honestly the show speaks for itself.
Buffy is a legend, it reached icon status. If Supernatural ever manages to continue to touch people’s lives, be remembered and recognized even after several years of not being on the air like BtVS does, than maybe only maybe you can really compare the 2 shows. I know I’ll never be able to.
PS* I have nothing agaisnt SPN, it’s a great show. But Buffy is in a whole other league.
PS*2 Sorry any typos, english is not my 1st language.
Calling this “discussion” unbelievable would be too kind. That anyone could even think to compare Supernatural to Buffy (and Angel, for that matter) betrays an extraordinary lack of understanding of the latter two shows on the part of the person making the comparison.
Don’t get me wrong: Supernatural is a competent and reasonably entertaining. But there’s nothing beyond that. Every television show has relationships between its main characters, and every show has some kind of backstory to explain the current plot occurrences. The fact that Supernatural has both of these is no point in its favor. In case you didn’t notice, Buffy had both, and in a far richer, in depth, and more complex mode than Supernatural does (it’s hard to create a stable and complex web of character interaction when your plot conceit forces you to constantly move your main characters).
Putting all of that to the side, Buffy and Angel had something else that Supernatural lacks: substance. Each episode of Buffy/Angel is *about* something; there’s a deeper significance to the plot designed to be some kind of commentary on topics ranging from contemporary teen culture to corporate America to politics to philosophy (if you want, I can give examples of each). Further, many of those episodes were weaved together to create a coherent argument that runs through the season, and the seasons also fit together to bring out a body of commentary that runs throughout the show(s).
It’s not hard to give examples of any of these. To take just one, Episode 7 of Season 2 of Buffy, Lie to Me, deals both with themes of the nature of human evil (particularly its moral psychology), the conditions under which violence can be justified, and the value of truth and truthfulness in personal interactions. These themes, the first one in particular, are echoed throughout the main Angelus plotline in the season’s entirety, and continue to be brought up throughout the remaining seasons, in the end coming together to develop complex and interesting theories on each topic.
Supernatural doesn’t do anything like that. I’ve watched the show; it’s essentially about the two kids (whose acting, by the way, doesn’t hold a candle to any of the main cast members on Buffy/Angel) killing monsters, dealing with their problems with each other, finding their dad, and figuring out what killed their mom. That’s it. No real subtext or engagement with intellectually stimulating material. Entertaining? Sure. Brilliant and groundbreaking television in the way that Buffy and Angel were? Not even fucking close.
I’m going to borrow a line from you, Zack, and say it again: this just betrays an extraordinary lack of understanding. Clearly, you’re a Buffy fan, so you’ve read more about it, examined it more, etc. So then it’s easy to understand why you think Buffy is always “about” something, and Supernatural is not. Contrary to what you might think, Supernatural is also “about” something, and by that phrase I think you mean to say that it partakes in social commentary. Supernatural does indeed do that, though perhaps not always to the same degree, if only because Joss Whedon is well-known as an extreme liberal.
Supernatural, though, has made numerous queries into nature of humanity, and even the humanity of non-humans. It has also commented on society, and the human race’s obsession with death, with being self-destructive, etc. This kind of social commentary even dates back to season one, namely the episode “Faith,” an episode that series creator Eric Kripke often claims as his “aha” moment that his show could actually run a little deeper than just killing monsters, finding the boys’ dad, etc. But, like I said, Supernatural doesn’t comment as often, or as explicitly, and I for one am rather surprised to hear that you think that more commentary automatically means it’s a better show. Sometimes being beaten over the head with the same idea over and over becomes tiring, especially in this day and age when audiences have seen and heard it all before.
WOW! Thank you Zack. It is true, I am a Buffy fan (Angel and Firefly as well) but I just cant get into Supernatural. Kinda boring.
Okay, you’ve obviously only watched one season of SPN. Because that’s not the show anymore. SPN is Substance to 100th power.
The first season wasn’t perfect, as all shows first seasons are for bad first season SPN see Hookman and Bugs, for bad season 1 Buffy see Inca Mummy Girl and the one with the Praying Mantis Teacher. (poor Xander btw).
For Substance on SPN, in order of seasons (off the top of my head)
Faith: Dean’s dying. Sam must save him. Cue guest start Julie Benz (you know Darla). She’s dying too. Sam takes Dean to a Faith Healer. Faith Healer saves Dean. Dean sees a weird guy in a Suit. They find out someone died the moment Dean was saved — Dean hates that. They research find out the preacher’s wife has been using a Reaper to kill those she found unmoral (gay teacher, pro-abortion activist, guy who protests against them stealing money from folks because he obviously thinks it’s a scam(Imean faith healing). Layla (Darla) has a tumor, she and Dean connect and Dean wants her to be saved but he can’t let the preacher’s wife keep killing — what do they do? They stop the Preacher wife, breaking her amulet that keeps her hold on the Reaper and the Reaper kills the woman. Layla had the end, tells Dean that she’s okay because if you are going to have Faith you have to have Faith when the bad things happen too — Also the Preacher tells Dean something that’s vital to things to come in Season 4 (four years later) in my opinion and also echos thingsin the Season 2 premeire.
Hmm next as I’ve already babbled a lot…
Season 2 Bloodlust — Can Hunters be as bad as the monsters they fight — first time it’s brought up, not the last. Also spectacular guest star in Sterling K. Brown.
I won’t go because I can’t change your mind, but a few more things, the relationship with the brothers is nuanced, layered and constistently evolving and growing. The characteractions of the boys also grows and evolves in a way organic to the story — in ways Buffy never did because Joss has a habit of changing personality for plot in my opinion.
I love Buffy and Angel — and Firefly is my favorite JOss’s stuff by far. But SPN is my favorite of the four.
They are apples and oranges in a lot of ways, but SPN is very underrated and unappreciated and some of your reasons are why. Also, the show stopped being about two brothers, looking for Dad, trying to find out what killed Mom after Season 1. Season 2 the myth stepped up, then again season 3, and now again Season 4.
*yawn.*
The only deep, pensive thought Supernatural has going for it is the misogyny of the main characters and the stupidity of the fandom.
SPN might not be so “underrated” or “unappreciated” if one of the main characters – Dean – could interact with a woman on screen without being a sexist asshole, you know?
Supernatural isn’t better than Buffy. It’s a horrid little show with horrible people and lacks respect for any of their female characters.
Buffy still remains superior. Supernatural has many of the same elements, quality actors, stories, characters, etc. and it’s most definately a top quality production, one of the best shows on TV at the moment. But things never gel in quite that same special Whedon way. The man is a master. Eric Kripke has clearly been worshipping at the altar of Whedon, as have many of the current crop of SF/F showrunners, but none quite come up to his level.
Thank god for your comment Zac. I was having a heart attack reading the overabundance of replies in favor of Supernatural.
Don’t get me wrong, i’m a massive SPN fan too, and I firmly believe its one of the very best shows on the air at the moment. One of the things I love most about it is that it subscribes to the very Jossian notion that everything has consequences. Things are *dealt with* in SPN, which you don’t always see on network tv today. Character issues are brought to the forefront and nothing vital is ever ignored. I truly admire and love the show for that. Not to mention, I also honestly believe that Jensen Ackles can easily act rings around every single person in Jossverse other than Tony Head, Alexis Denisof and James Masters.
Still, comparing it to Buffy is almost comical. Buffy was EPIC. It was in essence a show about growing up that tapped into the psychology of a generation and continues to change people’s lives even today. The actresses playing Willow and Tara have spoken about receiving letters from young lesbian girls saying that because of the characters on this little TV show they found the strength not to end their own lives. How in the world can you compare SPN to that?
On paper, SPN is absolutely fantastic. Perhaps hindered only by the CW’s shameful restriction on their creative budget. But there’s something about Buffy that was *magical*. Something that will probably never be properly understood, but its there regardless. Yes, the show had flaws – huge ones in the final two seasons – but somehow that doesn’t negate the simple fact that the *story* of Buffy Summers and her friends will always be up there among the greatest and most remembered in all of television HISTORY.
Supernatural will never have that legacy. Its fantastic, yes. Maybe the best thing on network tv today. But does it deserve the reverence that Buffy earned? Not in a million years!
I am a HUGE Buffy fan as well as a HUGE Supernatural fan. Would Supernatural be here without Buffy? No way in hell.
If you’re going to compare the shows, I’d compare Supernatural more to Angel than Buffy, as both Supernatural and Angel are a bit more “adult” oriented.
And to correct a reply up above: Every episode of Supernatural *DEALS* with something big, whether it be lightly touched upon/ brought up that “Hey, dude. You need to tell me wtf happened to you in Hell” to “Uh, Yeah, Sam. You’re supposed to be the Anti-Christ!”
You can’t really judge the series as a whole by the first half of season one. The show very much hit it’s stride towards the end of season one and it’s hit the ground running this season.
Sorry, can I also just add, despite my opinion that SPN doesn’t hold a candle to Buffy… I still think you should get the dvds and watch the whole thing (twice or three times) because its absolutely brilliant in its own right :D
Comparing *anything* to Buffy is going to be doing it a disservice, because really, Buffy is an INSTITUTION. I was in a bookstore today and saw a Buffy book in the Philosophy section – literary scholars analyzing the philosophy of the show. So its unfair to judge SPN solely on the basis of its comparison to Buffy. Pretty much nothing is going to survive that test.
SPN is a FANTASTIC show with amazing characters, an unparalleled chemistry between the two leads, flawless production standards, kickass music, great writing, brilliant direction, slowly unfolding complex mythology that would make Joss jealous, effortless transitions from comedy to drama/tragedy the likes of which I haven’t seen since Joss, and damn good storytelling. Plain and simple. I cant stress that last point enough. All through seasons 1 + 2 especially I kept commenting on just how good the storytelling itself was.
Get the DVDs and watch the show. You absolutely won’t be disappointed :)
I’m a fan of both shows, although SPN is *the* show for me. The lack of depth argument never really holds water for me with regard to SPN. What bigger topics are there than those dealt with on SPN — facing your own mortality, discovering what you do or don’t believe, and holding tightly to the people you love at great personal sacrifice? The storytelling is different: Kripke reveals only bits and pieces of a 5 season long story so you have to pay attention to ALL the episodes to get what the show is really saying, while Buffy developed and grew over its run but the overall arc wasn’t really hidden.
I didn’t actually intend to make any argument in one direction or the other, but I wanted to make the point that 1) SPN needs to be watched in its entirety, and 2) Buffy actually received some form of promotion and, as screwy as the network was with it, it pales in comparison to the crap that Dawn Ostroff and the CW do to Supernatural. The real question, to me, is whether Buffy would have reached such epic proportions if it was stuck on the CW. And what impact SPN could have if it was on a different network (could it reach Buffy-like status).
Back in the day, I was a HUGE fan of Buffy. Massive. It consumed me. I loved everything about it and actually did a high school project for English class based around the mythology of the show. I thought it was fantastic. But somewhere along the line, it lost its focus. As soon as Dawn came in, the show lost its sparkle for me. I still plodded through the remaining seasons but it was no longer Must See TV for me and became, instead, Perhaps Will Watch If Nothing Else is On TV.
Originally, I dismissed Supernatural as being just a dumb show with two pretty boys. I saw a bit of the pilot, found it lacking, and didn’t return for three years. Upon recommendation of a friend, during bouts of boredom, I started watching a few episodes. And then a few more. And then I found myself laughing out loud at lines and the deliveries. I found myself immersed in the mythology of the show, fascinated at its use of lore and its backbone of a family that was deeply flawed, yet ultimately united. The two brothers, their chemistry, their story, kept expanding. I couldn’t stop watching and by the end of two weeks, I had shotgunned all three seasons.
Now, in its fourth season, Supernatural is showing no signs of slowing down. Like one of my other great loves, Harry Potter, the story is expanding upon its core lore to reveal an airtight story with layers upon layers of details that even the most obsessive fan can go back upon with a fine-toothed comb. Details that seemed insignificant in season one have been revealed to be a core part of the story, characters that were originally deemed pawns in a simple war of good versus evil have been unveiled as key components in the story whole.
Buffy, while great in concept and execution for the first four seasons, lost its focus along the way. Supernatural, on the other hand, has never lost what makes it special. And, for that, it gets my vote as the superior show.
To me, there’s absolutely no contest.
Its blashpemy to even ask that.
From my name, you might be able to tell I’m a fan of Joss, more specifically, Angel.
For me, it’s a toss-up between Supernatural and Angel, as both can scare the crap out of you one minute, then holding your sides from laughing so hard the next.
But, I guess right now, I’m handing the title over to Supernatural for one reason and one reason only…a suicidal, alcoholic giant teddy bear with a busty Asian porn fetish. GOLD BABY GOLD!!! When I saw the suicide scene and how they filmed it in slo-mo, I thought I was going to soil myself from laughing so hard. The little girl returning the porn and booze with a note of apology…hysterical.
While I miss Angel, Supernatural is good enough to fill Angel, Gunn, Wesley, and Fred’s shoes, plus a little left over for Cordie.
Buffy was full of intellectually challenged characters and bland teenage acting. I couldn’t bear it all even when I was a teenager. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
I honestly don’t find Supernatural to be the same genre as any of the Whedonverse shows. Buffy was never a horror show. It was a metaphor driven high school drama. It did it brilliantly. But as a horror fan, it never connected to me the way it did to millions of others. (Generally speaking Supernatural makes Buffy’s ratings look good.) But it was a drama first and a horror show second. Also, as mentioned above, Joss told a new story every season. There was an overriding theme of female empowerment, but the actual plot was season by season.
The next show that ALWAYS comes up is The X-Files. This show DID connect to me. It also drove me insane and broke my heart. The reason it gets compared to Supernatural is the format. It’s a Monster-of-the-Week anthology format. And SPN does have that “new horror movie
ripoffhomage every week” feel. What The X-Files did not have was a cohesive mytharc. Or even a PLANNED one. Or character growth. (You stood on TOP OF A UFO, Scully. You know what you believe? You believe you STOOD ON TOP OF ONE. *headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk*… er, sorry…)Supernatural is a horror anthology with a planned and finite mytharc. (The fandom lives in terror that Kripke is actually planning a “Butch and Sundance” ending to ensure it ends when he wants it to. ’cause he would…) The entire Winchester Family Story has been outlined since Season 1 and it shows now. The show is gaining momentum as it goes and only lost it when the writer’s strike happened. Even though I don’t know where I’m going, I’m pretty confident there IS a destination. And as a result, it’s a completely different experience from watching Buffy, Angel, or The X-Files.
This is a horror show. They want to give you the creeps. If there’s an overriding message of the series it’s the horror adage of: “Don’t be a dick. Karma is a bitch and the monster’s going to eat you first to show the hero how it’s done.”
It also has the traditional views on women that horror does. I find that the people this offends most came into horror through Buffy. It does not blatantly offend me as much as it does Buffy fans. Horror is not women’s studies. And as I don’t watch Stargate to learn about Quantum Physics, I don’t watch SPN to learn about equality or cultural heritage of any sort.
I watch it to see the pretty boys kill the scary monster. The fact that it can do that and enthrall me with the characters is the reason I KEEP watching, not the reason I came in.
So to me: Asking if Buffy is better? Not the point. If you loved Buffy because of its themes, you’re not going to find them here. If you loved it because of the ride? You’ll probably enjoy this show too. But going around watching TV looking for the next Buffy is just silly and it’s never going to happen.
I’v tried to watch supernatural several times, and i think it sucks. all monsters, stupid story – boring.
Buffy rules, and always will.
I have tried to watch SPN several times and I too was VERY bored.
However, after reading some of these posts…I might have to rethink my first impression of the first season. There are many shows which have evolved into something deeper (X-Files) and I think this one might have done exactly that.
I have put the other seasons on my Netflix queue and am looking forward to changing my mind (hopefully)
Just curious but which season 1 episodes did you watch? Don’t tell me you saw Wendigo, Bugs, Hookman or Route 666? : ) Because believe there are better episodes than these.
Well this article has definately convinced me to give Supernatural a try. I watched the pilot, thought it was ok and didn’t look back until now. Buffy was unreal. And to the people that say Buffy went downhill in the later seasons. “Once more with Feeling” and Conversations with Dead People” are the the best episodes of anything i’ve ever seen put on TV. Where the hell were you for those?
Better than… wtf?!?
Buffy is plain and simple the best show ever. Who didn’t come to that conclusion didn’t understand the show.
Supernatural is good though.
Dude, Seriously? You have little to no imagination and if you think BTVS is the best TV show ever made, come out from under your rock, we have so much better than Buffy could ever be
I have a deep and abiding for both Buffy, Angel and Supernatural. Is one better than the other? I don’t think so. I think we will never see another Buffy or Angel, nor should we. The things that set these shows from the pack are the things that make them so hard to duplicate.
Supernatural is a well-done, terrifying, comedic, and dramatic show–that can and should stand in its own. I think the show has a deep and abiding respect for shows/movies/stories that allowed it to be in the first place.
Why does one have to be better than the other? Can’t we just enjoy the fact that they are all three top-quality shows without slapping them into the ring to go ten rounds? I, for one, am happy that we even *have* another quality TV show that runs the road of the mythic, as these shows do.
In a time where sci-fi, fantasy, and anything not straight comedy or drama is being wiped from network TV screens (with few exceptions), I’m happy that the Winchester boys are still with us. If I want Buffy or Angel, I can (and do) pull out my DVDs.
Supernatural totally beats Buffy in every way imaginable. I used to be a total big Buffy fan but now, No. It seems so… Childish now. Supernatural has a more adult storyline, complexity that Buffy could only hope for. To be honest the only season of Buffy that ever meritted anything with me was the last one, and that was because they finally stopped with the stupid storylines and actually had some decent character development going on
Supernatural is better. In fact some of my least favorite elements of Supernatural are the elements inspired by Buffy, like over the top slapstick comedy in certain episodes and its gimmicky episodes that can sometimes feel like too much. “Wishful Thinking” with the giant teddy bear for instance . . ugh.
Supernatural will never touch Buffy because it simply doesn’t have the ambition or depth that BtVS had. In a way, they’re not even comparable because BtVS was primarily about relationships, friendships/family/love, and the story was driven from that. SPN has never had a compelling romance, BtVS had Buffy/Angel, Buffy/Spike, Willow/Oz, Willow/Tara, Xander/Cordelia, etc. SPN has shown a lack of ability in truly integrating supporting characters into the show. Bobby’s a great character and I love when he shows up, but let’s face it, he’s the exception to the SPN supporting character rule and he still doesn’t touch the depth of even the most shallow BtVS supporting character. Buffy was the journey of a girl from teenager to young adult, and even beyond being able to see all of her experiences shape her as the show goes on, you can also go all the way back to S1 and see the facets of her personality that will cause her such angst in S5-7.
Anyone who thinks Buffy is shallow has not watched the series, plain and simple. Buffy was painful, and heartbreaking, and the emotions always felt real. I love SPN, but it has never touched me the way BtVS could do on a weekly basis.
Watched 14 episodes of Supernatural, painfull cliches everywhere but mostly watchable. Maybe its worth continuing, very tiring monster of the week episodes got me down, even started to skip alot of them just to get to the season finale.
I watch Supernatural specifically to fill the Buffy void. It has done a fine job and I now love this show on its own merits. They can do scary, funny, sexy, gory and bizarre, and keep my interest. Let’s hope for a continued long run!
Great question. I actually think they’re too different to pit against each other. I’m a huge BtVS fan and a huge Supernatural fan. And I find that in different contexts, I crave them both. Buffy is all about girl power and great dialogue. and the Winchesters are boys fighting baddies and playing with guns. Plus they highlight the power of family as both a strength and a weakness. (Which the powers of good and evil try to exploit) It’s surprisingly complex. The mythologies in each show are very well thought out and the Supernatural way of tackling popular urban horror myths is just plain fun. Did you know this season they actually scared a ghost to death? It was friggin awesome. Definitely invest in the DVDs. It’s a good show.
No. I have seen every episode at least once, wrote reviews, and joined in discussions about the show, so I’m not just being a BtVS fan. Supernatural in an entertaining show. Some episodes leave you wanting more. Many you enjoy and after the episode ends, you move on and carry with you a little of any of the substance offered. Jensen is growing more and more as a great actor. Nevertheless, Supernatural is lacking in the depth of BUFFY(or ANGEL) in the constant storyline, the character study and development (in even the guest chars), the outstanding writing, and no-one-else-can-play-this-char acting. I say watch Supernatural, you won’t regret it. However, as of yet, I cannot see it as good as Buffy. The potential is there though. It is already in its Fourth season and is knocking Smallville’s Fourth out of the park (and JA was in that too ;) Buffy still kicks all their asses *wink*
P.S. when I said “I have seen every episode at least once, wrote reviews, and joined in discussions about the show” I was talking about Supernatural, if anyone’s confused.
I wouldn’t pit these shows in competition with each other. Apart from both being based in fantasy elements, they are different creations. I loved both Buffy and Angel, and I adore Supernatural. All three shows deal with deeper philosophical and psychological issues than were apparent on the surface. Buffy was very much a coming-of-age story, while Angel was older and explored good, evil, and redemption. Supernatural takes on choice, free will versus destiny, good versus evil, and the joys and perils of being family. Because the focus of Supernatural is so totally on the Winchester brothers, we get to explore them in great depth, and they’re complex, flawed people played by brilliantly gifted actors.
All three shows are wonderful and deserve celebration. Joss did a superb job in all of his shows of blending comedy into the tragedy of life, and Eric Kripke’s pride and joy does the same. Because Supernatural is designed as a horror show, however, it goes for the scares in ways that Buffy and Angel didn’t. It has the same fun of playing with pop culture references, and has the same flavor of witty dialogue, but to my mind, Supernatural is darker and more emotionally mature than Buffy, and is more serious at its core than Angel.
In terms of the various shows’ impact on me, I’ll say this: Supernatural was the first one that drove me to write about and analyze it. I enjoyed Buffy and Angel very much, but they never did that to me. Supernatural grabbed me with the episode Faith, which made me realize there was more going on with the show and between the brothers than I’d bothered to notice before, and it hasn’t let go since.
This is a hard one, as I am a fan of Buffy, Angel and Supernatural. I have seen every episode of all three shows.
Buffy started off kind of lame and grew into a great show. When it was in it’s prime it could make you laugh and cry in the same sentence. The best part was the season long arcs that kept you coming back. It was written more for a female audience from what I can tell.
Angel also used the arcs, but was not as strong as Buffy. It was also written for a male audience more.
Supernatural actually pays homage to Buffy/Angel/XFiles and uses the season arc framework. They had a stronger and better written season 1 than Buffy or Angel, but it hasn’t had as compelling of an arc after season 1.
What Kat said. I watched Supernatural from the beginning, but it in no way filled my Buffy and Angel void. It’s just not the same kind of show, despite the shared monster-hunting backdrops. Vibe-wise, I agree that the X-Files comparisons are more apt. And while SPN has excellent character and over-all story development, it’s straight-up horror. There have been a few episodes that I’ve been too afraid to watch by myself (the “Bloody Mary” ep still freaks me out).
I thought SPN was just okay for the first, and most of the second, seasons. The second season, Ben Edlund (he of “Smile Time” fame) joined the writing and production staff, and his first episode was the first one that made me feel honest-to-God LOVE for this show. It has steadily gotten better over the seasons, and by now I’d say that, quality-wise, it’s almost on par with the Whedonverse, but even now, the Edlund-penned episodes stand out.
I really do love this show. I don’t obsessively re-watch it or feel the need to discuss it like I did with Buffy, though. It’s not…I’m not sure how to say it. Buffy was always like a great visit with old friends. Supernatural isn’t that. But I do love the Winchester boys, and I hope they stay on my TV for a couple more years.
I’m not a Supernatural fan, but every time I watch it, it’s quite entertaining. So I think you should try it.
As to your question, duh! Buffy, the Vampire Slayer is better. The only show, the ONLY show, you could ever say maybe it’s better than Buffy is The Sopranos. And only MAYBE. Period.
Supernatural is mostly a horror show, with comedy in it. Buffy, though, was lots of things, a great mixed genres show indeed.
Supernatural may be more week-to-week consistent, but Buffy, oh well, it was magical. What other show could actually make you like the story of a robot in love (“I Was Made to Love You”) and in the following week rip your heart out when Buffy faces her mother’s death (the ultra-amazing “The Body”)?
And while Jensen Ackles is a pretty good actor, Jared Padalecki fails to deliver sometimes. The core four stars of Buffy (Sarah Michelle Geller, Anthony Stewart Head, Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon) were all great, an we even had the amazing Emma Caulfield (who played the most entertaining character in TV, my beloved may-she-rest-in-peace Anya) and the fabulous why-this-man-never-got-an-Emmy James Marsters. So, uh, you get my point.
I disagree with a post before about season 5 plot driving the show away from its original focus. Are you kidding me? That’s my favorite season. I love how every single character has an arc story that season. Dawn was boring in seasons 6 and 7, but her interaction with Buffy, Joyce and Spike in season 5 was priceless. The moral conundrum caused by the Key plot was amazing.
By season 5, Buffy was a very mature show, very conscious of itself and daring to try new things. That’s why the season succeeds.
I do enjoy many elements of Buffy Season 6, among the crappy things. I think the show only failed to deliver in season 7. Those were the seasons where the show dared to go to new places but forgot to entertain us most of the time (but even on those seasons there were amazing TV hours, and the finale was worthy of the show).
Supernatural may have kept a consistent run so far, but it’s not as nearly as great TV Buffy was.
BTVS had bad things? Sure: Seasons 1, 5 and 6 score and the wardrobe (entire run). And David Boreanaz early days acting. Apart from that, Buffy was extremely well written (featuring some of the best scripts for TV ever), mostly well directed, with a talented cast and usually an amazing score.
Can’t we compare Supernatural to other things, like Smallville? I’m sure all my praises would go to Supernatural.
P.S.: Sorry for grammar mistakes, English is not my first language.
Uh, I met Sarah Michelle Gellar. Sorry.
And also, I met “AND we even had the amazing Emma Caulfield (who played the most entertaining character ON TV…”. Sorry for those too.
I am a die hard Joss Whedon fan. I loved Buffy and my afternoons and evenings were often spent re-watching episodes with my mother and the two of us laughing and crying.
That being said… I like Supernatural that much more.
And not just because of the attractive actors either. Both shows have such a high quotient of pretty people that it makes your eyes bleed.
What got me so hooked and far more into Supernatural is that it is a more grownup show. It’s dark. It is specifically horror. Unlike Buffy it was not pitched as social commentary on High School life, it was pitched as a horror movie every week. Buffy was season to season. Yes, it built up each year, but every year ended practically with an apocalypse. Supernatural has each season build on one arc really. Yes, there are specific things that are addressed each season, but each season is ultimately driven by one arc that is still the main arc for the show.
Yes, the supporting characters are sparse, but that is kinda the point because the show is about the brothers. Hell, Kripke got rid of the Roadhouse because the thought it took away from the brother’s traveling.
I digress… For me, Buffy is like that novel from childhood that you go back and read once in a while because you did love it that much, but you still skip over the boring parts and go to the ones you love. Supernatural is that novel you read and can’t put down and will reread it every year, or even every few months and don’t skip a thing.
Wow, do I ever disagree with people here!
To be fair, I haven’t seen all of Supernatural (but then people are saying it’s better than Buffy not having watched all of Buffy, so I don’t feel too bad about that). Maybe I’ve just watched bad episodes. But MAN! To me, Buffy is a superior show.
First off, Buffy created the format that Supernatural assumed. Monster of the week with deeper, overarching mysteries and complex mythology; blending humour, action, drama, and horror; quick, clever dialogue loaded with pop-culture references (although Buffy also had many non-pop culture references like Waiting for Godot and Death of a Salesman); in-depth, long-tern character development. Sorry Supernatural fans, but I feel like you have to give credit where credit is due, and Supernatural may not even exist (and most certainly would not exist in its present form) if not for Buffy. It deserves your respect for that alone.
Secondly, and I admit this may be just the episodes I watched, but I was underwhelmed. The humour seemed more forced and obvious. In one episode I saw (involving a haunted prison), there were 2 “twists” in the episode that I picked up on the instant they played them (both that the brothers were fighting as a strategic move to get out of the prison, and that they weren’t in the same graveyard as whoever/whatever was chasing them at the end). It all just played out a little too obvious for me.
Thirdly: Hush, The Body, Once More with Feeling (not to mention a brilliant puppet episode on Angel). Groundbreaking episodes that challenged what television was capable of. A black and white episode is cool, and good on em for having fun like that. Maybe they’ll have more of those as the show goes along. But Whedon pushed every envelope he could with Buffy and Angel, twisting not only narrative but visuals, language, and all elements of execution.
Finally, take a look at any list of the top TV shows of all time. Buffy is always top 10, and often top 3. Supernatural, not so much. Seeing that they’re both fantasy/horror genre shows, you can’t say that Supernatural just isn’t as recognized. If a show entitled “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” can be taken seriously, Supernatural cannot cite that as a hinderence. That kind of respect among television critics has to count for something.
That’s not to say I think Supernatural isn’t a good show, and in fact, I’ve heard enough good things about it from reliable sources that I’m really excited to rent the DVDs and catch up. Hopefully I’ve got a few seasons of something really great to fill my time (which is welcome given the paucity of good TV right now). I just wanted to insert my opinion that contrary to most people here, I don’t think it’s as good as Buffy, based on what I’ve seen. Just my opinion.
Supernatural is so NOT the best show on televsion. There are dozens of other’s that are much more interesting than Supernatural on right now. Saying it’s BETTER than Buffy is blasphemus It’s extremely hokey. It’s not well done. The actors aren’t half as cool. They only focus on the two brothers, which is extremely limiting as a writer. Buffy had the Core Four, which they developed extremely well through all the seasons. Even the people they were with they developed into complex characters. Angel was not as well done as Buffy. Don’t get me wrong, I love Angel with a fiery passion and it has some fantastic stand alone episodes, but Buffy was beautifully constructed. Joss could truly play on every emotion you have and then he magnified it to the highest extent. Some of the amazing episodes of Buffy are Once More with Feeling, I only have eyes for you, Graduation Day, Tabula Rasa, Hush, The Body, Restless, Normal Again (I have more but I’ll stop for now.) Of course, you might not appreciate the complexities of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but the id, ego, and super ego had an amazing representation in Buffy. Gonzaga University, a private Catholic college, uses it in there English and Psychology department as a teaching tool. I can name dozens of other schools that do as well. The writing is impeccable through and trough. And It was a pop culture palooza as well where hilarious on there own! Sure maybe not everyone remember all of it but they make sense to tons of people. The overlaying arcs where great and each villian could make your skin crawl and make you laugh a few seconds later. I don’t understand how this is a question at all.
Before I say anything else: I’m a *huge*, obsessive Buffy fan.
I’m *becoming* a big Supernatural fan – I’ve bought all of the seasons on DVD, and I’m working my way through season 3 while watching season 4.
I understand the logic that they’re both horror/fantasy shows, so they can be compared, but I don’t completely buy that. Yes, supernatural elements are heavy in both shows, but each show uses them in different ways. Both shows set out to make their own points, which are completely different – and they both happen to use supernatural elements as a means of getting those points across.
But I will say this – I do compare them in terms of womens issues.
Buffy will probably always have my heart, because I am a woman and I was in high school during the show’s run (basically when I really needed a healthy dose of female empowerment once a week).
On Supernatural, it feels like women are basically objects that need to be saved (and, sometimes, later screwed) or are demons. I can forgive the show for that (99.9 percent of the time) because I love everything else about it.
But again — I feel like one of the purposes of Buffy was to focus on female issues. Those kinds of issues have nothing to do with Supernatural, so it’s not the best example of them.
Basically: both shows have had brilliant AND not-so-brilliant moments. I might feel a little closer to Buffy – we chicks have to stick together :) – but Supernatural is wonderful too.
Pass the popcorn!
Supernatural is MUCH better than Buffy, you have to watch it, it’s a brilliant show!
I… I don’t even know what to say. Lol! I love, freakishly and admiring love both shows, but Joss Whedon is my friggin’ God! I would have his babies if he didn’t already have children. *snorts*
But I… I can’t compare these two shows, and not because I think they’re too different but because it’s too difficult. They’re both brilliant in their own right, time and growth. Honestly, I feel special to have seen every episode of Supernatural, Buffy, Angel and even Firefly. At leeeeast four times for each.
Bring on Dollhouse! WOO.
This is funny. Some of the reasons people are listing for why Buffy is better are part of the reason I, and others, feel SN is better. No predictable romance arcs, for example. Love ‘em, leave ‘em, baby. There is evil to fight.
It’s certainly not blasphemus to compare Supernatural and Buffy, especially if you are a fan of both shows! Of course, everyone has a different opinion and likes different things but to call it blaspemy is just stupid!
Yeah, I get it Joss Whedon is a God but Kripke and his teams are evil masterminds who like to torture their fans and that’s wonderful!
Why do I get the impression that most Buffy fans who say that it’s blasphemus or that SPN is shallow havent’t watched all SPN episodes or not gone beyond season 1?
Woman issues? Come on, it’s a show about TWO GUYS.
Supernatural has great characters beside Sam and Dean:
Mary, John, Castiel, Pam, Ellen, Casey, Bobby, Meg, Edd and Harry, Agent Henriksen, Gordon, YED, Crossroads demon and the most important one – THE METALLICAR.
Ben Edlund is certainly a gifted writer but certainly not the best. Kripke, Sera Gamble, Jeremy Carver and many others do a fantastic job on SPN.
Supernatural is magic, epic simply AWESOME.
PS: And our secret weapon KIM MANNERS always delivers great episodes.
I have been a Buffy fans since the first episode aired and I still think Supernatural is BETTER than Buffy. We are not talking religion but Tv-series, so the whole blasphemy stuff is just annoying.
Yes, I know the show is called Buffy – the Vampire Slayer. What’s your point? I don’t know what show everyone of the blasphemy guys was watching but Buffy had major flaws, especially in the storyline or in its portrayal of monsters.
I’m not religious, so I tend to just use the word blasphemy without thinking about its true, religious connotations. But I can see how it’s technically inappropriate here!
I didn’t mean anything special by the fact that its called Buffy. I just meant… we’re talking about BUFFY, the history-making show which is going to be remembered for YEARS. You say the word Buffy and pretty much everybody instantly knows what you’re talking about. I just don’t think Supernatural – as brilliant as it is – is going to reach that level of ‘epicness’.
And don’t worry, I agree, Buffy had some major flaws ;) But overall, it will be remembered far longer than SPN will.
Sorry, something a bit weird happened with my attempted quote box there…
:)
I noticed! : )
Let’s start with the obvious that is apparently not so obvious:
Genre-wise, yes, the shows are in the same ballpark. It’s really sort of stupid for die-hard Buffy and Angel fans (of which I am one) to diss on Supernatural, whether they feel it’s “better” or not. Bottom line? Without Buffy there would have been no Angel, without Buffy and Angel there may have been no Supernatural… so if no one watches Supernatural, what fantastic show are we missing out on in the future? And why does it have to be one or the other? Supernatural isn’t competing with either Buffy or Angel- but it may be the foundation (or lack thereof) that some other series may someday depend on. Try to give it a chance, even if it won’t be “your favoritest bestest show everever!”
I own all of the DVDs for all three series. I love all three, but for entirely different reasons- and I have to admit that Supernatural edges out the others for me, with Angel a close second and Buffy third… but the gaps between them are tiny. Itty bitty. So close it might as well be a tie. Why? Because they’re different shows and I’m a heck of a lot older now than I was when Buffy first premiered. I loved Buffy. A lot. I actually just recently re-watched the whole show from beginning to end. And while I still enjoy it, all that teen angst just isn’t as appealing on an episode-to-episode basis as it was a decade ago.
Angel spun off about the time I (and others) were getting a little impatient and irritated at Buffy for just. not. growing. up. and it was the perfect antidote. It cut all that coming-of-age stuff with some nice, dark, adult themes that let us happily keep watching both shows. They complemented each other well (and the numerous crossover appearances in the beginning didn’t hurt).
But Supernatural, all these years later, is better- in my opinion- because it’s what I’m more interested in seeing *right now*. I’m not as psyched about watching teenagers moon over boys (even if there are vampires on the first date) or struggle with peer pressure. I’m not even as interested in watching a shallow former teen-queen grow up into a mature, responsible human who happens to have visions. I still love the shows, but they aren’t what really appeals to me now.
Supernatural is darker, it’s more lethal, it deals with some pretty heavy themes (Buffy may have taken on demons, but actual angels? Way out of her league as a series) and it is, at its core, based on the good old-fashioned American road trip. For someone my age stuck with a nine-to-five job and a mortgage, a permanent road trip killing demons and other critters, avoiding the law and romantic entanglements when at all possible is just the ticket. (I agree that the series got off to a slightly rough start: give it a few episodes if you’re starting with the first season.)
There’s room for all three (and any future shows that spawn) and I highly suggest that if one of them doesn’t appeal to you right now… buy the DVD, set it aside and come back to it in a year or two. You might be surprised.
Comparing Supernatural to Buffy is like comparing a Toyota to a Lexus. In my not-so-humble opinion…Supernatural is in no way even remotely close to being compared to Buffy. Buffy is in a league all by itself. So….no, Supernatural is NOT as good as Buffy–Buffy is way better.
I have to first say that I absolutely adore Supernatural. Love it to bits. My wife and I eagerly await every episode and always enjoy the dark, strange, amusing circumstances that the brothers Winchester find themselves in. But better than Buffy? You must be out of your minds!
I agree that it is way better than Angel. That show was terrible. I couldn’t make it past the first four episodes before I gave up on it. I tried again when Spike came into it, but I found the acting terrible and scripts boring.
Supernatural owes a big debt to Buffy, but that’s not why Buffy is better. When I first saw Supernatural, I encouraged people to see it because the similarity to Buffy was an obvious reference point.
Buffy was fantastic and a real original in its day. A great blend of horror, humour and drama. The bold moves that the show made paved the way for many other shows and its profound influence on many shows has become evident.
For me, though Supernatural is one of the better shows on telly at the moment, Buffy still stands alone as the best of all time. But please make the effort to watch Supernatural – you will thoroughly enjoy it.
SPN doesn’t owe Buffy, it owes the X-files for Kim Manners and other crew members, Neil Gaiman, Joseph Cambell and the American Werewolf but certainly not BUFFY. Creepy thought!
I was a huge Buffy fan back in the day, and I have to say Supernatural completely blows Buffy out of the water. COMPLETELY. I’m sure plenty of people have already listed the reasons why, but, seriously? Supernatural has owned every show I’ve ever watched, including Buffy and Angel. It was a ridiculously pleasant surprise when I finally started watching it and got caught up.
I loved Buffy so much I didn’t even consider the possibility to ever find another show that could come close! And in the beginning it didn’t although I loved and enjoyed the characters. The same level in complexity was reached when we got deeper into the mythology which also put older episodes in perspective. There are new layers revealed constantly…
Supernatural is this epic story about two brothers who will find a way to your heart to stay there for good! I kid you not.
Thanks to TPTB for both shows!
R u all crazy? Supernatural is just a dumb show bout two dumb brothers killing demons… Buffy is just a girl killing demons but wit a story behind. Metaphors n messages. Wake up ppl.. Gosh
I’ve seen both series. I recently became a fan of Supernatural this season. In my humble opinion, there’s much more depth of emotion in Supernatural. Buffy started off strong, but eventually I couldn’t deal with the teen girl issues. Buffy never quite grew up. Once the high school years ended its quality became suspect. Supernatural deals with family with a heartfelt edge that gets me right in my gut. It has a maturity that Buffy seemed to lack in its later seasons. Also, it helps that the main characters don’t look as if they’ll break in two if they’re hit by a gust of wind during a rainstorm. I realize that she was the slayer with preternatural strength, but Buffy looked as if she desperately needed to eat a sandwich. Sarah Michelle couldn’t even handle her own stunts and fight scenes because she was so tiny and frail. After a time I had a hard time looking past this wafer thin little girl who was supposed to strike fear in the hearts of monsters. Eliza Dushku made a more convincing slayer, IMO. If I were a teenager I’m sure I’d think Buffy was better, but I’m grown now, so Supernatural gets my vote.
I have to say that the Buffyverse is superior. Why? because I can watch an episode again and again and find little adorable things I haven’t seen before. The way these shows played with stereotypes was fantastic.
I really enjoy “Supernatural” and I watched every episode, but it’s nowhere near the speacial Buffyverse in my eyes. But “Supernatural” improved a lot and the mythologie is getting really strong.
I was JUST turned onto Supernatural (in fact I watched seasons 2 and 3 last week… yes, I have a problem) and I am in love with it (and with Dean). The writing is wonderful and the acting great, the stories fresh and it’s got great twists. I’m a die hard wheadonite and think that Buffy is easily the best tv show ever made, but Supernatural is def. high on my list-of-loves. My one problem with the show however is a BIG problem – the description (and representation) of Pagan gods as evil, bloodthirsty monsters. As a pagan who has had to (and still does) deal with discrimination, fear and hate because of my faith, this scares and greatly disapoints me. For all the wonderful reserch and creative imagining they do on the show, it would have been nice for them to not defame a religion by perpetuating archaic predjudices and belifes.
I’m gonna make this as short as I possibly can. I never really watched a whole lot of Buffy. My friend is a huge Buffy and Angel fan, therefore I have seen a few episodes. That being said, I am a HUGE Supernatural fan, it’s kinda ridiculous. I am of the opinion that trying to compare things like that is pointless. I understand wanting to give SPN a try because you liked Buffy for its genre-specific elements, but other than the fantasy-realm they both reside in, they are very different shows.
So, if you like the supernatural genre then yeah, go for it, you’ll love SPN. But if you’re looking for ‘girl power’ then no, you won’t find that in SPN. A lot of people have been talking about the lack of female empowerment in SPN, but that’s hardly what the show is even about. SPN is a show about guys who lose their mother at a young age, so strong female relationships isn’t even something you should be expecting. It’s a guy-revolved show (I am saying as a female) and it works for the storyline. Someone said that the show wasn’t grounded because the brothers move around so much. I couldn’t disagree more! Just because they aren’t literally grounded to one city, doesn’t mean there isn’t anything keeping them together. They have the Impala, each other, Bobby and even the quaint motel rooms feel grounding.
People also talk about how ‘epic’ Buffy is. What’s not epic about SPN? Is it length? Because length isn’t what makes something epic, it’s the subject matter. Another contributing factor is that time makes everything look better in people’s minds. It’s been five years since Buffy was on. When Buffy started, I was just getting to the age when I could start appreciating that kind of television. It’s nostalgic, and for some people it was probably a big part of their lives. Five years after SPN ends, I’ll probably look back and say that it came around at a time that was right for me. It’ll look more epic because it was a big part of my life when it was on tv.
Everyone dismissing Buffy as light or superficial just hasn’t watched it. It wasn’t a show about teen angst, or high school romance. The heart of the show right up to the finale was the sacrifice and isolation of heroism, dealing in turn with morality, death, love, lust, friendship, redemption, forgiveness… characters you love let you down, and characters you can’t stand come through when no one else does. It portrayed relationships in an incredibly complex and layered manner, and all actions had consequences (even if it was a season or two down the road). It too was very much about family, but Whedon always focused on the notion of found family – those we are not related to by blood but instead choose to build our lives with. It wasn’t the monster of the week that kept me tuned into Buffy (although that was always fun), it was the characters and their ever evolving relationships because it was always more true to life than anything else on TV. Thank god TV has caught on, and such character development is becoming more and more the norm.
This is in no way a slam against SPN. I’m stoked to watch it, largely because I hear it shares these same qualities. Having read other posters, I agree that there is no need to argue which is better – let’s all just enjoy that we have such good television to share.
One caveat: I understand SPN is about men, and have no problem whatsoever with that. I love the powerful feminine angle in all Whedon’s work, but many of the best shows ever are predominantly male casts and are mostly about men (Deadwood, the Wire, Battlestar Galactica). But all these shows still respect women and give women powerful and interesting roles. If the only women I ever see on SPN are victims or villains, it’s going to get old quick.
Debbie, I’m glad to hear you’re going to give Supernatural a go. There are some clunkier episodes in the first season (just like Buffy, just like any show), but once Supernatural hits its stride, I think you’ll be pleased. (And even clunky episodes are still immensely watchable, bugs or racist trucks aside.)
Although a post like this makes me happy to see some cross-fandom going on (there just doesn’t seem to be enough of it), there’s also a downside: The “verse” aspect.
As a huge fan of both, it hurts to see the ignorant bashing on each side.
You really can’t compare Supernatural and Buffy past the obvious genre. They are each unique in their own right, and deserving of praise. They each fulfill something different in me as a watcher.
But, to me, unless you’ve seen ALL of Supernatural and ALL of Buffy, you have no right to claim one show superior. (You don’t see one Oscar nominee for Best Picture and say THIS IS CLEARLY THE BEST. You see them all, and then you can decide.) Not that everyone should watch all of Supernatural or Buffy if it’s just not their thing. We like what we like, and we can’t help not clicking with something.
But don’t try to tell someone what’s “best” from merely watching a handful of episodes. Because you don’t know the whole picture. You haven’t had a chance to look deeper. You’re making generalizations about an entire series, when it’s clear you haven’t ventured past the first season. You don’t know what you’re talking about. End of story. Just because you personally don’t like something doesn’t mean you have to bash it. Contrary to what you may think, something does not actually “suck” just because you think so. This isn’t a competition. We’re all fans. You can (and should) respect something, even if it’s not your cup of tea.
/end tangent
Anyway, wangst aside, thanks for posting this Debbie. If it can get some former Buffy and Angel fans into another show they might not have otherwise paid attention to, that’s a truly beautiful thing.
I use “you” in the universe sense, of course.
Saw every episode in both shows. I love both shows. But, there are just a handful of SPN episodes that I might rewatch and that’s only to view certain scenes without finding it redundent. But, I can (and have) watch whole seasons of Buffy again and again and not only enjoyed myself but “discovered” new angles to love. To break down the reasons would take a long times, but that is why I think BTVS so far out of the range of SPN.
I think you should definitely watch Supernatural! I also think Supernatural fans should watch Buffy. You can’t judge either show just by a few episodes. You really have to watch all of the seasons to see how AWESOME both shows are.
Without Supernatural, my husband and I would have never gotten into Buffy (we only got into Buffy early this year). I used to think Buffy was too silly for me. Then, my brother (who is also a Supernatural fan) recommended Angel & Buffy to me and I knew one of my most favorite Supernatural episodes was inspired by a particular Buffy episode, so I decided to give Buffy a try. After the first season, my husband didn’t want to watch it anymore and I thought it was as silly as I’d expected (preying-mantis lady in particular), but knowing the creator of Supernatural and my brother loved Buffy, I kept with it and bought the entire season sets of both Buffy and Angel. We blazed through all the seasons and by the end, we both LOVED Buffy & Angel (and Spike, Faith, Wesley and Lorne especially!). We have seen every episode of Buffy, Angel & Supernatural many times. Although, we love Supernatural the best, we hate to compare the two. They are all awesome shows and we rewatch all of them.
It is way better. Seriously!
I too have watched every episode of both shows. I think Supernatural is one of the best shows currently on Tv and Jensen Ackles is fast becoming my new favourite actor.
But that said, I still think it is ludicrous to stay that Supernatural is a better show than Buffy. Supernatural would not exist if not for Buffy. I cannot be the only one to see similarities! They both have horror, monsters, and humour. And didn’t the death and rise from the grave in the start of season 4 (of Supernatural) seem familiar to anyone else. Watching that episode, I honestly wondered if the writers had never seen an episode of Buffy, or knew of the similar storyline but just threw it in anyway. Some origianlity would be great, don’t you think?
The horror in Supernatural, is also often lacking in originality. I find myself watching some episodes and having flashbacks to movies like The Ring and The Grudge (and not the crappy American remakes, but the original Japanese verions. If any horror fan has not seen them, I urge you to do so). In the episode ‘Bloody Mary’, I could not help but laugh out loud when she crawled out of the mirror (and not in a good way!). Just the way the ghosts move, reminds me of movies I watched long ago. And while it was once scary, it has now been done so many times and ripped off by so many people, that it is just not scary anymore. Buffy, on the other hand, had some truelly scary moments. I dare anyone to watch ‘Hush’ and say that the image of the gentlemen gliding down the hallways, with their big smiles (and scalpels), did not make you shiver!
The monsters and demons on Buffy were all unique and original. Does anyone remmember the fear demon from the Season 4 halloween episode? His appearance (and small staure!) was so unexpected that I laughed out loud. Or Gnarl, the demon that paralysed its victims before stripping away their skin and eating it (The scene with Willow trapped by Gnarl still makes my stomach turn!). Or how about Der Kindestod, the demon that liked to suck the life out of sick children, using only these disgusting protrusions from its eyes? Supernatural, on the other hand, seems just rehash every uraban legend and horror story ever told. And even the episodes not based on urban legends are not original. Take ‘Wendigo’ for instance. Doesn’t anyone else remmember the episode of the X-files where Mulder & Scully get trapped in the woods with a creature that attacks, cacoons and stores its victims underground. Familiar? What about the episode ‘Croatoan’. It seems awfully similar to the episode where Mulder & Scully are trapped in a snow base, with a parasite that infects people and makes them violent!
As for humour, I must admit that the first 2 seasons of Supernatural were funny (One of my favourite moments is in ‘Hollywood Babylon’. Sam’s face, when the tour guide mentions the Gilmore Girls set, is priceless). But lately it seems to me that the writers have recognised that humour is part of the appeal of the show, and have proceeded to slap us in the face with it at any chance they get. Anyone that has seen a Jensen Ackles interview will know he is a funny guy, but the amount of cracks and one-liners they have given Dean lately are ridiculous. The humour is used so often, it fells forced and often innapropriate. I found that often when you try too hard to be funny, you aren’t. the writer’s seemed to have lost that subtle humour that the show began with. Buffy, however, remained funny throughout its 7 year run. I can name a funny quote or moment from every episode of that show (often from parts of the episode you would least expect it). The difference is that the Buffy humour was always natural, in character and unexpected. They weren’t trying to be funny, it just was!
All that said, I still think Supernatural is a good show. I will continue to watch it. But I will also continue to rewatch Buffy, over ten years since I began watching the show (There are just so many layers to that show, that even now I can watch my DVD’s and pick up on things that were previously overlooked). Can the same be said for Supernatural?
Even though i really loved Buffy i have to say that Supernatural is better and will keep getting better as long as there are no fake monsters that resemble sharks Supernatural will keep being Badass
Well I have seen all season of both Angel and Buffy and while I did enjoy them when shows were in the air, I don’t do it now. Supernatural have more depth and telling a story there nothing is simple’s as black and with ,if a bad guy is bad it is because of what the character has done not because of gender or race which make me watch this show and properly will make me still enjoy it years after it stopped running. The myth arc is simple but in a smart way including both brothers into it and the main character’s never getting tiresome because every season viewers got to see new sides of both Sam and Dean. Jared and Jensen are both talented and in my eyes the best actors in a TV show right now.
Yes. It is as good as if not Better than Buffy! Start watching all of it :-)
Not only should you get the DVDs, but as soon as you are done watching them, you should vote for Supernatural at the People’s Choice Awards site (pcavotes.com).
*sigh* I don’t know why fandoms must compete. I love both shows. Why can’t they both be great? I get so much joy from Buffy, Angel and Supernatural.
I can’t say I’ve seen more than maybe 20 episodes of Buffy, whereas I’ve seen every episode of Supernatural since the first one, so maybe it’s not fair to make this assessment. But…
Supernatural is truly a remarkable show. Essentially, it’s a road trip through urban America with monsters along the way, and that gives it a very epic feel. Kripke has described it as “Star Wars in truck stop America”. The fact that the brothers are always on the road, living out of their classic muscle car (The Impala!) with an arsenal on the truck gives it such a great feel. You really feel like your along for the ride on a crazy epic.
Sometimes the plots are cheesy, but a lot of times they are pretty good. The real treat here is the relationships between the characters. The dynamic relationship between the two brothers draws you right in. Also, their relationship with their father is compelling. I also enjoy a lot of the side characters that show up as we get pulled further into the world of demon hunters.
Also, this show always cracks me up. Though I haven’t seen enough of Buffy to really compare the two, the characters in Supernatural have drawn me in like no other characters on TV, including what I’ve seen of Buffy.
I am a huge Supernatural fan but I would say almost but not quite, as I am a MASSIVE Buffy fan. I think Buffy takes the cake. But only just. I mean c’mon Buffy’s got everything… Drama, Action, Horror, Romance and not to mention Comedy, I mean the show is hilarious. Uh, not that Supernatural isn’t. But also Buffy is more creative than Supernatural. Buffy has all these different breeds of demons while supernatural doesn’t have the slimey or gooey demons or the ones with horns or funny coloured skin. Also I don’t think just Sam and Dean could add up to the whole Scooby gangs PURE AWESOMENESS! Thats the truth. So yeah i think thats all I gotta say but it was a close call. Seriously.
Yer i think supernatural is heaps better than buffy im not a big fan of buffy but i seen a couple of episodes i thought it was ok but supernatural has a better story line. it is only a but sam and dean so theres not heaps going on and they dont just kill only one type of moster they kill diferent things so like theres a story behind nearly everything that they kill. and the way that the show is done is alot better as well because they are able to add the speacial affects in which looks awesome in some episodes. and my last reason why supernatural is so great is because it has such great actors in it who are really hott!!!!
but that all from me
from Bec
Well, I was a big Buffy fan back when it was on. I mean the show consumed my life – literally. LOL I think the show was great until Angel left it, then I was bummed but happy to find Angel found his own spot on the WB. I’m a huge DB fan. If I had to say if SN was better then Buffy I would say yeah, only in mythology but i prefer Buffy over SN for episode wise. Did that make sense?
okay i am a buffy and angel fan they are both amazing and actually miss them …scince they dont come on t.v. much but supernatural is like buffy an angel only a little more myths and everything new about demons and all that but i jux love shows about the supernaural soo this is a must watch i missed season 1,2 bcuz of bad television but i caught up and each episode had its own special quality and humorous words..
Jensen and Jared has what it takes to carry this show. It must be absolutely hard work IF Jensen and Jared aren’t on the same ‘wave-length’- I guess it’s not! Jensen’s amazing in being a casually, cool ‘brother’ to Jared’s young and ‘nervy(?)’character…on screen as well as off it. This true brotherly bonding is an added bonus! The guys too are not so ‘pretty(?)’ as to distract me from their awesome acting-skills and characterization as the Winchester brothers. I wish that SN will continue past season 6!
Oh, my. You don’t know what you’re missing. By all means, rent the DVDS … or borrow them … or steal them … obtain them by any means necessary … and WATCH THIS SHOW! I didn’t start watching Supernatural myself until near the end of the second season. Upon the recommendation of a friend, I rented Season 1 of Supernatural. I watched the first episode, and I enjoyed it … but I didn’t love it. Like you, I found the ending a little hokey. But I decided to give it another chance. With each passing episode, I liked the show more and more. By the time Episode 4 (“Bloody Mary”) rolled around, I was hopelessly hooked. Today, Supernatural remains my very favorite TV show, and in fact I think Season 4 is its best yet. It has it all: action, horror, humor (lots of snarky fun), angst (major heartbreaking angst), and the two leads have such wonderful brotherly chemistry. I’m no gushing teenager, either; I’m turning 37 in two days. So please, take it from an almost 40-year-old: Supernatural is worth watching!
How is that even a question?
Hell no.