Love both
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
Supernatural. Buffy is probably my favorite show of all time, and I also remember eagerly staying up late to watch Supernatural when it first aired on the CW, back in the day.
Anyway, yeah, Supernatural definitely took it's cues from Buffy, but I think thematically and tonally it was more influenced by Angel, the bleak spin-off of Buffy, which ended a year before Supernatural began. The monsters, the themes, the humor, the overall tone, the stoic main characters that constantly feel like they have to redeem themselves, the self-aware writing that lovingly pokes fun at the series, etc. Supernatural went on to become it's own show with it's own distinct flavor, but it never would have existed if Buffy/Angel hadn't paved the way for mainstream horror/comedy/monster hunting shows, reawakening the public's hunger for off-beat sci-fi/horror after shows like
The Twilight Zone and
The Outer Limits fell out of fashion. Whedon and the crew took a big risk back in the day trying to start a show that was so out of the norm. Networks were hesitant about investing in something that wasn't a safe bet, and both shows were constantly on the verge of being cancelled. After the shows started to build up loyal fanbases, networks realized that the public actually
did want horror/sci-fi shows, and they became more comfortable investing in them, leading to a boom in supernatural television. Now, you can't take five steps without tripping on some show about ghosts (*cough*
Ghost Whisperer*cough*).
Also, don't forget
Tales From the Crypt,
Charmed,
Sabrina the Teenage Witch,
Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and all of the other shows that helped keep supernatural television alive.
