Buffy

Okay, WWBD. What would Buffy do? Huh? – Ed Zeddmore, 1.17 Hell House

When Supernatural started, comparisons to the successful Joss Whedon shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel were inevitable. Like them, Supernatural featured ordinary people fighting the supernatural. It was also airing on The WB where Buffy had started and Angel had aired until it finished in 2003. An early review of the "Pilot" described Supernatural as "X-Files meets the OC, meets Buffy type show from the WB."

Supernatural certainly attracted many viewers who had also been fans of the Whedon show. This can particularly be seen in Supernatural/Buffy crossover fanworks, like the pairing of Dean with the rogue slayer Faith.

Buffy fandom invented the term Jossed - to be jossed is to have fan theories or events in Fanfic be invalidated by new canon in the show. By contrast, Kripked was a term coined in the Supernatural fandom to refer to having fan theories supported by canon. See also Fan Fic Cliches.

The most significant crossover between the series is Ben Edlund. Ben started working with Joss on Firefly before moving to Angel for the last couple of seasons. He wrote and directed the Hugo-nominated episode "Smile Time," aka the one where Angel gets turned into a puppet. Keith R.A. DeCandido has written tie-in novels for both Supernatural and Buffy.

Supernatural is set in in a world where Buffy exists as a TV show, as we find out when Ghostfacer Ed Zeddmore references it in 1.17 Hell House.

Eric Kripke said of Buffy:

"I loved ‘Hush’ and ‘Once More, With Feeling,’ but overall, Buffy really taught me about effectively using metaphor in genre. For Buffy, it was ‘high school is hell (literally),’ and Joss Whedon did such a masterful job of grounding his horror and fantasy concepts in this notion, and ultimately telling allegories about high school, which turned what could’ve been B-Movie material into an all-time classic. I used that same philosophy on my run of Supernatural, with the mantra ‘family is hell (literally),’ and always grounded my horror episodes around the notion of families, to the show’s benefit. So thanks, Joss Whedon. I owe you a beer."

Many actors from Buffy and Angel have appeared on Supernatural. The first were Amy Acker, who appeared in 1.03 Dead in the Water, and Julie Benz, who was in 1.12 Faith. Following Amber Benson's appearance as Lenore in 2.03 Bloodlust, EP Bob Singer said,

"I thought Buffy had a great cast, and we used Amber Benson. I’d like to get Spike James Marsters on our show. I never thought I would particularly like Buffy, but my wife got me hooked on it, and I was hooked on him. Plus, that series was so well written. It was so smart."

Bob got his wish when James Marsters appeared with Charisma Carpenter in the episode 7.05 Shut Up, Dr. Phil.

Other Whedon alumni who have appeared on Supernatural include:

Actor/Actress	Role on Supernatural	Role in Whedonverse	Whedonverse Show
Jeffrey Dean Morgan	John Winchester	Sam Ryan	Angel
Robert Peters	Deputy Hein	Arney	Angel
Amy Acker	Andrea Barr	Winifred Burkle / Illyria	Angel
Kristin Richardson	Jenny	Tracy Bellows	Angel
Julie Benz	Layla Rourke	Darla	Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Megalyn Echikunwoke	Cassie Robinson	Vaughne	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Ridge Canipe	Young Dean Winchester	Tommy	Angel
Chad Lindberg	Ash	David Kirby	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Amber Benson	Lenore	Tara Maclay	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Annie Wersching	Susan Thompson	Margaret	Angel
David Monahan	Father Thomas Gregory	Garrett	Angel
Jeff Kober	Randall	Zachary Kralik and Rack	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Aldis Hodge	Jake Talley	Masked Teen	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Mercedes McNab	Lucy	Harmony Kendall	Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Aimee Garcia	Nancy Fitzgerald	Cynthia York	Angel
Brittany Ishibashi	Maggie Zeddmore	Vivian	Angel
Todd Stashwick	Dracula	Vocah (Angel) and M'Fashnik Demon (Buffy)	Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Jack Conley	Sheriff Al Britton	Gib Cain (Buffy) and Sahjhan (Angel)	Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
David Mattey	Luther Garland	Behemoth Lorne	Angel
Mark Rolston	Alastair	Boone	Angel
Bradley Stryker	Ted and Tony	Talky Meat	Angel
John Rubenstein	Charlie the Magician	Linwood Murrow	Angel
Rob Benedict	Chuck Shurley	Jape	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Jack Plotnick	Ian Johnston	Deputy Mayor Allan Finch	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Charisma Carpenter	Maggie Stark	Cordelia Chase/Prima Ballerina/Jasmine	Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
James Marsters	Don Stark	Spike/The First Evil	Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Henri Lubatti	Bobby's Reaper	Dealer Vampire	Angel
Harry Groener	Professor Morrison	Mayor Richard Wilkins/The First Evil	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bryan Cuprill	George	Roy	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Felicia Day	Charlene Bradbury	Vi	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Tamara Braun	Cindy Cassity	Tara	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Treva Etienne	Tamiel	Emil	Angel
Brigid Brannagh	Rita Johnson	Virginia Bryce	Angel
Keith Szarabajka	Donatello Redfield	Daniel Holtz	Angel
David Haydn-Jones	Arthur Ketch	Hobson	Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Meta

• Season by Season Comparison of Buffy and Supernatural, (archive link) by sevenpoints
• Eleven Ways Dean Is Like Buffy, (archive link) by Debbie McDuffee
• Fanvid - Supernatural with Buffy-Style Credits by phoenix39

External Links

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer IMDB
• Buffy Wiki
• Supernatural IMDB
• Joss Whedon IMDB