Supernatural, Buffy Or The X-Files: Which Show Do These Characters Appear In?
Do you know your Professor Morrisons from your Mrs Peacocks?
Supernatural, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and The X-Files helped put sci-fi and fantasy on the map throughout the nineties, noughties and tens, rejuvenating age-old myths, underscoring modern conspiracies and giving terrifying form to some of the creepiest creatures the imagination can conjure.
Finding a direct line to some of our most deep-seated fears, this spiritual trilogy of shows are proof that sprawling, universe-building, generation-long serialisations can be just as successful as the current trend of standalone miniseries, anthology series and so-called limited series. And, while neither Supernatural, Buffy nor X-Files began the monster-of-the-week storytelling style, they are perhaps the finest examples we have of its durability and long-term success, totalling an earth-cracking 682 episodes between them.
But, with great big seasons come great big character lists, and sometimes it is hard to tell where one show ends and the other begins. With a similar aesthetic, a host of shared cast members, and a contemporary approach to popular horror fare, the shows can certainly prove tricky to pull apart. Can you tell Lucifer from the Master? And do you know the difference between Norman Pfister and Donnie Pfaster?
For your sake, let's hope so.