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X Files, it had a good combination of characters and 'believable' stories. It was the first scifi/fantasy show I really got into and by which most are compared.
I'm going to say X-Files for procedural and Buffy for serial. I definitely see more "Buffy" in television writing now than ever before. Even Doctor Who, a show that's 50 years old, owes Buffy something in it's revival.
The X-Files, without a shadow of a doubt. Fringe, Supernatural (though if I recall correctly one of its creators was involved in XF), Warehouse 13, Sanctuary, Haven, Grimm - all of them have been influenced to a certain degree by the X-Files. It may be the monster-of-the-week, or the dynamic between the characters, or the way a particular episode is shot (for example the reality show style of shooting in "X-Cops" - Sanctuary and Supernatural have also used this method). The X-Files undoubtedly left quite a legacy.
The X-Files and if I'd had another vote, Buffy. They're different, and they inspired different shows. The X-Files started earlier, in 1993, and was full of aliens in all sorts of horrific forms and causing all sorts of mayhem. Buffy began in 1997 and was lighter, and the creatures were more akin to fairy tale beasts. Some of them were actually quite lovable. I saw the influence of The X-Files in Fringe and Falling Skies. Buffy started the vampire craze and the cute girls with magic powers trend such as Charmed.
The X-Files. Not just because of the mythology (which alone recieved a cult status), but because of the certain mood the show gives you - the easy way it can creep you out, which is something very hard to achive.
Well the best way is to look at what shows are on TV today and then which of these are closest to them: Almighty Johnsons: SG1 American Horror Story: Buffy Alphas: X-Files Arrow: BSG Being Human: Buffy Beauty and The Beast: X-Files Black Mirror: BSG Continuum: Doctor Who Doctor Who: Doctor Who (obviously) Falling Skies: BSG Game of Thrones: Doctor Who (or BSG?) Grimm: X Files Haven: X-Files Lost Girl: Charmed Misfits Buffy? Once Upon A Time: Charmed Primeval: Doctor Who Red Dwarf: Star Trek Revolution: BSG Sinbad: Doctor Who Supernatural: X-Files Teen Wolf: Buffy True Blood: Angel The Vampire Diaries: Buffy The Walking Dead: BSG Warehouse 13: X-Files
So by that I'd say The X-files just edges out by introducing the Procedural investigation of weird events. But closely followed by BSG for dark & gritty political programming, Buffy for Teen\Family dramas with a supernatural element and Doctor Who for science fantasy across multiple locations\time periods. If I was to say in totality though, the answer would by Blake's 7, which pretty much invented anti-heroes, dystopian future, season arcs (and end of season cliff hangers) and so many other key elements of modern sci-fi television
PS: No disrespect to Buffy either as I'd put that as second - but I have a fun debate with Buffy fans some months ago so I thought they deserve to knowhow much I respect the show.
X Files legacy: Strange World, The Burning Zone, Special Unit 2, Mysterious Ways, Lost, Dark Skies, The Visitor, Fringe, Warehouse 13, and Supernatural. Joss Whedon described his show as a cross between The X-Files and My So-Called Life.
Well said. There's a certain dynamic that the X-Files had and was a real inspiration for other shows. I still feel it's a shame the last few season (though I have rewatched them many times and they aren't nearly as bad as people make them out to be) weren't as highly regarded.
An interesting question, I guess it depends on what shows people watched - it's hard for me to assess if things jhave been influenced by Battlestar Galactica, Dr Who, Star Trek or Stargate as I don;t watch them (although why is Dr Who on the list when it hasn't ended?).
Of the shows I watch I would say X-Files is the one that has easily influenced the most other shows I watch.
I also feel that the last few seasons were underrated. I guess a lot of fans couldn't get over Mulder's absence, or felt that the show was getting too far away from its roots.
As for me, some of my favourite episodes are from the last 3 seasons, like Improbable, The Goldberg Variation, Hollywood AD, X-Cops, Fight Club, (I love it when serious drama shows do a little comedy) Patience, Medusa, John Doe etc. (I liked Doggett a lot). I'm still hoping there will be a third XF film btw.
You make a GREAT point. I think when I first watched the show - I was more angry than anything that Mulder wasn't around. In reality - it actually was entertaining. I love Hollywood AD by the way.
I don't understand this list and correlations. What are your criteria exactly? Like Angel came from Buffy, so it's pretty hard to not trace that back to Buffy. Or Lost Girl with Charmed? They have very little to do with each other and many many many people have discussed LG's similarities with Buffy. I know I stopped watching Arrow, but how it relates to BSG is beyond me. I think if you just give any old procedural supernatural show to X-files, you are significantly simplifying things.
I think more people are trying to be Whedon than anyone else right now. Buffy has become a cultural touch point in a way that I don't feel like X-files ever did. Buffy (with Roswell and Smallville and SPN and Charmed) created a generation of genre fans who compare everything back to the brightest star in the group (good and bad). Those motifs and characters are referenced again and again. We have a discussion about Adalind in Grimm and we bring up Anya. We discuss Vex in Lost Girl (and Hook in OUAT) and we're bringing up Spike. TVD spin-offs and we hark back to Angel. I'm not sure if the shows themselves are conscious of it, but I feel like Buffy created new examples of archetypes that audiences reference more than anything else right now.
I'm surprised their aren't older sci fi shows like the Twilight Zone or Kolchak on here but of those listed I would say X-Files and Buffy are the most influential. I give the slight advantage to X-Files for other genre shows although I think Buffy did more for non-genre shows.
I might be misreading you here and if I am please disregard, but Supernatural is definitely more influenced by X-Files than Buffy. Discussion in the early years of SPN, at least on the boards I visited, often laser focused on X-Files comparisons when it came to content/style/mood whereas they only seemed to center around Buffy in comparison to ratings and the general WB.
No, I was saying (badly perhaps) that that era of genre shows, including Buffy, Smallville, SPN, etc, influenced a generation of viewers. Not that SPN was influenced by Buffy.
I was trying to get the closest connections, not all are perfect. I choose BSG because it was the only option which represented semi-dystopian TV. If there was any I would give it to Survivors, the 1970s British TV series.
I was trying to get the closest connections, not all are perfect, it would require a much longer llist. I put Angel with True Blood as it represents a more adult approach and longer conspiracy type storylines. Lost Girl I related to Charmed rather than Buffy was a bit of a toss-up (I also considered ?Angel). I linked it to Charmed due to the use of more fey and angelic based mythology (as opposed to european-horror based), the importance of light and dark elder figures pulling the strings, the close relationship with members of the police force, the central use of "powers" to solve cases as opposed to fighting and weaponry and a few other areas. Arrow bore almost no relation to any of them, I choose BSG again because of the use of Anti-heroes, more violent methodology and the political underpinnings. It really comes from things like Revenge, Smallville, Nolan's Dark Knight movies. The biggest stretch was probably Game of Thrones, which really owes an alliegance to nothing. All of them are an over simplification as there is only a list of 8 choices. Even within these it's a bit of a tough one. Whilst the X-Files didn't invent the procedural supernatural (we can see it in shows like Omega Factor, Star Cops, Doomwatch and Alien Nation way before) it was the first to be a major success and was what inspired much duplication. It also was central in combining procedural and conspiracy. I get the feeling you are a bit of a buffy fan here. Buffy is important in terms of the mixing of My So Call Life teen-drama, American Gothic horror elements and the 90s trend for strong female leads (e.g. Alien, Terminator, X-Files, Xena, Voyager e.t.c). However, the revolution comes in combination and how well written it is as opposed to individual elements. If we take pure reductionism then Buffy has a number of important predecessors.
If I was choosing the key programming for inventing all modern programming based on a reductionist model I would probably give them to Captain Video (first sci-fi), Light's Out (horror anthology), Survivors (post apocalyptic), Blake's 7 (anti-heroic) and maybe Doomwatch (early government procedural).
Erm wheres LOST??? Without doubt hesitation Lost is the TV show which other shows attempt to copy the most, Not just TV shows but movies. Just to name a few...The Source code, Adjustment Be, Inception, The Walking dead, Awake, Terra Nova, The Event, Flashforward, Invasion, Jericho, Persons unknown, Fringe.......
There are no questions that XF inspired almost all the sci-fi shows for the last 10 years(much or less maybe). And if we see the awards and nominations, XF is one of the shows with more of them.
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I guess XF and Star Trek :)
ReplyDeleteX-Files, definitely. I kind of wish some of the others had been a stronger source of inspiration, mainly because I miss them (Stargate, for example).
ReplyDeleteBut should Doctor Who even be on this list? I know it was technically "ended", but still...
X Files, it had a good combination of characters and 'believable' stories. It was the first scifi/fantasy show I really got into and by which most are compared.
ReplyDeleteer... Lost?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to say X-Files for procedural and Buffy for serial. I definitely see more "Buffy" in television writing now than ever before. Even Doctor Who, a show that's 50 years old, owes Buffy something in it's revival.
ReplyDeleteI was stuck between the X-Files and Buffy. I chose Buffy, but it's most likely the X-Files
ReplyDeleteThe X-Files, without a shadow of a doubt. Fringe, Supernatural (though if I recall correctly one of its creators was involved in XF), Warehouse 13, Sanctuary, Haven, Grimm - all of them have been influenced to a certain degree by the X-Files. It may be the monster-of-the-week, or the dynamic between the characters, or the way a particular episode is shot (for example the reality show style of shooting in "X-Cops" - Sanctuary and Supernatural have also used this method). The X-Files undoubtedly left quite a legacy.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough call but it's only between Buffy or X-Files. I voted for Buffy but both of them definitely had the biggest impact and influence.
ReplyDeleteThe X-Files and if I'd had another vote, Buffy. They're different, and they inspired different shows. The X-Files started earlier, in 1993, and was full of aliens in all sorts of horrific forms and causing all sorts of mayhem. Buffy began in 1997 and was lighter, and the creatures were more akin to fairy tale beasts. Some of them were actually quite lovable. I saw the influence of The X-Files in Fringe and Falling Skies. Buffy started the vampire craze and the cute girls with magic powers trend such as Charmed.
ReplyDeleteThe X-Files. Not just because of the mythology (which alone recieved a cult status), but because of the certain mood the show gives you - the easy way it can creep you out, which is something very hard to achive.
ReplyDeleteX-Files probably. I know it had an influence on Supernatural and likely Fringe. I'm sure there are others.
ReplyDeleteWell the best way is to look at what shows are on TV today and then which of these are closest to them:
ReplyDeleteAlmighty Johnsons: SG1
American Horror Story: Buffy
Alphas: X-Files
Arrow: BSG
Being Human: Buffy
Beauty and The Beast: X-Files
Black Mirror: BSG
Continuum: Doctor Who
Doctor Who: Doctor Who (obviously)
Falling Skies: BSG
Game of Thrones: Doctor Who (or BSG?)
Grimm: X Files
Haven: X-Files
Lost Girl: Charmed
Misfits Buffy?
Once Upon A Time: Charmed
Primeval: Doctor Who
Red Dwarf: Star Trek
Revolution: BSG
Sinbad: Doctor Who
Supernatural: X-Files
Teen Wolf: Buffy
True Blood: Angel
The Vampire Diaries: Buffy
The Walking Dead: BSG
Warehouse 13: X-Files
So by that I'd say The X-files just edges out by introducing the Procedural investigation of weird events. But closely followed by BSG for dark & gritty political programming, Buffy for Teen\Family dramas with a supernatural element and Doctor Who for science fantasy across multiple locations\time periods.
If I was to say in totality though, the answer would by Blake's 7, which pretty much invented anti-heroes, dystopian future, season arcs (and end of season cliff hangers) and so many other key elements of modern sci-fi television
X-Files - no question.
ReplyDeletePS: No disrespect to Buffy either as I'd put that as second - but I have a fun debate with Buffy fans some months ago so I thought they deserve to knowhow much I respect the show.
ReplyDeleteX Files legacy: Strange World, The Burning Zone, Special Unit 2, Mysterious Ways, Lost, Dark Skies, The Visitor, Fringe, Warehouse 13, and Supernatural. Joss Whedon described his show as a cross between The X-Files and My So-Called Life.
ReplyDeleteWell said. There's a certain dynamic that the X-Files had and was a real inspiration for other shows. I still feel it's a shame the last few season (though I have rewatched them many times and they aren't nearly as bad as people make them out to be) weren't as highly regarded.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting question, I guess it depends on what shows people watched - it's hard for me to assess if things jhave been influenced by Battlestar Galactica, Dr Who, Star Trek or Stargate as I don;t watch them (although why is Dr Who on the list when it hasn't ended?).
ReplyDeleteOf the shows I watch I would say X-Files is the one that has easily influenced the most other shows I watch.
Buffy or X-Files. It's а shame that BSG inspired NOTHING as good as itself.
ReplyDeleteBuffy
ReplyDeleteI also feel that the last few seasons were underrated. I guess a lot of fans couldn't get over Mulder's absence, or felt that the show was getting too far away from its roots.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, some of my favourite episodes are from the last 3 seasons, like Improbable, The Goldberg Variation, Hollywood AD, X-Cops, Fight Club, (I love it when serious drama shows do a little comedy) Patience, Medusa, John Doe etc. (I liked Doggett a lot).
I'm still hoping there will be a third XF film btw.
The X-Files no question,hands down...
ReplyDeleteYou make a GREAT point. I think when I first watched the show - I was more angry than anything that Mulder wasn't around. In reality - it actually was entertaining. I love Hollywood AD by the way.
ReplyDeletejust wondering how you see TWD as being inspired by BSG..i mean absolutely no disrespect...i'm just kind of wondering about your reasoning:)
ReplyDeleteI don't understand this list and correlations. What are your criteria exactly? Like Angel came from Buffy, so it's pretty hard to not trace that back to Buffy. Or Lost Girl with Charmed? They have very little to do with each other and many many many people have discussed LG's similarities with Buffy. I know I stopped watching Arrow, but how it relates to BSG is beyond me. I think if you just give any old procedural supernatural show to X-files, you are significantly simplifying things.
ReplyDeleteI think more people are trying to be Whedon than anyone else right now. Buffy has become a cultural touch point in a way that I don't feel like X-files ever did. Buffy (with Roswell and Smallville and SPN and Charmed) created a generation of genre fans who compare everything back to the brightest star in the group (good and bad). Those motifs and characters are referenced again and again. We have a discussion about Adalind in Grimm and we bring up Anya. We discuss Vex in Lost Girl (and Hook in OUAT) and we're bringing up Spike. TVD spin-offs and we hark back to Angel. I'm not sure if the shows themselves are conscious of it, but I feel like Buffy created new examples of archetypes that audiences reference more than anything else right now.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised their aren't older sci fi shows like the Twilight Zone or Kolchak on here but of those listed I would say X-Files and Buffy are the most influential. I give the slight advantage to X-Files for other genre shows although I think Buffy did more for non-genre shows.
ReplyDeleteI might be misreading you here and if I am please disregard, but Supernatural is definitely more influenced by X-Files than Buffy. Discussion in the early years of SPN, at least on the boards I visited, often laser focused on X-Files comparisons when it came to content/style/mood whereas they only seemed to center around Buffy in comparison to ratings and the general WB.
ReplyDeleteNo, I was saying (badly perhaps) that that era of genre shows, including Buffy, Smallville, SPN, etc, influenced a generation of viewers. Not that SPN was influenced by Buffy.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a tie between Buffy and X-Files.
ReplyDeleteYup, Star Trek too...
ReplyDeleteSend this poll to 20th century fox, maybe they'll give us the greenlight for XF3, who knows ;D
ReplyDeleteI was trying to get the closest connections, not all are perfect. I choose BSG because it was the only option which represented semi-dystopian TV. If there was any I would give it to Survivors, the 1970s British TV series.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to get the closest connections, not all are perfect, it would require a much longer llist. I put Angel with True Blood as it represents a more adult approach and longer conspiracy type storylines. Lost Girl I related to Charmed rather than Buffy was a bit of a toss-up (I also considered ?Angel). I linked it to Charmed due to the use of more fey and angelic based mythology (as opposed to european-horror based), the importance of light and dark elder figures pulling the strings, the close relationship with members of the police force, the central use of "powers" to solve cases as opposed to fighting and weaponry and a few other areas.
ReplyDeleteArrow bore almost no relation to any of them, I choose BSG again because of the use of Anti-heroes, more violent methodology and the political underpinnings. It really comes from things like Revenge, Smallville, Nolan's Dark Knight movies.
The biggest stretch was probably Game of Thrones, which really owes an alliegance to nothing.
All of them are an over simplification as there is only a list of 8 choices. Even within these it's a bit of a tough one. Whilst the X-Files didn't invent the procedural supernatural (we can see it in shows like Omega Factor, Star Cops, Doomwatch and Alien Nation way before) it was the first to be a major success and was what inspired much duplication. It also was central in combining procedural and conspiracy.
I get the feeling you are a bit of a buffy fan here. Buffy is important in terms of the mixing of My So Call Life teen-drama, American Gothic horror elements and the 90s trend for strong female leads (e.g. Alien, Terminator, X-Files, Xena, Voyager e.t.c). However, the revolution comes in combination and how well written it is as opposed to individual elements. If we take pure reductionism then Buffy has a number of important predecessors.
If I was choosing the key programming for inventing all modern programming based on a reductionist model I would probably give them to Captain Video (first sci-fi), Light's Out (horror anthology), Survivors (post apocalyptic), Blake's 7 (anti-heroic) and maybe Doomwatch (early government procedural).
Erm wheres LOST??? Without doubt hesitation Lost is the TV show which other shows attempt to copy the most, Not just TV shows but movies. Just to name a few...The Source code, Adjustment Be, Inception, The Walking dead, Awake, Terra Nova, The Event, Flashforward, Invasion, Jericho, Persons unknown, Fringe.......
ReplyDeleteLost was just inspired by the Original the X Files!
ReplyDeleteLost...
ReplyDeleteI'de love that, XF fans are wainting for so long for news about the XF3 :D
ReplyDeleteThere are no questions that XF inspired almost all the sci-fi shows for the last 10 years(much or less maybe). And if we see the awards and nominations, XF is one of the shows with more of them.
ReplyDelete