(Buffy The Vampire Slayer) is perceived as a teeny-bopper show...but the heart of the show is in much the same place as DS, and the wit and intelligence of the writing move it beyond typical teen fare...
Hear, hear!
And the season that just ended was one of the darkest, most controversial and--IMO--one of the best of the series.
And throw in a plug for
Angel while you're at it, which might actually have more a
DS vibe than
BtVS, since it is considered to be the more "adult" show...
Buffy's old beau just had one of his darkest years to date--and a son! As with Barnabas, it is cool how we get to see Angel through the many years of his life and his evolution.
Like our beloved Barnabas, Angel is a vampire with a soul...
I "embrace" Buffy, but it's no DS. IMO, Buffy was influenced more by Kolchak the Night Stalker...
Even more than
BtVS,
Kolchak The Night Stalker is the indirect inspiration for
The X-Files--though Mulder & Scully certainly give off a Barnabas/Julia vibe lots of times...