Episode Trivia
Alex Skuby
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Alex Skuby, who played the vampire and El Eliminati member Vincent in 3.14 Bad Girls, also appeared as Harlan in the Angel episode 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity. He has also been in Strip Mall, House, CSI, Without A Trace, Becker, Payback and The King of Queens.
Angel’s outfit
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In 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity, Angel tries to stall Tony from getting on a boat, by dressing in touristy gear - where did he get the clothes from? Does he have a stash of undercover outfits in his car, ready for times like this?
Cordelia’s surnames
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Cordelia has a habit of giving people sarcastic new surnames.
She has called Angel:
- “Mr. I Was Alive for 200 Years and Never Developed an Investment Portfolio” in 1.01 City of.
- “Mr. I can’t tail the suspect during the day because I’ll burst into flames Private Eye” in 1.15 The Prodigal.
- “Mr. ‘oh, you’re my big, fat hero!” in 3.05 Fredless.
- “Mr. Distance” in 1.17 Eternity.
- “Mr. Killing Spree” In 3.02 Dead Man’s Party.
- “Mr. ‘I’m so tortured’” in 1.11 Somnambulist.
- “Angel? Mr. Bumpy-face? Hello?” in 4.04 Slouching Toward Bethlehem.
She has called Gunn:
- “Mr. I don’t take orders - now where do I stick my axe?” in 2.11 Redefinition.
- “Mr. Rationalization” in 2.03 First Impressions.
She has called Lorne:
- “Mr. Big Mojo-guy” in 2.11 Redefinition.
- “Mr. Green-Mojo-Guy” in 2.20 Over The Rainbow.
She has called Wesley:
- “Mr. Fussy Pants” in 2.05 Dear Boy.
- “Mr. Grouchy Pants” in 1.16 The Ring.
- “Mr. Don’t Talk to Me Before I’ve Had my Flagon of Oatbran in the Morning” in 1.16 The Ring
- “Mr. Star-schmoozer” in The 2.08 Shroud Of Rahmon.
- “Mr. Too-much-cologne” in 1.14 I’ve Got You Under My Skin.
Others have also been named by Cordy:
- To Xander: “Mr. Excitement” in 3.13 The Zeppo.
- To Devon: “Mr. I’m-the-lead-singer-I’m-so-great- I-don’t-have-to-show-up- for-my-date-or- even-call” in 2.06 Halloween.
- To Xander: “Mr. Faithful” in 3.01 Anne.
- To Wesley and Gunn: “Mr. and Mrs. Bickerson” in 3.05 Fredless.
- To Pierce: “Mr. Armani” in 1.07 Bachelor Party.
- To Barney: “Mr. Emotional Radar” in 1.10 Parting Gifts.
- To Kate and Angel: “Mr. and Mrs. Spock” in 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity.
Cordelia has also thrown in a few Misses in her name calling. She has called Buffy:
- “Little Miss Likes-to-fight” in 3.22 Graduation Day (Part Two).
- “Miss Not-Over-Yourself-Yet” in 3.07 Revelations.
- “Miss Save-The-World” in 2.13 Surprise.
Cordelia has even called herself a name:
- “Miss one-foot-in-the-grave” in 5.12 You’re Welcome.
Dr. Laura
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In 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity, Kate says,
“Suddenly I’m Dr. Laura. Next thing you know I’ll be talking about processing and my inner child. I’m sure I’ll be back to my usual level of cynicism in no time.”
Laura Schlessinger is the host of the US call-in radio show Dr. Laura. She is known for her outspoken views on such issues as premarital sex, homosexuality, and abortion. The show was cancelled in 2001 due to it’s negative publicity.
Flash Gordon
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There are a couple of references to the sci-fi comic Flash Gordon throughout Angel.
In Sense and Sensitivity, in reply to Kate’s question on the whereabouts of Little Tony, Spivey says:
“Burbank, Stockholm, the planet Mongo.”
The planet Mongo was the home of Ming the Merciless, Flash Gordon’s arch-nemesis in the comics and movies.
In 4.02 Ground State, Gunn says:
“Then Angel would’ve picked me up and Flash Gordon’ed me to the ER.”
Gentle Ben
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In 5.13 Blood Ties, Glory calls Ben “Gentle Ben”. This is a reference to a TV show of the same name made in the 1960s about a kid who has a tame bear called Ben. It starred Ron Howard’s brother, Clint Howard.
In 4.08 Pangs, the Chumash spirit Hus turned into a bear, which Xander called “Gentle Ben”.
In 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity, the Wolfram and Hart lawyer, Mercer says, “… look like Gentle Ben.”
Jane Austen
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The title of the Angel episode 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity is a reference to Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility, first published in 1811.
John Mahon
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John Mahon played Kate’s father, Trevor Lockley, in Angel’s season one. He has also appeared in Enterprise, Bull, Just Shoot Me!, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The X Files, Frasier, L.A. Confidential, Roswell, Knots Landing, Hill Street Blues, Knight Rider, The Rockford Files and The Exorcist.
Michael Beardsley
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Michael Beardsley played an uncredited college student in 4.05 Beer Bad. He appeared in the Angel episode 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity as an accident onlooker. He had other uncredited roles in Men in Black II, Crazy Beautiful, Dude, Where’s My Car? and The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle.
Mook
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The term ‘mook’ has been used on the following occasions…
Little Tony: “Who’s the mook?”
Angel: “Herb Saunders, Baltimore!”
M’Fashnik: “You have cost me, Slayer.”
Buffy: “I cost *you*? That’s a designer lamp, ya mook!”
Lorne: “Ugh. I know I’m still unconscious during this part of the story, but… can you believe these mooks?”
Angel: “Take a hike, Betty. Scram.”
Girl: “Well, pound snow, you mook!”
Nancy Boy
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The phrase “Nancy Boy” is used three times in Buffy and Angel. In 6.08 Tabula Rasa, Spike says:
“He’s got his crust all stiff and upper with that nancy boy accent.”
In 2.03 School Hard Spike says:
“A lot faster than nancy-boy there.”
In 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity, Tony says to Angel:
“Seems that sensitivity training I paid for really took, huh, nancy boy?”
O. J. Simpson
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Buffy says, “You just went O.J. on your girlfriend” in 2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You. This is a reference to former American Football superstar O.J. Simpson, who was tried for killing his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her ‘friend’, Ron Goldman, in June 1994. He was controversially found not guilty in October 1995.
In the Angel episode 1.04 I Fall To Pieces, Cordelia says:
“I don’t get it, this guy has a lot to lose. What is it about Melissa that’s got him going all O.J. here?”
In the same episode, Kate says:
“They’re the law firm that Johnny Cochran is too ethical to join.”
Johnny Cochran was the lawyer who defended OJ Simpson.
In 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity, the Wolfram and Hart lawyer, Mercer says:
“…that will make Mark Fuhrman look like Gentle Ben.”
Mark Fuhrman was a detective in the Los Angeles Police Department who found the bloody glove that linked O.J. Simpson to the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson. During the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Simpson, the defence accused Fuhrman of being a racist and planting evidence.
Robert Papazian, Jr
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A second assistant director on Angel named Robert Papazian Jr was probably the influence for the name of the character Little Tony Papazian in 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity.
Star Trek
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There are many cast/crew links between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the long-running cult sci-fi show Star Trek. Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder) played Quark in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for seven years. Dominic Keating, who played Blair in the episode 3.12 Helpless, later went on to star in Star Trek: Enterprise as Lt. Reed. Jennifer Hetrick, who played the teacher Ms. Moran in 3.05 Homecoming (whom Buffy asked for a reference) played the girlfriend of Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Buffy writer Jane Espenson wrote an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine called ‘Accession’. Star Trek has also been referenced numerous times in Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
- In 1.12 Prophecy Girl, upset by Giles’ reserve, Xander says:
“Calm may work for Locutus of Borg here, but I’m freaked and I intend to stay that way.”
He is referencing Star Trek’s emotionless cyborgs from the episode ‘The Best of Both Worlds’. Locutus was the name given to Captain Pickard (Patrick Stewart) when he was captured, and ‘assimilated’, by the Borg.
- In 3.05 Homecoming, Cordelia woos the nerds at Sunnydale High by saying:
“Are you kidding? I’ve been doing the Vulcan death grip since I was 4.”
In 3.15 Consequences, Cordy calls Wesley, “Giles the next generation” in a reference to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- In 5.04 Out Of My Mind, Buffy says:
“You’re like my fairy godmother and Santa Claus and Q all wrapped up into one… Q from Bond not Star Trek“.
- In 5.03 The Replacement, the two Xanders say, “Kill us both Spock” - a reference to a Star Trek episode where Kirk is split two - one being good and one bad.
- In 6.04 Flooded, the nerds vote with the Star Trek Vulcan salute, which is the same salute that Cordelia used to impress the ‘geeks’ in Homecoming.
- In 6.09 Smashed, Spike tells the nerds, “You can play holodeck another time” - he means the virtual reality technology used in Star Trek.
- The nerds compare Buffy’s time loop in 6.05 Life Serial with an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called ‘Cause and Effect’:
Andrew: “I just hope she solves it faster than Data did on the ep of TNG where the Enterprise kept blowing up.”
- In 6.15 As You Were, Buffy says. “they’re like really mean Tribbles”, referring to the popular, but quick breeding, pets on board the Starship Enterprise.
- After her visit to the nerds’ ‘lair’ in 6.12 Doublemeat Palace, Willow says that they had numerous pictures of the “Vulcan women from Enterprise“. She’s referring to Jolene Blaylock, who played T’pol in UPN’s Star Trek show.
- The episode 6.17 Normal Again is similar to the season five episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine called ‘Far Beyond the Stars’. In that episode, Captain Benjamin Sisko imagines that he is a science fiction writer living on 1950s Earth and writing about a station full of aliens called Deep Space Nine. He hallucinates that the people he knows in the 1950s are futuristic aliens and is thrown into an asylum.
- In 6.19 Seeing Red, Andrew references Star Trek: The Next Generation when he discusses who’s boss of the nerds:
“Warren’s the boss. He’s Picard, you’re Deanna Troi. Get used to the feeling, Betazoid.”
Also in that episode, Xander realises that the nerds had love poems in their lair written in Klingon.
- In 7.07 Conversations With Dead People, we learn that Andrew learned Klingon (a language in Star Trek) from a dictionary in two and a half weeks.
- In 7.18 Dirty Girls, Andrew hilariously confuses Faith’s murder of a volcanologist with a Vulcan:
Andrew: “Nobody was immune to her trail of destruction. Not friends, not family, not even the most pacifist and logical of races…”
Amanda: “What the hell are you talking about? I thought Faith killed a volcanologist.”
Andrew: “Silly, silly Amanda. Why would Faith kill a person who studies Vulcans?” - From Sense and Sensitivity:
Cordy: “Mr. and Mrs. Spock need to mind meld now.”
Star Wars
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George Lucas’s Star Wars films are a cult phenomenon. They are referenced numerous times in the Buffyverse. The original trilogy included the movies Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return Of The Jedi (1983) and the movies The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005) were made later on.
- 2.01 When She Was Bad: when Xander and Willow play Guess the Movie from the tag line:
Willow: “Use the Force, Luke.”,
Xander: “Do I even have to dignify that with a guess?” - 2.03 School Hard: Spike told Angel that, “You were my Yoda!” Yoda was the ancient Jedi master who became the mentor and teacher for both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker.
- 3.13 The Zeppo: A visual reference to Star Wars is seen when Xander runs into the corridor and runs back out with the gang members chasing him. Han Solo does the same thing in Star Wars.
- 3.19 Choices: Buffy says that Faith has turned to ‘the dark side’.
- 4.01 The Freshman: Xander confuses the Star Wars Jedi code quoted by Yoda in The Phantom Menace.
“Hate leads to anger…no wait…Fear leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side.”
Also in that episode, the old frat house that the vampires are holed up in is the Psi Theta house. If you write those two greek letters together, and pronounce them together, you get Sith.
- 4.04 Fear, Itself: Xander says to Oz, “Sensing a disturbance in the Force, Master?”
- 5.08 Shadow: Buffy using the chain to choke Sobek the snake-demon is reminiscent of Princess Leia killing Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi.
- 5.17 Forever: Ben calls Glory’s minions “Jawa rejects” after the small hooded and robed creatures in Star Wars.
- 6.05 Life Serial: Andrew paints a Death Star from Star Wars on the side of the gang’s van. It’s the Empire’s revised design from Return of the Jedi, which Jonathan says is flawed.
- 6.21 Two To Go: Andrew says:
“We’ve got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds us all into to Jawa burgers and not one of you bunch has the Midichlorians to stop her.”
These are all Star Wars references: Darth is a title given to a Sith Warrior (such as Darth Vader); Jawas are the hooded creatures who live on Tatooine, and Midichlorians are micro-organisms which exist in all living things.
In that episode, Andrew says another two Star Wars quotes:“Laugh it up, Fuzzball.”
“…in a galaxy far, far away…”
- 6.06 All The Way: Tara and Willow see a couple dressed as Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker kissing in the Bronze. Willow asks:
“Do they know they’re brother and sister?”
- 6.09 Smashed: we see that the three nerds own a mint condition (though out of its packaging) 1979 Boba Fett action figure. Though Boba Fett was first introduced in The Empire Strikes Back (made in 1980), the earliest Boba Fett figure was made in 1979, before the film was released.
- 6.13 Dead Things: Jonathan and Andrew play fight with green light sabres.
- 6.18 Entropy: Warren calls Jonathan “Padawan”.
- 7.07 Conversations With Dead People: Jonathan and Warren have the following conversation, all quotes from Star Wars:
Warren: “Come on, “If you strike me down…”
Andrew: “I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine…That boy is our last hope.”
Warren: “No, there is another.” - 7.12 Potential: Xander says to Andrew:
“Say Skywalker, and I smack you.”
- 7.11 Showtime: Andrew says, “I’m bored. Episode I bored.” He’s referring to George Lucas’s disappointing movie Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. He also says: “Um, deflector shields - deflector shields up!”
- 7.09 Never Leave Me: Warren/The First says, “I’m like Obi Wan”. He also says to Andrew, “We’re right in the trench, and the exhaust port’s in sight.” This is a reference to the scene in Star Wars in which the Death Star is under attack.
- 7.10 Bring On The Night: Andrew says:
“I’m like Vader in the last 5 minutes of Jedi with redemptive powers minus a redemptive struggle of epic redemption which chronicles…”
He’s referring to the last scenes of the final Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi. He also says:
“I admit I went over to the dark side, but just to pick up a few things, and now I’m back.”
- 7.16 Storyteller: there are two framed Star Wars comics on the wall in Andrew’s opening scene.
- 7.18 Dirty Girls: Andrew says:
“But like so many tragic heroes, Faith was seduced by the lure of the dark side.”
- 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity: Cordelia’s line “Jar Jar is getting his own talk show” is another reference to Star Wars.
- 1.05 Rm W/A Vu: Cordy says to her ghost, “Hey, hey - Phantom Dennis, put that back.” Jane Espenson says in her commentary fo the episode that she insisted the ghost be called Dennis to be able to pun the title of The Phantom Menace which was in cinemas at the time.
- 1.11 Somnambulist: Cordelia references Star Wars again when she calls Penn “Psycho-Wan Kenobi”.
- 2.03 First Impressions: Gunn says to Cordelia and Wesley,
“You two? I find Deevak, I’m gonna need more than C-3PO and Stick Figure Barbie backin’ me up, no offence.”
C-3PO was a droid in the Star Wars films, designed to assist with etiquette, customs, and translation so that meetings of different cultures run smoothly.
- 5.11 Damage: Andrew says (about Dana): “Driven insane by Yoda-knows-who.”
- 5.10 Soul Purpose: Spike references Star Wars, when he says “Sorry Mr Vader, but I don’t have an itch to join the evil Empire.”
- 4.15 Orpheus:
Wesley: “Sorry. I think my sense of humor’s trapped in a jar somewhere.”
Willow: “It does seem like you’ve given in to the grumpy side of the Force.”
The many faces of the Whedonverse
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In order to describe the state or reaction of a character, there have been several variations using the word ‘face’:
2.09 What’s My Line? (Part One):
Buffy: What’s up?
Angel: Nothing.
Buffy: Only you don’t have a nothing face. You have a something face. And you don’t have to whisper. Mom’s in L.A. till Thursday. Art buying, or something.
Buffy: “Then what? What’s with the dire?”
Angel: “It’s uh, it’s nothing.”
Buffy: “No, you have ’something’ face.”
Joyce: “I’m just glad I could find it. There. Try it now. I let down the hem and loosened it a little around the hood.”
Buffy: “Oh, it feels better. Oh, no. Someone is getting nostalgic face.”
Joyce: “I’m sorry. I’m thinking about the little girl who wore that. What is it? Five? Six years ago.”
Cordy: “Wait you’ve got pensive face.”
Angel: “I’ve always got pensive face.”
Cordy: “Well, pensive-r face.”
Giles: “Buffy, I don’t want to ask you to betray any confidences, and I certainly don’t want to interfere–”
Buffy: “Uh-oh, you have ‘but-face.’” (Off his look) “You look like you’re gonna say ‘but.’”
Dawn: “Great. Now I look like a wet rat.”
Lisa: “Yeah, you know you can’t go out there looking all cry-faced. That’ll just give Kirsty more ammo.”
Dawn: “So Giles is blaming Giles, and we’re blaming us. Is anyone gonna blame Willow? (to Buffy) Oh, don’t give me shock face. I mean, will anyone around here ever start asking for help when they need it?”
Tim Minear
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Tim Minear was born in New York, grew up in Whittier, California, and studied film at California State University, Long Beach. He was a production assistant in the 1980s on films such as Re-Animator, Dudes and Platoon. His first television spec (an episode of The X-Files) landed him his first prime time television job on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He was then hired on The X-Files writing staff in the show’s fifth season. Tim then wrote for the ABC series Strange World.
The following year, Tim became a producer then executive producer on Angel, and wrote and directed several episodes. When Whedon launched his new TV series Firefly, he asked Tim to share executive producing duties while still working on Angel. After Firefly was cancelled Tim returned full time to Angel. He has since worked on Wonderfalls and The Inside.
Trevor Lockley
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Trevor Lockley was Kate’s father - a police officer like his daughter. He raised Kate by himself after her mother died, but had trouble showing emotion or even approval toward his daughter. After his retirement, Trevor became involved in some shady dealings for extra money, which eventually led to him being murdered by vampires.
[Goof] Disappearing bag
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When Kate catches up with Spivey in 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity, he throws a bag on top of his car. In the next shot it has gone, but then appears again in another shot.