Episode Trivia
Bye, crossovers
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Angel discovers that Buffy is alive during an off-screen phone call from Willow in the Angel episode 3.04 Carpe Noctem. Angel calls the Slayer in the Buffy episode 6.04 Flooded, and she goes off to meet him - not in Sunnydale, not in L.A., but somewhere in the middle. This is a nod towards the fact that there are no more Buffy/Angel crossovers now that Buffy has moved from the WB to UPN. Buffy returns to Sunnydale in 6.05 Life Serial but doesn’t want to talk about her meeting with Angel (she just says it was “intense”), another nod to the lack of crossovers. Likewise, in 3.05 Fredless, Angel says he really doesn’t want to talk about meeting Buffy.
Carpe Noctem
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The Angel episode 3.04 Carpe Noctem could be named after a goth magazine that ran in the 1990s. It was best known for Jhonen Vasquez’s Johnny the Homicidal Maniac comic. Carpe noctem is a pun on the Latin expression ‘carpe diem’ (”seize the day”) meaning “seize the night.”
Charlton Heston
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The following is from 4.07 Apocalypse, Nowish:
Lorne: “Hey, uh, call me kooky-pants, but maybe we could save the three rounds until after the Chuck Heston Plague-A-Thon cools off.”
This is a reference to Charlton Heston and his role as Moses in The Ten Commandments. The film touches of four of the Plagues of Egypt: Blood, Hail, Darkness, and Death of the Firstborn.
Charlton Heston is also mentioned in 3.04 Carpe Noctem. Angel and Fred go on a “date” to a double-feature of his movies.
Angel: “Am I the only one who read this?”
Wes: “Read what?”
Angel: “Charlton Heston. Double feature! At the Nu-art. Soylent Green and The Omega Man.”
Gunn: “Wow.”
Angel: “It’s two for one. Did I mention, Charlton Heston? Who’s in?”
Fred: “That sounds great!”
Then, later:
Fred: “And he opened every door for me and he paid for the tickets. And even bought a giant popcorn. And every few minutes he’d go like this. Because he wanted me to know it was okay for me to have some. And he’s so lonely because he’s the last man on earth.”
Wes: “Angel?”
Fred: “No! Charlton Heston. The Omega Man? Omega being the last letter of the Greek alphabet so it’s a metaphor. And he walks on the street side and not the building side. It’s old-fashioned, but kind of chivalrous, you know?”
Wes: “We’re back to talking about Angel.”
Fred: “Right.
Eunuch
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Angel is called a ‘eunuch’ twice in the show - by Bryce in 2.06 Guise Will Be Guise, and by Cordelia in 3.04 Carpe Noctem.
Lilah and Angel’s kiss
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Stephanie Romanov (Lilah) said of her kissing scene with David Boreanaz in 3.04 Carpe Noctem:
“However, I was actually nervous before. I may have known David for three years [but] he’d just gotten married and I’m newly married. So it was weird, like all of a sudden you’ve got to kiss your friend. It’s odd, it’s an odd business.”
Marcus Roscoe
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Marcus Roscoe was a resident at the Monserrat Retirement Home in Los Angeles. He used a conjuring stone and an Algerian body-switching spell to swap bodies with young men, in order to have fun and sleep with women. Afterwards, the host melted down to a liquid-like substance. Marcus borrowed Angel’s body, during which he flirted with Fred and kissed Lilah. After losing control of Angel’s body he had a fatal heart attack.
Night Stalker
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The following is from 3.04 Carpe Noctem:
Angel: “And what can I do for you?”
Lilah: “Don’t go all Night Stalker on me. I’m here to do you a favour. We both agree that business with Cordelia was just business, right?”
This is a reference to the convicted serial killer, Ricardo “Richard” Muñoz Ramírez. He was referred to as the Night Stalker by the media.
Pretty Woman
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In 3.04 Carpe Noctem, Cordelia says:
“Let me tell you, if Julia Roberts ever makes a realistic movie about being an escort, it should be called Pretty Skanky Woman.”
She is referring to Pretty Woman a 1990 romantic comedy motion about a prostitute named Vivian Ward, played by Julia Roberts.
Rance Howard
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Rance Howard played Marcus Roscoe in 3.04 Carpe Noctem. Born on 17th November, 1928 in Oklahoma, Rance is the father of actors Ron Howard and Clint Howard. His wife Jean Speegle Howard played the ‘real’ Natalie French in the Buffy episode Teacher’s Pet.
Howard has acted in over 100 films, including Cool Hand Luke, The Alamo, Rat Race, A Beautiful Mind, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Abilene, Apollo 13, Mars Attacks!, Far and Away, Cocoon, and Splash. Howard is well known for his role on television in the 1960s tv series Gentle Ben as Henry Broomhauer. He played David Sheridan, the father of Babylon 5 captain John Sheridan.
Soylent Green
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When Buffy and Cordelia collide and spill the contents Buffy’s tray in 1.05 Never Kill A Boy On The First Date, Owen says:
“at least you won’t have to eat your Soylent Green…”
This is a reference to the Charlton Heston movie, Soylent Green, in which Soylent Green is actually human remains processed into food.
The movie is also referenced in the episode 6.12 Doublemeat Palace, when Buffy runs into the customer area of the restaurant yelling:
“It’s people!”
Heston’s character tries the same thing in Soylent Green.
In 3.04 Carpe Noctem, Angel says:
“Charlton Heston. Double feature! At the Nu-art. Soylent Green and The Omega Man.
Steven W. Bailey
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Steven W. Bailey, who played the African demon in the cave at the end of season six played Ryan in the Angel episode 3.04 Carpe Noctem. he plays Steve in My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. He has also been in Mix Tape, Chestnut Hill, Will & Grace, Becker and Nash Bridges.
Tale of the Body Thief
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The body switching plot in 3.04 Carpe Noctem is similar to a book by Anne Rice titled Tale of the Body Thief, in which an old man switches bodies with a young man in a coma. He then uses this handsome young man’s body to entice Lestat, a charismatic vampire in the Anne Rice universe, to switch bodies with him for a short while. But the body thief has different plans and tries to steal the vampires body permanently.