Episode Trivia
Battlefield Earth
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In 3.14 Couplet, before cutting Groo’s hair, Cordelia says:
“Okay. So, we lose the Battlefield Earth hair, and get you out of these animal skins, and it’ll be a whole new you!”
She is referring to Battlefield Earth, a science fiction novel written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, which was adapted into a film produced by and starring John Travolta.
Bernard Addison
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Bernard Addison, who played a cop in 6.13 Dead Things, appeared in Angel as “Root Monster” in the episode 3.14 Couplet. He also played a waiter in a couple of episodes of Frasier.
Groosalugg
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The Groosalugg (affectionately known as ‘Groo’) was a dedicated half-human warrior from the dimension Pylea. His name means ‘brave and undefeated’. He was summoned from the Scum Pits of Ur to Com-shuk (mate) with Cordelia and absorb her visions. Groo ended up proving to Cordy that he was a good man, not a tool of evil and she appointed him as the new ruler of Pylea before she escaped Pylea.
Back in L.A, and just as Cordelia and Angel were close to starting a relationship, Groo unexpectedly appeared at Angel Investigations. He explained that he had been deposed in a revolution on Pylea, and decided to find Cordelia again. Cordelia rekindled her romance with Groo and even went as far as to find a mystical spell which allowed her both to have sex with Groo and to keep her visions. Angel was jealous of Groo for many reasons, as Cordelia had chosen Groo over him and Groo was just as formidable a fighter as himself. Unable to withstand being witness to the relationship between Cordy and Groo, Angel gave them money and asked that they go on an extended holiday.
When Cordy and Groo returned, they found that some terrible things had happened in their absence. Cordelia immediately began to pay more attention to Angel, and Groo started to realize that Cordelia did not love him but rather Angel. He finally mustered up the courage to tell Cordelia this, and then left L.A.
Hansel and Gretel
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The story of Hansel and Gretel as we know it first appeared in Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s collection of fairy tales, published sometime between 1812 and 1815. Grimm’s stories were based on folk tales that had previously been told in oral storytelling traditions. The episode 3.11 Gingerbread takes a lot of elements from Hansel and Gretel. Additionally, Xander following a trail of chocolate in 1.10 Nightmares is inspired by the trail of breadcrumbs in the fairytale Hansel and Gretel.
In Angel’s 3.14 Couplet, Angel says, “It’s better than breadcrumbs” and in 5.01 Conviction, Fred says, “Why, did somebody eat my breadcrumbs?”
Mark Lutz
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Mark Lutz played the Groosalugg in seasons two and three of Angel. He was born in Montréal, Québec and lived in Hong Kong for 4 of his teenage years before moving to Toronto. Mark graduated with n Honors BA in Political Science from the University of Guelph, and decided to try his hand at acting. He got an agent after a series of improv comedy gigs. He played Finnish hockey superstar Jukka Branny-Acke in 5.21 Power Play before being cast as Groo. Mark has also appeared in Friends, Due South, ER and Doc.
Off screen, Mark enjoys swimming, for which he has set Canadian National records, as well as swimming internationally for his country, including World Cups and the Olympic Trials.
Samson
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When Cordelia is about to cut Groo’s hair in 3.14 Couplet, she asks him if his strength is in his hair.
Cordy: “Oh, wait. It’s not like your strength is in your hair, or anything like that, right?”
Groo: “No. I - believe it is in my muscles.”
This is a reference to the biblical figure Samson mentioned in the Book of Judges chapters 13 to 16 in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. Because Samson was Nazaritic, he was not allowed to shave is hair. If it would be shaven, he would lose his strength. When the women he loves, Delilah, finds out what the secret of Samson’s strength is, she orders to cut of his hair. This makes Samson lose his strength.
Wolf book
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In 3.14 Couplet, Wesley and Angel go to a book store to purchase the Grammaticus Third Century Greek Commentaries. As they are walking into the store, the camera pans behind a bookcase. There is a red book on the top shelf with a wolf engraved into the cover. This book resembles one of the three Priests’ books seen in Pylea in 2.21 Through The Looking Glass. Each of the three holy books were engraved with an animal: Wolf, Ram, and Hart.