Episode Trivia
Agent Doyle
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Agent Doyle was an FBI Agent who came to Sunnydale High to collect invisible girl Marcie Ross in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight. He took her to a secret operations unit where she learned to become an assassin.
Agent Manetti
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Agent Manetti was one of the FBI Agents who took invisible girl Marcie Ross away to be trained as an assassin in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight.
Ashley Gable
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Ashley gable co-wrote 1.08 I Robot, You Jane and 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight with Thomas A. Swyden. Ashley has written for Clubhouse, The Division, The Invisible Man, Family Law and Xena: Warrior Princess.
Bach
details | 5 comments | suggested by Abby M.
In the episode 7.16 Storyteller, the classical piece playing at the beginning of the episode, in Andrew’s fantasy, is Brandenburg Concerto 3, Movement 1, by Johann Sebastian Bach. The same piece can be heard in 6.16 Hell’s Bells, being played by the quartet at Anya’s wedding.
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, Marcie repeatedly plays Bach’s “Siciliano” on her flute.
Clea Duvall
details | add a comment | suggested by Mel
Clea played Marcie Ross in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight. Clea went on to appear in films such as The Faculty, Girl Interrupted, Ghosts of Mars, 21 Grams and She’s All That, alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar’s husband Freddie Prinze Jr. She also starred as Jana in Can’t Hardly Wait with Seth Green and Amber Benson. Clea played Sophie in Carnivale. She and Sarah Michelle Gellar both starred in The Grudge (2004), made in Japan. The film also stars Jason Behr, who played Ford in 2.07 Lie To Me.
Clea starred alongside Susan Rutton (Doris Kroger in Gone) in the movie Helter Skelter about Charles Manson. Clea played Linda Kasabian, the key witness in Manson’s trial and Susan played her mother, Mrs Kasabian. Clea also appeared in the movie Identity with another Buffy alum - John Hawkes, who played the janitor George in 2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You.
Denise Dowse
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Denise played Miss Miller, the teacher whom Marcie tried to suffocate in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight. She has been in Coach Carter (as Principal Garrison), Ray (as Marlene), Book of Love, Dr. Dolittle 2, Pleasantville, Starship Troopers, See Jane Run and Out for Blood. Denise played Judge Rebecca Damsen in The Guardian, Juanita Hendrucks in Dragnet, Yvonne Teasley in Beverly Hills, 90210.
Helen Keller
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Helen Keller (1880-1968) was mentioned by Cordelia in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight:
Mitch: “Let me guess: blue, like your eyes!”
Cordelia: “My eyes are hazel, Helen Keller.”
In the Angel episode 1.21 Blind Date Cordy says:
“What, Hellen Kellerus Homicidalus?”
Helen Keller (1880 – 1968) suffered a mysterious illness aged 19 months, which made her lose her sight and hearing. She learned to communicate and later became a writer and scholar.
Invisible Girl
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Although the season one episode is officially known as “Out of Mind, Out of Sight”, it is also widely referred to as “Invisible Girl”.
Invisible people
details | 6 comments | suggested by Jess
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, the implication is that Marcie became invisible because of the combination of people ignoring her and the influence of the Hellmouth. But at the end of the episode there are invisible students from other schools. Did those schools have Hellmouths too, or were they just wrong in figuring what made Marcie invisible?
Joss’s dream
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
The sequence where Marcie watches as her hand disappears in class in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight (and, indeed, the whole episode) was inspired by a vivid dream Buffy creator Joss Whedon had as a child. He used to think nobody loved him and that he was invisible to those around him.
Learning to listen
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
The conversation between Buffy and Giles in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight where he suggests she learn to listen to people wasn’t in the original script and was added during post-production.
Lost in Space
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, Buffy says the line:
“Crush! Kill! Destroy!”
This is a reference to the TV show Lost in Space, in which the same line is said by the robot.
Marcie Ross
details | 5 comments | suggested by Jess
Marcie Ross was an unpopular girl at Sunnydale High who became invisible when no one noticed her. Blamed Cordelia for her plight and set about getting revenge, by hurting her friends and eventually kidnapping Cordy and threating to cut her. Marcie was taken away by FBI Agents Manetti and Doyle to be trained as an assassin. She was only seen in the episode 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, but she was also referred to in the episodes Lessons, 7.16 Storyteller and 6.11 Gone.
Marcie’s textbook
details | 4 comments | suggested by Howard Russell
The following is from Marcie’s text book in the final scene of 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight. This is an accurate transcription of the page, including the odd punctuation, the capitalization mistakes, and the misspelling of ‘acquainted’:
Chapter 11
Assassination and InfiltrationCase Example 1: Radical Cult Leader as Intended Victim
August 2, 19XX. She’s not a girl who misses much: She’s well aquainted with the touch of a velvet hand like a lizard on a window pane. The man in the clouds with the multicolored mirrors on his hobnailed boots. Lying with his eyes while his hands are busy working overtime. A soap impression of his wife which he ate and donated to the national trust. “I need a fix cause I’m going down, down to the bits that I left uptown”. Mother Superior jumped the gun. Joy is a hot revolver, yes it is. When I hold you in my arms and I feel my finger on your trigger, I know no one can do me no harm because Joy is a hot revolver, and he is afraid of the monkeys who are in possession of digital skeletons of Swiss cheese.
The bulk of the text (between ‘August 2, 19XX’ and the final comma) is “Happiness is a Warm Gun” by the Beatles, with the title phrase replaced with “Joy is a hot revolver.”
The rest of the book appears to be Practical Investigation Techniques of which chapter 7 is “Infiltration”. The tiny glimpse of that page shows that the layout of the fake chapter 11 was patterned after the actual chapters of the book. Here is Amazon.com’s scan of the chapter 1 page, which shows that it’s the same book.
Merchant of Venice
details | 5 comments | suggested by anniec
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, Cordelia’s English class discuss Shakespeare�s Merchant of Venice:
Miss Miller: (Reading) “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” (Stops reading) “Okay. So talk to me, people. How does what Shylock says here about being a Jew relate to our discussion about the anger of the outcast in society?”
Cordelia: “Well, how about colour me totally self-involved?”
Miss Miller: “Care to elaborate?”
Cordelia: “Yeah. With Shylock it’s whine, whine, whine, like the whole world is about him. He acts like it’s justice, him getting a pound of Antonio’s flesh. It’s not justice, it’s yicky.”
In 3.09 The Wish, the Master asks Willow and Xander:
“What news on the Rialto?”
This is a line from Merchant of Venice. The Rialto is a bridge in Venice, and Salanio, who asks the question, is asking for the latest news on the local scene (gathered, in this case, from local gossips, who apparently hung out on the bridge).
In 2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You, Xander quips:
“The quality of mercy is not Buffy.”
This is a reference to the famous ‘Quality of Mercy’ speech delivered by Portia in Merchant of Venice.
Miss Miller
details | 3 comments | suggested by Jess
Miss Miller was an English teacher at Sunnydale High. Marcie Ross attempted to suffocate her using a plastic bag, but she was saved by Cordelia in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight.
Mitch
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Mitch was a boyfriend of Cordelia who was beaten with a baseball bat by Marcie Ross in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight.
Peep show double take
details | 3 comments | suggested by Meghann
Xander and Oz are both seen wearing the same red shirt with the writing “25¢ Peep Show”.
Xander wears it at the end of 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight: See a still image here
Pergamum Codex
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Angel met Giles for the first time in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight (”A vampire in love with a Slayer. It’s rather poetic, in a maudlin sort of way.”) and revealed to the Watcher that he could get copies of the Tiberius Manifesto and the Pergamum Codex, which are key accounts of Slayer lore. The books proved vital to Buffy in 1.12 Prophecy Girl, as Giles discovered in them the prophecy that the Slayer would face the Master and die. In the season four episode of Angel 4.15 Orpheus, Willow was asked by Fred about the Pergamum Codex because it had some interesting stuff in it.
Reza Badiyi
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
Reza Badiyi directed the episode 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight. Reza is the stepfather of actress Jennifer Jason Leigh and a good friend of director Robert Altman. He directed the famous title sequence of Hawaii Five-O. Reza has directed episodes of She Spies, Early Edition, Baywatch Nights, Sliders, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Baywatch, Cagney & Lacey, Police Squad!, Fame, Falcon Crest, Hart to Hart, Starsky and Hutch, The Rockford Files, The Six Million Dollar Man, Hawaii Five-O, The Doris Day Show and Mission: Impossible.
Ryan Bittle
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Ryan played Cordelia’s boyfriend Mitch in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight. Ryan also played Todd Wilkins in the TV series Sweet Valley High. He left the show in 1996 and his part was taken over by Jeremy Garrett, who played Cameron Walker in 2.20 Go Fish. Ryan also played Eric in Dawson’s Creek.
Scooby Doo
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
The cartoon Scooby Doo has several ties with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Xander calls Buffy’s group of friends the “Scooby Gang” for the first time in 2.09 What’s My Line? (Part One) as they have similarities with the young crime-fighting sleuths in the Scooby Doo cartoon. He says to Cordelia:
“C’mon, Cordelia. You want to be a member of the Scooby Gang you gotta be willing to be inconvenienced every now and then.”
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, Willow wears a white Scooby Doo t-shirt in this episode and in 3.04 Beauty And The Beasts we see that she keeps her forensic tools in a Scooby Doo lunch box.
In 2.01 When She Was Bad, Xander wears a red Scooby Doo t-shirt.
Sarah Michelle Gellar appeared in two Scooby Doo movies, and Seth Green (Oz) appeared with Sarah in Scooby Doo: Monsters 5.03 Unleashed. Sarah’s Buffy stunt double, Michele Waitman, also doubled for Sarah in Scooby Doo: Monsters 5.03 Unleashed.
More Buffy/Scooby Doo trivia: In the movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back there is a spoof scene of Scooby Doo’s gang. The part of Fred was played by Marc Blucas (Riley Finn), Shaggy was played by Matthew James (who played the demon Merl in Angel) and Velma was played by Jane Silvia (who played the ‘conservative woman’ in 4.01 The Freshman).
Skip Stellrecht
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Skip Stellrecht played Agent Manetti in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight. His real name is Henry Douglas Grey. Skip played Corky in The Bold and the Beautiful and Chaplain Miller in ER. He has also been in Babylon 5 and voiced numerous video games including Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault and Street Fighter Zero.
The Beatles
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
In 1.08 I Robot, You Jane, Xander refers to the Beatles song “With a Little Help from My Friends” when Buffy says that Dave’s death looked like suicide. The song is from the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s 1.02 Lonely Hearts Club Band Band.
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, most of Marcie’s text book at her new school is not actually about ‘Infiltration and Assassination’, as the chapter suggests. Most of it is either nonsense or devoted to the Beatles’ “Happiness is a Warm Gun”.
In 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two), Xander says:
“I am the bug man, goo goo g’joob.”
This is a reference to The Beatles’ psychedelic song “I Am The Walrus” (1967) which contains the line, “I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob.”
The episode 4.20 The Yoko Factor is named after John Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono, who was widely believed to have been the catalyst for breaking up The Beatles. In that episode, Spike explains this to Adam, who replies, “I like Helter Skelter” (a Beatles song).
Thomas A. Swyden
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Thomas co-wrote 1.08 I Robot, You Jane and 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight with Ashley Gable. Thomas has also written for Soldier of Fortune, Inc.
Tiberius Manifesto
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Angel met Giles for the first time in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight and revealed to the Watcher that he could get copies of the Tiberius Manifesto and the Pergamum Codex, which are key accounts of Slayer lore. The books proved vital to Buffy in 1.12 Prophecy Girl, as Giles discovered in them the prophecy that the Slayer would face the Master and die.
Twinkie Defence
details | add a comment | suggested by mairceridwen
In 5.19 Tough Love, Ben’s (now former) boss is talking to him about the excuses Ben could give for not being at work for two days:
Ben: “Can I just tell you it’s not my fault.”
Doctor: “Sure. You can also tell me that the dog ate your homework, or, maybe eating Twinkies made you do it…”
This is a reference to the shootings of Harvey Milk (San Francisco City Supervisor) and Mayor George Moscone. The perpetrator Dan White’s attorney said that the shooting was in part a result of a depressive state brought on by (among other things) eating too many Twinkies. It became known as the ‘Twinkie Defense’.
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, Cordelia says about Shylock from The Merchant of Venice:
“That is such a Twinkie defense. Shylock should get over himself.”
Vampire breath
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, Angel saves Giles, Xander and Willow by turning off a leaky gas valve. He tells them:
“It’s not like I need the oxygen.”
This ties in with 1.12 Prophecy Girl, where Xander saves Buffy’s life using CPR as Angel is unable to because he can’t breathe. There have been numerous goofs where vampire have been seen panting when they shouldn’t be able to.
[Goof] Cordy’s rope
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
As Buffy is knocked down by Marcie in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, the rope around Cordy’s left hand becomes untied. For the rest of the scene, the rope is tightly tied around Cordy’s hand once again.
[Goof] Fumigation
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, The Bronze has a sign saying ‘Closed for fumigation’, but the post fumigation party had been seen in the episode Angel.
[Goof] Invisible
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
In the class of invisible students in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, how does Marcie know the chair she picks to sit in is unoccupied?
[Goof] Marcie power
details | 1 comment | suggested by Jess
In 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, how does Marcie reach down from the roof in the cupboard to grab Cordelia, and then have the strength to lift Cordelia up through the roof? There’s no visible means of support for Marcie, and nowhere she could have held on to.
[Goof] Scooby snacks
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
Watch the hands of the characters while they are eating in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight. Xander’s crisps turn into a sandwich and back, while Buffy suddenly has a drink in her hand.
[Goof] Snyder’s move
details | add a comment | suggested by Jess
As Cordy gives her speech of thanks in 1.11 Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight, Snyder changes positions behind her in several different shots. In the long shots, he’s just to her right, and in the close up shots he’s not there.