Episode Trivia
Alyson’s Allergy
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In the episode 5.16 The Body, Xander punches his hand through the wall after Joyce’s death. Joss Whedon mentions in his DVD commentary for the episode that Alyson Hannigan was allergic to the plaster dust and her right eye and face swelled up. She had to be taken to hospital, but had to continue filming before she could do so. If you look carefully, only one side of Alyson’s face in filmed that scene.
Alyson’s favourite episodes
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Alyson Hannigan told Entertainment Weekly which her favourite Buffy episodes were in an interview in October 2005:
- 4.10 Hush: “It was a whole new way of figuring out how to act, the not-talking thing.”
- 5.16 The Body: “I just remember the no sound, no music - it was so disconcerting.”
- 2.11 Ted: “John Ritter was the best. We would all just hang out in his trailer and be like, ‘Hi, John Ritter!!’ and he didn’t care. And, we got to shoot at a mini-golf place.”
- 3.16 Doppelgangland: “I was in the vampire Willow outfit, and Alexis had some holy water, and he made this noise, like FFFFT!! And it just cracked me up. I had such a crush on him.”
Aneurysm
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Joyce died of an aneurysm, which is coincidental as Kristine Sutherland’s own mother once had an aneurysm. Kristine believes that Joss Whedon wasn’t aware of it when he wrote the scene:
“At one point, after Joyce had the brain surgery, people had the idea that I would have my head shaved and wear a wig. All of this came up on the night before we were going to shoot that scene - it just happened to be the first scene on the first day of the next episode. There was no preparation time - and when I realised that they were going to put me in a wig, I was going, ‘You can’t do that!’ I knew from my mother that that was not what would happen, given where the aneurysm had been. It was actually the same place on the same side that my mother had it, so I knew exactly what they would do - they just shave back a spot. It’s so close to the temple that they just shave it back and go in. There wasn’t time to do any more research, because I didn’t find out until the day before about the exact surgery that they were going to do. It was kind of freaky - my mother was fairly young when it happened to her.”
Blinking body
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Joss Whedon has said that in the episode 5.16 The Body, Kristine Sutherland (whose character had just died) blinked a couple of times when in the body bag. Those blinks were taken out using CGI.
Bring it On
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In 7.15 Get It Done, Willow says to Principal Wood, “Bring it on”. This is a reference to the 2000 cheerleading movie Bring it On which featured Eliza Dushku (Faith) and Clare Kramer (Glory). In Bring It On, one of the Clover cheerleaders says the line: “Can we just beat these Buffys down so I can go home? I’m on curfew, girl.”
In the episode 5.16 The Body, when Willow is deciding what to wear, she pulls out the “cheery” shirt, a yellow shirt with the slogan “Campus Queen”. This same shirt can also be seen in Bring It On (worn by Kirsten Dunst).
Burnt Bunboy
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The toy which Anya threw away from underneath her in 5.16 The Body is a Japanese character called Burnt Bunboy. Joss and his wife, Kai, are big fans of him and Joss said in his DVD commentary for the episode that he couldn’t resist putting him in his show.
Christmas scene
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The first act of the episode 5.16 The Body opens with a flashback Christmas scene because Joss Whedon didn’t want to have the cast and crew credits appear over the main body of the episode, which he felt would ruin the atmosphere. Joss has said that he wished he’d included Joyce in the scene at the table, rather than having her separated from the Scoobies in the kitchen.
Dawn discovers the news
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In 5.16 The Body, Buffy tells Dawn about their mother’s death, though we don’t hear what is said. The following scene shows their dialogue, from the original script:
Buffy: “Mom died this morning. While we were both at school, she - ”
Dawn: “No…”
Buffy: “I don’t know exactly what happened, but, she’s dead…”
Dawn: “No. NO NO no no you’re lying she’s fine she’s FINE and you’re lying oh no no please no you’re lying she’s fine, she’s fine…”
Buffy: “Dawnie… ”
Dawn: “It’s not true it’s not real it’s not real ohhhhh noooooo…no…”
First kiss
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The episode 5.16 The Body contains Willow and Tara’s first on-screen kiss. Joss Whedon wanted the kiss to be natural, and not to be the main focus of the episode so he included it in this episode. He told TV Guide, “It belongs somewhere where you least expect it”.
Joss Whedon’s epiphany
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Joss Whedon posted at Whedonesque in April 2005 about how he set about writing 5.16 The Body:
“I had the arc mapped out years before I made the ep, and I always knew it would be MY ep. But when it came around I was filled with ideas for expansion, movies, comics, and that “mom’s death ep” was just my day job… One night we had friends over and I remember walking into a room by myself and suddenly realizing that the most important artistic challenge I might EVER face was the ep I was about to start writing. It was a little epiphany, how much this ep would mean to me and how much it would push me artistically. I’ve mentioned that it’s based on some real experiences, talked about the aesthetics of the thing, the idea to not use music… but that one first moment of realization, the first terrible blush of the thing, that was extreme. Part of that excitement is having no idea how it will turn out. Now I do. Reading these posts means a huge amount to me.”
Joss Whedon’s favourite episodes
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon spoke to USA Today in May 2003 (after the final episode had aired) about his favourite Buffy episodes. They are as follows:
- 2.14 Innocence: “It’s a mission-statement show, and one of the ones where I first found out what we could do.”
- 6.07 Once More, With Feeling: “What am I going to say?”
- 4.10 Hush
- 5.16 The Body
- 3.16 Doppelgangland: “Because one Willow is certainly not enough.”
- 3.09 The Wish: “Very bleak, very fun. It went to a dark place, and that’s really exciting to me. That’s where I live.”
- 2.22 Becoming (Part Two): “Buffy loses everything. Also, it had a sword fight. I love sword fighting.”
- 4.22 Restless: “Most people sort of shake their heads at it. It was different, but not pointless.”
- 7.07 Conversations With Dead People: “I’m very fond of ‘Conversations with Dead People’. I just thought structurally and tonally it was very interesting and had a lot to say. And I got to write another song.”
- 1.12 Prophecy Girl: “Because that was my first time, besides telling directors what to do, that I actually got to direct. And it was the first time I got to kill Buffy, and the first season ender, and it was the first time I realized I could take everything we did in the season and tie it in a bow.”
Joyce Summers
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Joyce was Buffy and Dawn’s mother. Divorced from her husband Hank, she moved to Sunnydale with Buffy to start her own art gallery. Joyce discovered that Buffy was the Slayer and initially reacted badly but became resigned to the idea. Dawn later entered the lives of the Summers, and though Joyce’s memory was changed to allow Dawn she eventually realised that Dawn wasn’t her child, but believed her to be special. Joyce was diagnosed with a brain tumour and became sick. She had a successful operation but suffered from an aneurysm, an unsuspected complication from her surgery. She died suddenly in her house, where her body was found by Buffy.
Joyce’s leaving
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Kristine Sutherland had planned to leave the show, or make less appearances, during season four to spend more time in Italy. She was told by Joss Whedon that he had big plans for her in season five. She said in an SFX magazine interview:
“I never asked Joss, but I got the impression that it had been planned for a very long time. I knew before I came to Italy at the start of the fourth season. I probably wouldn’t have known that early, but when I went and told Joss that I was planning on going away for a year, he was like, ‘But you have to come back - I need to kill you! And it’s really important!’ I said, ‘It’s okay- I’m coming back!’”
Kristine Sutherland
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Kristine played Buffy and Dawn’s mother, Joyce Summers. Kristine is from Boise in Idaho. Her birth name was Kristine Young. She goes by ‘Kristine Sutherland‘ because there was already an actress named Kristine Young. She has been in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Legal Eagles, Providence, California Dreams, Easy Street and Remington Steele. She is married to actor John Pankow (who played Cousin Ira in Mad About You and the boyfriend of Jennifer Aniston in The Object of My Affection).
Kristine is a fan of sci-fi and fantasy, though not of horror. She loves Buffy, and watched it every week though has said on several occasions that she can find the show scary. She worried a lot when she was working on Buffy that Sarah Michelle Gellar was working too hard. Kristine used her role as Joyce to prepare herself for when her daughter (Eleanore) became a teenager.
Mommy?
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In 5.16 The Body, when Buffy finds Joyce’s body, she says. “Mom? Mom? Mommy?” Dawn repeats this phrase in 7.07 Conversations With Dead People, when she thinks Joyce is trying to communicate with her.
No music
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There was no music in the episode 5.16 The Body, incidental or otherwise. Joss Whedon told the BBC Buffy website:
“The lack of music, the no cutting, every act in one scene… it was all supposed to be relentless, almost a kind of boredom to create what I wanted to capture”.
Powerpuff Girls
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In 5.16 The Body, Willow tries to choose what to wear. As she stands in front of her closet, you can see inside that she has a pink t-shirt with the Powerpuff Girls on it.
Revello Drive
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Scenes at Buffy’s house were originally shot on location, but later the interior was re-built on a soundstage. The location used for the exterior of Buffy’s home was 1313 Cota Drive in Torrance. It can be found just 3 blocks away from Torrance High School (used for the location of Sunnydale High). Bear in mind that people live there and most likely don’t want to be disturbed, so don’t go gawking at the house!
Buffy’s fictional address is 1630 Revello Drive. This is discovered in the episode 1.07 Angel when Buffy rang the paramedics after her mother was bitten by Darla. The address was also mentioned again in 5.16 The Body (again when Buffy rings for an ambulance) and in 7.18 Dirty Girls, when Shannon asks Caleb to take her to Revello Drive.
Santa Claws
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Anya reveals in the opening sequence of 5.16 The Body the true nature of Santa Claus. She says he was a creature from the 16th century who would disembowel children. However, the parts about the chimneys and the reindeer are apparently true.
Sarah’s favourite episodes
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Sarah Michelle Gellar talked to Entertainment Weekly about her personal favourite Buffy episodes:
“I loved ”3.20 The Prom”. It stood for everything Buffy was about: the fact that she so badly wanted to be part of the other kids’ lives. I think ”5.16 The Body” is pretty amazing. I loved the episode in which Buffy and Faith switched. That was one of my all-time favorites because I thought Eliza was so great. And also when Buffy realizes she has to kill Angel and she kills him and he comes back. Those are my favorites.”
Scream 2
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The 911 operator in 5.16 The Body asks Buffy if she is “alone in the house”. Sarah Michelle Gellar appeared in Scream 2 where she was asked the exact same question by the killer on the phone.
Stay away from the candy
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In the opening Christmas sequence in 5.16 The Body, Buffy says to Giles and her mother,
“As long as you two stay away from the band candy…”
This is a reference to the season three episode 3.06 Band Candy, when Joyce and Giles had sex.
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?”
Tom Lenk’s favourites
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Tom Lenk mentioned in an interview which his favourite Buffy episodes were:
“I’d have to say, out of respect for my character, 7.16 Storyteller. I just got to make such an ass out of myself. It was so much fun. Dancing in a toga on a hillside singing with unicorns was pretty embarrassing. I don’t do that sort of thing ever in my down time. So, I just had so much fun doing it, but I loved Emma’s history episode this year [7.05 Selfless]. It was really funny. And I’m a huge fan of 5.16 The Body. The most devastating hour of television I’ve ever seen and I loved that.”
Willow’s dorm
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Willow’s dorm room is number 213 (seen in 5.16 The Body). She shared a dorm with Buffy in the previous year which was number 214, so this is probably next door.
[Goof] Dawn’s bag
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Dawn goes into the classroom and takes off her bag in 5.16 The Body. The camera cuts away for a second and when it returns, Dawn still has her bag on.
[Goof] Dawn’s drawing
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Dawn’s drawing in 5.16 The Body changes completely between when Buffy arrives in the classroom and at the end of the scene where Dawn discovers the news about Joyce’s death.
[Goof] Paper towel
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The paper towel which Buffy uses to wipe up the mess in 5.16 The Body changes suddenly from being wrinkled to folded in a neat square.