Episode Trivia
8 Buffys
details | 2 comments | suggested by Jess
A total of eight actresses have played the role of Buffy Summers in Joss Whedon-related projects:
- Kristy Swanson played Buffy in the original 1992 movie
- Sarah Michelle Gellar took on the role for 7 seasons of the TV show.
- Eliza Dushku portrayed Buffy in 4.16 Who Are You?
Three child actresses played young Buffys:
- Mimi Paley in 2.18 Killed By Death
- Alexandra Lee in 5.21 The Weight Of The World
- Candice Nicole in 5.13 Blood Ties (when Dawn remembers Buffy pushing her on a swing).
Finally, two unnamed actresses played Buffy in Angel episodes when Gellar was unavailable for the roles:
There have also been several other actresses playing the role, including Giselle Loren, who voiced Buffy in the official video game, and numerous stunt women.
Alexandra Lee
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Alexandra Lee, who played the young Buffy in 5.21 The Weight Of The World, has also been in Alone with a Stranger, Mad TV, CSI: Crime Scene Inestigation, That ’70s Show, Scrubs and ER. Alexandra did not reappear on Buffy, but she is seen in photographs in future episodes as ‘Young Buffy’, such as 6.17 Normal Again.
Ben’s room
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In 5.21 The Weight Of The World, we discover that Ben has a small, bare room in Glory’s luxurious apartment.
Blondie
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We discover in 2.18 Killed By Death that Buffy is not a natural blonde. The girl who represents her as a child is a brunette, but future episodes (such as 5.21 The Weight Of The World) show young Buffy as a blonde.
Blood of Dawn
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In 5.21 The Weight Of The World, Giles discovers that Dawn’s blood is the key (no pun intended) to the ritual that will allow Glory to open the dimensional portal to return home. Giles says:
“Once the blood is shed at a certain time and place, the fabric which separates all realities will be ripped apart. Dimensions will pour into one another with no barriers to stop them. Reality as we know it will be destroyed, and chaos will reign on Earth.”
Just as an aside - If the monks had made Dawn into something other than human (such as a lightbulb or bicycle pump), what would Glory have used?
Bob Morrissey
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Bob Morrissey, who played the crazy guy who talks to Dawn in 5.02 Real Me, played the same character in 5.20 Spiral and 5.21 The Weight Of The World. He appeared as Dr. Gregson in the Angel episode 3.01 Heartthrob. He has also been in The Terminal, Northern Exposure and Soul Plane.
Buffy gone mental?
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There are many references to mental institutions in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Here’s a favourite quip from Buffy in 7.07 Conversations With Dead People:
Holden: “No, but, other stuff, too. Majoring in psych, really loving that. And I was taking a year off to do an internship at the Sunnydale Mental Hospital.”
Buffy: “Wow, that’s gotta be a popular joint.”
This reference in episode 2.11 Ted hints at a future story 6.17 Normal Again where Buffy believes that she is in a mental institution.
Ted: “Or what? You’ll slay me? I’m real. I’m not some goblin you made up in your little diary. Psychiatrists have a word for something like this: delusional. So, from now on, you’ll do what I say, when I say, or I show this (holds up her diary) to your mother, and you’ll spend your best dating years behind the wall of a mental institution.”
And then from 6.17 Normal Again:
Doctor: “The Slayer, right, but that’s only one level. She’s also created an intricate latticework to support her primary delusion. In her mind, she’s the central figure in a fantastic world beyond imagination. She’s surrounded herself with friends, most with their own superpowers … who are as real to her as you or me. More so, unfortunately. Together they face … grand overblown conflicts against an assortment of monsters both imaginary and rooted in actual myth. Every time we think we’re getting through to her, more fanciful enemies magically appear.”
Finally, season 5 was full to the brim with mental patients and characters. In this quote from 5.21 The Weight Of The World, Xander is referring to a room in the hospital where all of Glory’s victims had been locked up:
Xander: “Oh, the mental ward? I already been. The vegetable section’s closed. Nobody there. It’s like they all just got up and walked away.”
Dean Butler
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Dean Butler played Buffy’s father, Hank Summers. Dean is famous for his role as Almanzo Wilder in the seventies American drama Little House on the Prairie. Dean appeared in the episodes 1.10 Nightmares, 2.01 When She Was Bad, 5.21 The Weight Of The World and 6.17 Normal Again.
Doc
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Doc was a demon who looked human but had a long tail, blue blood, black eyes and a lizard-like tongue. He aided Dawn to try and ressurect her mother (5.17 Forever) but later turned on the girl when he discovered she was the Key. Doc worshipped Glorificus. Spike and Xander fought him to retrieve a box he was hiding in 5.21 The Weight Of The World, in which Giles found more information on Glory and the Key. They left Doc for dead but he came back in 5.22 The Gift and cut Dawn so her blood would open the portal. Buffy killed Doc when she pushed him off the platform.
Get out, get out, get out!
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In 6.14 Older And Far Away, Dawn screams, “Get out, get out, get out!” at Buffy and the gang. She said the same thing to Buffy and Joyce in season five’s birthday episode, 5.13 Blood Ties. In 7.01 Lessons, the zombie janitor yells, “get out, get out, get out!” at Buffy.
This phrase is repeated by Glory in 5.21 The Weight Of The World, when Glory is starting to become ‘more human’:
Glory: “What’s he doing?”
Priest: “I must anoint the key.”
Glory: “Really don’t. Go.”
Priest: “But-”
Glory: “Out! Get out, get out!”
Perhaps intentionally similar to Dawn’s teenager outbursts?
Grave stone
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Buffy and Joyce’s grave stones (seen in 5.21 The Weight Of The World and 5.22 The Gift) are the same font and design.
Hank and Joyce again
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Joyce and Hank Summers return in a false memory flashback in 5.21 The Weight Of The World. We see a scene where Buffy’s parents bring baby Dawn home for the first time. This is the first time Hank and Joyce have been seen together since 2.01 When She Was Bad (though we heard them arguing in 2.21 Becoming (Part One)).
Hank Summers
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Hank was Buffy and Dawn’s elusive father. Divorced from Joyce Summers, he became increasingly distant towards Buffy (for example, standing her up on her birthday in 3.12 Helpless). Hank failed to attend Joyce’s funeral or contact his daughters after their mother died. Buffy mentioned he had run off with his secretary to Spain. We see Hank twice in Buffy’s hallucinations in 5.21 The Weight Of The World and 6.17 Normal Again.
Joyce’s age
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The date on Joyce’s head stone in Buffy’s mind in 5.21 The Weight Of The World says that Joyce was born in 1958, which means she died when she was 43. When Buffy was born, Joyce would have been between 21 and 23.
Kewpie doll
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In 5.21 The Weight Of The World, Spike says, “Kewpie doll for the lady.” The Kewpie doll first appeared in 1912. It’s creator Rosie O’Neill named the doll after its Cupid-like characteristics.
Magic mojo
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Spike worked out in 5.21 The Weight Of The Worldthat Glory had worked a magic spell so that people who witnessed her turning into Ben instantly forgot what they saw:
“Oh, I get it. That’s very crafty. Glory’s worked the kind of mojo where anyone who sees her little presto-chango instantly forgets. And yours truly, being somewhat other than human stands immune.”
This explains why Dawn forgot she saw Ben change into Glory in 5.13 Blood Ties.
Matthew Lang
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Matthew Lang played one of the people at the party in 1880 in 5.07 Fool For Love, and a ‘High Priest Minion’ in the Buffy episode 5.21 The Weight Of The World. He has also appeared in Target, The Rules of Attraction, We Were Soldiers and The West Wing.
Money in arc welding
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Xander’s bedroom in his apartment has a poster which reads “There’s money in arc welding!”, seen in 5.21 The Weight Of The World.
Morphing Ben and Glory
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Clare Kramer spoke to the BBC about the morphing process between Ben and Glory:
“The morphing (into Ben) was a big technical process, especially the first couple of times we did it because nobody really knew what we were doing. For example, the first time we morphed you see Charlie talking to the Key. All of a sudden it�s me morphing. That was about a five hour process.
“He would be standing there in a certain position and then they’d be like “Okay, freeze.” He’d run out and I’d run in and stand on an apple box so I could be the same height. I’d adjust myself and they’d be yelling at me from the monitor, “Move a little to your left” or “a little to your right.” We’d finally get in the right position and then you’d come out of the morph. It’s quite an extensive process in terms of filming.”
Sarah’s shooting schedule
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Sarah Michelle Gellar was away for a great deal of time when the end of season five was shot. She was filming Scooby Doo in Australia, which is why the episode 5.21 The Weight Of The World features very little of her. Doug Petrie told the BBC Buffy website about how they thought of a way to overcome the problem:
“We knew for some weeks in advance what her schedule would be like and we were all very interested in accommodating that schedule. But we had the second-to-last episode of the season and no Buffy. What do you do? Joss and I were both big fans of the Dr Strange comics. Dr Strange was a mystic magician who lived in Greenwich Village, New York and could leave his body. His astral self would go off on these adventures.”
Sarah’s tattoos
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When Buffy and Dawn climb out of the hole in 6.22 Grave, you can briefly see a tattoo on Sarah Michelle Gellar’s left hip. It is the Chinese symbol for integrity. This tattoo can also be seen when Buffy smothers Dawn with a pillow in 5.21 The Weight Of The World.
Sarah has said of her tattoos:
“I have a symbol for integrity on my lower back, a heart and dagger and a cherry blossom on my ankle, and two dragonflies on my back. I have the integrity one to remind me to be careful with my words, because words can hurt people. Phrasing things strangely can hurt people. That’s why I don’t like to do personal e-mails. E-mail is for “What time is the flight?” or “What time is the dinner reservation?” If it’s anything more, I’d rather do a phone call. The heart and dagger is supposed to represent the precariousness of life—it was just this stupid young thing where I was like, my life is never going to be the same. At least I was smart enough to get the heart and knife in a foreign language so it’s not very obvious that I’m the young person getting the traumatic tattoo! My engagement ring has dragonflies holding it up. Freddie loves dragons. So for our anniversary one year, we got each other tattoos. He got a dragon and I got dragonflies. Tattoos are so addictive.”
At the beginning of 5.01 Buffy Vs Dracula, Buffy and Riley are throwing the football at the beach. There is something red on the back of Sarah’s right shoulder which doesn’t look like an injury. This could be a temporary tattoo.
Second-hand experience
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In 5.21 The Weight Of The World, Willow sees the scene from 5.18 Intervention in which the First Slayer told Buffy that death was her gift. Willow recognises the Slayer from her dream in 4.22 Restless.
Troy T. Blendell
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Troy Blendell played Glory’s minion Jinx during season five. He has also been in Las Vegas, CSI: NY, The Island, Collateral, Charmed, Hourly Rates, Shasta McNasty, Love & Sex, The King of Queens and Frasier.
Under the influence?
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Spike and Angel inquire on the sobriety of the people around them in the following instances:
5.21 The Weight Of The World:
Spike: Uh … Will? Now, uh, don’t turn me into a horned toad for asking, but … what if we come across Ben?
Willow: I-I don’t think a doctor’s what Buffy needs right now.
Spike: Well, yeah, especially not one who also happens to be Glory.
Giles: What do you mean?
Spike: You know. Ben is Glory.
Willow: You mean … Ben’s with Glory?
Xander: “With” in what sense?
Anya: They’re working together?
Spike: No. No. Ben is Glory. Glory’s Ben. They’re one and the same.
Anya: When did all this happen?
Spike: Not one hour ago! Right here, before your very eyes! Ben came, he turned into Glory, snatched the kid, and pfft! Vanished, remember? You do remember…? Is everyone here very stoned?
Cordy to Lindsey: “Hi. You probably don’t remember me. Cordelia. I know you’re evil - and everything, but that was just so amazing.”
Gunn: “That was kind of tight.”
Wesley: “Terrific, really.”
Angel: “Is everyone drunk?”
[Goof] Dawn’s symbol
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The symbol on Dawn’s forehead in 5.21 The Weight Of The World disappears when Dawn tells Glory that Buffy is able to handle being human.
[Goof] Young Buffy
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In season two’s 2.18 Killed By Death the young Buffy had dark hair, as did the Buffy in Dawn’s memory in 5.13 Blood Ties. But in 5.21 The Weight Of The World, the little girl playing Buffy has blonde hair.