Episode Trivia
Adam Weiner
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Adam Weiner, who played Simon in 6.09 Smashed, also played a caged guy in the Angel episode 2.17 Disharmony.
Amy’s back
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Elizabeth Anne Allen, who played Amy, had the following to say about reappearing on the show:
“This year it just happened to fall together really brilliantly. I was available, they had an open space in their storyline and voila! They asked me and I said, “Heck, yeah”. I love it. Managers and agents talk once a year and sort of touch base with what’s going on in our lives, where they are in the storyline and what’s going on in my career. It just seemed that, brilliantly, everything seemed to fall together so neatly this year. I love that I’m back for more episodes. It gives you more time to create your character and grow and show all the ways that you’ve changed. I’m thrilled with it. I can’t wait to see where Amy goes, I’m looking forward to it.”
Aye Aye Captain
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Some characters have a habit of putting the word “Captain” before nicknames on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
- Angel has been called Captain America by Jack McNamara in 1.16 The Ring
- Angel has been called Captain Forehead by Spike in 5.02 Just Rewards
- Giles has been called Captain Slow-Poke by Spike in 5.20 Spiral
- Riley has been called Captain America by Xander in 5.08 Shadow
- Riley has been called Captain Can-Do by Sam in 6.15 As You Were
- Riley has been called Captain Cardboard by Spike in 5.05 No Place Like Home
- Spike has been called Captain Peroxide by Xander in 6.09 Smashed
- Spike has been called Captain Peroxide by Angel in 7.22 Chosen
- Wesley has been called Captain Courageous by Giles in 3.14 Bad Girls
- Wesley has been called Captain Obvious by Gunn in 4.08 Habeas Corpses
- Xander has been called Captain Fear by Anya in 6.04 Flooded
- Xander has been called Captain Logic by Anya in 6.04 Flooded
Batman
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The comic Batman, by DC Comics, is mentioned several times in Buffy.
- In 2.02 Some Assembly Required, Buffy alludes to the ‘Bat-Signal’ in Gotham city which is used to alert Batman that he is needed when she says to Willow:
“Sorry to interrupt, Willow, but it’s the Bat-Signal.”
- In the Batman comics, Catwoman is a cat-burglar, and the alter ego of Selina Kyle. In 2.06 Halloween, Xander says to Cordelia:
“Catwoman, you’re with me.”
- The Batcave was Batman’s high-tech base and Alfred was his loyal butler. In 4.20 The Yoko Factor, Xander says:
“You and Willow go do the superpower thing, I’ll stay behind and putt around the Batcave with crusty old Alfred here.”
- The nerds’ freeze ray gun in 6.09 Smashed may have been inspired by Batman’s Mr Freeze, who used a similar device.
- In 7.02 Beneath You, Spike refers to the 1960s TV show Batman in which Batman and Robin would slide down poles to the Batcave when they were needed when he says:
“A little touchy-feely, and you’re off to the Batpoles?”
- In 7.10 Bring On The Night, Andrew mentions Batman’s foe The Riddler:
“You think I’m a super-villain like Dr. Doom or Apocalypse or The Riddler. But I admit I went over to the dark side but just to pick up a few things and now I’m back. I’ve learned. I’m good again.”
- Vincent Schiavelli, who played Jenny’s uncle in 2.13 Surprise and 2.14 Innocence played the Organ Grinder in the movie Batman Returns.
- In the Angel episode 1.02 Lonely Hearts, Doyle refers to the Bat-signal, saying:
“It’s not like you have a signal folks can shine in the sky whenever they need help, you know?”
- In 1.03 In The Dark, Spike says of Angel:
“Quickly to the Angelmobile, away.”
- In 1.05 Rm W/A Vu, Cordy says:
“They gave it to a blonde that showed up in a skintight leather cat suit. She is supposed to be a housewife. She looked ridiculous. She looked like cat-woman taking out the cat-trash.”
- In 1.12 Expecting, Cordelia smudges her lipstick across her face and says (referencing Batman’s nemesis):
“And now I look like the Joker.”
- In 3.21 Benediction, Lilah says of Connor (referring to the name often given to Batman’s sidekick, Robin):
“Who’s the boy wonder?”
- In 4.02 Ground State, when the gang are climbing the gates to get into the auction house, Gunn says:
“This is so much harder than it looks on Batman”.
- In 5.19 Time Bomb, Hamilton says:
“It’s a business, boys, not a Batcave.”
Big snake
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In 3.22 Graduation Day (Part Two), the Mayor turned into a giant snake-demon. His Ascension is referenced in several future episodes. In 4.03 The Harsh Light Of Day, Harmony and Willow discuss the “big snake” that threatened Sunnydale High in 3.22 Graduation Day (Part Two). It was during the confusion at the end of this episode that Harmony was bitten and turned into a vampire.
In 5.08 Shadow, Buffy says the snake is “big, but not Mayor-big”.
In 4.21 Primeval, Xander says,
“Does anyone miss the Mayor? ‘I just wanna be a big snake?’”
In 6.09 Smashed, Amy mentions a “giant snake thing” and “Snyder got eaten by a snake”.
Brie
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Brie was the girl Amy enchanted to chat Willow up in the Bronze in 6.09 Smashed.
British Museum
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The Illuminata - the diamond the nerds stole from Sunnydale Museum in 6.09 Smashed - was on loan from the British Museum, where Giles worked before becoming Buffy’s Watcher. Willow mentioned this in 1.01 Welcome To The Hellmouth.
Bunnies
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Anya has a fear of bunnies, first referenced in 4.04 Fear, Itself when she wore a bunny costume to a Halloween party, with the simple explanation: “bunnies frighten me”. This fear is shown in:
- 4.04 Fear, Itself: Anya’s bunny suit became so popular that model makers Clayburn Moore created a figure of the character.
- 5.08 Shadow:
Xander: “Just once I would like to run into a cult of bunny worshippers.”
Anya: “Great! Thank you very much for those nightmares!” - 5.22 The Gift: Anya finds a stuffed bunny in the Magic Box and says:
“God, who would put something like that there? Is this supposed to be some sort of sick joke?”
- 6.02 Bargaining (Part Two): Razor asks Willow what she’s going to do - “pull a rabbit out of a hat?” Anya turns to Tara to be reassured that she won’t.
- 6.07 Once More, With Feeling: Anya theorises through song that bunnies must be the cause of the musical:
“I’ve got a theory,
It could be bunnies…
Bunnies aren’t just cute Like everybody supposes!
They got them hoppy legs
And twitchy little noses!
And what’s with all the carrots?
What do they need Such good eyesight for anyway?
Bunnies! Bunnies! It must be bunnies!” - 6.08 Tabula Rasa: Anya accidentally conjures up hundreds of bunnies in the Magic Box
- 6.09 Smashed: Willow describes Anya to Amy as a “thousand-year-old capitalist ex-demon with rabbit phobia”.
- 7.05 Selfless: Anya shows she wasn’t afraid of bunnies before she became a demon: “The rapid reproductive rate of our rabbits has given me an idea. I can give the excess out to the townspeople, exchanging them not for goods or services but for goodwill and the sense of accomplishment that stems from selflessly giving of yourself to others.”
- 7.22 Chosen: Anya’s final words on the show are about bunnies. She thinks of them whilst preparing for the huge battle:
“Bunnies. Floppy, hoppy, bunnies.”
Captain Peroxide
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In 6.09 Smashed, Xander calls Spike, “Captain Peroxide”. In 7.22 Chosen, Angel says to Buffy about Spike, “I’m getting the brush-off for Captain Peroxide”.
Cheesy
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Elizabeth Anne Allen is lactose intolerant (which means she’s allergic to dairy products), which is ironic as her character Amy was turned into a cheese-eating rat for three seasons. Amy was turned human again in season six’s 6.09 Smashed, and when Buffy asked what she wanted to eat. She replied “Anything. Not cheese.”
Disneyland / World
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In 6.09 Smashed, Warren says to the security guard:
“Museums, libraries, Disney Hall of Presidents … not boring.”
The Disney Hall of Presidents is in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida. Disneyland is referenced in 2.10 What’s My Line? (Part Two):
Buffy: “No, Disneyland would get boring after a few months.”
Amy: “That was like a trip to Disneyland without the lines.”
Doctor Who
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Doctor Who is a cult British sci-fi series following an eccentric doctor and his companion as they travel through time and space. Several actors have portrayed the Doctor since 1963.
In 6.09 Smashed, Andrew says
“I’ve seen every episode of Doctor Who.”
However, over 100 episodes of Doctor Who have been missing from the BBC archives since before he was born. Considering he’s a complete nerd, Andrew would have known this and commented on it.
In 6.15 As You Were, Riley says that the person with the demon eggs calls himself “The Doctor”, which may also be a reference to Doctor Who.
Anthony Stewart Head auditioned for the role of the eighth Doctor, before his Buffy fame. The role eventually went to Paul McGann, but in 2003 Tony was voted by Radio Times and SFX readers as the person they’d most like to play the Doctor.
Doublemeat offer
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In 6.09 Smashed, Amy watches an ad on TV for the fast food restaurant 6.12 Doublemeat Palace (”Now you get two Doublemeat Medleys for the price of one!”). Buffy ends up working at the Doublemeat Palace three episodes later.
Drew Z. Greenberg
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Drew Greenberg wrote the episodes 6.09 Smashed, 6.14 Older And Far Away, 6.18 Entropy, 7.06 Him, 7.13 The Killer In Me and 7.19 Empty Places. He has also written for Joss Whedon’s Firefly, The O.C., Queer as Folk and Smallville.
Drew’s joy
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Buffy writer Drew Greenberg told the BBC his feelings when he discovered that Amy’s de-ratting storyline would be in his episode (6.09 Smashed):
“I was excited too because I’ve been a fan of the show from the first episode myself, even before I was even working on it, so I’ve been waiting for Amy to come back. When I found out that that was going to be part of my first Buffy episode ever, I jumped up and down as a fan. Then, as a writer, you sit down and you’re like, “Oh God, how am I going to make this happen?”"
Dungeons and Dragons
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Giles, Xander, Andrew and Amanda play the game Dungeons and Dragons to pass the time before going to battle in 7.22 Chosen. The nerds were playing Dungeons and Dragons when they decided to take over Sunnydale, seen in a flashback in 6.04 Flooded. Xander thought he found the “frost demon” from 6.09 Smashed in a Dungeons and Dragon manual. In 7.11 Showtime, Giles and Anya visit Beljoxa’s eye. This is a reference to Beljoxa - a dangerous Dungeons and Dragons creature which has many eyes.
In 1.20 War Zone, David Nabbit says, “Are you familiar with Dungeons & Dragons?” and in 1.22 To Shanshu In L.A., he says, “Tonight’s my turn to be Dungeon Master”, on his way to a Dungeons and Dragons game.
Elizabeth Anne Allen
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Elizabeth Anne Allen played Amy Madison. She played Carri in Green Sails and Pam Boyd in Bull (which also starred Christopher Wiehl who played Owen in Never Kill a Boy on the First Date and Elisabeth Rohm, who played Kate in Angel). Elizabeth has also been in Bill the Intern, High Tide, Renegade, Silk Stalkings, Baywatch and Doogie Howser MD.
Ellen DeGeneres
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A guy at the Bronze says to Willow in 6.09 Smashed:
“Well, nobody asked you … Ellen”.
He means the comedienne Ellen DeGeneres who publicly came out on her show Ellen in April 1997.
Freeze ray gun
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The trio of nerds invented a freeze ray gun in 6.09 Smashed. They used it on Rusty, the security guard at Sunnydale museum, while they were stealing the Illuminata - a diamond which they used in their invisibility gun.
Gatorade
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Gatorade is an American sports drink, referenced on Buffy three times: In 1.07 Angel, Xander says,
“Duh! I mean, guys’ll do anything to impress a girl. I once drank an entire gallon of Gatorade without taking a breath.”
In 3.13 The Zeppo, Buffy says,
“‘Sisterhood of Jhe. Race of female demons, fierce warriors…’ Eww. ‘…celebrate victory in battle by eating their foes.’ They couldn’t just pour Gatorade on each other?”
In 6.09 Smashed, Buffy says to Amy:
“Oh - Gatorade has a new flavour. Blue.”
How I got there
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In 6.09 Smashed, Amy and Willow have the following conversation:
Willow: “Don’t you want to go see your dad?”
Amy: “No. Can’t. Not yet. Too many questions.”
Willow: “About where you were?”
Amy: “No, about how I got there.”
This is a reference to 1.03 The Witch, in which Amy went to live with her father after her mother’s life was taken over by dark magics. Obviously her father would not be happy with Amy practising magics!
Italian Alyson
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When interviewed by the BBC, Drew Greenberg, who wrote the episode 6.09 Smashed, mentioned that Alyson Hannigan had difficulty with doing the Italian spell in that episode:
“The only issue that Alyson may have had, was the Italian spell that she had to do at the beginning. She was unhappy with me for forcing her to speak lines and lines and paragraphs of a language of which she wasn’t completely familiar.”
Willow’s spell was: “Cio che fu non e piu. Cio che fu fatto disfa. Passata e il pericolo, finita e la prova. Mette le cosa a posto.”
Jack Jozefson
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Jack Jozefson, who played the security guard Rusty in 6.09 Smashed, has also appeared in Bruce Almighty, Trade Day and Almost Dead.
Kinda over
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Amy reveals to Willow in 6.09 Smashed that she has a crush on Larry. Willow tells her that Larry was gay (discovered in 2.15 Phases) and that he died in the attack by the Mayor in the season three finale Graduation Day, Part Two. Larry’s death was never explicitly stated before this episode.
Amy: “Everything feels weird. I mean, it’s like… I felt like I was in that cage for weeks. But it can still be okay… right? I can still get into the swing of things, like… prom’s coming up. I was so hoping Larry would ask me. We would make such a splash at– (off Willow’s look) Oh. Oh, god. He hasn’t asked someone else, has he?”
Willow: “Amy… three things we have to talk about. One, Larry’s gay. Two, Larry’s dead. And three, high school’s… kinda over.”
Marti on Buffy and Spike
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Marti Noxon had the following to say about the episode 6.09 Smashed:
“This was the beginning of the most divisive story we’ve ever had, which was Buffy and Spike boning. Really, I’ve never seen such a strong reaction on both sides. People either love it or hate it. To this day, people either truly believe that Spike is completely redeemed and should be treated a lot better, or they truly believe that Buffy is a fool for trusting someone who’s been evil and how can she be so unheroic as to allow herself to be caught up in this really sordid romance? So you get the total Buffy/Spikeshippers or you get the attitude, ‘I just don’t respect Buffy any more.’ It’s fascinating to see.
“The thing I keep saying is that it’s not black and white. I’d love it to be, but it’s not. To me, this is much more real. If these two crazy kids can make it work, it will be a lot more interesting than a kind of perfect romance with obstacles thrown in. To me, this is real life; this is people making their own problems. If they can get it together, that would be amazing. But it was never going to be easy. That’s why Spike did something radical at the end of the year. Joss came up with the idea of the house coming down around them while they made love. It was perfect, because we needed something catastrophic to go along with this huge dangerous union.”
More lint
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Xander mentions Buffy’s “exploding lint” from 6.05 Life Serial in the episode 6.09 Smashed.
Murder She Wrote
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Buffy says to Spike in 6.09 Smashed:
“Way to go with the keen observingness, Jessica Fletcher.”
She’s referring to the lead character of the murder mystery series Murder, She Wrote. Jessica Fletcher was a murder mystery author who always seemed to be around to solve mysteries when those around her were murdered.
Nemesis weakness
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The trio of nerds reveal some of their weaknesses in 6.09 Smashed: Jonathan is allergic to methane and Andrew is afraid of hot things.
Payphones
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The following instances are when characters needed to use payphones in order to contact someone.
- 3.22 Graduation Day (Part Two) - Angel called the Scoobies to let them know Buffy was in hospital.
- 4.02 Living Conditions - Willow warned Giles that Buffy was on her way to his apartment.
- 4.03 The Harsh Light Of Day - Buffy warned Giles of Spike’s return to Sunnydale. As well, she called her voicemail to hear if Parker had called.
- 5.03 The Replacement - First, Xander had a conversation about his quarter with the operator. Then he hung up on Buffy as ‘Suave Xander’ passed him.
- 5.08 Shadow - Buffy warned Giles that Glory had raised Sobek.
- Listening to Fear - Willow called Riley’s cellphone to tell him about the Queller demon.
- 5.15 I Was Made To Love You - Buffy called Ben to cancel their coffee date.
- 5.20 Spiral - Buffy had Willow magically fix the phone to call Ben.
- 6.09 Smashed - Spike called the Magic Box to speak with Buffy.
- 4.13 Salvage - Angelus spoke with Dawn to find out if Buffy was in LA.
Rack and ruin
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Where does the name Rack come from? There is an old saying ‘gone to rack and ruin’, to indicate the complete destruction of something. ‘Rack’ here is a derivation of the older word ‘wrack’, now meaning ‘wreck’. Another derivation of Rack is the medieval instrument of torture of the same name. The rack was a device to which a victim would be tied and stretched by a system of wheels and rollers.
So a note to parents, Rack is not a cool name.
Red Dwarf
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Andrew mentions the British sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf in 6.09 Smashed. Created in 1988 it follows a group as they attempt to return to Earth after being stuck in deep space three million years away.
Rick Garcia
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Rick Garcia, who played the reporter in 6.09 Smashed, is the sports anchor for Fox 11 10 O’Clock News. He has played reporters on many movies and TV shows including Collateral Damage, Shadow of Doubt, Volcano, Talent for the Game, 24, The X Files, Sliders, The A-Team and The Fall Guy.
Rusty
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The name of the security guard at Sunnydale museum in 6.09 Smashed was Rusty. He was frozen by the Trio’s freeze-gun. Hair dryers were used to thaw him out. The newspaper headline later read, “Museum Guard Attacked, Frozen. Body Thawed, Remains Unconscious.”
Sew your name in
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In 6.09 Smashed, Willow tells Amy she can provide a forgetting spell:
“only, you might wanna sew your name into your clothes first”.
She’s referring to the events of 6.08 Tabula Rasa when her spell caused the Scoobies to forget their memories.
Star Trek
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There are many cast/crew links between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the long-running cult sci-fi show Star Trek. Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder) played Quark in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for seven years. Dominic Keating, who played Blair in the episode 3.12 Helpless, later went on to star in Star Trek: Enterprise as Lt. Reed. Jennifer Hetrick, who played the teacher Ms. Moran in 3.05 Homecoming (whom Buffy asked for a reference) played the girlfriend of Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Buffy writer Jane Espenson wrote an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine called ‘Accession’. Star Trek has also been referenced numerous times in Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
- In 1.12 Prophecy Girl, upset by Giles’ reserve, Xander says:
“Calm may work for Locutus of Borg here, but I’m freaked and I intend to stay that way.”
He is referencing Star Trek’s emotionless cyborgs from the episode ‘The Best of Both Worlds’. Locutus was the name given to Captain Pickard (Patrick Stewart) when he was captured, and ‘assimilated’, by the Borg.
- In 3.05 Homecoming, Cordelia woos the nerds at Sunnydale High by saying:
“Are you kidding? I’ve been doing the Vulcan death grip since I was 4.”
In 3.15 Consequences, Cordy calls Wesley, “Giles the next generation” in a reference to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- In 5.04 Out Of My Mind, Buffy says:
“You’re like my fairy godmother and Santa Claus and Q all wrapped up into one… Q from Bond not Star Trek“.
- In 5.03 The Replacement, the two Xanders say, “Kill us both Spock” - a reference to a Star Trek episode where Kirk is split two - one being good and one bad.
- In 6.04 Flooded, the nerds vote with the Star Trek Vulcan salute, which is the same salute that Cordelia used to impress the ‘geeks’ in Homecoming.
- In 6.09 Smashed, Spike tells the nerds, “You can play holodeck another time” - he means the virtual reality technology used in Star Trek.
- The nerds compare Buffy’s time loop in 6.05 Life Serial with an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called ‘Cause and Effect’:
Andrew: “I just hope she solves it faster than Data did on the ep of TNG where the Enterprise kept blowing up.”
- In 6.15 As You Were, Buffy says. “they’re like really mean Tribbles”, referring to the popular, but quick breeding, pets on board the Starship Enterprise.
- After her visit to the nerds’ ‘lair’ in 6.12 Doublemeat Palace, Willow says that they had numerous pictures of the “Vulcan women from Enterprise“. She’s referring to Jolene Blaylock, who played T’pol in UPN’s Star Trek show.
- The episode 6.17 Normal Again is similar to the season five episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine called ‘Far Beyond the Stars’. In that episode, Captain Benjamin Sisko imagines that he is a science fiction writer living on 1950s Earth and writing about a station full of aliens called Deep Space Nine. He hallucinates that the people he knows in the 1950s are futuristic aliens and is thrown into an asylum.
- In 6.19 Seeing Red, Andrew references Star Trek: The Next Generation when he discusses who’s boss of the nerds:
“Warren’s the boss. He’s Picard, you’re Deanna Troi. Get used to the feeling, Betazoid.”
Also in that episode, Xander realises that the nerds had love poems in their lair written in Klingon.
- In 7.07 Conversations With Dead People, we learn that Andrew learned Klingon (a language in Star Trek) from a dictionary in two and a half weeks.
- In 7.18 Dirty Girls, Andrew hilariously confuses Faith’s murder of a volcanologist with a Vulcan:
Andrew: “Nobody was immune to her trail of destruction. Not friends, not family, not even the most pacifist and logical of races…”
Amanda: “What the hell are you talking about? I thought Faith killed a volcanologist.”
Andrew: “Silly, silly Amanda. Why would Faith kill a person who studies Vulcans?” - From Sense and Sensitivity:
Cordy: “Mr. and Mrs. Spock need to mind meld now.”
Star Wars
details | 15 comments | suggested by Jess
George Lucas’s Star Wars films are a cult phenomenon. They are referenced numerous times in the Buffyverse. The original trilogy included the movies Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return Of The Jedi (1983) and the movies The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005) were made later on.
- 2.01 When She Was Bad: when Xander and Willow play Guess the Movie from the tag line:
Willow: “Use the Force, Luke.”,
Xander: “Do I even have to dignify that with a guess?” - 2.03 School Hard: Spike told Angel that, “You were my Yoda!” Yoda was the ancient Jedi master who became the mentor and teacher for both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker.
- 3.13 The Zeppo: A visual reference to Star Wars is seen when Xander runs into the corridor and runs back out with the gang members chasing him. Han Solo does the same thing in Star Wars.
- 3.19 Choices: Buffy says that Faith has turned to ‘the dark side’.
- 4.01 The Freshman: Xander confuses the Star Wars Jedi code quoted by Yoda in The Phantom Menace.
“Hate leads to anger…no wait…Fear leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side.”
Also in that episode, the old frat house that the vampires are holed up in is the Psi Theta house. If you write those two greek letters together, and pronounce them together, you get Sith.
- 4.04 Fear, Itself: Xander says to Oz, “Sensing a disturbance in the Force, Master?”
- 5.08 Shadow: Buffy using the chain to choke Sobek the snake-demon is reminiscent of Princess Leia killing Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi.
- 5.17 Forever: Ben calls Glory’s minions “Jawa rejects” after the small hooded and robed creatures in Star Wars.
- 6.05 Life Serial: Andrew paints a Death Star from Star Wars on the side of the gang’s van. It’s the Empire’s revised design from Return of the Jedi, which Jonathan says is flawed.
- 6.21 Two To Go: Andrew says:
“We’ve got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds us all into to Jawa burgers and not one of you bunch has the Midichlorians to stop her.”
These are all Star Wars references: Darth is a title given to a Sith Warrior (such as Darth Vader); Jawas are the hooded creatures who live on Tatooine, and Midichlorians are micro-organisms which exist in all living things.
In that episode, Andrew says another two Star Wars quotes:“Laugh it up, Fuzzball.”
“…in a galaxy far, far away…”
- 6.06 All The Way: Tara and Willow see a couple dressed as Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker kissing in the Bronze. Willow asks:
“Do they know they’re brother and sister?”
- 6.09 Smashed: we see that the three nerds own a mint condition (though out of its packaging) 1979 Boba Fett action figure. Though Boba Fett was first introduced in The Empire Strikes Back (made in 1980), the earliest Boba Fett figure was made in 1979, before the film was released.
- 6.13 Dead Things: Jonathan and Andrew play fight with green light sabres.
- 6.18 Entropy: Warren calls Jonathan “Padawan”.
- 7.07 Conversations With Dead People: Jonathan and Warren have the following conversation, all quotes from Star Wars:
Warren: “Come on, “If you strike me down…”
Andrew: “I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine…That boy is our last hope.”
Warren: “No, there is another.” - 7.12 Potential: Xander says to Andrew:
“Say Skywalker, and I smack you.”
- 7.11 Showtime: Andrew says, “I’m bored. Episode I bored.” He’s referring to George Lucas’s disappointing movie Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. He also says: “Um, deflector shields - deflector shields up!”
- 7.09 Never Leave Me: Warren/The First says, “I’m like Obi Wan”. He also says to Andrew, “We’re right in the trench, and the exhaust port’s in sight.” This is a reference to the scene in Star Wars in which the Death Star is under attack.
- 7.10 Bring On The Night: Andrew says:
“I’m like Vader in the last 5 minutes of Jedi with redemptive powers minus a redemptive struggle of epic redemption which chronicles…”
He’s referring to the last scenes of the final Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi. He also says:
“I admit I went over to the dark side, but just to pick up a few things, and now I’m back.”
- 7.16 Storyteller: there are two framed Star Wars comics on the wall in Andrew’s opening scene.
- 7.18 Dirty Girls: Andrew says:
“But like so many tragic heroes, Faith was seduced by the lure of the dark side.”
- 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity: Cordelia’s line “Jar Jar is getting his own talk show” is another reference to Star Wars.
- 1.05 Rm W/A Vu: Cordy says to her ghost, “Hey, hey - Phantom Dennis, put that back.” Jane Espenson says in her commentary fo the episode that she insisted the ghost be called Dennis to be able to pun the title of The Phantom Menace which was in cinemas at the time.
- 1.11 Somnambulist: Cordelia references Star Wars again when she calls Penn “Psycho-Wan Kenobi”.
- 2.03 First Impressions: Gunn says to Cordelia and Wesley,
“You two? I find Deevak, I’m gonna need more than C-3PO and Stick Figure Barbie backin’ me up, no offence.”
C-3PO was a droid in the Star Wars films, designed to assist with etiquette, customs, and translation so that meetings of different cultures run smoothly.
- 5.11 Damage: Andrew says (about Dana): “Driven insane by Yoda-knows-who.”
- 5.10 Soul Purpose: Spike references Star Wars, when he says “Sorry Mr Vader, but I don’t have an itch to join the evil Empire.”
- 4.15 Orpheus:
Wesley: “Sorry. I think my sense of humor’s trapped in a jar somewhere.”
Willow: “It does seem like you’ve given in to the grumpy side of the Force.”
The museum
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Buffy’s class go on a school trip to the museum in 2.04 Inca Mummy Girl. The scenes were shot at the Natural History Museum, at 900 Exposition Boulevard near the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Sunnydale Museum is also seen in 2.21 Becoming (Part One) (where Acathla was examined), 4.11 Doomed (where the gang studied the Word of Valios) and 6.09 Smashed (when the nerds stole the Illuminata diamond).
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman
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In 6.09 Smashed, Amy says:
“did you hear about Tom and Nicole?”
She’s referring to Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, the famous acting couple who appeared in Days of Thunder, Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut together. They married in 1990 but surprised many by divorcing in August 2001.
Turi Meyer
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Turi Meyer directed the Buffy episode 6.09 Smashed and the Angel episodes 2.19 Belonging, 3.07 Offspring and 3.17 Forgiving. Turi wrote and directed the third Candyman movie and has written for Mutant X.
Virgil and Halo Friendlies
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The band Virgil perform ‘Vermillion Borders’, ‘Parachute’ and ‘Here’ at the Bronze in 6.09 Smashed. Willow later magically transforms them into another group, Halo Friendlies, who play ‘Run Away’.
X-Men
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Buffy creator Joss Whedon is a huge comics fan, particularly the Marvel comic X-Men. His dream came true when, post-Buffy, Joss wrote the Astonishing X-Men comics. The comic has been referenced numerous times in Buffy.
In 5.05 No Place Like Home, Riley says, “Giles, you got that Danger Room set up out back?” The Danger Room was a training room in the X-Men.
In 5.19 Tough Love, Xander reads an X-Men comic while in the Magic Box.
In 6.21 Two To Go, Jonathan says Willow is like the “Dark Phoenix” who was a character in the X-Men comics.
In 7.06 Him, Xander calls Spike a “nimrod”. Xander himself was called this by a soldier in 2.14 Innocence, and Spike called Warren a nimrod in 6.09 Smashed. Nimrod was a figure in ancient Babylon, and was also an X-Men character.
In 7.10 Bring On The Night, Andrew mentions Apocalypse, who was also an X-Men character (”Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Andrew, bad guy. You think I’m a super-villain like Dr. Doom or Apocalypse or The Riddler”).
Gwen Raiden in Angel’s season four appears to have been inspired by Rogue from the X Men - the two had great powers which could harm other humans by touch, and had to wear gloves to protect others.
Joss Whedon has said that the X-Men character Kitty Pryde (AKA Shadowcat) was a large influence for the character of Buffy.
[Goof] Amy’s hair
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Why is Amy’s hair in 6.09 Smashed longer and lighter than before she became a rat? Her hair has even been styled differently.
[Goof] Deaf Spike
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Vampires are supposed to have heightened hearing capabilities so why can’t Spike hear the nerds discussing their plans for the Slayer in 6.09 Smashed? He’s only standing a few feet away. If he identified the people who had been meddling with him, Spike would have scored some serious points with Buffy.
[Goof] Missing freeze ray
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In the episode 6.09 Smashed, Jonathan shoots Rusty the museum security guard with a freeze ray. The gun and his arm are frozen solid by the blast. In the next shot, we see Jonathan and Andrew walk past Rusty - and Jonathan is clearly not holding the frozen gun any more.