Episode Trivia
Alan Henry Brown
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Alan Henry Brown, who played the funeral director in 5.17 Forever, also played the demon bartender who talked to Warren in 6.20 Villains, and ‘Lead Nahdrah’ in the Angel episode 3.12 Provider. He has also appeared in The X Files.
Amber’s credits
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Although Amber Benson (who played Tara) is present in the episode 6.20 Villains as a body, she is not in the opening titles and is uncredited. She was credited in the series’ second run as ‘5.16 The Body‘. This is Tara’s final episode in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Amelinda Smith
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Amelinda Smith played Warren’s girlfriend Katrina. Amelinda has also been in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Scrubs, Freaky Links and Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place. She has a son (born in December 1999) called Cogeian Sky Embry with her (now ex) husband, actor Ethan Embry (Can’t Hardly Wait, Sweet Home Alabama). The two divorced in 2002. Amelinda appeared in three episodes of Buffy in total - 5.15 I Was Made To Love You, 6.13 Dead Things and 6.20 Villains.
Andy Griffiths Show
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In 3.03 Faith, Hope And Trick, Mr. Trick says that Sunnydale:
“makes DC look like Mayberry”.
Mayberry was the quiet, sleepy town in The Andy Griffith Show. It was also referenced in the episode 6.20 Villains when Andrew believes the prison he and Jonathan are in is “like Mayberry”.
Better muscles
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Adam Busch, who played Warren, spoke at a Buffy convention (1.02 The Harvest, London, June 2003) about how pleased he was with the ‘flaying’ scene in 6.20 Villains. He joked that the actor who played ’skinned’ Warren had much better muscle tone than he did.
Bored now
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Willow’s vampire self from an alternate universe used “Bored now” as her favourite phrase in 3.16 Doppelgangland. Willow repeats this line in 6.20 Villains.
Butt monkey
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In the episode 5.01 Buffy Vs Dracula, Xander says:
“I’m finished being everybody’s butt monkey!”
In the episode 6.20 Villains, whilst Jonathan and Andrew are in jail, Jonathan says that a fellow prisoner wants to make him his “butt monkey”.
Country Time
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In 6.20 Villains, Clem says, “I was just about to make some Country Time”, referring to the American lemonade product.
Dragnet
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Jonathan calls Andrew “Dragnet” in 6.20 Villains, referencing the police drama, which has been epitomised in several TV shows.
Flaying of Warren Meers
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The scene where Warren is skinned alive by Willow was edited out when shown in most places. Marti Noxon said of the scene:
“The skinning of Warren was something Joss wanted. We pitched it to the network, and the network said, ‘As long as you only see it for 2.5 seconds, go for it.’”
I’ll be back
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At the end of the episode 6.19 Seeing Red, Spike says:
“I’ll be back, and when I do…”
His incorrect grammar was corrected in the “Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer” section in 6.20 Villains.
James Bond
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- In the episode 2.11 Ted, Cordelia states Buffy should have “special rules” when it comes to the subject of murder to which Xander replies, “What? A license to kill?” This is the title of the 1989 James Bond movie starring Timothy Dalton.
- In 3.20 The Prom, Cordelia says that Wesley would look “way-007 in a tux”, referring to Agent 007 - James Bond.
- In 4.04 Fear, Itself, Xander dresses as James Bond:
Xander: “Bond. James Bond. Insurance, you know, in case we get turned into our costumes again. I’m going for cool Secret Agent Guy.”
Buffy: “I hate to break it to you but you’ll probably end up cool Head Waiter Guy.” - In 6.04 Flooded, the nerds can be seen playing 007 Golden-Eye on their Playstation.
- 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 6.05 Life Serial, Jonathan, Andrew and Warren discuss the different actors who have portrayed James Bond. Warren likes Sean Connery, Jonathan favours Roger Moore and Andrew’s favourite is Timothy Dalton. They mention the movies Dr. No, Moonraker, Licence to Kill and The Living Daylights.
- In 6.15 As You Were, Buffy says to Riley:
“you still carry around all that James Bond stuff.”
They later abseil down a giant dam, 007-style.
- In 7.01 Lessons, Dawn says, “Check out double-oh Xander”, referencing James Bond.
- In 7.11 Showtime, Andrew tells Dawn she has a “License to Kill”.
- In 6.20 Villains, Buffy, Xander,and Dawn are talking about what to do with Warren and Buffy says:
“That doesn’t give me a license to kill.”
- In the Angel episode 4.16 Players:
Gunn: “You tell me. I’m thinking James Bond never looked this fine.”
Gwen: “I’m thinking you’re right.”
Gunn: “Of course, I’d feel better if we were packing some of his secret weapons.”
Katrina
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Katrina was Warren’s girlfriend who dumped him when she discovered he had a robot sex toy in 5.15 I Was Made To Love You. She built monorails that move magnetically, which is one of the things that attracted Warren to her (it takes all kinds). Katrina and Warren met again in 6.13 Dead Things and Warren accidentally killed her, after performing a spell on her to make her his slave. Willow showed a vision of Katrin to Warren in 6.20 Villains.
Ken Kesey and Furthur
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In 6.20 Villains, when Willow strides out onto the highway to meet the bus with the robot-Warren on it, you can see a sign in the front window of the bus that says “FURTHER”.
This could be a reference to the bus driven by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters back in the sixties, named “Further” or sometimes, “Furthur”. Ken (the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and a collection of friends drove from California to New York in a battered old bus.
Matthew Broderick
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In 6.20 Villains, Andrew says, “I miss Ferris Matthew. Broadway Matthew - I find him cold.” He’s talking about actor Matthew Broderick who is probably best remembered as Ferris Bueller in the 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He has also appeared in Godzilla (referenced in 7.18 Dirty Girls), Inspector Gadget (with Michelle Trachtenberg) and Election. Broderick appeared on Broadway in The Producers.
Misfits
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The song ‘Die, Die My Darling’ by the Misfits is playing in the demon bar which Warren celebrates in, in the episode 6.20 Villains.
One down
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Willow’s final words of the episode 6.20 Villains were “one down” so the next episode’s title (6.21 Two To Go) is a continuation of that: “One down… two to go.”
Osiris
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In Egyptian mythology, Osiris was a god who became Lord of the Dead and Resurrection after his brother killed him and he was resurrected. In the Buffyverse, Osiris is summoned to perform resurrection spells on Joyce (by Dawn in 5.17 Forever), Buffy (by Willow in 6.01 Bargaining (Part One)) and Tara (by Willow in 6.20 Villains).
Oz (HBO)
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In 6.20 Villains, Andrew says of the prison he and Jonathan are in, “this isn’t Oz”. He means the prison in the HBO show Oz.
Puppet Master
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In 6.20 Villains, Xander calls Willow “Puppet Master”. Kate Orsini, who played the girl talking to Xander in the Bronze in 6.19 Seeing Red, appeared in the 2003 movie Puppet Master: The Legacy.
Season six timeline
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From the episode 6.19 Seeing Red until the end of this season’s finale 6.22 Grave, all events occur within around 24 hours. According to Tara’s grave in 7.04 Help, these episodes occur between May 7th and May 8th 2002.
Skin troubles
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When a desperate Warren visits Rack to buy magics to protect him from the Slayer in 6.20 Villains, he gets tangled up in conversation. While Warren remains unaware, Rack has sensed the truth of Tara’s death, and Willow’s wrath. Increasingly frustrated with Rack’s cryptic, Warren quips,
“Oh you’re right, let’s talk about my skin troubles!”
Indeed, skin troubles were the ultimate obstacle for Warren, given that he was viciously flayed by Willow a short time later.
Spelling error
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The region 2 DVD boxsets for Buffy’s season six incorrectly spell the episode 6.20 Villains as “Villians”.
Spike’s journey
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How did Spike get all the way to Uganda in Africa in the timespan between 6.19 Seeing Red and 6.20 Villains? We know from 2.13 Surprise that he can’t travel by plane. Angel says it’s too difficult as vampires have no way of controlling direct sunlight on a plane. If he went by ship it would take him weeks to get to Africa from California - and I’m sure there aren’t too many ships making that journey.
Steven W. Bailey
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Steven W. Bailey, who played the African demon in the cave at the end of season six played Ryan in the Angel episode 3.04 Carpe Noctem. he plays Steve in My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. He has also been in Mix Tape, Chestnut Hill, Will & Grace, Becker and Nash Bridges.
The Wedding Planner
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Clem tells Dawn in 6.20 Villains that he’s been “dying to see The Wedding Planner“. The 2001 feel-good movie (if you like feeling slightly nauseous) starred Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey. It was directed by Adam Shankman, who did the choreography for the Buffy musical episode 6.07 Once More, With Feeling.
Wargames
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In 6.20 Villains, Andrew and Jonathan discuss the 1983 movie Wargames, starring Matthew Broderick.
Andrew: “He’s coming up with a plan… like Wargames. Remember that decoder that Matthew Broderick used?
Jonathan: “Oh, yeah. That was rad. The one he made from the scissors and the tape recorder.”
The movie featured a teenager who gains access to the Pentagon’s strategic computer system. He thinks he’s playing a new computer game but is actually warming up a World War.
Warrenbot
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We discover in 6.20 Villains that Warren created another robot just like himself. He must have done this while ago in case anything went wrong as it would have taken him weeks to build the Warren-bot.
Willow’s jacket
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In 7.04 Help, Xander takes Willow to the cemetery to see Tara’s grave. While they’re there, Willow is wearing the same dark denim jacket she wore in 6.20 Villains, 6.21 Two To Go and 6.22 Grave, after Tara died and she went evil.
[Goof] Buffy’s heart
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The doctors are trying to fix Buffy’s heart in 6.20 Villains while she still has her shirt on.
[Goof] Moving trees?
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During 6.20 Villains, Willow walks through a forest tracking Warren. We see a shot of her from behind, which cuts to a shot of her from the front. If you look to the right of the screen, you can see ropes pulling the trees back as she walks by.
[Goof] No blood
details | 5 comments | suggested by Jess
Why isn’t there any blood on the axe Warren stabbed Willow with in 6.20 Villains?
[Goof] Non-bloody jeans
details | 3 comments | suggested by venal
At the beginning of the episode 6.20 Villains, Willow is holding Tara’s head and some of her upper body on her lap, so it would seem that the entry wound would be situated on her legs. When she’s shown walking out of the house (at 4.28 minutes) there is no blood on Willow’s trousers at all.
[Goof] Warren’s axe
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In the woods in 6.20 Villains, we see Warren run with nothing in his hands but he’s later holding an axe. Where did he get it from?
[Goof] Warren’s chest
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When Warren’s skin flies off in 6.20 Villains, there’s no bullet hole in his chest.