The idea of people’s nightmares coming true in the episode 1.10 Nightmares most likely comes from the A Nightmare on Elm Street movie series, in which villain Freddie Krueger has the …

Spike references famous crime novelist Agatha Christie in 5.06 The Cautionary Tale Of Numero Cinco when he says,

“Doesn’t leave much to do other than watching blokes stumble around playing Agatha …

Al Franken is an actor and ’self-helpist’ on Saturday Night Live, whose name on the show was Stuart Smally. In 2.21 Becoming (Part One), Buffy mistakenly called Acathla ‘Al Franken’.

In 4.17 Superstar, Buffy interrupts Anya reading Jonathan’s autobiography. Anya complains that she was just getting to the part where he “invents the internet”. This is a deliberate prod …

In 5.08 Shadow, a Magic Box customer looks for the album ‘Aleister Crowley Sings’. English occultist and writer Crowley (1875-1947) dabbled in magicks. His works include Magick in Theory and Practice …

Alfalfa was the name of a cheeky child character in a long-running series of movies, called The Little Rascals. In 2.21 Becoming (Part One), Buffy mispronounced the demon Acathla as ‘Alfalfa’.

Allen Funt is the host of the American TV show Candid Camera. In 6.08 Tabula Rasa, after the Scoobies lose their memories, Anya says:

“I don’t see any booze, I don’t …

The Amazons were a group of powerful female warriors who lived without men. They only met men when they wanted to reproduce and would then kill the father. If the …

Lorne says in 2.15 Reprise, “Most anything that can manifest in order to move in this dimension can be killed. Kinda the downside to being here. Well, that and …

In 7.06 Him, Buffy catches Dawn dancing sexily with her crush R.J. Brooks. She tells her sister:

“Anna Nicole Smith thinks you look tacky.”

Anna Nicole Smith (real name Vickie Lynn …

Anne Rice was the author of a popular best-selling series of vampire novels, including Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned. In 2.03 School Hard, Spike …

Harmony asks in 4.03 The Harsh Light Of Day:

Harmony: “Is Antonio Banderas a vampire?”
Spike: “No.”
Harmony: “Can I make him a vampire?”
Spike: “No.” (pauses) “Wait, on second thought, yeah. Go do …

‘Anywhere But Here‘ is a fantasy game where each person says where they’d rather be. In 2.08 The Dark Age, Buffy, Xander and Willow play this game in an attempt to …

The following is from 4.19 The Magic Bullet:

TED: “I was flicking through the radio the other night. There’s nothing really good on since Art Bell retired. I ended up listening …

In 5.03 Unleashed, Lorne says:

“OK, Atlas, how about a shrug?”

This could be a reference to the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. In mythology, Zeus condemned Atlas to stand …

In response to Angel singing Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head in 4.12 Calvary, Lorne says:

“Oh, yes. Yes! Sweet fancy B.J. Thomas, it’s him. It’s Angel.”

B.J. Thomas covered Raindrops Keep Fallin’ …

In 1.09 Hero, Cordelia mentions hiring “one of the cheaper Baldwins” for the AI commercial. This is a reference to a group of acting brothers, who include Alec, William, Steven and …

Cordelia references Disney’s Bambi in 2.21 Through The Looking Glass:

Wesley spots the head of the animal engraved on its cover.
Wesley: “Fascinating. A hart.”
Cordy: “It’s not a …

In 3.06 Band Candy, Principal Snyder mentions Barbarino (”Call me Snyder. Just a last name. Like Barbarino”) who was a character played by John Travolta in the TV series Welcome Back, …

In 1.01 Welcome To The Hellmouth, Willow reveals to Buffy that she and Xander broke up after he stole her Barbie, referring to the bosomy Mattel doll. In 3.07 Offspring, Lorne says: …