Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

Episode title: The Puppet Show

Original air date: May 5, 1997

“There are things I will not tolerate. Students loitering on campus after school. Horrible murders with hearts being removed. And also smoking.” – Principle Snyder

Ok this week we get to visit another episode which tends to be way down on the favourites list for most Buffy fans while also the lowest rated episode of the season, but at the same time one I still really enjoyed (not sure what this says about me) as this week someone is stealing the organs of students taking part in the school talent show and Buffy suspects that it might be a ventriloquist’s dummy called Sid.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:01 Ep:09

Episode title: I Robot, You Jane

Original air date: April 28, 1997

“Hey! I got to hit someone!” – Xander

Let me start this week’s revisit by highlighting the fact that this is one of my all-time favourite episodes, an opinion it would seem not shared by the rest of the Buffy critic-universe. The first Willow-centric episode of the series in this episode she finds herself in an online relationship with a boy known only as Malcolm who she has been e-mailing with, unware that he is actually the demon Moloch the Corruptor whose soul has been released into the digital realm after the book holding him captive was scanned unwittingly by Willow.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:01 Ep:08

“So many body parts, so few bullets. Let’s begin with the kneecaps. No fun dancing without them.” – Darla

So this week it’s an episode I wasn’t looking forward to having to revisit as part of this ongoing series of episode reviews. For this is the episode which made the girls swoon and the guys wondering what else was on…yes it’s time for the first Angel-centric episode of the series as we finally find out the truth about Angel, who until point in the series has just been playing the role of the mysterious stranger, helping out Buffy with advice and generally being aloof as to his real interest in her slaying activities.

Ok just in case you’ve not seen the episode already, let’s just start by warning that spoilers lie ahead.

Continue reading Buffy: The Vampire Slayer S:01 Ep:07

Episode title: Teacher’s Pet

Original air date: January 24, 1998

“No, you’ll just give me a cryptic warning about some exciting new catastrophe, and then disappear into the night. Right?” – Buffy

Am I wrong in thinking that this show has always been at its strongest when it ironically doesn’t feature vampires? I know a controversial opinion especially when vampires are currently riding high in the fantasy charts alongside cowboy’s, firemen and medieval stable boy (you know depending on what works for you) meaning that they are always treated with way more fanfare than I felt they deserved. Still you only have to look at some of the best episodes of the series to realise that a large quantity only featured vampires as a background threat if at all. I guess the fact that the show never limited itself to just vampires is where it strength lied and again we get another week free of the fanged menace as well as one of the first stories to put one of the group other than Buffy as the lead as here we get a Xander-centric story.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:01 Ep:04