Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

Episode Title: The Zeppo

Original Air Date: January 26, 1999

“You know, it’s not like I haven’t helped before. I’ve done some quality violence for these people.” – Xander

Time for another underrated episode this week aswell one of the more creative pieces of writing on the show as we are given one plotline only for the real focus to be on the B plotline as the episode uses the same kind of misdirection we got with “Big Trouble In Little China” were the viewer is lead to believe they are following the hero only to in fact discover it’s the sidekick they’ve been following. This episode also being noted as key inspiration for not only the “Doctor Who” episode “Love and Monsters” while Joss Wheldon would go on to refer to “Agents of Shield” as being “The Zeppo Tv Show” which is probably a nicer description than the one I would give for that show.

Opening to Buffy and the Scoobies battling a group of demons in an underground nest which results in Xander being hurt after he is buried by rubble leaving Buffy to fear for the safety of her friend and suggesting that he stays out of the fighting and in turn leaving Xander struggling to find his place within the group especially as he is the only member of the group with any disenable power outside of his ability to collect a donut order and crack wise with the puns.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:13

Episode Title: Helpess

Original Air Date: January 19, 1999

“If I was at full Slayer power, I’d be punning right about now.” – Buffy

One of the great things about revisiting this show with a more critical eye is that it really makes you realise how certain seasons play out which seemingly so far has been completely different than I remember. This is also something which can be certainly said for this season were I was sure at this point the Mayor was much more involved than he currently is. Of course this isn’t a bad thing, especially knowing what is still to come and more so when we get classic episodes like this one.

Here we find Buffy approaching her 18^th birthday and looking forward to going to an ice show with her father, which she is also using to distract herself from the feeling that her Slayer powers appear to be fading more so when she is almost killed by a vampire attempting to use her own stake on her. Little does she now that her fading powers are all part of a test being setup by head Watcher Quentin Travers who plans to test the now weakened Buffy by locking her in a building with the powerful and insane vampire Zachary Kralik played here with gusto by Jeff Kober and making it little surprise they would bring him back as rack in Season 6, another advantage of heavy make up I guess.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:12

Episode Title: Gingerbread

Original Air Date: January 12, 1999

“Aw, man, it’s Nazi Germany, and I’ve got Playboys in my locker!” – Xander

Until point Buffy’s mum Joyce has largely been a background for the most part, there to play the supportive ear and occasional get drawn into the week’s events with her dalliance with Giles in “Bad Candy” clearly still an awkward memory here it would seem. This week though while engaging in alittle mother daughter slaying she stumbles across two young children who appear to have been sacrificed by witches. Now fuelled with a vigilante spirit she sets up MOO (Mothers Against The Occult) to save Sunnydale from the supernatural in particular witches which she believes are to blame for the death of these two children, while Buffy sets out to find out who the real culprit is.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:11

Episode Title: Amends

Original Air Date: December 15, 1998

“Alright, I get it, you’re evil. Do we have to chat about it all day?” – Buffy

This week we pay an untimely festive visit to Sunnydale and while Buffy and the Scoobies are preparing for Christmas, Angel meanwhile finds himself being haunted by dreams of the people he has murdered over the years. However when Buffy finds herself being drawn into these nightmares, she soon begins to suspect that something else might be at play.

I will start by saying that this far from my favourite episode of this season, let alone any of four three episodes I have covered before this one, so of course there was the urge to use the excuse that because it’s a Christmas episode and we are in March that I could skip it, but then that’s not how we roll here at Channel Superhero.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:10

Episode Title: The Wish

Original Air Date: December 8, 1998

“Okay, the entire world sucks because some dead ditz made a wish? I just want to be clear.” – Larry

Despite the Xander / Willow secret romance coming to an abrupt end in the previous episode this week the gang are still dealing with the fallout what with Oz still not speaking to Willow while Cordelia has separated herself from the Scoobies completly in an attempt to reclaim her former life. Sadly things are hardly going well for her as she is humiliated and abandoned by her former group. Of course this being Sunnydale means that things can always get worse which they do when Cordelia unwittingly has her wish that Buffy never came to Sunnydale granted by the vengeance demon Anyanka.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:09

Episode Title: Revelations

Original Air Date: November 17, 1998

“The fact is, there is talk in the Council that you have become a bit too …. American.” – Gwendolyn Post

Time for another of my favourite episodes whose appearance in the season really reminds me of how many great episodes this season has. It’s also one of the early Faith-centric episodes as she gains a new watcher in the form of Gwendolyn Post who also brings with her a warning of the demon Lagos who has also arrived in Sunnydale looking for the Glove of Myneghon.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:07

Episode Title: Band Candy

Original Air Date: November 10, 1998

“I don’t get this. The candy’s supposed to make you all immature and stuff, but I ate a ton and I don’t feel any dif – never mind.” – Xander

So after the disappointing “Homecoming” this week things are much back on track with the return of the chaos loving Ethan Rayne who this time has been hired by Mr. Trick to create a distraction so that he can carry out a tribute with the mayor to the demon Lurconis. At the same time Buffy her fellow students at Sunnydale High have been tasked with selling chocolate bars to raise money for new marching band uniforms, unaware that the chocolate has been supplied by Rayne which causes adults to act like teenagers.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:6

Episode Title: Homecoming

Original Air Date: November 3, 1998

“I thought, Homecoming Queen, I could open a yearbook someday and say, ‘I was there, I went to high school and had friends and for just one minute I got to live in the world.’ And there’d be proof. Proof I was chosen for something other than this. Besides, I look cute in a tiara.” – Buffy

It’s another mixed bag this week as well as an episode which I remember enjoying more the first time than I did for this most recent rewatch. At the same time its hard to fault its importance on the series as with Homecoming approaching Buffy and Cordelia soon find themselves on a collision course as they both battle to be prom queen. Meanwhile Mr. Trick plans to take out both Buffy and Faith by holding the competition “SlayerFest ‘98” were the competitors get to hunt the slayers for sport.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:5

Episode Title: Beauty and the Beasts

Original Air Date: October 20, 1998

“We’re doing crime! You don’t sneak up during crime!” – Xander

Time for another favourite and arguably the best episode of this season, which is kinda worrying seeing how we are only four episodes into the season but here we get one of the rarer Oz-centric episodes as the Scoobie’s resident werewolf is accused of being responsible of brutally attacking a Sunnydale High student in the woods.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:04