h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yup, it's the shiftless, absentee clogwearer!

With Buffy season 6 reruns six episodes under way on Dutch commercial television, I'm aching for the feedback and hefty discussions going on at the BBC Buffy pages the first time around. December 2002, can you believe it? Funny reading back the old reviews -glad I saved them, now that the Beeb has deleted the whole section- and picking up on so many little hints you miss when you don't know where the story will lead yet. Anyhow, in the meantime I've been stocking up on Slayer-lecture and discovered a few fine new Buffy sites providing more sorely-missed food for thought. Perhaps you've got them/have been there already, but for the sake of reference and as a source of discussion, I'll list them first. And, of course, if you stumble upon some new Buffy-related stuff, please let me know!

Dusted. The unauthorized guide to Buffy the vampire slayer
Lawrence Miles, Lars pierson, Christa Dickson

Reading the vampire slayer
Ed. Roz Kaveney

Slayer. The next generation
Keith Topping

The Watcher's Guide
Nancy Holder, Christopher Golden, Maryelizabeth Hart

Seven seasons of Buffy. Science fiction writers discuss their favourite television show
Ed. Glenn Yeffeth

www.reslessbtvs.com
Invaluable trivia-source with recent additions and discussions. Like a new, improved and expanded buffyguide.com.

www.sunnydale-slayers.com
Fun and insightful discussions and speculations from the time episodes were first screened.

www.atpobtvs.com
Comments and explanations of the moral and supernatural elements.

www.cappiness.net
For quality screeencaps of the episodes

www.bloodyawfulpoet.com
Episode analyses by the well-informed and always eloquent Sanguine


And now for some questions and discussion points about those first five episodes of the sixth season.

So Hank Summers is never notified of his daughter's death?!

I actually missed the inconsistency with the `big honkin' gravestone' the first time around: if they are trying to keep Buffy's self-sacrifice a secret from the demon community while letting a robot take over her duties going unnoticed, why on earth would the scoobies put up a stone, even if it is deep in the woods? By the way, are those the same woods Giles goes off to for some watcher thing in... Darn. I can't remember the episode, but just know Buffy is making fun of the enormous amount of baggage he has packed "You're worse than me!"

Willow keeps the others in the dark about the exact preparations for the resurrection ritual (killing the fawn). But shouldn't Tara know anyway, being a witch and all? And what about Anya? I've read a suggestion she must have known what vino de madre was, but probably just found the subject of `icky bodily fluids' too distasteful to go into. Hmm.

She led Dawn to try raising her mother from the dead by subtly pushing the spellbook forward with her magic. Knowing the outcome of that, Wilow still resurrects Buffy. And even Tara consents. Why? The girl so `In tune with the forces of nature' joins in on a ritual going against every one of those forces, even holds back Xander as he thinks it's going too far and wants to rescue Willow. She waits until All the Way to address her gilrfriend's abuse of magic. And when she does, it's a reaction to a far more innocent spell -thinking of which, how appropriate, actually! Willow wants to transport all non-15-year old clubbers to another dimension for a few seconds to find Dawn. Tara fiercely protests as something could go wrong, having huge consequences. So she bit her tongue when it concerned Buffy, who could be suffering eternal torment, but now she knows what happened in Afterlife and probably senses some of Buffy's distress. Therefore this is a step too far: magic this heavy should not be used to such trivial ends.

Seeing that sleazy Hellion's hangout made me wonder. It must be an early episode, and I guess it's Angel talking to Buffy, but can anyone remember when it's explained vamps do have a drink sometimes? Other than blood, that is. I'm thinking it might be in connection to Willy's bar or perhaps an invitation for a cup of coffee. After all, that IS the non-relationship drink of choice. (Still one of my perennial favourite Buffyverse monologues.)

One final point about Bargaining. Noone seems to have mentioned this before, but I see definite parallels with the story of Snow White. Which wouldn't be that farfetched as Buffy has drawn inspiration from fairytales before (Helpless, Gingerbread). Like the slayer's, Snow White's 'death' is ended by external intervention, and when she's awakened, it's the start of her life as an adult. Also, the hunter, too sacrifices a deer (to cut out it's heart and show it to the queen as proof of having killed Snow White).

Still gobsmacked about the ending of Afterlife. You know where it's going, you get all the subtext, hints, and double meanings beforehand and even then it's such an incredibly moving scene. With the whole speech, the body language, and the expressions. Sigh. Ouch.
Contrary to Dawn's "I need you, please don't jump" in Bargaining. What should have made for a `turn on the waterworks emotions overload' moment, keeps feeling as much as overacted daytime drama as it did back then. Am I alone in this, as other people apparently do find it very touching?

The Willow-Giles fallout, however, the one I trashed in my episode review, has completely won me over now. Yes, she was always "old reliable", the responsible one, keeping on the straight and narrow, helping the scoobies if not with research, than with magic. (As was rightfully pointed out elsewhere: for Tara magic is part of the forces of nature ("blah, blah, Gaia") whereas to Willow it equals knowledge. And hey, what's that saying again, knowledge is power?) But being attacked by the person whose judgement she values most, whose approval is crucial to her, at a moment she expects praise, puts her into self-defence overdrive. And with that outburst, she scares herself, immediately reverting to the stammering bunch of insecurity from the old days. And, once again, bodylanguage speaks volumes: Giles' subdued anger, avoiding her eyes, almost hissing the words. Very menacing. (And in character: remember his threats to Ethan?)

Thinking about the trashing of the Summers'place, I mainly recall events from the final season, but as Buffy vents her frustration about her financial crisis, she mentions how Joyce always took care of paying for the reparations on the house. However, the only time from before Flooded I can think of is Dead Man's Party. Anyone remember other occasions?

Warren calls Jonathan "Stretch". I'm guessing it's a pop-culture reference, but to what? Who's Stretch?

Sooo frustrating when you can't trace something back! Like at the start of Life Serial, when Buffy comes in with a bucket of fried chicken (that made me think of the Double Meat dinners she will bring home in the near future). I'm absolutely positive it's the second time she does this (the sixth) season, but when was the first?


Looking very much forward to your suggestions and feedback. I will also post this on the Slayerville page to see what others think.
Be back soon,
Ava

Nrrff!
As I planned to send you this message last weekend, I was still optimistic above about SBS's scheduling. But oops, they did it again! No Once more with feeling for us. Grr aargh!

Hello Ava! Wonderful to hear from you again, I thought we had lost you to the vagaries of cyberspace. Then again, by popping in with such irregularity, you're sure to make every appearance a memorable one.

The Beeb hasn't deleted the whole section, AFAIK. You should still be able to read old convos by going back far enough on your Conversations list. They ought to be there (though I also have downloaded the ones I enjoyed most to my computer, just to be sure).

Thanks for the list of books and sites, I'll be sure to check them out.

It's really good to get a weekly dose of Buffy again, since I'm not in possession of DVDs or videos. (I'm considering buying the Chosen Collection, with all seven series of BtVS, and a lot of extras.) It does bring home once again how *good* the series is/was, and how much I miss having something of this quality on tv. ('Lost' is good, but not as good as.)

I share your frustration about Dutch commercial TV never having broadcasted the last 12 eps of Angel S5 ; and until I read this, I hadn't realized they should have broadcasted OMWF last sunday. I thought 'Tabula Rasa' preceeded the musical. The tricks memory plays on you, even without Lethe's Bramble... But, IIRC, the first time they showed S6, they did the same and broadcasted OMWF as a 'BtVS Music Special', completely out of context. (Philistines, philistines all.) Initially I even thought they'd made a compilation of all the bands performing in the series or something like that. If I hadn't checked it out, out of curiosity and just to be sure, I would've missed it. So keep an eye out for a 'Music Special', because that could be OMWF.

So, on to the actual eps:

I'm not sure if Hank S. was ever notified, and missed the gravestone inconsistency even the second time around. Don't know about the woods, sorry.

Willow keeping others in the dark about her killing of the fawn is probably meant as the first indication of her 'magic abuse problem'. I've noticed quite a few things in the first few eps that hint at things to come. This was one, another is Buffy describing how she felt in Heaven, and how the real world is like hell compared to it (the indeed gobsmacking end of 'Afterlife'). That sounded a lot like the way drug addicts describe the difference between being high and not being high. (Another hint at Willow's magic addiction.) Also, in 'Flooded', Buffy says, referring to the bank guard's gun: "These things? Never helpfull." And we all know how right she was.

I also thought it was significant that, when the demon bikers attack the Scoobies in 'Bargaining', they don't split up as you would expect: Tara with Willow, and Xander with Anya. Instead, Xander and Willow flee together (foreshadowing the last ep of S6), as do Tara and Anya (neither of which will be alive at the end of S7). Coincidence? I have my doubts.

I think vamps drink alcohol because they like it. Nothing more to it.

The Giles-Willow fallout: I've always assumed Giles sensed something was amiss with the way Willow used magic, and how wrong that approach could (and did) turn out.

As for Warren calling Jonathan 'Stretch': At first I thought it was a reference to Reid Richards of the Fantastic Four, but upon checking the episode transcript (where would I be without Buffyworld?), I found the spell Jonathan used to make the time loop:

"Opus orbit est, et ea in medio, tempus ad calcem intendit." [Approx. translation: "The work is a circle, and she is in the middle, the time stretches out."]

I'd say Warren is better at Latin than it would appear.

PS Please don't wait another five months before revisiting us, would you?

PPS Do you plan on going to see 'Serenity' when it comes out this week?

Hi AV

First off, on the subject of books you might want to try ‘Why Buffy Matters’ by Rhonda Wilcox. She is one of the co-founders of the On-line International Journal of Buffy Studies. The book was published this year. It’s worth a read.

Okay, here are my thoughts on/answers to some of the points you raise. I’ve tried not to refer too far forward to events that happen as the season progresses, which has made it hard sometimes to fully clarify some of my thoughts. Hopefully, they will still make sense.

Judging by the phone call during the first part of ‘Bargaining’, it would appear that Hank is never informed that Buffy died. The show did mess around with the Hank character a little bit. In the S1 episode ‘Nightmares’ and S2 episode ‘When She Was Bad’ it would appear that he was a loving father, even if he was largely separated from his daughter. However, by the time of ‘Helpless’ in season three he had become very much an absent and uncaring father. Of course, there is a theory that fathers often find it difficult to accept that their daughters “grow up” and eighteen is said to be a particularly difficult birthday, with the father/daughter relationship becoming more distant afterwards. By the time of S5, Hank cannot even be reached to inform about the death of Joyce and seems to be going through a “mid-life crisis”.

Buffy’s gravestone doesn’t exactly tie in with the need to keep her death a secret, but would we want to miss out on the closing image in ‘The Gift’ and the “she saved the world – a lot” engraving?! The woods Giles goes to on his “retreat” were called Breaker’s Woods and are referred to in the S3 episode ‘Lover’s Walk’. As far as I can remember, the woods where Buffy is buried and Willow performs the regeneration ritual are never referred to by name. I guess we can decide for ourselves if they are the same location or not.

Like you, I’ve often thought Tara should have known about the need to sacrifice the baby deer. However, it is often noted that Willow has a much greater ability than Tara. Perhaps this can be used to explain why Tara does not know the full details of the spell, although it does seem rather odd. Artistic licence has to be granted here, I suspect.

The S5 episode ‘Forever’ in which Dawn attempts to raise Joyce from the dead was, I think, clearly intended to foreshadow ‘Bargaining’ and the subsequent events of S6. Tara warns Dawn just how dangerous such a spell would be and Willow reluctantly agrees. However, Willow then secretly brings the spell-book to the attention of Dawn, even though she knows it is wrong and makes sure Tara doesn’t know what she’s done. In other words, this is a clear indication of Willow’s reckless attitude towards magic, which is in direct opposition to Tara’s much more careful approach. In S6, Willow raises Buffy from the dead because of her love for her best friend. She is unable to accept the loss. I think she persuades Tara to go along with the plan against Tara’s better judgement. To me, it is clear from events in ‘Bargaining’ and ‘Afterlife’ that Tara, Xander and Anya all have grave reservations about what they are doing, but are swept along despite themselves. In the case of Tara, her motivation will be her love for Willow. At this stage she is still in awe of Willow’s abilities and has not yet begun to recognise the clues about her abuse of magic.

Regarding vampires drinking, I don’t think this is the episode you are thinking of, but in ‘Reptile Boy’ (S2) Angel asks Buffy out to have coffee. I can’t bring to mind any occasion prior to that when vampires drinking anything other than blood is mentioned.

The parallel between ‘Bargaining’ and ‘Snow White’ had never occurred to me before, but I agree with you. There does seem to be a case to argue that one exists. ‘Buffy’ took inspiration from all sorts of different sources so it would hardly be a surprise.

Regarding ‘Afterlife’, I agree that the closing scene is incredibly moving. In fact, it’s one of my favourite episodes. I also agree that the “tower” scene in ‘Bargaining’ is not as moving as it should be. It’s a little bit over-egged and becomes slightly irritating as a result. However, I think it’s more than made up for by the Buffy/Dawn scenes that open ‘Afterlife’.

The Giles/Willow fall-out (in ‘Flooded’) is, I’ve always thought, a very powerful scene and, of course, a very important one in terms of how the season progresses. The point you make about Willow equating magic with knowledge and knowledge equalling power is spot on. Ultimately, it will be the power that magic brings her that will enchant Willow.

Turning to the trashing of 1630 Revello Drive, there are two occasions in S5 that might fit the bill. In ‘Real Me’ Harmony and her “minions” smash a window. In ‘Listening To Fear’ there is some damage caused when Buffy fights the Queller demon.

Warren calling Jonathan “Stretch” might be a reference to “Stretch Armstrong”, an American kids toy from, I think, the mid to late 1970s.

I can’t help at all with the bucket of fried chicken thing. I can’t think of any other time when Buffy does anything like this.

I guess that’s about it… Hope it helped a little bit.

Larry

"Yippy-a-yee-ha-hee", she exclaimed out of sheer delight over being back. Which, even without having a toilet rug tied around her legs, seemed somewhat appropriate in a place called Slayerville. Ehem. Okay, I'm done. Back to being she of the level head. (Yup, those are the ones to watch out for.) Thanks a bunch, you guys, for the extensive replies!


NightOwl,

Thanks for your kind words, knowing I can actually make someone's day gives me a happy ;]
Actually, that explains a lot. Once More With Feeling having been broadcasted as a Buffy-special completely out of context before, that is. See, I knew there was a reason I preferred watching it late night on the BBC. Well, apart from the absence of commercial breaks. Oh, and the pretty trustworthy scheduling. Plus the inclusion of the end credits. Hmm. Seems there's only one benefit of commercial TV here: a total lack of sensorship. That steamy ending of smashed actually made a lot more sense now. Man, makes you wonder what happened in those fifteen seconds they were forced to cut by UPN. Did those make it to the DVD, perhaps?
But what's with the abbreviations? Been texting like there's no tomorrow? Careful about using them in the subtitling, please. What do AFAIK and IIRC actually stand for? Artists feed anarchy in kindergarten? Academy for advocating independent kitten-poker? Interested in romantic candles? Intimate instances resisting censorship? (Ssomebody just stop me!)
Of course I plan to see Serenity, as I really enjoyed Firefly. Unfortunately I haven't found the time yet, so I didn't read your review, trying to avoid spoilers.
After posting my entry, it occurred to me the "Stretch"-remark was probably just to tease Jonathan about his size or lack thereof (sorry, but they started it themselves) and therefore a pretty dumb question. But then you brought up the Latin spell. Clever goodness!
Finally, THANKS THANKS THANKS for informing me about the old conversations. As I delved deep into the dungeons of my page, it occurred to me I could only retrieve those in which I had partaken, never being able to find back all the others. But no! The links at the bottom of each thread still work, so you can review all posts from that particular episode. (Which, in my case, means everything, as I posted a review every week) Rejoice!


And you, Mister everything but Cro-mag!
(Sincere apologies, it's just that reading your name used to trigger the Xander-quote "Hi Lar, looking very cro-mag today". But now it's worse, since we just had Smashed over here with Willow's merciless update to the de-ratted Amy: "1) Larry's gay. 2) Larry's dead. 3) Highschool's kind of over". Anyway, did you pick it as a reference?)

"Hope it helped a little bit". A LITTLE bit? Man, you must be somewhat of a living Buffyclopedia! Think I can safely ask a new set of questions brought up by the next episodes (Life Serial through Smashed minus Once More With Feeling, as the network skipped that one. But here's hoping they will be broadcasting it later on.)


Life Serial

Spike invites Buffy to what turns out to be a night of kitten poker saying "You're a creature of the darkness, like me. Try on my world. See how good it feels".
Immediately another scene springs to mind,where they are standing upstairs in the Bronze, overlooking the dancefloor where the others are having fun. Spike whispers in her ear: "You belong in the dark, with me". Now, is that from season 5 or still to come? I can't pinpoint the episode.
Oh, and if this is Spike's hangout -as we may assume from him ordering "the usual" and the bartender knowing his name- whatever happened to Willy?
But the kitten poker? I'll be damned! Searching the dictionary for something completely unrelated, I happened to stumble upon the word "kitty", meaning the stakes put into a card game. Never realized the pun before. First the loan-shark, now this! Season six seems to be crammed with literalness.

Xander, the loyal (what episode is that "clocked more field time"-quote from again?) immediately believes Buffy's explanation of the accident at the construction site. But three big *apey* things? Did she skip biology classes hanging out with Faith? The only thing apey here are her co-workers, the demons looked more like rasta reptiles to me.


All the Way

The "Shiver me timbers", though nowhere listed under episode references, is a quote from Treasure Island, as I accidentally found out reading the movie descriptions in last week's TV guide.

What IS burba weed? Or nothing but an invention of the writers?

Upon Justin introducing himself, Dawn mentions she's seen him at a couple of parties. When? With whom? This seems especially odd as her stealing is explained as a cry for attention, and she will later invite only one vaguely familiar girl to her birthday party, as she doesn't have any real friends.


Tabula Rasa

Buffy: 'If I were to stop saving his life, it would simple things up *so* much'
Makes it sound as if it's always him needing her help, or screwing up her missions. In Smashed she says something alike:
Spike: 'As a team we could-
Buffy: 'Yeah,that never really ends well, does it?'
But what is giving her this idea; is it just out of need to feel she still is the one in control, having the upper hand? (Almost wrote 'on top' there. That's what you get from all the Trio's double entendres) When did she last need to rescue him? (The shark wasn't exactly a life threatening big bad, was it?)

How does Tara know Willow used the forget-spell on her?

Did the scoobies change their attitude towards Dawn? Obviously she's now very in on what's happening, calling Willow for their meeting. Earlier on this season she was still considered too young to partake.


Smashed

Why does Willow use an Italian spell to de-rat Amy? When she turned herself in Gingerbread, Amy did so in plain English ("Before thee let the unclean thing crawl"). And to think poor Aly was apparently very uncomfortable with her pronunciation (and with good reason).

Second anomaly: the museum's security system consists of a guy named Rusty?! This after all the Ampata crazyness? You might think no institution would ever lean anything of its collection to Sunnydale ever again.

Jonathan mentions Andrew is still afraid of hot things. Is this a reference we should know more about?

Warren: "Two guys and a mime took me out with their freeze ray"
In that case, which one of them is the mime?

How come Andrew never saw Spike before? Yet he deduces it must be him. Plus, Spike, standing less than two metres away with the enormous vampire hearing, can't overhear every word the Trio is saying, thereby finding out they have plans with Buffy?

Is KOUS the same network we see on TV-reports in seasons 3 and 4?

Xander: "A little old-fashioned state-of-the-art hacker action."
Buffy: "That's great, Will, I haven't seen you do that in a long time."
Since when, actually?

What's that D&D manual Xander thinks he's found the diamond-eating frost-monster in doing at the magic shop anyway?

Xander: "We need new brains."
I'm absolutely positive someone on talkBuffy once made a case for the scoobies being linked to the characters from The Wizard of Oz. But if it is possible to go back to those old conversations, I should have any clue where to look, and I don't. Any of you remember?

Spike: "That's what I do. I kill. And, yeah, maybe it's been a long time,but...it's not like you forget."
1) When *was* his last kill?
2) This ain't the first time he insists on being evil etc. After his chipping in season 4 he tends to be used as comic punching ball by the others and repeatedly protests they forget who he really is. Only this time he seems to be talking more to himself than to his victim-to-be.
3) Does anyone remember the episodes/circumstances the situations mentioned under 3) occur in?
Oh,and do you think he would eventually have sucked the girl dry, had his chip really malfunctioned?
By the way, it's not just him: both Buffy and Willow are trying to convince themselves they're doing the right thing. Buffy by the way she talks to and treats Spike, Willow playing down her breakup to the others as well as to herself: "It's better this way. Little things just starting taking over, things that didn't matter, but we saw them differently." "Not like I owe anyone anything. I am totally free."

Funny Anya tells Willow: "You're all "la, la, la!" with the magic, and the not talking, like everything's normal" as Willow was saying the same to Buffy once: "You just wanna slay demons and go "la, la, la"" (or something like that). But, you've guessed it, I don't remember when she did.

Listen to Amy as Willow's evil side: "I just don't wanna deal with him [her father] right now. I think I would be...bored."[now?] Following up with that fantastic Bronze scene, where they go spell-crazy, then Willow returning everything to normal with one languid gesture: "So we've kinda played this scene."

But why is nobody in the Bronze as fascinated as we are, watching the girls play magic pool? Has the youth of Sunnydale become blase about strange phenomeni, or did Willow put a spell on the entire clientele, after all?

Finally, that phone call from Spike! ROTFL, if I may be so bold to use an abbreviation too. With the hoarse voice, then switching to his normal one: "Bloody hell. Yes, it's me." Didn't D'Hoffryn do something like that as he appeared to Anya/Willow once?

Hello again, Ava A good read, as usual. The few points I may be able to clear up: AFAIK = as far as I know IIRC = if I remember correctly Though yours are much funnier. GO SEE SERENITY THIS WEEK! (If you can.) It's now in its fourth week, but only in one theatre, instead of two, as in the weeks before. It may not make it to its fifth. I'm afraid I can't help you with most of your oh-so-detailed questions (some of which seem to be rhetorical, anyway ;-)), except the one about the Wizard of Oz (I think). Is this the thread you were looking for? http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/F2037168?thread=658538

Hey Ava,

Just thought I'd post up my tuppence worth on your comments.

The line about "being in the dark with me etc. comes from "Dead Things" it is also repeated back to Spike by the First as Drusilla at the end of "Lessons" it's use being both clever as a means of karma but also showing that the first is ultimately as wrong as Spike was that each may have temporarily manage to take possession of their victim/prize at the present time due to them going through a bad phase but ultimately they will find their way to evade them and come up back into the light.

The question as if Spike wants to feed again or wants to want to do so is left ambigious the commentary on the s.6 DVD by writer Drew Z.Greenberg states this it is one the times when you can assume what makes sense to you. I think he probably would have done the bad thing but would have been suprised at how unsatisfying it proved to be rather like Anya's return to vengence wasn't all it cracked up to be for her. Like he was changed more than he cares to admit.

Rusty the security guard does seem inadequete for one thing most institutions want proof that you have adequete security before they lend priceless items but then Sunnydale is all about denial and probably had a case of selective memory when it came to Ampata which did in fairness happen three years before.

Buffy in denial - hell yes. If he's useless than she can dismiss him more easily. The talk about Willow's not going off the deep end and the deep denial around that has already been discussed.

The more you think about season six is about how everyone apart from poor Tara spends all their time in denial city clinging to their illusions and only at the end do they face the truth which is when things start to get better.

ok as I've been posting on random song lyrics try is one on for size again from Nine Inch Nails as it always makes me think of season six.

"I am the voice inside of you... I am the sex that you deny, I am the heat you try to hide, I take you where you want to go, I give you all you need to know" and later "I am the needle in the vein, I am the high you can't sustain, I am the pusher, I'm the whore, I'm the need in you for more, I am the bullet I am the gun, I am the truth from which you run,... I am the end of all your dreams"

Could be wrong, Ava, but I beleive the Xander 'clocking field time' quote by Buffy is from Checkpoint (s.5).

Wow, proper BtVS discussion again, I thought I'd seen the last of it. Just a shame I haven't been around for a while - there's so much to catch up on. There goes my weekend.

Hey, AV, I thought I’d try to reply to some of the questions and observations in your latest message.

Regarding my “on-line” name, I’m afraid to say there was no great thought put behind it. When I first found my way over here to h2g2 and “signed up” I wasn’t able to use my old moniker for some reason. It just so happened that I was listening to ‘Old Ramon’ by Red House Painters at the time, an album I’m extremely fond of, and so that became my new name.

Okay, anyway, here goes…

Life Serial:

The scene on the balcony at the Bronze you refer to is from ‘Dead Things’ (s6, e13), as already mentioned by vampadvocate. Spike tells Buffy, “You see, you try to be with them… but you always end up in the dark, with me.”

Regarding the absence of Willy, I guess he must have a night off sometimes.

I must be getting increasingly dim in my old age, but I’d never thought of the connection between “kitten poker” and the “kitty” before!

The reference to Xander clocking field time comes from Buffy’s speech in the Magic Box in ‘Checkpoint’ (s5 e12), as already confirmed by Bud.

Buffy: “The *boy * has clocked more field time than all of you combined. He’s part of the unit.”
Willow: “That’s Riley-speak.”
Xander: “I’ve clocked filed-time!”

All The Way:

“Shiver me timbers” is, as you rightly say, a quote from ‘Treasure Island’, although the meaning here is, shall we say, somewhat different!

‘Burba Weed’ would seem to be something made up by the writers, unless it is a slang expression that I haven’t come across before.

Regarding the parties Dawn has apparently been to, I agree that this doesn’t exactly fit with the suggestion that Dawn has virtually no friends, etc, and is crying out for attention. However, might we assume she has gone to these parties with Janice (seemingly her only friend) and then stood around being ignored by everybody? I think that would fit the narrative okay.

Tabula Rasa:

The meaning behind Buffy’s comments to Spike is really answered by the preceding episode (‘Once More With Feeling’) and the episodes that immediately follow – ‘Smashed’ and ‘Wrecked’. Her reference to “if I were to stop saving his life” is, I think, largely ironic. Were he not around, she would not have to deal with the confusing feelings she was now beginning to experience. In terms of when she last actually “saved” Spike, it could be argued that she (and the scoobies) have been saving him, in one way or another, constantly ever since his arrival back in Sunnydale in season four.

You ask, “How does Tara know Willow used the forget-spell on her?” It’s all explained in ‘Once More With Feeling’, initially via something Dawn says to Tara about an argument she witnessed Tara have with Willow.

Talking about Dawn, I don’t think the scoobies have changed their attitude towards her. To a very real extent, it is only Buffy who is over-protective of her. That aside, any slight deviation from the norm here is probably simply to serve the storyline.

Smashed:

I’m going to suggest Willow recites the magic spell in a language other than English because it “sounds cooler”. This was never a show that stuck rigidly to continuity (for example, Joss Whedon is hopeless when it comes to timelines.)

Vampadvocate’s explanation for Rusty covers that one!

I’m afraid I have no idea about “two guys and a mime” or the reference to Andrew being afraid of hot things. Regarding the fact that Andrew has never seen Spike before, there is no reason why he would have done. As for him deducing who it is, I would imagine Spike’s reputation precedes him in certain circles. As to Spike’s sudden loss of hearing, what can I say? I guess it’s that old artistic licence thing again.

KOUS is the TV channel we see when the weatherman talks about the inexplicable snowfall in ‘Amends’ (s3 e10). In ‘Goodbye Iowa’ (s4 e14) there is no indication of the TV channel (as far as I can remember) but the reporter is holding a microphone with “14” on it.

Regarding Xander’s “hacker action” comment, this refers back to ‘Teacher’s Pet’ (s1, e4):

Buffy: “Okay, don’t panic, I’ll warn him… but I need you to hack in to the coroners office for me.”

Giles responds to Willow’s activities by saying, “Um, this computer invasion that Willow’s performing on the coroner’s office, one assumes it is entirely legal?” and, “Right, wasn’t here, didn’t see it, couldn’t have stopped you.”

Regarding the D&D manual, I would assume it probably belongs to Xander (he is the most likely suspect). He spends much of his time in the Magic Box so it seems likely he would leave stuff lying around there. Alternatively, it is quite possible the Magic Box stocks such thing for the casual buyers (the “Wicca Wannabes”). After all, the store needs to turn a profit somehow and might “diversify” – especially after the recruitment of Anya and her entrepreneurial skills.

Spike’s last “kill” would have been pre-season four. The last time I can recall was the magic shop salesperson/owner in ‘Lover’s Walk’ (s3 e8).

I agree with vampadvocate’s answer to the question to pose about whether or not Spike would have fed on his victim had he been able to.

I’ve desperately tried to remember where Willow’s “fight demons … la la la” comment comes from but it just won’t come to me. Sorry!

The lack of interest in the “magic” pool playing antics of Willow and Amy is, I must admit, inexplicable!

Your mention of D’Hoffryn probably refers to ‘Selfless’ (s7 e5). Willow summons him in the bathroom at Buffy’s house. When he first appears he announces his presence in a voice deep with echo: “Behold, D'Hoffryn. Lord of Arashmahar. He that turns the air to blood and rains…” As he turns around to face Willow, his tone suddenly changes to one of a friendly greeting. “Miss Rosenberg… How lovely to see you again. Have you done something with your hair?”

Okay, I think that’s about as much as I can do.