Let's Fold Scarves

Why is there a public phone backstage in Sunnydale High?

This was a fine MOTW episode with strong dialogue and a superb first appearance by Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder.

Buffy forgets to put on her trousers a couple of times.

I'm quite pleased the smug Scoobies have to take part in the talent show just because they were smug and laughing at Giles.

There are some clever things going on in this such as the cutting between separate conversations to move things along quickly (there is a technical term for this, isn't there?); the low level camera work; and, maybe the most hilarious shot in Buffy ever:

Rewind

I don't care what many people think because in this instance, I simply don't care about the derivative story. It's not that bad and it doesn't get in the way of the fact that the dialogue in this episode is on fire; there are loads of great lines brilliantly delivered.

In addition: Buffy wears dark glasses and a trenchcoat; Xander falls off a fence; Giles and Ms Calendar have instant chemistry; it's Ms Calendar's debut and Robia LaMorte is perfect, Angel isn't in it; Willow wields a fire extinguisher; you feel sorry that Dave is murdered; and it ends with the Scoobies fearing for their chance for happy, normal relationships.

Buffy spares Angel despite the fact that she had no reason to think he wasn't in the process of murdering her mother.

At the very least there should have been a fight from which he escaped but he was only thrown through the window and that's not good enough. It was her mother!

The first in a long line of "why doesn't she just kill him?" moments relating to Angel and Spike.

Rewind

The best episode so far but it fails to deal adequately with its disturbing material: teenagers EAT their headmaster and Xander tries to RAPE Buffy (and is unbearably cruel to Willow). Like the Cordelia demon pregnancy in Angel ("Expecting"), it was too soon to go such dark places because neither series was in a position to deal with the subject matter with the respect that they deserved.

Xander remembers the things that he did and I would have liked to see the series exploring that issue in the future but, as per his actions that precipitate the events and deaths in "Once More, With Feeling", he is never asked to explain himself.

I also found Giles's dismissal of Buffy's concerns about Xander's behaviour to be unbelievable: not all sixteen year old boys tease the unfortunate and testosterone doesn't turn all men into morons, and certainly these things don't happen overnight.

Nevertheless this is a good episode: Xander is never going to look sexier, the murder of Principal Flutie is truly shocking, the plotting is decent, Willow is proved to be both really bright (by proving to herself that Xander is possessed) and dim (by getting tied up by the baddie), and it is funny (of course).

Rewind

I think this is a strong episode but something isn't quite clicking yet for the creative team. There are good ideas and some very funny moments but it's all failing to come together because the execution is poor e.g. where do the two vampires guarding the outside of the funeral parlour go? Giles hides in a body fridge and the vampires are too stupid to look there?

The relationship between Giles and Buffy is coming along nicely. The actors and the characters have a wonderful chemistry.

I'm afraid to say that David Boreanaz has been terrible so far: I really don't recall him being this bad but he really is awful and he needs to stand up straight!

I love the scene when Xander compares his literally childish watch with Owen's more mature one. Nicholas Brendon is so funny in that scene. Almost as funny is the scene when Giles turns up at Buffy's house to Owen's bemusement. Willow and Xander are then left behind either to wait for Joyce or to lock up on Buffy's behalf. Yet another funny moment is when Xander, Willow and Owen have to remove the pile of furniture which was supposed to be for their protection as a vampire goes for them.

"Ooh, hallo, salty goodness!"

"I have volumes of lore, of prophecies, of predictions. But I don't have an instruction manual." Why doesn't he? Did he lose it?

The last act of this is pretty dire concluding with Buffy's best forgotten cliffhanger.

Based on this, the best way to keep the young men of Sunnydale from blabbing about the demons would be to blackmail them about their virginity.

We were all pretty horrified when Angel took off his leather jacket to expose his white vest. Eww. However, Xander fancied him! Because he's buff!

The special effect when Miss French swivels her neck was surely naff in 1997?

If there had been a sequence of episodes as feeble as this one then I probably wouldn't be writing this blog.

Apparently this is called "Witch" and not "The Witch", well, well.

Despite not knowing its true title for so long, nevertheless this is definitely one of my favourite S1/S2 episodes: an excellent MOTW episode. However, the weakness of episodic series is exposed when you consider that not one character mentions Jesse. Willow and Xander's best friend is forgotten that quickly?

Anyway, I love the fakeout telling off that Giles gave Buffy in her cheerleader uniform. Perky Buffy singing "Macho Man" is a Buffy highlight.

Buffy comes extremely close to death and Giles truly watches out for her though I can hardly believe it's his "first casting". The show's early days are a bit off as regards future developments.

Buffy is rocking the retro look here. I like Amy's trousers and I like her dialogue ("Well, I know that I'll miss the intellectual thrill of spelling out words with my arms".) Poor Amy was such an attractive character until she became a rat.

I would have liked to have seen Luke again in some of the Buffy/Angel flashbacks. I'm sure he would have been a good adversary/chum for Angel or Spike. Also, his relationship with Darla could have been explored.

Talking of Darla, boy, did she have a character reinvention! One to match Anya's.

Buffy does a lot of fancy stuff in this that she never does again: jumping over fences, back flipping onto pool tables: that kind of thing. Buffy's (or should I say Sarah Michelle Gellar's) fighting poses got a lot more convincing as time went on.

The trick that Buffy plays on the wily Luke seems an unlikely one for such a survivor to fall for but it was very funny.

Willow's deliver/delete trick shows an interesting side to the mainly drippy one we see at first.

It's early days but Xander's toadstool shirt may be his worst shirt in the entire run.

We are watching Buffy again thanks to Nikki Stafford. And although my take is distinctly superficial (with an occasional insight), other people's observations are amazingly detailed and deep and time worthy.

Giles's first appearance is rather campy and I love the way he drops the Vampyr volume on the counter: he is so excited to see Buffy.
Angel wears a shiny jacket and did I detect a whisper of an Irish accent?
Willow is cute wiping water from her face after drinking from a fountain. She wears her first awful outfit in the Bronze: that is a very furry cardy she has on.
The acting is variable: all of them are a long way from comfortable but you can see sparks coming from Sarah Michelle Gellar particularly when she tells Giles she is not interested in his Vampyr book and all that goes with it and when she speaks to him after the boy is found.
I like Principal Bob Flutie trying to stick Buffy's transcript back together.
I do like Cordelia but it is a shame that Charisma Carpenter wasn't really young enough looking to play the role. They soon forget that she's a teenager once she gets to Los Angeles.
Probably my favourite bit is:

Buffy: Uh. Hi! Willow? Right?
Willow: Why? I mean, hi!