BtVS is probably one of the 10 best shows ever because...

killerdwarf

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I was reading Allycat's "Snyder" thread below and I got to thinking about what makes Buffy and Angel such fab TV shows. The tight scripts and great characters, sure, and the hot chicks (can I say that?), but for me, what makes the show is the depth the writers put into the eps. The self-referencing is usually funny, and the pop culture jokes are very clever, but for me, the best thing is the literary references peppered into so many eps. The writers can say so much by making passing remarks to other books, and the Buffy/Angel team is probably one of the best bunch at doing it I've ever seen. One of my favorites from this year was in "Selfless", when Spike tells Buffy "You can scream 'Montressor' all you like, pet". It's a reference to Edgar Allen Poe's "Cask of Amontillado", and Spike's telling Buffy she can get as angry as she likes, but the fact is he has a soul. In the story, Montressor traps his rival in a basement and walls him in. His rival screams at Montressor, but it doesn't alter his fate of becoming one with the basement (very creepy). I thought this was a very cool way to get the point across without being obvious. So, if you've come across this kind of stuff, let's hear it!! I've got a couple more from earlier seasons, but let's start with S7 and show me what I've missed!
 
I agree enthusiastically with almost everything you say, except I'm not sure I understand what your asking for at the end.

Do you mean cultural references in Season 7? Have you seen this;

http://www.buffybytes.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3467

or do you mean little buried bits that intimate larger meaning.

They don't just reference general culture to do that, they also self-reference (I don't believe it's always just for fun).

There's one of those I've been curious about in First Date (at least it may be one. I'm not sure).

When Buffy and Wood first come across the vampires in the alley, I swear the first second of the scene is a flash of the Vampire Buffy kills at the beginning of The Gift. If so, what does that mean.

Do you mean literary references, specifically? Can you post the other examples you mentioned to offer a better fix on what exactly you're suggesting?
 
On second thought I've decided you just mean the literary references so here are the literary references as offered by TVTome;

Lessons;

Giles: "Miss Harkness"

Years ago in Fantastic Four comics, there was a witch named Miss Harkness. (I think her first name was "Agatha", but I'm not sure. I've read that Joss is a comic-book reader.

Giles: Miss Harkness

Miss Harkness's first name was Agatha, and she trained Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch. Wanda & her brother Peitro(aka Quicksilver) are the children of Magneto, the X-Men's archenemy.


Beneath You;

Spike: Button, button, who's got the button?

"Button, button, who's got the button?" is a childrens game that was used in 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' (1971). It's been around for centuries like hopscotch

Help;

visual: Cassie reading

Cassie is reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. The novel is largely concerned with themes of free will vs. predestination - the protagonist Billy Pilgrim is "unstuck in time" and thus knows about some things before they happen (but is apparently powerless to change them).

Selfless;

Anya: "The worker will overthrow absolutism and lead the proletariat to a victorious communist revolution, which will result in socio-economic paradise on earth. Its common sense, really".

This reference is to the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The text stated that the working class will overthrow the exploitative upper class that built the society on the workers' back. Marx proposes that the overthrow of the bourgeoisie by the proletariat is inevitable. It makes sense that Anya is a capitalist because according to Marx, Capitalism is one of the stages that leads to a Communist society. Feudalism-> Capitalism-> Socialism-> Communism.

Anya: "The worker will overthrow absolutism and lead the proletariat to a victorious communist revolution, which will result in socio-economic paradise on earth. Its common sense, really".

CWDP;

Evil Thingy: "GET OUT"

This is a reference to the movie The Amityville Horror where the house is possessed by evil spirits which order the occupants to leave.

Never Leave Me;

Warren (To Andrew): "You can do this. You're my Iron Fist."

Iron Fist is a Marvel Comics character.He and Luke Cage, AKA Power Man, formed Heroes for Hire, Inc. Iron Fist is Daniel Thomas Rand-Kai, a martial arts master who summons his chi to raise his martial arts mastery, channeling the force through his fist. He can also use his chi to heal himself and others

Bring On the Night;

Andrew: Lex and Voldemort are evil names

Lex Luthor is the nemisis of Superman in the comics, movies and soon to be in the tv show Smallville. Voldemort is the evil wizard from the Harry Potter series of books and movies.

Andrew: ... Or Apocalypse

Andrew is undoubtbly refering to the super villan from X-Men, the immortal Apocalypse whose wish is to see all living creatures destroyed

Showtime;

Buffy: "I'm the thing that monsters have nightmares about."

A very slight variation of this became a catchphrase of sorts for the Time Lord known as the Doctor in his eighth incarnation, as featured in Virgin's New Adventure line of books. It was first introduced in the novel Love & War, by Paul Cornell, pg. 137, with the line "I'm what monsters have nightmares about."

Potential;

Andrew: "At your sssserviccce Missss Rosenberg, Sssssir."

In the book and film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry is able to speak to a snake, who hisses his "s". Andrew spoke to Willow as if he was the snake.

The Killer in Me;

Andrew: He's holding the new issue of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for me.

"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" is a relatively new comic book written by Alan Moore and published by America's Best Comics. It features a 19th century superhero team consisting of several famous fictional period characters, such as Allan Quartermaine, Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, Jekyll/Hyde, and Mina Harker (from Dracula). It is currently being made into a feature film (with some significant changes) by director Stephen Norrington.

Get It Done;

Chloe: T.T.F.N.

T.T.F.N: Ta Ta For Now! As explained by Rona, TTFN was the favorite saying by Winnie the Pooh character Tigger. Every time he exited a room, he would exclaim "TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!" Winnie the Pooh is a children's book about a stuffed bear, Winnie the Pooh, and his friends, Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Christopher Robin. In the book, all the characters were stuff animals except for Rabbit, Owl, and Christopher Robin.
 
BTvs has inspired much more than Television in me.
It brought me to life in a way 🙂
Any one know what I mean?
 
Yeah, that's it!

nerd4hire:

You got some of what I was looking for, and the comic ones are great (I read 'em too). Does this TVTome thing list all the references made in the show? Gawd, it must be huge! I did this type of thread elsewhere and got a ton of Shakespeare and other quotes that flew right by me. As you deciphered from my somewhat vague (I reread it) post, I'm looking for the straight literary stuff, but I love the comic book stuff too!!

eg: A couple of times, Buffy has said "...and miles to go before I sleep", most notably in an ep during the run up to the Mayor's ascension (I'm terrible at ep titles). This is a quote from the Robert Frost poem "Looking at Woods on a Snowy Night" and it's about death and dying (specifically suicide). It foreshadows Buffy's death in "The Gift" nicely, and it's a great quote!!

If anyone's got any others, bring 'em!

BTW, I thought Andrew was imitating Gollum from LOTR, not the snake in HP, but I've been way wrong before!
 
TVTome is worth a visit.

It offers an episode guide that lists every episode, then divides it into a synopis, a rating, notes (where he picks out interesting little buried bits) and cultural references.

I already had the the cultural references saved from season 7, so I just had to separate the literary ones.

Do you want the rest , just for fun?

BTW have you ever seen this quote from Josh Whedon?

"When somebody says there is a philosophy behind 'Buffy' that is the truth. When they say there is symbolism and meaning in what we're doing, that's true too."
 
cool thread! I really like the references that I get... like "episode one bored"... but there are sooooo many that i miss.

literature is not so much my strong suit. the first time i read Robert Frosts "Looking at Woods on a Snowy Night" i swore it was a poem about santa claus. to some extent i think it still is! 🙂

ttfn,

-helga
 
I really like the references that I get...

I'll post the rest for you then Helga, cause I like them too and was looking for an excuse to share them;

I had to edit some. It was too long

Help;

Buffy: I bet it's 'cause you forgot the boombox playing some heavy metal thing like...Blue Clam Cult?

Buffy was actually thinking of Blue Oyster Cult, a rock band made famous in the 1970's with hit songs such as "Don't Fear the Reaper."

Greek myth: Cassandra

Cassandra was made a prophet, but then cursed so that no one would ever believe her prophecies (though they were always true). Among other things she foresaw her own murder, but couldn't prevent it.

Willow: Willow visits Tara's grave, places stones on headstone

Willow is performing a Jewish ceremony of honoring the dead when visiting the grave of loved ones. Stones are placed on the headstone whole reciting prayers for the dead to be at peace in the afterlife.

Him;

Dawn: Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition...

When Dawn is speaking with R.J. about talking to the principal, he says something about an inquisition. Dawn responds with "Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition". This is a famous quote from one of Monty Python's Flying Circus skits.

Buffy: "Anna Nicole Smith thinks you look tacky."

Buffy is speaking of the washed up playmate that has her own reality show on the E! network when she describes how scantily clad Dawn is when she finds her dancing with R.J. at the Bronze.

CSDP;

# Holden informs Buffy that her ex-boyfriend Scott Hope came out of the closet and is now gay. A possible reference to the fact that Fab Filippo, the actor who played Scott, now plays a homosexual on Showtime's Queer as Folk.

# Dawn says "Mom...Mom?...Mommy??" This is the same thing that Buffy said when she found her mother on the couch.

# Joss and Angie Hart wrote together the song in the beginning. The song is called "Blue" and Angie Hart sings it in the ep.


The scene where Jonathan and Andrew are digging is a reference to the movie Stirs of Echoes with Kevin Bacon. (written by Richard Matherson)

Andrew also makes reference to Pinhead, the head Cenibite from the horror series Hellraiser.


Warren: "If Short Round pulls off his end of the bargain..."

Short Round was Indiana Jones' vertically challenged partner in Temple of Doom. He was played by Jonathan Ke Quan. More Info

Andrew: "Think McFly..."

The highly popular time-travel trilogy Back to the Future starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly. The antagonist of the movies, Biff Tannen (or sometimes one of his relations), only calls Marty or his father George by their last name... as in "Think McFly..." or "Hello McFly" followed by knocking on their skull. Obviously Andrew is berating Jonathan like Biff does to Marty and George.

Holden (to Buffy): Hello! Two years of Tae Kwon Do and vampire strength....

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do, which she has studied for over five years. That, along with slayer strength.... Who's counting his chickens now?

"Cassie": ...candlelight, the Indigo Girls playing, picture of your dead girlfriend on your bloody lap....

The Indigo Girls are folk singers with a large lesbian fanbase.

Sleeper;


Big Bad: Early one morning...

This english folk song was *recorded recently* by Sarah Brightman.


Xander: OK, let's look at this objectively. Figure it out in a cold, impersonal, CSI-like manner 'cause we're a couple of carpet fibers away from a case.

CSI or Crime Scene Investigation is a popular drama that airs on CBS. The show mainly revolves around the forensic evidence, which often leads to the conclusion of a crime or the start of a case.


Never Leave Me;


Andrew: "I think Babe 2: Pig in the City was under-rated"

Universal's Babe 2: Pig in the City is rated G. It is the story of a pig (Babe) with his animal friends from the farm, that go in the City for the very first time. The movie is full of comedy and adventure.


Xander: A trigger.

Anya: The horse?

A Hollywood horse, Trigger was often considered "The smartest horse in the movies" Xander is actually referring to a trigger as part of military tactics in brainwashing, whereas Anya is thinking of said stallion.

Warren: You're in the trench, and the exhaust port is in sight

This is in reference to the "Death Star trench run" from the original Star Wars movie.

Butcher (to Andrew): This is a butcher shop, Neo. We don't sell toothpaste.

Neo was Keanu Reeves' character in the blockbuster film The Matrix. He wore a leather jacket (much like Andrew's) throughout most of the movie.


Andrew:: Or Patrick Swayze.

GHOST is considered one of the most romantic films of the 1990s. In this movie, Patrick Swayze returns as a ghost to warn Demi Moore. He can't take corporeal form and he uses wacky psychic Whoopie Goldberg to achieve his goal.

Bring on the Night;

# This episode takes its title from a 1985 documentary/concert film featuring Sting, the rock musician.


Xander: "And Lock It in a Pantry"

In the recent horror movie Signs, Ray locks one of the aliens in his kitchen pantry to stop it. After everyone says that it won't work, Xander says something like "What, M. Night Shyamalan wouldn't lie to us", referring to the director of the movie. More Info


Showtime;

# Buffy says "Here endeth the lesson" when she has defeated the Turok-han, exactly what the Master says in season 1, and what Spike said in "Fool for love".

# As Buffy is walking back to her house with Rona in the teaser, she says, "Welcome to the Hellmouth," an obvious reference to the show's first episode.



Buffy & Andrew: Buffy: "Welcome to Thunderdome" & Andrew: "Two men enter, one man leaves."

The "Thunderdome" was a caged fighting match to the death featured in the Mel Gibson movie, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Andrew: License to kill

Andrew again expresses his appreciation for Timothy Dalton's portrayal of 007, going off on a tangent about 1989's License to Kill after Dawn says Buffy has given her permission to kill him if he talks too much. Andrew first showed his Dalton preference in Season 6's "Life Serial."

Andrew: Wanna play Kevin Bacon?

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon states that all actors can be connected to Kevin Bacon via co-stars in six movies (or TV shows, if they are a regular and not a guest). For example, stretching the rules to say Tom Lenk is a "Buffy" regular, one can say: Tom Lenk -> Alyson Hannigan (BtVS)-> Tara Reid (American Pie) -> John Turturro (The Big Lebowski) -> Danny Aiello (Do The Right Thing) -> Charlize Theron (2 Days in the Valley) -> Kevin Bacon (Trapped).

Buffy: Wh-what is Botox's eye?

The chemical name for Botox is botulinum toxin and it's a medication that prevents the transfer of the electrical impulse from the nerve ending to the muscle. The desired result after a Botox treatment is fewer wrinkles.

Potential;

Visual: Clem's scary face

This scene was clearly inspired by the Tim Burton movie Beetlejuice, starring Michael Keaton



Andrew: I'm like Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z

"Dragon Ball Z" was a long-running Japanese anime TV series featuring super-powered battles so far out they make Buffy's exploits look like child's play; the show is long over in Japan, but between Kids WB and Cartoon Network, American audiences got to see a horribly-butchered dubbed version over the last few years. Andrew's reference to "bad guy turned not-so-bad guy" Vegeta is basically self-explanatory, although Andrew's hardly the hotheaded badass Vegeta is.

Clem: " I was going to record it for you, but then my TiVO went all flooey."

TiVO is a digital video recorder. It can record up to 80 hours of television. You do not need tapes because it has a hard disk, and you get much better quality than video tapes. You can pause, rewind, and fast forward with tivo.

The Killer In Me;

Spike: Who you gonna call?

"Who you gonna call?" is the popular catch phrase used by the ghost capturing service in the 1984 comedy Ghostbusters starring Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis. People haunted by ghosts would call up the service to exterminate the ghosts from their homes.

Kennedy: That was a hell of a thing.

Kennedy's line after being teleported is identical to Tony Shalhoub's bemused reaction after a similar event in the Tim Allen film "Galaxy Quest".

First Date;

Buffy: Watching a reality show about a millionaire.

Joe Millionaire is a new "reality" tv show about a regular guy who inherited 50 million dollars and is in search of his soul mate. Twenty ladies traveled to France to try and win his affection, but the joke's on them. Mr. Joe Millionaire isn't everything he's cracked up to be. The final episode of Joe Millionaire will air on the Monday after this episode on Fox.

Xander: I'm mentally undressing Scott Bakula.

Scott Bakula, best known as Dr. Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap, now stars in the UPN series Enterprise as pointed out by Andrew as Captain Archer. Enterprise is the 5th Star Trek series, and is actually set before all previous Star Trek time periods, showing the earliest days of space exploration.


Willow: Bring It On

Bring It On was a 2000 comedy directed by Peyton Reed about fueding cheerleading squads from San Diego and Compton. Two of the film's stars were Eliza Dushku and Clare Kramer who are best known for playing rebel slayer Faith and hell goddess Glory on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
 
nerd4hire:

Thanks loads! Just to up the creep factor, the song used as the trigger for Spike was the theme song for a very long running and much beloved children's program up here in Canada. "The Friendly Giant" ran from the late '50s to the early '80s on the CBC. To have that music trigger a vamp attack is creepy on a large scale, but I'll wager the Buffy team had no idea about the connection. You'd have to be a hardcore CBC baby to know about "Friendly".

The Anna Nicole Smith reference is a real hoot, I musta had an ear cramp when that one was on.
 
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