Dead Man's Party - Interesting Facts

[PrincessBuffy16]

Dead Man's Party
Writer: Marti Noxon
Director: James Whitmore, Jr.
Aired: October 06, 1998

Trivia:

- Pat mentions to Buffy that Joyce read "The Deep End of the Ocean" while Buffy was gone. It is a 1996 novel by Jacquelyn Mitchard about a suburban middle-class family much like Buffy's that is torn apart when the youngest son disappears, only to reappear at the front doorstep years later.

- This episode introduces a new location, a downtown corner plaza with an espresso bar.

- There is a private girls' school called Miss Porter's in Sunnydale or at least in the vicinity.

- Willow has started studying witchcraft.

Goofs:

- As Buffy is walking home, she is clearly wearing platforms, but later when she goes down to get dinner plates, she is wearing high heels.

- As Giles is driving from the school to Buffy's house we see him on Main Street, passing the Espresso Pump. Moments later, when he hits the zombie, he has mysteriously reversed course and is once again passing the Espresso Pump, only this time in the opposite direction.

References:

- The episode title, "Dead Man's Party," is a reference to the 1985 Oingo Boingo song of the same name, which is indeed fitting "” the song includes lines such as "Going to a party where no one's still alive."

- "Care to throw in a little foot-binding?" In traditional Chinese culture, small feet were considered a sign of extreme femininity and thus was a highly sought-after attribute in potential wives. To make themselves more attractive to men, women therefore practiced the painfully torturous ritual of binding their feet tightly with cloth to stunt their growth and keep them small.

- "You got the wrong house, Mr. Belvedere." Mr. Belvedere was an American sitcom which ran from 1985 to 1990. It starred British actor Christopher Hewitt as a British society butler who takes a position as nanny and housekeeper for a wacky American family, the patriarch of which was played by baseball announcer Bob Uecker.

- "Man, this sucker wobbles, but he won't fall down!" Weebles, a toy produced by Kenner, were egg-shaped figures which, due to the weights inside them, could not be anything other than the right way up. That was their selling point "” "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down" was their well-known advertising slogan throughout the 1970's.

Quotes:

- Giles: Unbelievable! "Do you like my mask? Isn't it pretty? It raises the dead!" Americans!

- Xander: So where were you? Did you go to Belgium?
Buffy Summers: Why would I go to Belgium?
Xander: I think the relevant question is why wouldn't ya? Belgium.

- Cordelia: I'm the dip.
Xander: Eh, you gotta admire the purity of it.
Cordelia: What? Onion dip. Stirring, not cooking. It's what I bring.

- Buffy Summers: Fine. Okay. I'm the bad. I can take my lumps... for a while.
Willow Rosenberg: Alright. I'll stop giving you a hard time... runaway.
Buffy Summers: Will!
Willow Rosenberg: I'm sorry... quitter.
Buffy Summers: Whiner.
Willow Rosenberg: Bailer.
Buffy Summers: Harpy.
Willow Rosenberg: Delinquent.
Buffy Summers: Tramp.
Willow Rosenberg: Bad seed.
Buffy Summers: Witch.
Willow Rosenberg: Freak. (I just love this conversation)

Soundtrack:

- "Sway" - Four Star Mary

- "Never Mind" - Four Star Mary

- "Pain" - Four Star Mary

- "The Mask theme" - Christophe Beck



http://imdb.com

 

[danlowrie]

Great episode :smile3: love the agruement that Buffy, Willow and Xander have before the zombie's crash the party

plus.....zombies :biggrin3::biggrin3::biggrin3:

Dan

 

[Eleftheria]

I am glad for Buffy's return at home. But I was furious at the Scoobies. She has the weight of the world on her shoulders. She had to kill the man she loved. And the Scoobies never understand.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

Yep. I was the most mad at Xander, he had a nerve to say something to her after that big lie he said in Becoming :/

 

[crazysoulless]

I own a copy of The Deep End of the Ocean. (I read Oprah's book of the month selections)

I wanted to laugh at Xander's "wobble but they don't fall down" joke but I was still mad at him.

I kind of wanted to see Buffy at a private school after seeing her in Cruel Intentions. Very pretty in that school uniform. And she might have started "experimenting" at 17/18 if she was matriculating only with females followed by all that buddy slayage time with Faith and her existing bff coming out as a lesbian the next year.

 

[TheChosenTwo]

Giles: Unbelievable! "Do you like my mask? Isn't it pretty? It raises the dead!" Americans.

I was seriously LMFAO when he said that 😀

 

[Taake]

I was seriously LMFAO when he said that 😀

I so agree, whenever me and my sis are bored or sad we'll repeat this and laugh like crazy. I love this quote.

However, it is pretty much the only thing I do like about the episode. I always cringe when I re-watch seasons and I have to watch this again.

 

[ApesFindShapes]

Buffy Summers: Fine. Okay. I'm the bad. I can take my lumps... for a while.
Willow Rosenberg: Alright. I'll stop giving you a hard time... runaway.
Buffy Summers: Will!
Willow Rosenberg: I'm sorry... quitter.
Buffy Summers: Whiner.
Willow Rosenberg: Bailer.
Buffy Summers: Harpy.
Willow Rosenberg: Delinquent.
Buffy Summers: Tramp.
Willow Rosenberg: Bad seed.
Buffy Summers: Witch.
Willow Rosenberg: Freak. (I just love this conversation)

That conversation always makes me smile. Great best friend interaction, hah.

 

[Bungle Jerry]

Much love for Nancy Lenehan's Pat, probably the best intentionally-annoying character in the Buffyverse (Buffy's awkwardness around her is great), but this is like "Empty Spaces" five years too early - Joyce is ridiculous in it, Xander's annoying... everybody's speaking out of character, really. Coming after "Anne" (which you might have noticed I like), it's a huge disappointment, I think.

 

[BibliophileAnn]

Yep. I was the most mad at Xander, he had a nerve to say something to her after that big lie he said in Becoming :/

Xander had no right to judge Buffy for loving Angel but he always did.

 

[redheadboi19]

I quite often wanted to bash Xander's face in. I think the only reason I like him at all is because he is so sexi. That is the only thing he really has going for him. He is rather a jerk

 

[crazysoulless]

I couldn't believe he had the nerve to refer to Buffy's grief and guilt over having to send Angel to HELL "guy troubles".

 

[sosa lola]

I couldn't believe he had the nerve to refer to Buffy's grief and guilt over having to send Angel to HELL "guy troubles".

He doesn't know that by that time. Buffy tells the gang about it in episode 4 and this is episode 2.

But that doesn't mean that he wasn't a jerk in this scene. Everybody was being an idiot, but I found it very human. Xander, Willow and Joyce were the ones hurt the most by Buffy running away for three months. Just picture what they had went through, not knowing whether she was dead or alive, sitting by the phone, waiting for a phone call or a letter just to reassure them. Buffy was grieving, but what she had done was still selfish, though I don't expect her to do the right thing as she's seventeen, so young to think rationally, not to mention went through a lot.

On the other hand, Xander and Willow are also seventeen. They're kids. All three thought about themselves and their hurt and forgot about everyone else. Also, while Xander was being harsh, remember he only jumped into the fight in defense of Joyce. All summer, he'd seen her suffer because Buffy was gone, he didn't see Buffy suffering. So it was easier to sympathize with Joyce more.

Joyce's "if you walk out, don't ever come back" is something most parents use to keep their kids in line and safe. I understand why she said it, she wanted Buffy home and safe. She didn't really want her kicked out, any parent will see that. Buffy, though, is a kid who was going through hell, so she couldn't think rationally about it and took what Joyce said to heart.

 

[Vengeance]

I have run away from home (who hasn't?) but I don't think my parents have ever even thought those words. Why you would banish your only child from your home is beyond me. I just get this dumbfounded feeling when I think about how you told her never to come back, and then when she doesn't come back, you act surprised and dismayed. It reminds me of an exchange between Xander and Anya where he says "I tend to accept the things that people say at face value" .. "That's stupid!" .. "I accept that."

The gang seemed to take it upon themselves to fight evil in Buffy's absence, which seems to be the source of their misery (or at least Xander says something like "thanks for ruining our summers"), but I don't see how you can blame that on Buffy, you took it upon yourself to try to shoulder her burden. Maybe instead of being angry you should have a new appreciation of the pressures that are on her? Also, didn't Buffy go to LA between season 1 and 2 and Xander/Willow didn't feel the need to go vamp hunting then, why then do they feel the need to do it in season 3?

I skip this episode in my rewatches.

 

[sosa lola]

I have run away from home (who hasn't?) but I don't think my parents have ever even thought those words. Why you would banish your only child from your home is beyond me. I just get this dumbfounded feeling when I think about how you told her never to come back, and then when she doesn't come back, you act surprised and dismayed.

That's not what Joyce did. The bottom line is she DIDN'T want Buffy to leave at all. The police were after her, something bad was happening outside, Buffy shocking her with the news about Slayers/demons/blood in her clothes, Joyce putting two and two together.

"If you walk out of that door, don't ever think of coming back." It was Joyce's last desperate attempt to make Buffy stay. She thought the threat will scare Buffy into staying. It's understandable.

I also understand why Buffy thought Joyce was kicking her out, she'd been through so much and didn't need to be around anybody. She ran away for that reason. It's also understandable.

I understand both Buffy and Joyce, and feel bad for both of them. I'm just not taking sides.

The gang seemed to take it upon themselves to fight evil in Buffy's absence, which seems to be the source of their misery (or at least Xander says something like "thanks for ruining our summers"), but I don't see how you can blame that on Buffy, you took it upon yourself to try to shoulder her burden. Maybe instead of being angry you should have a new appreciation of the pressures that are on her? Also, didn't Buffy go to LA between season 1 and 2 and Xander/Willow didn't feel the need to go vamp hunting then, why then do they feel the need to do it in season 3?

They did say it was a slow year between S1 and S2, and as we've seen there were vampires that needed to be slain between S2 and S3. So, the gang took care of them the best way they can because no one was around to do it. You won't expect them to let innocents die because Buffy wasn't around anymore.

I understand Xander's anger. It was Buffy's job to slay the vampires. She has the strength to do it effortlessly. Xander and the others don't. But they can't just let vampires roam around and kill innocents because they weren't handed Buffy's superpowers. And I think his anger has more to do with Buffy running away without contact than the slaying part, he seemed to enjoy that a lot.

 

[Professor Walsh]

Joyce's "if you walk out, don't ever come back" is something most parents use to keep their kids in line and safe. I understand why she said it, she wanted Buffy home and safe. She didn't really want her kicked out, any parent will see that. Buffy, though, is a kid who was going through hell, so she couldn't think rationally about it and took what Joyce said to heart.

Count me out of "most parents", then. I've said this before, but it bears saying again: To me, home is the place a child (no matter if s/he's five, fifteen or fifty) should always be able to come back to. Indicating that your child is not welcome back has no place in a healthy parent/child relationship, regardless of whether it is an idle threat or not.

 

[sosa lola]

Count me out of "most parents", then. I've said this before, but it bears saying again: To me, home is the place a child (no matter if s/he's five, fifteen or fifty) should always be able to come back to. Indicating that your child is not welcome back has no place in a healthy parent/child relationship, regardless of whether it is an idle threat or not.

I wasn't saying that it's healthy parenting. I was saying that parents use this threat to keep their children home, and they're doing it out of fear and love. It's probably not the perfect way to handle the situation but it's understandable.

 

[DoughnutHole]

Count me out of "most parents", then. I've said this before, but it bears saying again: To me, home is the place a child (no matter if s/he's five, fifteen or fifty) should always be able to come back to. Indicating that your child is not welcome back has no place in a healthy parent/child relationship, regardless of whether it is an idle threat or not.

I'm right there with you. I think saying that it's acceptable for a parent to threaten a child like that is unbelievable.

As humans, we've all said things we didnt mean. Joyce defended herself by saying that Buffy had just thrown something pretty heavy at her and didnt give her any time to think about it. It's true, she didnt. And, clearly, the words slipped out before she could stop them. But then to collectively hound on Buffy upon her return... is just painful.

I think the worst thing is when Joyce is speaking with Pat in the kitchen and says something like how it's actually worse that Buffy has come back. And the way that, while discussing options, she continues to beat a dead horse by bringing up the fact that Buffy "made some bad decisions and now has to deal with the consiquences" which is something Joyce has ALWAYS done. From day 1, Season 1. It's always been "Don't revert back to your old ways" "Don't get kicked out of school" "Don't disappoint me again"... Yeah, that's a great way to handle your daughter.

Clearly, I have trouble with Joyce as a mother. Sometimes she can be great, I know that. Sometimes she kicks major ass. But then others... I can't help but cringe.

 

[Professor Walsh]

Clearly, I have trouble with Joyce as a mother. Sometimes she can be great, I know that. Sometimes she kicks major ass. But then others... I can't help but cringe.

Actually, I love Joyce. She does say some immensely cringeworthy things at times, I think the whole run away-blame Giles-talk to Pat whit B in the house-lecture her at the party is a lousy way of handling what life throws at you, but in the general scheme of things I think Joyce Summers is a good portrayal of a mother muddling through as best as she can. Parenting is a helluva challenge at time.

 

[Vengeance]

They did say it was a slow year between S1 and S2, and as we've seen there were vampires that needed to be slain between S2 and S3. So, the gang took care of them the best way they can because no one was around to do it. You won't expect them to let innocents die because Buffy wasn't around anymore.

I understand Xander's anger. It was Buffy's job to slay the vampires. She has the strength to do it effortlessly. Xander and the others don't. But they can't just let vampires roam around and kill innocents because they weren't handed Buffy's superpowers. And I think his anger has more to do with Buffy running away without contact than the slaying part, he seemed to enjoy that a lot.

That's where it gets a little confusing, like, why was it a slow time between S1-2? Vampires went on holiday? I started to type out this explanation, but then I realized it was just bad writing. The writers just forgot that a year previous they had all the vampires disappear when Buffy wasn't around. I still say they shouldn't be angry at Buffy because they tried to do her job. It's not like she asked them to.

I think he is worried about where she is and if she's alright but I don't think that's really why he's angry, because of the line about "ruining our summers." Maybe if he was her blood-kin you can use the word 'ruining' but otherwise a more appropriate term would be 'put a damper on.'