Discussion of 1.04 "Teacher's Pet" - Aired 3/24/1997 (WB-US)

[Fuffy Baith]

Yea, I'm with @Mr Trick in that it doesn't really bother me, but maybe that's because I've seen this in other movies and shows.

Inviting a student to come over and serve him alcoholic drinks is pretty illegal here

This is the part where it does start to gross me out, because that's very inappropriate to invite a student over and then illegal to serve them alcohol and try to "seduce" him. It's more disturbing knowing that she needs a virgin to fertilize her eggs. Eww!

One final point...Ms. French is not even hot.

No, I don't think she is either. But wasn't she like putting off pheromones or something. Didn't Giles even say she was attractive? Forget the Virgin thing and imagine if she was trying to seduce Giles instead. I think that would be better. Plus it would make sense why he was hesitant to get to know Ms. Calendar. Besides, Xander gets a better episode with The Pack. I actually sort of like Teacher's Pet even though I know it's terrible. Lol

 

[GoSpuffy]

The good:
Dr Gregory and Buffy scene, her whole school experience could have been different if she'd had a supportive teacher in her life
Giles: wasn't here, didn't see it, couldn't have stopped it. I've always loved Giles, right from the beginning
Xander being set on his path to being a demon magnet

The bad:
Angel - his character gets better in time but pretty pointless in the early episodes.

The ugly:
Cordelia, always Cordelia.
And The bug sandwich

Not my favorite episode by a long shot.

 

[Jam]

Okay, it's been a long while but let's pick this rewatch back up, self!

"Teacher's Pet" is the first real dud of season 1, but I'm a fan of season 1 so there aren't that many duds this season for me.

Dr. Gregory also appears in the episode right before this, so that's a nice bit of continuity! His brief scene with Buffy is sweet, so of course he dies immediately after. RIP.

Xander smiling at the lead singer at The Bronze and the lead singer sneering at him has to be one of the most random scenes lol

Predictably, the saving graces of this episode for me are the Buffy/Angel scenes. Cute! "You're cold." / "You can take it." Who says Buffy and Angel don't have banter? Angel feels like his cryptic, awkward yet suave self in this episode. "Oh, boy." You don't even know the half of it, Buffy...

It's not romanticised at all, thankfully, but it is still supremely uncomfortable watching a teacher hit on students. Blech.

Charisma Carpenter sure does nail those horror movie-esque screams.

Yeah, I really don't have much else to say about this somewhat lacklustre episode other than the ending gives me X-Files vibes. I think the problem with the episode is that it's – like I just mentioned – lacklustre but at the same time it's also ridiculous; I mean, Buffy is battling the monster of the week using bug spray... let that sink in.

Tagline for Teacher's Pet: "What are you going to do?" / "My homework."

 

[thrasherpix]

I just watched this today myself. I'll agree that it was lackluster, and that Dr. Gregory was sweet. The only part I really enjoyed, though, is the madman Giles talked about and eventually called.