Teacher's Pet or IRYJ? Which is the worse episode?

Mr Trick

Mr Trick

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Let me be clear here I know that there are people who don't mind these episodes, and some who even love them, so I am not assuming that everyone shares that feelings on them. But its fair to say that they are widely considered two of the worse Buffy episodes ever, and the low points of this season.

So which one is the worse or more which one is not quite as bad if you like?😉

I like IRYJ a bit more. It at least has a good concept which was partly ahead of its time, its just that they waste it in a cheap monster of the week narrative. AH is good at showing Willow's naive and vulanble side, and Buffy's support and concern for her is sweet. I like Jenny's debut and interaction with Giles, and final Scoobies scene is really good.
 
I agree with IRYJ being better. To me, Willow is more interesting to focus on than Xander. And it was kind of hilariously cheesy as opposed to mostly boring.
 
IRYJ- one of the worst of any season.
Malcolm's evil scheme doesn't even make any sense, why does he target Willow so specifically? just cuase she was there?
Why does he hang around the high school when he could go anywhere in the world? Why does he have lame minions?
Plus, robot body!

The only good bits are Giles/Jenny and the end scene 'we're doomed!' and the laughter that fades into unhappiness.
 
Monkey Pants said:
I agree with IRYJ being better. To me, Willow is more interesting to focus on than Xander. And it was kind of hilariously cheesy as opposed to mostly boring.
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I think Teacher's Pet gives us some crude stereotypes and some of humour about masculaity is just too on the nose.

thetopher said:
IRYJ- one of the worst of any season.
Malcolm's evil scheme doesn't even make any sense, why does he target Willow so specifically? just cuase she was there?
Why does he hang around the high school when he could go anywhere in the world? Why does he have lame minions?
Plus, robot body!

The only good bits are Giles/Jenny and the end scene 'we're doomed!' and the laughter that fades into unhappiness.
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The Willow question is fair, maybe we are just meant to assume that she just happened to be the one online at the time I don't know. The other stuff is Sci-Fi-Fantasy conventions. I mean you either have to go with it or you would never get past the avenge episode. I know that the great Buffy episodes have logic to them, but then many of the setups would still have things in them which play hard and fast with logic.
 
Haven't seen either episode for a long time, but from what I remember Teachers Pet was just cringe-worthy, and it was only the 4th episode! I wonder if watching it put a lot of people off watching anymore Buffy 🙂

I don't even know what the point of it was - just to show Xander was a normal teenage boy - well duh! Older women like younger boys? Or was it one of the preachy eps, telling teenagers that sex is a scary thing and you shouldn't take it too lightly? As I say, cringey.

Definitely prefer IRYJ, I think it expanded Willows character, whereas Teachers Pet made Xander seems like the comic relief
 
Mr Trick said:
The other stuff is Sci-Fi-Fantasy conventions. I mean you either have to go with it or you would never get past the avenge episode.
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Not really. the internet is kindof everywhere- not limited to small town Sunnydale, which makes Moloch's scheme seem really narrow/silly.
Plus he's supposed to be a 'corruptor' and yet...Willow is immune? And his two- count them TWO! minions are really lame.
 
thetopher said:
Not really. the internet is kindof everywhere- not limited to small town Sunnydale, which makes Moloch's scheme seem really narrow/silly.
Plus he's supposed to be a 'corruptor' and yet...Willow is immune? And his two- count them TWO! minions are really lame.
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But this is only 1997, the internet was still a very small thing then, and access to it was not as widely available. I'm not even disputing that the setup isn't dodgy, but then its what you do with the setup which defines an episode as good or bad. In this case they blew the setup for me.
 
I find Teachers Pet to be more enjoyable. IRYJ feels like the pacing is slower and doesn't keep me intrigued enough. The only thing I like is Giles speech to Jenny about why he likes books. To play devil's advocate a bit, Willow was the one who "unleashed" Moloch by evening him into the computer, so maybe why he picks her, he thinks of her as his savior or something. Maybe he stays in Sunnydale cause its on a hellmouth and that amplifies his demon powers? I mean why does any demon stay in Sunnydale When Buffy is around. No idea about the robot body. That was a stupid ending, mostly cause I thought Moloch in his original form looked pretty good. And then there's Fitz. The less said about him the better.

For me IRYJ is the worse episode of the two. It has a better ending than the bug eggs that never show up again. Lol.
 
Mr Trick
Mr Trick
One of your best ever posts, no joke! Some very good points made.
Mr Trick said:
But this is only 1997, the internet was still a very small thing then
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Yet again two years prior the X-Files had a much better episode dealing with the dangers of talking to 'boys' on the internet. Even a better episode name. I Robot You Jane was just a cheap imitation of a better show.

At least Teacher's Pet fit in the milieu of the show. And it was one of the few episodes in which Xander and not Willow was in peril.
 
Mr. Pole said:
Yet again two years prior the X-Files had a much better episode dealing with the dangers of talking to 'boys' on the internet. Even a better episode name. I Robot You Jane was just a cheap imitation of a better show.

At least Teacher's Pet fit in the milieu of the show. And it was one of the few episodes in which Xander and not Willow was in peril.
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I don't agree that it was a cheap imitation, because I don't think Buffy was every trying to be like the X-Files it has always been a distinctly different show. Also, if Willow they stuck with the focus being on Willow I think the episode would have panned out better. Instead they switched to the bland nerds, and went for the over top b-movie finale. The character driven plot was the way to go.
 
Fuffy Baith
Fuffy Baith
Well thank you!
X-Files: Meeting insecure women through an on-line service, a serial killer seduces his prey with the right words.

Buffy: Willow meets a boy on the Internet, but "Malcolm" is really Moloch, an ancient demon who seduces his followers.
 
I like Teacher's Pet better and not just cause I like Xander more than Willow. Teacher's Pet kicks off Xander's whole series arc, which mirrors Buffy's, which is about desiring the gender norms and struggling to be accepted in a society that wants you to behave a certain way when in reality you are not. It's about gender reversal, which is something I enjoy.

IRYJ is mostly about that outdated lecture on the dangers of chat rooms. The only good part in it was Giles/Jenny.

Priceless said:
I don't even know what the point of it was - just to show Xander was a normal teenage boy
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Teacher's Pet is about flipping traditional gender roles. Basically, it's an earlier version of Enchanted. A fairy tale about the damsel virgin about to be raped until saved by her knight. Xander, dark haired handsome boy, kidnapped and chained because he's a virgin and is about to be raped, until Buffy, tiny blonde girl, kicks the door open and saves his life and virginity. 😀
 
Teacher's Pet is worse IMO. So laughably bad. The effects and prosthetics are awful, even for a low budget 90s show, and the guys are just generally being douches because of an attractive woman.

At least IRYJ tries to be relevant. The problem is, when you include technologies which will undoubtedly improve at a rapid rate, it'll inevitably date your show.

I think even without the dodgy tech, they tried to do something decent and give out a good message, it just didn't quite work as well as other shows have managed.

But its saving grace is that it's a great introduction to Jenny, who was a smart, attractive woman who was into tech. There weren't many of those in the 90s. Computer geeks in TV before Jenny were all nerds with frizzy hair and massive glasses who were all of the XY persuasion.

They're both bad, I just prefer IRYJ.
 
sosa lola said:
Teacher's Pet is about flipping traditional gender roles. Basically, it's an earlier version of Enchanted. A fairy tale about the damsel virgin about to be raped until saved by her knight. Xander, dark haired handsome boy, kidnapped and chained because he's a virgin and is about to be raped, until Buffy, tiny blonde girl, kicks the door open and saves his life and virginity. 😀
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I like your thinking, but I'm not sure about the premise. Just to 'flip gender roles' doesn't make it good. It just doesn't work in the sense that Xander wants it - he wants the sex and he wants the woman. I'm not sure what Enchanted is, but I am guessing the girl in that didn't want the sex and didn't want the man.

This is a basic flaw when doing a 'gender flip' story such as this - men are seen as the aggressors and women the victims. Enchanted would have been flipped if the girl had wanted the sex, and then caged up the aggressive man until his friends came to rescue him 🙂

I would agree, being rescued by a little blonde girl does flip the story, but that was what 10 seasons of Buffy has been about, and it's been done so much better, with Buffy saving Xander in countless brilliant episodes
 
Priceless said:
I like your thinking, but I'm not sure about the premise. Just to 'flip gender roles' doesn't make it good. It just doesn't work in the sense that Xander wants it - he wants the sex and he wants the woman. I'm not sure what Enchanted is, but I am guessing the girl in that didn't want the sex and didn't want the man.
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Enchanted was a Disney movie where the princess saves the prince instead of the other way around.

Sex isn't exactly what Xander wants in the episode. Xander wants to be respected, to be seen as a man. As you see in his dream, he's the hero who saves the damsel, he's a cool lead guitarist, Buffy is so in love with him. Boys are pressured to have sex at a very early age which is why Xander and his bully are lying about having sex, if word gets out that they're virgins, they'll be ridiculed and probably beaten for it.

I agree that the episode was badly executed, but I like its theme more than IRYJ.
 
sosa lola said:
Enchanted was a Disney movie where the princess saves the prince instead of the other way around.

Sex isn't exactly what Xander wants in the episode. Xander wants to be respected, to be seen as a man. As you see in his dream, he's the hero who saves the damsel, he's a cool lead guitarist, Buffy is so in love with him. Boys are pressured to have sex at a very early age which is why Xander and his bully are lying about having sex, if word gets out that they're virgins, they'll be ridiculed and probably beaten for it.

I agree that the episode was badly executed, but I like its theme more than IRYJ.
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I think sex is at least part of what Xander wants 😀 But you are right, he does want respect and to be seen as a man. Maybe I'm being too harsh on this episode, but it did make me cringe when I last saw it. To me, Joss uses the sex-is-bad theme quite a lot within Buffy; so he may flip the man saves woman theme, but he still makes the sexually aware and wanting woman a femme fatale monster who gets punished for fulfilling her needs 🙄

I haven't seen either episode for a very long time, so maybe it's time I re-watched, to see that it's maybe not as bad as I remember
 
Teacher's Pet.
Terrible episode. Crappy monster, cheesy 'messege' (doing your homework will save the day!), creepy rapey vibe.
We already have a better Xander epiosde in 'The Pack' (the best of the season imv) and this feels like a hackneyed idea for an episode; evil teacher? Also what is she? Is she a demon or just a giant bug?

IRYJ is funny-cheesy, and has some great lines. Buffy is great, Giles is great, Willow is sweet. The ending is iconic imv- the three of them looking at their doomed love-lives is some of the best forshadowing in S1. 🙂
 
I actually quite like I Robot...You Jane. It's really silly, but it's goofy 90s fun. So I'd pick that.

Neither are nothing compared to the awful that is Bad Eggs...
 
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