PrincessBuffy16
Scooby
The Zeppo
Air Date: January 26, 1999
Writer: Dan Vebber
Director: James Whitmore, Jr.
Trivia:
- The structure and concept of this episode (which for the most part follows Xander on what in another episode would be his subplot, while the series' more conventionally main characters are relegated to the background) is an homage to Tom Stoppard's 1967 existentialist play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which follows the action of two relatively minor characters from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" while using the actual main plot and characters from Hamlet as occasional background and diversion.
- "Zeppo" (Herbert Manfred) Marx was the fifth and youngest of the Marx Brothers, after Chico, Harpo, Groucho, and Gummo. Although he was a performer (unlike Gummo), he was rarely given much comedic material, usually playing the "straight man" in the Marx's plays and movies instead - hence Cordelia's insult to Xander that he is inessential to Buffy and the gang and therefore "The Zeppo" of the group.
- Nicholas Brendon cried when he read the script for this episode because he was "so delighted with it, and its meaning for [his] character".
- When Xander finds the bomb, he greets it by saying 'Hello Nasty'. This is the title of the fifth studio album by the Beastie Boys. Hello Nasty features the song Putting Shame in Your Game, which is heard in this episode.
- In addition to having frog fear, Willow also has nightmares about public nudity, academic failure, and the demon that came out of The Hellmouth.
- Xander has an Uncle Rory who seems to have a drinking problem. He owns a 57 Chevy Bel Air, which he loaned Xander since he stacked up so many DUI's (for those of you outside the USA a DUI is a ticket for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol).
- Giles likes jelly donuts, and apparently Buffy does, too.
- Sunnydale apparently does have gangs (not just made-up "gangs on PCP," which is a popular excuse for the tragedies in Sunnydale). One of them is the Jackals.
Goofs:
- During the "battle of the Hellmouth," after Buffy is slammed through the library doors into the corridor beyond, the view cuts to the multi-headed monster following her out and you can clearly see the wheeled dolly supporting the leftmost head and the crew member behind the dolly operating the head.
- When the "battle of the Hellmouth" begins in the library, the handles abruptly disappear from the library side of the doors, obviously for safety reasons necessitated by the upcoming wire gag where Buffy is slammed through the doors into the corridor beyond. Also, the cylinder lock on the outside push-plate jumps from below the handle to above it.
- At 35:42, as Jack and his gang are running down the street after Xander's car and Jack shouts, "He's heading for the school," everyone in fact is heading *away* from the school, which is visible in the background behind Jack, only a half-block back up the street.
- Xander was about two years old when "Wanna Be Startin' Something" was released. While it is conceivable that he could know this song, it is unlikely that he would "remember that fun song." Of course, this can be interpreted in different ways.
- The scene where Xander and Oz are discussing "coolness" starts out with an audio of Xander talking, paired with a shot of cafeteria food being scooped up. In the background of this shot, you can see Xander, Buffy, and Willow at a table. But the next shot (and the rest of the scene) shows just Xander and Oz sitting together. This is because that first shot was footage from "I Only Have Eyes For You."
- Jack says that he couldn't raise his dead friends earlier because he "had to wait 8 months for the stars to align," but he died three weeks ago and his "grandpappy" raised him the same night.
- As Parker is being decapitated by the mailbox there is a lot of mail sticking almost a foot out of it; after Xander drops the body we see that the mail is sticking out only a couple of inches.
- When Jack and Xander are facing off while the bomb timer ticks away, the timing is not correct. At one point, the timer says :11, but two seconds later (and the beeps are audible, so you can count the seconds easily), it says :12. Then, exactly when it should explode, we see that it is at 4 seconds.
References:
- "But gee, Mr. White, if Clark and Lois get all the good stories, I'll never be a good reporter," and "You must feel like Jimmy Olsen." "” The Superman references just keep on coming. Mr. Perry White was the editor-in-chief of The Daily Planet, where Clark Kent (Superman) and Lois Lane worked, along with Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy was a photographer who wanted to be a reporter; he was always on the sidelines trying to be in on everything.
- The Michael Jackson song that Xander mentioned was "Wanna Be Startin' Something," from the 1982 album Thriller.
- "I'm taking the Flügelhorn and getting zero trim." "” A Flügelhorn is a strange trumpet-like instrument, that sounds more like a French Horn. Xander was wondering why this instrument didn't get him any girls?
- "They couldn't just pour Gatorade on each other?" "” Gatorade is a popular sports drink; pouring jugs of it on people has become a sports tradition after a win.
- "Walker, Texas Ranger...you been taping 'em?" "” Walker, Texas Ranger was a CBS TV show (1993 - 2001) starring Chuck Norris.
- "We'll hang out at Taco Bell." "” Taco Bell is a popular fast food restaurant serving "Mexican" food.
- "It's just...um...I've never been Up With People before." "” Up With People is a non-profit organization in which a group of students travel around the world for a year spreading friendship and understanding through educational musical performances.
- "...After that mickey I gave him." "” A mickey is "a drink, usually alcoholic, to which a drug, purgative, or the like, has been secretly added, that renders the unsuspecting drinker helpless." We are thinking, though, that Willow is possibly just referring to the tranquilizers she shot into him.
- "Note to self: less talk." "” During Norm MacDonald's tenure as the anchor of the "Weekend Update" segment of Saturday Night Live, he would often take out a tape recorder and leave a "note to self" as part of the jokes. An example, albeit not the best one: "Note to Self: Sex with blow-up doll is not as good as advertised."
Best Quotes:
- Xander: Is it hard to play guitar?
Oz: Not the way I play it.
- Buffy: What should we do with the trio over here? Should we burn them?
Willow: I brought marshmallows. Occasionally I'm callous and strange.
- Xander: If anyone sees my spine layin' around, just try not to step on it.
- Faith: Yeah, that was real manly how you shrieked and all.
Xander: I think you'll find that was more of a bellow.
- Jack O'Toole: She's called Katie.
Xander: You gave it a girl's name. How very serial killer of you.
- Angel: I love you.
Buffy: I love you.
Angel: Nothing can change that. Not even death.
Arc significance:
- Xander loses his virginity to Faith, but the boost to his self-esteem is undermined by Buffy's statement about Faith in "Consequences".
- The multi-headed monster is the same monster that attacked Giles, Willow, Cordelia and Jenny in the library when the Master's ascension opened the Hellmouth in "Prophecy Girl". The Master's death caused the monster to retreat back into the Hellmouth.
- Although Xander will never acquire special powers, the importance of the emotional strength his support lends the group will be demonstrated by his assumption of the role of "Animus" (heart) in the superbeing created by merging the psyches of Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles in the season 4 episode Primeval.
Soundtrack:
- "G-Song"
Supergrass
- "Easy 09"
Tricky Woo
- "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
Michael Jackson
- "Putting Shame in Your Game"
Beastie Boys
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VisionGirl
I love your episode summaries- you should do more! :)
