The Zeppo
The Good;
All of it, pure genius and a chance for Nic Brendon to shine like a beacon.
The Bad;
Not much, the zombie makeup could be a bit better but that's about all. Buffy's hair looks like it's been through the machine that makes crinkly chips. Surely Jack's bomb is not sophisticated enough to be boobytrapped, why doesn't Xander just yank the wires out? Like Spike in Lover's Walk and the swimteam in Go Fish isn't it a bit irresponsible to just let O'Toole go at the end?
Best line;
Willow; Occasionally I'm callous and strange (as we'll find out in Seeing Red)
or
O'Toole (threatening Xander with his knife) Are you sacred?
Xander (desperate) Would that make you happy?
But the winner is;
Xander (wondering why Oz is cool) Is it the way you express yourself in short, non-commital sentences?
Oz; Do I?
also good is Xander's 'I like the quiet', he's prepared to die to save his friends.
Character death;
The Magic Box has a new owner but not for long.
Shot;
Various members of the undead gang when they were alive plus Oz twice by Willow
Tied up;
nope unless Faith and Xander indulged in some during the heat of passion
Knocked out;
Angel according to the dialogue plus werewolf Oz
Women good/men bad;
Actually a sisterhood of female demons this time around.
Jeez!;
Decapitation by letterbox, death by soda machine
Kinky dinky;
Faith shamelessly uses Xander for her own pleasure then chucks him out the door afterwards. Not that he's complaining! (and I'm sure millions of guys and not a few girls would agree). Xander seems to imply that he's never had sex before. We don't exaclty know how old he or Faith are so it could be statuatory rape, like Buffy/Angel (the legal age is 18 in California). Faith does this after the pain of Xander resetting her shoulder, linking pain, violence and pleasure (in Get It Done we discover why Slayers have this dark sexual side). Buffy seems to imply that Xander's car is a penis metaphor, love how her mind works. Xander's girl is lovely although Cordy's opinion of her is probably correct. Willow dreams of being naked, attacked by demons and late for a test.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Xander is quick to point out to the cop that although he and Jack are wrestling it's 'Not in a gay way'. Check out page 17 of the Sunnydale High Yearbook for a very interesting picture of Willow from this episode posed with a couple of SDH cheerleaders. Some of the dialogue about making Xander 'part of the gang' has a distinct Carry-On feel about it.
Guantanamo Bay;
Xander interrogates the zombie-gang by dragging one behind a car and threatening another with a bomb. Buffy goes to beat up Willy but finds someone has beaten her to it.
Scoobies to the ER;
Giles this time with a banged up arm and head wound.
Where's Dawn?
Presumably Buffy got Dawn and Joyce out of town as she did in Graduation Day pt2
Questions and observations;
The title comes from one of the lesser known Marx brothers. I suppose they could also have called it 'The Ringo'? (they do refer to Yoko later). Raising the dead appears to depend on the alignment of the stars as we later see in Bargaining although the magic is obviously different as Buffy is alive whilst Bob and co are zombies. Xander and Cordy still have a rapport despite them having fallen out. Cordy mocks Xander for his lack of superpowers but one day she will have her own in spades. The seeds of the season 7 ep Potential are sown here. The scene between Oz and Xander is wonderful, they have obviously made up although what would Oz have thought of Will telling Xander she loved him outside the Magic Box? Giles and Buffy both like jelly doughnuts. Amazingly the SDPD make themselves useful, rescuing Xander at the Bronze. Sunnydale obviously has it's share of criminal gangs in addition to all the evil. Uncle Rory is mentioned again. The series is confident enough to make fun of it's own cliches but the more serious point is that the Buffy/Angel relationship has not much room left to go. This is the last comedy ep before we start the evil-Faith storyline where things get a lot more serious. Xander uses the SDH soda machine to kill one of the gang, is this why it always gives the wrong drink from then on? He's pretty handy with the axe but then he wanted to be a fireman. Thankfully Oz still can't remember stuff he does as a werewolf but that'll change by season 4. Interestingly in this ep Angel is referred to as a the 'key' to opening the Hellmouth just as his blood awakened Acathla.
10/10, one of the best eps for a series at it's peak.
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EDIT
Episode Summary
When Xander realizes that he isn't needed by the gang as much as he'd like to believe, his quest to prove he's cool leads him to an unforgettable night that finds him consorting with fast women, raising the dead and rolling with a dangerous crowd that could put Sunnydale in a world of hurt. Meanwhile, Buffy, Giles and the rest of the crew engage in a furious battle with the Sisterhood of Jhe, an all-female demon apocalypse cult that intends to reopen the Hellmouth and bring about the end of the world.moreless
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Sarah Michelle Gellar
Buffy Anne Summers
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Seth Green
Daniel 'Oz' Osbourne
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David Boreanaz
Angel
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
See All-
Trivia
ADD TRIVIA- In one scene during the fight in the basement between Xander and Jack, you can see the bomb timer tick to 10 seconds, but when the scene changes from out of the close-up, the time is back up to 12 seconds. Edit
- Obviously Xander wants to get away from Jack and the others, yet he blows a perfectly good opportunity when the group breaks into the hardware store leaving Xander alone in his car. Edit
- When Faith makes her first appearance in the series, she tells the Scooby Gang that slaying can really turn a slayer on. In this episode, Faith proves this when she first tells Xander that she's "all wound up" from fighting, and then proceeds to have her way with him in bed. Edit
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Notes
ADD NOTES- This episode is sixth in Joss Whedon's list of his top ten favorite episodes according to his personal letter included in the Australian Chosen Collection Box-set. The episodes on this top ten list are not ranked, but are put in order of which episode aired first. Edit
- Music: While Xander is driving his uncle's car -- "Dodgems" by Sound Stage Ltd Xander and Lysette are at the bronze -- "G Song" by Supergrass Xander is driving the zombies around town -- "Easy" by Tricky Woo At the end of the episode -- "For the Glory" by Extreme Music Edit
- 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. Edit
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Quotes
ADD QUOTES-
Xander: (imitation whine) But, gee, Mr. White, if Clark and Lois get all the good stories, I'll never be a good reporter!
Giles: Hmm?
Xander: Jimmy Olsen jokes are pretty much going to be lost on you, huh?
Giles: Sorry, afraid so.
Edit - Bob: How long I been down? Jack: Eight months. I had to wait till the stars aligned. Bob: Oh, eight months. I got some catching up to do. Whoa! Walker, Texas Ranger. You been taping 'em? Jack: Every ep. Edit
- Xander: You're in a band! That's like a business class ticket to cool with complementary mojo after takeoff! I gotta learn an instrument. Is it hard to play guitar? Oz: Not the way I play it. Edit
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Xander: (imitation whine) But, gee, Mr. White, if Clark and Lois get all the good stories, I'll never be a good reporter!
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Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS-
Xander: Hello, nasty!
This is what Xander says when he goes down to the school basement and discovers the bomb. "Hello Nasty" is the title of a 1998 album by the Beastie Boys. Edit -
Bob: Walker Texas Ranger. You been tapin' 'em?
"Walker Texas Ranger" was a popular CBS drama starring Chuck Norris as the Texas Ranger, Cordell Walker, who fought numerous criminals throughout the show's eight-year run, from 1993 to 2001. Edit -
Xander: I've never been up with people before.
It's not clear if Xander made the reference intentionally but Up With People is a youth organization that performs traveling shows to "build understanding and cooperation among people of different cultures". Faith is in a way introducing Xander to a whole new world Edit
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Xander: Hello, nasty!
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