Writer:

Jane Espenson

Director:

James A. Contner

Regulars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris

Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

Emma Caulfield as Anya

Michelle Trachtenberg as Dawn

James Marsters as Spike

Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

Guest Stars:

Amber Benson as Tara

Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers

Clare Kramer as Glory

Charlie Weber as Ben

Shonda Farr as April

Adam Busch as Warren Meers

Troy T. Blendell as Jinx

Cast:

Amelinda Embry as Katrina

Paul Darrigo as Driver

Gil Christner as Resident

Kelly Felix as Teenager

Paul Walia as Friend

Credits submitted by Paul Clement.

April the robot was built by a college student named Warren, and programmed with only one purpose: to be the perfect girlfriend. Along with with various programs made to please Warren, April was also given a combat program which, combined with her super-robot strength, made her a formidable fighter. Though not evil, April was amoral in her single minded obsession with Warren. Robots have been used frequently throughout fiction for either good (Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation) or bad (Michael Crichton's Westworld). The first robot in fiction was perhaps Frankenstein's monster, although that is perhaps not what we would now imagine a robot to be. BtVS has dealt with robots before, as in Season Two's "Ted."

April

Her batteries run out at the park.

Joyce Summers

Cause unknown. Found by Buffy at the Summers' home.

Total: Two

Body count submitted by Amy S. and Lori Ann Curley.

Tara: "I go online sometimes, but everyone's spelling is really bad. It's... depressing."

Spike: "If you want me to leave, you can put your hands on my hot, tight little body and make me."

Spike: "You threw me through a window! What's that about?"
April: "You cannot make those suggestions to me. I have a boyfriend. Warren is my boyfriend."
Spike: "You know what? My bleeding sympathies to Warren!"

More quotes from this episode...

Tara: "Just tryin' a little spicy talk."

• Dawn: "Maybe he's a gigolo. Was his shirt all shiny?"

A gigolo is a man who has sex with a woman and receives financial support from her. Basically, a male prostitute.

• Anya: "I had trouble adjusting to the idea of Lutherans."

According to the Encarta World English Dictionary, Lutheranism is the first form of Protestantism, founded by Martin Luther in 16th-century Germany. It focuses on the teachings of Jesus Christ and stresses individual faith over collective church authority.

• Anya: "But you have to try online trading — it's great!"

In online trading, a transaction involving one party buying a share/security from another party occurs over the Internet. The purpose of trading is to earn a profit, often to save money for the future, although traders can also lose their entire investment. There are many types of securities to invest in, different types of trades available, and varying commissions/fees charged depending on the broker.

• Ben (trying to make a joke): "Well, actually, these are orthopedic pants."

Orthopedic devices are designed to relieve and/or correct disorders of the bones, joints, ligaments, or muscles. Common orthopedic devices include shoes that provide support for the foot arch and pillows that lessen strain on the neck while sleeping.

• Xander: "Double-glazed windows ain't cheap."

Double-glazed windows consist of two layers of glass separated by a space; the space between the glass is included to provide improved heat and sound insulation.


• Willow (thinking of people named Warren): "There's hardly any except Warren Beatty and, you know, President Harding."

Warren Beatty (born in 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director. He was born Henry Warren Beaty (he later added another t to his last name) in Richmond, Virginia. He is the younger brother of actress Shirley MacLaine.

Warren Gamaliel Harding (1865-1923), Republican, was the 29th president of the United States from 1921-1923. Harding's administration is mainly remembered for its corruption, which was revealed after Harding's death. Harding died while serving as President; his vice-president, Calvin Coolidge, succeeded him.

• Willow: "I'm not sure this is a code red."

"Code Red" is a term commonly used to denote an emergency situation.


• Buffy: "I didn't see Prince Charming."

Prince Charming refers to the standard handsome prince character in fairy tales. The role of Prince Charming is generally to sweep the heroine off her feet, marry her, and live happily ever after.

• Xander: "The jamb can be shimmed to be square."

Jamb: The main vertical members forming the sides of a window or door frame.

Shim: a small, triangular piece of wood wedged into a window frame to insure the window rests squarely within the frame. Used because most window holes are not square.

References submitted by Anne @ Angel's Secrets and Lori Ann Curley.

• Crush

Buffy learned that Spike is in love with her. Also, Drusilla, Spike's nutcase sire and former lover, was back in town to try to return Spike to his killer ways. Buffy saw Ben in "non-medical clothing" at the re-opening of the Bronze.

• Season Five

Joyce mentions missing work due to being sick; her illness was a running plot-line this season, beginning in "Out of My Mind."

• Graduation Day, Part Two and Into the Woods

Buffy's ex-boyfriends Angel and Riley left town in these episodes respectively.

• New Moon Rising

Xander says that he misses Oz. Oz, the gang's friend and Willow's ex-boyfriend, was last seen in "New Moon Rising" where he found out that Willow is in love with Tara and subsequently left town again.

• Blood Ties

We learned in "Blood Ties" that Glory and Ben share the same body.

• Ted

Dawn mentions Ted, who was a guy that Joyce dated. It turned out that Ted was homicidal robot; his plans were foiled by Buffy.

Continuity submitted by Anne @ Angel's Secrets.

• It's not clear how Spike knows exactly where to find the robot-creator Warren.
        Spotted by C.J.

• In the scene where Warren and Buffy find April with Katrina, it is clear that when April is giving Katrina to Buffy, the "unconscious" Katrina steps off of the platform that she was standing on and walks over to the bench.
        Spotted by Anne.

• There's a technical college in Dutton, a nearby town.

Note: To cut down on bandwidth theft, sound files are password protected. After you click "Listen," just enter the username bg and the password 8rt at the prompt. If the password doesn't work, that probably means it's been changed; refresh/reload this page to get the new one.

• Mellonova - "Hidee Ho" (From Mellonova EP, Aporia Records, 2000)
  Plays as Xander and Buffy dance.
  Listen (MP3, 126K) — Official Site
  
  
• Caviar - "OK Nightmare" (From Caviar, Uni/Island, 2000)
  Plays when Buffy first sees Ben at the Bronze, and ends when Buffy first sees Spike.
  Listen (MP3, 111K) — Lyrics — Official Site
  
  
• Los Straitjackets - "Kawanga!" (From The Velvet Touch Of Los Straitjackets, Yep Roc, 1999)
  Plays as Spike walks away from Buffy at the Bronze, and ends as Spike is thrown through the window.
  Listen (MP3, 141K) — Official Site

Music info submitted by Boo.

Soupytwist:

Buffy gains her independence, Ben and Glory, Spike and robo-Buffy... blah, blah, blah... a lot of important stuff happened in this episode, but it was all overshadowed by the last scene. It was unnerving to see Joyce looking so much like that run-down robot girl and Buffy's reaction to it. (8/10)

Elliot:

A fairly competent filler episode, played pretty much only for laughs (until the end), I liked this well enough, although I can't see it ending up on a list of the best episodes of season 5. Most truly great episodes of Buffy balance all the elements of the show — comedy, drama, horror — and generally speaking when an episode focuses on only one of those elements it tends to suffer, as is the case here. This episode lacks substance, and loses a lot of its charm on repeat viewings when the jokes have worn thin. It's not as funny as "Triangle," either. Still, I liked the robot, although I didn't think she was quite the awesome babe Xander and Willow seemed to think she was. Katrina got on my nerves. Good scene between Giles and Spike in the Magic Box, I always like it when Giles shows his ruthless side. Notice how he managed to get Spike to shut up, something Buffy can never manage. I liked "puffy Xander," although I'm not sure why they bothered to dress Xander up like that, unless the punch bag was broken or something. I guess I felt kinda bad for April when her batteries run out, as did Buffy — although she clearly didn't feel bad enough to have April's batteries recharged. I imagine the scene after April's "death" being something like this, with Buffy thinking to herself "Ahhh, poor April, all she did was love... well I better go sling this pile of crap onto the county dump and get home." Ben'sync was pretty goofy and reminded me of Riley; I guess Buffy goes for the same type of guy. Fortunately she didn't attempt to hook up with him — I say fortunately because I suspect I would grow tired of Ben very quickly indeed if he had a larger role on the show. Joyce was funny in this episode when she was teasing Buffy. I've always liked Joyce; it's too bad it doesn't look like we'll see much of her again. (7/10)

Jamie Marie:

So, I liked this episode at first, but it got seriously boring upon repeated viewing. Maybe I should have written my review after the first viewing... but then again, whether or not an episode can hold up to lots of watching says a lot about it. At any rate, despite those multiple viewings, I feel like I have pretty much nothing to say about it, good or bad. Obviously this is the episode that the writers had in mind for Britney Spears. Call me crazy, but I think I would have enjoyed it more with her in it... at least it would have been more interesting. Buffy episodes shouldn't need celebrities to make them interesting. Well, I did like Spike, as usual, and Warren was fairly interesting. But really, the only thing that truly stands out in my mind is the final scene — Sarah Michelle Gellar does deserve an Emmy. My heart breaks every time. I'm adding a full point to the score just for that short scene. (7/10)