(S01E04) After watching this episode again, I sort of wish I'd waited to mention my thoughts on Xander's infatuation with Buffy, since there was a lot of that here. We also start to see how much Xander starts out getting in the way most of the time, with Buffy pushing him aside without much thought. We see all of that come to a head in season three's 'The Zeppo'.
This was one of those episodes that marks why season one was one of the weaker seasons of the seven; a rather unexciting story, one that really doesn't fit with most of the rest of the series. What was Miss French anyway? A demon? A shape-shifter that happened to very closely resemble a praying mantis? Definitely an odd story here.
The scenes with Xander in the cage were probably the best of the episode, but I felt like there were some prime lines missed there. Once again I find myself turning to Giles for the humor who, as a commenter mentioned in a previous review, seems to be the source of the good lines this season.
Besides Giles, it seems anytime Buffy gets a teacher on her side, that means bad things for the teacher. The science teacher in this episode, Miss Calendar next season, and then there was a guidance counselor next season, I believe. School really sucks for this chick.
Main points of interest in this episode:
- First time Xander and Willow see Angel.
- First real sign that something romantic is going on between Buffy and Angel.
- We learn Xander's middle name is LaVelle.
Quote of the episode:
Giles: "I had a chum at Oxford Carlisle with advanced degrees in Entomology and Mythology."
Buffy: "Entoma-who?"
Giles: "Bugs and Fairy Tales."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-19-2006 @ 12:18PM
Michael said...
Teacher's Pet is quite the oddity and you can definitely see the budgetary limitations from the first season.
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6-19-2006 @ 1:02PM
jason said...
yeah in retrospect im glad i didnt start watching this show until the second season. it shows how desperate the wb was for a hit back then that they kept this show around after the first season aired.
but i guess unlike most networks now, they saw a glimmer of what the show could become and stuck with it.
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6-19-2006 @ 10:19PM
jOHN said...
The first season seemed to toy around with the idea that the villians will some way come back for another episode, but they don't. This episode gave a hinting at the end that this story maybe revisited later in the future.
The story of the invisible girl does the same thing at the end of that episode. There should've been at least some nod to the invisible girl in The Initiative related episodes.
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