The Slayer Scorecard

- Last updated January 1, 1998 -
Welcome to the Slayer Scorecard. I'm currently reviewing episodes from the first season I bought on tape and the occasional other episode I find from off the air. Each episode will be reviewed for first appearences and reappearences of characters, deaths, plot points and my list of plot holes and comments. I'll include a picture from the episode where possible.

Episode name: Welcome to Hellmouth and The Harvest
Airdate - Order: March 10, 1997 - Episode 1 and 2 of the first season.
Quick Plot: Following the adventures of the movie, Buffy and her mother move to Sunnydale California. A new Watcher named Rupert Giles and the mysterious Angel are there waiting to help her fight the evil of The Master, an ancient vampire trapped under Sunnydale, who is gaining a following of the undead.
Introductions: We meet a whole host of new characters. On Buffy's side we meet Alexander ''Xander'' Harris, a less then popular student, Angel, a mysterious stranger, Rupert Giles, a Watcher and school librarian, and Willow Rosenberg, a shy computer geek. Villians include Darla the vampire (first picture), Thomas the vampire, Luke the Vessel (second picture - right), a powerful vampire and the Masters right hand vamp, The Master (second picture - left), an elder vampire trapped beneath Sunnydale. Other characters include Bob Flutie, the school principle, Cordelia Chase, a stuck-up student and Jesse, a student stuck on Cordelia.
Reappearences: We see Buffy and Joyce Summers, Buffy's mom, whose characters appeared in the movie.
Plot Points: Giles knows Buffy is the Slayer before she comes to Sunnydale. Xander overhears that she is the Slayer in the library. Xander, Jesse and Willow witness vampires in the cemetary. Willow learns Buffy is a Slayer from Giles in the library. Buffy saves Cordelia from Luke at the Bronze.
The Master and Luke

Body Count: Ten - Darla kills a boy after hours in the school by biting him on the neck and ditches the body in a girls locker. Buffy kills Thomas the vampire and a nameless vampire in the cemetary by staking them in the heart. Jesse is killed by the Master's minions and is brought back as a vampire. Luke the Vessel kills the doorman of the Bronze and a blonde woman on the stage of the Bronze. Buffy kills a nameless vampire by staking him with a pool que and another by beheading him at the Bronze. Jesse the vampire is staked by Xander at the Bronze. Luke the Vessel is staked by Buffy at the Bronze.
What the Hellmouth is going on? Buffy's transcripts say she burned down her old school's gym. This didn't happen in the movie, but may have occured between the movie and television pilot. Buffy leaves school grounds by doing a standing high jump over an 8 foot tall fence, we have yet to see another demonstration of this leaping ability. Jesse was taken on one night by the Master, and when Buffy shows up the next afternoon he is already a vampire. Isn't this a little quick to come back from the dead? Maybe the Master has a special ability or spell that allows him to speed up the process? Possibly the transformation is quicker if the victim is exposed to more vampire blood. Why didn't Buffy notice that Jesse's wounds had completely healed from the day before? When Willow gets Cordelia to hit the DEL key on her computer it erases her program. This is completely unrealistic.

Episode name: The Witch
Airdate - Order: March 17, 1997 - Episode 3 of the first season.
Quick Plot: Cathrine Madison, mother of school girl Amy Madison and practicing witch decides to relive her glory years as a cheerleader by taking over her daughter's body and trying out for the cheerleader squad. Problems insue when she only makes third alternate and decided to curse the competition into being removed from the team. This includes Buffy and Cordelia who are ahead of her.
Introductions: We meet Amy Madison (picture - right), her mother Cathrine Madison, a witch and villian of the episode, Amber Grove, cheerleader with the flaming pom-poms, and Roshawn a cheerleader who looses her mouth.
Reappearences: We see Buffy (picture - left), Cordelia, Joyce, Rupert, Willow and Xander again.
Plot Points: Cathrine puts curses on various cheerleaders. Amber's pom-poms burst into flame during practice, Cordelia goes blind, Roshawn looses her mouth during science class and Buffy is cursed with a bloodstone vengence spell. Buffy saves Cordelia's life by pushing her out of the way of a truck. Willow casts her first spell, a witch detection spell she gets from Giles. When Buffy is under the effects of the curse she mentions to her mother she is a vampire Slayer in passing. Her mother just has a puzzled look on her face. Cathrine uses a telekinetic neck crush on Xander in the school and makes an axe fly into her hand. Giles does his first spell reversal in the school lab. Buffy reflects a spell in the science lab using a large mirror.
Body Count: Zero - A mild episode. Mostly just temporary maiming curses. Cathrine is banished to live inside her own high school trophy.
What the Hellmouth is going on? Willow states that she and Amy used to hang out in Junior High. Since the both become witches in later episodes, you'd at least expect them to get together and compair notes or something. When Buffy is under the influence of the curse, Giles carries her around from school to Amy's house and back to the science lab. Does anyone notice a teacher carrying an unconcious cheerleader around?

Episode name: Teacher's Pet
Airdate - Order: March 25, 1997 - Episode 4 of the first season.
Quick Plot: Substitute science teacher Natilie French is really a human praying mantis who sets her eyes on Xander for some sweet loving and a quick snack afterwards.
Introductions: We meet Natalie French, the Mantis Woman (picture), Blayne, a student, Dr. Gregory, a science teacher and quick snack.
Reappearences: We see Buffy, Rupert, Willow and Xander again.
Plot Points: Angel gives Buffy a leather jacket.
Body Count: Three - Dr. Gregory, a science teacher is killed by Ms. French who bites off his head, Buffy slays an unnamed vampire and Ms. French is killed by Buffy.
What the Hellmouth is going on? What ever happens to the eggs that are hatching at the end of the episode? Note: I havn't seen this episode yet, so all I have to go on is what I've read about it. Expect a more detailed review in the future.

Episode name: Never Kill A Boy On The First Date
Airdate - Order: ?, 1997 - Episode 5 of the first season.
Quick Plot: The Master has read an ancient prophecy about the coming of the Annointed, a powerful vampire warrior. He gets the Order of Aurelius, a vampire brotherhood, to help recruit him. Meanwhile Buffy lands a date with one of the most sought after boys in school, Owen. Cordelia tries several times to steal Owen from Buffy. Rupert goes to investigate a bus crash that may have been part of the prophecy and gets trapped by te Order in a funeral home. Angel shows up to warn Buffy of the coming of the Annointed and Xander and Willow show up to tell Buffy about Rupert. They all go to the funeral home and face off with Andrew the vampire, who they think is the Announted. They kill Andrew the vampire, but it ends up a small boy from the bus accident is really the Announted and had already been taken to the Master before they had arrived. Buffy breaks up with Owen when she discovers that he only wants to date her because he sees her as dangerous.
Introductions: We meet Owen Therman, a solitary yet hunky student and Andrew Bluba, murder suspect and later a vampire and Collin the Annointed One. We learn of the Order of Aurelius and meet three nameless vampires from them.
Reappearences: We see Angel, Buffy, Cordelia, Rupert, Xander, Willow and The Master again.
Plot Points: Buffy tries once again and fails to carry out a normal life and be a slayer. We see that Rupert has a computer in the library that he uses when Owen checks out a book. Buffy is seen carrying a beeper.
Body Count: Seven - Buffy kills a nameless Order of Aurelius vampire the a graveyard. The Order of Aurelius kills Andrew, Collin and three others after the bus crash. Andrew and Collin were brought back as vampires. Andrew the Vampire is killed by Buffy when she throws him in a cermatorium at the funeral home.
What the Hellmouth is going on? We see that Buffy carries a beeper in this episode. We never see it again. I still don't know why the whole gang doesn't carry cell phones, it would save a lot of time.

Episode name: What's My Line Part 1
Airdate - Order: ? - Episode 9 of the second season.
Quick Plot: Spike plans to use a book stolen from Rupert to return Drusilla to full power. He steals the Cross of DuLac from a vault to read the manuscript then decides to call in the Order Of Taraka to keep Buffy distracted. Meanwhile career day is going on at school. Xander is recommended to the job of prison guard, Cordelia as a motivational speaker, Buffy as a police woman, and Willow and Oz as software consultants.
Introductions: We meet Kendra the vampire slayer (picture - left), Dalton the vampire, a one eyed Taraka assassin, Willie the bar owner, and Norman Fister, the worm guy Taraka assassin.
Reappearences: We see Angel the vampire, Buffy (picture - right), Cordelia, Oz, Principal Snyder, Willow, Xander, Spike the vampire, and Drusilla the vampire again.
Plot Points: In a scene in Buffy's room we can clearly see that Angel does not appear in the mirror next to Buffy. We also learn that Buffy can ice skate. Oz and Willow formerly meet for the first time during the career week. Buffy briefly talks to Oz in the school hall. We meet Willie, a human informant and fixer for the towns vampires. We learn that Willow is afraid of frogs. The finale of the episode is Buffy and Kendra fighting at Angel's house. Buffy mistakes Kendra for a Taraka assassin because she tries to kill her and Kendra mistakes Buffy for a vampire because she saw her kissing Angel at the rink after they killed the one eyed assassin.
Body Count: Three - Buffy stakes a vampire in a graveyard. Norman Fister kills Buffy's neighbor. Buffy kills the one eyed assassin in the ice skating rink by cutting his throat with an ice skate.
What the Hellmouth is going on? Buffy just breaks into an ice skating rink when it's closed so she can skate with Angel. I'm I the only person who finds this wrong? Why not go when it's open after sundown? Just what was that one eyed assassin? He seemed to be stronger then either Buffy or Angel and real tough, but dropped like a fly when his neck is slit. Really tough human or a demon? On the subject to Drusilla, just what did they do to her all those years ago that she still hasn't recovered? Spike recovered from being confined to a wheelchair after a few months. Does anyone know or care about the fact that a dead body was left on the ice at the skating rink or that Buffy's neighbor is dead?

Episode name: Anne
Airdate - Order: September 28, 1998 - Episode 1 of the third season.
Quick Plot: Buffy is living away from home under the identity of Anne the waitress. She meets up with Lily, last seen as Chantrelle, her boyfriend has diappeared. The boyfriend is found, but is dead and an old man. She discovers that demons have been kidnapping street youths to use as labor in a demon dimension where time goes faster. They spit them out when the kids are too old to work, and only a day has gone by. She breaks into the demon dimension, frees some kids, kills some demons and the gateway seals off behind her. The episode ends with Buffy setting up Lily in the Anne the waitress identity and returning home to Sunnydale.
Introductions: We meet Andrew Hollich the vampire, Rickie the boyfriend and Ken the Demon.
Reappearences: We see Buffy (picture), Cordelia, Joyce, Rupert, Willow, Xander and Chantrelle/Lily/Anne again.
Plot Points: Buffy dreams of Angel and her walking on the beach. Joyce blames Giles for Buffy leaving.
Body Count: Three - Rickie kills himself as an old man by drinking poison. Andrew Hollich the vampire is staked in the heart by Xander and Cordelia. Buffy kills Ken the demon by axing him in the head. Their are a number of demons who could have met their demise in the fight with Buffy, but none are confirmed.
What the Hellmouth is going on? Why do Xander, Willow, Cordelia and Oz go vampire hunting alone and with only a stake and a cross? Why not go with Giles or a bunch of weapons? Gasoline and a match or a holy water super soaker on a new vampire crawling from the grave would do wonders. Just how in the world did they talk Cordelia into being bait? Although the writers have been clear in pointing out that Willow is Jewish in other episodes, she is clearly seen carrying a cross in the graveyard. Has anyone ever tried using sanctified holy symbols of other religions? Holy water and blessed ground burn vampires, maybe it's the blessed aspect of a cross that makes it work, not the shape. On the whole demon dimension/time difference thing, if 100 years passes there for every day on earth then why are their hundreds of slaves? How many kids do they take each day? They would all be dead in a day. This indicates a whole network of stations taking in street kids all over the world. Why do the demons bother letting kids loose when they're done? They could only lead to complications if someone notices them. They would probably do better as food for the other slaves. These are demons we are talking about arn't we? Just what were all the slaves making anyway? Weapons for a demon army? Will we ever see the new Anne again? Was there a Babylon 5 reference in this episode? The nurse asked ''What do you want?'' to Buffy and a demon asked ''Who are you?'' to her. These are the questions the Vorlons and Shadows asked. Her answers in both cases are revealing.

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