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1.8 I Robot, You Jane

Xander: "We read about it all the time. People meet on the net, they talk, they get together, have dinner, a show ... horrible axe murder."

Willow becomes involved in an online romance with a fifteenth century demon that escaped from a book. Uh huh.

This may be the worst episode in the entire series. The computer-related plot elements are poorly done; computer-captive Moloch is not scary; and the metal monster at the end is downright silly. It's amazing that the cast can speak their lines with a straight face.

This episode is notable mainly for the introduction of Jenny Calendar, the computer science teacher and techno-pagan, who immediately generates some wonderfully antagonistic and romantic sparks with Giles. As a librarian, I particularly enjoyed their book vs. computer argument; Giles has a good point about books having odor and texture, while Jenny is also right about how the computer has changed the world.

I particularly like the plot point of Giles approaching Jenny for demon-fighting help, expecting her to know nothing, and discovering that she is already way ahead of him. Good writing there, since it saves exposition and immediately makes her a more interesting character.

Bits and pieces:

-- It's fun seeing Buffy's version of dark glasses and a trenchcoat. But she follows a car on foot here? Please.

-- Buffy is wearing a leopard-spotted-type coat as she fights metal Moloch. Is this a metaphor for the natural versus the machine?

-- Xander again acts as Buffy's Boy Wonder. Not content to just be jealous of Buffy, Xander also shows jealousy of Willow's new romance.

-- Charisma Carpenter does not appear in this episode.

-- The book scanning is done incorrectly.

-- Why is there a photo of Willow and Giles in Willow's locker? Does Willow have a crush on both Giles and Xander?

-- There is a flashback to 1418, Cortona, Italy: this is the first flashback in the series.

-- In the scene where Giles is listening to the radio, the announcer's voice is recognizably that of Joss Whedon.

-- Edgar Rice Burroughs' ape man is famous for saying in the movies, "Me Tarzan, you Jane." For what it's worth, this never happens in Burroughs' original books; Tarzan teaches himself to read very early and is fluent in French and English. Yeah, I know, pointless trivia, c'est moi.

-- One conversation between Moloch and Dave the blond nerd is a deliberate homage to Hal the computer and Dave the astronaut in "2001: A Space Odyssey." And "I Robot" is most likely a reference to Isaac Asimov, who wrote the original robotic rules.

Inconsistencies:

-- The souls of demons are trapped in books? Is it just vampires who do not have souls? Inconsistency, thou art not a gem.

-- The first computer screen with Buffy's personal information on it lists her as a sophomore born on 10/24/80. A split second later, the same screen on a different computer has her as a senior born on 5/6/79. Both are wrong; she was born in January of 1981. Both give her GPA as 2.8, though. Buffy, you need to study more.

Foreshadowing:

There is a cool prophetic moment at the end. Buffy, Willow, and Xander talk about their recent romantic choices -- vampire, demon, praying mantis. Buffy says, "Yeah, let's face it. None of us are ever going to have a happy, normal relationship." Xander says, "We're doomed!" All three laugh.

Quotable quotes:

Giles: "I'm just going to stay and clean up a little. I'll be back in the Middle Ages."
Jenny: "Did you ever leave?"

Buffy: "So, you've been seeing a guy, and you don't know what he looks like? Okay, this is a puzzle. No, wait, I'm good at these. Does it involve a midget and a block of ice?"

Giles: "Things involved with a computer fill me with a childlike terror. Now, if it were a nice ogre or some such, I'd be more in my element."

Buffy: "Besides, I can just tell something's wrong. My spider sense is tingling."
Giles: "Your spider sense?"
Buffy: "Pop culture reference. Sorry."

Jenny: "The first thing we have to do is form the circle of Kayless. Right?"
Giles: "Form a circle? But there's only two of us. That's really more of a line."

One lousy stake,

Billie





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