Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ted (2x11)

[fajrdrako]

A lot of people told me they didn't much like this episode. I did. Not as a top favourite, but as a nice scary self-contained episode - good stuff. I missed Spike, but what can you do?

1. I like the pseudo-mystery of who Xander and Willow are talking about in the beginning. The Captain and Tennille? Okay, I remember them. Sort of.
   
2. Xander says, "with Spike and Drusilla out of the way, we've really been ridin' the mellow." You really think they're out of the way, Xander? Poor deluded boy.
   
3. Xander: "How *is* Angel? Pretend I care.". I get the impression here that he does care - but doesn't want to leave his position of carefully-crafted jealousy. Again, respect for Angel, though he's unhappy with Angel's role in Buffy's life.
   
4. Ted: a lot of people I talked to remarked on how odd it felt to see John Ritter in this role. Though I know well who Ritter is and have seen many pictures of him when young, I've never actually seen him in anything, so it didn't feel odd, though I was aware he looked older than he was when he became famous. I thought his acting was good here.
   
5. Willow says, "I like my new nine-Gig hard drive." That sounds rather small.
   
6. Kisses for Joyce? Pizza for Xander? Computer-enhancing programs for Willow? If we thought in the beginning that Ted might be the least little bit good, we surely could not think so now. He has everyone's weakness sussed. Only Buffy is exempt. I like her line, "I'm just saying there's something a little too clean about this clown."
   
7. Giles says, "I believe the... subtext here is rapidly becoming, uh, text. Are you sure there's nothing you want to share?" This was nicely phrased, and so very fannish.
   
8. Nice to see Angel and Buffy happy with each other.
   
9. Ted says, "Bad luck, little lady!" Yuck. It's a wuick downhill slide to "Do you want me to slap that smart-ass mouth of yours?"
   
10. I liked this exchange:

    Xander: So he's a little uptight. Last I heard that's not a slaying offense. Don't give me the look, I'm on your side. I'm just saying there are some things in life you have to accept.
    Buffy: And I'm saying Ted ain't one of 'em.

    
    
11. Loved the Xander/Cordelia exchange:

    Cordelia: In front of your friends! They're gonna know!
    Xander: Know what?
    Cordelia: Please! It's too traumatic for me to even say it!
    Xander: That we kissed?
    Cordelia: Uhhh!
    Xander: Look, I'm not gonna tell, they're not gonna know. Not your friends, not my friends. You wanna go to the utility closet and make out?
    Cordelia: God! Is that all you ever think about? ... Okay.

    
    
12. I liked this exchange, which got to the core of the plot:

    Buffy: Will, I'm not wrong here. ...Mom's been totally different since he's around.
    Willow: Different, like happy?
    Buffy: Like Stepford.

    And it's creepy the way Ted calls Joyce "Joycie".
    
13. So Buffy kills Ted. Only not really. Hmm. Interesting issues here, not necessarily very well carried through - though I can't quite put my finger on what about it is insufficient.
    
14. So Willow figures out Ted's cookie magic. Good for Willow.
    
15. Sometimes when Jenny turns up I think she's acting really suspicious. Then I remind myself that many fans like her, in a way that indicates I should stop being suspicious of her.
    
16. Ted becomes really scary:

    Ted: That's right, little lady, you killed me. Do we have something to say about that? Are we sorry?
    Buffy: What are you?
    Ted: I'm a salesman! That's what you should've remembered. No matter how you put him down...a good salesman always bounces back!

    The interesting thing about Ted is that mundane or even positive qualities are made sinister: cooking, baking, an avuncular concern for Buffy's marks or manners, affection for Joyce, and so on.
    
17. So they find the corpses of Ted's wives and things happen.
    
18. Giles says: "I don't think it went in too deep. The...advantages of layers of tweed. Better than kevlar." He must have some strange kind of tweed! Reinforced by magic? Or chain mail in the lining?
    
19. Buffy fights back. Love it when she says "Uncle Teddy?" Hee!
    
20. She defeats him. I hope she breaks him into component parts and feeds him to a smelter.
    
21. The 700th reason to love Willow:

    Xander: Now, now that's creepy on a level I hardly knew existed.
    Willow: The sad part is the real Ted must've been a genius. There were design features in that robot that pre-date...
    Buffy: Willow, tell me you didn't keep any parts. [Smart, that Buffy.]
    Willow: Not any big ones.

    It's interesting that Ted re-created himself as a robot; but it seems to me a little more scary if someone else created him, and there's a person somewhere around capable of making deranged androids.
    
22. Jenny and Giles kissing. Not my favourite moment, but nice in its way. For them.

Comments

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

21. That exchange reminds me so much of Toshiko.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

My goodness, yes, I can see Tosh and Gwen having the same conversation.

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

They probably did have the same conversation. Multiple times.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

And maybe even in similar circumstances!

[gillo]

# Giles says, "I believe the... subtext here is rapidly becoming, uh, text. Are you sure there's nothing you want to share?" This was nicely phrased, and so very fannish.

Oh yes. Nothing if not self=aware, our show.

# Jenny and Giles kissing. Not my favourite moment, but nice in its way. For them.

It is necessary setup. You'll see. (Or will have seen by now, IIRC...)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Nothing if not self=aware, our show.

One of its charms.

It is necessary setup.

Yes.

You'll see. (Or will have seen by now, IIRC...)

Well, yes. Getting there. Slowly but surely. (g)

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Ted creeps me the hell out. I actually couldn't watch the middle section where he starts going typical abusive manipulator on Buffy, yeeeech.

Oh, and once again? Buffy says "this feels wrong" and everyone else goes "nah, you're just being emotional about it". And Buffy turns out to be right.

a lot of people I talked to remarked on how odd it felt to see John Ritter in this role

I'd never heard of him or seen him so for me he will always bee creepy robot Ted. Which he did very well.

I believe the... subtext here is rapidly becoming, uh, text

A line that is much quoted! I love it.

Ted says, "Bad luck, little lady!" Yuck

Blech. His vocal mannerisms are probably the biggest flag for me that he is not right. That and the Joycie *shudders* The way he talks is just so twee and it is a little disturbing, though obviously it doesn't get really overtly creepy until later in the episode. ("You don't have to worry about anything. Daddy's here" & "don't I always tell you what to do". Argh!)

So Buffy kills Ted. Only not really. Hmm. Interesting issues here, not necessarily very well carried through

This is an episode to keep in mind for things in a later series. I find some of the reactions interesting. Buffy is devastated but owns up that she pushed him and he didn't fall straight away. Xander is totally convinced that Buffy couldn't hurt a human so suddenly comes round to Buffy's way of thinking about Ted being wrong, and Giles obviously gets it in a way the others can't as Cordelia so kindly points out.

Love it when she says "Uncle Teddy?"

I like it when she says "This house is mine".

Sometimes when Jenny turns up I think she's acting really suspicious. Then I remind myself that many fans like her

Jenny and Giles kissing

See, I don't think I particularly like Jenny - but I do quite like how Giles likes her, if that makes sense, and where that goes.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Ted creeps me the hell out.

Oh, yes. I think I can say without doubt that he is the scariest villain we've had yet. The Master was absurd and Spike, though brilliant, is too wonderful to be scary. Other villains are either stupid or just creepy/gross, like Norman the Worm Guy. Ted? Scary on all levels.

I actually couldn't watch the middle section where he starts going typical abusive manipulator on Buffy,

I could and did, but... it was not comfortable.

Buffy says "this feels wrong" and everyone else goes "nah, you're just being emotional about it". And Buffy turns out to be right.

Yay Buffy! Highly intuitive, at least.

That and the Joycie *shudders*

Yes - amazing how scary that was. Which with a different character or characterization would be just fine. Well, conceivably.

I like it when she says "This house is mine".

Yes, that's wonderful.

I don't think I particularly like Jenny - but I do quite like how Giles likes her, if that makes sense

Yes, I like that too. I like it that she makes him smile and that he warms to her. I don't really like the relationship itself, but I don't hate it - not the way I hated, say, Tosh/Owen - I actually quite like it as long as I don't have to take it seriously as a romance. There is so much passion and feeling to the Angel/Buffy interaction, and Spike/Dru too, while the Giles/Jenny scenes are comparatively thin and shallow.

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

Oh, and once again? Buffy says "this feels wrong" and everyone else goes "nah, you're just being emotional about it". And Buffy turns out to be right.

Of course there are occasions where someone else rightly says something feels wrong and she's oblivious to it.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

True enough I expect, though I can't think of any right now. But for some reason I have noticed a couple (both from these early seasons and later) where it's Buffy's instincts being blown off by other characters despite her (a) being the Slayer and so possibly having better instincts for weird anyway and (b) having been proven right on other similar occasions. One of my little niggles about the show.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

People do tend to be skeptical. I've noticed a few times where someone says "It's probably nothing" and of course it isn't 'nothing' - they should trust their instincts, particularly Buffy's!

I like to think that Giles has a lot of faith in Buffy's intuition, where trouble is concerned.

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Ted was SO creepy, and convincing, which were big kudos to Ritter (whom I have seen in comedic roles - my dad's favorite show was Three's Company when I was growing up). The departure wasn't weird to me; it was cool.

I do remember being disturbed by this episode, as I am a big believer in instincts, and Buffy had them, and nobody listened. That always bothers me. Issues of abuse are always disturbing but they make the most realistic enemies!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I do remember being disturbed by this episode, as I am a big believer in instincts, and Buffy had them, and nobody listened.

I really liked that. I also liked it that even though she was affected by his manipulation, his drugs and his mind games, Joyce wasn't committed to Ted either.

Issues of abuse are always disturbing but they make the most realistic enemies!

That's so very true. And so realistic.

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

I don't like this ep much, but I think it could have been much stronger if it was built slowly and given a longer arc to develop. It has a lot of potential but progresses too fast and smoothly. Makes it too condensed and therefore loses impact.

I knew Ritter in other roles but he's a good enough actor to make me forget that. Which shows better acting ability than he displayed in other roles.

The whole robotics thing is creepy. And Willow's reaction made me think of I Robot among other things.

Somebody on that writing team has an issue with salespeople. The worm guy was a salesman too, wasn't he?

Sometimes when Jenny turns up I think she's acting really suspicious. Then I remind myself that many fans like her, in a way that indicates I should stop being suspicious of her.

What kind of an argument is that? Trust your instincts. It's a shallow relationship. She doesn't really respect or want to interact with who he is and he doesn't really know her and plays his role by maintaining the very limited 'forever shy and out-of-depth' behaviour when we know he has more depth and experience. He's obviously enjoying her attention and proximity and gets emotionally involved, but still... It feels like a romantic fantasy more than a real relationship (even considering and possibly including Passion, which I gather you've already seen).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think it could have been much stronger if it was built slowly and given a longer arc to develop

I agree there - there was something wrong with the pacing, so it seemed anticlimactic in the end. But I wouldn't have wanted it to be a multipart story.

Willow's reaction made me think of I Robot among other things.

Good point!

Somebody on that writing team has an issue with salespeople. The worm guy was a salesman too, wasn't he?

He certainly was.

What kind of an argument is that? Trust your instincts.

Well, yes - what I feel is what I feel.

plays his role by maintaining the very limited 'forever shy and out-of-depth' behaviour when we know he has more depth and experience.

Yes - both Giles and Jenny seem to be playing roles, and neither wants to get beyond that - I think their affection is real, and his guilt, but there's not much to make it a positive relationship.

It feels like a romantic fantasy more than a real relationship

Well, yes, on the one hand, the relationship feels like a fantasy that really hasn't got off the ground. And their assessment of each other seems to be a bit of a fantasy too, based on - what, schoolteacher stereotypes? He is less relaxed with her, and less honest with her, than with Buffy - the contrast of that alone says volumes to me.

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

There was something wrong with the pacing, so it seemed anticlimactic in the end. But I wouldn't have wanted it to be a multipart story.

Not saying I would have wanted it longer and more extensive, but it would have given the storyline more impact on various levels if they'd interlaced it as background bit by bit into several episodes that didn't have it in focus.

Yes - both Giles and Jenny seem to be playing roles, and neither wants to get beyond that - I think their affection is real, and his guilt, but there's not much to make it a positive relationship.

Yes. They both respond to some stereotype that isn't the actual person in front of them. The shy, tweed-clad, English librarian and the young, vivacious modern American who will drag him out of his shell. How many movies can you fit into that pattern?
Their relationship is a romantic fantasy in its various stages, a comic one in most parts, with tragic peaks, but it doesn't have a sense of them communicating on a real level.

He is less relaxed with her, and less honest with her, than with Buffy - the contrast of that alone says volumes to me.

Exactly. I think he wants to protect her from all the weight of his life and personality, and throughout, when she does touch the person behind the mask or share parts of the darkness, they both recoil, and he beats himself up for exposing her to it.

Oh, and he's very big on guilt-tripping, stupid melodramatic repressive boy.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

it would have given the storyline more impact on various levels if they'd interlaced it as background bit by bit into several episodes that didn't have it in focus.

Every once in a while a character will appear and my friends will gasp, "There's Jonathan!" or "There's Harmony!" and of course I don't know the significance of whatever they are thinking of. (Oz, too.) This kind of early introduction of a character could well have been brought into the story earlier - Joyce could have mentioned Ted, or Buffy could say in passing that her mother had a date, an episode or two earlier.

Their relationship is a romantic fantasy in its various stages, a comic one in most parts, with tragic peaks, but it doesn't have a sense of them communicating on a real level.

I perceived them as hiding their personalities from each other - for whatever reasons.

when she does touch the person behind the mask or share parts of the darkness, they both recoil, and he beats himself up for exposing her to it.

He doesn't seem to want to involve her - fair enough. So she remains on the fringes of the group, with much trust or intimacy.

he's very big on guilt-tripping, stupid melodramatic repressive boy.

Funny how many of my favourite heroes do that.

[(Anonymous)]

perceived them as hiding their personalities from each other - for whatever reasons.
He doesn't seem to want to involve her - fair enough.

And therein lies the root of a fucked up relationship to come, or of a lightweight liaison, which I think is more what they had in mind.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

therein lies the root of a fucked up relationship to come

There are a fair number of those!

or of a lightweight liaison,

On that level, I like it.

which I think is more what they had in mind

Good!

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

perceived them as hiding their personalities from each other - for whatever reasons.
He doesn't seem to want to involve her - fair enough.

And therein lies the root of a fucked up relationship to come, or of a lightweight liaison, which I think is more what they had in mind.

[babydraco.livejournal.com]

and there's a person somewhere around capable of making deranged androids.

You're getting warm.

I actually liked this one too. It dealt with a serious issue without being annoying about it and it was very grounded in mundane things that weren't what they seemed.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It dealt with a serious issue without being annoying about it

Yes, and I thought it genuinely was scary - not just in that it focussed on the horrific theme of a man who preys on women, but that it touched on many aspects of life that must be Buffy's fears - losing her mother, having her father replaced, feminist issues, her home as a safe haven, and so on.

[teaphile.livejournal.com]

1. The Captain and Tenille

I often wonder what the writers were doing with the anachronisms in this series. Considering the ages of the main characters and the age of the intended (as opposed to realized) audience, they should have wiped the script clean of references like that one. Xander and Willow are way too young to remember that act. I'm barely old enough to remember them. Buffy is too young to be using the term "creme rinse" or to be talking about DeBarge. There are a few other examples I can't remember at the moment.

Lazy writing or deliberate anachronism to make the characters seem more mysterious to the average teen?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I wondered about that too, but on the whole, I like it. The creep of anachronism making the characters just a little bit unlike their peers.

[elebridith]

I gave in. Finally. *lol* I'm not even through my DVD box of "Angel" yet, but amazon had the complete Buffy box, and while I waited for it to get cheaper, it went out of the backlist for two weeks! When it came on again, I couldn't resist. So sooner or later I'll do the same thing - watching Buffy!! *dances* Have to get through "Angel" first, though, since I'm almost into season five which has my boy Lindsey AND Spike in it, so Buffy has to wait *g* So much to look forward to!
Glad to hear you're a bit up on your feet again!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I gave in. Finally.

Heh.

while I waited for it to get cheaper, it went out of the backlist for two weeks!

Uh-oh.

So sooner or later I'll do the same thing - watching Buffy!!

Wonderful! I look forward to your comments.

I'm almost into season five which has my boy Lindsey

Lindsey? That's a new name to me! Is he in Buffy too?

Glad to hear you're a bit up on your feet again!

Just a bit. It's kind of wonderful.

[elebridith]

Lindsey is sadly enough not in Buffy *g*
He's in "Angel" Season 1, 2 and 5, played by Christian Kane *points to user icon*, and I might *cough* have a teeny - ok, more than teeny - crush on him...*g* A member of an evil law firm (the Big Bad on Angel) and you never know if he's good or evil at heart - he gets some pretty interesting twists and turns. Plus, he can sing. Like wow. Believe it or not, that's actually a plot point. :-) And season five has also Spike in it, which is a complete hotness overload sometimes...*lol* and their characters clash. I still believe that there would have been more of them if season six had ever existed. *grumbles* *hates last Angel ep.*

And "uh-oh" sums it up pretty well! I took it as a warning shot... and Buffy will help me get through the time until the release of TW season 2 in July! *rubs hands*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Okay, I look forward to seeing Lindsey.

And to TW season 2 coming out, though I've no idea when that will be here. I think it's still unannounced.