D. C. Gustafson

When Faith looks through a shop window in This Year’s Girl, she sees an ad for ‘Gustafson Blades’. D. C. Gustafson was a Leadman who worked on Buffy during the first two seasons. He sadly died in November 2000 at age 41 after fighting cancer and AIDS. The episode Into the Woods was dedicated in his memory

Faith’s dream

Here is a stage direction for Faith’s dream in This Year’s Girl: “We cut back to the Mayor. He’s being horribly, brutally HACKED APART by Buffy with her knife. He’s real dead, real fast. Finished with this prey, Buffy whips her gaze to Faith, impatient and peeved.”

Fire in This Year’s Girl

Writer Doug Petrie wanted a real fire in the scene in This Year’s Girl in which Faith spies on the Scoobies in Giles’s home. He wanted to create a comfortable family atmosphere to make Faith feel even more excluded from the group. He also adds what a “pain in the ass” it was to have a fire on set - as fire marshals need to be brought in.

In addition

The scenes of Willow and Tara, and Giles and Xander looking for Faith in This Year’s Girl were added later as the episode was 9 minutes too short.

Jeff’s cameos

Buffy’s stunt coordinator (until the end of season four) Jeff Pruitt had a non-speaking cameo in the episode Anne as the guy who holds the door at the Family Home open when Buffy tries to bluff her way in, and who then tries to slam it in her face when she fails. He previously appeared as a vampire in the episode Ted and also played the first cop that Faith pushed down in This Year’s Girl.

Rise and Shine

The episode This Year’s Girl (in which Faith awakens from her coma) was almost called ‘Rise and Shine’ - something the Mayor would surely have said to Faith.

The body-switcher

Writer Doug Petrie made a sketch of what the body-switching contraption in This Year’s Girl should look like and Buffy designers made an exact copy. Doug keeps the sketch on his wall at home.

Alastair Duncan

Alastair Duncan, who played Collins in This Year’s Girl and Who Are You? did voice overs for the video game Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy and played the theatre manager in The Three Stooges. He has also appeared in Maybe It’s Me, Charmed, Providence, Diagnosis Murder, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Babylon 5 and Highlander. He played Collins again in the Angel episode ‘Sanctuary‘.

Brian Hawley

Brian Hawley, who played the orderly in This Year’s Girl, previously played an ape in the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Chet Grissom

Chet Grissom, who played the Detective in This Year’s Girl has also been in Robbery Homicide Division, MDs, The Practice, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Any Day Now, Ally McBeal, Time of Your Life and The X Files.

Jack Esformes

Jack Esformes, who played the doctor in This Year’s Girl has also appeared in Wag the Dog, Breaking In, Defense Play, The Drew Carey Show, G vs E and Seinfeld (playing Mike in the episode ‘The Frogger’).

Jeff Ricketts

Jeff Ricketts played Weatherby in This Year’s Girl and Who Are You?. A regular member of the Buffyverse, he has appeared in Angel as Weatherby, and he also played the Spider Monster in Angel’s season four episode Sacrifice. Jeff played Malcolm in Amber Benson’s movie Chance. He also appeared in a couple of episodes of Joss Whedon’s Firefly. He has also appeared in Holes and Clockstoppers.

Kevin Owers

Kevin Owers, who played the Watcher’s Council’s Smith in This Year’s Girl, also appeared in Ballad of the Nightingale and Titanic. He has been in The West Wing and also played Smith in Angel.

Mark Gantt

Mark Gantt, who played the demon in This Year’s Girl, was assistant property master for Full Frontal, For Love of the Game, The Deep End of the Ocean, The Siege, City of Angels, Volcano and Barb Wire. He appeared in Good for Nothing, Ocean’s Eleven and The Hollywood Sign, and was a driver for the movie Desperado. In 2003 he wrote, directed, produced and edited Martine.

Sara Van Horn

Sara Van Horn, who played the nurse in This Year’s Girl, played Minnie Belle in Great Balls of Fire! (1989). She has played nurses before: in Mockingbird Don’t Sing, The Perfect Nanny, and Boston Public. She has also appeared in Will & Grace, Malcolm in the Middle, Strong Medicine, The Practice and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

Weatherby, Smith and Collins

Weatherby, Smith and Collins were tough members of the Watcher’s Council who helped to abduct Faith (not knowing Buffy was occupying her body) in Who Are You?. They intended to take the Slayer to England to be reprimanded, but she escaped using their van.

Doves

In her dream in This Year’s Girl, Faith’s shirt has three white doves on it. Doves are the traditional symbol of peace.

Faith’s knife

The Mayor gave Faith an intricate knife as a present in Choices. She used it to kill one of the Gavrok spiders and Buffy then took it away. Buffy stabbed Faith with the knife to try and cure Angel in Graduation Day (Part 1), then taunted the Mayor-snake with it in Graduation Day (Part 2). In This Year’s Girl, Faith dreamt that Buffy killed the Mayor with the same knife, and also that she still had the knife in her when talking to Buffy whilst making a bed.

Foreshadowing the Dawn arc

There are two significant references to the character of Dawn before she first appeared in Buffy vs Dracula:
In This Year’s Girl, Buffy and Faith are making a bed in Faith’s dream. They have the following conversation:

Buffy: “I wish I could stay, but…”
Faith: “Oh, you have to go.”
Buffy: “That’s just what…”
Faith: “Little sis coming. I know.”
Buffy: “So much to do before she gets here.”

As well as referencing Dawn verbally, the two Slayers are making the bed in Dawn’s future room.
The second reference occurs in the episode Restless. Tara says to Buffy, “Be back before Dawn”.
There is also a couple more, slightly cryptic, references: In Graduation Day (Part 1), Buffy walks into Faith’s apartment and Faith says, “Look at you, all dressed up in big sister’s clothes.” In Restless. In Giles’ dream, Olivia is pregnant, which may signify the coming of Dawn as Giles became a father figure to her after Joyce died.
In Graduation Day (Part 2), Buffy dreams that she and Faith are making a bed together (again!). Faith says, “Miles to go. Little Miss Muffet counting down from 7-3-0″. Faith’s riddle is explained later in the series. “730″ is a forshadowing of Buffy’s own death (Buffy dies to save Dawn). It means 365 multiplied by 2, meaning in two year’s time. This date coincides with the episode The Gift where Buffy dies. The number crops up again in season four’s finale Restless, where Buffy sees a clock saying 7:30 and Tara tells her the clock is wrong. It is: there are no longer 730 days before Buffy’s death, there are 365.

Going for the boyfriend

In This Year’s Girl, Buffy asks Faith if she’s “going for the boyfriend again?” Faith tried to get at Buffy through Angel in Enemies, by trying to seduce him then attempting to remove his soul by magic. Faith eventually sleeps with Riley in Who Are You? when she takes over Buffy’s body.

Marvellous speaking tube

In This Year’s Girl, Giles uses the new phone he got in A New Man, after his old one was destroyed. Buffy also uses the phone in New Moon Rising.

Message from beyond

The Mayor’s video message to Faith, seen in This Year’s Girl, would have been made sometime during the events of Graduation Day (Part 2) - after Faith was hospitalised, but before he went and turned into a giant snake.

Not helpful

In This Year’s Girl, Willow wonders if they should get the Watcher’s Council to help them get Faith. Xander says, “Been there, tried that. Not unlike smothering a forest fire with napalm, as I recall.” He’s referring to the fact that they failed to control Faith the last time they captured her, in Consequences.

Pent up feelings

When looking for Faith in This Year’s Girl, Xander says:

“The point being, I could be the target here. If Faith finds Mr. Xander Harris still in town, she’ll go tighter than cat gut. Got a lotta pent up feelings there. I’m only saying.”

He and Faith had sex in The Zeppo, leading Xander to believe it meant more to Faith than it did.

Pretty out there

In This Year’s Girl, Riley apologizes to Willow after he pushed her down in Goodbye, Iowa.

Quitting the Council

Buffy says to Riley in This Year’s Girl, “I know how you feel. Giles used to be part of this Council and for years all they ever did was give me orders… The point is, I quit the Council. And I was scared. But it’s okay now.” She’s referring to the Watcher’s Council, which she quit in Graduation Day (Part 2).

Red

In Fear, Itself, Xander calls Buffy “Red”. Spike called Willow “Red” in Same Time, Same Place and The Yoko Factor, and Faith called Willow this in This Year’s Girl. Kennedy also calls Willow “Red” in Chosen, when they’re in the Principal’s office getting ready for Willow to work her mojo.

Scarf part of me

In This Year’s Girl, Riley tells Buffy that the red scarf that Buffy gave him when he was sick in Goodbye, Iowa was the only thing that kept him going.

Slayer Handbook

The rule book for Slayers, which also suggest study material. Giles decided not to bother with one for Buffy as soon as he met her (which explains why he told Buffy he had no “rule book” for her in Never Kill a Boy on the First Date), as he realised it would be useless in her case. He told this to Buffy in What’s My Line? (Part 2).
In This Year’s Girl, Buffy said to Giles, “Why? Because ray guns aren’t in the Slayer handbook?”

Sporting goods

In This Year’s Girl, Faith looks in the window of the same sports store that she and Buffy were arrested in, in Bad Girls.

Taser blazer

In This Year’s Girl, Xander tries to repair the faulty taser-gun which Maggie Walsh gave to Buffy in The I in Team (”Sure. As soon as I get my master’s degree in advanced starship technology”). Riley finally fixes it and Buffy uses it in The Yoko Factor.

Draconian Katra spell

The Draconian Katra spell enables two people to switch bodies a-la-Freaky-Friday. Faith and Buffy’s bodies were swapped in the two parter This Year’s Girl and Who Are You?. Tara and Willow were able to conjure a similar spell to put the girls back in their rightful bodies. Tara said of the spell:

The spell involved the incantation, “Sightless sea. Ayala flows through the river in me. The inward eye, the sightless sea”, plus lots of carpet-stroking in a highly sexually-charged atmosphere. Ooo err.

Five by Five

Faith often uses the phrase “Five By Five” to say she’s ok. The origin of the phrase is unknown, but it can be related to a poker term, a piece of wood, US Army talk for a radio signal being loud and clear, and it’s also a reference to the movie Aliens. Five by five was used in the space program in the 1960’s, used by Apollo astronauts. In the transcription of the air-to-ground Apollo 11 mission are the words: “Roger, 11, You are coming in five-by-five here. Beautiful signal.”
Five By Five became the name of a Faith-centered episode in Angel’s season one.

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Sarah Michelle Gellar appeared in the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer in 1997. There are a couple of possible references to this film in Buffy. In Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, Angel sends Buffy a bunch of roses with a card reading, “Soon”. This could be a reference to I Know What You Did Last Summer, in which the character played by Sarah wakes to find the same message written on her mirror in lipstick.
When Faith is running from Buffy in her dream in This Year’s Girl, the scene is reminiscent of the scene in the movie where Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character runs from a killer.

Orgazmo

In This Year’s Girl, Xander says, “Now, if it were called the Orgazmater, I’d be the first to try your basic button press approach”. This could be a reference to the Trey Parker movie Orgazmo (1997), which was produced by Fran Rubel Kuzui and Kaz Kuzui (both executive producers on Buffy and Angel).

Shawshank Redemption

The scene in Faith’s dream where she looks up to the sky with the rain pouring down her is an homage to Tim Robbins’ escape from prison in the 1994 movie Shawshank Redemption.

The Right Stuff

In This Year’s Girl, Buffy calls Riley “the clean marine”, a quote from the 1983 movie The Right Stuff.

The Terminator

The conversation in Living Conditions about Parker’s interest in Buffy, (Xander says “Hasta” and “Buffinator” and Oz says “He’ll be back”) is a reference to The Terminator movies, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by Jame Cameron.
In This Year’s Girl, Buffy called Adam “the Terminator without the bashful charm” and in When She Was Bad, Willow and Xander referenced the movie when playing “Guess the Movie”. In Primeval, Adam has an arm-gun (”I’ve been upgrading”). This is reminiscent of the gun the Terminator has in the movie trilogy. In All the Way, Janice calls her mother “The Mominator”.
In Billy, Cordelia says, “You can’t barge into a police precinct and go all Terminator.” At one point in the original Terminator movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character drives into a police station and shoots up the place killing most of the police inside.

Seen at 06.28 minutes:

When Forrest confronts Riley as he’s trying to leave the infirmary, Riley’s shirt is further open in some shots than in others.

Seen at 07.38 minutes:

When the Mayor and Faith are laying on the blanket having a picnic, you can see the grass snake in the Mayor’s hand. He then places it on the correct spot before he “notices it” and picks it up.

Seen at 08.41 minutes:

The boom mic operator can be seen in a bush, just before Buffy sees the demon that Adam dissected. He’s to the right of the screen.

Seen at 10.04 minutes:

When Buffy is making her speech about rescuing Riley, why didn’t Willow and Xander notice Riley coming down the stairs behind the Slayer?

Seen at 12.12 minutes:

When Faith crawls out of the grave, she takes a couple of small steps. In the next shot she’s several feet away from the grave.

Seen at 12.12 minutes:

In Faith’s dream, as Faith drags herself out of the grave, the rain doesn’t appear to be actually hitting her. It looks like they just made Eliza Dushku wet, and then added computer generated rain, to avoid the difficulties of filming a close up rain scene.

Seen at 18.43 minutes:

When Faith is walking down the street after leaving the hospital, a couple walk behind her. The woman is wearing a blue jacket and pink scarf. As Faith walks, the couple walk from right to left three times. Then they walk from left to right.

Seen at 19.23 minutes:

How does Faith know where Giles’s house is? She never went there.

Seen at 23.15 minutes:

When Buffy and Willow are discussing what Buffy told Riley about Faith, a guy in a stripy sweater walks by on Buffy’s left. A moment later, as the camera cuts to a different angle, he walks by again.

Seen at 25.20 minutes:

When Faith and Buffy meet at the campus in front of the sign, you can see that Eliza Dushku’s hair is curlier at the back than he stunt double’s hair.

Seen at 25.49 minutes:

Whilst running away from Buffy, Faith climbs a wall. The wall wobbles around giving away that it’s a fake.

Seen at 26.31 minutes:

Tara’s pendant around her neck moves without her touching it when she and Willow look for Faith.

Seen at 35.43 minutes:

When Faith is rummaging through Joyce’s make-up, you can’t see her trademark tattoo on her arm.

Seen at 38.40 minutes:

When Buffy and Faith are rolling down the stairs, you can see a camera following them to the left.

Seen at 39.09 minutes:

Buffy throws Faith across the dining table as they fight, knocking everything off the table. A few moments later, the tablecloth and some pieces of fruit are back on the table.