Missing episode

When the season seven video box set was released in the UK, the episode Showtime was missing. In its place was the next episode Potential. Showtime was added as an extra episode on the second season seven box set that was released on 8th September 2003.

Not Sarah

The telepathic voice of Buffy in Showtime was not the voice of Sarah Michelle Gellar in the original airing of the episode. She was unavailable to record her voice for the U.S. version, but it was her voice when this episode aired in the UK and Australia.

The First taunts

The following line was cut from the episode Showtime:

Amanda Fuller

Amanda Fuller played Eve/The First in Showtime. Amanda also played Emma Crawshay in Ollie. She’s also been in 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter (which John Ritter, who played Ted in season two, starred in), Touched by an Angel, Malcolm in the Middle, Two of a Kind, The Practice and That ’70s Show.

Clara Bryant

Clara Bryant played the potential Slayer Molly. She played Annie, the daughter of Billy Connolly, in the ABC series Billy. She has guest-starred on shows such as Roseanne, Fastlane and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She has also starred in various other TV shows, and acted on stage. Clara has been nominated three times by the Youth in Film/Young Artist Awards.

Felicia Day

Felicia played the red-haired potential Slayer Vi, and appeared in seven episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s also been in For the People, Maybe It’s Me, Bring It On Again and Emeril. Felicia graduated from the University of Texas with a BSc in mathematics. She is a professional-level violinist.

Indigo

Indigo played Rona, a potential Slayer. Indigo has also been in 10-8, Boston Public, NYPD Blue, Any Day Now, Chicago Hope, Minor Adjustments and Sister, Sister. Her real name is Alyssa Ashley Nichols. Indigo auditioned to play Annabelle. She said in an interview with about.com: “I auditioned to play an English girl, a completely different character and they liked me a lot but that character died in the same episode that you meet her, and they didn’t want to kill me off right away. So, they called me the next week and they told me that I got the part, and I’m thinking that I’m still going to be this English girl, so I went and I got a dialogue tape and I’m studying my English accent. I get to the set and it was a completely different character. So, they actually wrote the character Rona around me.”

Lalaine

Lalaine played potential Slayer Chloe in season seven. She is most recognisable as Miranda Sanchez in Lizzie Maguire. Her full name is Lalaine Veraga-Paras. Lalaine played “Little Cosette/Eponine” in the National Touring Company’s Les Miserables. She provided some voices for the movies Babe and Babe: Pig in the City (which was referenced in Never Leave Me).
Lalaine has written and released two singles: ‘Joyride’ and ‘Haunted’ and has released an album called Haunted.

Michael Grossman

Michael Grossman was a Buffy director during season 7. He has also directed episodes of One Tree Hill, Las Vegas, Jake 2.0, Firefly, (episode ‘Safe’), Enterprise, Gilmore Girls and Angel (episodes ‘Redefinition‘, ‘Birthday’, Ground State‘, ‘Players‘).

Chloe

Chloe was a very young, dark-haired potential, first seen in Showtime. Kennedy shouted at her when she couldn’t keep up with the other potential’s training. Chloe hung herself in Get It Done when the First’s plan got too much for her.

Eve

Eve was a potential Slayer wo was killed by Bringers before she managed to make it to Buffy’s home. The First assumed her form and stayed at Buffy’s house, pretending to be the Potential whilst studying it’s enemy. Buffy and Xander discovered Eve’s body and outed the First in Showtime. The First also briefly took Eve’s form whilst talking to a captured Spike.

Rona

Rona, an African-American potential Slayer, arrived in Sunnydale via bus, and was saved from the Bringers by Buffy at the station (Showtime). She never had a Watcher and stood up to Buffy and the others on many occassions. Rona’s arm was broken by Caleb in Dirty Girls, but she managed to survive the final fight in Chosen.

Vi

Vi was a red-headed and nervous potential Slayer. She had a Watcher prior to staying with Buffy, who had once shown her a blurry photograph of a vampire. She survived the final fight against the Turok-Han army.

Believe in him

The black outfit that Buffy/the First wears when it appears to Spike in Showtime is the same outfit that Buffy wore in Never Leave Me when she tells Spike she believes in him. Buffy/the First says in this episode, “He still thinks I believe in him”.

Due to open - or is it?

In Showtime, Xander says the new public library is due to open in May 2003. This is, of course, an in-joke as Sunnydale is destroyed at that time.

Flashback time

As the Scoobies and potentials start their battle with the Turok-Han in Showtime, we’re unaware of Buffy, Xander and Willow’s plan. We later see a flashback to their telepathic conversation discussing a way to improve moral. A similar use of flashback was used in Chosen, when Buffy’s final speech to the potentials was played during the big fight.

Give it away

In Showtime, Anya says, “You’re rejecting my offer of sexual bribery? What am I, a leper in this town? I can’t even give it away.” Even though she is talking to Torg, the trash-taking-out demon, she is also referencing Sleeper. In that episode, when she was trying not make Spike suspicious of her snoopng through his room, she said that she was there to have sex with him but he refused her.

Kill it with germs?

In Showtime, Buffy asks if the Turok-Han can be destroyed with germs. This is a nod to season three’s big bad, the Mayor, who had a fear of germs.

Shoulder weight

In Showtime, Eve/the First says the Slayer has the “weight of the world on her shoulders”. This is a reference to the penultimate episode of season five, which was called The Weight of the World.

Thinking back

In Showtime, Buffy says, “Welcome to the Hellmouth” to Rona, in an obvious reference to the show’s very first episode.

Willow’s coven

In Potential, Willow gets a phone call from Althanea in the English coven, who helped her after she went evil in season six. The coven has been mentioned previously in Grave, Lessons, Beneath You and Showtime.

Beljoxa’s Eye

Beljoxa’s Eye is a huge eyeball covered with smaller eyeballs and chains. It exists in another dimension (seemingly a black wind-tunnel), of which only demons can open the gateway. The eye is an oracle. It tells Giles and Anya, “The Eye sees not the future - only the truth of the now and before”, though as Anya points out - we all have this. It’s called ‘memory’.

Disrupted line

Beljoxa’s Eye informs Giles and Anya in Showtime that something has disrupted the line of the Chosen, giving the First a chance to wreak havoc. This explains why the First has been dormant for so long. The Slayer herself is the source of the disruption, and Anya realises that she and the rest of the Scoobies are at fault for bringing Buffy back from the dead last year.

Drowning a vamp

In Showtime, we see the First Evil (in the guise of Drusilla) instructing a Turok-Han to hold Spike’s head underwater. Slightlyembarrased wrote the following on this site: “As I understand it, vampires do not breathe (a point made time and again through this series as well as Angel), so why would Spike be in the least bit distressed by having his head held underwater? Unless, of course, it is a personal hygiene issue…”

Energy barrier

An ‘Energy barrier’ is an invisible force field to keep enemies at bay. Willow created one around the Scoobies’ hideout to keep the Knights of Byzantium away in Spiral, and one in Showtime to defend the Scoobies from the Turok-Han.

First Evil

The first, original evil had no physical shape, but could take on the form of dead people, including those who had been dead, such as Buffy. It couldn’t touch anything so couldn’t be fought physically, but it’s power lay in the way it could take on a form and persuade people to do what it wanted. The First came to Sunnydale in Amends to persuade Angel to kill Buffy. He was so horrified that he tried to kill himself, but was saved by Buffy and a handy snowfall.
The First was able to enter this dimension due to a fault in the Slayer line, which Anya worked out in Showtime must have been when the Scoobies brought Buffy back to life in season six. It began to torment the Scoobies with visions of dead people, and Buffy realised in Never Leave Me what she was facing. The First’s plan was to build up an army of Turok-Han, who would kill humans and when the balance had shifted the First could then take on a physical form and rule the world. Buffy defeated the First’s army by giving all potential Slayers their power, and using an amulet given to her by Angel. This destroyed Sunnydale in the process, but not the First which can never be killed.

Telepathy

Telepathy is the ability to communicate via the mind (telepathically). Buffy encountered some demons with no mouths that communicated telepathically in Earshot. She killed one and its blood infected her with its mind reading ability.
Willow’s magical power became so strong that she was able to communicate telepathically with her friends (Bargaining (Part 1), Grave, Showtime).

Turok-Han

The Turok-Han are extremely strong, ancient vampires. The Scoobies named the Turok-Han “Übervamp” because of it’s extreme strength. Turok-Han were sired as vampires when the human was still a Neanderthal. In Bring on the Night, Giles says it was known as the “vampire other vampires fear”. The First resurrected the Turok-Han using the Seal of Danthalzar and created an army of them to fight Buffy and the Potentials. Buffy discovers an ancient Slayer weapon she names a scythe which kills the Turok-Han with relative ease. The original Turok-Han was played by Camden Toy, who also played one of the Gentlemen and Gnarl.

Dungeons and Dragons

Giles, Xander, Andrew and Amanda play the game Dungeons and Dragons to pass the time before going to battle in Chosen. The nerds were playing Dungeons and Dragons when they decided to take over Sunnydale, seen in a flashback in Flooded. Xander thought he found the “frost demon” from Smashed in a Dungeons and Dragon manual. In Showtime, Giles and Anya visit Beljoxa’s eye. This is a reference to Beljoxa - a dangerous Dungeons and Dragons creature which has many eyes.
In War Zone, David Nabbitt says, “”Are you familiar with Dungeons & Dragons?” and in To Shanshu in L.A., he says, “Tonight’s my turn to be Dungeon Master”, on his way to a Dungeons and Dragons game.

James Bond

In the episode Ted, Cordelia states Buffy should have ’special rules’ when it comes to the subject of murder to which Xander replies, “What? A license to kill?” This is the title of the 1989 James Bond movie starring Timothy Dalton.
In The Prom, Cordelia says that Wesley would look “way-007 in a tux”, referring to Agent 007 - James Bond. In Flooded, the nerds can be seen playing 007 Golden-Eye on their Playstation. In Out of My Mind, Buffy says, “You’re like my fairy godmother and Santa Claus and Q all wrapped up into one… Q from Bond not Star Trek“.
In Life Serial, Jonathan, Andrew and Warren discuss the different actors who have portrayed James Bond. Warren likes Sean Connery, Jonathan favours Roger Moore and Andrew’s favourite is Timothy Dalton. They mention the movies Dr. No, Moonraker, Licence to Kill and The Living Daylights.
In As You Were, Buffy says to Riley, “you still carry around all that James Bond stuff.” They later abseil down a giant dam, 007-style.
In Lessons, Dawn says, “Check out double-oh Xander”, referencing James Bond. In Showtime, Andrew tells Dawn she has a “License to Kill” and in Villians, Buffy, Xander,and Dawn are talking about what to do with Warren and Buffy says, “That doesn’t give me a license to kill.”

Kevin Bacon

Andrew asks Dawn in Showtime if she wants to “play Kevin Bacon”. Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a game that attempts to connect any actor to the prolific Kevin Bacon in six steps via his co-stars.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

In Showtime, Buffy says, “Welcome to Thunderdome” and Andrew says, “Two men enter, one man leaves”. This is a reference to the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, starring Mel Gibson. The “Thunderdome” was a caged fighting match to the death. The tagline for the movie was “Two men enter. One man leaves”, which is what Andrew says in the episode.

Misery

In Showtime, Buffy and Andrew mention the 1990 movie Misery starring James Caan (as Paul Sheldon) and Kathy Bates (as Annie Wilkes). It was based on the book by Steven King:

I’m also quite sure that the scene in which Dawn innocently brings tea to her mother in No Place Like Home is a visual reference to the scene in Misery, in which Annie gives a cup of cocoa to the Sheriff. Dawn’s hair is even styled in the same way as Annie’s.

There is another visual reference to the film Misery in Epiphany - when the demons come to Wesley’s apartment he quickly goes into a cupboard in his wheelchair and struggles to reach up to find his gun. This is very similar to a scene in the film in which Paul Sheldon desperately reaches up from his wheelchair to grab pills before Annie finds him.

Star Wars

George Lucas’s Star Wars films are a cult phenomenon. They are referenced numerous times in the Buffyverse. The original trilogy included the movies Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return Of The Jedi (1983) and the movies The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005) were made later on.

• In When She Was Bad, when Xander and Willow play Guess the Movie from the tag line (Willow: “Use the Force, Luke.”,
  Xander: “Do I even have to dignify that with a guess?”)
• In School Hard, Spike told Angel that, “You were my Yoda!” Yoda was the ancient Jedi master who became the mentor and teacher for both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker.
• A visual reference to Star Wars can be seen in The Zeppo, when Xander runs into the corridor and runs back out with the gang members chasing him. Han Solo does the same thing in Star Wars.
• In Choices, Buffy says that Faith has turned to ‘the dark side’.
• In The Freshman, Xander confuses the Star Wars Jedi code quoted by Yoda in The Phantom Menace. (”Hate leads to anger…no wait…Fear leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side”). Also in that episode, the old frat house that the vampires are holed up in is the Psi Theta house. If you write those two greek letters together, and pronounce them together, you get Sith.
• In Fear, Itself, Xander says to Oz, “Sensing a disturbance in the Force, Master?”
• Buffy using the chain to choke Sobek the snake-demon in Shadow is reminiscent of Princess Leia killing Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi.
• In Forever, Ben calls Glory’s minions “Jawa rejects” after the small hooded and robed creatures in Star Wars.
• In Life Serial, Andrew paints a Death Star from Star Wars on the side of the gang’s van. It’s the Empire’s revised design from Return of the Jedi, which Jonathan says is flawed.
• In the episode Two To Go, Andrew says, “We’ve got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds us all into to Jawa burgers and not one of you bunch has the Midichlorians to stop her.” These are all Star Wars references: Darth is a title given to a Sith Warrior (such as Darth Vader); Jawas are the hooded creatures who live on Tatooine, and Midichlorians are micro-organisms which exist in all living things. Andrew says, “Laugh it up, Fuzzball” which is a quote from Star Wars. Andrew also later says in Two To Go, “…in a galaxy far, far away” - yet another Star Wars reference.
• In All the Way, Tara and Willow see a couple dressed as Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker kissing in the Bronze. Willow asks, “Do they know they’re brother and sister?”
• In Smashed, we see that the three nerds own a mint condition (though out of its packaging) 1979 Boba Fett action figure. Though Boba Fett was first introduced in The Empire Strikes Back (made in 1980), the earliest Boba Fett figure was made in 1979, before the film was released.
• In Dead Things, Jonathan and Andrew play fight with green light sabres.
• In Entropy, Warren calls Jonathan “Padawan”.
• In Conversations with Dead People, Jonathan and Warren have the following conversation: Warren: “Come on, “If you strike me down…” Andrew: “I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine…That boy is our last hope.” Warren: “No, there is another.” These are all quotes from Star Wars.
• In Potential, Xander says to Andrew, “Say Skywalker, and I smack you.” He is, of course, referring to Star Wars‘ Luke Skywalker.
• In Showtime, Andrew says, “I’m bored. Episode I bored.” He’s referring to George Lucas’s disappointing movie Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
• In Never Leave Me, Warren/The First says, “I’m like Obi Wan”. He also says to Andrew, “We’re right in the trench, and the exhaust port’s in sight.” This is a reference to the scene in Star Wars in which the Death Star is under attack.
• In Bring on the Night, Andrew says, “I’m like Vader in the last 5 minutes of Jedi with redemptive powers minus a redemptive struggle of epic redemption which chronicles…” He’s referring to the last scenes of the final Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi.
• In Storyteller, there are two framed Star Wars comics on the wall in Andrew’s opening scene.
• In Dirty Girls, Andrew says, “But like so many tragic heroes, Faith was seduced by the lure of the dark side.”

The Untouchables

Buffy says, “Here endeth the lesson” when she has kills the Turok-Han in Showtime. This has been said before in the series: by the Master in season one’s Never Kill a Boy on the First Date and Spike in Fool For Love. The line is taken from the movie The Untouchables - Sean Connery’s character says this to Kevin Costner’s Elliot Ness while lecturing him on how to bring down Al Capone.

Seen at 05.44 minutes:

In the beginning of the episode, Eve/First is lying covered with a blanket - the First can’t touch anything. In fact, how did the First avoid touching anything when it lived in the house for two days?

Seen at 12.11 minutes:

When Anya persuades the demon to open the portal, she says the demon has six spleens. We then see a shot of Giles and Anya, where Anya’s lips move even though she’s finished her sentence. This also happens later in the scene.

Seen at 25.52 minutes:

In Showtime, we see a scene of Buffy, Willow and Xander in the kitchen twice - first without the sound, and the second time in a flashback (at 35.55 minutes), in which we hear them speaking telepathically. The first time the scene is shown, Buffy tucks her hair behind her ear, but she doesn’t do this in the flashback. Obviously different versions of the scene were used in the final cut.

Seen at 28.54 minutes:

In Showtime, as the Scoobies and potentials are watching the door being battered by the Turok-Han, you can clearly see a black cable attatched to the door, for the purpose of pulling the door off of its hinges when it is kicked in. It’s in shot for a quite a while and you can even see it wobbling as the door is being kicked from the other side!

Seen at 29.33 minutes:

When the Turok-Han enters the house, Buffy isn’t wearing a coat. Then she and the others run outside, where she’s suddenly wearing a fully buttoned jacket.

Seen at 37.04 minutes:

Throughout her fight with the Turok-Han, Buffy is wearing black trainers, but when she walks away from the ‘Thunderdrome’ (at 38.55) she’s wearing black, heeled boots.

Seen at 37.25 minutes:

When the Turok-Han chokes Buffy and she pulls the arrow from his neck to stab him in the eye, you can see that the arrow is still in her hand and the Turok-Han had a copy of it and put in his eye.