Did you hatch?

In First Date, Xander was originally supposed to ask his demon date Lyssa, “Did you hatch out of a preying mantis egg in the old high school?” This line was deleted - it would have been a nice bit of continuity but confusing as, as far as we know, Xander didn’t know anything about the preying mantis eggs.

Little orphan Robin

The following lines were deleted from the episode First Date:

Ashanti

Ashanti played Xander’s evil date Lyssa in First Date. Ashanti is a singer, songwriter and actress. She did vocals for Ja Rule’s single “Always On Time”, and had solo hit singles called ‘Foolish’ and ‘Happy’. Ashanti has written songs for singers such as Jennifer Lopez and Christina Milian. She has previously portrayed singer Dionne Warwick in American Dreams. She voiced the character of Trixie in 101 Dalmatians: The Series, and also wrote an episode or two for the show.

K. D. Aubert

K. D. Aubert played Robin Wood’s mother, Nikki Wood, in season seven. The character was played by April Wheedon-Washington in Fool For Love. K.D. Aubert co-hosted the MTV show Kidnapped before playing a Harem Girl in the 2002 movie Scorpion King, which starred wrestler, the Rock. K.D. was also in the 2003 movie DysEnchanted, in which she played Red Riding Hood. K.D. ranked number 91 in Maxim’s Hot 100 2003, ahead of Avril Lavigne and behind Jennifer Sky (who played Heidi in The Pack).

Kristy Wu

Kristy Wu played potential Slayer Chao-Ahn in season seven. She previously played Alice Wong in Future Tense, Liz in Drive Me Crazy and Lisa in Moesha.

Chao-Ahn

Chao-Ahn was a potential Slayer from Shanghai in China, first seen in First Date. Buffy told Xander that Giles was picking her up at the airport in Potential so she must have gone on the vision quest field trip in The Killer in Me. She spoke no English and none of the other Scoobies could understand her when she spoke. Chao-Ahn survived the final battle in the Hellmouth in Chosen.

Lyssa

Lyssa met Xander at some sort of construction demonstration in First Date, and bonded with him over the thickness of ropes. Xander asked her on a date, but it turned out Lyssa was a demon who wanted to show the First she was on it’s side. She attempted to open the Seal of Danthlazar by using Xander’s blood, but Buffy saved Xander by decapitating Lyssa.

Nikki Wood

Nikki Wood was Robin Wood’s mother. A Slayer in New York City, Nikki was killed by Spike on a subway in 1977 (Fool For Love). He stole her black leather jacket and made it his own. The First Evil assumed the form of Nikki Wood in First Date and talked to Robin.

All in a title

In season seven, Joss Whedon stated that he wanted season seven to go “back to the beginning”. A small bit of continuity is the title of the episode First Date, which is the same as the last two words of the season one episode Never Kill a Boy on the First Date.

Andrew’s favourite gag

In three different episodes in a span of eight, Andrew is given the same joke. Someone tells him to show him something, and he rattles off several different, unrelated items:

In First Date, he tells The First what was in Buffy’s underwear drawer, instead of showing it the gun). In Storyteller, he tells The First what weapons someone was selling, instead of showing it the knife and in End of Days, he tells Anya what his rash looked like, instead of showing her the medical supplies.

Interestingly, all three were written or co-written by Jane Espenson, so she must be quite a fan of this joke.

Buffy’s feelings for Spike

In First Date, Buffy says, “Why does everyone in this house think I’m still in love with Spike?” She’s never said before that she was in love with him, just that she has strong feelings for him - is this an admittance that she loves the vampire? Later, when he offers to leave town, she stops him saying, “I’m not ready for you to not be here.”

Demon magnet

Xander’s relationship with the praying mantis in Teacher’s Pet is joked about in several later episodes, such as I Robot, You Jane, Inca Mummy Girl, Anne (in which Cordelia says of Xander, “He’s always been attracted to monsters” and later mentions Ampata from Inca Mummy Girl, calling her “some hot little Inca mummy girl”), What’s My Line? (Part 2) and Something Blue, when Willow says, “Let’s look at your bio: Insect Lady, Mummy Girl, Anya… you’re a demon magnet.” In First Date, Xander says, “Another demon woman was attracted to me” after his date Lyssa turned out to be evil.

Flashcards

In First Date, Giles trains new potential Slayer Chao-Ahn using terrifying flashcards, not unlike his pictures seen in Hush.

Instinct and reflexes

In First Date, Giles finally explains how he escaped from the Bringer in Sleeper:

“It was extraordinary good luck, of course, and training - years of training… But I honestly feel the largest part of it was instinct. Instinct and reflexes. There’s a sort of wary watchfulness I’ve developed over the years. It’s like another sense…”

He later admits to Buffy that, “I made that up! I knew the Bringer was there because his shoes squeaked.”

Microwave

In Potential, Andrew asks if they’re going to get the microwave fixed, a reference to Conversations with Dead People when Dawn smashed the microwave after it went all evil. In First Date, we see Andrew setting up the new microwave and reading the instruction manual: “‘Getting the most out of your new microwave.’ Oh, nice. ‘Clock, comma, setting the’ … page 3.”

No wonder

In the episode First Date, The First approaches Andrew in the guise of Jonathan. He tells Andrew: “What kind of a nerd are you? No wonder you crashed your jet pack.” He’s alluding to the episode Seeing Red when Andrew made a failed getaway using a high-tech jetpack.

Pizza or blood?

Anya tries to help Buffy get rid of a stain on her shirt in First Date. She says, “it’s blood, or maybe pizza.” In Conversations with Dead People, Dawn ate pizza whilst holding the shirt. She got a stain on it, but said, “Never mind, she’ll think it’s blood”.

Same vamp

In First Date, when Buffy and Wood are fighting the vampires in the alley, a vampire walks round a corner. This is a re-used shot from The Gift. It is the same vampire that Buffy killed at the start of The Gift when the vampire followed the teenager into the alley.

Snyder’s grave

At the very beginning of First Date, as the Scoobies walk through the graveyard, there is a grave in the bottom right of the screen with the name Snyder on it - perhaps it’s that of Sunnydale High’s ex-Principal?

Spike’s date

In First Date, Buffy mentions the girl who Spike took as a date to Anya and Xander’s wedding in Hell’s Bells: “You should try this, too. The going-out thing, I mean. There was that girl you brought to Anya and Xander’s not- a-wedding.”

We should talk

In First Date, Principal Wood says “I guess we should talk” after Buffy sees him fighting the vampires. In Hush, Riley said, “Well, I guess we have to talk” after he and Buffy discovered each others’ demon-fighting secrets.

Don’t tape the First

We discover in First date that the First cannot be recorded. Andrew wears a wire to try and record the First in First Date, but only results in angering the non-corporeal evil.

Seal of Danthalzar

The Seal of Danthazar is a circular metal object which covers a portal over the Hellmouth, located under Sunnydale High. It is activated by a ritual involving blood letting and a knife inscribed with Tuaric: “The blood which I spill, I consecrate to the oldest evil.” Andrew stabbed and killed Jonathan over the Seal in Conversations with Dead People, though his blood had no effect on it, because he was anaemic.
In Never Leave Me, Spike was tied to a wooden wheel, mystical symbols were cut into his chest, and his blood opened the Seal. When the Seal is opened, Turok-Han (ancient vampires) are able to enter the world.
Lyssa attempted to open the seal using Xander’s blood in First Date, but Buffy saved him. The Seal was closed using Andrew’s tears in Storyteller, but in Chosen, Buffy and the potential Slayers opened the wheel using their blood, and entered the Hellmouth below.

Slayer kids

The revelation in First Date that a Slayer had a child is a new one to Buffy, who believed that most Slayers died before they reached an age to have kids. We learn that children of Slayers don’t inherit any powers from their mother, but they do like a good bit of revenge. Robin Wood was taken in by his mother’s Watcher after she died.

Google

Willow uses the internet search engine Google to find out more about Cassie Newton in Help (Willow: “Have you googled her yet?”, Xander: “Willow… she’s 17″). We see in that episode that the Sunnydale Police Department keeps personal criminal record files online, which seems to be available to anyone with access to Google. In First Date, Willow checks out Principal Wood on the search engine and says, “I’ve Googled ’til I just can’t Google no more. He’s not in there.”

Joe Millionaire

In First Date, Buffy tells Principal Wood she’ll be watching “a reality show about a millionaire”. This is a reference to Joe Millionaire which was a reality TV show about a guy who pretended to be worth $50 million. A group of women competed to date him.

Seen at 01.14 minutes:

Spike attacks Giles saying that Anya said he was the First… but Spike wasn’t there when they discovered this to be the case, and they disproved it before they saw Spike again.

Seen at 11.57 minutes:

When Buffy is telling Willow about Principal Wood asking her out, Willow is folding socks. When Buffy asks Willow to check out Wood for anything suspicious, Willow is folding white socks, but immediately afterwards, when Willow asks Xander whether he wants her to check out his date as well, the socks are folded and black.

Seen at 21.11 minutes:

Why is the restaurant that Wood takes Buffy to down a dark alley? Especially in a dangerous place like Sunnydale.

Seen at 28.27 minutes:

Xander’s hands and feet where tied to the wheel. Robin cuts the ropes on his hands and he falls to the ground. What about his feet?

Seen at 32.41 minutes:

When Wood, Buffy and Spike are in the car, Wood looks in the rear-view mirror at Spike - but wouldn’t have seen him as he doesn’t have a reflection. He’s then surprised at the Hellmouth that Spike’s a vampire.