The Gentlemen were tall, skeletal and polite (apart from the murdering part) fairytale monsters from the children’s rhyme: “Can’t even shout. Can’t even cry. The Gentlemen are coming by. Looking in windows, knocking on doors, they need to take seven and they might take yours. Can’t call to Mom. Can’t say a word. You’re gonna die screaming but you won’t be heard.” The Gentlemen floated instead of walking, and had minions who wore straight jackets and held down their victims. They magically stole the voices from population of Sunnydale, and stored them in a carved wooden box. This enabled them to harvest seven human hearts that they cut from their living victims. The victims were unable to scream so the Gentlemen could work without being disturbed. Riley smashed the wooden box which released the voices allowing Buffy to kill them all by screaming in Hush.
Appeared in: Hush
August 6th, 2005 at 7:35 pm
Oz has a line in ‘Living Conditions’ (4.2) in which he insults mimes.
Buffy: So then, Kathy’s like, “It’s share time,” and I’m like, “Oh yeah? Share this.” (punching air)
Oz: So either you hit her or you did your wacky mime routine for her.
Buffy: Well, I didn’t do either, actually, but she deserved it, don’t you think?
Oz: Nobody deserves mime, Buffy.
Later that season, in the commentary for ‘Hush’, Joss explains how working with the mimes who played the Gentlemen gave him a newfound appreciation for mime.
August 6th, 2005 at 7:41 pm
My two favourite mime scenes: the one you mention above; and the mime caterers in Spinal Tap.
August 6th, 2005 at 7:45 pm
“Come on, don’t talk back; mime is money”
April 9th, 2006 at 7:38 am
I have a question, are the Gentlemen’s minions actually escaped mental patients or are they, like, lower class demons that for some random reason have strait jackets on…thats been bugging me every time I watch “Hush”, my absolute fave episode, next to once more with feeling, that is.