Ted (Buffy episode)
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"Ted" is episode 11 of season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. See also List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes.
Plot synopsis
Summary
Buffy returns from a night out with Xander and Willow to find Joyce kissing a man called Ted. Ted turns out to be charm personified, baking superbly, which impresses everyone but Buffy. She's having parental issues, fearing Ted is trying to take over as her Father. Ted takes the Gang and Joyce to mini-golf, where he and Buffy have an unpleasant confrontation over the rules of that great sport. Cordy and Xander continue to illicitly smooch in school broom cupboards. Buffy decides to spy on Ted, but he finds out, and hits Buffy. She goes ballistic, and kicks him down the stairs, where he lands and breaks his neck. Buffy is questioned by the police. Giles saves Jenny's life while patrolling, and some trust is re-established. Ted then turns out to be a homicidal robot, who has married and killed four women before. Ted attempts to kidnap Joyce, but is defeated by a skillet-toting Buffy.
Expanded overview
As Buffy, Xander and Willow walk home, discussing the merits of The Captain & Tennille, they find the door to Buffy's house open, and when Buffy calls for her mother, there is no reply. Fearing the worst, the three friends enter the kitchen to find, to their horror -- Joyce kissing a strange man.
Joyce introduces her friend, Ted Buchanan, a salesman who is as charming and generous as they come; He tells them that he has been seeing Joyce for quite some time now, and then promises Willow some free upgrades for her computer (to her glee), whilst Xander proclaims him the God of Cooking, and becomes infatuated with his mini-pizzas. Ted takes a moment to apologise to Buffy for meeting her for the first time the way he did, and promises to make it up to her in some way.
The next day at school, Buffy does not understand what is so great about Ted anyway - after all, he talks like a 50's sitcom character and is clearly rather eccentric; but the other two think she is simply being unfair, or has parental issues, or both. Ted enters, and gives Willow her upgrades. He then suggests that he takes them on a mini-golf/picnic over the weekend, and although Buffy is clearly uncomfortable with the idea, Xander and Willow are almost too enthusiastic to come.
That night, Buffy beats a vampire to an unusually bloody pulp before killing him, worrying Giles that something is troubling her. She refuses to divulge, but Giles secretly has a good idea of what is happening (aided by some anything-but-subtle hints dumped in his lap by Buffy).
Later that night, Buffy asks Angel for his take on things, whilst she tends to the hand wound he sustained recently. He says that her mother needs a man in her life, and she should give him the benefit of the doubt. She relunctantly complies with this idea.
The game is on, and Buffy is doing exceeding poorly. It is here when Buffy learns, to her horror, that her mom has told Ted about her poor grades and habits of sneaking outside at night (although Joyce sees nothing wrong with revealing such things). When Buffy tries to cheat by dropping her ball into the hole when no-one is looking, Ted catches her and tells her that he will not tolerate cheating "in his house" - unless she wants her "smart-ass mouth" slapped. Buffy cannot believe what she is hearing; especially when Ted immediately reverts back to the kind, generous man who the others adore.
When Buffy tries to tell her mother, Joyce disbelieves her, saying that Ted thinks the world of her. Realising this is getting her nowhere, she elects to ask Willow, Xander and Cordelia to find out more about his enigmatic character; whilst she goes to his office, under the assumed name of Belinda, and learns from a co-worker that he has never missed a day of work, never gets sick and, most worryingly, is getting engaged. "Belinda" recognises the picture on his desk of her mother, and realises that he has cut half of the picture off (the half with her on it).
That night, she asks Joyce and Ted at dinner if this is true, and Ted denies it - but he's certainly hoping to ask Joyce to marry him if all goes well. She shows her disdain, and Joyce tells her to go to her room. Buffy does just this, and then jumps out her window, in order to do some slaying, to clear her head. Once she returns, she finds Ted waiting in her room. He has read her diary, and wonders what a "vampire slayer" is. He threatens to show Joyce this diary, unless Buffy toes the line. When she complains, he slaps her. Buffy is glad of the excuse to hit him, and lets fly like she has never done before. In the resulting fist-fight, she punches him and knocks him down the stairs. Joyce arrives in time to see this fateful punch, and feels his pulse. She can only say weakly: "You killed him..."
The police arrive and question the Summers women, the coroner proclaims him dead and Buffy has never felt so appalled with herself. She thinks Joyce will never forgive her, and she doesn't blame her one bit. She almost sleepwalks through school the next day. Her friends know that she wouldn't kill someone just for dating her mom, so Cordy, Xander and Will get to work. Xander, munching on one of Ted's cookies, is at first concerned, but then dismisses the whole thing. This points Willow to the all-important clue: upon analysis, the cookie is proven to contain tranquilisers and a sedative that is also found in ecstasy. Cordelia then finds out that Ted has had four previous wives (dating back to 1957), all of whom have "disappeared" so afterwards.
Meanwhile, at the cemetery, Rupert and Jenny stalk a vampire. After Jenny apologizes to Giles for not being honest with him, she accidentally wounds him with a bolt from her crossbow. Giles kills the fiend and the pair limp off to the hospital, to sort out the flesh wound.
Buffy goes up to her room, to find Ted (who, incidentally, is not even remotely dead). He beats her and when he tries to throttle her to death, she stabs his arm with a nail file. Sparks fly, and his internal mechanics begin to malfunction: Ted is a robot. He knocks Buffy out and goes downstairs to find Joyce.
Meanwhile the three sleuths have found Ted's residence, and discover the schematics of his robotic body and what remains of his previous wives in his closet. They race back, to warn Buffy...
Back at the Summers residence, Ted goes to Joyce, who is astonished to see him. When she insists on telling Buffy about his "resurrection", as she has been torturing herself over the affair, he says she can't, but she must leave with him immediately. As he continues to short circuit, he goes berserk and reveals his plan to dominate her. As she tries to escape, he knocks her out, only to be defeated at the hands of Buffy and a frying pan.
The next day, Joyce swears off men forever and says that from now on, the two Summers women shall be manless. Buffy ironically suggests renting a chick flick.
When the gang return the next day, with Buffy being acquitted of all charges, all seems to be returned to normality... with the obvious exception of Mr. Giles and Miss Calendar kissing in the library.
Writing and acting
- The episode is an obvious metaphor for fears held by step-children. It is also a warning that adults may not know everything, and that everyone may be taken in by a charming individual.
- John Ritter had once worked with Joss's father, Tom Whedon, and his son had appeared in a play written by Joss's brother, Zack Whedon.
Production details
The Watcher's Guide reveals that this episode was shot during Halloween: Many members of the cast and crew came to the set in costume; Kristine Sutherland (Joyce) wore 1950s clothes like Ted’s first wife, and Sarah Michelle Gellar came as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, along with her dog, 'Toto'.
- The Watcher's Guide mentions that during the filming of the final fight scene between Buffy and Ted, both Sarah Michelle Gellar and John Ritter were sick; Ms. Gellar from flu, Mr. Ritter from food poisoning the night before.
Music
- Christophe Beck - "Accused"
- Christophe Beck - "Robot rampage"
Cultural References
- Captain & Tennille - In the beginning, Willow and Xander are arguing about the Captain and Tennille.
- Crime and Punishment - A number of the characters have a discussion over whether Buffy has a right to take the life of a human being, and if so, the punishment she should face for doing so. Giles concludes the conversation by saying “Whatever the authorities have planned for her can not be worse than what she is doing to herself. She’s taken a human life. The guilt, it’s pretty hard to bear and won’t go away soon.” The whole conversation is an allusion to the book, Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. A central theme in the book Overman theory (sometimes called the ‘Superman’ theory in English) by Friedrich Nietzsche considers certain extraordinary people who are beyond good, evil, and especially the laws of society. Dostoevsky used Napoleon as an example in the book, who plans and commits a murder to see if he is above society. However after committing the murder he is over taken by grief, guilt, and fear.
- James Bond - Xander cynically asks if Buffy should have “A license to kill?” This refers to the 1989 movie "Licence to Kill" starring Timothy Dalton.
- Kevlar - Giles says to Jenny "The advantages of layers of tweed. It’s better than Kevlar.” Kevlar is a material which is used to make bullet proof vests.
- The Stepfather-Terminator-Collector’. - In The Monster Book Joss Whedon states “we refer to 'Ted' as ‘The Stepfather-Terminator-Collector’”, revealing three films that influenced the character. 1
- The Stepford Wives - Ted refers to The Stepford Wives, originally a 1972 novel about a town in Connecticut where the women seemed to live perfect lives as housewives but turn out to be robots. The movie was remade in 2004.
- Superman - Cordelia says of Buffy, “But she’s like this Superman.”
- Thelma & Louise - Buffy tells Joyce, “I guess we’re Thelma & Louise-ing it again.” She is referring to the 1991 movie Thelma & Louise, about two women who go on a road trip, where things get from bad to worse. The movie is often associated with female bonding.
Quotes and trivia
- The Watcher's Guide includes a line cut from the conversation between Willow and Xander regarding the Captain and Tennille:
- :Willow: “I’m just saying that if Tennille were in charge, she would have had the little captain hat.”
- Xander says, “Yeah, with Spike and Drusilla out of the way, we’ve really been ridin’ the mellow… and I am really jinxing the hell out of us by saying that”. Buffy replies, “Yeah, but we’ll let you off this time”. This forshadows later events in "Innocence" and "Surprise".
- Giles: "Buffy, I believe the subtext here is rapidly becoming text."
- We actually don't find out what happened to the "real" Ted. Given the fact that he has married in 1957, he might well be still alive.
Continuity
Arc significance
- This is the first appearance of a human-like robot on the series. Although another robot was constructed in "I, Robot... You, Jane", this one possesses completely human-created artificial intelligence. Stupendously advanced, these machines are nearly indistinguishable from humans and would probably pass the Turing test. The next well-made robot to appear on the show is April ("I Was Made to Love You").
Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
References
- [1] - The Monster Book, pix
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