Tabula Rasa (13 Nov. 2001)

Willow tries to solve too many problems with magic, accidentally making herself and the others forget who they are just as a demon loan shark and his boys come looking to collect a debt from Spike.

Director:

David Grossman

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator), Rebecca Sinclair

Stars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon	...	Xander Harris
Emma Caulfield	...	Anya
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Dawn Summers
James Marsters	...	Spike
Alyson Hannigan	...	Willow Rosenberg
Anthony Head	...	Rupert Giles (as Anthony Stewart Head)
Raymond O'Connor	...	Teeth
Amber Benson	...	Tara Maclay
Geordie White	...	Vamp #1
Stephen Triplett	...	Vamp #2
David Franco	...	Vamp #3

Storyline

Willow tries to solve too many problems with magic, accidentally making herself and the others forget who they are just as a demon loan shark and his boys come looking to collect a debt from Spike.

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Plot Keywords:

female protagonist | lesbian | sister sister relationship | heroine | vampire

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 2001 (USA)

Filming Locations:

1800 Stewart St., Santa Monica, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

42 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The neighborhood Buffy and Spike fight in is the Desperate Housewives neighborhood set (also used in the film The 'Burbs).

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Goofs

Everyone seems to figure out who they are by looking at their driver's licenses or school ID cards, but no one has looked at their reflections to see if they match the pictures on the IDs.

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Quotes

Buffy: Slay someone? A female someone. Who do those jerks think they are?
Anya: Bloodsuckers. They kill by sucking blood. Take it easy, Joan.

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Connections

References King Ralph (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Goodbye To You"
Sung by Michelle Branch

User Reviews

One of the better season 6 episodes I've seen so far

OK...NOBODY else noticed that Teeth sounded a lot like Jack Nicholson when he first started talking?

Tara finally grows up and confronts Willow with her Magic addiction. And just like a typical addict Willow goes into the whole false promise routine, only to crash and burn in the end. And what better backdrop for this episode than another one of Willow's magic spells gone bad.

And Giles delivers the necessary tough love message that should have been delivered back in the tough love episode. Unfortunately Buffy responds with her typical needy/whiny/helpless side -- the very one Giles is trying to eliminate so that the mature, self-reliant Buffy can finally emerge once and for all.

Of course...this episode does have its moments -- like when they first wake up after the spell kicks in, and Giles wipes off the sleep drool from the back of Anya's blouse.

And who can forget Spike when he's trying to remember his name: "Randy Giles? Why not just call me horny Giles? Or desperate for a shag Giles? I knew there was a reason I hated you!"

And yes...they finally give Xander a genuinely funny line: "Hey, I'm not sure what I am so bear with me -- 'Now I lay me down to sleep'. Shema Yisrael. Ohhhhhhm Ohhhhhhm.'"

And the final song from Michelle Branch, "Goodbye To You", is beautiful. And it's used perfectly to depict the feelings of Buffy, Giles, and Tara. I wish other episodes would have kept more to this approach -- using music to convey things that clumsy dialogs ruin. (excluding "Once More With Feeling". That was just heinous.)