I, Robot... You, Jane

Just when you're giving up a really good episode like this comes along. It's smart, funny and very relevant. It includes Willow developing a relationship online and Buffy's obvious concern, how do you really know if someone is who they say they are online? Giles also shows a mistrust for technology but rather than played for laughs he's shown to be asking some good questions but equally unwilling to see some of the benefits ot might bring too. The while look at technology in 1997 is interesting in this episode, it does feel like they have a healthier relationship with computers and the internet than us. The whole thing just seems to have a bigger budget, a cool opening and some great lines and even physical comedy. The only real downside is the dialogue and overall look of the villain. Still one of the better ones definitely.

Is it possible that a single dialogue can define an episode? While I've never been a fan of the Scooby Doo Monster Of The Week style episodes, this rather non-cannon ep was vindicated by the final dialogue, IMO.

Not a keeper, episode wise, but a doozy of a final signs and portents type dialogue.....

In the twelfth century, a group of friars perform a ritual to capture the demon Moloch, who demands the absolute love and devotion of his followers, into a book, hoping it would never be read. Fast forward to present day where a group of students at Sunnydale High School are scanning some ancient books, including the one where Moloch is captured, into the school's computers. When Moloch's book is scanned, the demon becomes active again, except this time he has access to the entire internet.

Shortly thereafter, Willow has a new friend named Malcolm that she started corresponding with online and has not met. It isn't long before she's doing very un-Willow-like things such as cutting classes just so she can spend more time online with Malcolm.

This episode is better than its rating IMHO, first of all because it is such a museum piece. In 1997 only 18% of all American households had internet access and only 36% owned computers, so the idea of needing to warn kids about strangers on the internet not being who they claimed to be hadn't really occurred to people at that time.

Also, this episode introduced a character that turned out to be very important in season two of Buffy - Jenny Calendar, the high school computer science teacher. Initially, she and Giles are at odds. Giles likes the familiarity - even the "smell" he says - of a good book, and finds Jenny Calendar a "horrible woman" who would change things where everything is on a computer instead. When she turns out to be a self-described "techno pagan" his attitude quickly shifts. And she's not hard on the eyes either.

This episode offers a good early focus on Willow as a smart cute girl with a confidence problem. I like how the friendship between herself and Buffy is portrayed and how Willow at first sees Buffy's concern over Malcolm's anonymous state as a lack of belief in her own ability to attract someone worthwhile.

After a thrilling episode with the big Angel reveal, this gets us back to several "episodic" style episodes where the individual storyline is the focus instead of the season's overarching story. A good but not great episode. Ms. Calendar is awesome though!

Given this was still a pretty early stage of the Internet, it was quite prescient regards the deceptions people perpetrate online.

The other reason it's notable is the introduction of Jenny Calendar, a character most of us come to like.