Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 1x04 “Teacher’s Pet” Drunk Rewatch

Hahaha..."How did you carry on?" Good question. I ask myself the same question when I go back and watch season 1. But honestly, I think it's the characters. I loved them from the beginning.

Angela Colon

Well, that was dangerous. I hope you don't associate cider with THIS from now on...

Khanach

I'm going in high, so same lol

Prue

For all the criticism this episode gets, one thing I never see mentioned is the utter pointlessness of Giles' phone call to his colleague in the insane asylum or wherever he is. There are multiple scenes and mentions of this guy, and the only thing that comes of it is "yup, it's a big bug just like Buffy said", and "the best way to kill it is to chop it into pieces". They could have cut that entire bit out of the episode and pretty much nothing would be lost. I get that they wanted to establish some lore while also giving the she-mantis some "monster cred" and making it seem like a genuine threat, but it just fell flat on both fronts. This pattern shows up in plenty of other episodes (monster shows up, nobody knows anything about it, Giles and the gang do some research, then we learn stuff about the monster that helps the gang defeat it) but it's executed better pretty much every time -- including just two episodes later in The Pack. But of course, as you said, even the crappiest Buffy episodes have some genuine good in them. In particular, all of season 1 is significantly more enjoyable on rewatches because, now that you understand the characters, you can actually see how well-developed they were even at this early stage. As you said, the chemistry between the core cast was already there, and even though they will grow and develop greatly in later episodes/seasons, those core characters and relationships are already there from episode 1. All in all, I'm glad you found something to enjoy in this rewatch. And it's good to hear that rewatching this stinky episode has helped you to "always look on the bright side of life". After all, even used Mercedes still have leather seats!

ModernArtery .

I had a tough time getting through a lot of season 1 when I watched it the first time. I was concentrating on the stories/monsters of the week, how cheesy the effects were and the show looked at times, and things like that. But now that I’ve seen the whole show these episodes have kind of a fun place in my heart. They maybe don’t have a great monster of the week but the dialogue is usually always pretty strong between the main characters. The relationships between the core 4 characters is great. I find Cordelia very funny most of the times as well. Even the cheesy effects, I now find kinda fun and campy rather than annoying. Even the Xander having a crush on Buffy while Willow has a crush on Xander thing is just another version of Joss’s “no characters can be in happy relationships, they have to be miserable” thing. Just a more high school version.

Ray D

I'm going in sober! Wish me luck! 🤣

Sherlyn

Never thought i would ever see this! And Im so excited to see this hahaha. Ahh wish you could have uploaded a couple hours before you did as I was drunk myself!

Salv Mancuso

For someone who says they hate this episode, you still seemed rather enthralled :P I agree, this is bad, but it's the worst of some of the best TV, so it can't be THAT bad compared to say, Riverdale (sorry fans, that show has some serious WTF writing). hehe

KiwiJello

I quite like that tbf

I never thought I’d see this 😂

CeNedra

yay i'm here for it !

I like the original better if you ask me

Alexis Cardarella

Okay, I’ve never watched a rewatch, so this is a first. And it was worth my while lol. The theme was remastered I believe for the 5th season..

Alexis Cardarella

Lol I loved this. But I hope Liam C holds off on watching it for a bit because there are a couple of spoilers for stuff he hasn't gotten to yet. :P ETA: Yes, that's a slightly different version of the theme song. They rerecorded it for season 3 (and dropped my favorite part, which is the waily sound when Amy's mom does her spell). But the newer version is a bit tighter.

Pam Nail

You, the Cider glass and Cordelia having the same motto this episode: “look on the brighter side of life” … golden.

Shashank

Oh no I was really into this. Tbh if you decided to just rewatch the series after you finish it I'd watch the shit out of that

KT

Even though this is one of my least favorite Buffy episodes I watched it again with you & had fun. I would definitely watch more "drunk" re-watches . You are such a cinnamon roll!

Pho3nixX

This isn't "Only Fans" Liam. No stripping on camera, Haha. Fun video mate.

Bastion33

I know a lot of people hate this episode, and I do see why. I've never hated it as much as I think I'm supposed to. For one thing, I can overlook the bad costume because of the time. And for another, there's so much to like about this episode. Not all of it is bad. I love Greggory as a teacher, and I adore the affect he had on Buffy, getting her to do her homework and effectively save the day. The dynamic between the Scoobies was great, as you said, even this early. Willow's panic rant over Xander possibly getting his head bitten off, where she says how much she likes his head and this or that about him, is adorable. Buffy doing research and putting the pieces together was a pleasant surprise. I loved Principle Floody in this one. He was awkward, yes, but he genuinely tried, he did his job, he really cared about the students, and he did his best to help. Without that part, his death two episodes later, wouldn't have hit as hard. You were right, Cordy is beautiful. And I also thought Buffy looked exceptionally hot in this episode, particularly at the end with Angel. Buffy and Angel's scenes were great at the beginning and end. It was nice to see Angel again, like you pointed out. There was another thing I wanted to say on this episode. I am going to try to be careful with how I say this, because it's not my intention to set off a debate or push anyone's buttons. It always bothers me how people make comments comparing Angel and Buffy to Miss French and Xander, saying that because Angel is older, he's a predator like Miss French. I don't think the two are even close, and for me, the comparison makes no sense. For one thing, Angel is a vampire, and he's immortal, which always changes the whole age gap thing for me, particularly when the older man in question is like Angel, who is played as very sweet and gentle and almost shy with Buffy. Angel is not a predator out to molest Buffy. If you remove the supernatural element out of Miss French and make her a human, this is an episode of How to Catch a Predator. Angel never pushed or pressured Buffy. He didn't drug her or use subterfuge. He didn't target her. Miss French did all of that. Miss French was a pedophile. Yes, it was very carefully couched in a supernatural element and played for laughs, allowing the show to handle the subject in an easier to handle way, but essentially that's what this was. It's rather like any fairy tale used as a message to children, like Little Red Riding Hood standing as a message against stranger danger. It takes what is otherwise a very dark and difficult PSA and turns it into something younger people can handle without having nightmares. And for me, the biggest difference between Miss French and Angel is that the teacher was an authority figure who used her position in order to take advantage of students, Xander included. Angel is not in a position of authority or power, using it as a weapon against Buffy or anyone else. Unless he loses his soul and becomes Angelus, Angel is harmless. Loved this reaction, and I liked that you were able to see that there was still things to like about the episode, even while as a whole, you hated it. LOL

Raven Dark

Regarding the eggs at the end... I've heard a theory from a lot of fans that the scene in Prophecy Girl when Buffy was heading off to face the Master with the show's theme song playing (the only time they used the theme song as scoring during the episode) was supposed to indicate that everything until then had been a "teaser" and that was the moment Buffy truly embraced her destiny and became Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Up until then, Buffy had frequently fought against her calling, denied it, put in less than full effort. And part of that is supported by the fact that, several times in season 1, there is an indication at the end of the episode that Buffy didn't completely defeat the episode's Big Bad. Witch, Amy's mom wasn't dead, she was trapped in a trophy. Teacher's Pet, there were the eggs. Never Kill a Boy on the First Date, Buffy thought she killed the Anointed, but it turned out the Anointed was a little boy. Out of Mind, Out of Sight, Marcie was taken off by the government and was being trained to be an invisible assassin. I'm not sure if Joss himself has ever addressed this theory, but I kind of like the idea that she didn't fully defeat some the villains because she hadn't fully embraced her calling as the Slayer.

peggin

You actually did it!! "How did I carry on watching this show?" You stuck it out for Willow I think 😂

Christine Jury

well, at least for me, the "lesser" episodes, upon re-watching, are always better than the 1st time because I love the characters so much more than I did when I watched it the 1st time. And more love of the characters helps the medicine go down!

Mark Judge