Ted (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode)
Encyclopedia
"Ted" is episode 11 of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although she tries to take Angel
's (David Boreanaz
) advice to allow her mother
(Kristine Sutherland
) to have a man who is not Hank Summers in her life, Buffy is unable to warm up to Joyce's new boyfriend (John Ritter
). When Ted shows Buffy a side of himself that he keeps hidden from the others, Buffy cannot find a way to raise her valid objections without seeming like the brat Ted considers her to be. When her escalating conflict with the man has apparently lethal consequences, Buffy's resentment turns to guilt. As her friends help unravel the mystery piece by piece, however, Buffy's guilt turns to fear—Joyce is in far greater danger than anyone, even Buffy herself, could have imagined.
, Xander
and Willow
walk to Buffy's house, discussing the lull in vampire activity after the recent defeat (and presumed deaths) of Spike and Drusilla. Misinterpreting an odd situation, they find Joyce
kissing a strange man. Joyce introduces her friend, Ted Buchanan, a salesman. He tells them that he has been seeing Joyce for quite some time now. He charms Willow and Xander with computer talk and cooking, respectively. Ted promises to make it up to Buffy for surprising her. Buffy becomes uncomfortable with Ted's 50's sitcom mannerisms; this is not calmed by Ted's offer of miniature golf.
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 ("...and charm your friends with their stupid little mini-pizzas-" "Erm, Buffy. I think this sub-text is rapidly becoming, uh, text..."). Later that night, Buffy asks Angel for his take on things, while 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 reluctantly complies with this idea, due to slight distractions from his lips.
The golf outing goes poorly, as Joyce has revealed Buffy's anti-social behavior. When Buffy cheats, Ted lectures and threatens her with a slapping out of sight of the others, but his cheerfulness comes back full force when rejoining the others.
Joyce doesn't believe this incident happened, claiming Ted thinks the world of her. Buffy recruits her friends to spy on Ted. Under an assumed name, Buffy talks her way into Ted's workspace. He has never missed a day of work, doesn't get sick and is getting engaged. Indeed, Ted has a picture of Joyce on his desk, but the part with Buffy is folded under.
At dinner, Ted denies the engagement, but confesses to Joyce that he has hopes they will. Buffy slips out for some slaying and on her return, finds Ted has read her diary. He threatens to tell Joyce about the 'Slayer' unless she toes the line
. She defies him and is slapped. In the resulting brawl, Ted falls down the stairs; Joyce rushes to him but he doesn't respond when she calls his name. She checks his pulse, looks up at Buffy and says "You killed him."
The day after a talk with the cops, Buffy is in a haze of guilt. Willow, Xander and Cordelia dig deeper into Ted's life—discovering Ted's cookies are drugged; Cordelia finds Ted has had four wives since 1957, all of whom have since "disappeared". That night, while Giles patrols, Jenny surprises him and apologizes for avoiding him. A vampire attacks and Jenny accidentally shoots Giles with a crossbow instead of the monster. Giles, only slightly injured, takes the shaft out of his own body and dusts the vampire.
Buffy again finds an unexpectedly reanimated Ted in her room; they fight again, and upon cutting him Buffy discovers that Ted is a robot. Ted knocks Buffy unconscious and escapes to find Joyce, but the damage he has sustained in the fight has left him erratic. Ted confronts an astonished Joyce, but as he malfunctions he reveals his true intentions; as Joyce resists, Ted becomes violent and knocks her out. Buffy then awakens, and knocks Ted out with a frying pan. Meanwhile, the Scooby Gang investigates Ted's bunker, decorated in 50's style; Xander finds Ted's previous four wives—all dead. The next day, Joyce swears off men forever and says that from now on, the two Summers women shall be manless. Buffy suggests renting a chick flick
.
The gang returns to school the next day, with Buffy cleared of all charges, and discussing their discoveries about Ted. Apparently, the real Ted Buchanan was a sickly and unsuccessful inventor in the 1950s whose wife left him. In desperation, he built a robot version of himself, "a better Ted", possibly to be the man he thought his wife should have. The robot then kidnapped Ted's wife and held her captive in his bunker until she died. The robot then sought out other women resembling Ted's dead wife and repeated the process again and again. He had done it four times.
All seems to have returned to normality... with the exception of Giles and Ms. Calendar kissing in the library.
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
's (David Boreanaz
David Boreanaz
David Boreanaz is an American actor, television producer, and director, known for his role as Angel on the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and as Special Agent Seeley Booth on the television crime drama Bones....
) advice to allow her mother
Joyce Summers
Joyce Summers is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Played by Kristine Sutherland, Joyce is the mother of the main character, Buffy Summers . Joyce appears regularly from the first episode until the character's death in the fifth season episode "The...
(Kristine Sutherland
Kristine Sutherland
Kristine Sutherland is an actress best known for her role as Buffy Summers' mother Joyce Summers on the television show Buffy The Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...
) to have a man who is not Hank Summers in her life, Buffy is unable to warm up to Joyce's new boyfriend (John Ritter
John Ritter
Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
). When Ted shows Buffy a side of himself that he keeps hidden from the others, Buffy cannot find a way to raise her valid objections without seeming like the brat Ted considers her to be. When her escalating conflict with the man has apparently lethal consequences, Buffy's resentment turns to guilt. As her friends help unravel the mystery piece by piece, however, Buffy's guilt turns to fear—Joyce is in far greater danger than anyone, even Buffy herself, could have imagined.
Plot
BuffyBuffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
, Xander
Xander Harris
Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as in numerous items in the series Expanded Universe, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games...
and Willow
Willow Rosenberg
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...
walk to Buffy's house, discussing the lull in vampire activity after the recent defeat (and presumed deaths) of Spike and Drusilla. Misinterpreting an odd situation, they find Joyce
Joyce Summers
Joyce Summers is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Played by Kristine Sutherland, Joyce is the mother of the main character, Buffy Summers . Joyce appears regularly from the first episode until the character's death in the fifth season episode "The...
kissing a strange man. Joyce introduces her friend, Ted Buchanan, a salesman. He tells them that he has been seeing Joyce for quite some time now. He charms Willow and Xander with computer talk and cooking, respectively. Ted promises to make it up to Buffy for surprising her. Buffy becomes uncomfortable with Ted's 50's sitcom mannerisms; this is not calmed by Ted's offer of miniature golf.
That night, Buffy beats a vampire to an unusually bloody pulp before killing him, worrying Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
that something is troubling her. She refuses to divulge, but Giles secretly has a good idea of what is happening ("...and charm your friends with their stupid little mini-pizzas-" "Erm, Buffy. I think this sub-text is rapidly becoming, uh, text..."). Later that night, Buffy asks Angel for his take on things, while she tends to the hand wound he sustained recently
What's My Line (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
"What's My Line" is a two-episode story in season two of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.In Part One, Buffy endures Career Week at school while Spike hires assassins to kill her; a fierce fighter who identifies herself as "Kendra, the Vampire Slayer" shows up in Sunnydale...
. He says that her mother needs a man in her life, and she should give him the benefit of the doubt. She reluctantly complies with this idea, due to slight distractions from his lips.
The golf outing goes poorly, as Joyce has revealed Buffy's anti-social behavior. When Buffy cheats, Ted lectures and threatens her with a slapping out of sight of the others, but his cheerfulness comes back full force when rejoining the others.
Joyce doesn't believe this incident happened, claiming Ted thinks the world of her. Buffy recruits her friends to spy on Ted. Under an assumed name, Buffy talks her way into Ted's workspace. He has never missed a day of work, doesn't get sick and is getting engaged. Indeed, Ted has a picture of Joyce on his desk, but the part with Buffy is folded under.
At dinner, Ted denies the engagement, but confesses to Joyce that he has hopes they will. Buffy slips out for some slaying and on her return, finds Ted has read her diary. He threatens to tell Joyce about the 'Slayer' unless she toes the line
Toe the line
"Toe the line" is an idiomatic expression meaning to conform to a rule or a standard.The expression has disputed origins. It is commonly thought that its origins lie in the British House of Commons where sword-strapped members were instructed to stand behind lines that were two sword-lengths apart...
. She defies him and is slapped. In the resulting brawl, Ted falls down the stairs; Joyce rushes to him but he doesn't respond when she calls his name. She checks his pulse, looks up at Buffy and says "You killed him."
The day after a talk with the cops, Buffy is in a haze of guilt. Willow, Xander and Cordelia dig deeper into Ted's life—discovering Ted's cookies are drugged; Cordelia finds Ted has had four wives since 1957, all of whom have since "disappeared". That night, while Giles patrols, Jenny surprises him and apologizes for avoiding him. A vampire attacks and Jenny accidentally shoots Giles with a crossbow instead of the monster. Giles, only slightly injured, takes the shaft out of his own body and dusts the vampire.
Buffy again finds an unexpectedly reanimated Ted in her room; they fight again, and upon cutting him Buffy discovers that Ted is a robot. Ted knocks Buffy unconscious and escapes to find Joyce, but the damage he has sustained in the fight has left him erratic. Ted confronts an astonished Joyce, but as he malfunctions he reveals his true intentions; as Joyce resists, Ted becomes violent and knocks her out. Buffy then awakens, and knocks Ted out with a frying pan. Meanwhile, the Scooby Gang investigates Ted's bunker, decorated in 50's style; Xander finds Ted's previous four wives—all dead. The next day, Joyce swears off men forever and says that from now on, the two Summers women shall be manless. Buffy suggests renting a chick flick
Chick flick
Chick flick is a slang term for a film mainly dealing with love and romance designed to appeal to a female target audience. Although many types of films may be directed toward the female gender, "chick flick" is typically used only in reference to films that are heavy with emotion or contain themes...
.
The gang returns to school the next day, with Buffy cleared of all charges, and discussing their discoveries about Ted. Apparently, the real Ted Buchanan was a sickly and unsuccessful inventor in the 1950s whose wife left him. In desperation, he built a robot version of himself, "a better Ted", possibly to be the man he thought his wife should have. The robot then kidnapped Ted's wife and held her captive in his bunker until she died. The robot then sought out other women resembling Ted's dead wife and repeated the process again and again. He had done it four times.
All seems to have returned to normality... with the exception of Giles and Ms. Calendar kissing in the library.
Production
- One of Willow's lines in the teaser was cut:
Willow: I'm just saying that if Tennille were in charge, she would have had the little captain hat.
- "Ted" was shot during the Halloween holiday. 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 OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, along with her dog, TotoToto (dog)Toto is the name of a fictional dog in L. Frank Baum's Oz series of children's books, and works derived from them. The name is pronounced with a long "O", a homonym of "toe toe". The dog was originally a cairn terrier drawn by W.W. Denslow for the first edition of the Wizard of Oz...
. - During the filming of the final confrontation between Buffy and Ted, both Sarah Michelle Gellar and John Ritter were ill. Gellar had the flu whereas Ritter had food poisoning from the night before.
- John RitterJohn RitterJonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
claimed this episode influenced his understanding of his own stepdaughter.
Arc significance
- Buffy's struggle to overcome her guilt after believing she had killed a human marked the first exploration of this theme within the series. This would later become a dominant theme surrounding the character of FaithFaith LehaneFaith is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actress Eliza Dushku in the TV series and by Whitney Thompson in the motion comic series, Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy and was a focus of that season's...
and her relationship with Buffy.
Flaws
- Giles says, "until Buffy retains her equilibrium, there is no slayer". It is revealed in the two prior episodes, that there is a coexisting slayer, although this could be based on the opinion that since Buffy is alive Kendra is not a true Slayer. It could also simply be interpreted to mean 'there is no slayer in Sunnydale', since Kendra returned to her home country.