Hellmouth Podcast

Here it is the ninth episode of the Hellmouth Podcast. In this episode we discuss “The Puppet Show”.

The Talentless Talent Show

A Dummy who’s no dummy

The Slayer follows a hunch

And the show must go on…

Pay special attention to the discussion about the SlayAlive forums.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:25 — 17.1MB)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 1 Episode 9 “The Puppet Show”

1. Welcome to the Hellmouth Podcast
   1. Thinking about creating a voicemail line where listeners can call in and leave comments about the show.
      1. i.     Email me and let me know what your thoughts are on that.
2. Recently found an established community on SlayAlive forums.
3. Will be shutting down Hellmouth forums.
4. Will change the page to allow Hellmouth podcast listeners to list the username they use on the SlayAlive forums so that we can find each other readily there. I will also link to the SlayAlive forums.
5. This will not in any way affect the podcast. It is just a way to key us in to a Buffy community that we can interact with. One that is established.
6. My username is Hellmouth (Shocking)
7. Forums will be shutting down
8. Re-iterate this will in now way affect the Hellmouth Podcast itself. I will just be taking the forums down.

1. We open this episode with a crotch shot of a girl dancer, looks like a ballerina.
   1. We here some creepy perv-voice talking about being whole again. He makes his way through what looks like backstage rehearsals for something.
   2. Finally Cordelia is back!
      1. i.     She is performing a rousing rendition of Whitney Houston’s Learning to Love Yourself.
2. This appears to be rehearsals for the Sunnydale talent show.
3. Buffy, Xander and Willow show up to taunt Giles about his involvement in the talent show.
   1. i.     The new “Fuhrer” Mr. Snyder (New Principal) has made Giles the producer of this year’s talent show.

1. As the trio is leaving Mr. Snyder catches them in the aisle. Apparently he has heard their mocking of Giles and decides that because they are anti-social types and have been caught skipping classes that they are going to be in the school talent show and it is mandatory.
   1. “My predecessor Mr. Flutie may have gone in for all that touchy-feely relating nonsense, but he was eaten.”

1. Next up is for rehearsal is a ventriloquist act.  Buffy is creeped out by the dummy. Willow thinks dummies are cute (Xander reference). Xander is creeped out by mime.
   1. Morgan and Sid are the act. Sid is the Dummy.
   2. Crotch ballerina is putting her things away in her locker.
      1. i.     She hears something and goes to investigate.

1. Opening Credits

1. Back at rehearsals for the talent show.
   1. Buffy, Xander and Willow are rehearsing their dramatic scene.

1. Snyder and Giles are walking through the auditorium. Snyder is expressing to Giles his theories about education.
   1. Flutie’s downfall that led to his being eaten was the way he treated kids as human beings.
   2. Snyder considers Buffy, Willow and Xander the “bad element”

1. Someone has finally found the crotch ballerina in the locker room.
   1. Giles has inspected the body and it wasn’t a vampire.
   2. Her heart was removed.
   3. Because the murderer used a knife, the group assumes they are dealing with a human murderer.
   4. All except Buffy, she can’t help but think that because of the Hellmouth they are still dealing with a demon here.

1. The group starts to investigate the others in the talent show.
   1. All the kids are being helpful and trying to provide information.
      1. i.     Except Cordelia who just like when Flutie died says, it’s just such a tragedy for me.
      2. ii.     Discussions lead back to Morgan having suspicious behavior.

10. Buffy goes to the auditorium to look for Morgan.

1. She hears Sid talking to Morgan as though they are having a conversation not rehearsing.
2. She questions Morgan.
   1. i.     Sid starts to argue with Buffy

11. Back in the library.

1. All of the discussions lead back to Morgan.
2. They can’t slay him they just have to bring him to justice.
3. Buffy still is going with the demon theory.
4. Giles tells Buffy to watch Morgan and check his locker.

12. School hallway

1. Buffy breaks into Morgan’s locker
2. Principal Snyder finds her and tells her that school hours are over.
3. Buffy sees that Sid is not in his case.
4. Morgan and Sid are watching from another room.

13. Morgan is arguing with Sid that he doesn’t want to kill Buffy.

1. Morgan won’t do it.

14. Buffy’s mom checks on her in her room to ask how the talent show is going.

1. Says that she is going to come watch.
2. When Buffy turns out her light to go to sleep, we see Sid outside her bedroom window.

15. Back at school the next day is the dress rehearsal

1. Cordelia is complaining to Giles about her position in the performance lineup.
2. Buffy comes in and tells the group about her visit from Sid last night.
3. The group is trying to explain away Buffy’s theory about Sid.
4. “Excuse me. Can I have a little support here, please? I’m not just some crazy person. I’m the slayer.”

16. In history class Sid and Buffy have a staredown.

1. The teacher gets mad at Morgan for playing with his dummy in class.
2. After school Morgan comes for his dummy.
3. The dummy is gone.
4. Xander has swiped Sid
5. Buffy goes to find Morgan and question him without Sid around.
6. “once again I am banished to the demon section of the card catalog.”

17. Buffy runs into Snyder backstage in the auditorium while looking for Morgan.

1. Snyder chastises Buffy for being alone in light of all the things that have been happening at the school.
2. Buffy says she knows how to take care of herself.

18. Willow has figured out during research that it is in fact Sid who is harvesting organs in an attempt to become human.

1. Xander flips out when suddenly he realizes that Sid is gone.

19. Buffy still looking around backstage in the auditorium

1. She finds Morgan , dead, on the ground. The demon has himself a brain.
2. Sid drops a chandelier on Buffy and pins her to the ground.
3. Even pinned down she manhandles Sid.
4. Turns out that Sid is not the killer, he hunts demon. The result of a curse when he was chasing a demon.
5. Turns out it is a demon trying to keep his human form by taking the heart and brain.

20. Buffy and Sid are talking in the rafters. Buffy tells Sid she is the slayer.

1. Buffy figures out that if the curse is lifted that Sid will die.

21. Giles forms the power circle

1. He gives no speech, just tells them to get ready. No one is missing from the lineup.
2. Snyder is lurking around backstage.
3. Buffy finds Morgan’s brain.
4. They realize that the demon didn’t take the brain.
5. Morgan had brain cancer, bad brain so the demon is still looking for a good brain, the smartest one around.
   1. i.     They both look at Willow, she is the likely target.
6. What we start to realize is that the incompetent magician is the demon and he is about to chop off Giles’ head to get his brain.
7. The group is in the library trying to figure out how to find the demon.
8. Then they stumble onto the realization that Giles is really smart and he is probably the one the demon is going after.
9. Buffy shows up and kicks the magicians butt. Xander and Willow save Giles.
10. Sid jumps the demon and starts to stab him.
11. They knock him onto the guillotine and cut off his head.
12. Sid kills the demon and dies.
13. The curtain opens and they are all standing there with dumbfounded looks on their faces in front of the audience.

22. End Credits

23. Again a stand alone episode

1. No mention of the Master’s plotline
2. In this episode Buffy in spite of all of the evidence refuses to believe that Morgan is the bad-guy. Simply because he is weird that doesn’t mean he is evil.
3. In addition, she sticks to her guns in this episode. From the very beginning her gut tells her that they are dealing with a demon. Even though through much of the episode, the others don’t believe her she never doubts herself. I think that we are seeing that Buffy is becoming more comfortable in her slayer skin.

24. As always, please email me at hellmouthpodcast@gmail.com