The Zeppo (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Zeppo" is episode 13 of season 3 on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was nominated for an Emmy Award
for Outstanding Makeup in a Series. Feeling left out by the gang, Xander
"befriends" a psychotic student named Jack O'Toole. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang are trying to stop an apocalypse.
manages to get himself hurt. Buffy
suggests he stay out of the fighting. Xander is desperate to find his place after his breakup with Cordelia
and the alienation from his friends. When another student throws him a football, he misses and it hits Jack O'Toole's lunch, resulting in Jack threatening to beat him up. Cordelia, having witnessed the entire event, tells Xander he is useless: "You're the Zeppo
." Meanwhile, Giles
informs Buffy that the end of the world is near. A group is planning to reopen the Hellmouth and bring forth the demons it contains.
After a discussion with Oz about what makes someone cool, Xander gets himself a car that he believes will give him something unique. While getting doughnut
s for the rest of the researching gang, Xander meets Lysette, who likes his car and wants to go for a ride. As it turns out, the car really is the only thing she's interested in. At The Bronze
that night, Xander rear-ends Jack sitting in a parked car. Jack threatens Xander with a knife. A cop shows up, Xander covers for Jack and the two and Lysette leave to go get the rest of Jack's friends - who, being dead, need to be raised from their graves.
At the library, Buffy, Willow
and Giles are researching, while Oz - in werewolf mode - is freaking out in his cage. Willow thinks it's because he can sense trouble. Giles leaves to try and contact some spirits and hopefully get their help with stopping the Sisterhood of Jhe, a group of fierce demons (of the same sort as the ones that the gang killed in the cave a few days before) that plans to end the world.
Xander, drafted as "wheelman", takes Jack and his friends to get supplies to "bake a cake", or rather build a bomb. While the dead boys are getting the supplies from a hardware store, Xander spots Willow leaving the magic shop and tries to talk to her, but she hurries off to go help Buffy. When Jack and friends decide to initiate Xander into their club by killing him and then raising him again, he runs and escapes in his car. He rescues Faith
, who was fighting off demons, and takes her to her motel room where she seduces him. She kicks him out, clothes in hand, quickly after.
Meanwhile, back at the library, an enraged werewolf-Oz manages to escape from his cage, requiring Willow to sedate him with twice the normal dose of sedative darts. In order to get him away from the Hellmouth, she locks him in the school basement.
Xander, finding supplies in the car that indicate Jack and his friends have built a bomb at Sunnydale High, heads towards the school to stop it. After disposing of Jack's friends, Xander heads down to the boiler room to defuse the bomb. Jack shows up, and they fight. The fight is inconclusive, but delays Jack so that he has no hope of escaping before the bomb explodes. Xander asks Jack who is more afraid of death. Jack points out that he's already dead, but Xander responds that "'walking around drinking beer with your buddies'-dead is a lot different from 'being blown up and swept up by a janitor'-dead". When Jack confronts Xander about dying, Xander merely remarks, "I like the quiet" and stares at him calmly. Jack defuses the bomb with seconds to spare. Xander leaves Jack there swearing revenge, but when he opens a side door he is eaten by the werewolf Oz. Meanwhile, Buffy, Angel, Faith, Giles and Willow are at the library fending off the giant multi-headed monster and members of the group of female demons and successfully close the Hellmouth.
The next day, everyone comes to school as usual as if nothing happened. The slightly bruised Buffy, Willow, Giles, and Oz sit at a table reeling at how close the world came to an end the night before. Oz, despite knowing he was locked up as a werewolf, cannot understand why his stomach feels "oddly full". Just then, Xander comes by to chat with them. After a few seconds of talk, Xander decides to keep his harrowing night to himself aware that his friends will never believe such a story no matter how he tells it. As Xander walks away, he runs into Cordelia who once again taunts him as before, but Xander, newly confident, merely smiles and walks by.
executive producer Russell T Davies cites "The Zeppo" along with Star Trek: The Next Generation
episode "Lower Decks" as an influence on his 2006 Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters
". The episode provided a television format which came to be known as the "Doctor
-lite episode", an annual tradition for Doctor Who since 2006.
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Makeup in a Series. Feeling left out by the gang, 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...
"befriends" a psychotic student named Jack O'Toole. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang are trying to stop an apocalypse.
Plot synopsis
While the Scooby gang slaughters demons in an underground nest, XanderXander 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...
manages to get himself hurt. Buffy
Buffy 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...
suggests he stay out of the fighting. Xander is desperate to find his place after his breakup with Cordelia
Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
and the alienation from his friends. When another student throws him a football, he misses and it hits Jack O'Toole's lunch, resulting in Jack threatening to beat him up. Cordelia, having witnessed the entire event, tells Xander he is useless: "You're the Zeppo
Zeppo Marx
Herbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx was an American film star, musician, engineer, theatrical agent and businessman. He was the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films, from 1929 to 1933, but then left the act to start his second career as an...
." Meanwhile, 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...
informs Buffy that the end of the world is near. A group is planning to reopen the Hellmouth and bring forth the demons it contains.
After a discussion with Oz about what makes someone cool, Xander gets himself a car that he believes will give him something unique. While getting doughnut
Doughnut
A doughnut or donut is a fried dough food and is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets...
s for the rest of the researching gang, Xander meets Lysette, who likes his car and wants to go for a ride. As it turns out, the car really is the only thing she's interested in. At The Bronze
The Bronze
The Bronze is a fictional nightclub in Sunnydale, the fictional setting for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Of 144 episodes of the series, 66 have at least one scene at the Bronze, not including its appearance in the unaired pilot....
that night, Xander rear-ends Jack sitting in a parked car. Jack threatens Xander with a knife. A cop shows up, Xander covers for Jack and the two and Lysette leave to go get the rest of Jack's friends - who, being dead, need to be raised from their graves.
At the library, Buffy, 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...
and Giles are researching, while Oz - in werewolf mode - is freaking out in his cage. Willow thinks it's because he can sense trouble. Giles leaves to try and contact some spirits and hopefully get their help with stopping the Sisterhood of Jhe, a group of fierce demons (of the same sort as the ones that the gang killed in the cave a few days before) that plans to end the world.
Xander, drafted as "wheelman", takes Jack and his friends to get supplies to "bake a cake", or rather build a bomb. While the dead boys are getting the supplies from a hardware store, Xander spots Willow leaving the magic shop and tries to talk to her, but she hurries off to go help Buffy. When Jack and friends decide to initiate Xander into their club by killing him and then raising him again, he runs and escapes in his car. He rescues Faith
Faith Lehane
Faith 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...
, who was fighting off demons, and takes her to her motel room where she seduces him. She kicks him out, clothes in hand, quickly after.
Meanwhile, back at the library, an enraged werewolf-Oz manages to escape from his cage, requiring Willow to sedate him with twice the normal dose of sedative darts. In order to get him away from the Hellmouth, she locks him in the school basement.
Xander, finding supplies in the car that indicate Jack and his friends have built a bomb at Sunnydale High, heads towards the school to stop it. After disposing of Jack's friends, Xander heads down to the boiler room to defuse the bomb. Jack shows up, and they fight. The fight is inconclusive, but delays Jack so that he has no hope of escaping before the bomb explodes. Xander asks Jack who is more afraid of death. Jack points out that he's already dead, but Xander responds that "'walking around drinking beer with your buddies'-dead is a lot different from 'being blown up and swept up by a janitor'-dead". When Jack confronts Xander about dying, Xander merely remarks, "I like the quiet" and stares at him calmly. Jack defuses the bomb with seconds to spare. Xander leaves Jack there swearing revenge, but when he opens a side door he is eaten by the werewolf Oz. Meanwhile, Buffy, Angel, Faith, Giles and Willow are at the library fending off the giant multi-headed monster and members of the group of female demons and successfully close the Hellmouth.
The next day, everyone comes to school as usual as if nothing happened. The slightly bruised Buffy, Willow, Giles, and Oz sit at a table reeling at how close the world came to an end the night before. Oz, despite knowing he was locked up as a werewolf, cannot understand why his stomach feels "oddly full". Just then, Xander comes by to chat with them. After a few seconds of talk, Xander decides to keep his harrowing night to himself aware that his friends will never believe such a story no matter how he tells it. As Xander walks away, he runs into Cordelia who once again taunts him as before, but Xander, newly confident, merely smiles and walks by.
Writing
"The Zeppo" is a twist on the show format, which normally consists of an action-packed "A-story" and a character-development "B-story". Here, Xander's feelings of inadequacy develop into the A-story while a stereotypical epic episode of Buffy and the others saving the world is pushed to the background to become the B. Most of the apocalypse story elements come across as background events, happening offscreen, only in small bits, or being talked about afterwards by the characters.Cultural references
- After Xander runs into Jack during lunch, Jack asks, in threatening manner, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" is a song by American songwriter and recording artist Michael Jackson. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" was released on May 8, 1983, by Epic Records as the fourth single from Jackson's sixth studio album Thriller in 1982. It is the first song on Thriller...
?". In an attempt to lighten the tension, Xander begins to sing that song. - Buffy reads that the Sisterhood of Jhe celebrate victory in battle by eating their foes, and comments in disgust, "They couldn't just pour GatoradeGatoradeGatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
on each other?" referencing the tradition in athletic competitions to celebrate a victory by pouring buckets of the sports drink over the coach. - Both Xander and Cordelia compare Xander to Jimmy OlsenJimmy OlsenJimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
, another unappreciated sidekick (to SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
) without any special powers. - The title of the episode refers to Zeppo MarxZeppo MarxHerbert Manfred "Zeppo" Marx was an American film star, musician, engineer, theatrical agent and businessman. He was the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films, from 1929 to 1933, but then left the act to start his second career as an...
, who was the straight man among the Marx BrothersMarx BrothersThe Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
and long considered to be the most unexceptional member of the act. Xander is treated in the same way in this episode. - When Xander finds the bomb in Sunnydale High he says "Hello NastyHello NastyHello Nasty is the fifth studio album by the Beastie Boys. It was released on July 14, 1998 via Capitol Records and sold 681,000 copies in its first week, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart...
", which is the name of an album by the Beastie BoysBeastie BoysBeastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
- the album features the song Putting Shame in Your Game, which is heard in this episode.
Arc significance
- Xander loses his virginity to Faith, but the boost to his self-esteem is undermined by Buffy's statement about Faith in "Consequences".
- The multi-headed monster is the same monster that attacked Giles, Willow, Cordelia and Jenny in the library when the Master's ascension opened the Hellmouth in "Prophecy GirlProphecy Girl"Prophecy Girl" is the season finale of the WB Television Network's first season of the drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the 12th episode of the series. The episode first aired on June 2, 1997 with the series acting as a midseason replacement for Savannah...
". The Master's death caused the monster to retreat back into the Hellmouth. - Although Xander will never acquire special powers, the importance of the emotional strength his support lends the group will be demonstrated by his assumption of the role of "Animus" (heart) in the superbeing created by merging the psyches of Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles in the season 4 episode Primeval.
Television impact
This episode has proved very influential on later television writers. In his "Production Notes: Doodles in the Margins of Time" in 2007, Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
executive producer Russell T Davies cites "The Zeppo" along with Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Lower Decks" as an influence on his 2006 Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters
Love & Monsters
"Love & Monsters" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In this episode, an ordinary man named Elton Pope becomes obsessed with a man called the Doctor and his strange blue box, and joins a group of like-minded people in hopes of finding him...
". The episode provided a television format which came to be known as the "Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
-lite episode", an annual tradition for Doctor Who since 2006.