Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Puppet Show

"My predecessor, Mister Flutie, may have gone in for all that touchy-feely relating nonsense, but he was eaten. You're in my world now and Sunnydale has touched and felt for the last time."

- Principal Snyder

"The Puppet Show" is the ninth episode of season one of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was directed by Ellen S. Pressman and written by Dean Batali and Rob Des Hotel. It first aired on the WB Network on Monday, May 5th, 1997. In this episode, the uptight Principal Snyder forces the Scoobies to participate in the school talent show. A student named Emily is found dead - her heart ripped out of her body. As the gang begins looking into the matter, they discover that all of the clues point towards a student named Morgan Shay. Is Morgan guilty of murder, or is it actually his ventriloquist's dummy, Sid?

Notes & Trivia

 * This episode has been made available on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Chosen Collection and disc three of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete First Season DVD collections.


 * Production code number: 4V09


 * This is the first of two episodes directed by Ellen S. Pressman. She also directs the season 2 episode, "Inca Mummy Girl".


 * First appearance of Armin Shimerman as Principal R. Snyder. He will become a recurring character throughout seasons 1 and 2.


 * Sid the Dummy also appears in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds video game. He is offered as a playable character on Level 6 only.

Allusions

 * Principal Snyder makes reference to their previous principal, Bob Flutie. Flutie was killed by vampires in episode 6, "The Pack".