Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Replacement

"He's clearly a bad influence on himself."

- Rupert Giles

"The Replacement" is the third episode of season five of the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the eighty-first episode of the series overall. It was directed by James A. Contner with a script written by Jane Espenson. It first aired on the WB Network on Saturday, October 14th, 2000. In this episode, a demon known as Toth emerges with a plot to kill Buffy. His plan backfires however, when his magic blast separates Xander Harris into two different people.

Notes & Trivia

 * Buffy the Vampire Slayer was created by Joss Whedon. The show is loosely based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer feature film starring Kristy Swanson. It is produced by Whedon's Mutant Enemy Productions production company as well as 20th Century Fox Television.


 * "BTVS: The Replacement" redirects to this page. This link is created for the sake of saving on keystrokes while attempting to find this page.


 * This episode is production code number 5ABB03.


 * This episode is included on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fifth Season DVD collection, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Series collection, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Chosen Collection limited edition box-set collection.


 * Actor Anthony Head is credited as Anthony Stewart Head in this episode.


 * Kelly Donovan, who plays Xander Harris' double, is the twin brother of Nicholas Brendon.


 * This is the twelfth episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer directed by James A. Contner. He directs twenty episodes of the series in total. This is his first episode from season four of the show. He previously directed "Primeval", which was the penultimate episode of season four. His next episode is "I Was Made to Love You".


 * This is the ninth episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer written by Jane Espenson. It is her first episode from season four of the series. She previously worked on "Superstar". Her next episode is "Triangle".


 * This is the first appearance of the "Buffybot", though it is dis-assembled. The fully assembled Buffybot, as built by Warren Meers, does not make its first appearance until episode 5x18, "Intervention".

Allusions

 * According to Buffy Summers, "Toth" is a British expression which means "moron".


 * Xander Harris makes reference to Mister Spock in this episode. Mister Spock is an alien character featured in the Star Trek multimedia franchise. The line that Xander intones, "Shoot us both, Spock", is taken from the episode "Whom Gods Destroy" from the original series.


 * Xander makes another Star Trek reference when he confesses to owning a Klingon costume. Klingons are a race of aliens characterized by their swarthy skin, ridged brows, and war-like demeanor.
 * Xander Harris makes reference to his Babylon 5 commemorative plate collection. Babylon 5 is a science fiction television series developed by J. Michael Straczynski and aired on PTEN from 1994 to 1998.


 * Xander Harris does his infamous "Snoopy dance" in this episode. This relates to the cartoon beagle, Snoopy, from the Peanuts comic strip series. Specifically, Xander references the 1965 holiday animated short, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Quotes

 * Xander Harris: Yeah, maybe it's definitely time to start lookin' for a new place. Something a little nicer. Buffy, you've been to Hell, they had one-bedrooms, right?

....
 * Xander Harris: Don't be scared, Will. Just listen. It's me - Xander. And I can prove it.
 * Willow Rosenberg: Um... Okay.
 * Xander Harris: Let's see. Stuff only you and me know... Okay! On my seventh birthday, I wanted a toy fire truck and I didn't get it, and you were real nice about it. Then the house next door burnt down and real fire trucks came. And for years I thought you set the fire for me. And if you did, you can tell me. [laughs slightly before returning to the panicked state] For a while last year, I thought I was lactose-intolerant, but it was just some bad Brie. Oh! Every Christmas, we watch "Charlie Brown" together, and I do the Snoopy dance.
 * Willow Rosenberg: Xander, stop dancing.
 * Xander Harris: Aha! You called me Xander!
 * Willow Rosenberg: Xander, shut up! Why wouldn't I think you were Xander?
 * Xander Harris: Oh. Huh.
 * Willow Rosenberg: What's going on?
 * Xander Harris: I woke up in the dump this morning.
 * Willow Rosenberg: Xander, the basement isn't a dump. It's more like a really nice hovel.
 * Xander Harris: No. The dump. The city dump. I got hit last night. Fall down - boom. Woke up this morning.

....
 * Riley Finn: Getting nostalgic?
 * Xander Harris: I don't know. At first it's just a place, and then you start to make memories. Then you're, like... that's where Spike slept, and there, that's where Anya and I drowned the Sepavro demon. Oh! And right there, that's where I got my heart all ripped out. [slight pause] I really hate this place.

....
 * Riley Finn: Yeah, I'm well aware of how lucky I am. Like, lottery lucky. Buffy's like nobody else in the world. When I'm with her, it's like - it's like I'm split in two - half of me is just on fire, goin' crazy if I'm not touching her. The other half is so still and peaceful, just perfectly content. Just knows, this is the one. But she doesn't love me.

Crew

 * James A. Contner - Co-producer
 * Douglas Petrie - Co-producer
 * Jane Espenson - Producer
 * David Solomon - Producer
 * Gareth Davies - Producer
 * David Greenwalt - Consulting producer
 * David Fury - Supervising producer
 * Marti Noxon - Co-executive producer


 * Sandy Gallin - Executive producer
 * Gail Berman - Executive producer
 * Fran Rubel Kuzui - Executive producer
 * Kaz Kuzui - Executive producer
 * Joss Whedon - Executive producer
 * John F. Perry - Co-producer; Unit production manager
 * Marc David Alpert - Co-producer
 * Michael Cedar - First assistant director