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"I Robot, You Jane" is the eighth episode of the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the eighth episode in the series. Written by Ashley Gable with Thomas A. Swyden and directed by Stephen Posey, it was originally broadcast on April 28, 1997, on The WB network.

Synopsis[]

INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN — Buffy and Giles face a demon spirit who has been trapped since the Dark Ages and is unleashed into cyberspace. Meanwhile, Willow has fallen for a cyber-beau whom she met online and Xander and Buffy are wary of who this anonymous wooer may turn out to be.[1]

Summary[]

Cortona, 1418 — In a castle in Italy, Carlo kneels before his master, Moloch. The demon promises Carlo everything if he gives Moloch his love. When Carlo pledges his love, Moloch kills him. In a monastery, several priests form the sacred Circle of Kayless to trap Moloch inside a book. The head priest seals the book in a box, hoping it will never be read, or the demon will return to the world.

In the present day, Buffy opens the box with the book, and Giles tells her to put it in a pile. A group of computer science students are helping Ms. Calendar scan books in the library, and she tries to convince Giles that computers are the new way of life. After the class leaves, Willow stays and scans Moloch's book. She saves her work and leaves the library, and soon the text "Where am I?" appears on the computer screen.

A week later, at school, Willow tells Buffy that she has started an online relationship with a boy named Malcolm. Buffy warns Willow about the dangers of rushing into a relationship with someone she has not seen. Moloch eavesdrops on their conversation through a webcam and messages Fritz to keep watch on Buffy. Ms. Calendar questions Fritz about the unusual amount of time he and Dave have spent on the computer and receives an ambiguous answer.

Xander invites Willow to go to the Bronze, but she declines, wanting to talk to Malcolm. Buffy accuses Xander of being jealous. He denies it, claiming he is just worried about Willow because they have no idea if Malcolm is who he says he is. Elsewhere, Fritz repeats, "I'm jacked in," as he slices his arm in the form of the letter "M."

When Willow is late the next day, Buffy discovers she skipped classes to talk to Malcolm. When Buffy asks Dave for help finding out Malcolm's real identity, his angry response causes her to think that he is Malcolm. Buffy asks Giles for help, but he confesses he can't help her since he finds computers intimidating. His only idea is for Buffy to follow Dave. As Buffy follows him to the CRD building, a security camera points at her, and a message appears on Fritz's computer screen: "Kill her."

Back in the library, Buffy and Giles are surprised Xander knows that CRD is Calax Research and Development, a hi-tech company that shut down. Xander assures them it is suspicious because he would have known if CRD reopened, and they decide to break in. When Ms. Calendar interrupts them, she expresses surprise at how much time they spend in the library. Xander and Buffy make an excuse and quickly leave.

During an online chat with Malcolm, Willow becomes suspicious after she learns that he knows Buffy was kicked out of her old school and logs off the conversation. In the library, Ms. Calendar calls Giles a snob due to his aversion to computers, and they begin to argue. Suddenly, she notices that the pages in Moloch's book are blank, prompting Giles to rush inside his office.

Outside of school, Dave tells Buffy that Willow wants to talk to her in the girl's locker room in a plot to electrocute Buffy. Dave changes his mind at the last minute and warns Buffy, who uses her Slayer reflexes to evade the shock. When Moloch hears of it, he begins writing Dave's suicide note on the computer, and Fritz kills Dave.

In the library, Giles tells Buffy and Xander that Moloch is a powerful demon who wins his victims over with false promises of love, glory, and power. In the Dark Ages, books were often used to imprison demons, but, if the books were read, the demons were set free. They realize Moloch has gotten into the Internet after the scanner "read" his book, and now he can cause a limitless amount of damage. Buffy tries to delete the "Moloch" file, but his face appears on the screen and warns her to stay away from Willow. Buffy realizes "Malcolm" is Moloch.

After Buffy finds Dave's body, she tells Giles to ask Ms. Calendar for help, hoping they can find a way to imprison Moloch again with his knowledge of demons and her knowledge of computers. Xander and Buffy leave for Willow's house, where Fritz kidnaps Willow.

In the library, Giles is surprised that Ms. Calendar knows about Moloch, and she admits to being a technopagan. Meanwhile, in Willow's bedroom, Buffy and Xander find a new email from Moloch and head to the CRD building to search for her. Buffy calls Giles, and they coordinate plans.

Inside CRD, a team of technicians has built Moloch a robot body, and he is happy to see Willow. Moloch kills Fritz as a demonstration of his power. Buffy and Xander break into CRD as Giles and Ms. Calendar prepare the binding spell. The spell casts Moloch out of the Internet and traps him inside his robotic body. As Moloch attacks Buffy, Xander, and Willow, Buffy tricks him into punching a high-voltage power line, causing Moloch to explode.

The next day, Giles returns Ms. Calender an earring he found in the library. He tells her about his fondness for the way books smell, and she surprises him by being flirtatious. Meanwhile, Willow feels miserable that Malcolm turned out to be a demon. Buffy tries to cheer her up by reminding her that the guy she had a crush on turned out to be a vampire, while Xander also had the hots for a giant praying mantis. They reason that the Hellmouth is messing with their love lives and joke about how none of them will ever find true happiness. The three's laughter quickly gives way to worry at the thought.

Continuity[]

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organizations and titles[]

Species[]

Events[]

Locations[]

Objects[]

Rituals and spells[]

Death count[]

  • Carlo, neck snapped in 1418 by Moloch in Italy (only in flashback).
  • David Kirby, hanged by Fritz Siegel under Moloch's influence.
  • Fritz, neck snapped by Moloch.
  • Moloch, electrocuted in his robotic body, misled into punching an electric power line by Buffy.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

  • The title of this episode is a pun on "me Tarzan, you Jane," a phrase in reference to fictional character Tarzan, combined with I, Robot, the title of a collection of science fiction stories by Isaac Asimov.
  • Despite being credited in the title sequence, Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) does not appear in this episode.
  • This is the first time a historical flashback sequence is used in the Buffyverse in order to make sense of the story, a prominent plot device in both the Buffy and Angel television series. While a flashback of the previous episode is used in "The Harvest," this is the first time we see a flashback of a past event that did not occur in any previous episodes but was filmed specifically for this episode.
  • "I Robot, You Jane" features the first appearance of Jenny Calendar. Although her first name is not mentioned, the script called her Nicki. However, the name was then changed to avoid confusion on the set, where the cast and crew all called Nicholas Brendon by his nickname, "Nicky."[2]
  • In the library, Giles is listening to a radio report about computer problems at the Vatican. The announcer on the radio is Joss Whedon.
  • The name Moloch (a traditional Hebrew name for demons) was picked as an Easter egg reference to computer programmers. In C-based languages, there is a function named "malloc" (short for "memory allocate"). Since the episode makes many references to computers and the internet, the name is a fitting call-out.
  • This is the third episode of the series that features no vampires. ("Witch" and "The Pack" being the first two).
  • This episode marks the first time in which the diegetic audio from the last scene continues for a brief moment into the closing credits. This also happens in the episodes "Lie to Me," "Homecoming," "Helpless," "Pangs," "Doomed," "Out of My Mind," among others.
  • This episode also marks the first use of the cut screens to the closing credits, instead of the usual fades in and cuts out. This is also used in the episode "The Replacement."
  • The name Kayless in the Circle of Kayless ritual may be a nod to the Star Trek character Kahless the Unforgettable, which is spelled differently but pronounced the same.

Broadcast[]

  • "I Robot, You Jane" had an audience of 2.3 million households upon its original airing.[3]

Pop culture references[]

Goofs[]

  • When Moloch is first trapped in the book, the direction in which the book is held by the priest changes between shots, so that the cover is always facing the camera.
  • When Ms. Calendar opens Moloch's book, a title page is clearly visible despite it being empty.
  • Buffy's school records fluctuate radically while being looked up by Moloch: the student file lists her as a senior born on 10/24/1980 with a 3.4 GPA. When selected, it then correctly states she is a sophomore with a 2.8 GPA. When Fritz retrieves her file, the data is combined to say she is a senior born on 5/6/1979. Additionally, neither is her correct birthday, which is January 19th. In-universe, this could be explained as data corruption due to demonic interference.
  • In between the two screens with Buffy's school profile, the computer desktop has a file labeled "Buffy… I, Robot."
  • In the widescreen version, the scene in which Dave leaves school for Calax Research and Development reveals a sign with the school location's real name, "Torrance High."
  • The episode is incorrectly listed on the menu of some VHS and DVD releases as "I, Robot… You, Jane."

Music[]

International titles[]

  • Armenian: "Եսէ Ռոբոտ, դուէ Ջեյն" (I Am Robot, You Are Jane)
  • Czech: "Já robot, Ty Jane" (I Robot, You Jane)
  • Finnish: "Sinulle on Postia" (You've Got Mail)
  • French: "Moloch"
  • German: "Computerdämon" (Computerdemon)
  • Hungarian: "A Hálózat" (The Network)
  • Italian: "Il Male Nella Rete" (The Evil in the Net)
  • Japanese: "私はロボット、あなたはジェーン" (I Am Robot, You Are Jane)
  • Polish: "Ja, Robot… Ty, Jane" (I, Robot… You, Jane)
  • Portuguese (Brazil): "Eu Robô, Você Jane" (I Robot, You Jane)
  • Romanian: "Eu, Robot... Tu, Jane" (I, Robot… You, Jane)
  • Russian: "Я — робот, ты — Джейн" (I — Robot, You — Jane)
  • Spanish (Latin America): "Yo, Robot. Tu, Jane" (I, Robot. You, Jane)
  • Spanish (Spain): "Yo, Robot. Tu, Jane" (I, Robot. You, Jane)
  • Swedish: "Jag Robot, Du Jane" (I Robot, You Jane)

Adaptations[]

Gallery[]

Promotional stills[]

Behind the scenes[]

[]

Quotes[]

Jenny: "I know our ways are strange to you but soon you will join us in the twentieth century. With three whole years to spare!"
Giles: "I'll be back in the Middle Ages."
Jenny: "Did you ever leave?"
Xander: "To read makes our speaking English good."
Moloch: "Right now a man in Beijing is transferring money to a Swiss bank account for a contract on his mother's life. Good for him."
Jenny: "Honestly, what is it about them that bothers you so much?"
Giles: "The smell."
Jenny: "Computers don't smell, Rupert."
Giles: "I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell — musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible. It should be... smelly."

References[]

  1. "The Mortuary." Buffy.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2001.
  2. Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder. The Watcher's Guide, Volume 1. Pocket Books, October 1998.
  3. "Nielsen Ratings for Buffy's First Season." Nielsen Ratings for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, & Firefly. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008.
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