A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

WE'RE, LIKE, THE SLAYERETTES: Let's continue "Blogging Buffy" with Episodes 3 and 4--"Witch" and "Teacher's Pet." They make sense to talk about together since they're both very much "monster of the week" episodes. Yes, "Teacher's Pet" adds a litle more setup for Angel, what with the discussion of "fork guy," but "Witch" features not just no vampires, but no slaying of any kind (yes, the villainess is ultimately incapacitated, but not killed). A few other thoughts:

• They're also bookends in that "Witch" at least begins as very much a female fantasy episode--the outcast gets to become the head cheerleader--while "Teacher's Pet" at least begins as a male fantasy episode in the "Hot For Teacher" vein. Of course, both ultimately subvert those expectations.
• "Witch" plays an interesting card in allowing the audience to know about the body switching well before our heroes do. Still, Buffy's "Amy?" to the body switched teenager really plays nicely.
• Gellar gets to have some fun as Buffy under the vengance spell, with "You're my Xander-shaped friend!" being a particular high point, rather than her standard "I'm the slayer!" tone.
• Xander's daydream in the cold open for "Teacher's Pet" is brilliant, with the increasing absurdity capped by him "kissing you like you've never been kissed before, and nailing the solo!"
• "Teacher's Pet" is very much Xander's episode. Sure, Buffy ultimately saves the day, but this is about Xander learning a lesson about keeping his libido in control.
• The final third of "Teacher's Pet" really suffers from the show's limited FX budget, in that they're careful to almost never show the she-mantis, and when they do, you're struck less by how frightening the creature is than by the fact that it looks like a paper-mache project from an elementary student.
• In both instances, we have a somewhat silly "final shot twist" ending, which feels tacked on, almost as if there was a "be more like 'X-Files'" note given by the WB.