The Puppet Show

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“The Puppet Show”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 9
Guest stars	Kristine Sutherland    (Joyce Summers) Armin Shimerman    (Principal Snyder)
Written by	Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali
Directed by	Ellen S. Pressman
Production no.	4V09
Original airdate	May 5, 1997
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"I, Robot... You, Jane"	"Nightmares"

"The Puppet Show" is the ninth episode in the first season of Buffy, and is the first to feature Principal Snyder, played by Armin Shimerman.

[edit] Plot synopsis

The episode begins with a typical horror-movie shot from the POV of the villain, seeing a ballet dancer as a demonic voice whispers "I will be made whole". Cordelia is singing Whitney Houston's Greatest Love Of All off key, as part of the try outs for the talent show. Giles stops her, obviously to stop his ears from hurting. Buffy, Xander and Willow join Giles, and mock him as he complains that the new Principal (which he refers to as the Führer) made him in charge of the talent show, despite his wishes, so he could have more contact with the students. As Snyder overhears the scoobies making fun of Giles, he punishes them by forcing them to participate in the talent show. The next try-out is Morgan and his dummy, Sid, and Buffy confesses to being freaked out by dummies. Morgan's act takes a sudden turn for the better when Sid suddenly develops a personality and starts making sarcastic comments about the act. The scene cuts to the ballet dancer from the beginning sees the demon, but the audience does not, and shouts.

The talent show rehearsals continue with Marc, an unsuccessful magician. Buffy, Willow and Xander debate what to do for the talent show, and settle on a dramatic scene, since it does not require any actual talent. Sid watches, and makes rude comments as Morgan explains the voice is an imitation of his father. Snyder explains to Giles that he will run a safer, more disciplined school, only to be interrupted by the discovery of the ballet dancer, Emily's, body, with her heart cut out with a knife. The scoobies debate if it was a demon or a human, eliciting Willow's comment that a human murderer is scarier since it could be anyone — even her.

Principal Snyder's unexpected fan popularity has made him appear in the first four seasons, and referenced in the final three.

The scoobies split up and begin interviewing people from the talent show to find the killer. In a quick montage of the interviews, they all point in the direction of Morgan and his dummy, Sid. They decide to check Morgan's locker after school hours. As Buffy is busy breaking into Morgan's locker, and finding nothing, Snyder finds her almost red-handed, and admonishes her for being in the school after hours. Morgan and Sid turn out to be hiding, watching Buffy. Sid tells Morgan that Buffy is "the one", saying that her strength is evidence of it.

As Buffy goes to sleep, Sid waits until the lights are off and sneaks into her room. When she wakes up, he quickly scampers out. Naturally, Buffy has a hard time convincing the scoobies that Sid broke into her room. Giles, on his part, suggests that the demon responsible might be needing the heart (and later, a brain) to keep a human guise, which means the demon could be anyone, once again. When a teacher confiscates Sid, Xander steals him so that Buffy can talk to Morgan alone. As Buffy searches for Morgan back-stage, Snyder is again displeased with her being where he does not think she belongs.

In the library, just as Willow finds references to another possible explanation — animated dummies might harvest organs to become humans, Sid is gone when Xander stops paying any attention to him. The scene cuts to Buffy, finding Morgan's body, missing a brain, just as a chandelier falls on her. When she wakes up, Sid attacks her, and during their fight they realize they are both working for the same goal — to stop the demon.

Sid explains he is a demon hunter, cursed to dummy form until he kills the last of the brotherhood of seven, those demons which harvest a heart and a brain. Realizing the demon has what it needs, they theorize it will be moving on, and so it will be whomever is missing from the show. Sid suggests to Giles to form a "power circle" to find out who is missing, but Giles sees everyone there. When Sid is again missing, Buffy finds Morgan's brain when she looks for him. Buffy, Willow and Xander discover Morgan had brain cancer, which is probably the reason the demon did not use his brain — and is now looking for someone smart, which means that Giles and Willow are in danger.

At the talent show, Marc the magician tricks Giles into strapping himself into a guillotine, ostensibly a magic prop, so that he can take his scalp off and get his brain. Buffy, Xander and Willow rush to rescue Giles, and with Sid's help they manage to kill Marc and save Giles just as the curtain goes up. Everyone assumes it is part of the show, though there is only minimal clapping. The episode ends with Buffy, Xander and Willow performing a scene from Oedipus Rex with remarkable lack of talent, and with Willow running away from the stage.

[edit] Acting

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Puppet Show

[edit] Main cast

• Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
• Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
• Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
• Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
• Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

[edit] Guest stars

• Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers
• Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder

[edit] Also starring

• Richard Werner as Morgan
• Burke Roberts as Marc
• Lenora May as Mrs. Jackson
• Chasen Hampton as Elliot
• Natasha Pearce as Lisa
• Tom Wyner as Voice of Sid
• Krissy Carlson as Emily
• Michelle Miracle as Locker Girl

[edit] Notes

• Buffy, Xander, and Willow skipped afternoon class to fight a demon some time between I, Robot... You, Jane and this episode.

[edit] Filming

The "redrum!" bit was an ad-lib by actor Nicholas Brendon, intending to elicit a laugh from the crew.

On the original airing of the episode, the closing credits was split-screened with a scene in which Buffy, Willow, and Xander perform a scene from the play Oedipus Rex. This scene was excluded in repeat airings until the series left The WB Network. It is included in the DVD Collections, and in present television reruns.

[edit] Trivia

In the Spanish dubbing of this episode, Snyder's name is mistakenly pronounced "Sanyder" during all the episode. Further episodes correct this mistake.

[edit] Music

During her audition for the talent show, Cordelia performs Whitney Houston’s "Greatest Love of All".

[edit] Translations

• French title: "La Marionnette" ("The Puppet")
• Turkish title: "Kukla Şovu" ("The Puppet Show")
• Italian title: "Il teatro dei burattini" ("The theatre of the puppets")
• German title: "Buffy lässt die Puppen tanzen" ("Buffy makes the puppets dance") Refers to the German idiom "die Puppen tanzen lassen" which describes that someone parties without stoppages
• Japanese title: "人形劇" ("Ningyougeki" - "The Puppet Show")

[edit] Timing

• Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:

[edit] External links

• The Puppet Show at the Internet Movie Database
• Buffy Body Count guide this episode
• Buffy Guide
• Buffy Trivia Guide
• Buffyworld Summary
• All Things Philosophical
• TV Tome
• BBC Episode Guide
• Wikiquote
• Buffyworld Statistics
• Stake and Cross Guide
• Buffy vs. Angel Guide
• Buffy vs. Angel Music Guide
• TV Tome Episode
• BBC Trivia
• Stake and Cross Quotes