Sadie And Osh Will Patrol Tonight

Haunted flubber, Orgies soundtracked by the Bay City Rollers, Angel's demon-soul parfait, queer body horror - it's all here in this week's episode, The Dark Age.

A dreamy figure from Buffy's past turns up in Sunnydale, providing the unhappy catalyst for some learnin' and growin' from our heroine. Also, can we succeed in making this episode work as some kind of allegory for the French revolution? How is a teenage vampire cult like the misplaced political identifications of the new consumer class? And do vampires really need a dining table for their mealtime?

Spooky season in Sunnydale turns into some intense method-cosplay for the Scoobies, and as a result we learn about Giles' secretly sexy past. Cordelia's choice of beverage awakens memories of Celtic Tiger Ireland, and we continue our metaphysical investigations into the mechanics of supernatural transformation.

Buffy and Cordelia buddy up in this one, like sisters with really different hair. Reptile Boy explores the consequences of lying to your elders, drinking, and fancying boys through the medium of a giant snake who represents a penis, but also maybe represents capitalism? Cordelia's reading material has a surprising cover story, Argentina's economic collapse is foreshadowed, and the homosocial dynamics of Xander’s pledge experience reveal something in common with a [REDACTED] ex-head of state. Listen now and find out.

Join us on a journey into deepest darkest Latin America/ South America/ Peru / It's all the same *pan pipes play* for Inca Mummy Girl. Yes, the girl from the "cramped and dead" place with apparently no kitchens; is she talking about South America? Or is she talking about her sarcophagus? It is impossible to tell between these two things because they are the same to me! We also find out that Osh thinks he met the Inca Mummy Girl in question, discuss the ins-and-outs of life-force sucking, and ask the v important question: what the fuck is happening at the Bronze? I see geishas, sheikhs, vikings, Crocodile Dundee... and is that Justin Trudeau?

Spike and Dru come to town at last, and light up Sunnydale with their exquisite horniness. But meanwhile, Buffy has her hands full with bigger problems: parent teacher evening. We're not totally convinced by the "wordplay" in this weeks title, and it calls to mind for Sadie an inexplicable moment in the great tram wars of Edinburgh. We also start working on our Joyce / Cordelia (slash?) fiction, and think of the similarities between juggling being a slayer and a high school student with being a podcaster and an academic.

It's the Sunnydale high school science fair, but looks like some guys are taking it 'a little over the edge'! Cordelia is put through the wringer in this episode, especially from Angel who not only stalks her down the street like a total creep, but presumably makes her participate in a multi-corpse jigsaw. We also discuss some working theories about we had as children about the birds and the bees, and think about how cheerleading might map onto the oppressive logic of capitalism.

Buffy is back, with a bad attitude, but fantastic hair. When She Was Bad, the season 2 opener, sets us up for a new school year in Sunnydale. The siren call of Cibo Matto proves too strong for Buffy and Xander, who leave no room for Jesus in their steamy dance, while a vampire resurrection ritual reminds us of the non-pharmaceutical ways we used to get high as tweens...

Before we get stuck into the next season, first, as a treat (??), we go back to 1992, where teenagers are contemptible, vampires are chaotic , and presumably everyone is on masses of cocaine. For the first time (for us) we decided to watch the original, ill-fated movie where it all began, and we ask questions such as: why, why, how and why???

And just like that, we arrive at the end of series 1. Prophecy Girl: the triple distilled spirit of Buffy, the poitín of vampire slayer narratives (what's poitín? we're glad you asked!). We are made incredibly uncomfortable by Xander (again!), and have some serious questions about Joyce's home economics. Also, a dog giving birth to snakes triggers a long suppressed horror in Osh, and Sadie gives a message to all mums about how not to text their children.

The battle lines are drawn this week in Out of Mind, Out of Sight: are you on the side of the populars, or the invisibles? In considering another masterpiece of season 1, we have a think about the "science" (?), commend Clea Duvall for her Oscar-deserving voice acting and raise some questions about what the CIA would REALLY be using it's army of invisible tweens for. Also, Osh expresses nothing but respect for HIS May queen (Mary, the mother of God).

In Nightmares, we get to deep-dive into the psyches of the pscoobies, as all their worst fears come true due to a coma boy's leaky subconscious (rude!). Watching the episode, we try to guess the particular character of Giles polyglottal talents, and wonder if our (very GDPR-non-compliant) doctor is in the wrong career. We also, as usual, have extended diversions into the glamour of TV divorce through the lens of 90s Ireland, and a fascinating insight into Sadie's dream diary...

It's the school talent show! God bless SMG who has her work cut out for her this week, but the gravity, the chemistry, the believability which she brings to her scenes with Sid the dummy- in a word, transcendent. 5 Sadie-and-Osh's out of 5 . We also have a dramatic reenactment of an INEXPLICABLY deleted scene, ask some disturbing questions about ventriloquist dummy anatomy, and tell some horrifying tales of school talent shows that could never happen today (we bloody-well hope).

EVIL GOES BINARY! What can be said about I Robot, You Jane, to fully capture the beauty, the power, the foresight, the societal critique, the sheer excessiveness of this classic text of the 90's? Join us a we try our best, covering the arrival of our favourite Calendar girl (Jenny), the surprising contents of Willow's locker, and much more. Stay tuned to the end for a special, original musical tribute to the origins of techno-paganism as a "gift" to our "listeners". Editor's Note: We have since realised that the "corkscrew" in question was an earring that Giles was returning, with his bare hands, to Jenny - which answers some questions, but raises so much more. Boundaries, Ms. C.!

After raising some pertinent questions about Angel's Irish accent in our last episode (principally - where did it go???), we bring you this very special podcast crossover event: "What we once were informs all that we have become": The sociolinguistics of vampire accent acquisition over an immortal lifespan. Much like Buffy herself, our Sadie has a double identity as a researcher on sociolinguistics, and runs a(much slicker) podcast called Accentricity, which explores the connection between accent and identity. Naturally, when she encountered such an unusual case study as Angel, she had to investigate further, and this collaboration emerged as a special holiday bonus episode to listeners of both podcasts, and anyone with an interest in Buffy studies. In this very special episode, we prepare a comparative biography of Angel and Spike, based on a chronological journey from their early lives (and deaths) through to the 21st century, and try to use the extant research on accent acquisition to come to sociological readings of why one of these vampires lost the accent of their homeland, and the other retained it. It goes without saying that, unlike our normal episodes, there will be spoilers that go right through to the final series of Buffy, so any first time watchers may want to save this for a later listen. If you're interested in finding out more about Accentricity, you can visit the website https://www.accentricity-podcast.com/

Buffy and Angel begin their courtship, engaging in the common activities of young love such as dressing chest wounds, and feeding each other mysterious white cubes. But is he good enough for our girl? We learn more about this mysterious street magician, and in the process arrive at some REAL questions about Angel's Irish accent - principally, where did it go?! We'd probably need a whole episode dedicated to picking this issue a part though, which would be silly.... unless...????

It's The Pack! Another classic of season 1, In which peer pressure and adolescent cruelty become a demonic hyena possession gang. Questions this week: Has Xander always had a little bit of Hyena in him? Is the pack a queer menace? (We don't even talk about how they pose a threat to the baby-jogger and the miserable car family...). Did people in the 90s just eat cold hot dogs for lunch??? Listen and find out!

Buffy's got a crush... and he's a softboy! While she orbits the cardigan-mantled Dickinson stan, we continue to probe the physics of vampires: for instance, why do their clothes vanish but not their jewellery? And do they only rise before last orders? We've also got some questions about our new favourite catchphrase, "Pork and Beans", and have a mini-listening party for the spoiler-heavy cash-in song, 'Buffy (She's The Slayer)' - we didn't mean to sing along, but we couldn't help ourselves, it bangs.

We arrive at the first "peak season 1" episode, and man do we have fun. We have some THEORIES about Ms. Natalie French and her exact connection with praying mantis(es), about Angel and cloakrooms, there's a charming musical interlude from Sadie about the Amazon rainforest, and we can only apologise now for introducing the concept of a Wet Ass Xander.

If we didn't alienate you in the first episode, don't worry, there's still time! In episode two we discuss episode three (yes, this is a confusing side effect of covering a two parter in our opener, but stick with us). We continue to get to know the characters, digress into childhood memories, and forget to talk about the titular witch until like the last 5 minutes - oops!

I̶n̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶g̶e̶n̶e̶r̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ Multiple times per generation, a Buffy podcast is born... In our maiden episode, we talk a bit about our relationship with Buffy over the years while covering the "ICONIC" two-part opener for season one. Expect diversions into our days at the underage disco, science-class delinquency and pre-teen anti-royalism, all fuelled by far, far, far too much wine - or at least half-fuelled by it.