School Hard
March 4th, 2008 | 
Author: 
Buffy is sweating Parent / Teacher conference night, and the best way to keep her mother away from Snyder. Little does she know, she has much bigger things to worry about when Spike and Drusilla hit town! (literally!)
Directed by: John T. Kretchmer
Original Air Date: September 29, 1997
Guest Stars:
James Marsters (Spike)
Juliet Landau (Drusilla)
Trivia:
- It is hinted that Principal Snyder knows more about Sunnydale and its foolishness than he is letting on…
- Though Spike refers to Angel as his sire, this is not technically correct. It was eventually shown (in Season Five’s “Fool For Love”) that it was actually Drusilla who sired Spike. For many of us, this was no surprise — Joss has been saying for ages that Dru was actually Spike’s sire. For example, on January 2, 1998 (about 3 months after “School Hard” aired), he said, “Angel was Dru’s sire — he made her — and she made Spike. But SIRE doesn’t just mean [the] guy who made you, it means you come from their line. Angel is like a grandfather to Spike.” Whether the line was originally intended with that interpretation, or whether it was a boo-boo that slipped through and Joss justifies that way, Joss has always maintained that in his mind (which is the only place the characters really live), Dru was Spike’s sire. – from BuffyGuide.com
Quotes:
Xander: “Does anybody else remember when Saturday night meant date night?”
Cordillia: “You don’t.”
Spike: “Women!”
Key Events:
- First Spike!
- First Drusilla!
- The death of the Annoying one!
Rating:
Jason: 
Shannan: 
Kathleen:
Troy:
Video Clips:
Spike’s Background:
Spike/Angel Reunion part 1:
Spike/Angel Reunion part 2:
Posted in BTVS Season Two
9 Responses to “School Hard”
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I love this podcast. I’ve spent the last couple of days listening to all the episodes (and MASSIVELY procrastinating on my paper-writing =p), and you guys are HILARIOUS. I’ve literally been having to muffle my mouth with my hand (particularly during the last few episodes) so that I didn’t wake up my roommate, I’ve been laughing so hard. I’ve been watching Buffy since it first came out (when I was like, seven) and so I’ve pretty much been a fan for the last eleven years, but you guys have totally put a new spin on the series and you’ve made it fresh and, if possible, even more entertaining. I can’t even think of ‘vampire bat’ without cracking up. ANYWAYS, you guys totally rock, and I can’t wait to hear the upcoming episodes for the rest of Season Two (and Season Three, in particular). Thanks for keeping the Buffyverse alive. Yay, Buffy =)
- Sabrina (Toronto ON, Canada)
(By the way, you may or may not know this, but apparently they got rid of the character of the Anointed One since vampires don’t age and the actor who played Colin was hitting puberty. Little bit of trivia I thought you might find interesting =)
Second, I remember when you guys were talking about the Slayer line during ‘The Puppet Show’, about how whether or not Buffy was the only Slayer not trained beforehand. The Potentials that Giles brought to Buffy’s house were only supposed to be a handful left from all the thousands or whatnot that were all over the world (and so I don’t even know how Buffy has a whole army of nearly a thousand Slayers in the Season Eight comic, but whatever), until they started getting killed off. I always reasoned that they were the ones that managed to survive because they were the few who had Watchers who warned them about the danger they were in, whereas the majority of girls were Watcher-less and thus were easy pickin’s for the Bringers. Also, I don’t know if you guys have read it, but ‘Go Ask Malice’ details Faith’s life from when she’s Called to before she arrives in Sunnydale. I don’t know if it would be considered canon or not (I *think* I read somewhere that Joss approves all book ideas before they’re allowed to be written), but it’s an interesting read nonetheless.
Third, I don’t really remember you guys mentioning it (maybe you have) but there’s also an Angel Season Six comic now out, as well. =))
Hey I only gave it 3.5 Mr. Pointy’s.
Rock on, Sabrina! Thanks for the great comment, that made my day!
I love the trivia about the Annointed one getting older. Totally makes sense. Though, I’m with Jason, they should have had something hatch out of him or SOMEthing…totally anti-climactic. Still, it made for a nice Spike moment, at least (AND got rid of him!)
I think that we actually mentioned the Angel comic in this episode…of course, that was in the version that we LOST! (Grr!) No worries, though, I’m sure we’ll get to it eventually. Hopefully, we’ll get the forums up again soon, and you can join in on the thread we had started over there…what do you think of it so far? I’m a bit *eh* on the Angel comic. Not NEARLY as good as Buffy.
By the way, good Job on the re-do, Jason and Shan!
This may be Spike’s first episode, but I distinctly recall him being mentioned in AT LEAST every other episode.
You guys crack me up… especially with the slowly trailing off into your daydream fantasies and accidental and on purpose innuendo moments. I hope Shannon comes back more often, I love her take on things (and she makes me laugh). Plus we get a good discussion of the good episode, where we get the introduction of two of the best characters in the entire Buffyverse.
Looking forward to the other shows that you said was in the can and more to come later. You guys rock.
“and so I don’t even know how Buffy has a whole army of nearly a thousand Slayers in the Season Eight comic, but whatever”
cos buffy says:
From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer…will be a slayer.
Every girl who could have the power…will have the power…
can stand up, will stand up.
Slayers… every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?
which i took to mean not just the potentials (girls that are of ‘calling age’ or there abouts) but ones that could eventually be potentials, like we saw the montagey bit, n there was that little chick playing baseball
To answer your question, it’s not always warm in SoCal. It can, in fact, get pretty darn cold. It’s a desert and at night, it loses heat. In the winter, due to the tilt in the earth’s access, it does actually get much cooler and can, in fact, get cold.
I’m originally from Ohio and when I first watched Buffy I had the same questions. Why are they wearing coats? Scarves? Isn’t it warm there?
And then I moved here. I have to wear a coat in the winter, but not a parka. It’s mostly jeans and sweatshirt weather but can get much colder, esp. if it rains. Haivng lived here for four years, I know now that it wasn’t a mistake that the Scoobies bundled up, it’s just life in Southern California.
Also? In the discussion about the school, someone mentioned that “nothing in California is more than 100 years old”. Um, no.
First explorers came in the 16th century. They started building Missions in 1769, many of which are still standing.
San Francisco was founded in 1776, Los Angeles was founded in 1781 and California became a state in 1850.
Also, the Joyce/Spike interaction discussed (“Don’t I know you?” “You hit me with an axe.”) was from the end of season *2* and happens right before Buffy leaves and Joyce tells her that if she (Buffy) leaves, she’s not allowed to come back.
Loved the episode–sorry for the tech problems. You mentioned at the end about Spike being a character who might have been one of the longest in the Buffyverse. You may have already received the answer, but the longest was Harmony. She was in the unreleased pilot (which is a hoot) and continued through Buffy and Angel until the last Angel episode of Season 5.