Discussion of 1.08 "I Robot, You Jane" - Aired 4/28/1997 (WB-US)

Does anyone remember seeing Xander’s shirt in the first scene in the library before the opener where the computer science class are ‘skimming’ (as Giles would put it 😂)? Am I just blind or did his shirt say ‘Porn Star’ on it lol?

Hopefully not too irrelevant for this thread but I just watched it today and it’s the first time I’ve noticed it and thought it was funny and totally inappropriate 😂

I’m a season 1 fan, regardless of the hate these episodes get. I love the corny-ness and bad special effects. The characters were still great.
 
DeadlyDuo
DeadlyDuo
There was a porn star sign behind one of the Gentlemen in Hush.
RDHWesley said:
Guilty pleasure. The idea of a demon being sucked into the internet is a pretty interesting one, but this episode can't treat it with any level of seriousness. Then again, it's better that way considering how funny it becomes as a result. As soon as the robot appears you can't help but laugh; it's ridiculous but fun. There is some dodgy dialogue that sounds like it comes from A Very Special Episode of a family sitcom though. Then again, it's part of the charm.
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DeadlyDuo said:
This is another one of those episodes where I think the potential is there but is never fully realised. The technology dates it and in a way I think it would be better received if it had aired today (with better effects) rather than back then because technology is everywhere now.
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I kind of love how it dates the episode lol. Old computers and dial-up technology where Buffy asks Willow why her phone line was shut off and she said it’s because she was on the internet all night 😂

Also, weird observation but, when the computer starts searching for Buffy’s file all by itself, it pops up that her birthday is 10/24/1980 and that she’s a sophomore, then directly after that when the scene changes to Fritz’s computer, her birthday shows up as 05/06/1979 and that she’s a senior! I only just watched this today as I mentioned in another reply so I just noticed it. They probably could have paid a bit more attention to this lol. Or is there a purpose here that I’m missing?
 
Re-watched this one tonight. The more I think about it the more I think it might just be a fun cheesy guilty pleasure instead of a terrible episode. I do enjoy the b-movie attics at the end and Willow's break up line 😛 Nice debut for Jenny too. Her and Giles play off each other so well. The end scene at the fountain is kinda sweet too. So bad, but so bad its kinda good😉
 
I really like Moloch getting the kids to kill each other, I think that works really well. Dave's body hanging in the classroom always gives me chills. Unfortunately in the HD version the classroom is too brightly lit, so the body should have been obvious as soon as Buffy walks in, but the original version is just dark enough to convince me that Buffy wouldn't have immediately seen the body.
 
The demon in robot form is just so cheesy and bad. And really, he had more power while on the internet! Even with the limits the internet had at the time, he could have wreaked havoc by sending emails and chats from a person's account. He could destroy relationships, get people fired, screw up political deals, etc. A demon on the internet would be even more powerful now. Basically an infinite, intelligent virus. That could get really scary.
 
I think today even Moloch would pause at all the human bad actors to compete with. But then he'd probably start taking over multiple cult-like blogs and such, playing everyone against each other (though he'd want his own cult as well).

If this was the Buffyverse, I'd have to find a technopagan to ask about that...
 
I get amused at comparing the post count on the official episode threads versus how important that particular episode is. On that basis, you would think "I Robot, You Jane" was either one of the most important episodes or one of the most controversial. In the first season, only Welcome to the Hellmouth, The Pack and Prophecy Girl outrank it.
 
I guess sometimes an episode bad or good gives you a lot of talking points. This will always be an interesting one because it was quite far ahead of the game predicting soical media and the power of the internet.
 
Mr Trick said:
This will always be an interesting one because it was quite far ahead of the game predicting soical media and the power of the internet.
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Except it sorta ripped off the X-Files episode that came out two years earlier, which handled it much less cringey.
 
Spanky said:
Except it sorta ripped off the X-Files episode that came out two years earlier, which handled it much less cringey.
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Do you mean Ghost in the Machine? I thought of that too. I prefer this to that because its more entertaining. Also there's nothing as good as the Jenny-Giles scenes in that X-Files episode.
 
Skanky Vamp
Skanky Vamp
No. The one about the guy catfishing the fatties in a chatroom
Mr Trick said:
Well as @RachM will tell you this one needs more love😂 Much better than that boring episode Nightmares, just ask Rach she’ll tell you😉
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The story of Willow talking to some demonic and horribly monstrous entity online must have really resonated with her, as if she personally knew and frequently interacted with some horrible and unspeakable beast on these very forums…what a trick that would be 🤔
 
Buffy and Xander were right though, you never truly know who is at the other end of an online message until you meet them.
Also Giles was right to a point in his fears of tech and what it would lead to... look at us now, all glued to tech in one way or another.
Poor Willow, just wanted to be loved 🙁
 
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