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Post by William the Bloody on Aug 18, 2003 2:58:03 GMT -5
Written by Ashley Gable & Thomas A Swyden
Directed by Stephen Posey
Air date: 4/28/97
Willow unwittingly unleashes a powerful demon named Moloch onto the Internet where he turns Sunnydale's computer crowd into his helpless pawns.
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Jul 9, 2004 4:25:13 GMT -5
Watcher's guide says-
The lead monk in the ancient-Italy sequence is "Thelonius", obviously a reference to jazz great Thelonius Monk.
Alyson Hannigan is hooked into the Net, but says she's not the 'Net girl' that Willow is.
Guide describes Jenny Calendar as 'freewheeling, hip-dressing, slang-speaking young woman who seems to be the diametric opposite of Rupert Giles'
Love, Slayer style:
Jenny and Giles go from open hostility to grudging repect over the course of the episode, and Jenny makes something of a pass at Giles at the very end, sowing the seeds of their future relationship (if not its tragic end). Xander also shows fierce jealousy when Willow starts cyberdating 'Malcolm'.
Pop Culture IQ
"I can just tell something's wrong. My spider-sense is tingling."
Buffy, when she, Giles, and Xander are discussing the odd behaviour of both Willow and Dave, referring to the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man's ability to sense danger.
(be says- they never hesitate to state the obvious with those pop culture bits. But I suspect they sometimes miss the subtle. which makes the segment somewhat less than entirely useful.)
The episode features the first appearance of Ms. Calendar. Though her first name is never used in this episode, it was originally to be "Nicki" and was later changed to avoid any confusion with actor Nicholas Brendon, whose friends call him Nicky.
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Post by Rachael on Aug 10, 2004 19:58:54 GMT -5
Oh-kay. . .feels a bit wrong to post before Patti's review, but if I don't, I'll forget stuff. . . .
Not a huge favorite of mine - more a filler for Season 1, monster-of-the-week type ep. HOWEVER, some fun stuff nonetheless:
S'cubie stuff: we got "technopagan" and also a demon in the Internet from here, so you gotta love it just for that. ;D
Monks binding and/or disguising things is a bit of a theme with Joss; first Moloch, and then Dawn. . . .
Is it just me, or does Moloch look like a Fyaral demon?
Ahem: "That dreadful Calendar woman." Hee. The origins of the Jenny/Giles romance are sooo much fun to watch.
There are no parents at Willow's house; no one knows she's blowing off classes, or is online all night, or is there when she gets kidnapped. The first episode in the theme of Willow's parents not being at all involved.
Best moment: Jenny's "I know." I remember being just: Oh. My. God. And now, I think that Giles had this coming, karmically. I mean, he's not what he appears to be, either, is Ripper? Why shouldn't Jenny have layers just as complex as he does?
I noticed about Willow - she doesn't stay scared long, and she almost never panics. She goes from scared of Moloch the demonbot to angry in a matter of seconds.
"Casting" Giles = sexy shouting Giles. . .even when what he's casting is really being, well, dictated to Jenny. ;D
"I was omnipotent! I was everything! Now I'm trapped in this shell." Again, a recurring theme, brought fully to fruition in Season 5 of Angel.
"That's NOT where I dangle it." ;D
And, finally - "None of us are ever going to have a happy, normal relationship. We're doomed." Ugh, for the truth of that statement.
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Lola going to bed now really
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Post by Lola going to bed now really on Aug 10, 2004 21:05:11 GMT -5
<snipped for space> Is it just me, or does Moloch look like a Fyaral demon? <snip> Yes!! Thank you! I was thinking that, first in the montage scenes in the first ep and now again here where we see the whole demon! Maybe it's like a subspecies of Fyaral, or a "cousin" or something. Lola **does dance of vindication - he does look like a Fyaral, so there** Will be back and post more when I finally finish watching the whole ep. |
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Post by Lola m on Aug 11, 2004 19:56:26 GMT -5
So . . . some meaningless babbling to follow. * Love the flirty bickering between Jenny and Giles. "Well, it's been so nice talking to you." "We were fighting." "We must do it again sometime." LOL. Jenny is so cool and smart and sassy - with the shades and the coffee and breezing into the classes and talking casually with her students. The more free and easy she gets the more "stuffy" Giles acts - "I'll see you anon" indeed. **snicker** And then his final lines about how he prefers books because of their smell and that they are tangible. Mmmmm. Gotta love a guy that is . . . tactile. * Nice work using little mentions and one-off lines all during the ep to let us know how Moloch is wreaking havoc (shades of our glorious Erin ;D ) cyber-ly. Just moments after he is released into the net and is typing "Where am I?", the geekboys are reacting strangely - one of them saying "Yes I will", obviously to Moloch. The kid on the stairs saying "who's been in my files?" and talking about how they now say that Nazi Germany was a model of efficiency. The school nurse and her bit about checking the computer and there was "nothing in the file about and allergy to penicillin". The news report behind Giles, talking about a "computer error" causing false accusations about an Archbishop and how the FBI serial killer profiles got hacked. Etc. etc. Just nice little bits - I appreciated their straightforward subtlety. * And again we have season 1 text, rather than subtext. Hmmm. Bad guy preying on innocent and vulnerable teen through the internet. Pretty straightforward. I mean, yes, he's a demon scanned out of a medieval book, but the theme for this ep is pretty much just out there for us to see and go: Yep. That's it. * I am noticing how many of the first season shows are about dangerous or scary relationships. Which, yes, is good commentary on things that can happen in high school, but is also a nice foreshadowing of season two. * Lovin' the Xan-man in these shows. Forgot how much fun Xander stuff we get. "To read makes our speaking English good." "For those of us in our studio audience who are me." Heck, he should be worshipped for the "Elderly Dutch Chat Room" bit alone. ;D 'Course, in classic Xander style, he may be paranoid, but he is also the one who first "sees" the danger to Willow. And, amusing babble aside, he's the one to get Buffy to see the potential problems too. Plus, the pretty pretty brown sweater and saying "charade" and the jealous of Willow stuff. He's just so . . . . nummy. ;D * You know all is not right in the Willow world when she says "Big deal if I blow off a couple of classes."  Plus, Buffy with the "I thought you said you overslept" bit - so Willow is lying about it to friends? Not just parents, but friends? Girl friends that you could talk and swoon about the new guy with? Not good. And then we hear those classic "keep her isolated" bad boyfriend lines being repeated by her "Malcom said you wouldn't understand". Really, really not good. * Creepy demon guy too. Another one that wants "love" - wants the adoration and attention of it's little enthralled crew. Icky. Lola |
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Post by Patti - S'cubie Cutie on Aug 11, 2004 20:20:36 GMT -5
I Robot, You Jane – BtVS 1:8 review by PattiT "I Robot, You Jane" begins with a scene set in the 1400's. A youth approaches a horned demon worshipfully, and after affirming his adoration, is killed by the demon who is then identified as "Moloch, the Corrupter" and is bound in a book by monks of the "Circle of kayless", who then place the book into a box. We hear.... "Pray this accursed book shall never be read again, lest the Demon Moloch be loosed upon the world." Of course, in the next frame, we see Buffy open the box, which had been purchased along with others by Giles, and in a mass scanning of texts, Moloch is released into the internet to prey on the innocent and ignorant youth who find their identities and 'place' in the world through their internet associations. In particular, he preys on Willow. Willow has realized that Xander loves beautiful blonde Buffy, and will never love her in the same way. She needs someone who values 'her' and pays no attention to her appearance, and so is vulnerable to her new internet friend, who understands her perfectly, is charming and sensitive and treats her as someone unique and special. As an audience we must suspend disbelief and see Willow as homely, instead of as she really is – adorable and charismatic. But the point is, Willow sees herself as homely, and that is the important factor. Willow's behavior changes. She distrusts anyone who questions Malcolm…and she cuts classes because she talks all night on the internet with Malcolm….um…let's go on. Moloch – or Malcolm, as he names himself to Willow, is not only mesmerizing to Willow. He has a whole group of youthful worshippers – the technogeeks of Ms. Calendar's computer class. They follow their leader to death, their own, or others, as Moloch demands. Giles, Ms. Calendar, Buffy, and bright Willow are not long fooled however, and Buffy and Xander rescue Willow as Giles and Jenny perform a ritual to return the demon to his prison. The ritual doesn't fully work, but through the group strength and love of the Scoobies, Willow is rescued, the demon is destroyed, and all is well again in Sunnydale for another week. But the internet was not invented by Al Gore, and Moloch was not invented by Joss Whedon. He took the notion of a demon who corrupts innocence from the bible… Moloch was the name of a heathen divinity whose worship figures largely in the later history of the kingdom of Judah. As the national god of the Ammonites, he is known as "Milcom" (1Kings 11:5,7), or "Malcam". In the laws given to the Israelites by Moses there are stern prohibitions of Molech-worship (Le 18:21; 20:2-5). Parallel to these prohibitions are those of the Deuteronomic Code where the abominations of the Canaanites are forbidden, and the burning of their sons and daughters in the fire (to Molech) is condemned as the climax of their wickedness (De 12:31; 18:10-13). The captivity in Babylon put an end to Moloch-worship, since it weaned the people from all their idolatries. We do not hear of it in the post-exil Prophets, and, in the great historical psalm of Israel's rebelliousness and God's deliverances (Ps 106), it is only referred to in retrospect (Ps 106:37,38). The place where it was practiced from the days of Ahaz and Manasseh was the Valley of Hinnom where Topheth stood, a huge altar-pyre for the burning of the sacrificial victims. "To pass through the fire" has been taken to mean purification by fire, not involving death. But the prophets clearly speak of slaughter and sacrifice, and of high places built to burn the children in the fire as burnt offerings (Jer 19:5; Eze 16:20,21). The popular conception, molded for English readers largely by Milton's "Moloch, horrid king" as described in Paradise Lost, Book I, is derived from the accounts given in late Latin and Greek. The image of Moloch was a human figure with a bull's head and outstretched arms, ready to receive the children destined for sacrifice. The image of metal was heated red hot by a fire kindled within, and the children laid on its arms rolled off into the fiery pit below. In order to drown the cries of the victims, flutes were played, and drums were beaten; and mothers stood by without tears or sobs, to give the impression of the voluntary character of the offering. (source for the above is: www.reference-guides.com/isbe/M/MOLECH_MOLOCH/)A detailed, late description of Moloch's image says that it was hollow, and was provided with seven receptacles, in which were deposited the different offerings of the worshippers. Into the first was put an offering of fine flour; in the second an offering of turtle doves; into the third a sheep; into the fourth a ram; into the fifth a calf; into the sixth an ox; and into the seventh a child, which was consumed in the image. Talmudic tradition asserts the image of Moloch to have been made of brass, and to have been represented sitting on a brazen throne, adorned with a royal crown, having the head of a calf, and his arms extended to receive his youthful victims. (Source: encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Moloch)It seems ironic to me that Joss early on would give us a morality tale on the dangers of the internet using such a horrific image, when later the internet and Jossverse fandom are pretty much synonymous. Malcolm later could be Joss in a way…we love him, we hate him. We 'worship' him, and he destroys our hopes every time… But don't let's worry about that. We're in too far to escape anyway! But the questions raised by this episode remain – to be asked or ignored, depending on one's desires. How dangerous or foolish is it to think you can know someone you have never met? How mesmerizing and addictive is it to be 'jacked in'? How destructive is it to one's 'real life' to spend it online? This episode has particular meaning to us (to me anyway) because it deals with something that is a significant part of our lives – we are the Soulful Spike Society, and we exist because OF the internet, and we exist IN the internet. I have formed deep and personal relationships here – I grew closer to people online than most I knew in 'real' life. I spend a huge amount of time and energy here. And as a group, we have even, oddly, adopted Moloch as our own personal demon – HWSNBN – who causes all the havoc and problems we have here. But the serious questions (which I will not even ATTEMPT to answer) are not all that is signifcant about 'I Robot, You Jane'. It is FILLED with 'goodies'. - In it, we first hear the term "technopagan" which we now use with perfect understanding. Ms. Calendar calls herself a technopagan, and Vlad adopted the term first for himself, and now for his staff.
- When Willow rejects Moloch, he responds in a way later used by another sort of demon.
Willow: "let me leave?"
Moloch: "But I love you."
Willow: "Don't say that. That's a joke. You don't love anything. "
Moloch: "You are mine."
Willow: " I'm not yours. I'm never going to be yours ever."
Moloch: "Pity."
Much later, in season four, Willow rejects D'Hoffryn's offer of a job and he responds with the same "Pity." Now, when Moloch said that, he followed it up with an attempt to break Willow's neck, so when D'Hoffryn says it later, we hold our breath. And of course, Joss fools us, as D'Hoffryn follows by saying 'Oh well, here's my talisman. If you change your mind, give me a chant."
- Moloch kills his victims by twisting their necks. When Buffy maneuvers him into electrocuting himself, his head is twisted off and falls at their feet, appropriately.
- AND, one of the most delicious exchanges ever is in this episode…
Jenny: "You really are an old fashioned boy aren't you?"
Giles: "Well, I don't dangle a corkscrew from my ear. "
Jenny: "That's…not where I dangle it. "
- And, one of the most portentous…
Buffy: " Let's face it. None of us are ever going to have a happy normal relationship."
Xander: " We're doomed."
Buffy, Willow, Xander: Laughter, fading to unease….
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Post by Rachael on Aug 11, 2004 21:15:31 GMT -5
It seems ironic to me that Joss early on would give us a morality tale on the dangers of the internet using such a horrific image, when later the internet and Jossverse fandom are pretty much synonymous. Ah, but - the episode focusses not only on the bad of the Internet, but on the good, as well. Jenny's "group", some sort of cyber coven, force the demon out of the Net. "The divine exists in cyberspace" just as in the "real" world. In my mind, the Internet was being directly equated with books: neither good, nor evil, potentially very powerful and dangerous, with the potential to corrupt or to educate. 99% of everything (books and web sites) is crap, but that other 1% is worth sifting for. After all, as Jenny points out, let's not forget that it was Giles' book, and a lack of knowledge of how to use it safely, that started the trouble in the first place. eetah and also HMPH. |
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Post by Lola m on Aug 13, 2004 11:01:10 GMT -5
I Robot, You Jane – BtVS 1:8 review by PattiT <snipped for space> Willow has realized that Xander loves beautiful blonde Buffy, and will never love her in the same way. She needs someone who values 'her' and pays no attention to her appearance, and so is vulnerable to her new internet friend, who understands her perfectly, is charming and sensitive and treats her as someone unique and special. As an audience we must suspend disbelief and see Willow as homely, instead of as she really is – adorable and charismatic. But the point is, Willow sees herself as homely, and that is the important factor. Willow's behavior changes. She distrusts anyone who questions Malcolm…and she cuts classes because she talks all night on the internet with Malcolm….um…let's go on. LOL! But also, eetah! It if definitely a stretch to ask us to see Willow as "homely" or unattractive. Yet how many beautiful amazing kids in high school (and in other times and places) are stuck with that "unattractive" label for any of the things that we do see in Willow? Less than "up to the minute" fashion, or a quiet and studious nature. Shyness or looks that in some way, shape or form do not fit what the popular group is calling "normal". One of the hardest things for me to watch in this first season are Willow and Xander's complementary and competing issues with feeling out of place or unwanted or unattractive. It is what gives them such a strong bond, but what also sets in motion so much else that is not good. Here in these eps we see primarily the hurt Willow feels over Xander's attraction to Buffy. Her tendency to blame herself for any problem (as seen in The Pack) and her vulnerability to praise from an unworthy source (as in this ep). Later, we'll see the farther reaching consequences for both as Willow turns to magical manipulation to make herself feel better and Xander allows his fear and uncertainty about being able to overcome his parent's issue to wreck relationships. I was very interested to notice how even the issues that catch Buffy's attention are linked to appearance. She talks to Willow about how she can't know what Malcolm looks like and doesn't really quite "get" Willow's point that looks are not the issue. Plus, there's the whole "pot, meet kettle" thing where one of her concerns over Malcolm is that "he could be . . . old".  Um, Angel, anyone? So, the primary concept would be a demon who specifically seeks young people as it's victims. It was very interesting to me that another theme here is one that Joss uses several times. Too huge of a need for love and adulation (by the demon) turning to violence when that love or adulation is not "enough". I'm with Rachael, here. I think he is deliberately showing us both sides of the issue, as it were. The incredible possibility and power of the internet, to connect people and ideas - represented by Miss Calendar and her technopagens who successfully eject Moloch from the net. And the possibility for someone to abuse those opportunities (as any technology can be abused) as shown by Moloch's manipulations. But of course, he would have been doing the same thing without the net, he is just exploiting the new technology to do more damage, quicker. It is still Moloch that is the instigator. Not the computer, and not the book, either - to somewhat contradict Jenny.  Loved your choices for "great moments" from this ep! Very interesting review, Patti! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Lola |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Aug 18, 2004 9:43:32 GMT -5
From the Monster Book (which I only just remembered I own because I took it to get signed by ASH. He signed the Fyarl demon pages ) Moloch the Corruptor Giles: "I need your help. But before that, I need you to believe something you may not want to. Something has gotten into... inside.... There's a demon in the Internet." Jenny: "I know." Key Relationships: When Moloch awoke in modern times he gathered human acolytes around him, including Sunnydale students Dave and Fritz. He also used th eInternet to bein a relationship with Willow Rosenberg. Unique attributes: After being bound into a book, Moloch had no physical form. In modern times he escaped into the Internet, living in cyberspace. He forced his acolytes to build him a nasty-looking, horned demon robot body. Most monstrous moment: Despite Fritz's loyalty, Moloch snapped his neck on a whim. Current Status: Trapped within his robotic body, Moloch was apparently destroyed when it was shortcircuited and then blown up. In medieval Italy, the horned demon Moloch surrounded himself with a group of human acolytes who worshiped him despite his savage, tyrannical ways. He promised to fulfill their wildest dreams in return (if they survived his mood swings). Eventually, however, a group of monks led by Brother Thelonious magically trapped him inside a leather-bound book. "There are certain books that are not meant to be read. Ever. They have things trapped within them.... In the Dark Ages, demons' souls were sometimes trapped in certain volumes. The demon would remain in the colume, harmless, unless the book was read alous." - Giles, in dialogue cut fromt he final broadcast due to length. Moloch remaind trapped for centuries. The book arrived ina shipment of arcane texts for Giles just as WIllow and computer science teacher Jenny Calendar were aiding him with a project in which they were scanning his books into the computer for easier research and access. When that particular tome was scanned in, Moloch escaped into the computer, and from there to the Web beyond. Though Moloch had been out of action for ages, it did not take him long to adjust. He began reaching out to impressionable young people online. Under the alias Malcolm Black, he became an e-mail pal for Willow, who had never had a boyfriend and was flattered by the attention. Moloch recruited Fritz and Dave, a pair of Sunnydale High computer nerds, as his modern-day acolytes, and commanded them to kill Buffy. Fritz was willing, but Dave gave the Slayer a timely warning and Moloch killed him for it. Along with several scientists who were also under Moloch's influence, Fritz co-opted the facilities of an abandoned computer company and built the demon a robotic body, only to have Moloch kill him as well. The demon'd desire for a body was his undoing, however. With the help of Jenny Calendar- who had turned out to be a technopagan, a mystic and scholar who used the Internet to learn about the occult and communicate with like-minded individuals- Giles performed a psell that should have drained Moloch back into the book. The demon's only choice was to leave cyberspace and concentrate himself fully within the robot body. Once he was out of the Net and into a single form, he was vulnerable. Buffy fought the demon robot, electrocuting him and causing him to short-circuit and then explode. (I don't know how useful the Monster Book stuff is. It seems kind of obvious. And it leaves out all the not-BtVS references that Patti found.) |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Aug 18, 2004 9:50:09 GMT -5
* And again we have season 1 text, rather than subtext. Hmmm. Bad guy preying on innocent and vulnerable teen through the internet. Pretty straightforward. I mean, yes, he's a demon scanned out of a medieval book, but the theme for this ep is pretty much just out there for us to see and go: Yep. That's it. * I am noticing how many of the first season shows are about dangerous or scary relationships. Which, yes, is good commentary on things that can happen in high school, but is also a nice foreshadowing of season two. But it was also relationships that fixed things, and people known only via computers. When Jenny called up her cyber coven, they were there for her in moments, for a potentially dangerous spell (though who knows if they all understood how real it would get). Obviously theres the friends=good theme too But it's Giles' soon to be romantic interest who helps save the day, so it isnt all romance=evil. except for in this ep its more argument=romance to get to thinking romance saves the day, but we now know where it goes next. in addition to the obvious I think its more like- isolated people making themselves more isolated via computer not of the good, real friends, cyber or otherwise, be the ones that help when you meet a bad guy. |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Aug 18, 2004 10:01:25 GMT -5
Ah, but - the episode focusses not only on the bad of the Internet, but on the good, as well. Jenny's "group", some sort of cyber coven, force the demon out of the Net. "The divine exists in cyberspace" just as in the "real" world. In my mind, the Internet was being directly equated with books: neither good, nor evil, potentially very powerful and dangerous, with the potential to corrupt or to educate. 99% of everything (books and web sites) is crap, but that other 1% is worth sifting for. After all, as Jenny points out, let's not forget that it was Giles' book, and a lack of knowledge of how to use it safely, that started the trouble in the first place. eetah. |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Aug 18, 2004 10:04:33 GMT -5
So, the primary concept would be a demon who specifically seeks young people as it's victims. It was very interesting to me that another theme here is one that Joss uses several times. Too huge of a need for love and adulation (by the demon) turning to violence when that love or adulation is not "enough". Need to be loved without need to love makes for big hungry and giving nothing back. demon. and lots of eetah |
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Post by Spaced Out Looney on Jun 17, 2005 21:10:08 GMT -5
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Plus, Buffy with the "I thought you said you overslept" bit - so Willow is lying about it to friends? Not just parents, but friends? Girl friends that you could talk and swoon about the new guy with? Not good. And then we hear those classic "keep her isolated" bad boyfriend lines being repeated by her "Malcom said you wouldn't understand". Really, really not good.
Um, Angel, anyone?
