Sleeper
- Episode aired Nov 19, 2002
- TV-14
- 41m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
Buffy and her friends fear Spike may be to blame when a number of people around town mysteriously disappear.Buffy and her friends fear Spike may be to blame when a number of people around town mysteriously disappear.Buffy and her friends fear Spike may be to blame when a number of people around town mysteriously disappear.
Emma Caulfield Ford
- Anya
- (as Emma Caulfield)
Anthony Head
- Rupert Giles
- (as Anthony Stewart Head)
Linda Christopher
- Nora
- (as Lindy Christopher)
Erik Betts
- Vampire
- (uncredited)
John Colella
- Police Officer
- (uncredited)
Aimee Mann
- Singer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAimee Mann sang two songs; "This is How it Goes" and "Pavlov's Bell" at the Bronze. During "Pavlov's Bell", a fight broke out between Spike and another vampire, the band stopped playing, Aimee Mann stopped singing for a second and after her performance, she spoke the line "Man, I hate playing vampire towns". Aimee Mann is the only singer/band featured on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) to have a speaking part.
- GoofsWhen Anya comes on to Spike, specifically when she's kissing his neck.....one shot Spike's head is against the wall, the next shot he is away from the wall.
- Quotes
[Buffy approaches a bouncer outside a nightclub looking for Spike]
Buffy: I-I'm looking for this guy. Bleach-blond hair, leather jacket, British accent, kind of sallow, but in a hot way?
Bouncer: Yeah, yeah. I know the guy. Billy Idol wannabe?
Buffy: Actually, Billy Idol stole his look from- Never mind.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Inglorious Treksperts: There Are Still Those Who Believe (2022)
- SoundtracksPavlov's Bell
by Aimee Mann
Featured review
Snoozer
Sorry for the snarky review title. I hate to be "that guy". But I guess I am. Nuts.
After watching "Sleeper" on Netflix, it took me a long while to gather up the motivation necessary to proceed to the next episode. Which is atypical of my Buffyverse viewing habits. Usually I'll gobble the next episode down the moment I have the time to do so. Watching Buffy season 7 side-by-side with Angel season 4, there are times when I'm tempted to skip the corresponding episode of Buffy and just shotgun Angel. Heck, it ain't perfect (Cangel? bleck) but it's compelling enough due to everything it does right, in some cases very right.
Sleeper is indicative of the problem I have with season 7 so far. It's lackluster. It's aimless. It feels stretched, like there's not enough story to cover the requisite 22 episodes. The relationship between Buffy and Spike just isn't all that interesting. Spike has been suffering like a martyr for two seasons now out of his love for Buffy and it's just tired at this point. Rather than watch a new (well, new to me) episode recently, I went back to season 4 and rewatched "Something Blue" and "Hush". Their relationship at that time was dynamic and charged. You kept watching because you wanted to see how things progressed. Ever since season 5, though, that growth has stagnated. It's been the same thing over and over again. Different permutations of the same situation. It's tedious.
One thing that is funny about this episode, in a jolting way, is when a character makes reference to CSI. In my mind Buffy and CSI represent such different eras of (and approaches to) television they might as well have been separated by a decade. It's jarring to realize their runs actually overlapped by a few seasons. (Heck, so did The X-Files, for that matter.)
After watching "Sleeper" on Netflix, it took me a long while to gather up the motivation necessary to proceed to the next episode. Which is atypical of my Buffyverse viewing habits. Usually I'll gobble the next episode down the moment I have the time to do so. Watching Buffy season 7 side-by-side with Angel season 4, there are times when I'm tempted to skip the corresponding episode of Buffy and just shotgun Angel. Heck, it ain't perfect (Cangel? bleck) but it's compelling enough due to everything it does right, in some cases very right.
Sleeper is indicative of the problem I have with season 7 so far. It's lackluster. It's aimless. It feels stretched, like there's not enough story to cover the requisite 22 episodes. The relationship between Buffy and Spike just isn't all that interesting. Spike has been suffering like a martyr for two seasons now out of his love for Buffy and it's just tired at this point. Rather than watch a new (well, new to me) episode recently, I went back to season 4 and rewatched "Something Blue" and "Hush". Their relationship at that time was dynamic and charged. You kept watching because you wanted to see how things progressed. Ever since season 5, though, that growth has stagnated. It's been the same thing over and over again. Different permutations of the same situation. It's tedious.
One thing that is funny about this episode, in a jolting way, is when a character makes reference to CSI. In my mind Buffy and CSI represent such different eras of (and approaches to) television they might as well have been separated by a decade. It's jarring to realize their runs actually overlapped by a few seasons. (Heck, so did The X-Files, for that matter.)
helpful•1219
- nightwishouge
- Nov 16, 2015
Details
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- Country of origin
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- Language
- Filming locations
- The Silver Cross Public House, 33 Whitehall, London, England, UK(Establishing shot of London before Robson is attacked)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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