Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode
“Nightmares”
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 10
Guest star(s)	Kristine Sutherland    (Joyce Summers) Mark Metcalf    (The Master) Andrew J. Ferchland    (The Anointed One) Dean Butler    (Hank Summers)
Writer(s)	Joss Whedon (story) and David Greenwalt (teleplay)
Director	Bruce Seth Green
Production no.	4V10
Original airdate	May 12, 1997
Episode chronology
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“The Puppet Show”	“Out of Mind, Out of Sight”

"Nightmares" is episode 10 of season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. See also List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American cult television series that aired from March 10, 1997 until May 20, 2003. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Buffy110. ... Kristine Sutherland is an actress best known for her role as Joyce Summers on the television show, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. ... Mark Metcalf (born March 11, 1946 in Findlay, Ohio, USA) is an American actor in both television and film. ... Dean Butler (May 20, 1956) is an American film actor and television actor. ... Joss Hill Whedon (born Joseph Hill Whedon on June 23, 1964 in New York) is an American writer, director, executive producer, and creator of the well-known television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. ... David Greenwalt was born in Los Angeles, California on October 16, 1949. ... Bruce Seth Green is a director who has worked on several major television productions in the last three decades, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawsons Creek, and Gilmore Girls. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Puppet Show is the ninth episode in the first season of Buffy, and is the first to feature Principal Snyder, played by Armin Shimerman. ... Out of Mind, Out of Sight, a. ... Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American cult television series that aired from March 10, 1997 until May 20, 2003. ... The following is a list of episodes for the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ...

Plot synopsis

Buffyverse is a term coined by fans of Joss Whedons first two television shows to refer to the shared fictional universe in which they are set. ... Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American cult television series that aired from March 10, 1997 until May 20, 2003. ... Angel is a spin-off from the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... The cover Fray #1 Fray is an eight-issue comic book miniseries about Melaka Fray, a Slayer in the future, written by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon and drawn by Karl Moline (pencils) and Andy Owens (inks). ...

Summary

Everyone's nightmares seem to be coming true at Sunnydale High — Xander goes to class in his underwear, Giles loses the ability to read, and time flies during Buffy's surprise test. Buffy keeps seeing a young boy around campus and begins to make a link when one of the students is attacked by a strange monster who keeps saying "lucky nineteen." Buffy discovers that the boy she sees is actually lying in a coma in hospital after being attacked. Buffy, Willow and Xander try to find the boy to help him wake, and discover that the monster is a nightmare projection of the boy's baseball coach, who put the boy in the coma. Buffy makes the boy face up to his fears and all returns to normal, with Xander stopping the coach from avoiding the law. In common current usage, the term nightmare refers to dreams of particular intensity, with content that the sleeper finds disturbing, related either to physiological causes, such as a high fever, or to psychological ones, such as unusual trauma or stress in the sleepers life. ... Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details about some or all of the Whedonverse productions (Buffy, Angel, Fray, etc. ... Xander redirects here. ... Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television program, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Buffy Anne Summers is the title fictional character in the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the television program of the same name and its numerous spin-offs such as novels, comic books and video games. ... Willow Danielle Rosenberg (born in 1981 in Sunnydale, California) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television program, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ...

Expanded overview

The episode begins with Buffy having a nightmare about going to The Master's lair and being choked by him. Her mother shakes her awake, and as Buffy wakes up she is excited to be spending the coming weekend with her father. Buffy confides to Willow that she thinks she might have something to do with her parents' divorce. In a class, when the teacher asks Wendell to read from the text book, tarantulas crawl out of it. Buffy sees Billy standing in the door way, saying he is sorry. The Master is a fictional character in the U.S. television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Mark Metcalf. ... Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers in an early Buffy episode Joyce Summers is a fictional character played by Kristine Sutherland on the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Hank Summers was a fictional character in the U.S. television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Diversity 113 genera, 897 species Genera Subfamily Acanthopelminae    Acanthopelma Subfamily Aviculariinae    Avicularia    Ephobopus    Pachistopelma    Tapinauchenius Subfamily Eumenophorinae    Anoploscelus    Batesiella    Citharischius    Encyocrates    Eumenophorus    Hysterocrates    Loxomphalia    Loxoptygus    Monocentropus    Myostola    Phoneyusa    Polyspina Subfamily Harpactirinae    Ceratogyrus    Coelogenium    Eucratoscelus    Harpactira    Pterinochilus Subfamily Ischnocolinae    Chaetopelma    Cratorrhagus    Heterothele    Ischnocolus    Nesiergus    Plesiophrictus/Neoplesiophrictus Subfamily Ornithoctoninae    Citharognathus    Cyriopagopus    Haplopelma...

The next day, as the master explains to Collin how wonderful he finds fear, Buffy is nervous about being picked up by her father after school, and her mother calms her down. At school, Willow and Xander are worried about the spiders, and want to talk to Giles about it. Giles has no information, and suggests talking to Wendell. Wendell explains that he loves spiders, but they hate him because his brother killed his pet spiders when he was off to camp. He explains that the spiders crawling out is a recurring nightmare for him, but this is the first time it happened. In the meantime, Cordelia lets Buffy know about a history test that Buffy has not studied for. Buffy has a hard time even finding the class, and the test is over in what feels like little time, and Buffy has not even filled in her name. She once again sees Billy, outside the class. As break time begins, Laura takes a smoking break in the basement, where she is assaulted by an ugly, brutish man with a misshapen, club-like right forearm saying "Lucky nineteen". Andrew J. Ferchland as The Anointed One The Anointed One is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... In common current usage, the term nightmare refers to dreams of particular intensity, with content that the sleeper finds disturbing, related either to physiological causes, such as a high fever, or to psychological ones, such as unusual trauma or stress in the sleepers life. ... Cordelia Chase (born December, 1980 in Sunnydale, California, died in 2004 in Los Angeles) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. ... Nightmares is episode 10 of season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ...

Buffy and Giles interview Laura in the hospital, where they hear about "lucky nineteen". Outside, they are shocked by the doctor saying that she got off easy, until the doctor explains about Billy, who has been in a coma from assault with the same M.O.. Back at school the Scoobies are trying to come up with an explanation, as a punk kid's mother embarrasses him in front of his friends. As they are talking, Xander finds out he is in his underwear. As Buffy goes into the library to consult with Giles, he says that he has forgotten how to read. He has, however, managed to find a newspaper with a picture of Billy in an article. The article says that Billy has been in a coma for a week, which contradicts Buffy having seen him. Giles theorizes she might have been seeing Billy's astral projection. Modus operandi (often used in the abbreviated form MO) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as mode of operation. ... -1... Astral projection (or astral travel) is an interpretation of out-of-body experiences (OBEs) achieved either awake or via lucid dreaming, deep meditation, or use of psychotropics. ...

Buffy's father shows up, and asks to talk to her. Outside school, he tells Buffy that her parents' divorce is indeed her fault. Furthermore, he claims to be bored by their weekends together and decides to call the whole thing off. As Buffy is crying, he scolds her. Xander and Willow show up in the library, and they realize Wendell's, Giles's and Xander's mishaps were all based on their nightmares, which seem to be coming true for everyone. Buffy finds Billy's astral body, and the ugly man who assaulted Laura finds both of them.

As Buffy and Billy run away, the Scoobies decide to find Buffy and explain the situation to her. As Buffy and Billy run away from the ugly man, Billy explains to her that he was responsible for his baseball team losing, and that it is a bad thing to lose at games. As Buffy and Billy find themselves in the cemetery at night, Willow finds herself starring in the Madame Butterfly opera. Willow is overcome by stage fright, and runs away. Xander is finding chocolate bar after chocolate bar until he finds one he has not had since his sixth birthday, only to be assaulted by a knife-wielding clown. Back at the cemetery, the Master buries Buffy alive. Madama Butterfly (or sometimes Madame Butterfly in English) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set in Japan. ...

Still chased by the clown, Xander teams up with Willow and Giles. He decides to confront the clown, punching him and feeling liberated. As Willow, Xander and Giles find Buffy's grave, Giles claims it is his nightmare, letting Buffy die. Buffy crawls out of the grave — a vampire. They all decide to wake up Billy from his coma to stop the nightmares. In the hospital, they find Billy's astral body near Billy's comatose body. As the ugly man finds him, Buffy confronts him. After knocking him out, she forces Billy to face him. Billy wakes up and everything is back to normal. In the fictional world of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, a vampire is a demon of a species which inhabits and animates a human corpse. ...

As Billy's little league coach shows up, it is obvious he is the inspiration for the ugly man, and that it was he who put Billy into a coma after they lost the game. Buffy and her father leave for their weekend together. Little League is the name of a non-profit organization in the United States which organizes local childrens leagues of baseball and softball throughout the USA and the rest of the world. ... Coaches coach teams in professional sports as well as college sports. ...

Characters

• The Ugly Man - The demon was a sub-consciously created villain, brought to life by a young boy named Billy Palmer. Billy had been beaten up by his coach, and put into a coma. The Ugly Man represented Billy's fear of the coach in his nightmares.

Production details

• When Sarah Michelle Gellar started filming Buffy, she had a fear of graveyards and being buried alive. This episode, unlike later ones, was filmed in a real graveyard.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (born April 14, 1977) is an American actress perhaps best known for having played the title role of Buffy Anne Summers in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ...

Translations

• French title: "Billy"

Quotes and trivia

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer#Nightmares

The Master: "So you're the Slayer. You're prettier than the last one." Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... Wikiquote logo Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ...

• Cordelia is compared to Evita.
• This is the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer without a single death.
• The Madame Butterfly duet is from Act I.
• The Master quotes Walt Disney's Cinderella, "A dream is a wish your heart makes."
• The following dialogue was edited out:

Giles: Are you all right? You look a bit peaked.

Buffy: Hospital lighting. It does nothing for my fabulous complexion.

Giles: Are you...sleeping all right?

Buffy: I'll sleep better when we find this guy. Nothing like kicking the crap out of a bad guy to perk up my day.

• Compare with "Killed by Death", where Buffy admits to disliking hospitals.
• The two victims of the coach are Billy Palmer and Laura. This could be a reference to Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks.
• Willow has a Nerf Herder bumper sticker on her locker. Alyson Hannigan, who plays Willow, is a Nerf Herder fan.
• "I had the strangest dream...you were in it" is a quote from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
• This episode seems to hint that crosses burning vampires have nothing to do with faith.
• When clowns make balloon animals, the giraffe is one of the most common, as Xander correctly exclaims.
• This is the only time we see Buffy as a vampire and is the first main character seen as a vampire in the series. In "The Wish", we see vampire versions of Willow and Xander.
• An action figure of Buffy Summers as a vampire was produced, based on this episode.

The cover of the 1979 American Broadway Original Cast Recording of Evita starring Patti Lupone as Eva Peron, Mandy Patinkin as Che Guevara, and Bob Gunton as Juan Peron. ... Madama Butterfly (or sometimes Madame Butterfly in English) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set in Japan. ... Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966), was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, and philanthropist. ... Cinderella is the twelfth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. ... Killed by Death is episode 18 of season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Laura Palmer is a fictional character played by Sheryl Lee on the David Lynch/Mark Frost television series Twin Peaks. ... Twin Peaks was an American serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. ... Nerf Herder is a punk rock band formed in 1994. ... Alyson Hannigan Allison Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing Willow Rosenberg on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as for portraying quirky characters in the American Pie film series and the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. ... See also: 1938 in film 1939 1940 in film 1930s in film 1940s in film years in film film // Events Movie historians and film buffs often look back on the year 1939 as the greatest year in film history. ... For the novel, see The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; For other senses of this title, see The Wizard of Oz. ... Bold textLink title Binomial name Giraffa camelopardalis Linnaeus, 1758 The Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species. ... The Wish is the ninth episode of season 3 on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Buffy Anne Summers is the title fictional character in the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the television program of the same name and its numerous spin-offs such as novels, comic books and video games. ...

Continuity

Arc significance

• Buffy's prophetic dreams, mentioned in "Welcome to the Hellmouth", show up again here, foretelling her death in "Prophecy Girl".

• Willow's stage fright, mentioned in the previous episode, appears here and again in such episodes as "Restless" and "Once More, With Feeling". When Joss Whedon decided to create a musical episode, actress Alyson Hannigan seemed none too excited about being forced to sing.

• Giles's nightmare comes true in "The Gift", but Buffy's headstone gives her date of birth in 1981 and does not show a middle name. Giles lamenting her as gifted and Buffy crawls out of her grave in a similar fashion to "Bargaining".

• Xander may be the first person in Sunnydale to face his nightmare. This suggests an underlying strength of character that will feature again in "Prophecy Girl", where Xander convinces Angel to help him find Buffy, and in "Potential".

• In the background of Xander's worst nightmare with the evil clown, there are Nazi symbols spray painted in the background, suggesting that Xander has some fear of being the victim of a bias-motivated crime. As Xander is white and from a Christian family, the background swastikas might have been drafted in the event that Xander, and not Willow, was the major character that would come out as being gay in college.

• This episode begins the trend of portraying characters who smoke as either victims or monsters (e.g., "Innocence", "Beauty and the Beasts" and "School Hard"). See also "Out of My Mind" for a smoking Harmony.

• Xander following the chocolate trail can be seen as a reference to Hansel and Gretel; see also "Gingerbread".

• Buffy has a problem with big words, pronouncing "astral" as "asteroid." In "Bad Eggs", she will say bozo for bezoar.

• We learn in this episode that Slayer's can be turned into Vampires.

Welcome to the Hellmouth (Welcome for short) is the very first episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Prophecy Girl, the first season finale, is the twelfth episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... The Puppet Show is the ninth episode in the first season of Buffy, and is the first to feature Principal Snyder, played by Armin Shimerman. ... Restless is the 22nd and last episode of season 4 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, characterized by bizarre dream settings which illustrate the four main characters overall themes as well as providing extensive hints about future developments. ... Once More, With Feeling is a musical episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... The Gift is Episode 22 in Season 5 of the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bargaining, Part One is the Season 6 opener of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Prophecy Girl, the first season finale, is the twelfth episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Angel (born 1727 in Galway, Ireland) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television programs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. ... Potential is the twelfth episode of season 7 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... For the town in Ontario, see Swastika, Ontario. ... Innocence is Episode 14 of Season 2 on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Beauty and the Beasts is the fourth episode of season 3 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... School Hard is episode 3 of season 2 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Out of My Mind is the fourth episode of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Harmony Kendall (born presumably in 1981 in Sunnydale, California) is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television programs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. ... Gretel tricks the witch Hansel and Gretel (German: Hänsel und Gretel) is a fairy tale of Germanic origin, collected by the Brothers Grimm. ... Gingerbread is Episode 11 of Season 3 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Bad Eggs is episode 12 of season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Bozo the Clown is the name of a clown whose widespread syndication in early television made him the best-known clown character in the United States. ... A bezoar or enterolith is a sort of calculus or concretion, a stone found in the intestines of mostly ruminant animals. ...

Episode stills

Willow, Giles, and Xander Image File history File links Buffy110-still01. ...	Willow Rosenberg Image File history File links Buffy110-still02. ...	Buffy Summers Image File history File linksMetadata Buffy110-still03. ...	Buffy's nightmare Image File history File links Buffy110-still04. ...
Buffy and The Master Image File history File linksMetadata Buffy110-still05. ...	Buffy and The Master Image File history File linksMetadata Buffy110-still06. ...

Timing

• Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 comedy film about a Valley Girl cheerleader (Kristy Swanson) chosen by fate to fight and kill vampires. ... Cover // Information Story by: Christopher Golden, Dan Brereton Cover Artist: Dave Stewart Penciller: Joe Bennett Inker: Rick Ketcham, Randy Emberlin, J. Jadsen Letterer: Ken Bruzenar Colorist: Jeromy Cox, Guy Major Comics: BtVS: The Origin#1-3 Published: Dark Horse Date first published: Sep 15, 1999 Substance: Soft cover, 80 pages... Cover Story by: Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Art by: Cliff Richards Comics: BtVS: 51 - 54 Published: Dark Horse Date first published: July 2, 2003 Substance: 96 pages, soft cover, full color // Story description Spoiler warning: General Synopsis After burning down her school gym Buffy was expelled and is now finding... Cover Story by: Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Paul Lee Art by: Cliff Richards, Paul Lee Comics: Buffy the vampire Slayer #56-59 Published: Dark Horse Date first published: Dec 24, 2003 Substance: Soft cover, 120 pages, Full color // Story description Spoiler warning: General Synopsis After running off to Vegas, Buffy... A Stake to the Heart is a trade paperback collecting comic stories based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. ... Known to fans as the unaired Buffy pilot, this thirty-minute production by Joss Whedon was never intended to air. ... Welcome to the Hellmouth (Welcome for short) is the very first episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... The Harvest is the second of a two-part series opener of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Lucy Hanover as seen on a WB network promotional clip for Buffy shown in 1996 History of the Slayer was a promotional clip shown on WB Network in 1997 to promote the TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Witch is the 3rd episode of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Teachers Pet is episode 4 of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... // Book Information Author(s): Christopher Golden, Nancy Holder Substance: Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Pocket Books Date first published: (November 1, 1997) Book Description Spoiler warning: Its Halloween in Sunnydale and Xander and Willow warn Buffy not go out on Halloween if its raining. ... // Book Information Author(s): Arthur Byron Cover Substance: 178 pages Publisher: Pocket Books Date first published: (March 1, 1998) Book Description Spoiler warning: In 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, the Despised One was raised from the Otherworld and Samantha Kane, that generations Slayer, died while defeating it. ... Never Kill a Boy on the First Date is an episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Buffy gets to go on her first date. ... The Pack is episode 6 of season 1 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Angel is the seventh episode in the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... Buffy the Animated Series was an undeveloped animated TV show based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... I, Robot. ... The Puppet Show is the ninth episode in the first season of Buffy, and is the first to feature Principal Snyder, played by Armin Shimerman. ... Out of Mind, Out of Sight, a. ... Prophecy Girl, the first season finale, is the twelfth episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... // Book Information Author(s): John Vornholt Substance: 164 pages Publisher: Pocket Books Date first published: (January 1, 1998) Book Description Spoiler warning: Its summer vacation in Sunnydale and the carnival has come to town. ... // Book Information Author(s): Michelle West, Nancy Holder, Cameron Dokey, and Paul Ruditis Substance: 288 pages Publisher: Pocket Books Date first published: (August 1, 2000) Book Description Spoiler warning: Dust by Michelle West Buffy continually sees the death of everyone she touches while she heads out to LA to spend...

External links

• Buffy Body Count for this episode
• Buffy Guide
• Buffy Trivia Guide
• Buffy World Summary
• All Things Philosophical
• TV.com Summary
• BBC Episode Guide
• Wikiquote
• Cross&Stake Summary
• BBC Trivia
• Buffy World Statistics
• Buffy vs. Angel Summary
• Music Guide
• TV Squad review