The Watcher Diaries: Ted - Buffy Episode 2.11
Posted by Jason Chamberlain on 05.14.2008
This week in Sunnydale, it's Three's Company (sorry, I had to) as Buffy's mom gets a boyfriend; a robotic John Ritter! 411's Scooby Gang has the full review of 'Ted'!
If something looks too good to be true, it usually is. So it’s no surprise that this is doubly true in Sunnydale. So when Buffy’s mom gets a new boyfriend who appears to be a real catch, he’s not just a bad guy... he’s a robot!
Here’s J.D. with an episode recap!
Episode 2.11 — "Ted"
W: David Greenwalt, Joss Whedon
D: Bruce Seth Green
Original Airdate: December 8, 1997
Synopsis:
Buffy arrives home one evening to find her mom smooching on her new honey, Ted (the late, great John Ritter). Buffy, of course, takes an immediate dislike to him, but she's the only one. Xander loves his mini-pizzas. Willow loves the free software he can get her. When Ted goes a little crazy during miniature golf, Buffy's suspicions are confirmed. Of course, no one will believe her. Buffy decides to delve into Ted's life and finds out about his wedding plans. Ted doesn't cotton to snooping and threatens to expose Buffy. When he slaps her around a bit, Buffy lets out her aggressions…and accidentally kills him! Because she has no bruises, the police don't believe her. On a hunch, Willow tests Ted's cookies and finds that they're drugged to make people compliant. When Ted later turns up in Buffy's room, it's obvious he's not just a salesman. Willow, Xander and Cordy trace Ted to an abandoned shop with a small apartment in the basement…and the bodies of Ted's ex-wives. Ted, it seems, is just an android created by the real Ted, whose wife left him. Buffy saves the day and deactivates Ted permanently. In other news, after a cooling off period following the events of "The Dark Age", Giles and Miss Calendar are back together. That's more important than you might think.
Now here’s Ron Martin with the full review!
This is an odd episode, isn’t it? There are some interesting stories told here. Interesting stories and an excellent guest star makes for a decent episode. We get to see how Buffy reacts to her mom dating again…and the verdict is not good. Maybe it’s Buffy’s slayer intuition, maybe it’s because of the fact that she doesn’t eat any of Ted’s sweets because of her bad attitude towards him…whatever the reason Buffy never warms up to Ted. Everyone else, however, loves the guy. Obviously, Buffy never saw reruns of the fabulous Three’s Company. Now that we have the obligatory Three’s Company joke out of the way, let’s move on.
The pacing of the episode is interesting as the viewer is made to believe that Ted is just a two-faced ass who happened to be dating Buffy’s mom. Though we have our suspicions, we don’t know that Ted is not human until near the end of the episode. Even though I find the concept of a man turning himself into a robot and keeping the same type of wife over and over again is a little implausible (even for Buffy), the episode inadvertently sets up a number of storylines that will be explored in future seasons.
It’s always good when Kristine Sutherland is on my TV. It’s rare that she is on our screen and is being used as a sex object. This happens like three times in the whole series. The addition of John Ritter was an excellent choice as Ted, mostly because we already trust Ritter enough to let him in our homes without question. Ted represents the parent Buffy could have had. How different would the series be if Joyce were as prodding and forbidding as Ted?
“Ted’s” place in the Buffyverse.
“Ted” is a throwaway episode that sets up other themes in later seasons whether it is intentional or not. Like “Lie to Me” a few episodes ago, “Ted” wasn’t a story that was necessary but it was a story that was told and acted well enough to be entertaining.
Themes explored in “Lie to Me.”
Buffy vs. the Machine. For the second time in as many years, Buffy finds herself face-to-face with a robot. It wasn’t the first time, it won’t be the last. Of course in a few seasons, she wrangles with Adam, who is mostly machine. Then there’s the Buffybot. While she’s not really an enemy, there are times when the robot proves to be a nuisance.
Buffy…is different. Everyone falls for Ted’s act; Joyce does, Willow does, Xander does. Buffy is pretty much alone in her evil thoughts about Ted. Her instincts are stronger than the others proving that no matter how much she is like them, she isn’t.
Slayers can’t kill humans. This will become mega-important the next season when we are introduced to Faith. This episode acts as a reminder that slayers have rules too and no matter how much of a jerk someone is, you just can’t go killing them. There’s a difference between a slayer and a murderer.
Buffy vs. the police. This will be much more explored later in this season and early next season, but the police do show up in this episode as a reminder that yes, there is law enforcement in Sunnydale. Even the slayer has to abide by the law.
Interesting…
The gang refers to all the incidents that have been going in Sunnydale to this point. In one line, we learn that Order of Taraka has been called off, which is good because in the previous episodes it was made clear that the Order will not stop coming until the person they are supposed to kill is dead. While another show might not ever bother to deal with the situation, Buffy gives us closure in one sentence. Contrast this to Season 7 when Anya is supposed to be under constant attack from minions of D’Hoffryn and is attacked once before the storyline is totally forgotten.
Quotable “Lie to Me”
Xander: I sometimes like things that are not good for me
Mike Gorman
Well first off, one cannot overlook the talents of the late and definitely great John Ritter in this excellent episode. His dry wit and ability to be funny and creepy at the same time add some great moments to this episode. Overall this is a great look at what happens when you are the child of divorced parents and one starts to date again. As one myself, I totally relate to this episode and just this past weekend I was looking for clues that my stepmother is a robot. Buffy's emotions and antics have such a truth to them that you are taken off guard completely when the "monstrous" elements are revealed. This episode is definitely one of my favourites of the season and probably of all time.
Ronny Sarnecky
This was definitely one of the creepier “Buffy” episodes in the series’ history. John Ritter gave a great performance as “Ted,” the robot who was dating Buffy’s mom. For fans who remember John as the hysterical “Jack Tripper” from “Three’s Company” fame, the role he portrayed on “Buffy” was a complete 180. Watching the episode, I couldn’t help but remember what a great talent Hollywood lost due to his passing. As for the episode itself, there were only three noteworthy things that happened during this episode. Giles and Miss Calendar got back together on the romantic front. Second, they had Buffy kill “Ted,” whom she thought was a human being. Her reaction was important, and would foreshadow her emotions from Season Three when the mayor’s assistant was accidentally killed by a slayer. Finally, it was nice to see that when Buffy was in need of help, the rest of the “Scooby Gang” was able to step up and get the job done. Instead of Buffy being the one relied on to always save the day.
J.D. Dunn
An excellent performance by Ritter makes this a classic, despite a few flaws with the script -- not the least of which is Joyce's irritating mistrust of Buffy, which can't all be explained by the food. Plus, Whedon's attack on conservative values is a little simplistic.
Jeremy Thomas
After the two-part epic that was "What's My Line," we get a bit of a letdown in the Stepford Husband, "Ted." While I agree that John Ritter was in top form this episode, something about this particular one just didn't appeal to me as much as the last few eps. The episode, with its robotic elements, seemed more sci-fi then horror, and while this would be revisited again later (and better) with Robo-Buffy and Warren's other toys, it just didn't work for me at the time. The episode is a bit rushed--I'm not big on how Ted's whole back story was related at the ending in a couple minutes. And it just has a "filler" feel to it, above and beyond the fact that it was a single-episode story. What I did enjoy was Buffy's reaction to thinking she'd taken a human life--something we'll see far more of next season--and the beginning of Giles and Jenny getting back together. Because it sets up such a beautiful scene six episodes from now.
Jason Chamberlain
Not one of my favourites, because it's a little too standalone for my tastes. I do enjoy the John Ritter guest appearance as he does a great job being a genuine creep, and as the others have mentioned there are some interesting themes touched on here. I'm not the biggest Joyce fan and it's because of episodes like this where she truly seems clueless. Still, it's probably better than next week's offering...
GRR!!! ARGH!!!
The 411: I know that I gave the same rating to “Lie to Me,” but the two episodes are very similar. Joyce is always a pleasure and Ted is a worthy episode, but in the long run it means very little to nothing in the Buffy arc. The cast has excelled at this point in taking these one off episodes and making them not only entertaining but better than average TV.
