So sue me! Inspired by the latest Doctor Who episode “The Beast Below” I now introduce you (or remind you) “Hush”!
“Hush” is the tenth episode of the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was written and directed by Joss Whedon and it originally broadcast on December 14, 1999.
So what’s it about?
Fairytale monsters called The Gentlemen steal the voices of everyone in Sunnydale, including the Scooby Gang.
Oh Wow! So how did it all happen?
This is the season when Buffy was in college! We start with Professor Maggie Walsh talking about communication in class and then asks Buffy to come and lie on her desk for a demonstration. Riley steps forward and kisses her and then the sun goes down. Buffy hears a young girl’s voice and walks out of the classroom and into the halls where a girl holding a small box stands singing a creepy nursery rhyme (LITTLE GIRLS ARE CREEPY)
Can’t even shout, can’t even cry
The Gentlemen are coming by.
Looking in windows, knocking on doors,
They need to take seven and they might take yours.
Can’t call to mom, can’t say a word,
You’re gonna die screaming but you won’t be heard.
Buffy wakes up in class. She was dreaming! After leaving the class she calls Giles and tries to research the information she gained from her dream about The Gentlemen. Spike (who earlier in the season had a chip, that prevented him from harming people, planted in his brain) has made himself at home at Giles’ and complains about there not being any more Weetabix (despite having eaten it all himself – again), claiming he likes to add it to his butcher’s blood sometimes for texture. Giles, repulsed by the mental image, tells him he ruined food for him forever.
Xander and Anya arrive, arguing about whether Xander really loves her or is only interested in sex. Giles informs Xander that he has to babysit Spike for a few days because an old girlfriend of his will be coming over from England. None of them are particularly pleased about the arrangement.
Willow goes to her Wicca meeting but soon finds out that the girls are just wannabes with no knowledge of real magic. One girl, Tara, (who makes her first appearance on “Hush” ) seems to be interested in magic, but is very shy and easily cowed by the other members. After the meeting, Buffy complains to Willow how slowly her relationship with Riley is progressing, while Riley discusses the same with Forrest. Spike ends up tighed on a chair in Xander’s bedroom and starts imitating Anya to annoy Xander. Giles’ girlfriend, Olivia, shows up at his apartment and they get right to kissing. At the clock tower, one of the (creepy as #@$#@@) Gentlemen opens a box, and the voices of all the people in Sunnydale float out of their mouths and are drawn into the box.
The extremely creepy part begins here. I don’t know why silence is always so creepy but the episode hereafter contains no dialogue and is based 85% on music, 10% on body language and 5% on marker boards XD Buffy and Willow wake up the next morning and find they have no voices and panic. Soon they realise that nobody else can speak either. Xander, similarly panicked blames Spike, who very clearly flips him the finger. Riley and Forrest try to enter the underground lab, but without his voice Riley cannot activate the voice-based security system on the elevator door. Professor Walsh opens the elevator and obviously reprimands them when she points out a sign saying they should have used the stairs in the event of emergencies.
The street vendors’ majesty is shown once more as there’s one selling marker boards for an outrageous price. Buffy and Willow both buy one. A report on tv states that everyone in Sunnydale has come down with a severe case of laryngitis and the town has been quarantined. The threat of chaos looming that night, Buffy goes out to patroland Riley and his team also go out incognito to maintain order. Riley and Buffy meet while walking out on the streets and as Riley is about to leave, he kisses Buffy for the first time. Later that night, the Gentlemen and their weird minions come out in the night. Olivia wakes up startled and through the window she sees one of the Gentlemen who glide followed by their demon assistants on the ground. Two Gentlemen float through the UC Sunnydale dorms, finding a freshman boy and cut out his heart. The next morning, Olivia draws a picture of the creature she saw, and Giles recognises it and takes out a book of fairy tales. In an extremely funny sequence in a lecture room at the college, Giles tells the story of the Gentlemen through drawings and text on an overhead projector, with musical embellishment. The sound of a real human scream — not a recorded one, despite Willow’s suggestion — can kill them, so they take away everyone’s voices, allowing them to get the seven human hearts they need. Riley suits up and goes to patrol, while Buffy prepares to do the same. Tara is chased by the Gentlemen and she finally makes it to Willow’s dorm and the two girls make a run for it. Riley is attacked by several of the Gentlemen’s demon assistants in the clock tower, until Buffy shows up and starts fighting alongside him. They are both shocked to see each other but they can’t say a thing.
Spike vamps out while drinking a mug of blood at Giles’ house and as he bends down by the sofa on which Anya is sleeping, Xander enters and concludes Spike has bitten Anya and starts punching Spike when Anya wakes up and stops him. Xander then kisses her passionately and Anya realizing he does indeed love her does a very crude gesture telling Xander they should have sex.
Hiding in a room, Willow and Tara combine their magic to move a vending machine in front of a door to protect them from the Gentlemen. Buffy gets caught by the Footmen and the Gentlemen are about to cut into her when Riley electrocutes them. Buffy spots the box of voices on the table and recognises it from her dream. She points it out to Riley who smashes the box. Everyone’s voice returns and Buffy lets out a loud and long scream, which causes the Gentlemen’s heads to explode in a shower of green slime.
The next day, Willow and Tara talk about being real witches, while Olivia is reluctand to be part of Giles’ scary world. Riley goes to Buffy’s dorm to talk, but they sit in silence as neither knows what to say.
That was awesome I want to know more!
- Joss Whedon created this episode after hearing repeatedly that the crucial part of his series was the dialogue.
- Joss Whedon wanted “The Gentleman” to be very nightmarish, hoping that they would be monsters children would remember being scared of later in their lives. He succeeded.
- Joss Whedon originally planned to produce the Musical episode “Once More, with Feeling” in place of this episode. However, Xena:Warrior Princess had recently shown a musical episode so the idea was put on hold.
- This episode uses composed music in place of dialogue. Exactly the opposite of “The Body” that uses no music and puts focus on Dialogue.
- The original airing of “Hush” received 6.6 million viewers, the highest rated episode of the season and earned Buffy its first Emmy nomination (for best original writing), but did not win.
Was there any funny quotes in the episode?
Oddly enough (considering this episode has almost no dialogue) yes!
Anya – “You mean an orgasm friend?”
Giles – “Yes, that’s precisely the most appalling thing you could have said!”
_______________
Spike – “We’re out of Weetabix.”
Giles – “We are out of Weetabix because you ate it all. Again.”
Spike – “Get some more.”
Giles – “I thought vampires were supposed to eat blood.”
Spike – “Yeah, well sometimes I like to crumble up the Weetabix in the blood. Gives it a little texture.”
Giles – “Since the picture you just painted means that I will never touch food of any kind again, you’ll just have to pick it up yourself.”
Spike – “Sissy.”
_______________
Buffy – “No actual witches in your witch group?”
Willow – “No. Bunch of Wanna-Blessed-Bes. You know, nowadays every girl with a henna tattoo and a spice rack thinks she’s a sister
to the dark ones.”
Where can I watch it?
It has been released on DVD so your best bet lies there. If your country supports it, you can also try Hulu.com. You may also try to find it on youtube although I doubt it will be of very good quality.
Come on! Gimme a trailer! Or some scenes!
Here you go!
Buffy promo, Supernatural style
I laughed so hard at this scene
Stills?
That’s all folks 😀 I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane! Pop in your Buffy DVDs, or go rent them if you can’t afford them like yours truly and tune in back on next Monday for the next installment of Old Classics.
So sue me! Inspired by the latest Doctor Who episode “The Beast Below” I now introduce you (or remind you) “Hush”!
“Hush” is the tenth episode of the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was written and directed by Joss Whedon and it originally broadcast on December 14, 1999.
So what’s it about?
Fairytale monsters called The Gentlemen steal the voices of everyone in Sunnydale, including the Scooby Gang.
Oh Wow! So how did it all happen?
This is the season when Buffy was in college! We start with Professor Maggie Walsh talking about communication in class and then asks Buffy to come and lie on her desk for a demonstration. Riley steps forward and kisses her and then the sun goes down. Buffy hears a young girl’s voice and walks out of the classroom and into the halls where a girl holding a small box stands singing a creepy nursery rhyme (LITTLE GIRLS ARE CREEPY)
Can’t even shout, can’t even cry
The Gentlemen are coming by.
Looking in windows, knocking on doors,
They need to take seven and they might take yours.
Can’t call to mom, can’t say a word,
You’re gonna die screaming but you won’t be heard.
Buffy wakes up in class. She was dreaming! After leaving the class she calls Giles and tries to research the information she gained from her dream about The Gentlemen. Spike (who earlier in the season had a chip, that prevented him from harming people, planted in his brain) has made himself at home at Giles’ and complains about there not being any more Weetabix (despite having eaten it all himself – again), claiming he likes to add it to his butcher’s blood sometimes for texture. Giles, repulsed by the mental image, tells him he ruined food for him forever.
Xander and Anya arrive, arguing about whether Xander really loves her or is only interested in sex. Giles informs Xander that he has to babysit Spike for a few days because an old girlfriend of his will be coming over from England. None of them are particularly pleased about the arrangement.
Willow goes to her Wicca meeting but soon finds out that the girls are just wannabes with no knowledge of real magic. One girl, Tara, (who makes her first appearance on “Hush” ) seems to be interested in magic, but is very shy and easily cowed by the other members. After the meeting, Buffy complains to Willow how slowly her relationship with Riley is progressing, while Riley discusses the same with Forrest. Spike ends up tighed on a chair in Xander’s bedroom and starts imitating Anya to annoy Xander. Giles’ girlfriend, Olivia, shows up at his apartment and they get right to kissing. At the clock tower, one of the (creepy as #@$#@@) Gentlemen opens a box, and the voices of all the people in Sunnydale float out of their mouths and are drawn into the box.
The extremely creepy part begins here. I don’t know why silence is always so creepy but the episode hereafter contains no dialogue and is based 85% on music, 10% on body language and 5% on chalk and blackboards XD Buffy and Willow wake up the next morning and find they have no voices and panic. Soon they realise that nobody else can speak either. Xander, similarly panicked blames Spike, who very clearly flips him the finger. Riley and Forrest try to enter the underground lab, but without his voice Riley cannot activate the voice-based security system on the elevator door. Professor Walsh opens the elevator and obviously reprimands them when she points out a sign saying they should have used the stairs in the event of emergencies.
The street vendors’ majesty is shown once more as there’s one selling chalk boards for an outrageous price. Buffy and Willow both buy one. A report on tv states that everyone in Sunnydale has come down with a severe case of laryngitis and the town has been quarantined. The threat of chaos looming that night, Buffy goes out to patroland Riley and his team also go out incognito to maintain order. Riley and Buffy meet while walking out on the streets and as Riley is about to leave, he kisses Buffy for the first time. Later that night, the Gentlemen and their weird minions come out in the night. Olivia wakes up startled and through the window she sees one of the Gentlemen who glide followed by their demon assistants on the ground. Two Gentlemen float through the UC Sunnydale dorms, finding a freshman boy and cut out his heart. The next morning, Olivia draws a picture of the creature she saw, and Giles recognises it and takes out a book of fairy tales. In an extremely funny sequence in a lecture room at the college, Giles tells the story of the Gentlemen through drawings and text on an overhead projector, with musical embellishment. The sound of a real human scream — not a recorded one, despite Willow’s suggestion — can kill them, so they take away everyone’s voices, allowing them to get the seven human hearts they need. Riley suits up and goes to patrol, while Buffy prepares to do the same. Tara is chased by the Gentlemen and she finally makes it to Willow’s dorm and the two girls make a run for it. Riley is attacked by several of the Gentlemen’s demon assistants in the clock tower, until Buffy shows up and starts fighting alongside him. They are both shocked to see each other but they can’t say a thing.
Spike vamps out while drinking a mug of blood at Giles’ house and as he bends down by the sofa on which Anya is sleeping, Xander enters and concludes Spike has bitten Anya and starts punching Spike when Anya wakes up and stops him. Xander then kisses her passionately and Anya realizing he does indeed love her does a very crude gesture telling Xander they should have sex.
Hiding in a room, Willow and Tara combine their magic to move a vending machine in front of a door to protect them from the Gentlemen. Buffy gets caught by the Footmen and the Gentlemen are about to cut into her when Riley electrocutes them. Buffy spots the box of voices on the table and recognises it from her dream. She points it out to Riley who smashes the box. Everyone’s voice returns and Buffy lets out a loud and long scream, which causes the Gentlemen’s heads to explode in a shower of green slime.
The next day, Willow and Tara talk about being real witches, while Olivia is reluctand to be part of Giles’ scary world. Riley goes to Buffy’s dorm to talk, but they sit in silence as neither knows what to say.
That was awesome I want to know more!
* Joss Whedon created this episode after hearing repeatedly that the crucial part of his series was the dialogue.
* Joss Whedon wanted “The Gentleman” to be very nightmarish, hoping that they would be monsters children would remember being scared of later in their lives. He succeeded.
* Joss Whedon originally planned to produce the Musical episode “Once More, with Feeling” in place of this episode. However, Xena:Warrior Princess had recently shown a musical episode so the idea was put on hold.
* This episode uses composed music in place of dialogue. Exactly the opposite of “The Body” that uses no music and puts focus on Dialogue.
* The original airing of “Hush” received 6.6 million viewers, the highest rated episode of the season and earned Buffy its first Emmy nomination (for best original writing), but did not win.
Was there any funny quotes in the episode?
Oddly enough (considering this episode has almost no dialogue) yes!
Anya – “You mean an orgasm friend?”
Giles – “Yes, that’s precisely the most appalling thing you could have said!”
_______________
Spike – “We’re out of Weetabix.”
Giles – “We are out of Weetabix because you ate it all. Again.”
Spike – “Get some more.”
Giles – “I thought vampires were supposed to eat blood.”
Spike – “Yeah, well sometimes I like to crumble up the Weetabix in the blood. Gives it a little texture.”
Giles – “Since the picture you just painted means that I will never touch food of any kind again, you’ll just have to pick it
up yourself.”
Spike – “Sissy.”
_______________
Buffy – “No actual witches in your witch group?”
Willow – “No. Bunch of Wanna-Blessed-Bes. You know, nowadays every girl with a henna tattoo and a spice rack thinks she’s a sister
to the dark ones.”
Where can I watch it?
Geek TV 