Seth Green Movies

As Oz, the guitarist with a bit of a werewolf problem on the WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, actor Seth Green became known and loved by television viewers from the U.S. to Australia. What isn't as well-known to many of these viewers is the fact that Green has been acting in films and on television since 1984, when he made his debut as Egg, the little brother of Jodie Foster and Rob Lowe in The Hotel New Hampshire.

A native of Philadelphia, Green was born February 8, 1974, and raised in the suburbs by his artist mother and math-teacher father. Although unbeknownst to him at the time, his first onscreen stint was as a newborn in a natural childbirth video. Green's more conscious interest in acting began at the age of six, when he had his first role in a summer camp play. With the help of his uncle, who was a casting director, Green was soon appearing in commercials and on various television shows. Getting his first real break with 1984's The Hotel New Hampshire, the young actor spent the next few years appearing in television shows before landing his first starring role in Woody Allen's 1987 film Radio Days. As Allen's young alter-ego, Green won a respectable amount of recognition (including an appearance on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show) for his part in the nostalgic tale of a boy growing up as part of an eccentric family in 1940s America. The role led to work in various films, such as Can't Buy Me Love (1987) and the following year's My Stepmother Is an Alien (in which he co-starred with his future Buffy love interest Alyson Hannigan).
The early '90s were not kind to Green, who found himself acting in a series of bad films and winning only small parts on the occasional television show, including The Wonder Years. In fact, if audiences recognized the actor at all, it was probably due to a series of Rally's commercials that featured him as the obnoxious fast-food worker who made "Cha-ching" part of the national lexicon for about three months. Things finally began to pick up in 1997, when Green won his substantial role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Coincidentally, he had been cast five years earlier in the original film incarnation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but his scenes had ended up on the cutting-room floor. Green found further success in 1997, when he landed a memorable supporting role as the son of Dr. Evil in the sleeper hit Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

Suddenly once again in favor with Hollywood's Powers That Be, Green appeared the following year in the Jennifer Love Hewitt film Can't Hardly Wait and in 1999 reprised his role as Scott Evil in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Also in 1999, the actor landed a starring role as Devon Sawa's zombie friend in Idle Hands. The film, which was about a teen with murderous hands, had the unfortunate luck of opening a week after the Columbine High School shootings and quickly disappeared without a trace. However, this didn't seem to do substantial damage to the red-headed actor's career, as he continued riding high with his role on Buffy. Green also kept busy doing the voice of Chris Griffin on Fox's animated series The Family Guy. The turnover to the new millennium found Green increasingly popular on the big screen, with roles in such films as Rat Race and America's Sweethearts (both 2001). It wasn't long before the inevitable third chapter in the adventures of Austin Powers was to go before the cameras, and Green once again agreed to fill the shoes of Scott Evil.

After a role in the hit 2003 ensemble caper The Italian Job, Green geared up for a pair of high-profile comedic roles in 2004. First up, he played a museum curator with a crush on Velma in Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Then, teaming up with Dax Shepard and Matthew Lillard, he starred in Without a Paddle, an adventure comedy about three city-slickers who find trouble when they take a canoe trip together. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
2008  
 
The Griffins and other denizens of Quahog continue their no-holds-barred animated satire in the seventh season, which boasts the two-part Star Wars spoof, Blue Harvest. Other highlights: Griffin patriarch Peter (voice of Seth MacFarlane) is accused of murdering wife Lois (Alex Borstein), becomes paralyzed after eating too much fast food, and decides to become a pirate. And not to be outdone, Brian shacks up with Jillian (Drew Barrymore), Joe (Patrick Warburton) has a leg transplant, and Meg (Mila Kunis) gets serious with a cute hospital intern. Notable Season 7 voice cameos include Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Chace Crawford, Amanda Bynes, James Woods, Barry Manilow, Harvey Fierstein, and Ricardo Montalban. ~ Kathy LeSage, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Seth MacFarlaneAlex Borstein, (more)
2008  
 
Add Robot Chicken: Star Wars - Episode II to QueueAdd Robot Chicken: Star Wars - Episode II to top of Queue
If you thought you'd seen the last of Robot Chicken: Star Wars, then brace yourself for the most hilarious sci-fi spoof this side of the universe. It's take-you-daughter-to-work day at the Galactic Empire, and the At-At races are about to get underway. The Ewoks have gone completely mad, and with a little luck, perhaps even Boba Fett will turn up for a surprise appearance. Seth Green takes the helm for a parody featuring the voices of Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Ahmed Best, Andy Richter, and more. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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2007  
 
Produced in collaboration with Lucasfilm, this thirty-minute spoof of the Star Wars film series was directed by Seth Green and made its world premier on the Cartoon Network's popular Adult Swim block of late-night programming. With vocal performances by Seth MacFarlane, Conan O'Brien, Hulk Hogan, Malcolm McDowell, Robert Smigel, Joey Fatone, George Lucas, and the Jedi master himself, Mark Hamill, this all-star parody of key scenes and beloved characters from the famed sci-fi film series is sure to keep fans in stitches. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
George LucasMark Hamill, (more)
2006  
 
The boys look forward to R&R in Las Vegas when Vince is slated to make a promotional appearance in Sin City. ~ Joe Friedrich, All Movie Guide

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2006  
 
Ari and Terrance finally hammer out a deal on the agency; Eric has second thoughts about his love life; Vince is the next item up for bid in Sloan's charity auction. ~ Joe Friedrich, All Movie Guide

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2006  
 
Created by the same team responsible for Will & Grace, the NBC sitcom Four Kings was set in New York, the home of a quartet of lifelong male friends: doofus Barry (Seth Green), irritatingly lucky Ben (Josh Cooke), rising young executive Jason (Todd Grinnell), and air-headed stoner Bobby (Shane McRae). After he inherited a large and luxurious apartment from his late grandmother, Ben intends to use his new digs as a home for himself and his current girlfriend. But when she turns out to be selfish and shallow, Ben invites his three pals to move in with him instead. "Bros Before Hos!" was the rallying cry for the "Four Kings," though their male bonding did not prevent them from squiring lovely ladies whenever the opportunity arose. Scheduled as a lead-in for NBC's Thursday-night hit My Name Is Earl, Four Kings debuted January 5, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Seth GreenJosh Cooke, (more)
2005  
 
Add Family Guy: Season 04 to QueueAdd Family Guy: Season 04 to top of Queue
Although poor ratings had compelled the Fox network to cancel its iconoclastic, cutting-edge cartoon series Family Guy at the end of its third season in 2002, the series' astonishing popularity in rerun form on cable's Cartoon Network coupled with the spectacular sales posted by the property's initial DVD release in 2003, prompted Fox to revive the show, with brand new episodes beginning in the spring of 2005. The first of the 14 comeback adventures of the supremely dysfunctional Griffin family is "North By North Quahog," which, in addition to its expected Hitchcockian undertones, manages to find time to skewer Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ. In later episodes, the Griffin's family dog, Brian, ends up as a substitute teacher for high-risk kids; dad Peter Griffin swallows a bunch of nickels, goes blind, and accidentally becomes a hero in a story that somehow also accommodates a guest voice appearance by Judd Hirsch; nebbishy neighbor Cleveland goes into "worm turns" mode when he is told that his wife, Loretta, has been fooling around with the libidinous Glen Quagmire; Peter takes an intelligence test and winds up losing custody of his kids (and his wife); Brian shows up as a contestant on "The Bachelorette," while son Chris Griffin is afflicted with a demonic talking pimple. Later, to pay his pharmacy bill, Peter sells daughter Meg to the druggist's son; mom Lois' kleptomania forces the family to take refuge in "Asian Town"; and Lois earns "real money" as a model in her spare time ("And so can you!"); after spending several months marooned on a desert island, Peter finds that he is even more expendable than Tom Hanks; and actor James Woods becomes Peter's very best friend -- and refuses to leave the house. Taking all this into consideration, the season finale, in which Peter and Lois go the Laverne & Shirley route at their local brewery, is as traditionalist as an episode of The Waltons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Seth MacFarlaneAlex Borstein, (more)
2003  
 
Add Party Monster to QueueAdd Party Monster to top of Queue
After profiling Monica Lewinsky, Billy Haynes, and Tammy Faye Bakker, documentarians Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato make their feature debut with this true-life tale of the rapid climb and lurid demise of a flamboyant young club promoter in late-'80s/early-'90s Manhattan. Based on James St. James' nonfiction account Disco Bloodbath as well as on the writer/directors' own 1998 documentary, Party Monster features former child star Macaulay Culkin as Michael Alig, a Midwestern teen determined to forget his past amidst the bright lights and throbbing house music of New York City's nightlife. Introduced to the club scene by St. James (Seth Green), Alig quickly becomes an event promoter himself, dreaming up bizarrely themed dance parties in such unlikely venues as fast-food restaurants and subway cars. But this archetypical "club kid" orchestrates his own downfall when, stoned on designer drugs, he and accomplice Freez (Justin Hagan) brutally murder their small-time dealer friend Angel Menendez (Wilson Cruz). Party Monster had its world premiere in the Dramatic Competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Macaulay CulkinSeth Green, (more)
2000  
 
Add Trumpet of the Swan to QueueAdd Trumpet of the Swan to top of Queue
E.B. White's children's story of a swan searching for his voice comes to life in this animated adventure. When young Louie the Swan is hatched, it's soon discovered that he isn't able to make a sound, which is a matter of no small annoyance to his boastful father (voice of Jason Alexander) and doting mother (voice of Mary Steenburgen). As Louie gets a bit older, he falls in love with Serena (voice of Reese Witherspoon), but he has no way of telling her how he feels. Despondent, Louie flies away, and makes friends with a young boy named Sam (voice of Sam Gifaldi). Sam realizes Louie has a problem, and with the help of his schoolteacher, Mrs. Hammerbotham (Carol Burnett), Louie learns to read and write. Louie is thrilled that he has finally found a way to communicate, but his joy is short-lived when he discovers his fellow swans are not well acquainted with the English language. At long last, Louie finds a way to speak in a way his family and fellows can understand when his father gives him a trumpet; while Louie is thrilled and shows a remarkable gift for the instrument, his dad's happiness is diluted by the fact that the horn is stolen merchandise. Determined to pay for the stolen trumpet and make his family proud, Louie flies away to the big city, where he lands a lucrative gig playing with a jazz combo. At last, Louie has found fame, fortune, and self-respect, but can he win the heart of Serena away from her fiancé, Boyd (Seth Green)? The score for The Trumpet of the Swan was written by noted jazz artist Marcus Miller; rock & roll pioneer Little Richard also contributed a song to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Jason AlexanderMary Steenburgen, (more)
2000  
 
Add Family Guy: Season 03 to QueueAdd Family Guy: Season 03 to top of Queue
Twenty-one new, non sequitur-laden episodes are dished up by series creator Seth MacFarlane for the third and final Fox network season of the cartoon weekly Family Guy. Things start off with the series' first two-parter, in which the Griffins' pet dog, Brian, runs away from home and ends up in Hollywood directing porn movies. Later, a hurricane in Quahog brings a new British Invasion in its wake; Mr. Death, who'd been a special guest star the previous season, makes a return appearance with his mother in tow (not to mention Peter Frampton); and Meg gets a TV job forcing her to work with über-nerd Neil, but at least gets to rub caricatured shoulders with Hugh Downs and Abe Vigoda. In another story development, Peter loses his job when his boss dies in a freak accident (choking to death on a dinner roll), allowing our hero to pursue his life's ambition as a knight in a Renaissance fair -- and when that fails to pan out, he comes up with a new life's ambition and goes fishing. Elsewhere, malevolent infant Stewie tries to cook up yet another foolproof murder scheme when Peter and Lois decide to have another baby; a case of mistaken identity thrusts the Griffins into both the Witness Protection Program and a Civil War reenactment; a session with a local baseball team transforms Peter into a rara avis -- a black white man; paraplegic policeman Joe gets some unexpected assistance when he enters the Special Olympics; Stewie throws a tantrum and ends up winning a theater audition, just as sister Meg begins dating a nudist; and as another of the family's impulsive trips to Europe is sidetracked to Saudi Arabia, mom Lois reveals a long-ago liaison with KISS lead singer Gene Simmons. In the series finale, the Griffins respond to viewer mail by staging their own iconoclastic versions of The Little Rascals and a certain mutant-superhero movie blockbuster (An additional episode, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein," was never telecast on Fox due to its "controversial" nature, and remained unseen until it was shown on cable's Cartoon Network two years after it was filmed). Despite the anguished moans of the series' millions of fans, Fox decided to pull the plug on Family Guy at the end of season three. However, the series was due for a spectacular rebirth that would put a phoenix to shame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Seth MacFarlane
1999  
 
The second part of a crossover with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (see Buffy, "The Harsh Light of Day"), this episode of Angel guest-stars Seth Green as Oz, the werewolf rocker, and James Marsters as Spike, one of Angel's vampire nemeses. On tour with his band, Dingoes Ate My Baby, Oz comes to L.A. bearing a gift from Buffy to Angel -- the Gem of Amarra, a magical ring that makes any vampire who wears it truly invulnerable. Thinking the talisman too dangerous to use, Angel (David Boreanaz) hides it in the sewers underneath the city. Spike soon arrives and retains the services of Marcus (Kevin West), a fearsome, child-eating vampire, to torture and kidnap Angel. Although Angel keeps his mouth shut despite unimaginable agony, Doyle (Glenn Quinn) and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) find the ring, and, in an attempt to save their boss, inadvertently allow it to fall into Marcus' hands. Angel must chase the fiend to a crowded beach in full sunlight to prevent him for exercising his bloodlust on the amassed kiddies. Afterward, Angel uses the ring's powers to enjoy one day unharmed in the sunlight before pulverizing it to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Originally broadcast October 19, 1999, on the WB network, "In the Dark" marked season one, episode three of the supernatural comedy drama. It was also the first of many crossovers with the show's parent series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Glenn Quinn
1999  
 
Originally given a special telecast just after Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999, the debut episode of the iconoclastic animated series Family Guy immediately staked out its territory with a warm, life-affirming plotline in which one-year-old Stewie Griffin constructs a roomful of death traps to murder his mother, Lois, while his dad, Peter, accidentally "bombs" a football stadium with the world's largest (and least deserved) welfare check. Nor did the series revert to traditionalism when season one proper began its six-episode run four months later. In episode two, "I Never Met the Dead Man," Peter is driven to the edge of madness when denied television, Stewie builds a weather-controlling device, and a caricatured Erik Estrada reprises his Ponch character from CHiPs. But series creator Seth MacFarlane is only getting warmed up. Subsequent episodes include "Chitty Chitty Death Bang," wherein Peter and Lois' teenage daughter, Meg, joins a Moonielike cult and Waylon Jennings pops up out of nowhere; "Mind Over Murder," in which Peter, placed under house arrest for accidentally punching out a woman, establishes a neighborhood bar in his restaurant; "A Hero Sits Next Door," an irreverent showcase for the Griffins' neighbor, paraplegic police officer Joe; and "The Son Also Draws," which finds the family making a wrong turn into an Indian casino and digging up their Native American roots. Wrapping up season one is "Brian: Portrait of a Dog," in which the Griffin's talking, booze-guzzling pet hound, Brian, strikes a blow for canine civil rights, only to end up a "dead dog walking" at the local pound. (And how does Dick Van Patten figure into all of this?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Seth MacFarlane
1999  
 
Add Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 04 to QueueAdd Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 04 to top of Queue
As Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her friends began the transition from high school to young adulthood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer went through a number of changes itself. New cast members, a new spin-off, and a new setting characterized a season that many fans and critics saw as a partially successful experiment. Experimentation was something of a theme for the season -- the experimentation of young adulthood and the experiments of a group of sinister government scientists known as The Initiative. Their shadowy military operations providing new elements of X-Files-like science fiction, The Iniative also managed to unleash Adam (George Hertzberg), the season's Frankenstein-like über-villain. As for the characters' personal lives, Buffy and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) enrolled at the fictional UC Sunnydale, whose campus became the locus of the action. Xander (Nicholas Brendon) began his aimless swim though the minimum-wage end of the labor pool, while ex-Watcher Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) faced an impending midlife crisis. The doomed love affair between Buffy and Angel had run its course, allowing David Boreanaz to launch his own show, Angel, with former series regular Charisma Carpenter in tow. When actor Seth Green asked to be released from his contract to pursue movie stardom, Oz, too, disappeared from the Scooby Gang.

These departures left room in the cast for new love interests and new comic relief. Emma Caulfield supplied both as Xander's girlfriend Anya, a vengeance demon reincarnated as a teenaged girl, who struggled to make sense of human customs and vulnerabilities. Amber Benson soon showed up as Willow's new partner-in-Wicca, then as her new partner, period. Though the WB nixed any explicit lesbian content, Willow and Tara's mutual exploration of the supernatural provided ample opportunity for metaphor. By the time Willow was ready to come out to her friends, the show was earning high praise from gay-rights groups. Buffy, too, found new love in the arms of Riley (Marc Blucas), her corn-fed new super-soldier boyfriend. The final cast addition was a blast from the past: second-season veteran James Marsters. Spike, the actor's hell-raising vampire villain, became more of a wacky neighbor than a threat once The Initiative's mad scientists put a chip in his head to keep him from killing humans. Other return appearances included renegade slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku) in one of several crossovers with the first season of Angel. As usual, series creator Joss Whedon stepped in to write and direct several episodes. "Hush" used the techniques of silent film to unleash primal horror on the Slayer and her friends, while season closer "Restless" consisted almost entirely of dream sequences. These formal exercises earned Whedon tremendous critical acclaim -- and, in the case of "Hush," an Emmy nomination -- and cemented the season's experimental tone. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Sarah Michelle GellarNicholas Brendon, (more)
1999  
 
Although the first season of the doggedly irreverent animated half-hour Family Guy didn't exactly set the ratings on fire, the series' devoted fan following was sufficient for Fox to order 21 new episodes for a second season. The opener finds the dysfunctional Griffin family developing even worse financial sense than normal when they inherit a mansion. Later on, Peter Griffin is forced to kidnap Pope John Paul II to prove something to his hyper-judgmental dad (voiced by Charles Durning); New Years Day of 2000 proves to be an apocalyptic experience as the Griffins rummage through the ruins of a bombed-out Quahog, RI -- and end up crossing paths with Randy Newman and the cast of Dallas; a quickie European vacation awakens the carnal lust in Brian the dog; and Norm MacDonald provides the voice of Mr. Death, who proves to be a crabby house guest when he breaks his skeletal leg in the Griffin living room (this is the one where Peter develops a "fatty corpuscle"). Also: Lois Griffin directs a community production of The King and I which devolves into a garish "leg show" and an obscene example of egos run amok; Murphy Brown's Candice Bergen and Faith Ford provide voices for an episode in which Peter gets in touch with his feminine side; daughter Meg's slumber party morphs into the new 24-hour TV reality series "The Real Griffins" (even though the "real Griffins" are replaced by celebrity actors); Brian and malevolent infant Stewie Griffin go into Hope-Crosby mode on "Road to Rhode Island"; Peter poses as a high school student, basking in the popularity he'd never enjoyed during his actual teen years; the Mob makes the family an offer they can't refuse (or make sense of) in an episode featuring the voice of The Shield's Michael Chiklis; son Chris needs liposuction, but it's Peter who gets the treatment, much to the jealous Lois' dismay; and Luke Perry sues Peter for defamation of character and bad writing. Topping off the season, father-and-son day for Peter and Chris turns sour when Peter chooses someone else's son! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Seth MacFarlane
1998  
 
Add Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 03 to QueueAdd Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 03 to top of Queue
Buffy the Vampire Slayer's first two seasons had established the modus operandi of unveiling a new villain and fresh overriding concept as each season began. The Slayer's senior year at Sunnydale High was no different; themes of power, corruption, and betrayal were encapsulated in the introduction of two new characters. Scheming to achieve supernatural transcendence atop the Hellmouth, crooked Mayor Richard Wilkins III (Harry Groener) served as the season's cuddly but creepy "big bad." But it was Faith (Eliza Dushku), Buffy's new fellow slayer and eventual dark foil, whose descent into sadistic villainy packed the bigger emotional wallop. Of course, as the season began, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was still smarting from the last time a trusted ally had turned on her. But the mysterious return of Angel (David Boreanaz) from the hell to which Buffy had dispatched him caused as many problems as it solved. (Eventually, as the season ended, Angel would leave Sunnydale for the larger horizons of Los Angeles in an eponymous spin-off that lasted five seasons.) As for the other characters, romantic entanglements continued between Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendon), Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), and Oz (Seth Green). Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Buffy's mother (Kristine Sutherland) even enjoyed a brief dalliance while under the influence of an enchantment. Fledgling witch Willow continued to hone her own magical talents. Xander lost his virginity -- and nearly his life -- to Faith. Stuffy new arrival Wesley Wyndam-Price (Alexis Denisof) usurped Giles' role as Watcher, allowing Buffy's mentor to exhibit a newfound suaveness and cynicism. And longtime bit player Jonathan (Danny Strong) took center stage in the controversial episode titled "Earshot." Penned by new staff writer Jane Espenson, whose gift for comedy had already made a big impact with fans, the otherwise humorous episode marked one of the first times a gun had figured prominently in a Buffy plot. In deference to the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, CO, the WB delayed airing "Earshot" -- and the violent season finale -- until months after they were originally scheduled. Nevertheless, the third season's final arc effectively brought the show's long-running high-school-is-hell conceit to its logical conclusion. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Sarah Michelle GellarNicholas Brendon, (more)
1997  
 
Xander (Nicholas Brendon) becomes a real mummy's boy in this second season episode. Sunnydale High is sponsoring a foreign exchange student program and Buffy's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) mom has signed up to host a student, Ampata Gutierrez, from South America. Meanwhile, during a field trip to a museum, a student attempts to steal a seal on the mummified remains of an Incan princess, and the seal is accidentally broken in the process. In classic mummy style, the mummy girl awakens and sucks the life out of the student, leaving him in her place. The mummy -- actually a princess sacrificed 500 hundred years earlier -- also happens upon Ampata waiting for Buffy at the bus station and drains his life as well. Buffy, expecting to pick up a boy, is surprised to find a beautiful teenage girl waiting for her. Nobody is more surprised though than Xander, who immediately falls for Ampata -- the mummy. Ampata, also smitten with Xander, must keep draining the life out of people to live. It is interesting to note that Oz's (Seth Green) rock band, Dingoes Ate My Baby, make its first appearance in this episode at a school dance. It is at this dance that Oz first expresses his attraction to Willow (Alyson Hannigan), but still does not talk to her. ~ All Movie Guide

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1997  
 
Episode seven of the series is a landmark for Buffy-philes in that it is the first episode where Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Angel (David Boreanaz) kiss. An enigmatic, if peripheral character up until this point, Angel stakes his claim as a full-time cast member by revealing his secret: He is a vampire, the ultimate outsider, a James Dean with fangs -- and Buffy wants him. That is, until she catches him putting a Dracula-hold on her mom -- bite marks and all. It becomes clear that Buffy's mom was actually bitten by the evil Darla (Julie Benz) and saved by Angel. After confronting him, Buffy learns Angel's story: Darla "sired" him (turned him into a vampire) some 240 years earlier, becoming his lover. Later, after killing a gypsy woman, Angel had a curse put on him by the woman's family, restoring his soul. Since then, he's walked the earth, trying to amend his evil vampiric ways. As if he hadn't already proven his undying love to Buffy, Angel puts a fine point on it by staking Darla. This seminal Buffy episode ends at a Sunnydale High dance where Buffy and Angel -- all too aware that theirs is a forbidden and doomed love -- share a slow dance and another kiss. Buffy's crucifix leaves a cross burned into Angel's neck, and a lump in the audience's throats. ~ All Movie Guide

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1997  
 
In episode six, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and friends attend a school field trip to the zoo. Also on the trip are Kyle (Eion Bailey), Tor (Brian Gross), and Heidi (Jennifer Sky), Sunnydale High's resident bullies. In attempting to protect the nerdy Lance (Jeff Maynard), Xander (Nicholas Brendon) follows them into the ominously closed hyena exhibit. Upon exiting the exhibit, everyone except Lance has seemingly taken on the predatory characteristics of the hyena. Xander begins hanging out with the four bullies and acting belligerent and nasty -- even verbally humiliating Willow (Alyson Hannigan). Among other things, the group eats the school's pig mascot. When questioned about the pig, Kyle, Rhonda, and Tor eat the principal -- alive! At first Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) does not believe Buffy's view that something is supernaturally wrong with Xander and comically states, "It's devastating -- he's turned into a 16-year-old boy. Of course, you'll have to kill him." But after researching Primals -- animal worshipers who imbue themselves with the spirits of animals -- Giles and Buffy go to the keeper of the hyena exhibit for help. The keeper turns out to be a Primal, and he attempts to draw the hyena spirit from Xander and the bullies into himself. After succeeding, Buffy throws him to the hyenas. ~ All Movie Guide

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1997  
 
In keeping with Buffy creator Joss Whedon's directive to deal with a wide array of monsters -- not just vampires -- episode four finds Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) bug hunting. After imparting some much-needed encouragement to Buffy, biology teacher Dr. Gregory (William Monaghan) is found the next day -- minus his head! Jumping to obvious conclusions, Buffy assumes that the gruesome murder fits the m.o. of "Claw" (Jean Speegle Howard), a real Captain Hook of a vampire, whose hand has been supplanted with various sharp objects. But, when Claw flees at the sight of Dr. Gregory's substitute, a sultry woman named Natalie French (Musetta Vander), Buffy begins to focus on her. French gives lectures on her love of praying mantises and quickly has all the boys at Sunnydale High "hot for teacher." Bugged by the monstrous possibilities of who or what the killer could be, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) seeks the help of his friend Dr. Carlyle Ferris, an entomology/mythology expert, who has recently gone mad after hunting a "She-Mantis" at Oxford. As it turns out, French is the She-Mantis in question, and has meanwhile imprisoned Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and another student in hopes of mating with them and then killing them, in classic She-Mantis style. Buffy fortunately comes to the rescue in time to save the boys from decapitation. This episode marks the first in a long series of running jokes directed toward Xander about falling for a She-Mantis. Other equally heartfelt ribbings pop up throughout the series. ~ All Movie Guide

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