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RILEY, YOU BIG LUG A small shrine to the dumbest man on TV. This week: Riley has an existential crisis. Not actually as funny as it sounds. Mind you, it's a tough week for Riley. Having lost Professor Walsh, he goes a little flaky. We discover that Riley's strength and intelligence have been genetically engineered, and that dopey-puppy expression comes from the vast number of mind-altering drugs he's been happily munching. "There has to be some mistake." He tries to excuse Professor Walsh's murder-Buffy-with-big-demons plot as "a test". "You're socialising with Demons." As Buffy smartly points out, he's no good at undercover work. As the cold turkey kicks in, Riley ends up in a sweaty, shuddering heap. Why do all of Buffy's blokes end up whimpering with remorse? Not only does he make an old lady cry, he also attacks Willow. Beast.

Designer clothes: This week Buffy wears Yummy Sushi pyjamas, and Xander sports Toby of Pimlico. Next week he moves to Hoxton and gets a micro-scooter and three-quarter length trousers.

Tunnel 72 ... Hostile 17 ... Room 314: Is there anything the Initiative hasn't numbered?

"Animals.": Admit it, we all let out a big cheer when we realised that finally, with Forrest, Buffy had a black character. Pity that he's turning out to be dull, pig-headed, and now xenophobic.

Tara and Willow: "I've been thinking about that last spell we did all day." What are those two up to? This week they call on, er, "Thespia". And notice how Tara sabotages the demon-finding spell - there's something about that girl we don't know.

Willy's Place: Willy the snitch is back! The bartender for demons was introduced in What's My Line part one, and has been beaten up by Angel, Buffy and Spike ever since. He's begrudgingly helped Buffy in the past with the lowdown on the demon underworld; check out The Zeppo or Amends.

News Just In: The news reporter is played by Amy Powell. She's cornered the market in media-babes, having also appeared as a reporter in season three's Consequences, in Chicago Hope and in the films The Birdcage and White Man's Burden.