Trivia
Luke's Familiar?:
Luke is played by Arnie lookalike Brian Thompson. Brian featured as a shape-shifting alien bounty hunter in The X Files for many years. He also played the Judge in the episodes Surprise and Innocence.
Quick Change:
All the corridors in Sunnydale High School are the same set, quickly redressed by the designers between shots. Bigger budgets in subsequent seasons allowed the production team to add more corridors and classrooms.
I am the Master:
Although never stated on screen, the Master is referred to as Heinrich Joseph Nest in the script. He is played by Mark Metcalfe, who previously appeared in National Lampoon’s Animal House.
Bloodsucker:
Adult viewers will surely be amused by the choice of camera angle in the scene where Luke kneels before the Master to recieve his special powers. Joss Whedon was sufficiently embarrassed by this to apologise for it in his hilarious DVD commentary.
Park Life:
Director John T Kretchmer had plenty of monster experience before working on this episode. He was the assistant director of Jurassic Park.
Staging Buffy:
The exterior of the Bronze and neighbouring alley is actually the exterior of the Buffy soundstage in Santa Monica. Rather than use a conventional studio, the Buffy team converted huge warehouses and eventually put a graveyard in the car park. Most of the tombs, gravestones and mausoleums are actually made out of polystyrene.
Oops!:
Cordelia states that she is going to the Bronze on the night of the Harvest - a Friday. Strangely, everyone is back at school the next day. Those kids must be keen!
