Whedonesque : Comments on 11771 : Bob Barker is the key.

Wow, that one line sounds like this person writes for political campaigns: "I suppose this is not the time to bring up..."

Ah well, Bob...we'll miss ya, ya randy old fart.

Rogue Slayer | November 03, 16:14 CET

Not much news about Drive, though, is there? And the Bob Barker connection is pretty tenuous. I mean, Spike once mentioned Weetabix in an episode, didn't he? Should we post a link here if Tesco's having a sale on them? ;)

unreality | November 03, 16:17 CET

I think there was an article posted about Wheetabix and Buffy. :) I did debate this, Barker is retiring and there is an article talking about that line in BUFFY. JUst found it rather...neat. (Added with the DRIVE excitement...)

spikeylover | November 03, 17:09 CET

Here's a clip for those who need a refresher.

votrobeck | November 03, 17:12 CET

I think its cool that Buffy is mentioned at the same level as Happy Gilmore. Thanks for the link.

Xane | November 03, 17:12 CET

Err... is my memory tricking me, or wasn't it Glory who made the comments about Mr Barker??

Mild Mike | November 03, 17:22 CET

Err... is my memory tricking me, or wasn't it Glory who made the comments about Mr Barker??

Well, Spike is the one who wanted Glory to think Barker was the key.

SPIKE: It's that guy... on TV ... what's his name?
GLORY: (frowns) On the television?
SPIKE: That show ... the prize show ... where they guess what stuff cost?
MURK: The Price Is Right?
JINX: Oh, Bob Barker!
MURK: We will bring you Bob Barker! We will bring you the limp and beaten body of Bob Bark-
GLORY: (jumps up) It is not Bob Barker, scabby morons! The key is new to this world ... (turns back to face Spike) and Bob Barker is as old as grit. (smiles) The vampire ... is lying to me.

Rogue Slayer | November 03, 17:32 CET

Edit...Um...what Rogue said. ;)

[ edited by spikeylover on 2006-11-03 18:38 ]

spikeylover | November 03, 17:36 CET

"We will bring you the limp and beaten body of Bob Barker" is quite possibly my all-time favorite Buffy quote and was the first thing I thought of when I heard he was retiring. So Bob Barker and Buffy are clearly entwined in MY mind.

That last sentence is really really wrong, isn't it?

Lady Brick | November 03, 17:51 CET

I always loved that Bob Barker mention in Intervention. Part of me always thought "Why would Spike pick Bob Barker of all people?" then, "Why would Jane or whoever choose Bob Barker?" The thing is, like so much on BtVS I thought it with a big smile on my face as I shook my head in amazement.

It is too bad that the whole Bob Barker reference probably means nothing to folks outside the USA (and Canada?) Does anyone outside Northern North America know who he is at all unless they looked him up because they watched that episode? (Good lord, I just realized that I remember him from the show Truth or Consequences, before he was on The Price is Right. I am sure I was only a toddler or maybe an infant at the time, but I am not going to go look up the dates to find out.)

"Not much news about Drive, though, is there? And the Bob Barker connection is pretty tenuous. I mean, Spike once mentioned Weetabix in an episode, didn't he? Should we post a link here if Tesco's having a sale on them? ;)
unreality | November 03, 17:17 CET"

No, but I would imagine someone might link if Weetabix was going to stop being produced and the BtVS mention was sited in the article about it... ;-)

"So Bob Barker and Buffy are clearly entwined in MY mind.

That last sentence is really really wrong, isn't it? "

Oh yeah. (shivers)

[ edited by newcj on 2006-11-03 19:24 ]

newcj | November 03, 18:23 CET

I assumed, living in the UK and having no idea who Bob Barker was, that maybe he had a passing resemblance to Jinx or the other one, and that made Spike think of him...

Mild Mike | November 03, 18:30 CET

"So Bob Barker and Buffy are clearly entwined in MY mind.

That last sentence is really really wrong, isn't it?"

Yeah but it really really made me laugh!

Xane | November 03, 18:49 CET

Technically, Bob Barker IS much younger than the majority of guys Buffy has dated...

Lady Brick | November 03, 19:07 CET

"I assumed, living in the UK and having no idea who Bob Barker was, that maybe he had a passing resemblance to Jinx or the other one, and that made Spike think of him..."

Actually, a pretty good point. Never thought of that.

"Technically, Bob Barker IS much younger than the majority of guys Buffy has dated... "

LOL

...I'm not sure "much younger" is totally accurate, though. Maybe we should just go with "younger." ;-)

(Just kidding. There is good reason why Bob Barker has been successful for so many decades. He really does do a good job. You've also got to respect his staying power. Oops, bad choice of words after the intertwined remark.)

[ edited by newcj on 2006-11-03 20:53 ]

newcj | November 03, 19:49 CET

For those who have never seen Bob or his show.
I always enjoyed watching Spike go straight to what would wound Glory the most - her hair, her figure, her fashion sense...

Lioness | November 03, 20:33 CET

I didn't know who he was, but I just figured he was reeeeally old. I suppose if it was in the UK they'd have said Bruce Forsythe or Des O'Connor.

lynnie | November 03, 21:12 CET

Spike was probably just watching The Price is Right before he got taken....no, scratch that, now I remember what he was doing...or having done...

Rogue Slayer | November 03, 21:45 CET

SPIKE: "It's that guy... on TV ... what's his name?"
GLORY: "On the television?"
SPIKE: "That show ... the prize show ... where they guess what stuff costs?"
MURK: "The Price Is Right?"
JINX: "Oh, Bob Barker!"
MURK: "We will bring you Bob Barker! We will bring you the limp and beaten body of Bob Barker..."

God, I loved that.

(Thanks to votrobeck and Lioness for the refreshing links... And I, too, newcj, remember The Barker from Truth or Consequences, though I'm sure it's from when I was a tiny, tiny baby...)

QuoterGal | November 03, 22:51 CET

Thanks for the clip, Lioness. Glory would have fit right in on that show!

Mild Mike | November 03, 22:57 CET

I have never lived in the US and I knew who Bob Barker is.

Just sayin'

-Giles - Professor of Obscure Cultural References at the Standon U.

giles (yes, it is my real name) | November 03, 23:02 CET

"And I, too, newcj, remember The Barker from Truth or Consequences, though I'm sure it's from when I was a tiny, tiny baby...)"

Oh, thank goodness, Quotergirl. Your link says he hosted T or C until 1975, only 31 years ago. So yes, we both obviously watched it as tiny tiny babies at the end of his tenure...it was just...memorable. Yeah. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

"I have never lived in the US and I knew who Bob Barker is.

Just sayin'"

Ok. Do you have any idea why?

Just wonderin'. ;-)

newcj | November 03, 23:09 CET

Giles said:

I have never lived in the US and I knew who Bob Barker is.

Well he did host the Miss USA/Universe contest for years.

Just sayin'. ;)

anindoorkitty | November 03, 23:50 CET

To this day, we can't say Bob Barker's name without adding, "Bob Barker?! I will bring you the limp and beaten body of Bob Barker!" only we tend to screw it up and make it "bruised and battered" or "black and blue" or "bloody and beaten"... you get the idea. Anyway, it's an iconic quote and I have always ALWAYS wondered what Mr Barker thought about it!

OzLady | November 04, 00:22 CET

I'd never heard of him but the fact that he hosted 'The Price is Right' (though not mentioned by name) gave a pretty clear image of what he'd be like. As lynnie mentioned, over here it'd be Brucie or Jimmy Tarbuck or somebody similar (though I think Leslie Crowther actually did the UK 'The Price is Right' originally).

I'm trying to think if Spike or Giles made any UK oriented references you guys might not be immediately familiar with but i'm drawing a blank. Think it was vetted for the US audience, which is fair enough obviously (they even went with Man U. in the 'happy meals' speech, probably one of the most recognised football clubs in or out of the UK - though I always thought Notts County would've been more apt since they're the oldest football league team in the world).

Saje | November 04, 00:36 CET

I love Bob Barker. He quit being the host of the Miss USA contest because the contestants wore fur coats.

And I love Intervension; one of the little gems of Jossverse.

Reddygirl | November 04, 03:56 CET

Reading that reminded me of this:

oakgals entry

williamthebloody1880 | November 04, 04:40 CET

ha ha! I love Oakgal's entry. :)

Saje, I guess the two fingers up that Spike does wouldn't be something American's know right off. (I am assuming it's akin to the middle finger? Am I wrong?)

Here's Bob's "HAPPY GILMORE" scene:
Bob Barker

[ edited by spikeylover on 2006-11-04 06:18 ]

spikeylover | November 04, 05:06 CET

"And I love Intervension; one of the little gems of Jossverse."

Me too! It has a little of everything and something for just about everyone. I think many people forget about as a whole it because it has got an extremely forgettable name and covers enough territory for three episodes. It is in my list of top...some number...of BtVS episodes, however.

Hey Reddygirl, have I ever mentioned how often I agree with you? ~~I think even more than Saje.~~ Sometimes it's downright scary. Been meaning to mention it for a while. ;-)

[ edited by newcj on 2006-11-04 08:25 ]

newcj | November 04, 06:58 CET

My kids love the movie Happy Gilmore. Especially the Bob Barker scene. They would watch it once a month if I let them. Which I don't. Because I'm not insane.

Intervention is one of my favorites as well.

Xane | November 04, 08:03 CET

*hands baton on to ReddyGirl ;)*

Yep, spikeylover the 'two fingered salute' is indeed our equivalent to 'the bird' though these days you see a fair mix over here. The (probably apocryphal) story goes that before the Battle of Agincourt (which indirectly gave us one of my favourite Giles/Spike lines, "We few, we happy few, we band of buggered" ;) the French threatened to cut off the index and middle fingers of any English archers they caught so that they then couldn't draw a bow. To show their disdain for the threat the English would wave those two fingers at the enemy.

(the Scots - and possibly Irish and Welsh too - would bare their arse or wave their genitals at the enemy to mock them, though this has largely fallen out of favour ;)

Saje | November 04, 09:55 CET

Glad to see all the "Intervention" love here. It's one of my favorites, too.

Saje, the "band of buggered" line is my all-time favorite line!! And, I gotta ask, why has the Scottish gesture of mockery fallen out of favor (if indeed it has)?? Was it because the gesture tempted the enemy to target the body parts being, erm, waved? And, though the first story, about the archers, may be apocryphal, I rather hope it's true. I kinda like that one, too.

SangChaud | November 04, 10:07 CET

I forgot to add that, when I get frustrated at work (which is ~~all too frequent~~not very often, but still. . . .) I usually use the last word of the above phrase as an expletive, since nobody here has the foggiest about what it means. At least, I don't think they do. . .

SangChaud | November 04, 10:13 CET

Heh, probably partly the targetting thing Sangchaud and maybe partly that more battles were fought in winter ? So the 'waving' took on an air of self-mockery (and probably involved less actual waving too ;).

Yeah, I also want the archer story to be true which, unfortunately, is usually a good reason to doubt explanations of phrase or behaviour origins.

(and even over here bugger - like sod - is a very mild expletive, usually totally divorced from it's literal meaning. I'd use it in front of my boss or elderly relatives, generally in company where other swear words would be inappropriate, without thinking twice. Course, I could just be uncouth ;)

Saje | November 04, 10:25 CET

You uncouth youth, you! (Say that rapidly five times.) (Go on, I dare you!)

As to how mild the expletives, where I work, you don't use any. I don't think it's policy, unofficial or not, but no one even says "darn" around here! And then there's the irresistible aspect of a "secret code" to "bugger" and "sod," because I'm pretty sure no one here has a clue. . . .

And here's to the bracing (take that however you wish) air of a Scottish winter--except when it won't let things wave. . . .

SangChaud | November 04, 10:50 CET

Saje: I love the archer story; thanks for posting it. I hope it's true. I have always wondered where that gesture got started.

Passion | November 04, 12:53 CET

(the Scots - and possibly Irish and Welsh too - would bare their arse or wave their genitals at the enemy to mock them, though this has largely fallen out of favour ;)

That wasn't the French? I feel that I've been misinformed by Monty Python.

dreamlogic | November 04, 14:51 CET

"*hands baton on to ReddyGirl ;)*"

No batons. I need you both. I am just a very agreeable person with no strong opinions of my own.

(Ya know, I used to actually believe that. Then I said it out loud and everyone around me started laughing really hard. I think there was liquid and noses involved. Anyway, that's when I decided to rethink that assumption. I'm still working on it.)

"(the Scots - and possibly Irish and Welsh too - would bare their arse or wave their genitals at the enemy to mock them, though this has largely fallen out of favour ;)

That wasn't the French? I feel that I've been misinformed by Monty Python."

I had always thought the waving was where the old"question" about what a Scotsman wears under his kilt came from. As to Monty python: Jokes within jokes was always my interpretation.

newcj | November 04, 16:49 CET

*Feels proud to be a part of newcj's brain*

Reddygirl | November 04, 17:14 CET

I'm there with the "Intervention" love. It's one of the funniest episodes - well, it was written by Jane - and yet has some of the most poignant moments. The scene in Buffy's house when she walks in on Willow, Anya and Xander picking out weapons usually has me laughing uproariously. And the last scene in Spike's crypt brings tears to my eyes.

The Bob Barker reference is priceless, which may seem right to some ;-). And my friends and I do find reasons to quote from it on a semi-regular basis.

*Feels proud to be a part of newcj's brain*

So you should, Reddygirl, hers is a very thought-filled brain ;-)

[ edited by samatwitch on 2006-11-04 18:40 ]

samatwitch | November 04, 17:38 CET

Hi all. Jane here. You know, when I heard the Bob Barker item on my local news, I only caught the last few words of the story, and I was afraid he had died. My first thought was of Spike hinting around about him being the key, and I felt bad. But he's only retiring, so that's better. My feeling in writing the line was that Spike has a lot of time to kill during the day and probably watches lots of daytime TV... also he's a bit old himself, so might have a fondness for long-running shows. Or, perhaps, I was just looking for someone old-ish to contrast with the brand-new key. Either way, I always felt the choice worked.

Kittens, y'all!

JaneEsp | November 04, 19:30 CET

Hi Jane. Thanks for stopping by and giving us some insight. Fascinating! Oh, and I love your blog.

electricspacegirl | November 04, 20:14 CET

Hey JaneEsp, thanks for stopping by ;). Makes sense. If he was trying to throw Glory off the scent he might think opposite to young, female, non-famous Dawn = old, male, famous Bob Barker. Plus, with the funny (probably more so if i'd had a clue who Bob Barker was ;).

More seriously (and feel free not to bother answering ;), what sort of responsibility do you feel towards real people when you write something ? Do simple mentions like that have to be cleared through people's people or are you free to say pretty much anything you want since it's clearly fiction (and so, presumably, can't be defamatory) ?

(and great episode, BTW, one of Spike's first genuine hero moments and the great Buffybot moments make it a stand-out for me)

Saje | November 04, 20:17 CET

JaneEsp - just in case you're checking the thread again, I'm your biggest fan and Intervention is my favorite episode ever! Thank you, thank you, thank you - for awesome writing, humor, pathos and the bestest Buffy-Spike scene that captured the essence of their relationship!
Russian BtVS fandom adores you!

Moscow Watcher | November 04, 20:49 CET

Aw thanks Reddygirl and samatwitch, you guys are so sweet. (blushes really red and moves on quickly)

Jane Esp, thank you so much for answering my question...again. Spike watching a lot of TV had been so well established that picking Bob Barker seemed reasonable for Spike in a twisted sort of way...and it is always fun to explore Spike's twisted kind of way. ;-) Besides, as everyone said, the chance to have a line like "We will bring you the limp and beaten body of Bob Barker..." has got to be priceless.

I'm thinking that Intervention is my favorite Jane Esp episode, even though I really like most of the others a lot. I thought it was funny that "Intervention" came up independently on two separate threads in the last couple days because of great quotes. It is an episode where everybody gets something good. It is an episode where I can feel the love of the characters oozing out of my TV as I watch it. (Oozing in a good way.) I think that is one of the things that make the Jane Esp episodes succeed is the loving way all of the characters are treated. Just in that episode, besides the scenes already mentioned on this thread, Giles gets to do the hokey pokey, Xander and Spike discuss monsters, and the group deals with Buffy apparently having sex with Spike. Good stuff.

Oops, warm fuzzy kittens back to ya, Jane Esp.

[ edited by newcj on 2006-11-04 22:08 ]

newcj | November 04, 21:07 CET

Love you Jane. In a thanks for writing great stuff way, not in an unhealthy way.

(And now that that you mention it, Intervention is also in the Ignoring Buffy thread.)

And lets not forget the line that launched a thousand fics, Xander calling Spike mysterious and compact yet well muscled. Hah!

Xane | November 04, 21:18 CET

Aw, newcj, back at you.

And let me share in the Jane lovefest.

Reddygirl | November 04, 21:22 CET

Even better than kittens -- Jane!

orphea | November 04, 21:25 CET

I loved the Bob Barker line in "Intervention." I thought The Price Is Right mentioning was a choice that went with the theme of the episode. I remember the episode as being about the characters trying to figure out what was worthwhile. Then again, I haven't seen it for awhile.

Also, Xane, I agree about loving the "compact yet well muscled" line, and Buffy's response about how she wasn't having sex with Spike, but she was beginning to wonder if Xander was. Or something like that.

I like Giles and his gourds, too. And the Buffybot and Willow talking. It was just an all around good episode.

sari | November 05, 02:39 CET

Here are some of my all-time favourite quotes from "Intervention."

GILES: ... How serious are you about this?
BUFFY: Ten. I'm serious to the amount of ten.
•
BUFFY: ... Weird love's better than no love.
•
BUFFY: I know this ritual! The ancient shamans were next called upon to do the hokey-pokey and turn themselves around.
•
BUFFYBOT: How is your money?
ANYA: Fine. Thank you for asking.

(At home, we use the money interchange all the time.)
•
ANYA: I breathed in like a quart of vampire dust.
•
BUFFYBOT: Angel's lame. His hair grows straight up, and he's bloody stupid.
•
XANDER: The guys that work for Glory, you said they're kind of like hobbits with leprosy?
•
GLORY: I am a god.
SPIKE: The god of what, bad home perms?

And, of course, real Buffy with Spike at the end of the episode is just beautifully written.

QuoterGal | November 05, 04:16 CET

Jane!! Jane!! :) INTERVENTION is the episode that took my interest in BTVS into obsession.

[ edited by spikeylover on 2006-11-05 06:43 ]

spikeylover | November 05, 05:41 CET

*hands Jane a life jacket to keep her from drowning in the ocean of fan drool* ;)

But hey, it's intelligent drool. Because Intervention is truly the definition of brilliance. I always watch it whenever I need an all-around pick-me-up. I laugh, I sniffle, I sigh, I giggle, I get choked up, I-still-sorta-wonder-what's-gonna-happen-next-even-though-I've-seen-it-a-million-times, my heart swells, I laugh some more, and then I can't wait 'til I watch it again.

Not only is it an incredible epi, but it was a hugely poignant turning point for Spike that couldn't have been written more beautifully.

(Such is the power of Jane Espenson--enticing me out of lurkerdom at last.)

spikes_nibblet | November 05, 12:22 CET

November 03 2006