Buffy The Vampire Slayer I, Robot…You, Jane

Work Title: Buffy The Vampire Slayer I, Robot...You, Jane
Medium: TV Episode
Episode Title: I, Robot...You, Jane
Year: 1997
Writer(s): Ashley Gable
"Original" Writer: Yes Writer(s): Thomas A. Swyden
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: Yes

Summary:

From: http://www.tv.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer/i-robot-you-jane/episode/8/recap.html The demon Moloch is gathering his followers, and demanding their love. Meanwhile, a group of monks begin chanting. The demon is very angered, but the monks continue to chant. As they are chanting, the demon gets sucked into the pages of the book. Back in modern time, Miss Calendar, Giles, Willow, and Xander are all scanning books and putting them into the computer. Buffy is in the library too, and she is getting books out of a box. She pulls out the book that the demon is trapped in. Also with them are Dave and Fritz, two students who are computer whizzes. Giles tell Miss Calendar that he sees no need to scan the books as the books themselves are better. When Willow scans the book that the demon is trapped in, the words disappear, and there is writing on the computer screen. Sometime later, Willow and Buffy are talking. Willow tells Buffy about this amazing new guy that she met. Buffy demands all details and Willow tells her that his name is Malcolm, and they met online. Buffy is worried right away, but Willow assures her that she has no reason to be worried. Buffy then asks Dave to help her find out more information on Malcolm. He gets weird and tells her to let Willow have her own life. He then tells her that he will tell her something, but she will have to meet him in the girls locker room. When she is there, she almost gets electrocuted, and has walked right into a trap. Just then, Dave is in the computer room and is telling the computer that he cannot kill Buffy. At the same time, Miss Calendar is curious as to why the pages of a book are blank. When she asks Giles, he gets worried when he notices a demon on the cover. After some research, Giles tells Buffy and Xander about how demons can be trapped in books, and that book had the demon Moloch, the Corruptor, trapped inside, but it must have gotten loose into the computers when Willow scanned the book. Worried for Willow, Buffy goes to the computer room, and finds Dave, who apparently has committed suicide. Meanwhile, Fritz visits Willow at home and abducts her. When she wakes up, she is in an abandoned warehouse. Lucky, Buffy already knew where Willow would be taken, so Buffy, with the help of Xander, races to the warehouse. Back at the library, Miss Calendar tells Giles that she is aware of the mystical world, and offers her services as a "Techno Pagan." Surprised by this new information, Giles agrees to let her help with research. At the warehouse, Moloch is no longer trapped in computers, and is now in a robotic body. Buffy reaches him in time to save Willow, and the two fight. Buffy is confused as to how to stop him if he has no vital organs, then she gets an idea. She lures him into punching an electrical box, and it successfully electrocutes Moloch.


Era/Year of Portrayal: present_day

Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

Demons, Vampires, magic and other features of the supernatural all exist. In addition, high-tech scientific advancements are also possible. The public does not know of the existence of either.


Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: Internet chat technology (both video and voice), and a robot
  • Description of the technology: In this episode, Willow and several other characters are able to use personal computers to not only chat with the Demon Moloch via text windows, but also speak aloud for him to hear them and he can respond (possibly via Internet telephone technology). Cameras are clearly visible, allowing Moloch/Malcolm to see their actions. In order to interact with Moloch, users must be in front of a computer monitor screen, usually in Sunnydale High School's computer lab. When Willow is kidnapped, she finally meets Moloch, who has taken up residence in a robotic body. From within that metallic shell, Moloch maintains his access to the Internet...at least until Giles and Jenny perform a ritual that accidentally locks him in that body. In that body, Moloch interacts with the world just as he did when he had flesh.
  • Nature of task or activity: The chat programs are used to interact with Moloch, and it is via that communication venue that he mesmerizes computer users to do his bidding. Moloch has the robotic body created for him so that he can physically interact in the world offline.
  • Performance of the Technology: both technologies seem to work flawlessly.
  • Description of creator(s): the Inventors of the chat program is not shown, but some of the scientists and technicians who created the robotic body are shown: all are mature, white males, most in white labcoats (usually a marker of a "scientist" of some sort), who work for a
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): Internet chat is used for communication. The robotic body was created for Moloch to leave his exile online and interact in the physical world.
  • Description of users of technology: Most of the users of the Internet chat technology are white male teenagers, with the exception of the female Willow. Moloch is a large, horned demon when first shown offline; his robotic body mimics this form in metal.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: The internet chat works as easily as using a telephone. Communication is smooth, reliable, and without lag. Interacting with the Moloch robot works much the same as with any demon on the show: foreboding yet humanlike.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: Chat users know they are using the technology, but do not know Moloch is a demon. The robotic Moloch is obviously a metallic simulacrum, but most of the people working for him have no fear of its visage.
  • Valence of experience: All chatters with Moloch become enraptured by him. The experience is pleasant and seductive, but often deadly for them. Similar with the robotic Moloch.
  • Specific responses: Chatters with Moloch become completely under his spell, dominated into following his every order, including kidnapping other people, killing them, and even dying without fear. The unseduced by Moloch who encounter him in robotic form are a bit curious at the sight of the robot, but then quickly treat it as any other demon.
Long-term consequences:

The episode ends with Moloch being trapped in his robotic form and blown to pieces. The viewers is left to assume his spell on his disciples is broken. Those who died while serving him are still dead though.

Other:

This is an interesting case of the magic versus science debate, with the supernatural demon quickly adapting to high technology.

Coder name: Tom Polcari
Coder email: tpolcari@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA