WELCOME BACK RILEY, YOU BIG LOVEABLE LUG A small shrine to the military man. This week: Riley's even more James Bond that we remember: Black clothes, scar over his left eye, many gadgets, including demon-tracking mobile, large SUV vehicle with GPS, climbing gear, grappling wires... the list goes on and on. Riley brought the wife with him. Nice. The best bit is that she appears to be able to put her foot in it with everyone. Sam says: "Willow, you think you can help with a little locating spell?" Ouch! Sam says to Buffy: "better no guy than the wrong guy, that's for sure." Double ouch!

There's singing again: Buffy sings the Double Meat Medley tune. For anyone who wants to join in, here are the words: "Get the double treat, that's the double sweet, oh it's hard to beat, when the meat meets-"

It's so this season: Buffy refers to Riley's outfit as Ninja wear. To be considered a ninja, as we understand it through popular entertainment and modern ninjutsu masters, a ninja must: practice the art of concealment, engage in covert military operations, belong to a secret fraternity of ninja and wear black - lots of it.

They're like really mean Tribbles: Star Trek reference alert. This time from Buffy. A Tribble is a purring ball of fur that everyone on board the Starship Enterprise wants as a pet. The trouble with Tribbles is that they breed at an alarming rate and threaten to over run the ship through their sheer numbers. Eventually they are beamed on board a Klingon vessel, a place according to Scotty, "where they'll be no Tribble at all."

Dropped out of college?: When Buffy's new colleague Todd asks her if, "you know Machiavelli, right?," he is referring to the first great political philosopher of the Renaissance, Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). Machiavelli's greatest work is The Prince, written in 1513. Its main theme is that the success of any state is based primarily on the character or skill of an individual leader, rather than their moral code. His work appears to suggest that rulers should use any means they have in order retain absolute control of their territories, including deceit.

Too much college is bad: The same annoying work mate tells Buffy, "You're not taking the pulse of the public, the next thing you know you're LBJ handing the house keys over to Nixon." LBJ is, of course, referring to American president Lyndon Baines Johnson, who was President from 1963-69. He handed over the presidency to Richard Nixon, President from 1969-74.