RILEY, YOU BIG LUG A small shrine to the dumbest man on TV. This week: We learn that Riley's lunch of choice is a twinkie bar - that's a gooey cake with fake vanilla filling. How toddler is he? "Hope you don't mind us tagging along," the king of tactlessness bellows as he and his army pals gatecrash the Bronze. And they don't look like commandoes at all. Especially not when they all get paged. "Weren't expecting to see me?" Riley asks Buffy when she wakes up, proving that his grasp of pillow-talk is extraordinarily goofy. He needs a reminder to take his vitamins. Bless. He appears not to shower. Ewww. Riley's cautious search for the secret of 314 involves marching up to the door and gawping inside, thus sealing Buffy's fate. Riley's "kicked-puppy" expression makes its longest appearance yet when he learns, in rapid succession that Buffy has died, that she's alive after all, and that Professor Walsh is evil. The rest of us knew she was bad as soon as we saw her eyeshadow. To Riley's credit, however, he is quick to realise that Hostile 17's tracer has been flushed. Have a gold star.

Professor Walsh. This episode features the premature departure of Maggie Walsh, as Lindsay Crouse became unavailable. The same happened last season with the K Todd Freeman, the actor who played Mr. Trick.

Boost bars. This week Xander's job is selling them. They are an American "health" snack, completely unrelated to the English chocolate bar.

Spike Has moved into his crypt. Never seen that set before.

"A Higher Purpose" Giles ponders whether or not Spike's condition makes him like Angel - cured by a Higher Power for a Greater Purpose. Spike is, naturally, dismissive of this idea.

"You said it was big. You never told me it was huge." Fans of cheap innuendo have a lot to love in this episode.

Enigmatic Tara. Amber Benson manages to look super-vulnerable and a little suspicious at exactly the same time. Who is Tara's gran? How long ago did she find the Doll's Eye Crystal in her attic? We're sure there's more to her than meets the eye.

Willow's lying again. She's keeping Tara very much to herself, though she hints she wants her to meet the rest of the Scooby Gang.

Adam. Professor Walsh is evil after all. She's been making something out of bits of demon, human and machine. Her evil plan owes a huge debt to Frankenstein. Doctor Who fans, feel free to scream "Morbius!"

Buffy in combats. Buffy jokes she'd look like Private Benjamin - a character in a Goldie Hawn movie.

Odd BBC editing. Due to the rather adult nature and complex cinematography of the scene where we cut between Buffy and Riley making love, fighting demons, and being observed by Professor Walsh, the BBC's early evening edit is a masterpiece of accidental surrealism. Shots of Riley seemingly doing pressups are spliced into a demon fight. Then we cut to Professor Walsh sitting alone in a darkened room doing nothing. It's all very enigmatic - but still less puzzling than when the word "come" was accidentally edited out of Hush.