Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt's action-packed script, which takes its title from the classic Bruce Willis movie Die Hard, is primarily concerned with introducing Spike and Drusilla - and what great characters they are. Who didn't cheer when Spike fried the Annoying One?

The comedy elements, most notably Buffy's efforts to keep her mother and Principal Snyder apart, fall a little flat, but the wealth of rich character-driven scenes more than compensates.

There is growing friction between Xander and Angel, who have a number of memorable scenes together. We are also reminded how easily Angel is able to switch to the dark side. Foreshadowing, anyone?