The title of the episode School Hard is
a play on Die Hard a 1988 action move staring Bruce Willis. In the
movie Willis' character John McClane must save a loved one from a group
of terrorists who have taken a building. Both the movie and this
episode involve the hero crawling around in duct work.
Spike: If every vampire who said he was at
the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock.
The 1969 music festival near
Bethel, NY (named for the nearby artist community Woodstock)
was one of the defining moments of the hippy culture of the 1960's and
70's. At it's peak the festival was attended by approximately 500,000
people. Spike's allusion to Woodstock
may also have another deeper meaning. Because of the cultural importance
of the event, there are many people who claim to have been at Woodstock
that were not in fact there.
Giles: That's a bit unorthodox,
isn't it?
Buffy: Maybe he's reform.
Two branches of modern day Judaism are Orthodox
and Reform.
Buffy is actually correct
in saying reform though the term reformed is probably more common in everyday
usage in the U.S.
Spike: People still fall for that Anne
Rice routine.
Anne
Rice is the author of the Vampire Chronicles series of
books which includes Interview
with the Vampire. Rice's vampires
are not the pure evil characters of other vampire stories. They struggle
with questions of right and wrong.
Spike: You were my sire, man. You were
my Yoda.
The character Yoda from the Star Wars
trilogy was a wise, mysterious teacher. He was responsible for the
training that would make a man into a Jedi Knight.
Spike: Man I can't believe this. You
Uncle Tom.
The character Uncle Tom, from Uncle
Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was a slave who went along with
his slave masters. In general describing a person as an Uncle
Tom means that they are a traitor to their own group of people.
Spike: Fee, Fie, Fo,
Fum. I smell the blood of a nice ripe girl.
A play on the line from Jack and the Beanstalk. "Fee,
Fie, Fo, Fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman." The
line is spoken by the antagonist, the Giant, when he senses the presence
of the protagonist, Jack.
Spike: A slayer with family and friends.
That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure.
An unexpected negative aspect of a situation can be described as something
that wasn't in the brochure. The term
probably derives from the travel industry where hotels or travel destinations
are described in a glossy brochure which leaves out or down-plays negatives.