Life Serial

Skirmishes between Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and the three dorky would-be villains who have targeted her continue as the Slayer attempts to hit the books and find gainful employment. While auditing classes back at U.C. Sunnydale, Buffy literally brushes up against Warren (Adam Busch), with confusing results. The dorky inventor plants on her a device that speeds time up, resulting in lost hours and missed appointments for the Slayer. Just as she figures out what's going on, the tiny troublemaker self-destructs. The next day, Buffy reports to work at the construction site where Xander (Nicholas Brendon) has agreed to hire her. First her gender and then her super-strength and over-efficiency annoy her burly co-worker's, but Buffy doesn't last long at the new job, anyway; once again, Warren and his sidekicks send demons to attack her, and in protecting her fellow workers she causes thousands of dollars in damages. Soon Buffy finds herself working for Anya (Emma Caulfield) as a salesgirl at the magic shop; this time, the nerds pull a Groundhog Day on her, looping her through this particularly annoying afternoon until she is finally able to restore time to its normal flow by making her first sale. Later, during a drunken escapade with Spike (James Marsters), Buffy comes face to face with Jonathan (Danny Strong) in battle but doesn't even know it: the diminutive would-be arch-fiend is disguised as a much larger demon. He, Warren, and Andrew (Tom Lenk) make their getaway, having successfully taken stock of the Slayer's abilities. Originally broadcast October 23, 2001, on the UPN network, "Life Serial" marked episode 105 of the cult-favorite series.