AlsExGal

Henry Bennett, a quiet rather non-descript man, stands behind Barney as he plays checkers in Floyd's barbershop. Barney loses the game and blames it on Henry for being a jinx. The rumor and the stigma spread, and then there is an unfortunate incident when Andy invites Henry to fish with him and Barney in their boat.

As a result of this, Henry decides to leave town as he probably rightly assumes that everything bad that happens henceforth will be blamed on him.

The townsfolk feel bad about this turn of events and regret their hurtful words, and then Andy comes up with an idea to get Henry to believe his luck has changed so that he'll stay in Mayberry. Complications ensue.

Without giving the plot resolution away, it requires the entire town going along with a ruse so that Henry will feel lucky again. It's worth sticking around just to keep neighbors like that.

... and I mean literally! James Marsters said during an interview that the way his character is introduced is the classic stage entrance method he was taught at Julliard, but I digress.

Joss Whedon meant for Spike and Dru to be vampire equivalents of Sid and Nancy. Spike is so named because he is known for driving railroad spikes through his victims. He has killed two vampire slayers in the past and has it in mind to kill the current one - Buffy. He's been obsessed with slayers from the moment that he found out about their existence. You can see his obsession in his posture and facial expression as he watches Buffy dancing at The Bronze.

Where does Spike choose to kill the slayer? At the Sunnydale High School Parent Teacher night. The title comes from the fact that this episode is supposed to be like the movie "Die Hard" from about ten years before where terrorists invade a company Christmas party. This time it's vampires invading the high school.

On top of being important for introducing the character Spike, this episode is crucial for establishing some character points and relationship dynamics. One of my favorite scenes is when Buffy tasks Xander with getting a stake out of her purse, and his shock and terror at discovering a tampon as he digs through her bag. It's a subtle indicator of the fear the genders have of each other in youth, and it conveys the awkwardness so perfectly.