Complete guide to Season One by Dolores Labouchere
Screen captures taken from those fabulous folks at BuffyGuide.com, A Buffy Screencaps Site and The Slayer Show (now closed).Click here for our season one overview.
Title:
Season/Episode Number:
Season 1, Episode 2
Summary:
Just one scene here, alas, but one that establishes more about Joyce's character as Buffy, off to stop the Harvest, is grounded by her mother for skipping school earlier in the day. This marks the beginning of the antagonistic relationship Buffy was often to have with Joyce over the next two years up until Joyce discovers that Buffy is the Slayer.
Anyway, Joyce fights with Buffy, but in a compassionate, New-Age sorta way. Then she goes on about her tapes again.
Sunnydale Style:
A long white sleeveless top highlights Joyce's skin tone very well, though we can't see her bottom half. More dangly earrings are also in evidence.
Interaction:
Buffy
Joyce's Best Line:
"No. The tapes all say I have to learn to say 'no'." - but to what, eh? Drugs? Cheap liquor? Playboy executives?
Fertility Statue Rating:
Title:
Season/Episode Number:
Season 1, Episode 3
Summary:
In an episode where the focus is on Amy's relationship with her mother, Buffy's relationship with hers is used as a contrast.
In Joyce's first scene, she's unpacking crates of African tribal art (which we learn is a particular interest of Mrs. Summers), although without much success as the crates are hard to open. Buffy comes in to despondently tell her that the cheerleading trials had been cancelled. A pre-occupied Joyce mutters some entirely inappropriate platitudes, leaving her daughter more than a little miffed. Buffy scolds Joyce for being more concerned with her gallery than with her child. Joyce admits she is. So, even at this early stage the business can occasionally come before family. Joyce is obviously a workaholic. Perhaps this obsessive need to be busy drove the easy-going Hank into the arms of a cheap whore and. . . er, yes. Sorry.
Anyway, we have an amusing aside when Joyce nearly produces a fertility statue from one of the boxes, only to realise that is was not for Buffy's innocent eyes (Buffy later looks at it; her reaction is 'jeepers' which made me think of her as one of Captain Caveman's groupies). The question has to be asked - why did she bring it home then, eh?
Later, when Buffy finds out that she isn't on the team even after the trials have been held, she goes to be consoled by her mother. Joyce produces her old junior year yearbook and suggests her daughter should go on the yearbook committee, eliciting a predictably horrified reaction from Buffy. Joyce makes the rather sad admission that she was picture editor so she could put her picture on all the pages and make herself look more popular. Awww. There is also mocking of Joyce's high school hairdo.
Anyway, Buffy tells her mother she isn't like her, and Joyce is insulted, they have a fight, and poor Joyce is left feeling stupid about the argument.
Next, we see Joyce making orange juice the morning that Buffy starts to go la la through a witch's curse. Joyce is confused by Buffy's weird behaviour, especially when Buffy admits to being the Slayer. However, Joyce ignores the confession; she must have immediately kicked into repression mode.
Finally, Joyce sees Buffy at the end of the episode, and they bond again, but Joyce laments she'll never understand her daughter. Awww again.
All in all it's a fairly big role with comedy and angst, and it nicely illuminates Joyce's character and her relationship with Buffy. She's also much more confident than in the last few episodes, so those tapes are obviously working out for her.
Sunnydale Style:
The costume department was busy: we see Joyce first in a pleasant green blouse over blue jeans, unpacking her art. When she suggests the yearbook to Buffy she wears a rather hideous dark red belted zippy thing with a black skirt. Really not one of her better choices. Next is a very dark blue button down top that she suits very well, and finally a beautiful deep purple top and trousers set with a daring low neckline that just hints at cleavage.
Interaction:
Buffy
Joyce's Best Line:
Buffy: Mom, I've accepted that you've had sex. I am not ready to know that you had Farrah hair.
Joyce: This is Gidget hair. Don't they teach you anything in history?Fertility Statue Rating:
Title:
Season/Episode Number:
Season 1, Episode 7
Summary:
In this episode we first see Joyce as Buffy intercepts her at the front door so that she doesn't walk in on a semi-naked Angel (Buffy was bandaging his injuries). Having had time to pull on a shirt Angel appears to meet Joyce, who waggles her eyebrows suggestively at Buffy as she enquires as to who, exactly, Angel is. Buffy weakly fobs her off by saying he's a college student tutoring her in history. Joyce clearly doesn't believe her, but goes off to bed, once she is under the impression Angel has left. In actual fact, he's really gone up to Buffy's bedroom to sleep, and poor Joyce has been lied to again!
The next night he's back in Buff's room for a quick snog, but as he leans in Buffy's crucifix burns him. He vamps out, and naturally Buffy screams. Ever the concerned parent, Joyce comes rushing in but by this time Angel has disappeared and Buffy, hardly able to tell her mother the truth, makes up some nonsense about a shadow.
The next evening, Joyce is sitting filling out her IRS forms and slurping coffee when she hears a noise. She walks gracefully over to the window, but sees nothing - then there's a knock at the door. She opens it to reveal none other than... Darla!
As the Dictators screamed 'noooooo' at the television, Joyce invites Darla in, the Britney-clone saying she's a friend of Buffy's and here to help with her studies. Evidently pleased, Joyce goes into hostess mode and starts to fix Darla a snack. Alas, as soon as Joyce turns her back, Darla goes into game face her idea of a snack being rather different to Joyce's. We cut to Angel, whimpering outside. He hears our heroine's scream and rushes into save Joyce from the clutches of Darla - just in time! Though bit, Joyce has not drained her, but the scent of Joyce's blood - surely a classic vintage - shifts Angel into game face too. Darla runs away, leaving the limp body of Joyce in his arms - just as Buffy walks in on them!
Thankfully, Angel gets away before Buffy has the time to kill him, and we next see Joyce in hospital, a big bandage on her neck. Buffy, Willow and Xander are having a bedside vigil, joined by a concerned Giles. Joyce wonders who he is - and on finding out he's the school librarian is very impressed. She's also in denial central - she thinks the injury was caused by falling on a barbecue fork. . .
The youths go off to do something else, and Joyce voices her concern at Buffy's academic progress to Giles, casually mentioning Darla. This of course reveasl to Giles that Angel didn't do the dirty deed he of which he had been accused. Thus Joyce's idle chatter saves Angel's life.
So there was much Joyce-centric excitement in this episode - and the most screentime of all her season one episodes. She was a key part of the storyline, albeit in a Fay Wray sort of way. This was also the first episode where she gets a scene with characters other than just Buffy. How exciting! Definitely a milestone in Joyce's development.
Sunnydale Style:
We see her first in a long black dress, then later in a long white blouse (though we can't see her bottom half). For her Darla scenes she sports a lovely Gingham top with cream pants, and then a standard hospital gown. She still manages to look sexy in it, natch.
Interaction:
Buffy, Angel, Darla, Giles. Xander and Willow were also present in one scene.
Joyce's Best Line:
"I guess I slipped and cut my neck on... The doctor said it looked like a barbecue fork. . . we don't have a barbecue fork." Denial clashes with logic - but still wins.
Fertility Statue Rating:
Title:
Season/Episode Number:
Season 1, Episode 9
Summary:
A couple of appearances here: Joyce comes into Buffy's room to ask about the talent show and to say she'll be coming, much to Buffy's horror. Joyce is concerned that things aren't all ok with Buffy, but is reassured by her daughter. More lies!
Then, when the puppet attacks Buffy later that night, Buffy screams. Joyce is implausibly quick to appear from her own room - she either sleeps on starting blocks or was really listening at the door. She comforts Buffy, anyway.
A standard Joyce-as-mom episode, not bad, really, just not very eventful for she.
Sunnydale Style:
Joyce was wearing a glossy brown top that reminded me of my granny's sofa in the first scene, and then we was so busy laughing at her response time in the second we forgot to check what she was wearing, sorry!
Interaction:
Buffy
Joyce's Best Line:
"I was dreaming about bills" - even Joyce's subconscious is a workaholic.
Fertility Statue Rating:
Title:
Season/Episode Number:
Season 1, Episode 10
Summary:
Another pair of blink-and-you'll-miss-her cameos, sadly. At the start of the episode Buffy is having a nightmare, but is awoken by Joyce shaking her gently. She tells Buffy that her dad, Hank, is coming to visit. Then her inner housewife comes out and she makes Buffy's bed.
A second scene has Joyce so chipper we think she's on Prozac. She drops Buffy off at school, and trys to allay Buffy's fears that her father no longer loves her. She drives off, and that's all we see of Joyce this ep. Sigh.
Sunnydale Style:
A black and white stripey jumper over black pants is Joyce's first combination, followed by a fawn cardy over a tigery print top in the second scene.
Interaction:
Buffy
Joyce's Best Line:
"Good day to buy that lottery ticket." - Joyce's sarcastic comment on Buffy being pleased to go to school.
Fertility Statue Rating:
Title:
Season/Episode Number:
Season 1, Episode 12
Summary:
One scene (and a half, I suppose) here only, but a nice one anyway. Buffy, distraught over the prophecy given to her by Giles, tries to persuade Joyce that they should leave Sunnydale for the weekend (allowing Buffy to cheat death). Joyce points out she can't, as the gallery is open over the weekend (does she ever take any days off?). Using mother's intuition she guesses, very wrongly, that it's Buffy's lack of a Prom date which upsets her (though to be fair that can't help).
To cheer Buffy up, Joyce opens the closet door to reveal a gorgeous white dress that she's bought Buffy. Her daughter is suitably impressed by her mother's exquisite taste in ballgowns. Buffy protests she still can't go. Joyce laughs this off and says she went to her college freshman prom on her own, that is was awful to begin with, but then she stole Buffy's father away from the date he'd brought (the hussy!) and had a great time.
This doesn't really buck Buffy up.
We cut to Willow and Cordelia finding some dead bodies, then Joyce rushes into to tell Buffy (now in her dress) that Willow's on the TV.
And so ends Joyce's time on season one. It's quite a good episode because Joyce gets to tell us about her durty, durty past as the stealer of other women's dates, and she still remains the fabulous mother she's been born to be.
Sunnydale Style:
A graceful blue shirt over a darker blue top with blue and white stripes and, yes, you guessed it - black pants.
Interaction:
Buffy
Joyce's Best Line:
Joyce is telling us about her freshman prom at college:
Buffy: Then what happened?
Joyce: I met your father.
Buffy: He didn't have a date either?
Joyce: He did. And that's a much funnier story that you will *not* get to hear.Fertility Statue Rating:
Click here for our season one overview.
main page . updates . archive . beta readers . on writing joyce
justjoyce . submit . tribute . kristine . the gallery . episode guides
links . link to us . affiliates & cliques . awards . contact us
Joyce's dulcet tones wake Buffy from her slumber at the beginning
of the episode. She is, therefore, the first series regular to get
a line! How exciting. However, our first glance at the beauty of Joyce
is not until the next scene, where she drives Buffy to school in her
big, green jeep (undoubtedly purchased from Hank's substantial alimony
payments), where she sees her daughter off to her first day at school
with a cheery wave and the faint hope Buffy won't get kicked out.
Later, as Buffy decides what to wear to the Bronze, Joyce appears
to ask where Buffy's going. They have a bonding moment over their
uncertainty about the new town, and Buffy lies to her mother for the
first time (at least on screen) about her slaying. Joyce then witters
on about her parenting manuals. This is a subtly different Joyce from
the steely-minded mother we now know. Much more uncertain of her skills
as a parent, she's consulting self-help literature. Perhaps her therapist
is prescribing them in the aftermath of Joyce's divorce, and the 'Be
a Better Mommy' tape now lies gathering dust next to the 'Oprah's
Self-healing Seminars' video in a drawer somewhere. 
