The ABCs of Sunnydale

Cordelia, Prize Driving Student Mr. Pole:

Debut -- The Witch (Season 1)

Last Seen -- Same Episode

Mr. Pole has one of the scarier jobs at Sunnydale High -- he's the driver's ed teacher. Okay, so maybe that's not too bad -- but let's consider for a moment that he's in the passenger seat when Cordy's driving! Okay, even that might not be so bad, but Cordy's under a witch's spell that affects her sight and disorients her.

Poole's got some amusing lines, sort of. He seems pretty laid back, anyway. I think we probably haven't seen him since the Cordy fiasco because he most likely tendered his resignation. Or he should have, if he's smart...Gotta wonder how Cordy got her license, though...

Addendum: I just rewatched "The Witch" and don't know why I didn't put this on the page...during Cordy's scare-a-palooza driving scene, Pole keeps yelling for her to hit the brakes. Don't all driver's ed cars come equipped with brakes on the passenger/instructor side?? Yi.

Mr. Pole gives the 411:
"You've already flunked driver's ed twice. Show me some moves or you'll be taking the bus to college." -- to Cordy, after she says she doesn't want to drive today.


no philip, but giles Philip:

Debut -- The Dark Age (Season 2)

Died Same Episode

Philip is first seen at the beginning of the episode; he's wandering outside Sunnydale High School and he looks frantic. He stops to ask a janitor where he might find Rupert Giles, where the library is. He's still outside the school, and when he finds the library, he begins to bang on the door. But Buffy's ear-shattering music is too loud, so no one hears Philip's knocking -- no, pounding -- on the door.

A hideous-looking Deirdre comes up behind Philip. This British chick actually looks like a man; very bad-hair, and rotting skin. She starts to overpower Philip and she turns into the black goop of Eyghon. Philip's left for dead.

Or so it would seem...

Giles positively identifies the body as his former friend Philip, and we're left to think, "Okay the guy's dead." But then we see Philip get out of his freezer compartment at the morgue -- he's naked, and that's kind of a big risk for this show, but they handle it well. I just kept thinking, "Man, that looks cold." Philip dons some clothing from an unsuspecting employee -- gee, I wonder how he did that -- and then he's on his way back to Sunnydale High.

The gang effectively traps him in the library's bookcage, but Philip manages to ooze his Eyghon-ness onto the floor and overtake Jenny Calendar. I guess I could've explained this on the episode page. Anyway, Philip's dead, okay? This is what happens when you hang too much with a young rebellious Giles, I guess...


Pat Pat:

Debut -- Dead Man's Party (Season 3)

Died Same Episode

Okay, when Pat first showed up, I thought for a nanosecond that she was Willow's mom..don't ask. Anyway, so Pat's a friend of Joyce's -- they met in the book club. Please please please don't let this turn you guys off of joining book clubs, okay? Anyhoo, Pat seems to me that she'd be comfortable berry-picking. Her outfit when she met Buffy just sort of spoke to me that way.

Pat's one of these "thrust-yourself-into-millions-of-activities" types of people...she does cooking stuff, book stuff, and she's probably learning a new language. That's fine and dandy, but she sort of creeped me out on a few levels..She'd give Joyce these intense looks and she seemed evil and meddling. But who knows.

maskAnyhoo, when the Zombies crash Buffy's party, a zombie grabs Pat and breaks her neck. But maybe the schnapps she had with Joyce in the kitchen numbed the pain? Next thing you know, Zombie Demon's eyes go all glowy and Pat jump-starts her life as a demon. She dons the mask, and voila, it melds to her face and she becomes the demon incarnate. Anyone who looks her in the eyes is pretty much a goner. Coincidentally -- well okay maybe not -- Pat-cum-Zombie's voice is reminiscent of Eyghon's. Luckily, Buffy gives her the ol' shovel to the eyes and triumphs. Probably Buffy enjoyed that just a little bit since she wasn't big on Pat in the first place. Pat joins the light and that's about it for her. So much for berry-picking.


Ford Pete:

Debut -- All Men Are Beasts (aka Beauty & the Beasts) (Season 3)

Died Same Episode

No offense, but what is it with this show's teen guy villains having short hair and ears that stick out a lot? That's why I put up the pic of Ford, I figured no one could tell the difference anyway....

Okay, so Pete is an old friend of Scott's, and he's dating this chick Debbie. No big shakes, right? He gives Debbie flowers, he jokes around at lunch time, he turns into a demonic killer..whoa! how'd that get in here? Basically, Pete's the abusive kind of guy...apparently he'd whipped up a little green liquid that enabled him to turn into this "big man" kind of guy whose veins pop out a bunch. Loosely translated, that means his angry young man side kicks in to torment folks.

Well, it gets to the point that our pal Pete no longer needs his trusty green drink; he can pretty much wig out and go ballistic at will. He offs a bunch of people, too, that are somehow connected to his chick. Anyhoo, this time when he wigs out, he gets more than he bargained for..namely, Buffy. And..Angel. They put him down, Angel snaps his neck, and that's about it. I didn't much dig this guy even when he was normal Pete...his sense of humor was a bit too...nasty, I suppose. Oh, and just so I can rag on him some more, I'd just like to say that when he did his "I'm turning now" thing, the effects reminded me of the lame-o effects used when Angel's demon fought Eyghon; in other words, it looked a tad goofy. If this seems un-Prairie-like, may I just say I'm sick at this writing?

I admit when Pete became Super Freaky and was yelling at Debbie that I half-thought he was gonna pull an Angel and say, "You made me the man I am today!" --and, well, I guess he sort of did. Anyhoo..

Pre-Postal Pete:
Pete: "Check out Scotty, likin' the manic-depressive chick." -- to Scott and Debbie, after Buffy leaves the lunch table just minutes after joining them.

Pete's Precious Kills:


master The ABCs of Sunnydale

The Episodes

The 411/Mythology

The 511/Relationships

The 611/Slayerships

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Sunnydale

Main Entrance

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Cordy pic courtesy of Craig Whiteman, The Charisma Carpenter Zone.

Pics of Pat courtesy of Phred, Sunnydale High School.

Pic of Ford courtesy of Zak Zandarah!

This page last updated on March 7, 2000