10 Funniest Buffy The Vampire Slayer Episodes

The most eagle-eyed of viewers will have tracked Jonathan Levinson's steady, entirely unremarkable course through previous seasons, popping up as a mistaken school shooter here, fighting The Mayor in season three's climax there.

But nobody was prepared, mid-season four (episode seventeen, to be precise), when the nerf herder of all nerf herders suddenly took centre stage on the show, elbowing his way into the opening credits and assuming his (rightful?) place as Sunnydale's resident super-everything.

That's right, Jonathan has it all in Superstar - the money, the powers, the smarts, the looks. He performs jazz at The Bronze, advises tactics for The Initiative and even wins chess against Giles.

The episode is wall to wall chaotic fun, with Jonathan's improbable reach and exploits being played for laughs every step of the way. This marks one of the first times Buffy fully shook off its structure and sensibilities, going full-on conceptual and setting up such future gems as Once More, With Feeling.