It's that combination of really gross monster + relatably horrifying situation that makes for the very best, most horrifying episodes of Buffy. Season seven's Same Time, Same Place is a late-comer in a similar vein, with arguably a more frightening monster in the form of Gnarl, and a more terrifying concept in Willow's abduction by him. Same Time, Same Place sees Willow returning to Sunnydale for the first time after learning to control her dark side...only she never gets off the plane. Then the scene repeats, only this time the Scooby Gang aren't waiting for her. The tear in reality is just the start of the scary moments. Gnarl really piles on the nightmares: he leaves flayed bodies around town, he changes people's perceptions of reality, and then he kidnaps Willow, paralyses her, puts her in a cave and starts eating her stomach. It's a perfect storm of really visceral, physical and psychological fears. God knows how writer Jane Espenson sleeps at night.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
