Thursday, June 10, 2010

#37: Jenny



Some might say that Janna of the Kalderash clan, better known as Jenny Calendar, is the best thing to come out of the frequently derided episode “I, Robot... You, Jane”, written by Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden. It might come as a surprise to learn, though, that that maiden appearance was also Jenny's most significant, with 590 words gaining her a third-place finish. Of her twelve appearances on the show, in her multiple roles as Sunnydale High computer teacher, as techno-pagan, as Giles's love interest, as gypsy sent to check up on Angel, as Angelus's highest-profile victim, and as proof that Buffy the Vampire Slayer pulls no punches when it comes to sacrificing significant characters in advancing the storyline and in using death to split up couples, only three rise above the 'minor' status to appear in their respective episode's top five: after the aforementioned début, there's her #4 ranking in her immediate next appearance, season one finale “Prophecy Girl”, and sadly her final appearance: season two's “Passion”, where she ranks #5 and where Angelus snaps her neck. While we see her face, or perhaps more accurately Robia LaMorte's face, one last time in season three's “Amends”, it is of course in the guise of The First, and the 347 words spoken there (good enough for a #3 finish) belong to the character of The First, not to Jenny. Note also that her role in “The Dark Age” shows as being minor, as the words spoken while the demon Eyghon is inhabiting her body are credited to the demon, not her: otherwise, it would be a #3 ranking. In short, Jenny's total word count of 3036 words would be raised to 3554 words if we were counting Robia LaMorte's word count.

Jenny shows up in the top ten of both of the seasons she appears in: despite appearing in only two episodes, she is the eighth most significant character in season one, word wise. Her ten appearances in the first 17 episodes of season two net her a #9 ranking for that season. The character-packed “School Hard”, in which the writers hand her only 89 words, is her briefest appearance.
  • Overall ranking: #37
  • Ranking on Buffy: #22
  • Total words spoken on Buffy: 3036
    • Season 1: 1034 (#8)
    • Season 2: 2002 (#9)
  • Total speaking appearances on Buffy: 12
    • Ranking #3: 1
    • Ranking #4: 1
    • Ranking #5: 1
    • Minor: 9
Return to the Top 50 list
Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments:

Post a Comment