Trivia
Grrr Aaargh: The Mutant Enemy monster in the closing credits says "We are gods", rather than making his usual growling noise.
Other episodes that vary from the traditional "Grrr Aarrgh" ending including Becoming Part II "I need a hug", Amends, where the monster wears a Santa hat, and Once More, With Feeling, where the monster sings.
Cheesed off: The infamous Cheese Man, last seen in season four's Restless, appears briefly in a montage of shots representing one of Andrew's dreams in Mexico.
Speaking to IGN.com, Joss confirmed that the character really, really doesn't signify anything - unless you want it to: "Part of a poem that's different than a straight-on narrative is you have to let the viewer bring some of themselves into it... So if somebody sees the Cheese Man and it brings up a huge thing for them, that's totally valid… in a dream or a poem, the viewer is as much a part of it as we are. So if they want to analyze the Cheese Man, I say, 'Go for it!' But he was specifically there with no meaning."
Not so sharp?: How come Andrew previously believed the knife blade only contained random symbols, but can now see that it's ancient Tawarik? Did he suddenly learn the language, or is he just a bit thick?
成人论坛 Andrew: Andrew tells Anya that he is "Entertaining and educating," with his documentary. It's a reference to the 成人论坛's motto: Entertain, educate, inform, innovate, enrich.
Study: Andrew's imaginary study, seen at the beginning of the episode mixes books from eminent philosophers such as Nietsche with old Star Wars tat. Rather like the BCC Cult office then...
Lights, cameras, Spike!: The vain vamp goes for a retake of his 'spontaneous' contribution to Andrew's documentary because of bad lighting. In reality, James Marsters is something of a filming expert - he's always offering advice on lighting, camera angles etc. when we interview him on video.
Incidentally, this episode reinforces one unusual aspect of Joss Whedon's vampire rules - that vamps can be videotaped. This was first seen in the season two episode Halloween.
Unwedded Bliss: Andrew interviews Xander and Anya, one year after they failed to get married. It is a year too, as Storyteller is the 16th episode of the season, as was Hell's Bells.
Early Days: The girl fading from reality because nobody notices her is a reference to Marcie Ross in season one's Out of Mind, out of sight. Buffy's comments to Wood about "swim team monsters" and "killer prom dogs" reference Go Fish and The Prom respectively.
The pig wandering around is presumably the one Andrew failed to sacrifice in Never Leave me, itself a nod to The Pack.
