playing kitten poker

I started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I lived in Turkey. It's not a show that would have attracted my attention under ordinary circumstances, but you can get a bit desperate for TV programs in English. Anyway, I actually found it to be a well-written, humorous, and thought-provoking show. I liked the underlying themes of personal responsibility, consequences to one's actions, and redemption. I also like the emphasis on friendship and a strong female protagonist. I still try to catch some of the reruns.

In one of my favorite episodes, Buffy goes to a demon bar with Spike, a vampire, in order to get information about some new bad guys in town. Spike says they have a better chance of getting the demons to talk if he plays cards with them (rather than beating them up, as Buffy wants to do). The demons ante up--and it turns out they're gambling not with poker chips but with kittens. I love the scene where the "big bads" put their kittens in a basket in the center of the table. Buffy can't believe they're playing for such "stupid currency!" Spike hasn't come with any dosh and asks the others if they can advance him "a tiny tabby."