While supernatural beings are a regular feature of BtVS, technological monsters are less common. We have seen a few examples of robot or cyborg villains, notable Ted (season 2) and Adam (season 4), both of whom have been discussed in various articles. The female robots of seasons 5 and 6, however, have attracted less critical attention, and, it seems, have largely been dismissed as figures of significance in the Buffyverse. In this paper I will examine the robots April and the Buffybot, and their links with Buffy herself. April's construction as a masculinist fantasy of female perfection, and the Buffybot's role as Buffy's transgressive replacement position these characters as impossible ideals or parodic representations of femininity. They can also be read as doubles of Buffy. While these machine women have been created by men in order to fulfill specific purposes and functions, the same could be said of Buffy in her role as Slayer. Throughout season 6, Buffy begins to recognise her own "programming", and confesses that she is only "going through the motions" in a performance of her own life. I will explore the connections between the perfect programmable woman, the imperfect, malfunctioning machine, and the impossible embodiment of the Slayer.

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