The problem with the Buffy references / complaints is that most of the people around who are still fans of the show (seeing how it's been off the air for a number of years) are the die hard fans.

It's a strange fandom, Joss is kind of like a God to them...well us. Cause I'm a total Buffy fangirl and I admit that I hold Buffy to to high of a level a number of the time.

But at the same time, I didn't really see this episode as a total rip off of Earshot so I'm not complaining. There have been a number of other references that I think were far more Buffyish that nobody seems to have really picked up on. So maybe that's just me.