XPost: rec.arts.tv, alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer
It was a Thursday night in 2001. My friends and I were gathered in a
dark, dormitory lounge in Ithaca, NY. Ithaca didn’t carry UPN, so my
mother would tape three episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer on VHS
and mail them to me at college so my friends and I could watch.
Everyone had heard about this “Buffy musical,” but we were
skeptical. A musical? Seriously? Had Joss Whedon lost his damn mind?
And then, Sarah Michelle Gellar sang her first note, and the world
changed.
We sat in the dark, delighted by the clever lyrics, stunned by Amber
Benson’s beautiful voice, and enthralled with the story. The people
of Sunnydale were randomly bursting into song, and sometimes
bursting into flame. A demon was forcing everyone to sing their
darkest emotional secrets, sometimes in a retro pastiche that’s
never going to be a breakaway pop hit. Xander and Anya revealed
their mutual fear of getting married, Giles soliloquized about
leaving Buffy on her own, and Tara discovered that Willow had been
using magic to alter her memory.
In the climactic number “Something To Sing About,” Buffy finally
admitted the secret she’d been keeping from her friends this whole
time: When they resurrected her at the start of the season, they
ripped her out of Heaven, not some Hell dimension.
And of course, this happened:
http://giphy.com/gifs/kiss-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-1041PhUHlC0tJC? utm_source=iframe&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=tag_click
It was 15 years ago today that “Once More With Feeling” premiered.
It was the first time a musical television episode didn’t feel like
a gimmick. There was nothing spoofy about it because, although
witty, it was produced in complete earnest. There was a reason why
people were singing rather than “just because we can do it.” In an
episode about a lack of communication, music was a unique way to
force that communication. The plot–
Sorry, I’m getting distracted by that GIF.
The plot was deeply integrated into the overall story, and it
brought to light the issues these characters had kept inside all
season long. It was a pivotal episode to so many storylines. It was
the first time the audience learned that Xander had doubts about
Anya which culminated in him leaving her at the altar later that
season. Giles and Tara both decided that they needed to make the
difficult decision to leave loved ones behind. We were all stunned
(and delighted and maybe even a little turned on) when Buffy and
Spike kissed, which started an entirely new B-plot that was so right
yet so wrong. Although as an audience we wanted to see Buffy with
Spike, we also knew that she would never love him like he loved her.
And at the end of the series, when she tells Spike she loves him, he
replies with, “No you don’t. But thanks for saying it.” To this day,
it’s still heart-wrenching and beautiful.
buffy2
15 years later, Buffy fans still remember “Once More With Feeling”
fondly. They still rewatch the episode on its own. They still play
the soundtracks in their cars. They still sing the songs at karaoke
night. They still put on secret underground productions because 20th
Century Fox won’t release stage performance rights. They still
create ballet choreography for Willow to “Under Your Spell.”
Oh, that’s just me? Hmm.
What made “Once More With Feeling” special to you? Share your
favorite moments in the comments!
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