"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Once More, with Feeling (2001)

Director:

Joss Whedon

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator)
Joss Whedon (written by)

TV Series:

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997)

Original Air Date:

6 November 2001 (Season 6, Episode 7)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

Sunnydale is alive with the sound of music as a mysterious force causes everyone in town to burst into full musical numbers...

Plot Keywords:

Dancing | Song And Dance | Singing | Forbidden Love | Lesbian

Cast

Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon	...	Xander Harris
Emma Caulfield	...	Anya
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Dawn Summers
James Marsters	...	Spike
Alyson Hannigan	...	Willow Rosenberg
Anthony Head	...	Rupert Giles (as Anthony Stewart Head)
Hinton Battle	...	Sweet
Amber Benson	...	Tara Maclay
David Fury	...	Mustard Man
Marti Noxon	...	Parking Ticket Woman
Daniel Weaver	...	Handsome Young Man
Scot Zeller	...	Henchman / Tap Dancing Victim
Zachary Woodlee	...	Demon / Henchman
Timothy Anderson	...	Henchman

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:TV-PG

Company:

Mutant Enemy

Trivia:

On the DVD commentary for this episode, Joss Whedon says that many of the songs he wrote for this musical were conscious references to different musical theater styles and composers. For instance, Whedon characterizes "Going Through The Motions" as an "I want" song in the tradition of the opening numbers sung by heroines of Ashman-Menken Disney musicals such as "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid (1989) and "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast (1991) (albeit with what he calls a Stephen Schwartz ending). He says that "I'll Never Tell" is his 1930s "Astaire/Rodgers" number, and he likens "Walk Through The Fire" to the four-part "Tonight Quintet" that introduces the climactic moments of the end of the first act of "West Side Story."

Goofs:

Continuity: Anya's arms change position in each shot after the trio dance break in the "Life's a Show" number.

Quotes:

Tara: There was this entire verse about the couscous.

Movie Connections:

References Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Soundtrack:

Dawn's Lament

definitely one of the high points from the series; even better live!

I'll be honest, I don't watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer regularly- not now or even really much when it was on more in syndication and in its original run- but I did watch it casually sometimes with friends, and did enjoy the occasionally corny fights and angsty teen drama thrown in (plus, Anthony Stewart Head is quite the cool mentor). I had never seen this episode either, but had heard a lot about it from my girlfriend who is a much greater fan of the series than I. An incentive finally came to watch the episode here, where it's all practically singing and dancing with all of the usual characters coming into the swing of things (by way of a spell of course), as the episode is now presented under the 'Buffy Sing-along' in certain theaters across the country (if it's not near your city or town, it might be soon, it just left NYC). I was expecting a jovial enough time with the audience participation, but nothing great. Needless to say I'm writing this comment mostly to covey how immensely entertained I was by the whole shebang.

Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed the episode, alongside his musical collaborators, really 'get' how to make the wonderful contrivances of musicals fitting for their own types in their show, and it's a feast for fans and still provides many great, up-beat, catchy, and funny songs all the way through. It also helps that the cast in this case is a knockout more often than not, even with Sarah Michelle Gellar not as the greatest singer out there (she had to take singing lessons to prepare for the episode apparently). It would be hard for me to explain to much to such casual watchers of the show like myself, but if you know all the continuity of season five and six then it's no problem. Basically, a spell is cast somehow, and everyone breaks into songs and sometimes dances too, and moreover it brings out the emotions that the characters have been hiding (i.e. Spike's love for Buffy, Giles reluctance with certain matters, Willow's own love- which is rather graphic when you put the lyrics into total context), and also conjures up some demons who have a leader who will make the spell-caster a Queen. The revelation of this, of course, is just another of the jokes.

While I'm sure I would've still had a good time watching the episode at home, it's recommended to try and catch the live show just as much. The episode gives so much for an audience to chew up and have fun with, especially late at night ala Rocky Horror, and it makes for grand silliness even when things seem darkest in the storyline and psychologies. The music, meanwhile, is keen and tight and rhythmic without being corny (I loved the Spike song, and even the power ballad from Giles was fun, plus the demon song & dance), and the lyrics strike up enough wit for three episodes. The dialog from Whedon is also top notch (i.e. "So, Dawn's in trouble... must be Tuesday"). And the whole time, when I wasn't laughing from the totally unexpected bits and complete adherence to cheerful whimsy, I had a big stupid smile on my face (if you see it live, by the way, feel more than free to sing-along with everyone else). While I wouldn't discredit that it has merit alongside the rest of the season, as a stand-alone episode it takes the cake, and even could compare with the likes of Singin in the Rain as a truly happiest musical time.