"Once More With Feeling"

[rm]

So, let me make sure I'm clear about this: the Scoobies were able to defeat evil because the demon didn't want to bang Xander?

Right, now that we've gotten that out of the way --

You know, I've heard about this episode for years what with the whole sing-along thing, and you know, that sort of gave me a false impression of this thing, because when I hear sing-along, I think happy! funny! Rocky Horror! Instead we got depressing, weird and often atonal. HOW GREAT IS THIS SHIT?

I certainly didn't think it would be the most important part of multiple narratives (Tara/Willow, Buffy's resurrection, Giles and Buffy, Spike/Buffy and possibly Anya/Xander), and yet!

Seriously, why do you people do sing-alongs of this? It's so not designed for that, well, with the exception of the "We will walk through the fire" song which is awesome, and it must have been SO AMAZING to be in fandom at that moment. I mean, Torchwood is the only experience I've ever had of being in TV fandom as the show was airing and that's been... well, the way it's been, although I wouldn't trade going through the Ianto thing as it happened for anything. But this! I can't imagine getting to burn up the Internet with your friends after this episode and see each other at school or work the next day and bursting into one of those songs! I'm so jealous of you all. What a remarkable thing!

*Random Baz Luhrmann-related noise* (it's late, I'll be thinky tomorrow) and wow, so many references to so many classic (and not so classic) musicals -- especially in the dance. And really great work with the all the random facial expressions and random stage business to create the right vibe of the whole thing. Wow wow wow. Also, this TOTALLY made me want to watch one of my favorite inexplicable movie musicals -- Absolute Beginners.

Also, Spike/Buffy totally. TOTALLY. Although, to be frank, I think I like it uneasy and impossible more than anything.

Also, how glad am I that the info about Buffy not having been in Hell is finally out there? Because that matters. Also, a part of me wants to point at this plotline and jump up and down when people are all "bring Ianto back."

Anyway! People! No one told me this episode MATTERED.

Comments

[alterjess.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine getting to burn up the Internet with your friends after this episode and see each other at school or work the next day and bursting into one of those songs! I'm so jealous of you all. What a remarkable thing!

I'm not gonna lie - it was pretty frelling amazing.

For all that's wrong with the latter half of S6, we did get OMWF out of it.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

::JAZZ HANDS::

That's what's brilliant about it, yes. Not the fact that the music is actually good and many of the cast can actually sing fairly well and dance a bit. Not the mustard song. Not the goofy. The fact that it *advances the plot*.

I am so enjoying watching you watch Buffy and Angel. You have no idea. :D

[moonpupy.livejournal.com]

What irritated me, after watching it on LOGO, was how much they cut out. The original ep was 48 minutes, which translated into approximately 70 minutes when it originally aired. LOGO managed to fit it into 60 minutes including a shit-ton of commercials. So, yeah, when I want to watch it, for real, I pull it up off my hard drive.

Oh, and Spike/Buffy? My only OTP that's M/F, lol. Even with what happens later on.

[brilliant-snark.livejournal.com]

I'm in a love/hate relationship with all of this season, but this ep, and the next one, are probably my two favorite. :)

Though I was one of those lucky fans who got to experience this online, in fandom, at the time it aired (and had the mp3s the next day), Gally this year was the first time I did a sing along. I admit I wasn't sure about it at first, but OMG, THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! Didn't matter that a lot of us couldn't actually sing, didn't matter that we were all over the age spectrum, didn't matter that we maybe looked like total idiots...talk about "with feeling"! There was a LOT of emotion in that room. :)

[syzygy-lj.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was pretty awesome, wasn't it?

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Pretty much everything but Buffy's solo sings along okay, in practice. "I've got a theory" is especially popular.

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

I, too, came late to fandom, so I missed out on squeeing the day after.

It's an amazing ep, any way you look at it. It's been a while since I've done a thorough re-watch (the ep, the commentary, and the documentary on the making of), so picking out specific things is not easy.

We watched it as a family and my then 8 year old loved it. It was the video of choice for several weeks. We'd divvy up the parts, (she wanted to sing Buffy and Tara and she'd let me do "Rest in Peace"> and sing our little hearts out.

Being the true geek I am, I've got the script book/sheet music that's available. Joss Whedon is not a threat to composers, any where. I've tried to learn a couple of pieces and have decided that they have to wait until I learn how to do arrangements because I just don't like Joss' version.

The melody is fine. It's the accompaniment that's too difficult for me to play on the piano and there are too many incidental notes, and lots of other music stuff. To anyone who's studied music at all, it's pretty obvious that Joss was pretty much winging it.

This was the show that spurred me to audition for the first time in decades. The group that did it in NYC was bringing the show to DC and I sent it photos of me dressed in various outfits, Anya, Willow, Buffy, and Dawn.

I really wanted to be in it, as it would have been kickbutt fun to be on stage performing that. But, then various copyright holders got tetchy and put the smackdown on performances and I never got past sending in photos, so I don't know if I'd've been cast or not.

I'm looking forward to the sing along at DC!

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

LOVE that ep!

Love S6. Ship Buffy/Spike. Messed up relationship. YEAH.

[browneyedgirl65.livejournal.com]

One of my top favorite Buffy episodes and yeah, the amazing thing is how essential it is to the plot/character development as opposed to being "just" a musical.

Confession: This is one of the few CD's I'll play while driving in my car (where I can crank up the volume as I please) and I can actually sing along to most of it (not bad for a deaf chick).

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

This was the episode that sold me on Buffy/Spike as more than hate!sex with tenderer feelings on his side. When he sang "You have to gone on living / So one of us is living," and it worked ... yeah.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Well, if you try to start a conversation with someone who hasn't seen it about how the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is incredibly deep and dark, they will probably think you're insane. So that might be why you hadn't heard it before.

I was kind of on the margins of fandom when this episode aired (I had never been in an online fandom before) and this is what caused me to dive in. I just remember loving it so much, and being so excited about Spike and Spike/Buffy. It had the potential to be so dark and complex and moving and good.

In retrospect, I wouldn't trade all the friends and amazing people I met in the fandom, but I sure do wish the story had been told better. I like to pretend that the show ended here, because pretty much everything that came after it ruins the whole experience for me.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

Well, if you try to start a conversation with someone who hasn't seen it about how the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is incredibly deep and dark, they will probably think you're insane. So that might be why you hadn't heard it before.

This.

I have a friend who rolls her eyes every time this comes up. She has said she's willing to watch the episode, but she's not willing to watch all the seasons leading up to it. I told her she just wouldn't "get" it.

[lyorn.livejournal.com]

Seriously, why do you people do sing-alongs of this?

Because it's so much *fun* to sing.

[soundingsea.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. I love the musical and the ep immediately after it. Actually, I love Season 6 in general, warts and all. Even though it's deeply flawed, it's so dark. And I love dark.

[sanginmychains.livejournal.com]

Behind the scenes stuff. Sarah Michelle Gellar was offered a voice double, one of the perks of being the lead, but when she read the script she refused. She didn't want some of the biggest moments of the season, for her character, to be done by anyone else. And I'm pleased she refused, because I think Sarah does an awesome job. Who needs a perfect voice when you can make people cry with what you've got?

Can't dance for shit, though. Which is okay. Sincerity and good intent mean a lot too.

Spike/Buffy, and this season, are how I got into reading fanfic, and while there's a huge story behind it all, this season went a long way to helping me heal a pretty major sexual dysfunction, and also not incidentally probably saved my marriage. Equal credit goes to Buffy and my therapist. I have a love for S6 like you would not believe.

I start humming every time someone says "I've got a theory."

[supremegoddess1.livejournal.com]

Yes, this episode mattered.

It still matters a lot, to me.

I tear up still remembering Spike's "Rest in Peace" - "If my heart could beat it would break my chest," the poignancy of Tara's song for Willow, the intensity of "Walk Through the Fire," and the heartbreak of the revelation that Buffy wasn't in Hell.

And that kiss. Oh, that kiss.