Once More With Feeling =?ISO-8859-1?B? w==?= 15 Years Later

[Ubiquitous]

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!

[Marc Espie]

It was the episode where I fell in love with Amber Benson's voice.

[Vidcapper]

Post by Marc Espie
It was the episode where I fell in love with Amber Benson's voice.

IMO her voice was the *only* good thing about that episode.

[Marc Espie]

Post by Vidcapper

Post by Marc Espie
It was the episode where I fell in love with Amber Benson's voice.

IMO her voice was the *only* good thing about that episode.

Your problem. Anthony Steward Head and James Marsters are good singers as
well...

[Dimensional Traveler]

Post by Marc Espie

Post by Vidcapper

Post by Marc Espie
It was the episode where I fell in love with Amber Benson's voice.

IMO her voice was the *only* good thing about that episode.

Your problem. Anthony Steward Head and James Marsters are good singers as
well...

And for those paying attention, Michelle Trachtenberg was only allowed
to sing about 3 lines. :)

[David Johnston]

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by Marc Espie

Post by Vidcapper

Post by Marc Espie
It was the episode where I fell in love with Amber Benson's voice.

IMO her voice was the *only* good thing about that episode.

Your problem. Anthony Steward Head and James Marsters are good singers as
well...

And for those paying attention, Michelle Trachtenberg was only allowed
to sing about 3 lines. :)

Letting her dance instead was a good call.

[David]

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by Marc Espie

Post by Vidcapper

Post by Marc Espie
It was the episode where I fell in love with Amber Benson's voice.

IMO her voice was the *only* good thing about that episode.

Your problem. Anthony Steward Head and James Marsters are good singers as
well...

And for those paying attention, Michelle Trachtenberg was only allowed
to sing about 3 lines. :)

Letting her dance instead was a good call.
Michelle knew her singing voice was weak, but she had a background
in dance and asked Joss if she could have a dance number instead. Obviously
he agreed.

The same was for Alyson. She knew her vice wasn't very good, so she
only got bits and pieces to sing - "...Wacky Hollywood nightmare" ... "I
think this line is mostly filler"

[Vidcapper]

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by Marc Espie

Post by Vidcapper

Post by Marc Espie
It was the episode where I fell in love with Amber Benson's voice.

IMO her voice was the *only* good thing about that episode.

Your problem. Anthony Steward Head and James Marsters are good singers as
well...

And for those paying attention, Michelle Trachtenberg was only allowed
to sing about 3 lines. :)

Or she sang more than 3, but they went ultrasonic so no-one could hear
them? :p

[Dimensional Traveler]

Post by Vidcapper

Post by Dimensional Traveler

Post by Marc Espie

Post by Vidcapper

Post by Marc Espie
It was the episode where I fell in love with Amber Benson's voice.

IMO her voice was the *only* good thing about that episode.

Your problem. Anthony Steward Head and James Marsters are good singers as
well...

And for those paying attention, Michelle Trachtenberg was only allowed
to sing about 3 lines. :)

Or she sang more than 3, but they went ultrasonic so no-one could hear
them? :p

Nope. Just those three lines were enough to cause demons to kidnap her. ;)

[jess stone]

On Mon, 07 Nov 2016 06:59:02 -0500, Ubiquitous <***@polaris.net>
wrote:

snips

Post by Ubiquitous
15 years later, Buffy fans still remember “Once More With Feeling”

You're such a fanboy : ) I too recall the ep fondly. I tried searching
for my posts back then but Google Groups archives are not what they
used to be:

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/google-a-search-company-has-made-its-internet-archive-impossible-to-search

and frankly I do not recall what alias I was posting under at the
time. I do however remember one particular post and it dealt with my
annoyance at not being able to recall which performer SMG sounded like
to me when she sang. I believe it was common knowledge that SMG did
not have the greatest singing voice and they auto tuned the shit out
of her performance but her song style reminded my of someone and it
was not until later that it came to me. It was Lulu the British pop
singer who sang "To Sir with Love" from the film of the same name. I
also recall the haunting anthem of Where do we go from here which
still reverberates till this day.

[jess stone]

Post by jess stone
snips

Post by Ubiquitous
15 years later, Buffy fans still remember “Once More With Feeling”

You're such a fanboy : ) I too recall the ep fondly. I tried searching
for my posts back then but Google Groups archives are not what they
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/google-a-search-company-has-made-its-internet-archive-impossible-to-search
and frankly I do not recall what alias I was posting under at the
time. I do however remember one particular post and it dealt with my
annoyance at not being able to recall which performer SMG sounded like
to me when she sang. I believe it was common knowledge that SMG did
not have the greatest singing voice and they auto tuned the shit out
of her performance but her song style reminded my of someone and it
was not until later that it came to me. It was Lulu the British pop
singer who sang "To Sir with Love" from the film of the same name. I
also recall the haunting anthem of Where do we go from here which
still reverberates till this day.

Found it. I should have checked alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer/To$20Sir$20with$20Love/alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer/5YS83iTUEuo/43D-RWVfiiUJ

***@earthlink.net
10/31/01
In the promo when Buffy sings "Life's a show and we all play our
parts" for some reason her high register/ octave singing vocie reminds
me of LuLu singing "To Sir With Love" from the motion picture of the
same name:

Those schoolgirl days
Of telling tales, and biting nails, are gone
But in my mind,
I know they still will live on and on

Of course some of you yung'ins might not recall LuLu let alone "To
Sir
With Love."

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0062376

[Robin Miller]

snips

Post by Ubiquitous
15 years later, Buffy fans still remember “Once More With Feeling”

One of the best hours of TV ever, for me.

--Robin

[David]

snips

15 years later, Buffy fans still remember “Once More With Feeling”

One of the best hours of TV ever, for me.

--Robin
OMWF is my fave Buffy eps., but the the one that followed, Tabula
Rasa, is certainly in the top 5. It started out kind of serious, went
comedic, then serious again. Giles and Anya in the magic shop with Anya
creating more and more bunnies was great.

Another fave is S7's Selfless -- After being left at the altar, Anya
is a Vengeance Demon again, Buffy decides she has to kill her. After being
run through with a sword by Buffy, a flashback to OMWF and Anya gets to
sing "I'm the Mrs."
Plus the flashback to when Aud became Anyanka.

As bad as she is, I doubt if Buffy could kill a Vengeance Demon. Nor
would D'Hoffryn allow it.

[shawn]

On Mon, 7 Nov 2016 11:55:30 -0500, Robin Miller

Post by Robin Miller

snips

Post by Ubiquitous
15 years later, Buffy fans still remember “Once More With Feeling”

One of the best hours of TV ever, for me.

+10 for me

[Arthur Lipscomb]

Post by jess stone
snips

15 years later, Buffy fans still remember “Once More With Feeling”

You're such a fanboy : ) I too recall the ep fondly. I tried searching
for my posts back then but Google Groups archives are not what they
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/google-a-search-company-has-made-its-internet-archive-impossible-to-search
and frankly I do not recall what alias I was posting under at the
time. I do however remember one particular post and it dealt with my
annoyance at not being able to recall which performer SMG sounded like
to me when she sang. I believe it was common knowledge that SMG did
not have the greatest singing voice and they auto tuned the shit out
of her performance but her song style reminded my of someone and it
was not until later that it came to me. It was Lulu the British pop
singer who sang "To Sir with Love" from the film of the same name. I
also recall the haunting anthem of Where do we go from here which
still reverberates till this day.

That episode aired before I had a DVR and I was recording shows on VHS.
As I recall when it was over, I rewound the tape back and watched it
again then I watched it again the next morning. I even purchased the
soundtrack for the episode which I still listen to and enjoy.

A few years after it aired my local theater showed it and the theater
was packed with fans. That episode really touched a lot of people.

[meagain]

snips

Post by Ubiquitous
15 years later, Buffy fans still remember “Once More With Feeling”

[David]

snips

15 years later, Buffy fans still remember “Once More With Feeling”

http://youtu.be/L8uH26GlWeo
My fave episode. Every few months I watch it again.