buffy the vampire slayer once more with feelings

#BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER ONCE MORE WITH FEELINGS PLUS#

Phillips: Hinton Battle’s demon Sweet was so smooth and soulful on “What You Feel,” both with Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) and at the end. Her insistence that bunnies could be responsible for the mysterious musical mayhem, complete with pyrotechnics, has never failed to put a smile on my face.

#BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER ONCE MORE WITH FEELINGS PLUS#

But the one for which I know ALL the lyrics and still sing them from my chest is Spike’s heartbreaking “Rest in Peace.” That song had so much meaning and emotion, propelling the story and helping anyone understand how - spoiler alert - Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) could end the episode by doing much more than “whisper in a dead man’s ear.”īrown: If I had to pick a favorite, I’d go with “Walk Through the Fire” - the number Buffy leads as she heads to take on the big bad - for how it captures everyone’s inner conflict building towards what you think you know is coming, plus the quippy quotable asides present even in song.īut the musical moment that brings me the most joy in the episode comes much earlier, when Anya (Emma Caulfield) breaks out into a short rock anthem. One of my favorites was when “Standing in the Way” and “Under Your Spell” became a mashup with Tara and Giles. The crowd went wild.īurkes: The sheer musicality of this episode really, ahem, sang. Phillips: I went to that “in-theater experience” twice and even brought dry cleaning with a sticky note that said “no mustard.” At one screening in Westwood, “Buffy” writer-producer Marti Noxon thanked everyone for coming and said, “Someone else wants to thank you.” Down the aisle bounded Joss. This was before “Glee” or “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” so the only real frame of reference for “musical episode” I had at the time was, like, “Xena: Warrior Princess.” (“Bitter Suite” remains a favorite.) And it went on to be shown in theaters for fan-driven, interactive sing-along events, at least for a while. Tracy Brown: It’s not hyperbole to say that I’ve probably seen “Once More, With Feeling” more times than any single episode - a tally mostly racked up when DVD boxed sets were the only way to revisit your favorite TV. (And now I’m singing the entire soundtrack, of which I own a hard copy.) And it came during a time when people were still reeling from the show changing networks and well-loved characters changing too. It's great music done, for the most part, with tongue firmly in cheek.Dawn Burkes: It really was a capital-E Event for “Buffy” fans. This soundtrack is, of course, a must-have for Buffy fans, but it wouldn't be out of place in anyone's collection. The album is rounded out by, among other things, the suite from 'Hush,' one of the most acclaimed Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes. Standouts are Amber Benson on 'Under Your Spell,' James Marsters on 'Rest in Peace,' and, not surprisingly, the sublime Anthony Stewart Head on 'Standing.' Benson and Head's duet on the 'Under Your Spell/Standing (Reprise)' is an especially affecting moment.

The cast pulls off the fairly demanding vocals nicely. The range of musical styles is also quite impressive, ranging from ballads ('Under Your Spell'), to Billy Idol-esque rock ('Rest in Peace'), to a clever retro-pastiche ('I'll Never Tell').

It manages to do a couple of things most musicals don't do: give a reason for all the bursting into song (a demon named Sweet has put a curse on the town that makes everyone sing) and move the plot forward (characters reveal thoughts and feelings they had been hiding, with mixed results). The soundtrack of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's first ever musical episode, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling, is every bit as fun as the episode itself.

Buffy the vampire slayer once more with feelings