Buffy Rocks!
by C.E. Pelc

Sunnydale is alive with not just the usual sounds of screaming.

As with any television drama series, when I hear that there is going to be a musical episode where the characters dance and sing I cringe in horror. I can' t help it - it all goes back to that terrible episode of Xena, Warrior Princess where the entire episode was a masochistic attempt at an off-Broadway musical. When shows like Drew Carey have musical episodes, it's funny. Then again, that's the whole point of the show, right? But when dramas attempt this idea, it's just down right scary. So when I heard Buffy the Vampire Slayer was going to devote their November 6th episode to a singing and dancing extravaganza, I couldn't hope but wonder if this was going to change my perception of this show forever. Thankfully, Joss Whedon had mercy on Buffy fans the world over and ended up producing an episode that was not only musical, but enjoyable as well.

Throughout the past five seasons, the storyline of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has unfortunately lost some of its steam. Especially towards the end of the last season, it seemed that Whedon was starting to grasp for stakes between the death of Buffy's mom and the introduction of her kid sister Dawn. The show was losing a bit of its pizzazz and a lot of its luster. With the beginning of season six, however, and the return of Buffy from the dead, things have started to pick up again. Many new storylines have emerged, between Willow's obvious interest in the darker side of magic, Xander and Anya's pending marital bliss, Giles' realization that he needs to leave and Buffy and Spike's possible romance. While these new twists and turns are able to bring new blood to wash away the corpses of such beaten dead horses as the topic of Angel, Whedon still needed to throw something new and exciting into the mix that has never been done on the show before and would invigorate the show's fans. Enter "Once More, With Feeling" - the musical episode of Buffy.

My main concern when I had first heard about this episode was how the fact that Buffy and the Scooby Gang would be randomly breaking into song and dance was going to be treated - was it going to be mentioned as odd or was it going to be treated like this was the norm. Whedon decided to go with the first option by making the musical Sunnydale a product of, what else, evil, thanks to the conjuring of a demon by of all people Xander. Basically the demon put the entire town of Sunnydale under a spell that causes the residents to burst into song and dance on a whim. Problem is, they end up singing about their deepest, darkest secrets to each other - such as the fact that Buffy was in heaven when her friends ripped her out and that Tara is having second thoughts about staying with Willow due to her overuse of magic - and when the energy behind the productions gets to be too much for the body to handle, the performers spontaneously burst into flame.

For the most part, the musical numbers for this episode of Buffy were nothing short of superb. Calling on the sounds of Broadway hits like Rent and Jesus Christ Superstar, Whedon ended up constructing a strong mix of powerful ballads and rocking dance numbers. And some of the lyrics were just too funny for words as they totally reflected the manner and speech of all the characters involved. Whedon was also lucky to have some cast members, like James Marsters (Spike), Amber Benson (Tara) and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), who truly have some great pipes that were worthy of singling out. The rest of the cast didn't fare too bad either - Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) was surprisingly pretty good and Anya and Xander's duet in their apartment showed that both these actors are quite talented. The only person who really didn't sing solo at all was Alyson Hannigan (Willow). The way I see it is if the girl can't sing, then why force the issue?

Between the intricate musical numbers, the airing out of many bottled up topics and the surprise ending that has brought a new twist to the story, "Buffy: The Musical" was one hell of a showstopper that has certainly staked its claim as one of the best Buffy episodes ever.

For more info, visit the New Official Buffy the Vampire Slayer Website

C.E. Pelc is a freelance writer and music lover living in California.

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As if you didn't know, the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was on this week, and show creator Whedon not only directed the episode, but also wrote the music and lyrics for the songs contained within. It was a hell of a gamble for a show used to taking them, and it paid off in spades.

Personally, I'm not a gigantic fan of musicals, and I had my reservations about "Once More, With Feeling." Sure, Whedon had led his show in some bold directions before, with the simultaneously hilarious and creepy silent episode ("Hush"), the surreal dream episode ("Restless") and the powerful, landmark episode that dealt with the death of Buffy's mother ("The Body"), and he had succeeded, major-ly, on all counts. But the prospect of a musical episode of Buffy made me nervous from the get go. Thank God he had a plan.

Whedon's masterstroke was to keep the episode set within the Sunnydale universe, and to make the musical aspects an organic part of one of the Scooby gang's normal weekly escapades. That way, a musical episode wouldn't be an extraneous, inappropriate, stand-alone outing that existed only as a way for Whedon to show off, or get his jollies. Instead, we were all treated to one of the most entertaining hours of TV I've seen in quite some time.

The story goes like this: a vaudevillian demon was inadvertently summoned to town and his power caused the citizens of Sunnydale to spontaneously burst into song and dance. Everyone affected ended up unguardedly singing their deepest secrets to each other, and then, after their energy was used up, bursting into flames. For normal people it might not be a big deal (one of the show's funniest moments is an instance where a crowd celebrates their stain-free clothing), but the show's group of friends has some abnormal issues to deal with, making their secrets a bit more combustible.

Throughout the episode, several members of the cast got their own musical moments, and they all varied in style. There was a 40s style duet, a "Jesus Christ Superstar" type rock song, a rousing overture and a sweet love song. Every song was passable, and some were absolutely fantastic. Not all the cast members have great voices (Amber Benson and Anthony Stewart head stood out), but they all gave it everything they had, and in most cases, their lack of polish gave their songs more emotional impact. Which is really what this show is all about.

"Once More, With Feeling" delivered in every way. From the songs to the story, everything worked, and it was the best episode of the season so far. It progressed every major plot point in a sensationally entertaining manner. The entire Scooby Gang is as unsure about their futures as we are about the show's, as evidenced by their closing chorus of "Where Do We Go From Here", one of the show's catchiest tunes, but the season has been taken to its next step and all of the issues explored so far will surely catch fire from here. This episode would have been great fun even if it hadn't had any bearing on the season; the fact that it contained within it some crucial revelations and major turning points made it all the more special.

Whedon has once again raised the bar and created an episode of Buffy that, with the help of widescreen, had the feel of a grand, majestic event and made the episode seem more important than any regular outing. But the fact is, he and his writers and cast have been doing the same thing, week after week, without the orchestras or choreography or showtunes. It is clear that Buffy has a lot left in the tank, for this season and at least one more, and if this already provocative season hasn't reassured you of that, "Once More, With Feeling" should leave no doubt. Television has something special in Joss Whedon and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, even if the Emmy's don't seem to know it.

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