Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel - First Time Viewer

[tomalak301]

Once More, With Feeling (AKA, Buffy The Musical)

That episode was spectacular. It felt really special, but it also advanced the arc in quite a few ways. I was absolutely shocked Buffy revealed that she was in heaven to the group, something I thought would have been with her throughout the season. To have it come out and Dawn quoting Buffy back to her gave me the same feeling I felt after watching The Gift. I'm loving that theme this series has taken, "The Hardest Thing to do in this world, is to live in it". I also loved Dawn telling Tara about the fight and Tara figuring out that Willow did cast a spell on her. Now everything is out in the open and of course it's episode 7 so the season can move into the next phase.

As for the music, Joss Whedon wrote all those songs and man they were outstanding. I was smirking from ear to ear pretty much the whole time, maybe even moreso on some of them than others. My favorite songs from this episode in order:

Walk Through the Fire
Rest in Peace
Standing
Going Through the Motions
Something to Sing About

The cast did an amazing job in this episode too. Gellar really can sing, and to start with her set the mood for the episode perfectly. I loved hearing Giles sing, of course, and thank you for pointing out James Marsters's band before I saw this episode because damn that guy can rock out. I also loved how this episode covered many different genres of music. You had your showtunes, the pop songs, and then just let Spike rock out.

It was an aboslute pleasure watching that, and it was worth waiting 18 years. Do I think Star Trek can Pull this off? Not really. *

*When I was going to High School (And at this time I was a Senior in HS) there was talk about Enterprise doing a musical episode.

Something else I want to say about this show. Farscape is my favorite show of all time because they were creative and did things no shows would dare to do. I mean they took troupes like the outer body experience and turned it on it's head. They did an animated episode for heaven sake, and they also did an episode where I think it's better if you're on drugs, but it's still great (Won't Get Fooled Again). What I love about Buffy is they are doing creative things and it's working so much. I can see why this is a big four episode, because all these episodes deviated from the format to bring something new to the series. And they are 4 for 4. It's unreal what Joss and crew was able to do here, and it's something I miss in TV today.

I also downloaded the soundtrack, so as I was typing this I was listening to the music again. Going Through the Motions really takes on a new meaning after watching this episode.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

I’m partial to Under Your Spell, I’ll Never Tell, and Walk Through The Fire.

Also Tony Head and Amber Benson’s voices meld perfectly in Under Your Spell/Standing reprise.

And who doesn’t love Anya’s bunnies part in I’ve Got A Theory.

Totally unrelated but I’ve always loved Tara’s dress.

 

[tomalak301]

Also Tony Head and Amber Benson’s voices meld perfectly in Under Your Spell/Standing reprise.

They really do. I actually got some chills with that one, especially since I kind of have a feeling both will be leaving the series soon (It's kind of inevitable, so not really a spoiler) and this felt like their swan song, no pun intended.

Anya really loves bunnies. I guess it all started when she dressed as one, but I'm still a little slow to figure out why. It's adorable though.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Once More, With Feeling (AKA, Buffy The Musical)

That episode was spectacular. It felt really special, but it also advanced the arc in quite a few ways. I was absolutely shocked Buffy revealed that she was in heaven to the group, something I thought would have been with her throughout the season. To have it come out and Dawn quoting Buffy back to her gave me the same feeling I felt after watching The Gift. I'm loving that theme this series has taken, "The Hardest Thing to do in this world, is to live in it". I also loved Dawn telling Tara about the fight and Tara figuring out that Willow did cast a spell on her. Now everything is out in the open and of course it's episode 7 so the season can move into the next phase.

As for the music, Joss Whedon wrote all those songs and man they were outstanding. I was smirking from ear to ear pretty much the whole time, maybe even moreso on some of them than others. My favorite songs from this episode in order:

Walk Through the Fire
Rest in Peace
Standing
Going Through the Motions
Something to Sing About

The cast did an amazing job in this episode too. Gellar really can sing, and to start with her set the mood for the episode perfectly. I loved hearing Giles sing, of course, and thank you for pointing out James Marsters's band before I saw this episode because damn that guy can rock out. I also loved how this episode covered many different genres of music. You had your showtunes, the pop songs, and then just let Spike rock out.

It was an aboslute pleasure watching that, and it was worth waiting 18 years. Do I think Star Trek can this pull off? Not really. *

*When I was going to High School (And at this time I was a Junior in HS) there was talk about Enterprise doing a musical episode.

Something else I want to say about this show. Farscape is my favorite show of all time because they were creative and did things no shows would dare to do. I mean they took troupes like the outer body experience and turned it on it's head. They did an animated episode for heaven sake, and they also did an episode where I think it's better if you're on drugs, but it's still great (Won't Get Fooled Again). What I love about Buffy is they are doing creative things and it's working so much. I can see why this is a big four episode, because all these episodes deviated from the format to bring something new to the series. And they are 4 for 4. It's unreal what Joss and crew was able to do here, and it's something I miss in TV today.

I also downloaded the soundtrack, so as I was typing this I was listening to the music again. Going Through the Motions really takes on a new meaning after watching this episode.

This episode was actually truncated when it first aired. Joss had gone into it determined to make it the same length as a standard episode because he wanted to prove that you could actually do something like this with a standard episode of weekly tv. But in the end it came in something like five minutes over or such, which they originally cut out on airing but put back in for later releases. I remember how shocked I was to realize I've Got a Theory was like twice as long as I thought it was.

 

[tomalak301]

This episode was actually truncated when it first aired. Joss had gone into it determined to make it the same length as a standard episode because he wanted to prove that you could actually do something like this with a standard episode of weekly tv. But in the end it came in something like five minutes over or such, which they originally cut out on airing but put back in for later releases. I remember how shocked I was to realize I've Got a Theory was like twice as long as I thought it was.

It’s 50 minutes. I wish it was an hour.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

@tomalak301 Anya doesn’t love bunnies, she’s terrified of them! She dressed as one for Halloween because she thought it was the scariest costume she could find. Her bunnies line in I’ve Got A Theory is about her thinking that bunnies are the evil cause of the singing.

 

[tomalak301]

@tomalak301 Anya doesn’t love bunnies, she’s terrified of them! She dressed as one for Halloween because she thought it was the scariest costume she could find. Her bunnies line in I’ve Got A Theory is about her thinking that bunnies are the evil cause of the singing.

Yeah but she always brings them up. Maybe it’s a reverse psychology thing.

 

[Mr Soak]

They got the mustard out!

That’s Marti Noxon singing about the parking ticket.
(David Fury lead the mustard song)

 

[EnderAKH]

Run, do not walk, to find Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. It's only about 45 minutes and you will not regret it. Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day. Genius.

 

[tafkats]

In one of those things that makes rewatches fun, "Going Through the Motions" appears to draw briefly from Christophe Beck's "magic snow" music from Amends. (Jump to about 1:45.)

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(And also the fourth movement of Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije suite.)

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[Forbin]

The musical blew me completely away. Not only was it a good musical, it was also a good spoof of musicals. Plus it was a vehicle for major plot advancements. I knew Joss was good at what he did before this, but after this I thought he could do anything.

Walk thru the Fire is as good a showstopper number as Tonight/Quintet in West Side Story.

 

[tomalak301]

Walk thru the Fire is as good a showstopper number as Tonight/Quintet in West Side Story.

I’ve listened to that song a lot and every time I hear it I get really emotional. This episode was built up as a special, but they really did advance the narrative a lot. Not only that, but I’ve been thinking about the theme of depression with this song and the lyrics just have so much meaning given what Buffy has been through. I was seeing various comments about this episode on various sites and one stuck out. It was basically the real Villain of season 6 is depression and addiction and we’ve seen that quite a bit so far.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Warren got tied of April.

Spike got peer shamed for using the Buffybot.

Joyce didn't seem to have a problem with Ted until he tried to discipline her daughter.

Willow narrowly missed losing her cherry to Malcolm, and she was almost fine with that, until she saw him. How shallow.

Season 6 spoiler...

Spoiler

The Warrenbot used as a diversion to distract Dark Willow, was probably built for sex... It might not have died a virgin?

Spike got shamed not because he used a robot but because he used it as a Buffy substitute. Joyce didn't know Ted was a robot until the end. Warren didn't get tired of April, rather he met a human woman he liked better.

And if you're calling Willow shallow, would you *really* have sex with a person who you didn't find physically attractive?

 

[JD]

Yeah but she always brings them up. Maybe it’s a reverse psychology thing.

That's just because she likes to blame them for all the bad things that happen.
Once More With Feeling Really is both a great episode of Buffy, and a great musical. Pretty much all of the songs are great, and they did a great job of actually working into the arc and moving a bunch of stuff forward.
If you like musicals, then I highly recommend checking out Galavant, it's great.
Here's the opening number for Season 1

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And another favorite of mine

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[JD]

I forgot to mention the cast of Galavant in my other post, it has Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D's Mallory Jansen, Psych's Timothy Omundson, Once Upon a Time's Karen David, all in the main cast and had guest appearances from Weird Al, Rutger Hauer, Anthony Stewart Head, John Stamos, Ricky Gervais, and Kylie Minogue.

 

[tafkats]

Walk thru the Fire is as good a showstopper number as Tonight/Quintet in West Side Story.

Good comparison ... that type of song, where everybody's personal plot threads merge into that single just-before-the-climax number, is one of my favorite conventions of the musical genre. I'm not sure I would quite rate it up there with Leonard Bernstein musically, but in terms of lyrical interplay and emotional impact, it's definitely up there.

A few random pieces of trivia for @tomalak301:

• Sarah Michelle Gellar's songs were nearly dubbed by another performer. She had requested this because she wasn't a trained singer and wasn't confident in her ability to pull it off, but as production got closer -- and maybe also as she discovered what a significant part of Buffy's arc the episode would end up being -- she realized that the idea of letting somebody else voice the character was devastating to her. (And she ended up sounding just fine...)
• Alyson Hannigan is also not a singer; luckily, Amber Benson has a beautiful soprano voice that's perfect for big soaring ballads. That's why "Under Your Spell" was entirely Amber instead of a duet.
• Michelle Trachtenberg isn't a singer, but she is an accomplished dancer with a lot of classical ballet training, which is why most of Dawn's character work in the episode was done through dance.

Last thing ... one of my absolute favorite moments of OMWF is one of the easiest to miss. It's the "Under Your Spell / Standing" reprise, where Tara and Giles -- two supporting characters who have been largely defined by their relationships to others, and are actually rarely seen together -- sing about Willow and Buffy respectively, who appear only in the background. With both of them knowing they have to make a wrenching choice to leave someone they love, it's a completely haunting moment, made all the more so by the isolation of the way it's filmed (the physical distance between the singers and the people they're singing about, plus juxtaposing Tara and Giles while having them not interact with each other at all) and by Amber Benson and Anthony Stewart Head both having incredible voices.

When Amber drops into the alto range at :50 and the counterpoint starts ... chills.

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[JD]

Wanna hear something a little scary? Michelle Tratchenberg is 33 now.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Wanna hear something a little scary? Michelle Tratchenberg is 33 now.

And Summer Glau is 37.

 

[tafkats]

Since Dawn was one of the few "teenage" characters who was actually cast age-appropriately, I don't find Michelle's age now especially hard to swallow.

I mean, Nicholas Brendon is 48.

 

[tomalak301]

Tabula Rasa

That might be the saddest episode of Buffy I've seen yet. Everyone is at their lowest point. Willow and Tara break up (with good reason), Buffy is so lost right now, Giles is going back to England, and to make matters worse, Willow does a spell that makes everyone lose memory. I mean OMWF was a pretty depressing episode, but this one might be doubly so considering where everyone is at at the moment. Someone please give Buffy a hug. This is really sad seeing her like this, and I actually understand why she's kissing Spike now. She's in such a deep funk and she's all alone that the person who makes her feel something is Spike. I think the relationship is as superficial as that.

I also want to talk about Nostalgia for a second. I've noticed some of the songs this show has is bringing me back to teenage years. Season 3 had Fatboy Slim, and this episode had a singer who I really liked but don't get to talk about very often, Michelle Branch. Yeah, it was my high school years, but I thought she was a great singer, and her song in this episode was perfect for the tone. I think it was because of her appearance on Buffy that became a star for a brief period of time. Hearing this song, "Goodbye to You" on this series brought me back quite a bit. Can't believe it's been 18 years. I think now everytime I hear this song, which might be like 5 times today, I will think of this episode.

@tafkats

I actually wanted to do some looking up on the musical because it had an impact on me and I did know about your factoids. I could tell Gellar wasn't a trained singer, but I think she handled it really well. Also, the more I hear Tara's Under My Spell and her duet reprise with Giles, the more I really like it. The duet matched so well, reminded me of the Glee mash-ups that were great (Some weren't but most of them were).

I typically wait until tonight to see more Buffy, but I've been thinking about that episode all day I really wanted to see the follow up. It was quite a follow up, but man.