Once More, with Feeling

"Once More, with Feeling" is a musical episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written and directed by Joss Whedon, the creator of the show. The lyrics and music were also written by Whedon, with a score by Christophe Beck and arrangements by Beck and Jesse Tobias.

It was first broadcast (as the seventh episode of season six) by the United Paramount Network on November 6, 2001.

This is the longest episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ever &mdash; 50 minutes long, as opposed to the usual 42 minutes. It ran past the regular hour intentionally, with the extra time never being again released or rebroadcast until the DVD sets were produced.

In this episode, a mysterious force impels Sunnydale residents into songs that reveal their true feelings and deep secrets; Buffy and Spike share a kiss.

Quotes

 * Xander: You're the cutest of the Scoobies,
 * With your lips as red as rubies,
 * And your firm yet supple... tight embrace!


 * Giles: I was able to examine the body while police were taking witness arias.


 * Spike: Don't be a stupid git.
 * Giles: When I want your opinion, Spike, I'll... I'll never want your opinion.


 * Giles: She needs backup...Anya...Tara...
 * [Anya and Tara step in to provide backup singing in "Something to Sing About".]


 * Anya: It has to be stopped. It was like we were being watched, like there was a wall missing from our apartment. Like there were only three walls and not a fourth one. [''Anya in reference to her and Xander's duet - also a reference to breaking the fourth wall]


 * Willow: I think this line's mostly filler.


 * Woman: I've been having a bad, bad day/ Come on, won't you put that pad away/ I'm asking you, please no!/ It isn't right/ It isn't fair/ There was no parking anywhere/ I think that hydrant wasn't there/ Why can't you let it go?/ I think I've paid more than my share/ I'm just a poor girl, don't you care?/ Hey, I'm not wearing underwear... [The Parking Ticket Song]

Trivia

 * Although he is never named in dialog or lyrics, the demonic villain of this episode is called Sweet per the episode's closing credits and the shooting script.


 * Joss Whedon had wanted to create a musical episode since the first season of Buffy, but wasn't allowed to until the show was moved to a more lenient network, UPN.


 * When Buffy asks the Scoobies if they had burst into song the previous night, they reveal that they each had but only thought it had happened to themselves. Giles was playing his guitar and singing at the hotel when he heard a backing orchestra accompany him and the room service staff performing synchronised dancing. He previously played "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who at an espresso bar in the episode "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd at home in "The Yoko Factor". Willow and Tara started singing whilst doing the dishes after dinner; there was a whole verse about cous cous. Xander and Anya had been arguing when their words started rhyming and they presumably started singing. Xander finds the whole thing disturbing, yet Willow seems to enjoy it. Ironically, it was Xander who summoned the demon responsible, and Willow, who has stage fright, sings only backing vocals and a few sparse solo lines.


 * Anya is very concerned that her duet with Xander, "I'll Never Tell", is a retro pastiche and isn't likely to become a 'breakaway pop hit', reflecting the trend of musicals often featuring songs that become popular after being covered by singers other than the original castmembers. She also asks Spike if his song, "Rest in Peace", was a breakaway pop hit 'or more of a book number'.


 * Buffy's line, "Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday", is a reference to UPN, who was currently airing Buffy on Tuesday nights. Buffy also aired on Tuesday nights on the WB for the majority of its run.


 * Xander's line, "Respect the cruller. And tame the donut!" is a reference to a line from the film Magnolia.


 * Spike's line, "Finish the big group sing. Get your kumbaya-yas out," is a reference to both the song "Kumbaya" and to the Rolling Stones album Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert.


 * The original airing of "Once More, with Feeling" received 5.4 million viewers.


 * The scene featuring Amber Benson's musical number, "Under Your Spell", featured heavily-implied sex between two females, and was edited out during the episode's first broadcast in conservative countries like the Philippines and China.


 * Action figures of Buffy Summers, Anya Jenkins, and Dawn Summers were produced, based on this episode.


 * In a press interview Amber Benson admitted to dancing into a pole during the backup dance at the Bronze. The viewer can see her laughing as she steps back (this occurs during the lyric "and every single verse / can make it that much worse" within "Something to Sing About").


 * Sarah Michelle Gellar said she "hated" making this episode (in particular the complicated singing and dancing she had to perform for "Something to Sing About").