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20 Years Later, “Buffy’s” Musical Episode Is Still Worth Singing About! [Horror Queers Podcast]

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2 years ago

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A blonde woman looks left while a fire rages behind her

Spontaneous Comburst.

We’re only a few weeks into November, but we’re not letting the post-Halloween doldrums get us down. After celebrating our 150th (!!!) episode last week with The Lost Boys, we’re dedicating this week to a whole different anniversary: Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s amazing musical episode, “Once More, With Feeling,” which turned 20 last week.

The season six episode takes place shortly after Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is revived from the grave by her best friend Willow (Alyson Hannigan), who mistakenly believed Buffy was in hell (she was, in fact, in heaven). When someone summons a demon who causes everyone to sing and dance their true feelings, Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang must confront all of the secrets they’ve been keeping from their loved ones.

This includes Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Anya (Emma Caulfield)’s fears about their upcoming marriage, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg)’s kleptomania, former Watcher Giles (Anthony Stewart Head)’ concern that he’s over-parenting, Spike the vampire (James Marsters)’ love for Buffy, and Willow using magic on her girlfriend Tara (Amber Benson) without her knowledge.

Of course, the show is much more than this special episode, so we try to capture the magic – and queer-friendliness – of the series and its titular character.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 151 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer ‘Once More, With Feeling’ (2001)

Give us something to sing about! In celebration of the 20th anniversary of one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s greatest episodes, we’re revisiting the 2001 musical episode ‘Once More, With Feeling’ (S06E07) along with guest and musical theatre expert Joshua Tonks.

Buffy is an important text for women and queer viewers who see themselves represented in the Scooby gang’s Chosen family and Buffy’s strength. And while Joss Whedon is a POS (yes, we know!), we’re highlighting the work of everyone who stepped up IN SEASON SIX to make TV’s best musical episode.

Following a Buffy primer for the uninitiated, we go into a detailed production history about how this Very Special Episode got made. Then it’s a song by song break-down, complete with Karaoke renditions.

Plus: how the writing fails Dawn, praise for Tony winner Hinton Battle, a fun new way to troll Trace, Josh’s walks us through musical subgenres and the importance of the show’s lesbian relationship (and unsubtle ode to cunninlingus).

Cross out Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re digging into found footage with Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass’ extremely homoerotic film, Creep (2014)

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for tons of additional content! This month, we’ll have episodes on Amazon Prime’s I Know What You Did Last Summer series, SyFy’s Slumber Party Massacre remake, and an audio commentary on the original Resident Evil to pair with the new Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City!

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Joe is a TV addict with a background in Film Studies. He co-created TV/Film Fest blog QueerHorrorMovies and writes for Bloody Disgusting, Anatomy of a Scream, That Shelf, The Spool and Grim Magazine. He enjoys graphic novels, dark beer and plays multiple sports (adequately, never exceptionally). While he loves all horror, if given a choice, Joe always opts for slashers and creature features.

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Podcasts

The Double ‘Othering’ of David in ‘An American Werewolf in London’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

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20 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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After concluding March with Raja Gosnell’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (listen) and James Whale’s The Invisible Man (listen), we kicked off April with a discussion of  Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley (listen).
Now we’re checking off another classic with John Landis‘ 1981 werewolf film, An American Werewolf in London.
In the film, American best friends David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are horrifically attacked while backpacking through the UK Moors. Jack is killed and David spends a month recuperating in the hospital, where he befriends attractive nurse Alex (Jenny Agutter) and kindly Dr. Hirsch (John Woodvine).
On the cusp of his release, the mangled corpse of Jack visits David, warning that on the full moon he will become a lycanthrope unless he kills himself. But David is unable to accept his fate and a series of terrible murders follow.
As the bodies (and the comedy) pile up, the question becomes: what will David, Alex, and Dr. Hirsch do to stop the deaths?
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, and RSS.
Episode 277: An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Try not to wolf out because we’re talking about John Landis’ classic, An American Werewolf in London (1981). Backpacking along with us is Xero Gravity, who went on a werewolf binge and has recommendations!
Up for discussion: Alex’s underdeveloped character, urban set pieces, dirty movie theaters, and British rural horror.
Plus: a queer reading of David and Jack’s relationship, Jewish horror, an unsexy sex scene, and extended tangents about werewolf anatomy.

Cross out An American Werewolf in London!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re undergoing a risky experimental treatment for a “different” kind of child with Netflix’s 2019 title, Eli.

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 302 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal S01E04, Late Night with the Devil, The First Omen, Femme, Abigail and a brand new audio commentary on the original The Omen (1976).

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