text: once more , with feeling ( buffy the vampire slayer ) " once more , with feeling " is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the supernatural drama television series buffy the vampire slayer ( 1997 – 2003 ) and the only one in the series performed as a musical . it was written and directed by the show 's creator , joss whedon , and originally aired on upn in the united states on november 6 , 2001 . " once more , with feeling " explores changes in the relationships of the main characters , using the plot device that a demon — credited as " sweet " but unnamed in the episode — compels the people of sunnydale to break into song at random moments to express hidden truths . the title of the episode comes from a line sung by sweet ; once the characters have revealed their truths and face the consequences of hearing each other 's secrets , he challenges them to " say you 're happy now , once more , with feeling " . all of the regular cast performed their own vocals , although two actors were given minimal singing at their request . " once more , with feeling " is the most technically complex episode in the series , as extra voice and dance training for the cast was interspersed with the production of four other buffy episodes . it was joss whedon 's first attempt at writing music , and different styles — from 1950s sitcom theme music to rock opera — express the characters ' secrets in specific ways . the episode was well received critically upon airing , specifically for containing the humor and wit to which fans had become accustomed . the musical format allowed characters to stay true to their natures while they struggled to overcome deceit and miscommunication , fitting with the sixth season 's themes of growing up and facing adult responsibilities . it is considered one of the most effective and popular episodes of the series , and — prior to a financial dispute in 2007 — was shown in theaters with the audience invited to sing along . background throughout the series buffy summers ( sarah michelle gellar ) , in her role as the vampire slayer , is assisted by her close friends , who refer to themselves as the " scooby gang " . these include xander harris ( nicholas brendon ) , a young man without particular strengths or talents , but devoted to buffy and her calling , and willow rosenberg ( alyson hannigan ) , a young woman who has grown from a shy but gifted student into a strong woman and powerful user of magic . they are mentored by buffy 's " watcher " , rupert giles ( anthony stewart head ) , a paternal figure since the first season , when buffy moved to sunnydale after her parents ' divorce . xander is engaged to anya jenkins ( emma caulfield ) , a former vengeance demon who has become human . they have struggled with disclosing their engagement to the rest of the group and individually doubt their impending marriage . buffy died at the end of the fifth season ( " the gift " ) , sacrificing herself in place of her younger sister dawn ( michelle trachtenberg ) in order to save the world . in the first episode of the sixth season , willow , believing buffy to be in hell , used magic to bring her back from the grave . buffy was in fact at peace , in what she thinks was heaven , but she has kept this a secret from her friends . since her resurrection , buffy has been lost and without inspiration to perform her duties as a slayer . willow is romantically involved with tara maclay ( amber benson ) , a powerful but ethical witch . tara has previously expressed concern at willow 's use of her emergent magical powers for trivial or personal matters . in the preceding episode ( " all the way " ) , willow cast a spell to make tara forget an argument about her abuse of magic . in the same episode , dawn , who has been stealing from stores , including anya 's magic shop , lies to buffy and goes on a clandestine and almost deadly date . left to take care of dawn after the death of their mother joyce summers ( kristine sutherland ) in the fifth season ( " the body " ) , buffy has come to depend more heavily on giles . following dawn 's date , buffy asks giles to shoulder responsibility for disciplining her , much to his discomfort . buffy 's former nemesis is spike ( james marsters ) , a vampire . in the fourth season the initiative , a secret military organization whose mission is to evaluate and eliminate demonic beings , rendered spike harmless by implanting a microchip in his head that causes him intense pain when he attacks humans . however , the chip does not affect him when he harms demons and he now often fights on buffy 's side , after at first fighting just for the pleasure of brawling . his motivations changed when , in the fifth season , spike realized he had fallen in love with buffy . she initially rejected him , but after and just before her death they had begun to form a friendship of sorts . she has been confiding in him ; prior to this episode , he is the only one to whom buffy has revealed that she was in heaven . throughout buffy the vampire slayer , music serves as a narrative tool , integral to character development and action . the mood is set by music , characters discuss it , and writers use it to emphasize differences between generations . in an essay on the use of music in the series , jacqueline bach writes that in conjunction with the sixth season themes of growing up , " once more , with feeling " gives music a central role instead of keeping it in the background . plot on a routine nighttime graveyard patrol , buffy laments in song about how uninspired her life has become ( " going through the motions " ) . the next morning at the magic box , buffy 's friends reveal that they also sang that evening . led by giles , the gang theorizes about the cause of the singing , sensing no immediate danger but agreeing that by working together they can overcome anything ( " i 've got a theory / bunnies / if we 're together " ) . buffy learns that the whole town is affected when she looks outside the shop to see a large group ( led by series writer and producer david fury ) singing and dancing about how a dry - cleaning service got their stains out ( " the mustard " ) . tara and willow leave to research at home , but dally along the way while tara muses about how much willow has improved her life ( " under your spell " ) . the next morning , xander and anya perform a duet about their secret annoyances with each other and their respective doubts about their impending marriage ( " i 'll never tell " ) . they realize that the songs are bringing out hidden truths , and later insist to giles that something evil is to blame . as they argue , they walk past a woman ( series writer and producer marti noxon ) protesting a parking ticket ( " the parking ticket " ) . that evening , buffy visits spike , who angrily tells buffy to leave him alone if she will not love him ( " rest in peace " ) . dawn tells tara she is glad that tara and willow have made up after their argument . since tara has no recollection of an argument , she suspects that willow has used magic to alter her memory . she goes to the magic box to consult a book , leaving dawn alone . dawn starts to bemoan that no one seems to notice her ( " dawn 's lament " ) , but is seized by minions of sweet ( hinton battle ) , a zoot suit - wearing , tap - dancing , singing demon . they take dawn to the bronze , where her attempt to escape transforms into an interpretive dance with the minions ( " dawn 's ballet " ) before she meets sweet . he tells dawn that he has come to sunnydale in response to her " invocation " , and he will take her to his dimension to make her his bride ( " what you feel " ) when his visit is complete . at the magic box , giles recognizes that he must stand aside if buffy is to face her responsibilities to dawn instead of relying on him ( " standing " ) and tara finds a picture of the forget - me - not flower willow used to cast a spell on her in a book of magic . giles and tara separately resolve to leave the people they love , respectively buffy and willow . in the case of buffy , for her own good , and in the case of willow because tara has become disgusted by willow 's magical manipulation of their relationship ( " under your spell / standing — reprise " ) . captured by spike outside the store , one of sweet 's minions conveys a challenge from sweet for buffy to rescue dawn from the bronze . giles forbids the gang to assist buffy so she goes alone , despite having no will to do so ; eventually giles and the scoobies change their minds and leave to catch up . spike begrudgingly decides to help buffy , despite thinking things would be better for him if she were dead , and sweet opines that buffy is drawn to danger ( " walk through the fire " ) . meeting sweet at the bronze , buffy offers a deal to sweet to take the place of her sister if she can 't kill him . when asked by sweet what she thinks about life , buffy gives her pessimistic take on its meaning ( " something to sing about " ) . when the others arrive , she divulges that willow took her from heaven and willow reacts with horror at finding out what she 's done . upon divulging this truth , buffy gives up on singing and dances so frenetically that she begins to smoke , on the verge of combusting as other victims of sweet have been shown to have done , until spike stops her , telling her that the only way to go forward is to just keep living her life . xander then reveals that he , not dawn , called sweet , hoping he would be shown a happy ending for his marriage plans . sweet tells the group how much fun they have been ( " what you feel — reprise " ) and disappears . the scoobies realize that their relationships have been changed irreversibly by the secrets revealed in their songs ( " where do we go from here ? " ) . spike leaves the bronze , but buffy follows him out and they kiss ( " coda " ) . production and writing joss whedon had wanted to make a musical episode since the start of the series . this was heightened during the fifth season when he hosted a shakespeare reading at his house , to which the cast was invited . they began drinking and singing , demonstrating to whedon that certain cast members had musical talents . whedon knew he would have to write an entire score , which would take weeks or months . during the first three seasons of buffy , he was unable to take more than two weeks off at a time , and the constraints of writing and directing the show precluded him from putting forth the effort of preparing a musical . whedon spoke to the show 's producer , gareth davies , about his idea ; they agreed that a musical episode would be written . whedon spent six months writing the music for " once more , with feeling " . when he returned after the end of the fifth season , he presented davies with a script and cd , complete with notated and orchestrated music , which davies found " mind - boggling " . the actors were initially bewildered ; in 2012 , james marsters commented that " it 's obvious now that they were good songs but the thing was joss and his wife kai , they don 't sing very well . and they don 't play piano very well . the songs sounded really cheesy and horrible ... we were saying , ' joss , you 're ruining our careers . ' " preparing for the episode was physically difficult for some of the cast members , most of whom had little experience singing and dancing . they spent three months in voice training . two choreographers worked with whedon and the cast on dance sequences . michelle trachtenberg ( dawn ) , who is trained in ballet , requested a dance sequence in lieu of a significant singing part , and alyson hannigan ( willow ) , according to whedon , begged him not to give her many lines . sarah michelle gellar ( buffy ) told the bbc that " it took something like 19 hours of singing and 17 hours of dancing in between shooting four other episodes " and she was so anxious about singing that she " hated every moment of it " . when whedon suggested using a voice double for her , however , she said , " i basically started to cry and said , ' you mean someone else is going to do my big emotional turning point for the season ? ' in the end , it was an incredible experience and i 'm glad i did it . and i never want to do it again . " davies was so impressed with hinton battle 's performance on broadway in the wiz that he asked battle to play the demon sweet . battle , a three - time tony - winner , wore prosthetic make - up for the first time to give him a demonic red face . sweet was portrayed as " slick " , smooth and stylish ; in contrast , most demons on the series were designed to be crude and ugly . the set for the bronze was used frequently throughout the series , but stairs were built from the stage to maximize floor space for battle 's dance . running eight minutes longer than any in the series , the episode was also the most technical and complex . whedon , who has stated this is one of his favorite buffy episodes , used a widescreen letterbox format for filming ( the only episode in the series to get this treatment ) , different lighting to bring out the sets more vibrantly , and long takes for shooting — including a complicated shot with a full conversation , a song , and two choreographed dances that took 21 attempts to get right . these were designed to give viewers all the clues they needed to establish all the nuances of the relationships between characters . davies commented that the intricacies of filming this episode were " infinitely more complicated than a regular buffy " episode , and whedon stated in the dvd commentary that he was ambitious to prove what television is capable of , saying " it just depends how much you care " . upn , the television network that aired buffy 's last two seasons , promoted the episode by displaying gellar 's face on billboards with music notes over her eyes , and held a special premiere event . network president dean valentine remarked he thought it was " one of the best episodes of television i ever saw in my life " . critics hailed the episode as successful in telling a complex story about all the characters in a unique way , while retaining the series ' effective elements of writing and character development . throughout the show — as in the rest of the series — the characters self - consciously address their own dialogue and actions . anya describes her own duet " i 'll never tell " as " a retro pastiche that 's never gonna be a breakaway pop hit " . with a characteristic dry demeanor , giles explains that he overheard the information about sunnydale residents spontaneously combusting as he was eavesdropping upon the police taking " witness arias " . in her opening number , " going through the motions " , buffy sings that she feels as though she is playing a part : " nothing here is real , nothing here is right " . the song introduces the character 's emotional state but also removes the barrier between the actor and the audience , as gellar the actor portrays buffy , who feels she is merely playing the part of the slayer . this hints to the audience that the episode 's musical format is strange to the actors and characters . according to buffy essayist richard albright , the lack of polish among cast members ' singing voices added to the authenticity of their breaking out into song for the first time in the series . whedon included self - conscious dialogue and references about the characters being in a musical and showed their reluctance toward song and dance , so that the audience would feel more comfortable with the improbability of such a thing happening on the show . themes the dynamic nature of the characters was a unique element of writing in the series at the time . once they were established in the twelve episodes of the first season , characters began to change and relationships were developed in the second . this continued through the series to the point of unpredictability that sometimes became unsettling to fans . buffy essayist marguerite krause asserts that the monsters and demons faced by the scoobies are thin symbolism for the show 's true focus : relationships and how to maintain or ruin them . common among most of these relationships — romantic , platonic , and familial — is , according to krause , a " failure to communicate , lack of trust , [ and the ] inability to envision or create a viable future " . is worsened or sustained through multiple episodes and seasons , leading to overwhelming misunderstanding and critical turning points for the characters , some of whom do not recover . " once more , with feeling " propelled the story arc for season six by allowing characters to confess previously taboo issues to themselves and each other . whedon commented that he was " obsessive about progressing a plot in a song , about saying things we haven 't said " , comparing the musical theater format to the fourth season episode " hush " , in which characters begin communicating when they stop talking . according to buffy essayist zoe - jane , earlier episodes ' " false saccharine behaviour " impedes the characters so crucially that it summons a demon to force them to be honest . the consequences in the episode of concealing truth , spontaneous combustion , is an allusion to bleak house by charles dickens — of whom whedon is a fan — where characters also face immolation for being deceitful . for buffy , however , truth is slow in coming , as she continues to lie to the scoobies , claiming to forget what she sang about in the graveyard during " going through the motions " . buffy continues her charade in the chorus number " if we 're together " , beginning the song by persuading others to join in one by one , as if each is convinced that she is still invested and in charge , and their strength as a group is infallible . although she asks in verse " apocalypse / we 've all been there / the same old trips / why should we care ? " , all the scoobies join her , including giles despite his suspicions that buffy is no longer interested in her life . secrets reveal themselves steadily throughout the episode . xander fears that his future marriage will turn him into an argumentative drunk like his father . he attempts to avoid his fears through the song " i 'll never tell " , singing " ' there 's nothing to tell " , after summoning sweet to sunnydale to show him that he and anya will be happy . amid the various annoyances xander and anya express through this song , some verses are clear - sighted observations of behavior , such as anya 's accusation that xander — once in love with buffy — uses buffy as a mother figure to hide behind . anya also avoids the truth by burying herself in wedding plans without thinking critically about what being married will entail ; instead she considers xander an accessory to her desired lifestyle . of all the characters , anya is the most preoccupied with the style of singing and songs , demanding to know if spike sang " a breakaway pop hit , or a book number " , and asking dawn if the pterodactyl she facetiously says she gave birth to also broke into song . anya and xander 's duet is the only song in the episode to address the audience directly . during the long single - shot scene when she and xander talk over each other insisting to giles that evil must be at play , anya refers to the audience , saying " it was like we were being watched ... like there was a wall missing ... in our apartment ... like there were only three walls and not a fourth wall . " albright asserts that anya 's constant preoccupation with her and others ' performances indicates that she has serious doubts about her future supporting role as xander 's wife . giles 's truth , according to whedon , is that he realizes he must not " fight my kid 's battles or my kid will never grow up " , which he sings in " standing " while he throws knives at buffy as part of her training . whedon remarked that this touch " is the kind of complete turnaround that is a staple of the buffy universe " . tara 's heartfelt love song also has an ironic subtext ; although she appears to mean that she is fulfilled by her relationship with willow , the lyrics include multiple allusions to willow working her manipulative will over tara , overlaid with tara 's euphoric singing about her pleasure in their union . in sex and the slayer , lorna jowett calls the song between willow and tara the transformational event in their relationship , from tara 's subservient bearing towards willow , into a relationship of equals . two buffy essayists note that willow and giles sing together at the start of the episode , but later tara and giles share a duet to express the diminished part each plays in their respective relationships . although " once more , with feeling " allows all the characters to confess truthfully , with the exception of willow , it does not resolve the behavior that demanded confession in the first place . at the end of the episode , buffy kisses spike , initiating a romance that she hides from her friends . their relationship lasts until the end of the series , marked for a time by buffy 's loathing of him because he has no soul . her relationship with spike , however , allows her to feel lust and attraction , which she yearns for after being pulled back from a heavenly dimension . in the psychology of joss whedon , mikhail writes that , although buffy 's first step toward re - engaging with her life is telling the scoobies the truth in the song " something to sing about " , she does not find meaning again until the end of the season . in his essay " a kantian analysis of moral judgment in buffy the vampire slayer " , scott stroud explains that buffy , as the central character throughout the series , is torn between her desires and her duty , in a kantian illustration of free will vs. , symbolized by her responsibility as a slayer and her adolescent impulses . in earlier seasons , this takes the form of simpler pleasures such as dating and socializing , interspersed with defeating evil forces . it reaches a climax in the ultimate sacrifice when buffy offers to die to save the world . however , " once more , with feeling " , according to stroud , is the turning point at which she begins to face her responsibility to the community , her friends and her family . not only does she continue her slaying despite a lack of inspiration , but for the rest of the season she works at a humiliating job to provide for her sister and friends . music and style " once more , with feeling " was joss whedon 's first attempt at writing music , which he had always wanted to do . he learned how to play guitar to write several songs . christophe beck , a regular composer for the series , filled in the overture and coda and composed " dawn 's ballet " . whedon is a fan of stephen sondheim , and used him as the inspiration for much of the music , particularly with the episode 's ambiguous ending . cast member james marsters ( spike ) said , " some of joss 's music is surprisingly complicated . maybe it 's a beatles thing . he doesn 't know enough to know what he can 't do and he 's smashing rules . " the episode 's musical style varies significantly . buffy 's opening number , " going through the motions " , was influenced heavily by the disney song " part of your world " sung by ariel in the little mermaid . whedon wanted to use a similar opening in which the heroine explains her yearning . while singing her song , buffy fights three vampires and a demon who themselves break into a choreographed dance ; whedon wanted this to be fun but not distracting . the song ends with chord influences from stephen schwartz 's pippin and a visual tribute to disney : as buffy stakes a vampire , it turns to dust that swirls around her face . whedon chose the most complicated scene , with the most dancers and choreography in the classic style of musical theater , to accompany an 18 - second song ( " the mustard " ) " to get it out of the way " for more personal numbers later in the episode . stephanie zacharek of salon.com considers this " brilliant because it frees even people who hate musicals to settle into the story without getting hung up on the genre 's conventions " . the musical styles span from a jaunty 1950s sitcom arrangement of the buffy theme in the opening credits — the only episode in the series to begin without the normal version of the theme song and full cast roll , signifying a genre shift — to anya 's hard - rock version of " bunnies " . whedon assigned emma caulfield the rock - opera format because caulfield often sang in such a way to him on the set . spike 's " rest in peace " is also a rock song , which whedon wrote after completing the episode 's first song , tara 's " under your spell " , a contemporary pop song with radio - play potential . xander and anya 's duet — the most fun to shoot but difficult to write , according to whedon — is inspired by fred astaire - ginger rogers comedies as evidenced by the silken pajama costumes and art deco apartment setting . musically , the song uses influences from ira gershwin , a charleston rhythm , and jazz - like chord slides . giles ' " standing " is a ballad to buffy that she does not hear , unlike the songs revealing truths elsewhere in the episode . whedon shot the scene so that giles moves in real time while buffy works out in slow motion , to accentuate giles ' distance from her . buffy 's not hearing his song was intentional ; whedon explained , " you can sing to someone in musicals and they can never know how you feel or how much you love them , even if they 're standing right in front of you " . " under your spell " received attention from buffy studies writers because it presents a frank and unflinching expression of lesbian romance . buffy the vampire slayer was the first show in u.s. television history to portray a long - term lesbian relationship among the core cast of characters . previous televised depictions of lesbian relations were primarily limited to single " coming out " or " lesbian kiss " episodes , showing lesbian - identified characters as affectionate but not erotic . tara and willow demonstrate throughout the series , and specifically in " once more , with feeling " , that they are " intensely sexual " , according to buffy essayist justine larbalestier . near the end of tara 's song , she sings , " lost in ecstasy / spread beneath my willow tree / you make me / com — " , as tara levitates off the bed while willow tacitly performs cunnilingus on her . lorna jowett called the song " the most erotic scene " of the series . whedon admitted on the dvd commentary for the episode that the song is " pornography " and " probably the dirtiest lyric i 've ever written , but also very , very beautiful " . buffy essayist ian shuttleworth writes that amber benson ( tara ) has " the sweetest singing voice of all the lead players " , referring to " under your spell " as " heavenly and salacious " ; author nikki stafford concurs , writing that benson " has the most stunning voice , showing a surprising range " . whedon acknowledged that the " lyrical , heavenly quality " of benson 's voice led him to assign her the episode 's love song . alyson hannigan ( willow ) was unwilling to sing much and her performance is " apprehensive " , according to shuttleworth . he considers this an example of tara 's quieter strength coming out in front of willow 's showy demonstrations of powerful magic . buffy studies scholar rhonda wilcox interprets willow 's diminished role representing the show 's silence about willow 's descent into addiction and darkness through the rest of the season . benson remarked that tara 's story arc is significant within the episode , starting out with ecstasy but soon recognizing the illusory circumstances surrounding her bliss and that " life can 't be perfect all the time " . the most complicated song , " walk through the fire " , leads all the characters to the climax from different locations for different reasons , reminiscent of the " tonight quintet " from west side story . when they all sing the chorus at once to the line " we will walk through the fire / and let it — burn " , two fire trucks race behind the scoobies as they proceed to the bronze . whedon called the shot the " single greatest thing we ever did " . each of the singers in this song , which " marries soft rock to the function of a dirge " , connects musically to earlier songs while foreshadowing buffy 's next number and the final chorus , providing an ominous anxiety . buffy 's numbers are the most complex , changing key and tempo when she begins to reveal the secrets she swore she never would . this appears specifically in " something to sing about " , which starts with uptempo platitudes : " we 'll sing a happy song / and you can sing along : / where there 's life , there 's hope / every day 's a gift / wishes can come true / whistle while you work ... " while singing , she kills sweet 's minions with a pool cue . whedon attempted to make the song tuneful yet chaotic to express the main point of the episode . it transitions suddenly into her desire to be like normal girls , then changes again , slowing the tempo as she challenges sweet not to give her a song , but " something to sing about " . musicologist amy bauer categorizes the tempo shifts as " rock ballad to punk polka to hymn " that indicates buffy 's turmoil . the key and tempo slow again , as buffy finally reveals " i live in hell / ' cause i 've been expelled from heaven / i think i was in heaven " with the chord changing from b minor to b diminished , each time she repeats " heaven " . when replying to her , spike has the same shift from minor to diminished each time he repeats the word " living . " the episode nears the end with " where do we go from here ? " , as the scoobies stand dazed and disoriented , facing different directions . as they sing " understand we 'll go hand in hand / but we 'll walk alone in fear " , they line up , hold hands , then fling each other 's hands away in a piece of what whedon calls " literal choreography " . each of the eight characters in this line wears a color in the visible spectrum , a conscious decision by the costume designer . the couples in the group wear opposite colors ( giles in green and buffy in red , anya in blue and xander in orange , tara in yellow and willow in purple ) , and rhonda wilcox interprets the color - coding and choreography to represent the " tension between the individual and the group " . the characters as a chorus sing " the curtains close on a kiss , god knows / we can tell the end is near " , moments before buffy runs out to kiss spike and the show closes with actual curtains . as spike and buffy kiss , a swell of music accompanies them , similar to the ending of gone with the wind . lyrics sung moments before , however , forecast the uncertainty of the relationship between spike and buffy . reception when the episode was originally broadcast in the united states on upn on november 6 , 2001 , it received a nielsen rating of 3 . 4 and a share of 5 . this placed the episode in sixth place in its timeslot , and 88th among broadcast television for the week of november 5 – 11 , 2001 . it was the most watched program on upn that night , and the third most watched program that week , trailing episodes of star trek : enterprise and wwf smackdown . this was a decrease from the 3 . 7 rating received by the previous episode a week prior . " once more , with feeling " received positive praise from media and critics when it aired , during overseas syndication , and in reminiscences of the best episodes of buffy after the series ended . although salon.com writer stephanie zacharek states " ( t ) he songs were only half - memorable at best , and the singing ability of the show 's regular cast ranged only from the fairly good to the not so great " , she also asserts that it works " beautifully " , paces itself gracefully , and is " clever and affecting " . zacharek 's unenthusiastic assessments of the music and cast 's singing abilities were not shared by other writers . debi enker in australia 's the age writes , " giles ( anthony stewart head ) and tara ( amber benson ) are terrific , xander ( nicholas brendon ) and dawn ( michelle trachtenberg ) struggle valiantly , and willow ( alyson hannigan ) barely sings a note " . tony johnston in the sunday herald sun writes that gellar " struggles on some of her higher notes , but her dance routines are superb , michelle trachtenberg 's dawn reveals sensual dance moves way beyond her tender years , and james marsters ' spike evokes a sort of billy idol yell to disguise his lack of vocal proficiency [ ... ] the rest of the cast mix and match like ready - made broadway . " johnston counts " i 'll never tell " as one of the episode 's " standout moments " . connie ogle in the miami herald calls the songs " better and far more clever than most of the ones you 'll hear on broadway these days " . writers agree that the episode was risky and could have failed spectacularly . jonathan bernstein in the british newspaper the observer writes " what could have been , at best , an eccentric diversion and , at worst , a shuddering embarrassment , succeeded on every level [ ... ] it provided a startling demonstration that creator joss whedon has a facility with lyrics and melody equal to the one he 's demonstrated for the past six seasons with dialogue , character and plot twists . rather than adopt the ' hey , wouldn 't it be wacky if we suddenly burst into song ? ' approach practised by ally mcbeal , the buffy musical was entirely organic to the series ' labyrinthine progression . " johnston in the sunday herald sun says , " there is just so much to this marvellously cheeky episode that suggests the show can take any route it pleases and pull it off " , while debi enker in the age comments , " whedon demonstrates yet again what buffy aficionados have known and appreciated for years : that his wit , playfulness and readiness to take a risk make his television efforts rise way above the pack . " steve murray in the atlanta journal - constitution characterizes the episode as " scary in a brand - new way " , saying " once more , with feeling " is " as impressive as whedon 's milestone episodes ' hush ' and ' the body ' " ; the episode is " often hilarious " , according to murray , and acts as " ( b ) oth spoof and homage , [ parodying ] the of musicals while also capturing the guilty pleasure and surges of feeling the genre inspires " . writing in the toronto star , vinay menon calls " once more , with feeling " " dazzling " and writes of " joss whedon 's inimitable genius " ; he goes on to say " ( f ) or a show that already violates conventions and morphs between genres , its allegorical narrative and zagging seamlessly across chatty comedy , drama and over - the - top horror , ' once more , with feeling ' is a towering achievement [ ... ] the show may be anchored by existential , it may be painted with broad , supernatural brushstrokes , but in the end , this coming - of - age story , filled with angst and alienation , is more real than any other so - called teen drama [ ... ] so let 's add another line of gushing praise : ' once more , with feeling ' is rhapsodic , original , deeply affecting , and ultimately , transcendental . quite simply , television at its best . " the episode was nominated for an emmy award for outstanding musical direction , but the national academy of television arts and sciences ( natas ) neglected to include the title on the ballots for emmy nominations in 2002 . natas attempted to remedy this by mailing a postcard informing its voters that it should be included , but the episode did not win . natas ' oversight , according to the washington post , was " another example of the lack of industry respect afforded one of television 's most consistently clever shows " . ogle in the miami herald vigorously protests this omission , writing , " [ t ] he most astonishing , entertaining hour ( hour plus , actually ) of tv in the past year slips by virtually unnoticed . nothing here is real ; nothing here is right . buffy the vampire slayer 's musical episode , ' once more , with feeling ' , registers a paltry outstanding music direction nomination . nice for the musical directors . a stake through the aspirations of writer / director joss whedon , the beating creative heart of buffy , the only tv writer brave and clever enough to use horror as one great big wonderful metaphor for growing up [ ... ] ' once more , with feeling ' is tv of a different sort , something that comes along once in a lifetime and should not be buried but celebrated and rewarded . " the episode was also nominated for a best dramatic presentation hugo award and a best script nebula award , both given for excellence in science fiction and fantasy writing . in 2009 tv guide ranked the episode # 14 on its list of " tv 's top 100 episodes of all time " . soundtrack an album including all 14 songs in the episode , with christophe beck 's scores for three other buffy episodes , was released by rounder records in september 2002 as season seven premiered . john , president and chief executive of rounder records , told the los angeles times , " i remember watching the episode when it aired last october , and after it was over , i said to my wife , ' that 's the best hour of tv i 've ever seen . someone should put that [ soundtrack ] out . ' i inquired at fox , just following up , and they said , ' well , we tried , it didn 't happen . if you want to take a run at it , feel free . ' " allmusic gives the album five out of five stars , stating that the music is " every bit as fun as the episode itself " , praising the voices of benson , marsters and head . reviewer melinda hill states it is " a must - have for buffy fans , but it wouldn 't be out of place in anyone 's collection " . dvd releases in addition to featuring on the sixth season box set , " once more , with feeling " was individually released on dvd in region 2 format on april 14 , 2003 , the only episode to be individually released . in region 1 , the episode was released on the sixth season box set on may 25 , 2004 , over a year later than the region 2 release . influence on television since the musical episode of buffy aired , several other series have worked musical format into episodes , including scrubs , ( " my musical " ) in 2007 , an episode of grey 's anatomy entitled " song beneath the song " in 2011 and batman : the brave and the bold , ( " mayhem of the music meister ! " ) in 2009 . the musical television episode was declared a genre , a gimmick , according to mary williams at salon.com , for series that had run out of interesting story lines and characters . both williams and margaret lyons at new york magazine , however , declared " once more , with feeling " the " gold standard " for musical episodes . despite this , joss whedon recognized the influence " once more , with feeling " has had on other shows , but denied that it was primarily responsible for the rise in musical television episodes or series such as glee , citing the popularity of high school musical instead . public showings buffy the vampire slayer developed an enthusiastic fan following while it aired . following its series finale , fans continued their appreciation in theater showings of " once more , with feeling " where attendees are encouraged to dress like the show 's characters , sing along to the musical numbers , and otherwise interact in the style of the rocky horror picture show . clinton mcclung , a new york - based film programmer , got the idea for a sing - along from audience - participation showings of the sound of music in 2003 . the next year , he began putting on sing - alongs to " once more , with feeling " in boston 's coolidge corner theater , which became so popular that it went on the road . audience members received props to use during key scenes , as well as directions ( for example , to yell " shut up , dawn ! " at buffy 's younger sister ) , and a live cast performed the episode alongside the screen . buffy sing - alongs received growing media attention as they spread . at the 2007 los angeles film festival , a special screening and sing - along was held that featured both marti noxon and joss whedon giving brief speeches to the audience . in october 2007 , after a dispute with the screen actors guild over unpaid residuals , 20th century fox pulled the licensing for public screenings of " once more , with feeling " , effectively ending official buffy sing - alongs . whedon called the cancellation " hugely depressing " and attempted to influence the studio to allow future showings .