The storylines leading up to this grand cathartic release were built upon so much repressed anger, frustration, passion and sorrow that the only way they could have been properly expressed was through song. The fact that the music itself turned out to be very, very good (even sans context) was icing.Įach character's lyrics stayed true to their individual personalities - even as they dealt with every integral issue plaguing Buffy and her gang (The Scoobies as fans affectionately call them) at that moment. And this wasn't just a vanity project either, the music was crucial to fleshing out his characters' hidden emotions and darkest-kept secrets. Taking it upon himself to compose every musical piece in the episode (his virgin attempt at writing music), Whedon deftly penned songs in a wide variety of styles ranging from 1950s sitcom theme music to rock opera anthems. It seemed patently absurd that these characters could be adequately serviced through song and dance numbers (especially then, because season six was Buffy's darkest and most depressing), but it worked, it totally worked on every conceivable level." "Whedon's chosen narrative device went from superfluous in synopsis to absolutely necessary in execution. But as you can see from the man's future resume, he's pretty darn good at doing musicals - and his first foray into the genre was where he learnt the ropes. But as time has proven, the one that most fans still point to as the show's most daring piece remains their audacious season six episode 'Once More With Feeling.' Sure the show was known for jumping between farcical comedy and shocking tragedy to camp horror and serious drama on a whim - but a musical!? That would seem pretty insane even by today's standards.Īnd keep in mind this before shows like Glee became a phenomenon (coincidentally, Whedon also directed an episode in season one called 'Dream On') and long before Joss himself did Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blogin 2008. Season five's 'The Body' presented death in a deeper and more mature fashion than anything else on TV at the time, and the episode's insistence on not using a score at all (so audiences won't be told how to feel) further emphasized the brilliant writing and acting on display.īoth aforementioned episodes, written and directed by Whedon himself, are certainly contenders for the show's best hour ever. That was almost certainly a big "F U" to people who criticized the show for being overly dependent on snarky banter. Take for instance season four's silent episode 'Hush', which featured almost no dialogue and heavy reliance on psychological suspense to drive home its creepiness. Forget the fact that the show strove to break format whenever possible to showcase adventurous episodes in different genres - the Emmy voters still couldn't look past its "silly" title or unabashed fantasy trappings. But in the end, at every convention panel and in every interview, the questions all eventually come around to Sunnydale.įor seven seasons, Buffy The Vampire Slayer consistently conjured some of smartest and most subversive storytelling on television, presenting salient coming of age parables and sharp gender commentary from week to week. Sure his subsequent shows like Firefly and Dollhouse still have pretty fervent cult followings, his runs on comic-books like Astonishing X-Men and Runaways are celebrated, and his writing on films like Toy Story and Cabin in the Woods helped him break out into the the mainstream. Although filmmaker Joss Whedon has become this giant Hollywood behemoth in recent years thanks to his work on big-budget blockbusters like The Avengers, we'd like to think his most beloved creation is still the one that brought him to the dance - Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
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