The most underappreciated TV series ever just got, uh, less appreciated? New York reports that Fox has shut down a theatrical “sing-along” tour of Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s musical episode, “Once More, With Feeling.” Tour creator Clinton McClung apparently had the legal clearances for the events, which had been taking place over the past year (including a recent San Francisco stint), and also had the tacit support of show creator Joss Whedon. However, apparently Fox had some issue with, you know, TV shows in movie theaters or something. McClung speculates that despite his securing permission for the shows, “someone who is supposed to get paid when these things get screened wasn’t.”
The episode, for the uninitiated, featured a demon of some sort whose arrival in Sunnydale causes the locals to burst into song-and-dance routines, and then burst into flame. Not only were the songs actually pretty catchy, but since the spell also caused people to sing out their innermost feelings, the plot got moved along quite a bit as well. Like: turns out Willow cast a spell to make Tara forget their argument! And Buffy was in heaven! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, buy all the DVDs right now and take a week off from work to watch them.
About 10 minutes of “Once More, With Feeling” is on YouTube:
These audience-participation showings have become more and more popular lately, but usually with movies, making clearances a non-issue. Either way, your chance to raise your voice along with the second-greatest episode of one of the greatest TV shows ever is gone, although hopefully just temporarily: you can sign a petition online to support the tour.