From Whoopsy Magazine May 2005 Issue

STOPPAGE TIME by Joe Mitchell

Bring on the Girl Messiah
Finding My Religion at the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Singalong

I've gotten so much flack from so many people over the years for my Buffy fandom that I'd be a millionaire if I had the proverbial penny for each little attack on my status as an adult, my sexuality, or whatever else the great unwashed decided to denigrate at any given moment.

Such is the price for being ahead of the consciousness curve. I am truly convinced that there are two kinds of people in this world: Those who get and therefore adore Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and those who have no business breathing.

Yes, a bit on the elitist side we Buffyverts can be.

And a wee bit on the fervent side, too.

The Buffy Singalong at Alamo Drafthouse on 4/17/05 had all the anticipatory tension of a big rock concert- and that was just in the line to get in the door that snaked around the block long before the scheduled show time. I hadn't been in a queue of humanity this revved-up since I saw the Who at a sold-out stadium concert in 1982.

The buzz in this line portrayed a crowd ready to experience something transcendent. It was a vibe that said, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer is no ordinary television series." In fact, once inside the cinema, I began to feel that things were actually going deeper than rock and roll- much deeper. The crowd wasn't searching for entertainment, but nourishment- nourishment for their world-weary souls. Something quasi-religious was going on. The fictional girl who died twice during her career in the fight against evil and her friends had somehow achieved "messiah and disciples" status. The MC for the evening's event nailed it (no pun, really) when he excoriated the crowd with "Don't act like this is some Rocky Horror campy crap. This is church!" Indeed, the crowd treated it as such, though a Pentecostal one

If you happen to be one of those persons with no business breathing, I will explain the event as this: The Buffy Singalong is a large screen showing of "Once More with Feeling," the daring musical episode of BtVS which originally aired in November of 2001. The cast, most of whom had never sang or danced before, spent months in intensive lessons prior to production, and weeks in the studio laying down vocal tracks for the episode. Buffy Creator Joss Whedon and his cast and crew spent so much creative energy on the episode that all involved were convinced that it would either be a big hit or a colossal failure of Heaven's Gate proportions. Fortunately, it was the former.

To call the episode pure sweet genius would be a gross understatement. Unlike previous ventures into "musical land" by other television series, "OMWF" not only incorporated the ongoing story arc for the season, but advanced it, bringing some big issues to a simmering head- mainly the fact that Buffy had been unceremoniously ripped from a blissful state in heaven when her friends conjured her back from the dead at the beginning of the season. In fact, I cannot even fathom how such a stark admission could have worked in any other milieu.

Some thirty minutes prior to show time, the cinema was already packed- the fifth straight sell-out of the Buffy Singalong at the Alamo. The revival atmosphere started a slow bubbling crescendo, soap bubbles and all. The projectionist played a Season Six DVD extra, a short documentary about the story so far in the first six seasons of BtVS. The crowd roared for its favorite characters/actors as they appeared on screen. I couldn't help but roar for Alyson Hannigan, and give a yelp for the narrator's announcement about Willow's sexual experimentation that began in Season Four. The numerous Indigo Girl ticket holders in the crowd followed suit, only to boo when the video was stopped before the fun details could ensue.

After a screening of Season Four's "Something Blue," the main event commenced. The words to the songs scrolled across the bottom of the screen, but most in the audience, myself included, didn't need them. More bubbles filled the auditorium, lighter flames overwhelmed the screen, two hundred-plus people held hands and sang, and at one point screamed, "CUM!" at the appropriate moment. There was a roar after each number.

One last clamor accompanied the infamous Spike/Buffy kiss at the end of "OMWF." Throughout the room there was simultaneously joy at having experienced such an event, and sadness that it was all over. Like an exhausted preacher, the MC bade everyone adieu. In the lobby, I looked around at all the charged faces. The buzz was still there. The congregation was ready to roll out the door and do the hardest thing in this world- "Live in it."

Hail Buffy full of good and grace.