This is the third of a twice-monthly series on musical theatre in television and movies.

Arguably one of the most popular musical episodes of a TV show is "Once More, With Feeling," the season 6 musical episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.  Entirely written by creator Joss Whedon - including music and lyrics - the plot is straightforward.  A recently summoned demon, unknown to Buffy and her friends, is causing everyone to spontaneously express themselves by singing and dancing.  The problem: because of the intensity of such an emotional release, some people's singing and dancing is causing them to spontaneously combust.  Thinking that Buffy's sister, Dawn, summoned him, the Demon kidnaps her and plans to bring her to the underworld as his queen.  Buffy goes to rescue her alone, but her friends eventually join her.  It turns out that Xander had summoned the demon - who then leaves, not wanting to make Xander his queen.

Particularly due to BUFFY's supernatural element, it would have been easy to write the episode off as a silly diversion.  Instead, the episode is important in the show's overall storyline, especially in terms of character.  Many of the songs are internal and offer character insights, rather than serving to further the demon storyline.  Buffy expresses her disconnect after coming back to life in "Going Through the Motions;" Xander and Anya admit doubts about their impeding marriage with "I'll Never Tell;" Tara and Giles decide to break up with Willow and go back to England, respectively ("Under Your Spell/Standing Reprise").  In a typical musical, these songs would be purely internal, and the other characters wouldn't hear them.  That's not the case in this episode, where all songs - even internal ones - are sung out loud for all to hear.  Even the demon recognizes the impact of such public confessions; even though they've defeated him, no one can say it ended well given these revelations.  The episode therefore serves as a launching point for the rest of the season.  The audience leaves the episode knowing that the relationships amongst these characters have changed significantly, and it's not clear how exactly the characters will develop from this point.

Joss Whedon's score seamlessly captures the tone of the show, as well as the voice of each character.  While the characters have distinct musical styles - Anya and Xander have a more traditional musical theatre number, for example, and Spike has rough rock music - the score overall feels cohesive, making it clear that every song belongs in the same musical world.  The score is a bit ballad heavy and the lyrics are a little heightened, but these more serious elements lend the episode gravity that balances out a plot that could easily be played for laughs.

Click here for song clips from "Once More, With Feeling."