I missed the sing-a-long in Oakland last Thursday night (of course I WAS watching The Office!), but I understand that huge fun was had and they will be doing this again soon. Oh and I really agree xanderharris: Amber is a riot, and I want a Mutant Enemy finger puppet too!

embers | February 17, 22:37 CET

Aww. Poor Michelle.

hitnrun017 | February 17, 22:51 CET

Any links for outside of the US people?

Genia | February 17, 23:05 CET

I know I had a blast at the one xanderharris suggested I attend. Did you get the feeling Amber wasn't sure what to make of it? Heh. She's pretty.

thatweirdgirl | February 17, 23:20 CET

Aw, what a great little video. :) I agree, poor Michelle. hehe. Amber and Joss were cute.

I didn't realize that these sing-a-longs had audience participation like Rocky Horror with throwing underwear and SHUT UP DAWNs. Pretty fun!

fortunateizzi | February 17, 23:34 CET

...and let's not forget the Throwing-of-Bunnies. I got lasered by a scary cottontail during Anya's rock-out last Thursday.

woo & hoo | February 17, 23:48 CET

They've been doing this periodically, here in Austin, for YEARS! In fact, the first one might have been at SpiderHouse, at the weekly airing party thrown by ILuvVideo, tons of people showed up just for that ep... I know that the Alamo Drafthouse picked up and ran with it after that, and it sells out every single time, even years later :)

Anyone know where Ground Zero actually was?

[ edited by UnderTheDark on 2007-02-17 22:38 ]

UnderTheDark | February 18, 00:37 CET

Anyone know if it is possible to view this from outside the US at all anywhere?

MobileHQ | February 18, 01:02 CET

So for the benefit of the 5.8 billion people outside the US, can anyone do a summary?

Simon | February 18, 01:11 CET

I attended one of the two sold out shows in Chicago (700 people each night!), and I had a ball. But ours was just the episode, with a few props given to audience members...we didn't have the actors playing out the scenes in front of us along. I'm not so sure I'd care for that...it seems unnecessary.

And MTV brings Joss and Amber into the studio to interview them, and gives them each only a few seconds of screen time? That's a waste to me.

Shiai | February 18, 01:37 CET

You can't see the video outside the U.S? I just assumed, a link was a link and you could get to it. Weird.

Okay. MTV shows lots of clips of OMWF showings with fans talking about how fun it is. They tell us it's a cleaner more family friendly Rocky Horror that they can take their little sis to see. They ask Joss what he thinks and he condemns it! And then thinks it's really cool. He says he loves that the episode has created a life of its own. They show a clip of audience yelling about Dawn and then talk to Michelle. She's a little nervous, but thinks if it people enjoy telling Dawn to shut up, then they should have fun with it. Amber mentions that how great it is that the people learn the dances and the songs. A few more clips and commentary by MTV dude ( I think Kurt Loder). It ends with our gorgeous Amber GrrrArghing.


edit* Polter-Cow did a much better summary.

[ edited by thatweirdgirl on 2007-02-18 00:03 ]

thatweirdgirl | February 18, 01:43 CET

Here's Buffy singing "Something to Sing About," and then— what's this? It's on a movie screen! And there are words on the screen! And there's a woman in front of the screen wearing the same clothes and singing and dancing along!

An intro notes that Buffy is slaying us once again via midnight singalongs where people are "dressing up, acting out, throwing stuff. It's like Rocky Horror, only, like, much more with the fun."

A fan agrees that it's a "less slutty Rocky Horror" that you don't have to be embarrassed about. Another fan loves that there's a reason for so many Buffy fans to get together.

After background on the episode, Elizabeth Loeb muses that the reason bursting into song is so awesome is that it gives you an incredible sense of permission; you don't have to feel self-conscious about it.

And what do the people behind the show think about this?

Joss: "I'm against it. I'm coming out against it. I think it's wrong. Um, what do I think? I think it's the best thing ever!"

Amber Benson is very impressed that they learned all the dances and the songs. "Wow."

The narrator continues to make appropriate OMWF references as we see fans holding up underwear (Joss: "I was throwing underwear the whole time I was writing") and dancing crazy and..."SHUT UP, DAWN!" To which Michelle is a bit...goshed.

Joss: "I wrote it to be an episode of television, to be aired and then sort of disappear. I didn't really think about the afterlife that much. Um, and now, it has much more of an afterlife than I could ever have expected and a much more fun one."

Michelle: "'Once More, with Feeling' is pretty badass."

Amber: "Grr! Aargh!"

Polter-Cow | February 18, 01:49 CET

The clip plays fine here in Australia. It's just less that 3 minutes long. Here's a rough transcript - the gist rather than word perfect.

It starts with some clips from OMWF with a narrator telling us that Buffy is now slaying us with midnight sing-a-longs and giving his summary of the premise of the episode - his narration is full of puns/phrases from the episode. He says it's like rocky horror but “much more with the fun”.

There are interviews with a couple of enthusiastic fans who appear to be outside a showing. One of them says "its the less slutty rocky horror you can conceivably go with your younger sister and you don't have to be embarrassed with your fishnet tights". Another says that buffy fans have been looking for a way to get together. There are also clips from inside the venue showing audience participation – then comments from the “buffy” of the evening about how song in OMWF gives an incredible sense of permission .

Joss is asked what he thinks and he starts by saying that he's against it – he’s coming out come out against it, he thinks it's wrong [but he can't stop smiling or being on the verge of chuckling] and then "what could I think, I think, its the best thing ever" and "I was throwing underwear the whole time I was writing it - it’s so weird".

More clips from a venue where the film is showing – with people in costume up on stage singing along.

Amber B says that the fans “nailed all the dances and all the songs – that’s dedication”

We then see someone on stage holding up a SHUT UP DAWN sign. A wobbly lipped [in a good sport kind of way] Michelle says “hey, you know, why not...you want to tell me to shut up – I’ll take it”. We then cut to her giving a rather cute “jazz hands” demo.

Back to Joss who says – “I wrote it to be an episode of TV. You air it and then it disappears. You don’t really think about its afterlife that much and now it has much more of an afterlife than expected and a pretty fun one.”

There’s some promotion for where the show is going next – and viewers are told to check Buffysings.com - we end with Michelle “Once more with feeling is pretty badass” followed by Amber’s Grrrarggh while wearing what looks like a mutant enemy finger puppet.

purplehazel | February 18, 02:03 CET

The first OMWF sing-along was at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts. It started after the huge success of "The Sound of Music" sing-alongs there. The director, Clinton McLung, an extreme Buffy fan, decided to try out Buffy and it's been glorious pandmonium since then! They still hold them (about twice a year) and if you're ever in the area you must check it out. (I'll be the one in front, singing along. ha.)

sheesh, that sounds like an advert doesn't it?

Miss Kitty Fantastico | February 18, 02:03 CET

Awright, if they do one in LA I'll go to it. Sheesh already. And ditto to that poor Michelle/Dawn sentiment. God love 'er, she's being a good sport about it.

Man, who doesn't want a Mutant Enemy "Grr! Aargh!" finger puppet? It would so come in handy at the end of my weekly "Buffy meets Angel meets Firefly" finger puppet shows for benefit of friends and family, whose existence is totally imaginary.

Was anyone else surprised to learn that Buffy ran for six (6) seasons? I must have hallucinated all of Season 7, which changes my perception of canon entirely.

I know it's nit-picky of me to mention it, but the number of Buffy seasons has to be quite one of the easiest things in the online world to ascertain...

ET: conflated "go to" and "got"

[ edited by QuoterGal on 2007-02-18 00:23 ]

QuoterGal | February 18, 02:15 CET

I wanna go to a sing-a-long in Sweden!! Who's with me?

And what's with the "only for US" crap? Is this the year 2007 or not? It's a global market people, wake up!!

edit: I spoke too soon :) I could watch it! Thanks MTV! So you people outside of the US, give the link a try anyway, it might work.

[ edited by Lucidmind on 2007-02-18 00:22 ]

Lucidmind | February 18, 02:17 CET

That finger puppet Amber wears is one of the props that attendees receive at each showing. You also get in your goody bag a pair of plastic vampire fangs, a kazoo to play whenever SMG goes up out of her range, and one of those little confetti party poppers to set off as Tara...um, culminates her rendition of "Under Your Spell" in the bedroom with Willow. ;)

Shiai | February 18, 02:18 CET

QG, I think they just said that OMWF was "in the midst of Buffy's sixth season."

But seriously, someone could totally make a killing off Grr Argh finger puppets.

[ edited by In the Latin on 2007-02-18 00:21 ]

In the Latin | February 18, 02:21 CET

Wow. I'm proud to say that I played Anya in one of last years shows at Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. I was onstage in my bra for pete's sake, and I can barely dance... but the audience was FANTASTIC about it. It was such a thrill, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I LOVE that this is being recognized.

numbereleven | February 18, 02:22 CET

Yeah, In the Latin, you're so right - they did say "sixth season" instead of the "six seasons" that I mis-heard...

*shame at being so ready to jump on poor MTV just because their website bugs me*

I'll leave my original mistake unedited so it all makes sense and my shame remains exposed...

QuoterGal | February 18, 02:31 CET

Yes, In the Latin, that's what I heard, too, about the midst of the 6th season.

A gorgeous little clip, just beautiful. I normally cringe at things like this (it's me, not you, so don't take offense), but my eyes were actually tearing up watching it, what with the zeal and energy and enthusiasm dedication and love for the show...reminds me of how desperately I miss new Buffy, and how much I still (and will always) treasure watching it again and again and again and again...great, great stuff.

Chris inVirginia | February 18, 02:33 CET

Oh, and include me out of the Hate Dawn Patrol.

Michelle was brilliant as Dawn, and Dawn was critical to two seasons (5 and 6, of course).

I didn't hate Wesley Crusher, either, but he wasn't, till the very end of Star Trek TNG, really critical to any of the big story lines. Dawn was essential to Season 5, and extremely important in Season 6 (I still get chills when Buffy, as the St. Francis prayer is being so beautifully sung, now truly reborn instead of merely raised from the dead, realizes that she needs not to protect Dawn, but to let her grow...just gorgeous.)

I love Dawnie!

Chris inVirginia | February 18, 02:42 CET

Hey, QG, any time you want to bash MTV's website, I'm totally game. :)

In the Latin | February 18, 02:42 CET

UnderTheDark Wrote on February 17, 22:37 CET


So UnderTheDark, did you hear that fans are trying to get Adam Baldwin as a guest at the Serenity Charity Screening at the Austin Alamo Drafthouse this June?

Anonymous1 | February 18, 03:24 CET

I hear it's coming to my neighborhood, literally (I live a couple of blocks away from where they'll be doing OMWF), but I have to work that night. If only they could do a Saturday show, I'd be taking pictures like no one's business. Of course, maybe someone will organize something at Wondercon...
But I seem to remember Fox TV was kind of against people doing OMWF sing-a-longs. Have they changed their minds, especially after how popular they've become? If they haven't, they should, and maybe produce a special karaoke version of OMWF.

impalergeneral | February 18, 05:08 CET

I think 20th Century Fox is ok with them as long as the licensing is in order.

Cheers for the recap.

Simon | February 18, 05:31 CET

Another good thread to make my plea for OMWF in HD-DVD release... ;)

TaraLivesOn | February 18, 05:43 CET

No access for me - I'm in England. Is there another link - pretty please?

Gill | February 18, 05:48 CET

Those outside the states, try saving this and playing it with a FLVplayer:
http://tinyurl.com/344h84

[ edited by TaraLivesOn on 2007-02-18 03:59 ]

TaraLivesOn | February 18, 05:55 CET

There's even a OMWF singalong tonight at the Gallifrey convention in Los Angeles. It was supposed to be last night, but Shaun Lyon brought the wrong season's DVDs (D'oh!), so it had to be rescheduled. It's at 11pm tonight, at the LAX Marriott, as far as I know.

deanna b | February 18, 05:58 CET

I found the finger puppets a few years ago in a party supply store while shopping for gift bag items for a kiddie b-day party. Oh, you know I snagged one for myself! Grr Arg.

Love's Bitch | February 18, 07:23 CET

Thanks, Simon. I'm glad OMWF will be the successor to "Rocky Horror", and move the number of Buffy fans closer to infinity.
Today, the Doctor Who fans, tomorrow....Blake's 7, or maybe Red Dwarf.

impalergeneral | February 18, 09:10 CET

I can't see the video, computer too slow. But I found these finger puppets.

Oriental Trading Company Halloween Monster Finger Puppets

Is that what they look like?

Anonymous1 | February 18, 09:18 CET

Okay, definitely yelling "WE love you, Dawn!" after every "Shut up!" if it comes here.

shambleau | February 18, 13:15 CET

Awright, if they do one in LA I'll go to it.

Yeah, me too.

There's even a OMWF singalong tonight at the Gallifrey convention in Los Angeles. It was supposed to be last night, but Shaun Lyon brought the wrong season's DVDs (D'oh!), so it had to be rescheduled. It's at 11pm tonight, at the LAX Marriott, as far as I know.

Wha? Huh? I knew nothing of this. How did it go?

dreamlogic | February 18, 19:01 CET

Anyone who hasn't already, you HAVE to go to movies.mtv.com and click on "Rough Cut with Joss Whedon". There are a good 5 minutes of interview with him about Wonder Woman, Buffy, killing people, etc. It's awesome :)

miri47 | February 18, 19:44 CET

No love for Canada, I can't see the video although I swear I have seen others in the past. And Taraliveson, I just get an error message with your URL. Thanks anyway.

Lioness | February 18, 19:48 CET

Definitely fantasmo!

Hans Moleman | February 18, 21:06 CET

miri47--Thank you for that link. Great interview, but it makes me so sad that he's not making the movie. You know what they come up with won't be anything close. ("It won't be chick flick, it won't be a teenage-boy fantasy, it'll be both of those & much more. If I'm not doing everything, I get twitchy") I guess everything was too much for them.

I also loved the reference to Sin City, where everybody is "hard-boiled to the point of being inedible." Ha!

jcs | February 18, 22:41 CET

There are monster finger puppets like those I found here on eBay and here at CenturyNovelty.

Love's Bitch | February 19, 03:06 CET

I was there on Friday, January 12, when it "premiered" in Chicago! It was wicked fun! And I was told that I helped make it happen (see the comments to this blog entry)! I highly, highly recommend it if it comes to your city.

Some of the cities have the dancers out front because they've been doing it on a regular basis and have a kind of "troupe" of players.

Grr, argh!!!

Valsadie | February 19, 05:45 CET

"Say "Housework" and he freezes"?

And I always thought that line was
"Say "Halfrek" and he freezes"!

Well, I can say I learned something new today!

catalyst2 | February 19, 06:04 CET

You mean the finger puppets in the clip don't even look like mummies. Grrrh! Arrgh! Here I was thinking they bought a lot of the monster ones and just kept the mummy and gave the Frankenstein, Dracula and Witch one to a thrift store or something.

Anonymous1 | February 19, 08:53 CET

I could listen to a snark from Willowy right now.

Madhatter | February 19, 18:13 CET