document_title: Student of the Year

question_text: where did the shooting of student of the year take place

text: Student of the Year

text: Plot[edit]

text: Former principal Dean Yogendra Vashisht (Rishi Kapoor) has aged and fallen ill. He desires to see the students from his last batch, who were part of the "Student of the Year" competition. Some former students arrive to the hospital to meet the Dean and talk about their regrets from ten years ago in college. They hold themselves responsible for the lively Dean having falling ill. The film then goes into a flashback set ten years back at the college.

text: The richest and most popular guy in the college, Rohan "Ro" Nanda (Varun Dhawan), is the son of a huge business tycoon Ashok Nanda (Ram Kapoor). His father wants him to be a businessman like him and disagrees with his passion for music. Shanaya Singhania (Alia Bhatt), a fashion addict and the most popular girl in the campus is Rohan's girlfriend. She is unsatisfied with her family, as her mother constantly divorces and marries rich men. Shanaya gets upset with Rohan's regular flirting with Tanya Israni (Sana Saeed), another student. Abhimanyu "Abhi" Singh (Sidharth Malhotra) arrives at the college and becomes the classy new heartthrob. Abhi becomes the most popular guy in the college. He plays the role of the perfect student and a perfect man. He is an orphan from a middle-class family, and lives with his aunt, uncle and grandmother. His dream is to become a big business tycoon like Ashok. Rohan and Abhimanyu argue at first but soon become best friends. Rohan introduces Shanaya to Abhimanyu, warning Abhimanyu not to get involved with her romantically.

text: Abhimanyu is invited to Rohan's elder brother's destination wedding in Thailand, which Shanaya and other rich family friends are attending as well. In Thailand, Shanaya sees Tanya and Rohan flirting again and gets even more upset when Rohan is rude to her and sides with Tanya. Abhimanyu tells her that they can teach Rohan to respect his girlfriend. At a party, Shanaya openly flirts with Abhimanyu, attempting to make Rohan jealous. The plan works but Rohan discovers she did this to get him back on track.

text: On the wedding day, Rohan apologises to her and is easily forgiven while Abhimanyu realises that he is in love with Shanaya. They head back to India, where the "Student Of The Year" competition, which determines the best student with good logical thinking and is a good sportsperson, commences. First round is the quiz in which Rohan, Abhi and most of their friends win. The second round is the treasure hunt. Abhimanyu and Shanaya's team wins the hunt, though Rohan's team also qualifies. Abhimanyu's grandmother falls sick and eventually dies. Shanaya stands by him during this difficult time. Upset, Abhimanyu sends Shanaya away, but now she is also attracted to him, stays back and they happen to kiss. Rohan sees this and is heartbroken, becoming enemies and fighting with Abhimanyu.

text: In the third round, the Prom, a confused Shanaya picks Rohan's friend Jeet Khurana (Sahil Anand) as her partner as she can't choose between Abhimanyu and Rohan. Rohan, who disowns Jeet and ends his friendship with him, goes with Tanya and Abhimanyu with Shanaya's ex best friend Shruti Pathak (Manasi Rachh) when she has a spat with Shanaya. Shanaya is disqualified for leaving the dance before it ends. The last round of the competition is a triathlon. Abhimanyu is winning but sees how Ashok doesn't want Rohan to win. He intentionally slows down and lets Rohan win.In the award ceremony, Yogi is abused by a drunken friend of theirs, Kaizad "Sudo" Sodabottleopenerwala (Kayoze Irani) due to which he eventually retires.

text: In the present, Rohan is a pop star but single. Abhimanyu and Shanaya are now married and Abhimanyu in the present day is now a successful investment banker. They all see each other after coming to meet their principal, Abhimanyu and Rohan have a fight and let out everything they were holding back for ten years. They then unite after Rohan discovers the truth about the triathlon leading  both of them to realize how important friendship is.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Sidharth Malhotra as Abhimanyu Singh
Varun Dhawan as Rohan Nanda
Alia Bhatt as Shanaya Singhania
Sana Saeed  as Tanya Israni
Rishi Kapoor as Dean Yogendra Vashishth
Sahil Anand as Jeet Khurana
Manasi Rachh as Shruti Pathak
Kayoze Irani as Kaizad "Sudo" Sodabottleopenerwala
Manjot Singh as Dimpy
Ronit Roy as Coach Shah
Ram Kapoor as Ashok Nanda
Gautami Kapoor as Gayatri Nanda
Farida Jalal as Abhimanyu's grandmother
Akshay Anand as Abhimanyu's uncle
Manini Mishra as Geeta Singh (Abhimanyu's aunt)
Prachi Shah as Coach Shah's wife
Nandini Sen as Shanaya's mother
Boman Irani as Harikishan Sanan
Abdul Quadir Amin as Friend
Sushma Seth in a cameo appearance as Yogendra's mother
Farah Khan in a guest appearance as a judge in "The Disco Song"
Vaibhavi Merchant in a guest appearance as a judge in "The Disco Song"
Kajol in a guest appearance in "The Disco Song"

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: On 5 January 2011, Karan Johar uploaded the first look poster of the new film on the micro-blogging website Twitter.[6] Student of the Year marks the debuts of Alia Bhatt, the daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, the son of director David Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Boman Irani's son Kayoze Irani and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai fame Sana Saeed (role of "Anjali" as the daughter of Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji).

text: Malhotra and Dhawan had previously worked as assistant directors under Johar during the making of the 2010 film My Name Is Khan.[7] Rishi Kapoor played a gay dean.

text: The first official trailer was released on 2 August 2012. Karan Johar later tweeted saying that the film will be released on 19 October 2012.[8]

text: Filming[edit]

text: On 16 August 2011, director Karan Johar took the Mahurat shot and Mumbai socialite Parmeshwar Godrej rolled the cameras.[9] Some parts of the movie were shot in Kashmir and Dehradun (Forest Research Institute, Dehradun).[10] The external view of the school was taken from Kasiga School Dehradun,[11] whose name was changed to St. Teresa. The hospital scenes were filmed outside The Lalit Grand Palace, Srinagar. The film was also shot in Thailand.[12] Rob Miller of ReelSports, who had worked with Shahrukh Khan on Chak De! India, was hired to direct the sports action in Student of the Year.

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The film targeted viewers with contest-based marketing. Stressing 'competition' which would make up for a significant part of the movie, contests such as the 'Nano Student of the Year', 'The Buddy of the Year' and 'FedEx International Student of the Year' were launched targeting students across the country.

text: Tata Motors, on-ground promotion partner for the movie, launched the 'Nano Student of the Year' contest for all college students in India.[13] In the first round students were judged on four parameters; namely, academics, culture, sports and social life. The top eight finalists would compete for the 'Nano Student of the Year' title.[14] The contest was held across India in mid-September 2012.

text: The production house partnered with FedEx Express announcing a special 'FedEx Student Offer' and launch of 'FedEx International Student of the Year' campaign. It was aimed at individuals in India applying for higher education abroad. Student of the Year was promoted across non-fiction properties such as Kaun Banega Crorepati on Sony Entertainment Television and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and Bigg Boss on Colors. Radio stations such as Red FM, Radio City, Big FM were used for the promotion of the film and its music.[15]

text: Pre-release business[edit]

text: The satellite rights of Student of the Year were sold with Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani for ₹500 million (US$7.3 million) together to Sony Entertainment Television.[16] The music rights were sold to Sony Music for a sum of ₹70 million (US$1.0 million).[17]

text: Post-release box office[edit]

text: Critics were apprehensive of the success of the film as several hyped movies have flopped over the years. Also, the movie had a very high price tag and newcomers starred in the movie.[18] However, the film took a thunderous start at the box office, becoming the biggest non-starcast opener ever in Bollywood.[19] The movie surpassed trade expectations and caused profit to both makers and distributors in the first week itself. It remained the highest grossing non-starcast film in Bollywood until its record was broken by Aashiqui 2.[20]

text: India[edit]

text: Student of the Year had a good opening at multiplexes while little lower at single screens due to limited release where it had collected ₹74.8 million (US$1.1 million) on its opening day.[21][22] The film showed good growth on its second day and collected ₹85.0 million (US$1.2 million) nett.[23] Student of the Year collected a good figure of around ₹253 million (US$3.7 million) at the end of its first weekend.[24] It did very well and collected ₹431 million (US$6.3 million) nett in its first week.[25] The film had a moderate second weekend where it earned around ₹80 million (US$1.2 million) nett.[26] Student of the Year had a drop in its second and third week where it had collected ₹140 million (US$2.0 million) and ₹32.5 million (US$470,000) respectively to make a total of ₹633 million (US$9.2 million) in three weeks.[27][28]

text: As per the latest updates, Student of the Year stands at an all India collection of ₹700 million (US$10 million) after four weeks run at the box office.[29]

text: Overseas[edit]

text: Student of the Year collected about US$1.25 million, which Box Office India thought was a poor showing for having been released on 300 screens.[30] It collected around  $1.85 million in ten days. The film fell in the second week in most markets.[31] Student of the Year closed at around  million in overseas markets.[32]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave 4/5 stars, saying, "Student of the Year is a love story that traverses the trodden path. But KJo is an artisan with intellect and taste and he ensures that the script is spruced up and modernized with such elan that it doesn't offend the spectator's wisdom or intelligence. The accomplished director takes on familiar material and gives it an entirely new twirl. This is escapist cinema at its best! On the whole, Student of the Year is amongst Karan Johar's most accomplished works. The youth brigade would love it and those who have already passed that age would want to revisit those days. This one's entertainment, entertainment and entertainment at its best. Clearly, KJo has a winner on hands, yet again!"[33] Komal Nahta also gave it 4/5 calling it a "supremely entertaining" movie.[34] Raedita Tandon of Filmfare gave it a 4/5 stars stating "All in all, Karan’s SOTY world is surreal and spectacular yet it has moments that will bring you back to reality and warm the cockles of your heart. This is escapism at its best."[35] Joginder Tuteja of Indiaglitz gave the movie 4/5 stars and commented,"With a fun outing like Student of the Year, Karan Johar has proven once again that he can fluctuate between making a relatively serious film like 'My Name Is Khan' and come back to candy floss youth entertainer in the mode of 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'.  With an eye on some lavish entertainment translating on screen and bringing new talent to the industry, 'Student of the Year' is a winner." Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India gave the film 3.5/5 stars, stating that "Student of the Year takes you back to your books and sinks you in true-blue Bollywood syllabus, following the 'formula' – Two boys, one girl, one glorious trophy and lots of testosterone. It is larger-than-life, colourful, lavish, beautifully shot and directed. With medleys, dance, drama and everything good-looking (from cast to couches, dorms to discos)."[36] Indicine gave it 3.5/5 stars, commenting "Overall, there isn’t a dull moment in Student of the Year. It has something in it for everyone – romance, action, entertainment, good performances and catchy music. Go for it."[37] Social Movie rating site MOZVO gave it a score of 3.7/5 putting it in the recommended category.[38]

text: Rajeev Masand of IBNLive gave it 3/5 stars and wrote, "Nitpickings aside, this is a breezy, enjoyable film by a director who knows his craft." He remarked, "If fun is what you’re seeking, you won't be disappointed."[39] Giving the film 3/5 stars, Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times wrote, "Karan Johar's forte is excess. He creates fantastical worlds brimming with beautiful people and expensive things and yet anchors them in high emotion. His films work as both designer porn and soap opera." She also praised the performance of the cast.[40] Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave 3/5 stars, commenting that "Student of the Year is no Kuch Kuch Hota Hai but Karan Johar makes it look good."[41] Rubina A Khan of The First Post gave the film 3/5 stars, stating that "Student of the Year is not KJo's finest work. Sure, it’s got all the elements of finesse and expansive production values that his films are known for, but he has also been very pivotal in directing and producing films with engaging stories in the past."[42] Nabanita of Oneindia gave it 3/5 commenting "Student of the Year is a youthful and interesting movie that deserves a thumps up. Three cheers for this."[43] India Today also gave the film a rating of 3/5.[44] Sify awarded it 3/5 stars saying, "So there you have it – a fun, frothy film that won't insult your intelligence and sensibility. Worth a watch!"[45]

text: Roshni Devi of Koimoi gave it 2.5/5 stars, praising the performances. Kanika Sikka of DNA India gave 2.5/5 stars, concluding that "Student of the Year is not something you would want to miss if the surreal setting with bubble gum romance is your calling. The performances make this film a great watch."[46] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 2.5/5 stars, commenting that "Student of the Year definitely isn't the film of the year. But if you like your entertainment to be served up with glitzy but pulpy garnishing, pirouette your way to the nearest screen by all means."[47] Ananya Bhattacharya of Zee News gave the film 2/5 stars, saying that "Student of the Year is worth a watch only for the debutantes. They have really pulled off a tough task of playing praiseworthy roles in a film which suffers from the lack-of-a-story syndrome."[48]

text: Home media[edit]

text: A two-disc DVD set was released on 24 December 2012 which contains making of the film, song, and deleted scenes.  Bollywood Hungama gave the DVD 4/5 stars.[49]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text:
Student of the YearSoundtrack album by Vishal-ShekharReleased
31 August 2012Genre
Film soundtrackLength
30:24Label
Sony Music IndiaProducer
Karan JoharVishal-Shekhar chronology

Shanghai(2012)Shanghai2012

Student of the Year(2012)

Gippi(2013)Gippi2013

text: The soundtrack was composed by Vishal-Shekhar with the lyrics penned by Anvita Dutt Guptan. "The Disco Song" is a revamped cover version of "Disco Deewane" (1981) by Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan,[50] incorporating her vocals along with those of Sunidhi Chauhan and Benny Dayal.[51]

text: Track listNo.TitleSinger(s)Length1."The Disco Song"Benny Dayal,  Nazia Hassan, Sunidhi Chauhan5:422."Ishq Wala Love"Shekhar Ravjiani, Salim Merchant, Neeti Mohan4:183."Radha"Shreya Ghoshal, Udit Narayan, Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani5:414."Ratta Maar"Vishal Dadlani, Shefali Alvares3:305."Kukkad"Shahid Mallya, Nisha Mascarenhas4:226."Vele"Shekhar Ravjiani, Vishal Dadlani3:507."Mashup of the Year"Various artists, DJ Kiran Kamath3:02Total length:30:24

text: Critical reception of soundtrack[edit]

text: Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the album 4/5 stars, saying that "Student of the Year is a winner all the way with Vishal Shekhar (yet again) justifying their stance of doing a few films but lending quality sound to it. They create the kind of score which totally compliments the mood of the campus setting without straying even once."[52] IANS of CNN-IBN gave the album 4/5 stars, concluding that "The soundtrack of Student of the Year is a good mix with very minor flaws that can surely be ignored to enjoy the music that perfectly describes the mood of the movie."[53] Satyajit of Yahoo! gave the album 3.5/5 stars, stating that "Student of the Year is complete youthful musical entertainment, an album that brings all the positive elements of a typical Karan Johar entertainer. Vishal Shekhar delivers a potential winner this time."[54]

text: The romantic track "Ishq Wala Love" became the biggest hit of the album concluded by "Radha" and "Disco Song".[55] On 26 September 2012, The Times of India reported that the soundtrack was "appealing to people of all tastes and there's something for everyone in it".[56]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: Student of the Year won several awards, particularly for its direction, performances of the lead actors, and music.

text:
List of awards and nominations
hide

Ceremony

Category

Recipient

Result

8th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Award[57]

President's Honour

Karan Johar

Won

Best Actor in a Comic Role

Rishi Kapoor

Nominated

Best Female Debut

Alia Bhatt

Nominated

Best Male Debut

Sidharth Malhotra

Nominated

Best Male Debut

Varun Dhawan

Nominated

Best Choreographer

Farah Khan (for the song "Radha")

Nominated

Best Female Playback Singer

Neeti Mohan (for the song "Ishq Wala Love")

Nominated

58th Filmfare Awards[58][59]

Best Music Director

Vishal-Shekhar

Nominated

Best Debutant – Male

Sidharth Malhotra

Nominated

Best Debutant – Male

Varun Dhawan

Nominated

Best Debutant – Female

Alia Bhatt

Nominated

RD Burman Award

Neeti Mohan (for the song "Ishq Wala Love")

Won

Lions Gold Awards[60]

Favourite Debut-Male

Varun Dhawan

Won

Favourite Debut-Female

Alia Bhatt

Won

5th Mirchi Music Awards[61][62]

Song of The Year

"Radha"

Nominated

Album of the Year

Student of the Year

Nominated

Listener's Choice Album of the Year

Student of the Year

Won

Listener's choice Song of the Year

"Radha"

Won

Stardust Awards[63][64]

Dream Director

Karan Johar

Won

Film of The Year

Student of the Year

Nominated

Superstar of Tomorrow – Female

Alia Bhatt

Nominated

Superstar of Tomorrow – Male

Sidharth Malhotra

Nominated

Superstar of Tomorrow – Male

Varun Dhawan

Nominated

Best Male Debut

Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan

Won

New Musical Sensation Singer – Female

Neeti Mohan (for the song "Ishq Wala Love")

Nominated

Times of India Film Awards[65][66][67]

Best Debut Female

Alia Bhatt

Nominated

Best Debut Male

Sidharth Malhotra

Nominated

Best Debut Male

Varun Dhawan

Nominated

Best Music Director

Vishal-Shekhar

Nominated

South Africa India Film And Television Awards[68]

Most Promising Newcomer- Female

Alia Bhatt

Nominated

Most Promising Newcomer- Male

Sidharth Malhotra

Won

Most Promising Newcomer- Male

Varun Dhawan

Nominated

Film of the Year

Student of the Year

Nominated

Most Popular Song

Radha

Nominated

Supporting Actor of the Year

Rishi Kapoor

Nominated


document_title: History of condoms

question_text: when did condoms become legal in the us

question_tokens: when did condoms become legal in the us

root

text: History of condoms

text: Antiquity to the Middle Ages[edit]

text: Whether condoms were used in ancient civilizations is debated by archaeologists and historians.[2]:11 Societies in the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome preferred small families and are known to have practiced a variety of birth control methods.[2]:12,16–17,22 However, these societies viewed birth control as a woman's responsibility, and the only well-documented contraception methods were female-controlled devices (both possibly effective, such as pessaries, and ineffective, such as amulets).[2]:17,23 The writings of these societies contain "veiled references" to male-controlled contraceptive methods that might have been condoms, but most historians interpret them as referring to coitus interruptus or anal intercourse.[2]:21,24

tag: p

text: The loincloths worn by Egyptian and Greek laborers were very spare, sometimes consisting of little more than a covering for the glans of the penis. Records of these types of loincloths being worn by men in higher classes have made some historians speculate they were worn during intercourse;[2]:13–15,18–20 others, however, are doubtful of such interpretations.[3] Historians may also cite one legend of Minos, related by Antoninus Liberalis in 150 AD, as suggestive of condom use in ancient societies. This legend describes a curse that caused Minos' semen to contain serpents and scorpions. To protect his sexual partner from these animals, Minos used a goat's bladder as a female condom.[2]:18[3]

text: Contraceptives fell out of use in Europe after the decline of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century; the use of contraceptive pessaries, for example, is not documented again until the 15th century. If condoms were used during the Roman Empire, knowledge of them may have been lost during its decline.[2]:33,42 In the writings of Muslims and Jews during the Middle Ages, there are some references to attempts at male-controlled contraception, including suggestions to cover the penis in tar or soak it in onion juice. Some of these writings might describe condom use, but they are "oblique", "veiled", and "vague".[2]:38–41

text: 1500s to the 1800s[edit]

text: Renaissance[edit]

text: Prior to the 15th century, some use of glans condoms (devices covering only the head of the penis) is recorded in Asia. Glans condoms seem to have been used for birth control, and to have been known only by members of the upper classes. In China, glans condoms may have been made of oiled silk paper, or of lamb intestines. In Japan, they were made of tortoise shell or animal horn.[2]:60–1

text: The first well-documented outbreak of what is now known as syphilis occurred in 1494 among French troops.[4] The disease then swept across Europe. As Jared Diamond describes it, "when syphilis was first definitely recorded in Europe in 1495, its pustules often covered the body from the head to the knees, caused flesh to fall from people's faces, and led to death within a few months." (The disease is less frequently fatal today.[5]) By 1505, the disease had spread to Asia, and within a few decades had "decimated large areas of China".[2]:50,60

text: In 16th century Italy, Gabriele Falloppio authored the earliest uncontested description of condom use. De Morbo Gallico ("The French Disease", referring to syphilis) was published in 1564, two years after Fallopio's death. In this tract, he recommended use of a device he claimed to have invented: linen sheaths soaked in a chemical solution and allowed to dry before use. The cloths he described were sized to cover the glans of the penis, and were held on with a ribbon.[2]:51,54–5[6] Fallopio claimed to have performed an experimental trial of the linen sheath on 1100 men, and reported that none of them had contracted the dreaded disease.[3]

text: After the publication of De Morbo Gallico, use of penis coverings to protect from disease is described in a wide variety of literature throughout Europe. The first indication these devices were used for birth control, rather than disease prevention, is the 1605 theological publication De iustitia et iure (On justice and law) by Catholic theologian Leonardus Lessius: he condemned them as immoral.[2]:56 The first explicit description that un petit linge (a small cloth) was used to prevent pregnancy is from 1655: a French novel and play titled L'Escole des Filles (The Philosophy of Girls). In 1666, the English Birth Rate Commission attributed a recent downward fertility rate to use of "condons", the first documented use of that word (or any similar spelling).[2]:66–8

text: In addition to linen, condoms during the Renaissance were made out of intestines and bladder. Cleaned and prepared intestine for use in glove making had been sold commercially since at least the 13th century.[2]:44–5 Condoms made from bladder and dating to the 1640s were discovered in an English privy; it is believed they were used by soldiers of King Charles I.[2]:68–9 Dutch traders introduced condoms made from "fine leather" to Japan. Unlike the horn condoms used previously, these leather condoms covered the entire penis.[2]:61

text: 18th century[edit]

text: Written references to condom use became much more common during the 18th century. Not all of the attention was positive: in 1708, John Campbell unsuccessfully asked Parliament to make the devices illegal.[2]:73 Noted English physician Daniel Turner condemned the condom, publishing his arguments against their use in 1717. He disliked condoms because they did not offer full protection against syphilis. He also seems to have argued that belief in the protection condoms offered encouraged men to engage in sex with unsafe partners - but then, because of the loss of sensation caused by condoms, these same men often neglected to actually use the devices. The French medical professor Jean Astruc wrote his own anti-condom treatise in 1736, citing Turner as the authority in this area. Physicians later in the 18th century also spoke against the condom, but not on medical grounds: rather, they expressed the belief that contraception was immoral.[2]:86–8,92

text: The condom market grew rapidly, however. 18th century condoms were available in a variety of qualities and sizes, made from either linen treated with chemicals, or "skin" (bladder or intestine softened by treatment with sulphur and lye).[2]:94–5 They were sold at pubs, barbershops, chemist shops, open-air markets, and at the theater throughout Europe and Russia.[2]:90–2,97,104 The first recorded inspection of condom quality is found in the memoirs of Giacomo Casanova (which cover his life until 1774): to test for holes, he would often blow them up before use.[2]:108[3]

text: Couples in colonial America relied on female-controlled methods of contraception, if they used contraceptives at all. The first known documents describing American condom use were written around 1800, two to three decades after the American Revolutionary War.[2]:116–7 Also around 1800, linen condoms lost popularity in the market and their production ceased: they were more expensive and were viewed as less comfortable when compared to skin condoms.[2]:94–5

text: Up to the 19th century, condoms were generally used only by the middle and upper classes. One reason for the lack of condom use was that the working classes tended to lack education on the dangers of sexually transmitted infections. Perhaps more importantly, condoms were unaffordable for many: for a typical prostitute, a single condom might cost several months' pay.[2]:119–21

text: Expanded marketing and introduction of rubber[edit]

text: The early 19th century saw contraceptives promoted to the poorer classes for the first time: birth control advocates in England included Jeremy Bentham and Richard Carlile, and noted American advocates included Robert Dale Owen and Charles Knowlton. Writers on contraception tended to prefer other methods of birth control, citing both the expense of condoms and their unreliability (they were often riddled with holes, and often fell off or broke), but they discussed condoms as a good option for some, and as the only contraceptive that also protected from disease.[2]:88,90,125,129–30 One group of British contraceptive advocates distributed condom literature in poor neighborhoods, with instructions on how to make the devices at home; in the 1840s, similar tracts were distributed in both cities and rural areas through the United States.[2]:126,136

text: From the 1820s through the 1870s, popular women and men lecturers traveled around America teaching about physiology and sexual matters. Many of them sold birth control devices, including condoms, after their lectures. They were condemned by many moralists and medical professionals, including America's first female doctor Elizabeth Blackwell. Blackwell accused the lecturers of spreading doctrines of "abortion and prostitution".[2]:130–2 In the 1840s, advertisements for condoms began to appear in British newspapers, and in 1861 a condom advertisement appeared in the New York Times.[2]:127,138

text: The rubber vulcanization process was invented by Charles Goodyear in 1839, and patented in 1844.[7] The first rubber condom was produced in 1855,[8] and by the late 1850s several major rubber companies were mass-producing, among other items, rubber condoms. A main advantage of rubber condoms was their reusability, making them a more economical choice in the long term. Compared to the 19th century rubber condoms, however, skin condoms were initially cheaper and offered better sensitivity. For these reasons, skin condoms remained more popular than the rubber variety. However, by the end of the 19th century "rubber" had become a euphemism for condoms in countries around the world.[2]:134–5,157,219 For many decades, rubber condoms were manufactured by wrapping strips of raw rubber around penis-shaped molds, then dipping the wrapped molds in a chemical solution to cure the rubber.[2]:148 The earliest rubber condoms covered only the glans of the penis; a doctor had to measure each man and order the correct size. Even with the medical fittings, however, glans condoms tended to fall off during use. Rubber manufacturers quickly discovered they could sell more devices by manufacturing full-length one-size-fits-all condoms to be sold in pharmacies.[2]:135

text: Increased popularity despite legal impediments[edit]

text: Distribution of condoms in the United States was limited by passage of the Comstock laws, which included a federal act banning the mailing of contraceptive information (passed in 1873) as well as State laws that banned the manufacture and sale of condoms in thirty states.[2]:144,193 In Ireland the 1889 Indecent Advertisements Act made it illegal to advertise condoms, although their manufacture and sale remained legal.[2]:163–4,168 Contraceptives were illegal in 19th century Italy and Germany, but condoms were allowed for disease prevention.[2]:169–70 Despite legal obstacles, condoms continued to be readily available in both Europe and America, widely advertised under euphemisms such as male shield and rubber good.[2]:146–7 In late 19th century England, condoms were known as "a little something for the weekend".[2]:165 Only in the Republic of Ireland were condoms effectively outlawed. There, their sale and manufacture remained illegal until the 1970s.[2]:171

text: Opposition to condoms did not only come from moralists: by the late 19th century many feminists expressed distrust of the condom as a contraceptive, as its use was controlled and decided upon by men alone. They advocated instead for methods which were controlled by women, such as diaphragms and spermicidal douches.[2]:152–3 Despite social and legal opposition, at the end of the 19th century the condom was the Western world's most popular birth control method. Two surveys conducted in New York in 1890 and 1900 found that 45% of the women surveyed were using condoms to prevent pregnancy.[2]:173–4 A survey in Boston just prior to World War I concluded that three million condoms were sold in that city every year.[2]:192–3

text: 1870s England saw the founding of the first major condom manufacturing company, E. Lambert and Son of Dalston.[2]:165 In 1882, German immigrant Julius Schmidt founded one of the largest and longest-lasting condom businesses, Julius Schmid, Inc. (he dropped the 't' from his name in an effort to appear less Jewish). This New York business initially manufactured only skin condoms (in 1890 he was arrested by Anthony Comstock for having almost seven hundred of the devices in his house).[2]:154–6 In 1912, a German named Julius Fromm developed a new, improved manufacturing technique for condoms: dipping glass molds into a raw rubber solution.[8] Called cement dipping, this method required adding gasoline or benzene to the rubber to make it liquid.[2]:200 In America, Schmid was the first company to use the new technique. Using the new dipping method, French condom manufacturers were the first to add textures to condoms.[2]:169–70 Fromm was the first company to sell a branded line of condoms, Fromm's Act, which remains popular Germany today.[8] The condom lines manufactured by Schmid, Shieks and Ramses, were sold through the late 1990s.[2]:154–6 Youngs Rubber Company, founded by Merle Youngs in late 19th century America, introduced Trojans.[2]:191

text: Beginning in the second half of the 19th century, American rates of sexually transmitted diseases skyrocketed. Causes cited by historians include effects of the American Civil War, and the ignorance of prevention methods promoted by the Comstock laws.[2]:137–8,159 To fight the growing epidemic, sexual education classes were introduced to public schools for the first time, teaching about venereal diseases and how they were transmitted. They generally taught that abstinence was the only way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases.[2]:179–80 Condoms were not promoted for disease prevention; the medical community and moral watchdogs considered STDs to be punishment for sexual misbehavior. The stigma on victims of these diseases was so great that many hospitals refused to treat people who had syphilis.[2]:176

text: 1900 to present[edit]

text: World War I to the 1920s[edit]

text: The German military was the first to promote condom use among its soldiers, beginning in the second half of the 19th century.[2]:169,181 Early 20th century experiments by the American military concluded that providing condoms to soldiers significantly lowered rates of sexually transmitted diseases.[2]:180–3 During World War I, the United States and (at the beginning of the war only) Britain were the only countries with soldiers in Europe who did not provide condoms and promote their use.[2]:187–90 By the end of the war, the American military had diagnosed almost 400,000 cases of syphilis and gonorrhea, a historic high.[2]:191

text: From just before 1900 to the beginning of World War I, almost all condoms used in Europe were imported from Germany. Germany not only exported condoms to other European countries, but was a major supplier to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. During the war, the American companies Schmid and Youngs became the main suppliers of condoms to the European Allies.[2]:156,170,191 By the early 1920s, however, most of Europe's condoms were once again made in Germany.[2]:199

text: In 1918, just before the end of the war, an American court overturned a conviction against Margaret Sanger. In this case, the judge ruled that condoms could be legally advertised and sold for the prevention of disease.[9][dubious – discuss] There were still a few state laws against buying and selling contraceptives, and advertising condoms as birth control devices remained illegal in over thirty states.[2]:266 But condoms began to be publicly, legally sold to Americans for the first time in forty-five years.[2]:192–3 Through the 1920s, catchy names and slick packaging became an increasingly important marketing technique for many consumer items, including condoms and cigarettes.[2]:197 Quality testing became more common, involving filling each condom with air followed by one of several methods intended to detect loss of pressure. Several American companies sold their rejects under cheaper brand names rather than discarding them.[2]:204,206,221–2 Consumers were advised to perform similar tests themselves before use, although few actually did so.[2]:223 Worldwide, condoms sales doubled in the 1920s.[2]:210

text: Still, there were many prominent opponents of condoms. Founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud opposed all methods of birth control on the grounds that their failure rates were too high. Freud was especially opposed to the condom because it cut down on sexual pleasure. Some feminists continued to oppose male-controlled contraceptives such as condoms. Many moralists and medical professionals opposed all methods of contraception. In 1920 the Church of England's Lambeth Conference condemned all "unnatural means of conception avoidance." London's Bishop Arthur Winnington-Ingram complained of the huge number of condoms discarded in alleyways and parks, especially after weekends and holidays.[2]:211–2

text: In the U.S., condom advertising was legally restricted to their use as disease preventatives. They could be openly marketed as birth control devices in Britain, but purchasing condoms in Britain was socially awkward compared to the U.S. They were generally requested with the euphemism "a little something for the weekend." Boots, the largest pharmacy chain in Britain, stopped selling condoms altogether in the 1920s, a policy that was not reversed until the 1960s.[2]:208–10 In post-World War I France, the government was concerned about falling birth rates. In response, it outlawed all contraceptives, including condoms. Contraception was also illegal in Spain. European militaries continued to provide condoms to their members for disease protection, even in countries where they were illegal for the general population.[2]:213–4

text: Invention of latex and manufacturing automation[edit]

text: Latex, rubber suspended in water, was invented in 1920. Youngs Rubber Company was the first to manufacture a latex condom, an improved version of their Trojan brand. Latex condoms required less labor to produce than cement-dipped rubber condoms, which had to be smoothed by rubbing and trimming. Because it used water to suspend the rubber instead of gasoline and benzene, it eliminated the fire hazard previously associated with all condom factories. Latex condoms also performed better for the consumer: they were stronger and thinner than rubber condoms, and had a shelf life of five years (compared to three months for rubber). Europe's first latex condom was an export from Youngs Rubber Company in 1929. In 1932 the London Rubber Company, which had previously served as a wholesaler for German-manufactured condoms, became Europe's first manufacturer of latex condoms, the Durex.[2]:199–200

text: Until the twenties, all condoms were individually hand-dipped by semiskilled workers. Throughout the decade of the 1920s, advances in automation of condom assembly line were made. Fred Killian patented the first fully automated line in 1930 and installed it in his manufacturing plant in Akron, Ohio. Killian charged $20,000 for his conveyor system - as much as $2 million in today's dollars. Automated lines dramatically lowered the price of condoms. Major condom manufacturers bought or leased conveyor systems, and small manufacturers were driven out of business.[2]:201–3 The skin condom, now significantly more expensive than the latex variety, became restricted to a niche high-end market.[2]:220

text: Great Depression[edit]

text: In 1927, senior medical officers in the American military began promoting condom distribution and educational programs to members of the army and navy. By 1931, condoms were standard issue to all members of the U.S. military.[2]:213–4 This coincided with a steep decline in U.S. military cases of sexually transmitted disease.[2]:217–9 The U.S. military was not the only large organization that changed its moral stance on condoms: in 1930 the Anglican Church's Lambeth Conference sanctioned the use of birth control by married couples. In 1931 the Federal Council of Churches in the U.S. issued a similar statement.[2]:227

text: The Roman Catholic Church responded by issuing the encyclical Casti connubii affirming its opposition to all contraceptives, a stance it has never reversed. Semen analysis was first performed in the 1930s. Samples were typically collected by masturbation, another action opposed by the Catholic Church. In 1930s Spain, the first use of collection condoms was documented; holes put in the condom allowed the user to collect a sample without violating the prohibitions on contraception and masturbation.[2]:228–9

text: In 1932, Margaret Sanger arranged for a shipment of diaphragms to be mailed from Japan to a sympathetic doctor in New York City. When U.S. customs confiscated the package as illegal contraceptive devices, Sanger helped file a lawsuit. In 1936, a federal appeals court ruled in United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries that the federal government could not interfere with doctors providing contraception to their patients.[9] In 1938, over three hundred birth control clinics opened in America, supplying reproductive care (including condoms) to poor women all over the country.[2]:216,226 Programs led by U.S. Surgeon General Thoman Parran included heavy promotion of condoms. These programs are credited with a steep drop in the U.S. STD rate by 1940.[2]:234

text: Two of the few places where condoms became more restricted during this period were Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Because of government concern about low birth rates, contraceptives were made illegal in Italy in the late 1920s. Although limited and highly controlled sales as disease preventatives were still allowed, there was a brisk black market trade in condoms as birth control.[2]:254–5 In Germany, laws passed in 1933 mandated that condoms could only be sold in plain brown wrappers, and only at pharmacies. Despite these restrictions, when World War II began Germans were using 72 million condoms every year.[2]:252 The elimination of moral and legal barriers, and the introduction of condom programs by the U.S. government helped condom sales. However, these factors alone are not considered to explain the Great Depression's booming condom industry. In the U.S. alone, more than 1.5 million condoms were used every day during the Depression, at a cost of over $33 million per year (not adjusted for inflation). One historian explains these statistics this way: "Condoms were cheaper than children." During the Depression condom lines by Schmid gained in popularity: that company still used the cement-dipping method of manufacture. Unlike the latex variety, these condoms could be safely used with oil-based lubricants. And while less comfortable, older-style rubber condoms could be reused and so were more economical, a valued feature in hard times.[2]:217–9

text: More attention was brought to quality issues in the 1930s. In 1935, a biochemist tested 2000 condoms by filling each one with air and then water: he found that 60% of them leaked. The condom industry estimated that only 25% of condoms were tested for quality before packaging. The media attention led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to classify condoms as a drug in 1937 and mandate that every condom be tested before packaging. Youngs Rubber Company was the first to institute quality testing of every condom they made, installing automatic testing equipment designed by Arthur Youngs (the owner's brother) in 1938. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act authorized the FDA to seize defective products; the first month the Act took effect in 1940, the FDA seized 864,000 condoms. While these actions improved the quality of condoms in the United States, American condom manufacturers continued to export their rejects for sale in foreign markets.[2]:223–5

text: World War II to 1980[edit]

text: During World War II condoms were not only distributed to male U.S. military members, but enlisted men were also subject to significant contraception propaganda in the form of films, posters, and lectures.[2]:236–8,259 A number of slogans were coined by the military, with one film exhorting "Don't forget — put it on before you put it in."[10] African-American soldiers, who served in segregated units, were exposed to less of the condom promotion programs, had lower rates of condom usage, and much higher rates of STDs.[2]:246 America's female military units, the WACs and WAACs, were still engaged with abstinence programs.[2]:240 European and Asian militaries on both sides of the conflict also provided condoms to their troops throughout the war, even Germany which outlawed all civilian use of condoms in 1941.[2]:252–4,257–8 Despite the rubber shortages that occurred during this period, condom manufacturing was never restricted.[2]:231–3 In part because condoms were readily available, soldiers found a number of non-sexual uses for the devices, many of which continue to be utilized to this day.

text: Post-war American troops in Germany continued to receive condoms and materials promoting their use. Nevertheless, rates of STDs in this population began to rise, reaching the highest levels since World War I. One explanation is that the success of newer penicillin treatments led soldiers to take syphilis and gonorrhea much less seriously. A similar casual attitude toward STDs appeared in the general American population; one historian states that condoms "were almost obsolete as prophylaxis by 1960".[2]:234,259–61 By 1947, the U.S. military was again promoting abstinence as the only method of disease control for its members, a policy that continued through the Vietnam War.[2]:261–2,281–4

text: But condom sales continued to grow. From 1955 to 1965, 42% of Americans of reproductive age relied on condoms for birth control. In Britain from 1950 to 1960, 60% of married couples used condoms. For the more economical-minded, cement-dipped condoms continued to be available long after the war. In 1957, Durex introduced the world's first lubricated condom. Beginning in the 1960s, the Japanese used more condoms per capita than any other nation in the world. The birth control pill became the world's most popular method of birth control in the years after its 1960 debut, but condoms remained a strong second. A survey of British women between 1966 and 1970 found that the condom was the most popular birth control method with single women. New manufacturers appeared in the Soviet Union, which had never restricted condom sales. The U.S. Agency for International Development pushed condom use in developing countries to help solve the "world population crises": by 1970 hundreds of millions of condoms were being used each year in India alone.[2]:267–9,272–5

text: In the 1960s and 1970s quality regulations tightened,[2]:267,285 and legal barriers to condom use were removed. In 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut struck down one of the remaining Comstock laws, the bans of contraception in Connecticut and Massachusetts. France repealed its anti-birth control laws in 1967. Similar laws in Italy were declared unconstitutional in 1971. Captain Beate Uhse in Germany founded a birth control business, and fought a series of legal battles continue her sales.[2]:276–9 In Ireland, legal condom sales (only to people over 18, and only in clinics and pharmacies) were allowed for the first time in 1978. (All restrictions on Irish condom sales were lifted in 1993.)[2]:329–30

text: Advertising was one area that continued to have legal restrictions. In the late 1950s, the American National Association of Broadcasters banned condom advertisements from national television. This policy remained in place until 1979, when the U.S. Justice department had it overturned in court.[2]:273–4,285 In the U.S., advertisements for condoms were mostly limited to men's magazines such as Penthouse.[2]:285–6 The first television ad, on the California station KNTV, aired in 1975: it was quickly pulled after it attracted national attention.[2]:274 And in over 30 states, advertising condoms as birth control devices was still illegal.[2]:266

text: After the discovery of AIDS[edit]

text: The first New York Times story on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was published on July 3, 1981.[2]:294 In 1982 it was first suggested that the disease was sexually transmitted.[11] In response to these findings, and to fight the spread of AIDS, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop supported condom promotion programs. However, President Ronald Reagan preferred an approach of concentrating only on abstinence programs. Some opponents of condom programs stated that AIDS was a disease of homosexuals and illicit drug users, who were just getting what they deserved. In 1990, North Carolina senator Jesse Helms argued that the best way to fight AIDS would be to enforce state sodomy laws.[2]:296–7

text: Nevertheless, major advertising campaigns were put in print media, promoting condoms as a way to protect against AIDS.[2]:299,301 Youngs Rubber mailed educational pamphlets to American households, although the postal service forced them to go to court to do so, citing a section of Title 39 that "prohibits the mailing of unsolicited advertisements for contraceptives." In 1983 the U.S. Supreme Court held that the postal service's actions violated the free speech clause of the First Amendment.[2]:303 Beginning in 1985 through 1987, national condom promotion campaigns occurred in U.S. and Europe.[2]:299,301,306–7,312–8 Over the 10 years of the Swiss campaign, Swiss condom use increased by 80%.[2]:314–7 The year after the British campaign began, condom sales in the UK increased by 20%.[2]:309 In 1988 Britain, condoms were the most popular birth control choice for married couples, for the first time since the introduction of the pill.[2]:311 The first condom commercial on U.S. television aired during an episode of Herman's Head on November 17, 1991.[12] In the U.S. in the 1990s, condoms ranked third in popularity among married couples, and were a strong second among single women.[2]:305

text: Condoms began to be sold in a wider variety of retail outlets, including in supermarkets and in discount department stores such as Wal-Mart.[2]:305 In this environment of more open sales, the British euphemism of "a little something for the weekend" fell out of use.[2]:322 In June 1991 America's first condom store, Condomania, opened on Bleecker Street in New York City. Condomania was the first store of its kind in North America dedicated to the sale and promotion of condoms in an upbeat, upscale and fun atmosphere. Condomania was also one of the very first retailers to offer condoms online when it launched its website in December 1995.

text: Condom sales increased every year until 1994, when media attention to the AIDS pandemic began to decline. In response, manufacturers have changed the tone of their advertisements from scary to humorous.[2]:303–4 New developments continue to occur in the condom market, with the first polyurethane condom—branded Avanti and produced by the manufacturer of Durex—introduced in the 1990s.[2]:324–5 Durex was also the first condom brand to have a website, launched in 1997.[2]:319 Worldwide condom use is expected to continue to grow: one study predicted that developing nations would need 18.6 billion condoms in 2015.[2]:342 For the boom of the condom industry, it appears there is no end in sight.

text: Etymology and other terms[edit]

text: Etymological theories for the word "condom" abound. By the early 18th century, the invention and naming of the condom was attributed to an associate of England's King Charles II, and this explanation persisted for several centuries. However, the "Dr. Condom" or "Earl of Condom" described in these stories has never been proved to exist, and condoms had been used for over one hundred years before King Charles II ascended to the throne.[2]:54,68

text: A variety of Latin etymologies have been proposed, including condon (receptacle),[10] condamina (house),[13] and cumdum (scabbard or case).[2]:70–1 It has also been speculated to be from the Italian word guantone, derived from guanto, meaning glove.[14] William E. Kruck wrote an article in 1981 concluding that, "As for the word 'condom', I need state only that its origin remains completely unknown, and there ends this search for an etymology."[15] Modern dictionaries may also list the etymology as "unknown".[16]

text: Other terms are also commonly used to describe condoms. In North America condoms are also commonly known as prophylactics, or rubbers. In Britain they may be called French letters.[17] Additionally, condoms may be referred to using the manufacturer's name. The insult term scumbag was originally a slang word for condom.[18]

text: Major manufacturers[edit]

text: One analyst described the size of the condom market as something that "boggles the mind". Numerous small manufacturers, nonprofit groups, and government-run manufacturing plants exist around the world.[2]:322,328 Within the condom market, there are several major contributors, among them both for-profit businesses and philanthropic organizations.

text: In 1882, German immigrant Julius Schmidt founded one of the largest and longest-lasting condom businesses, Julius Schmid, Inc., based in New York City (he dropped the 't' from his name in an effort to appear less Jewish). The condom lines manufactured by Schmid included Sheiks and Ramses.[2]:154–6 In 1932, the London Rubber Company (which had previously been a wholesale business importing German condoms) began to produce latex condoms, under the Durex brand.[2]:199,201,218 In 1962 Schmid was purchased by London Rubber. In 1987, London Rubber began acquiring other condom manufacturers, and within a few years became an important international company. In the late 1990s, London Rubber (by then London International Limited) merged all the Schmid brands into its European brand, Durex.[2]:324–6 Soon after, London International was purchased by Seton Scholl Healthcare (manufacturer of Dr. Scholl's footcare products), forming Seton Scholl Limited.[2]:327

text: Youngs Rubber Company, founded by Merle Youngs in late 19th century America, introduced the Trojan line of condoms.[2]:191 In 1985, Youngs Rubber Company was sold to Carter-Wallace. The Trojan name switched hands yet again in 2000 when Carter-Wallace was sold to Church and Dwight.[2]:323–4

text: The Australian division of Dunlop Rubber began manufacturing condoms in the 1890s. In 1905, Dunlop sold its condom-making equipment to one of its employees, Eric Ansell, who founded Ansell Rubber. In 1969, Ansell was sold back to Dunlop.[2]:327 In 1987, English business magnate Richard Branson contracted with Ansell to help in a campaign against HIV and AIDS. Ansell agreed to manufacture the Mates brand of condom, to be sold at little or no profit in order to encourage condom use. Branson soon sold the Mates brand to Ansell, with royalty payments made annually to the charity Virgin Unite.[2]:309,311 In addition to its Mates brand, Ansell currently manufactures Lifestyles and Lifesan for the U.S. market.[2]:333

text: In 1934 the Kokusia Rubber Company was founded in Japan. It is now known as the Okamoto Rubber Manufacturing Company.[2]:257

text: In 1970 Tim Black and Philip Harvey founded Population Planning Associates (now known as Adam & Eve). Population Planning Associates was a mail-order business that marketed condoms to American college students, despite U.S. laws against sending contraceptives through the mail. Black and Harvey used the profits from their company to start a non-profit organization Population Services International. By 1975, PSI was marketing condoms in Kenya and Bangladesh,[2]:286–7,337–9 and today operates programs in over sixty countries.[19] Harvey left his position as PSI's director in the late 1970s,[20] but in the late 1980s again founded a nonprofit company, DKT International.[2]:286–7,337–9 Named after D.K. Tyagi (a leader of family planning programs in India),[21] DKT International annually sells millions of condoms at discounted rates in developing countries around the world. By selling the condoms instead of giving them away, DKT intends to make its customers invested in using the devices. One of DKT's more notable programs is its work in Ethiopia, where soldiers are required to carry a condom every time they leave base. The rate of HIV infection in the Ethiopian military, about 5%, is believed to be the lowest among African militaries.[2]:286–7,337–9

text: In 1987, Tufts University students Davin Wedel and Adam Glickman started Global Protection Corp. in response to C. Everett Koop's statement that "a condoms can save your life." Since that time, Global Protection Corp. has become known for its innovative approach to condom marketing and its support of more than 3500 non-profit organizations worldwide. The company has numerous patents and trademarks to its name, including the only FDA-approved glow-in-the-dark condom, the Pleasure Plus condom and the original condom keychain. In 2005 the company introduced its newest product, One Condoms. One represents a complete reinvention of retail condom brands, combining sleek metal packaging, innovative condom wrappers and innovative marketing programs. One is also the first condom brand to donate 5% of sales to the development of sexual health outreach and educational programs. In South Africa, some manufacturers have considered introducing an extra-large variety of condoms after several complaints from South African men claiming the condoms were too small and causing discomfort.[22]


document_title: Once More, with Feeling (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

question_text: who played the demon in buffy once more with feeling

text: Background[edit]

text: Throughout the series Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), in her role as the Vampire Slayer, is assisted by her close friends, who refer to themselves as the "Scooby Gang". These include Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon), a young man without particular strengths or talents, but devoted to Buffy and her calling, and Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan), a young woman who has grown from a shy but gifted student into a strong woman and powerful user of magic. They are mentored by Buffy's "Watcher", Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), a paternal figure since the first season, when Buffy moved to Sunnydale after her parents' divorce. Xander is engaged to Anya Jenkins (Emma Caulfield), a former vengeance demon who has become human. They have struggled with disclosing their engagement to the rest of the group and individually doubt their impending marriage.[2]

text: Buffy died at the end of the fifth season ("The Gift"), sacrificing herself in place of her younger sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) in order to save the world. In the first episode of the sixth season, Willow, believing Buffy to be in Hell, used magic to bring her back from the grave. Buffy was in fact at peace, in what she thinks was heaven, but she has kept this a secret from her friends. Since her resurrection, Buffy has been lost and without inspiration to perform her duties as a Slayer. Willow is romantically involved with Tara Maclay (Amber Benson), a powerful but ethical witch. Tara has previously expressed concern at Willow's use of her emergent magical powers for trivial or personal matters. In the preceding episode ("All the Way"), Willow cast a spell to make Tara forget an argument about her abuse of magic. In the same episode, Dawn, who has been stealing from stores, including Anya's magic shop, lies to Buffy and goes on a clandestine and almost deadly date. Left to take care of Dawn after the death of their mother Joyce Summers (Kristine Sutherland) in the fifth season ("The Body"), Buffy has come to depend more heavily on Giles. Following Dawn's date, Buffy asks Giles to shoulder responsibility for disciplining her, much to his discomfort.[2][4]

text: Buffy's former nemesis is Spike (James Marsters), a vampire. In the fourth season The Initiative, a secret military organization whose mission is to evaluate and eliminate demonic beings, rendered Spike harmless by implanting a microchip in his head that causes him intense pain when he attacks humans. However, the chip does not affect him when he harms demons and he now often fights on Buffy's side, after at first fighting just for the pleasure of brawling. His motivations changed when, in the fifth season, Spike realized he had fallen in love with Buffy. She initially rejected him, but after and just before her death they had begun to form a friendship of sorts. She has been confiding in him; prior to this episode, he is the only one to whom Buffy has revealed that she was in heaven.[2]

text: Throughout Buffy the Vampire Slayer, music serves as a narrative tool, integral to character development and action. The mood is set by music, characters discuss it, and writers use it to emphasize differences between generations. In an essay on the use of music in the series, Jacqueline Bach writes that in conjunction with the sixth season themes of growing up, "Once More, with Feeling" gives music a central role instead of keeping it in the background.[5]

text: Plot[edit]

text: When Buffy is on patrol, she laments in song about how uninspired her life has become ("Going Through the Motions"). The next morning at the Magic Box, the gang reveal that they also sang that evening. Led by Giles, the gang theorizes about the cause of the singing; they sense no immediate danger but agreeing that by working together they can overcome anything ("I've Got a Theory/Bunnies/If We're Together"). Buffy learns that the whole town is affected when she looks outside the shop to see a large group (led by series writer and producer David Fury) singing and dancing about how a dry-cleaning service got their stains out ("The Mustard").

text: Tara and Willow leave to "research" at home, but dally along the way while Tara muses about how much Willow has improved her life ("Under Your Spell"). The next morning, Xander and Anya perform a duet about their secret annoyances with each other and their respective doubts about their impending marriage ("I'll Never Tell"). They realize that the songs are bringing out hidden secrets, and later insist to Giles that something evil is to blame. As they argue, they walk past a woman (series writer and producer Marti Noxon) protesting a parking ticket ("The Parking Ticket"). That evening, Buffy visits Spike, who angrily tells Buffy to leave him alone if she will not love him ("Rest in Peace").

text: Dawn tells Tara she is glad that Tara and Willow have made up after their argument. Since Tara has no recollection of an argument, she suspects that Willow has used magic to alter her memory. She goes to the Magic Box to consult a book, leaving Dawn alone. Dawn starts to bemoan that no one seems to notice her ("Dawn's Lament"), but is soon seized by minions of Sweet (Hinton Battle), a zoot suit-wearing, tap-dancing, singing demon. They take Dawn to The Bronze, where her attempt to escape transforms into an interpretive dance with the minions ("Dawn's Ballet") before she meets Sweet. He tells Dawn that he has come to Sunnydale in response to her "invocation", and he will take her to his dimension to make her his bride ("What You Feel") when his visit is complete.

text: At the Magic Box, Giles recognizes that he must stand aside if Buffy is to face her responsibilities in caring for Dawn instead of relying on him ("Standing") and Tara finds a picture of the forget-me-not flower Willow used to cast a spell on her in a book of magic. Giles and Tara separately resolve to leave the people they love, respectively Buffy and Willow — Giles wants to leave Buffy for her own good, while Tara wants to leave Willow because she has become horrified by Willow’s magical manipulation of their relationship ("Under Your Spell / Standing—Reprise"). Captured by Spike outside the store, one of Sweet’s minions conveys a challenge from Sweet for Buffy to rescue Dawn from The Bronze. Giles forbids the gang to assist Buffy, so she goes alone, despite having no will to do so; eventually Giles and the Scoobies change their minds and leave to catch up. Although Spike initially thinks that things would be better for him if Buffy was dead, he also changes his mind and decides to help Buffy; Sweet opines that Buffy is drawn to danger ("Walk Through the Fire").

text: Meeting Sweet at The Bronze, Buffy offers a deal to Sweet: she will take the place of her sister if she can’t kill him. When asked by Sweet what she thinks about life, Buffy gives her pessimistic take on its meaning ("Something to Sing About"). When the others arrive, she divulges that Willow took her from heaven, and Willow reacts with horror at finding out what she’s done. Upon divulging this truth, Buffy gives up on singing and dances so frenetically that she begins to smoke — on the verge of combusting as Sweet’s other victims have been shown to do — until Spike stops her, telling her that the only way to go forward is to just keep living her life. Xander then reveals that he, not Dawn, called Sweet, hoping he would be shown a happy ending for his marriage plans. Sweet, after releasing Xander from the obligation to be Sweet's “bride”, tells the group how much fun they have been ("What You Feel—Reprise") and disappears. The Scoobies realize that their relationships have been changed irreversibly by the secrets revealed in their songs ("Where Do We Go from Here?"). Spike leaves The Bronze, but Buffy follows him out, and they kiss ("Coda").

text: Production and writing[edit]

text: Joss Whedon had wanted to make a musical episode since the start of the series. This was heightened during the fifth season when he hosted a Shakespeare reading at his house, to which the cast was invited. They began drinking and singing, demonstrating to Whedon that certain cast members had musical talents.[6][7] Whedon knew he would have to write an entire score, which would take weeks or months. During the first three seasons of Buffy, he was unable to take more than two weeks off at a time, and the constraints of writing and directing the show precluded him from putting forth the effort of preparing a musical. Whedon spoke to the show's producer, Gareth Davies, about his idea; they agreed that a musical episode would be written.[8]

text: Whedon spent six months writing the music for "Once More, with Feeling".[8] When he returned after the end of the fifth season, he presented Davies with a script and CD, complete with notated and orchestrated music, which Davies found "mind-boggling".[9] The actors were initially bewildered; in 2012, James Marsters commented that "it's obvious now that they were good songs but the thing was Joss and his wife Kai, they don't sing very well. And they don't play piano very well. The songs sounded really cheesy and horrible... We were saying, 'Joss, you're ruining our careers.'"[10]

text: Preparing for the episode was physically difficult for some of the cast members, most of whom had little experience singing and dancing. They spent three months in voice training.[8][note 1] Two choreographers worked with Whedon and the cast on dance sequences. Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn), who is trained in ballet, requested a dance sequence in lieu of a significant singing part,[9] and Alyson Hannigan (Willow), according to Whedon, begged him not to give her many lines.[6][12] Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) told the BBC that "It took something like 19 hours of singing and 17 hours of dancing in between shooting four other episodes" and she was so anxious about singing that she "hated every moment of it".[13] When Whedon suggested using a voice double for her, however, she said, "I basically started to cry and said, 'You mean someone else is going to do my big emotional turning point for the season?' In the end, it was an incredible experience and I'm glad I did it. And I never want to do it again."[14] Davies was so impressed with Hinton Battle's performance on Broadway in The Wiz that he asked Battle to play the demon Sweet. Battle, a three-time Tony-winner, wore prosthetic make-up for the first time to give him a demonic red face. Sweet was portrayed as "slick", smooth and stylish; in contrast, most demons on the series were designed to be crude and ugly.[9] The set for The Bronze was used frequently throughout the series, but stairs were built from the stage to maximize floor space for Battle's dance.[6]

text: Running eight minutes longer than any in the series,[note 2] the episode was also the most technical and complex. Whedon, who has stated this is one of his favorite Buffy episodes, used a widescreen letterbox format for filming (the only episode in the series to get this treatment),[12] different lighting to bring out the sets more vibrantly, and long takes for shooting—including a complicated shot with a full conversation, a song, and two choreographed dances that took 21 attempts to get right. These were designed to give viewers all the clues they needed to establish all the nuances of the relationships between characters.[6] Davies commented that the intricacies of filming this episode were "infinitely more complicated than a regular Buffy" episode,[9] and Whedon stated in the DVD commentary that he was ambitious to prove what television is capable of, saying "it just depends how much you care".[6] UPN, the television network that aired Buffy's last two seasons, promoted the episode by displaying Gellar's face on billboards with music notes over her eyes, and held a special premiere event. Network president Dean Valentine remarked he thought it was "one of the best episodes of television I ever saw in my life".[15]

text: Critics hailed the episode as successful in telling a complex story about all the characters in a unique way, while retaining the series' effective elements of writing and character development. Throughout the show—as in the rest of the series—the characters self-consciously address their own dialogue and actions. Anya describes her own duet "I'll Never Tell" as "a retro pastiche that's never gonna be a breakaway pop hit". With a characteristic dry demeanor, Giles explains that he overheard the information about Sunnydale residents spontaneously combusting as he was eavesdropping upon the police taking "witness arias".[16] In her opening number, "Going Through the Motions", Buffy sings that she feels as though she is playing a part: "nothing here is real, nothing here is right". The song introduces the character's emotional state but also removes the barrier between the actor and the audience, as Gellar the actor portrays Buffy, who feels she is merely playing the part of the Slayer. This hints to the audience that the episode's musical format is strange to the actors and characters.[7] According to Buffy essayist Richard Albright, the lack of polish among cast members' singing voices added to the authenticity of their breaking out into song for the first time in the series.[7][note 3] Whedon included self-conscious dialogue and references about the characters being in a musical and showed their reluctance toward song and dance, so that the audience would feel more comfortable with the improbability of such a thing happening on the show.[6]

text: Themes[edit]

text:
It is part of the fascination of "Once More, with Feeling", that we can, if we wish, choose to select our relationship with the text and dwell on a happy ending—or we can share the struggle of the characters.

Rhonda Wilcox, 2005[17]

tag: div

text: The dynamic nature of the characters was a unique element of writing in the series at the time. Once they were established in the twelve episodes of the first season, characters began to change and relationships were developed in the second. This continued through the series to the point of unpredictability that sometimes became unsettling to fans.[18] Buffy essayist Marguerite Krause asserts that the monsters and demons faced by the Scoobies are thin symbolism for the show's true focus: relationships and how to maintain or ruin them.[19] Common among most of these relationships—romantic, platonic, and familial—is, according to Krause, a "failure to communicate, lack of trust, [and the] inability to envision or create a viable future".[20] Miscommunication is worsened or sustained through multiple episodes and seasons, leading to overwhelming misunderstanding and critical turning points for the characters, some of whom do not recover.[21]

text: "Once More, with Feeling" propelled the story arc for season six by allowing characters to confess previously taboo issues to themselves and each other.[22] Whedon commented that he was "obsessive about progressing a plot in a song, about saying things we haven't said", comparing the musical theater format to the fourth-season episode "Hush", in which characters begin communicating when they stop talking.[6] According to Buffy essayist Zoe-Jane Playdon, earlier episodes' "false saccharine behaviour" impedes the characters so crucially that it summons a demon to force them to be honest.[23] The consequences in the episode of concealing truth, spontaneous combustion, is an allusion to Bleak House by Charles Dickens—of whom Whedon is a fan—where characters also face immolation for being deceitful.[24] For Buffy, however, truth is slow in coming, as she continues to lie to the Scoobies, claiming to forget what she sang about in the graveyard during "Going Through the Motions". Buffy continues her charade in the chorus number "If We're Together", beginning the song by persuading others to join in one by one, as if each is convinced that she is still invested and in charge, and their strength as a group is infallible. Although she asks in verse "Apocalypse / We've all been there / The same old trips / Why should we care?", all the Scoobies join her, including Giles despite his suspicions that Buffy is no longer interested in her life.[6][25]

text: Secrets reveal themselves steadily throughout the episode. Xander fears that his future marriage will turn him into an argumentative drunk like his father. He attempts to avoid his fears through the song "I'll Never Tell", singing "'coz there's nothing to tell", after summoning Sweet to Sunnydale to show him that he and Anya will be happy. Amid the various annoyances Xander and Anya express through this song, some verses are clear-sighted observations of behavior, such as Anya's accusation that Xander—once in love with Buffy—uses Buffy as a mother figure to hide behind.[26] Anya also avoids the truth by burying herself in wedding plans without thinking critically about what being married will entail; instead she considers Xander an accessory to her desired lifestyle.[27] Of all the characters, Anya is the most preoccupied with the style of singing and songs, demanding to know if Spike sang "a breakaway pop hit, or a book number", and asking Dawn if the pterodactyl she facetiously says she gave birth to also broke into song. Anya and Xander's duet is the only song in the episode to address the audience directly. During the long single-shot scene when she and Xander talk over each other insisting to Giles that evil must be at play, Anya refers to the audience, saying "It was like we were being watched ... Like there was a wall missing ... in our apartment ... Like there were only three walls and not a fourth wall." Albright asserts that Anya's constant preoccupation with her and others' performances indicates that she has serious doubts about her future supporting role as Xander's wife.[7]

text: Giles' truth, according to Whedon, is that he realizes he must not "fight my kid's battles or my kid will never grow up",[9] which he sings in "Standing" while he throws knives at Buffy as part of her training. Whedon remarked that this touch "is the kind of complete turnaround that is a staple of the Buffy universe".[6] Tara's heartfelt love song also has an ironic subtext; although she appears to mean that she is fulfilled by her relationship with Willow, the lyrics include multiple allusions to Willow working her manipulative will over Tara, overlaid with Tara's euphoric singing about her pleasure in their union.[7] In Sex and the Slayer, Lorna Jowett calls the song between Willow and Tara the transformational event in their relationship, from Tara's subservient bearing towards Willow, into a relationship of equals.[28] Two Buffy essayists note that Willow and Giles sing together at the start of the episode, but later Tara and Giles share a duet to express the diminished part each plays in their respective relationships.[29]

text: Although "Once More, with Feeling" allows all the characters to confess truthfully, with the exception of Willow, it does not resolve the behavior that demanded confession in the first place. At the end of the episode, Buffy kisses Spike, initiating a romance that she hides from her friends. Their relationship lasts until the end of the series, marked for a time by Buffy's loathing of him because he has no soul. Her relationship with Spike, however, allows her to feel lust and attraction, which she yearns for after being pulled back from a heavenly dimension.[30] In The Psychology of Joss Whedon, Mikhail Lubyansky writes that, although Buffy's first step toward re-engaging with her life is telling the Scoobies the truth in the song "Something to Sing About", she does not find meaning again until the end of the season.[31] In his essay "A Kantian Analysis of Moral Judgment in Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Scott Stroud explains that Buffy, as the central character throughout the series, is torn between her desires and her duty, in a Kantian illustration of free will vs. predeterminism, symbolized by her responsibility as a Slayer and her adolescent impulses. In earlier seasons, this takes the form of simpler pleasures such as dating and socializing, interspersed with defeating evil forces. It reaches a climax in the ultimate sacrifice when Buffy offers to die to save the world. However, "Once More, with Feeling", according to Stroud, is the turning point at which she begins to face her responsibility to the community, her friends and her family. Not only does she continue her Slaying despite a lack of inspiration, but for the rest of the season she works at a humiliating job to provide for her sister and friends.[32]

text: Music and style[edit]

text: "Once More, with Feeling" was Joss Whedon's first attempt at writing music, which he had always wanted to do. He learned how to play guitar to write several songs. Christophe Beck, a regular composer for the series, filled in the overture and coda and composed "Dawn's Ballet". Whedon is a fan of Stephen Sondheim, and used him as the inspiration for much of the music, particularly with the episode's ambiguous ending.[16] Cast member James Marsters (Spike) said, "Some of Joss' music is surprisingly complicated. Maybe it's a Beatles thing. He doesn't know enough to know what he can't do and he's smashing rules."[14]

text: The episode's musical style varies significantly. Buffy's opening number, "Going Through the Motions", was influenced heavily by the Disney song "Part of Your World" sung by Ariel in The Little Mermaid. Whedon wanted to use a similar opening in which the heroine explains her yearning. While singing her song, Buffy fights three vampires and a demon who themselves break into a choreographed dance; Whedon wanted this to be fun but not distracting. The song ends with chord influences from Stephen Schwartz's Pippin and a visual tribute to Disney: as Buffy stakes a vampire, it turns to dust that swirls around her face.[6][33]

text: Whedon chose the most complicated scene, with the most dancers and choreography in the classic style of musical theater, to accompany an 18-second song ("The Mustard") "to get it out of the way" for more personal numbers later in the episode.[6] Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com considers this "brilliant because it frees even people who hate musicals to settle into the story without getting hung up on the genre's conventions".[34] The musical styles span from a jaunty 1950s sitcom arrangement of the Buffy theme in the opening credits—the only episode in the series to begin without the normal version of the theme song and full cast roll, signifying a genre shift[7]—to Anya's hard-rock version of "Bunnies". Whedon assigned Emma Caulfield the rock-opera format because Caulfield often sang in such a way to him on the set.[6] Spike's "Rest in Peace" is also a rock song, which Whedon wrote after completing the episode's first song, Tara's "Under Your Spell", a contemporary pop song with radio-play potential. Xander and Anya's duet—the most fun to shoot but difficult to write, according to Whedon[6]—is inspired by Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers comedies as evidenced by the silken pajama costumes and art deco apartment setting.[35] Musically, the song uses influences from Ira Gershwin, a Charleston rhythm, and jazz-like chord slides.[36] Giles' "Standing" is a ballad to Buffy that she does not hear, unlike the songs revealing truths elsewhere in the episode.[37] Whedon shot the scene so that Giles moves in real time while Buffy works out in slow motion, to accentuate Giles' distance from her. Buffy's not hearing his song was intentional; Whedon explained, "You can sing to someone in musicals and they can never know how you feel or how much you love them, even if they're standing right in front of you".[6]

text: "Under Your Spell" received attention from Buffy studies writers because it presents a frank and unflinching expression of lesbian romance. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the first show in U.S. television history to portray a long-term lesbian relationship among the core cast of characters.[38] Previous televised depictions of lesbian relations were primarily limited to single "coming out" or "lesbian kiss" episodes, showing lesbian-identified characters as affectionate but not erotic.[note 4] Tara and Willow demonstrate throughout the series, and specifically in "Once More, with Feeling", that they are "intensely sexual", according to Buffy essayist Justine Larbalestier. Near the end of Tara's song, she sings, "Lost in ecstasy / Spread beneath my Willow tree / You make me / Com — plete", as Tara levitates off the bed while Willow tacitly performs cunnilingus on her.[39] Lorna Jowett called the song "the most erotic scene" of the series.[40] Whedon admitted on the DVD commentary for the episode that the song is "pornography" and "probably the dirtiest lyric I've ever written, but also very, very beautiful".[6]

text: Buffy essayist Ian Shuttleworth writes that Amber Benson (Tara) has "the sweetest singing voice of all the lead players", referring to "Under Your Spell" as "heavenly and salacious"; author Nikki Stafford concurs, writing that Benson "has the most stunning voice, showing a surprising range".[12] Whedon acknowledged that the "lyrical, heavenly quality" of Benson's voice led him to assign her the episode's love song.[9] Alyson Hannigan (Willow) was unwilling to sing much and her performance is "apprehensive", according to Shuttleworth. He considers this an example of Tara's quieter strength coming out in front of Willow's showy demonstrations of powerful magic.[41] Buffy studies scholar Rhonda Wilcox interprets Willow's diminished role representing the show's silence about Willow's descent into addiction and darkness through the rest of the season.[42] Benson remarked that Tara's story arc is significant within the episode, starting out with ecstasy but soon recognizing the illusory circumstances surrounding her bliss and that "life can't be perfect all the time".[9]

text: The most complicated song, "Walk Through the Fire", leads all the characters to the climax from different locations for different reasons, reminiscent of the "Tonight Quintet" from West Side Story.[43] When they all sing the chorus at once to the line "We will walk through the fire / And let it — burn", two fire trucks race behind the Scoobies as they proceed to the Bronze. Whedon called the shot the "single greatest thing we ever did".[6] Each of the singers in this song, which "marries soft rock to the function of a dirge", connects musically to earlier songs while foreshadowing Buffy's next number and the final chorus, providing an ominous anxiety.[44]

text: Buffy's numbers are the most complex, changing key and tempo when she begins to reveal the secrets she swore she never would.[12] This appears specifically in "Something to Sing About", which starts with uptempo platitudes: "We'll sing a happy song / And you can sing along: / Where there's life, there's hope / Every day's a gift / Wishes can come true / Whistle while you work ..." While singing, she kills Sweet's minions with a pool cue. Whedon attempted to make the song tuneful yet chaotic to express the main point of the episode.[6] It transitions suddenly into her desire to be like normal girls, then changes again, slowing the tempo as she challenges Sweet not to give her a song, but "something to sing about".[45] Musicologist Amy Bauer categorizes the tempo shifts as "rock ballad to punk polka to hymn" that indicates Buffy's turmoil. The key and tempo slow again, as Buffy finally reveals "I live in hell / 'Cause I've been expelled from heaven / I think I was in heaven" with the chord changing from B minor to B diminished, each time she repeats "heaven".[46] When replying to her, Spike has the same shift from minor to diminished each time he repeats the word "living."

text: The episode nears the end with "Where Do We Go from Here?", as the Scoobies stand dazed and disoriented, facing different directions. As they sing "Understand we'll go hand in hand / But we'll walk alone in fear", they line up, hold hands, then fling each other's hands away in a piece of what Whedon calls "literal choreography".[6] Each of the eight characters in this line wears a color in the visible spectrum, a conscious decision by the costume designer. The couples in the group wear opposite colors (Giles in green and Buffy in red, Anya in blue and Xander in orange, Tara in yellow and Willow in purple), and Rhonda Wilcox interprets the color-coding and choreography to represent the "tension between the individual and the group".[47] The characters as a chorus sing "The curtains close on a kiss, God knows / We can tell the end is near", moments before Buffy runs out to kiss Spike and the show closes with actual curtains. As Spike and Buffy kiss, a swell of music accompanies them, similar to the ending of Gone with the Wind. Lyrics sung moments before, however, forecast the uncertainty of the relationship between Spike and Buffy, as well as their contrasting reasons for initiating any romance; Spike wants to feel love from Buffy, while she simply wants to feel.[42]

text: Reception[edit]

text: When the episode was originally broadcast in the United States on UPN on November 6, 2001, it received a Nielsen rating of 3.4 and a share of 5. This placed the episode in sixth place in its timeslot, and 88th among broadcast television for the week of November 5–11, 2001. It was the most watched program on UPN that night, and the third most watched program that week, trailing episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise and WWF SmackDown.[48] This was a decrease from the 3.7 rating received by the previous episode a week prior.[49]

text: "Once More, with Feeling" received widespread critical acclaim from media and critics when it aired, during overseas syndication, and in reminiscences of the best episodes of Buffy after the series ended. Although Salon.com writer Stephanie Zacharek states "(t)he songs were only half-memorable at best, and the singing ability of the show's regular cast ranged only from the fairly good to the not so great", she also asserts that it works "beautifully", paces itself gracefully, and is "clever and affecting".[34] Zacharek's unenthusiastic assessments of the music and cast's singing abilities were not shared by other writers. Debi Enker in Australia's The Age writes, "Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Tara (Amber Benson) are terrific, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) struggle valiantly, and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) barely sings a note".[50] Tony Johnston in The Sunday Herald Sun writes that Gellar "struggles on some of her higher notes, but her dance routines are superb, Michelle Trachtenberg's Dawn reveals sensual dance moves way beyond her tender years, and James Marsters' Spike evokes a sort of Billy Idol yell to disguise his lack of vocal proficiency [...] The rest of the cast mix and match like ready-made Broadway troupers." Johnston counts "I'll Never Tell" as one of the episode's "standout moments".[13] Connie Ogle in The Miami Herald calls the songs "better and far more clever than most of the ones you'll hear on Broadway these days".[51]

text: Writers agree that the episode was risky and could have failed spectacularly. Jonathan Bernstein in the British newspaper The Observer writes "What could have been, at best, an eccentric diversion and, at worst, a shuddering embarrassment, succeeded on every level [...] It provided a startling demonstration that creator Joss Whedon has a facility with lyrics and melody equal to the one he's demonstrated for the past six seasons with dialogue, character and plot twists. Rather than adopt the 'Hey, wouldn't it be wacky if we suddenly burst into song?' approach practised by Ally McBeal, the Buffy musical was entirely organic to the series' labyrinthine progression." [52] Johnston in the Sunday Herald Sun says, "There is just so much to this marvellously cheeky episode that suggests the show can take any route it pleases and pull it off",[13] while Debi Enker in The Age comments, "Whedon demonstrates yet again what Buffy aficionados have known and appreciated for years: that his wit, playfulness and readiness to take a risk make his television efforts rise way above the pack."[50] Steve Murray in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution characterizes the episode as "scary in a brand-new way", saying "Once More, with Feeling" is "as impressive as Whedon's milestone episodes 'Hush' and 'The Body'"; the episode is "often hilarious", according to Murray, and acts as "(b)oth spoof and homage, [parodying] the hokiness of musicals while also capturing the guilty pleasure and surges of feeling the genre inspires".[53]

text: Writing in the Toronto Star, Vinay Menon calls "Once More, with Feeling" "dazzling" and writes of "Joss Whedon's inimitable genius"; he goes on to say "(f)or a show that already violates conventions and morphs between genres, its allegorical narrative zigging and zagging seamlessly across chatty comedy, drama and over-the-top horror, 'Once More, with Feeling' is a towering achievement [...] The show may be anchored by existential weightiness, it may be painted with broad, supernatural brushstrokes, but in the end, this coming-of-age story, filled with angst and alienation, is more real than any other so-called teen drama [...] So let's add another line of gushing praise: 'Once More, with Feeling' is rhapsodic, original, deeply affecting, and ultimately, transcendental. Quite simply, television at its best."[54]

text: The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Direction, but the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) neglected to include the title on the ballots for Emmy nominations in 2002. NATAS attempted to remedy this by mailing a postcard informing its voters that it should be included, but the episode did not win. NATAS' oversight, according to the Washington Post, was "another example of the lack of industry respect afforded one of television's most consistently clever shows".[55] Ogle in The Miami Herald vigorously protests this omission, writing, "[T]he most astonishing, entertaining hour (hour plus, actually) of TV in the past year slips by virtually unnoticed. Nothing here is real; nothing here is right. Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode, 'Once More, with Feeling', registers a paltry outstanding music direction nomination. Nice for the musical directors. A stake through the aspirations of writer/director Joss Whedon, the beating creative heart of Buffy, the only TV writer brave and clever enough to use horror as one great big wonderful metaphor for growing up [...] 'Once More, with Feeling' is TV of a different sort, something that comes along once in a lifetime and should not be buried but celebrated and rewarded."[51] The episode was also nominated for a Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo Award and a Best Script Nebula Award, both given for excellence in science fiction and fantasy writing.[56][57] In 2009 TV Guide ranked the episode #14 on its list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".[58]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: An album including all 14 songs in the episode, with Christophe Beck's scores for three other Buffy episodes, was released by Rounder Records in September 2002 as season seven premiered. John Virant, president and chief executive of Rounder Records, told the Los Angeles Times, "I remember watching the episode when it aired last October, and after it was over, I said to my wife, 'That's the best hour of TV I've ever seen. Someone should put that [soundtrack] out.' I inquired at Fox, just following up, and they said, 'Well, we tried, it didn't happen. If you want to take a run at it, feel free.'"[59] AllMusic gives the album five out of five stars, stating that the music is "every bit as fun as the episode itself", praising the voices of Benson, Marsters and Head. Reviewer Melinda Hill states it is "a must-have for Buffy fans, but it wouldn't be out of place in anyone's collection".[60]

text:
Chart (2002)
Peak

Australian ARIA Albums Chart[61]
97

U.S. Billboard 200[62]
49

U.S. Billboard Top Soundtracks[62]
3

tag: table

text: DVD releases[edit]

text: In addition to featuring on the sixth season box set, "Once More, with Feeling" was individually released on DVD in Region 2 format on April 14, 2003,[63] the only episode to be individually released.[64] In Region 1, the episode was released on the sixth season box set on May 25, 2004, over a year later than the Region 2 release.[65]

text: Influence on television[edit]

text: Since the musical episode of Buffy aired, several other series have worked musical format into episodes, including Scrubs, ("My Musical") in 2007,[66] an episode of Grey's Anatomy entitled "Song Beneath the Song" in 2011[67] and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, ("Mayhem of the Music Meister!") in 2009. The musical television episode was declared a genre, a gimmick, according to Mary Williams at Salon.com, for series that had run out of interesting story lines and characters. Both Williams and Margaret Lyons at New York magazine, however, declared "Once More, with Feeling" the "gold standard" for musical episodes.[68][69] Despite this, Joss Whedon recognized the influence "Once More, with Feeling" has had on other shows, but denied that it was primarily responsible for the rise in musical television episodes or series such as Glee, citing the popularity of High School Musical instead.[70]

text: Public showings[edit]

text: Buffy the Vampire Slayer developed an enthusiastic fan following while it aired. Following its series finale, fans continued their appreciation in theater showings of "Once More, with Feeling" where attendees are encouraged to dress like the show's characters, sing along to the musical numbers, and otherwise interact in the style of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.[71] Clinton McClung, a New York-based film programmer, got the idea for a sing-along from audience-participation showings of The Sound of Music in 2003. The next year, he began putting on sing-alongs to "Once More, with Feeling" in Boston's Coolidge Corner Theater, which became so popular that it went on the road. Audience members received props to use during key scenes, as well as directions (for example, to yell "Shut up, Dawn!" at Buffy's younger sister), and a live cast performed the episode alongside the screen.[72]

text: Buffy sing-alongs received growing media attention as they spread. At the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival, a special screening and sing-along was held that featured both Marti Noxon and Joss Whedon giving brief speeches to the audience.[73] In October 2007, after a dispute with the Screen Actors Guild over unpaid residuals, 20th Century Fox pulled the licensing for public screenings of "Once More, with Feeling", effectively ending official Buffy sing-alongs. Whedon called the cancellation "hugely depressing" and attempted to influence the studio to allow future showings.[74]