Singing Through the Small Screen: “Subspace Rhapsody”
“The last thing anyone wants is singing Klingons.”
In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Once More with Feeling,” the villain Sweet makes a revelation about all of the singing and dancing in Sunnydale,
All these melodies, they go on too long
Then that energy starts to come on way too strong
All those hearts lay open; that must sting
Plus, some customers just die combusting
That’s the penalty when life is but a song (Whedon, 2001)
And later he adds,
What a lot of fun
You guys have been real swell
And there’s not a one
Who can say this ended wellAll those secrets
You’ve been concealingSay you’re happy now
Once more with feeling
Now I gotta run
See you all in hell! (Whedon, 2001)
In other words, people are baring these deepest, darkest secrets and emotions while singing.
”I would prefer not to be a bunny either.”
While investigating a subspace fold, Ensign Uhura and Lieutenant Spock broadcast
a recording of the song “Anything Goes“ into it. The fold produces an “improbability field” that causes science officer Spock, and then the rest of the Enterprise crew, to begin singing about feelings like characters in a musical film (Subspace Rhapsody, 2026).
Chief of security, Lieutenant La’An Noonien-Singh figures out that people are expressing their deepest feelings in these songs and believes that it is a security risk. She also delivers the episode’s best song in “How Would That Feel?”.
It is determined that the only way to close the improbability field is to produce enough energy via song but it has to be a big number with lots and lots of voices.
Like “Once More with Feeling,” “Subspace Rhapsody” is a musical about music’s innate connection with deep and strong emotions. And that is why it works. Are these episodes ridiculous? Absolutely, but I think that is kind of the point.
