2002-12-20 18:37 UTC BBC uncensors musical
So apparently there is a lot more to the story of Once more with feeling being cut than I originally realised.
It appears there are two official versions of the episode: a 42 minute version, which BBC showed yesterday, and a 50 minute extended version. The BBC knew about this back in January, when they berated Sky for planning to show the 42 minute version, and then promised to show the full-length version when they discovered that they could. Apparently when Sky heard that they could show the long version after all, they had it rushed over so that they could show it, and that is the version they first broadcast (although they also showed the shorter version at least once, as I understand it).
But the BBC apparently forgot all about this, got the wrong copy, and showed that, much to the dismay of many fans. On the positive side, they have realised their mistake and are going to show the extended version tonight. TiVo users, don't forget to tell your magic devices that tonight's showing is a different version and should be recorded as well!
Based on the rumours I read in various newsgroups and bulletin boards, it appears the UK has a long history of having Buffy episodes cut: back at the start of the year, there was a petition to have Sky show season 6 later so that they wouldn't cut it. Does anyone know what came of that? I didn't notice any edits while watching the later episodes, but I don't know if that's just because I wasn't paying attention of if there weren't any. (Having a TiVo means I have no clue when programmes are actually shown... was the time slot moved to after the watershed?)
By the way, why isn't there a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan site as thorough as the Babylon 5 fan site The Lurker's Guide? Are Buffy fans just not as nerdy as B5 fans? I mean, I can watch And the Sky Full of Stars and then immediately go online and find that the Horoscopes were on page 8A of the Universe Today newspaper in that episode, or I can watch War Without End, Part Two and then find that the box of tools Zathras uses cost $10, or I could watch Moments of Transition, and then quickly check that the appearance of the Agamemnon is indeed an unintentional glitch, which was corrected in later airings. And, StarTrek fans have written hugely detailed analyses of the StarDate system, compiled hideously comprehensive lists of every single star system, planet, country, and stellar phenomenon in the StarTrek universe, and analysed the physics of the Warp drive to an obscene level.
Where is the encyclopedia of Buffy demons? The episode analysis explaining what Dawn's line
The hardest thing in this world is to live in it
is in reference to? The list of all the
spells that Willow, Tara, and other witches have cast?