Anthony Letizia over at PopMatters, writes a rather lengthy (well longer than you would expect) pontification of the cultural significance of the Sarah Michelle Gellar lead Buffy The Vampire Slayer tv show. More specifically he examines the popularity of the show’s musical episode.

In late 2003, for instance, Channel Four in England offered the opportunity to vote for the “100 Greatest Musicals” via their website.  While the Rocky Horror Show finished number seven on that list, the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t far behind, coming in at number thirteen.

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The Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts, seems to have held the first Sing-A-Long on October 22, 2004.  The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, followed two months later, and then Vancouver added its name to this list in 2005.  In a two-week span this past September, New York City and Pittsburgh also joined the fray. Because these Buffy Sing-A-Longs are fan-driven, without any formal “standard” structure, each location is free to tailor the event to suit its city and space.  The Alamo in Austin, which has held seven sing-a-longs so far, screens a “warm-up” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer beforehand.  New York City had a Buffy-oke contest and offered fans the opportunity to act out scenes from the series, while Pittsburgh had a trivia contest showdown between two lucky fans of the show.

I never watched the show, but the article is quite interesting.